Global Coronavirus Updates, 20 August: Discussions with Russia on vaccine underway, says WHO

Overall cases have topped 22 million with 7.86 casualties and 14.26 million recoveries.

Discussions with Russia on vaccine underway: World Health Organisation

The World Health Organization’s Europe office said it has begun discussions with Russia to try to obtain more information about the experimental Covid-19 vaccine the country recently approved. Last week, Russia became the first country in the world to license a coronavirus vaccine when President Vladimir Putin announced its approval. But the vaccine has not yet passed the advanced trials normally required to prove it works before being licensed, a major breach of scientific protocol.

Russian officials claimed the vaccine would provide lasting immunity to Covid-19 but offered no proof. Catherine Smallwood, a senior emergency official at WHO Europe said the agency had begun ‘direct discussions’ with Russia and that WHO officials have been sharing ?the various steps and information that’s going to be required for WHO to take assessments.

WHO’s Europe director Dr. Hans Kluge said the agency welcomed all advances in vaccine development but that every vaccine must submit to the same clinical trials. Russia’s vaccine has so far only been tested in a few dozen people. Kluge noted that Russia has a long history of developing and administering vaccines, including those for yellow fever and polio.

South Korea sees highest daily increase since March

South Korea’s latest virus cases include 276 local infections. Cases linked to Sarang Jeil church rose to 630, while about 700 members of the church were still unreachable. Authorities urged participants in an anti-government rally held in Seoul on August 15 to take virus tests regardless of symptoms. A total of 53 rally attendees have tested positive for the virus, including 33 members of Sarang church.

Public officials disinfect to curb the spread of the coronavirus at the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea (AP)

Meanwhile, the country has also approved phase II human clinical trials for Green Cross Corp’s experimental coronavirus plasma treatment drug. The trials will test the safety and efficacy of the drug in 60 severe patients with underlying conditions like pneumonia, Green Cross said. Green Cross was allowed to skip the phase I trials. Its therapy is the country’s first to enter phase II for COVID-19 plasma treatment

Week-long lockdown in Nepal

Authorities imposed a one-week lockdown in Nepal’s capital and surrounding districts after a surge in coronavirus cases. Violators face one month in jail and a fine of Rs 500 rupees. Nepal’s 1,016 cases recorded Tuesday was its highest daily spike. Kathmandu had 205 of the new cases. A national lockdown imposed in March lasted for 120 days before being lifted last month. The country has confirmed 28,257 cases and 114 deaths from the coronavirus.

New Zealand cluster probe

Medical staff test residents of South Auckland at a pop up Covid-19 testing centre in the Otara Mall, in Auckland (AP)

New Zealand authorities are investigating two cases that may not be linked to a cluster in Auckland, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said. The country reported five new cases Thursday, taking the total to 101, of which 78 are in the cluster.

Kim Jong Un hints at ‘growing crisis’

Kim Jong Un acknowledged that North Korea’s development goals have been “seriously delayed,” a sign that sanctions, flooding and the coronavirus have dealt a triple blow to the country’s economy. Kim told a gathering of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee that the country “faced unexpected and inevitable challenges in various aspects,” state media reported. “Planned attainment of the goals for improving the national economy have been seriously delayed and the people’s living standard has not been improved remarkably,” he said, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, attends a plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, North Korea (AP)

Trump says FDA may be delaying treatment over politics

US President Donald Trump alleged that health regulators may be delaying the emergency authorization of blood plasma to treat coronavirus patients until after the election to hurt him politically, offering no substantiation for the charge. “I hear great things about it, that’s all I can tell you,” Trump said at a White House news conference Wednesday. “It could be a political decision because you have a lot of people over there that don’t want to rush things because they want to do it after November 3rd,” the date of the election.

The Coronavirus hospitalization rate in the U.S. has fallen 54 percent since its peak. pic.twitter.com/IIVFxBpaCd

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 19, 2020

China state papers back Wuhan park after viral pool party

Chinese state newspapers threw their support behind an amusement park in the central city of Wuhan on Thursday after pictures of a densely packed pool party at the park went viral overseas amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19.

Thousands of revelers dancing in waves to the beats of the music with no social distancing and no masks

Videos and photos of an electronic music festival at the Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park on July 11 raised eyebrows overseas, but reflected life returning to normal in the city where the virus causing COVID-19 was first detected, the official English-language China Daily newspaper said in a front-page story. Another story in the Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily, cited Wuhan residents as saying the pool party reflected the city’s success in its virus-control efforts.

France’s biggest spike since May

France reported its biggest increase in new coronavirus cases since early May, before the country emerged from an almost two-month lockdown. New infections totaled 3,776 over the past 24 hours, the government’s health office reported Wednesday, the largest daily jump since May 6. Deaths increased by 17 to 30,468.

UAE sees resurgence in cases

The United Arab Emirates is seeing a jump in new cases and the government blamed the increase on social gatherings and the failure to adhere to precautionary measures. The country reported 435 new infections on Wednesday, the highest daily increase in over a month.

Pakistan reports 513 new cases of coronavirus

Pakistan has reported 513 new cases of coronavirus, taking the number of infections in the country to 290,958, the health ministry said on Thursday. The Ministry of National Health Services also said the death toll in the country due to the coronavirus reached 6,209 after eight patients died due to the infection in the last 24 hours.

The ministry said that 272,804 people have recovered so far while 725 were in critical condition. So far Sindh province has detected 127,060 patients, Punjab 95,800, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 35,468, Islamabad 15,425, Balochistan 12,403 and Gilgit-Baltistan 2,583 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir reported 2,219 cases, according to local Pakistani media reports. So far 2,363,725 tests were conducted, including 23,670 in the last 24 hours.