- Australia has reported the deadliest day of the pandemic with 25 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours and 282 new cases in the state of Victoria, according to the government on Monday.
- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday postponed the general election four weeks after October 17, but ruled out delaying it longer as the country tackled a new coronavirus outbreak.
- The United States has passed 170,000 coronavirus dead, according to the latest Johns Hopkins University tally, because health officials are concerned about COVID-19 complicating the fall flu season. More than 5.4 million people in the U.S. have been infected, while 1.8 million have recovered.
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Lebanon has recorded a record number of coronavirus infections every day, with 439 people carrying the virus and six dead, bringing the total to 8,881 cases and 103 deaths.
- Worldwide, coronavirus cases exceeded 21.59 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, while more than 13.59 million people recovered. At least 773,000 people have died.
Here are the latest updates:
Monday, August 17th
02:50 GMT – Bolivia covers 100,000 cases, authorities predict September’s peak
Bolivia has passed 100,000 cases of coronavirus, the country’s public health ministry said, predicting that the virus would reach its peak in September, according to Reuters news agency.
Bolivia’s confirmed coronavirus infections reach 100,344, the ministry said, and there have been 4,058 deaths since the virus first appeared in the country in March.
“Cases are climbing slowly, at least in the western part of the country. By the end of the month we will reach … 130,000 to 150,000,” Rene Sahonero, the director general of the Ministry of Hospitals, told state television .
Sahonero said cases among Bolivia’s population of 11.6 million had accelerated following recent protests linked to the postponement of general elections.
The election court decided in July to postpone the vote until October 18 due to the spread of the coronavirus.
02:04 GMT – Brazil’s first lady negative of COVID-19 in final test
On Wednesday, grandmother Michelle Bolsonaro of COVID-19 died [Eraldo Peres/AP]
Michelle Bolsonaro, the first lady of Brazil, said her latest COVID-19 test result was negative, more than two weeks after she announced that she was testing positive for the disease.
“Negative examination. Thank you for the prayers and for all the expressions of affection,” said 38-year-old Michelle, the wife of President Jair Bolsonaro, on Instagram. She published a picture of what she said was her lab exam. “Undetected,” reads it.
On Wednesday, grandmother Michelle Bolsonaro of COVID-19 died.
Bolsonaro’s youngest son of his second wife, 22-year-old Jair Renan, has also tested positive for the virus. On Saturday, he released a video in which he takes pills that he says are hydroxychloroquine. The drug has no proven effectiveness against the new coronavirus, but has been widely published by the Brazilian president as a treatment for COVID-19.
President Bolsonaro had said he tested positive for the coronavirus on July 7, had mild symptoms and was free of the virus in late July. He has downplayed the devastating impact of COVID-19, often appearing in public without a mask and meeting fans nearby despite social recommendations for distance.
Brazil has recorded more than 3.3 million cases of coronavirus and more than 107,000 deaths, second only to the United States.
01:34 GMT – South Korea reports 197 new COVID-19 cases
South Korea on Monday reported 197 new cases of the coronavirus as it fought sporadic outbreaks in densely populated Seoul and its neighborhood, according to the Yonhap news agency.
The additional COVID-19 cases increased the country’s total caseload to 15,515, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Of the new cases, 188 were local broadcasts.
The country reported no additional deaths, keeping the death toll at 305. The death toll was 1.99 percent.
Seven more people have been released after recovery from the disease, bringing the total to 13,917.
01:15 GMT – Mexico’s coronavirus cases stand at 522,162, killing up to 56,757
The Mexican Ministry of Health has reported 4,448 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 214 additional deaths, bringing the total to 522,162 cases and 56,757 deaths at the end of Sunday, according to Reuters news agency.
The government has said the true number of infected people is likely to be higher than the confirmed cases.
Star Wars fan club members provide food and soft drinks to relatives of patients hospitalized in Merida, Yucatan, amid coronavirus pandemic [Hugo Borges/AFP]
01:00 GMT – China reports 22 new cases of coronavirus on mainland
China on Monday reported 22 new cases of coronavirus on the mainland before August 16, compared to 19 cases a day earlier, Reuters news agency quoted the National Health Commission as saying.
All new infections were cases imported, the agency said in a statement. There were no new deaths.
China also reported 37 new asymptomatic patients, compared with 16 a day earlier.
As of August 16, mainland China had a total of 84,849 confirmed cases of coronavirus, it said. China’s death toll from coronavirus remained unchanged at 4,634.
00:50 GMT – Evo Morales’ sister dies in Bolivia due to COVID-19
Esther Morales, the 70-year-old sister of former Bolivian President Evo Morales, has died in COVID-19, AP news agency quotes a statement from the exile.
“She was like my mother,” Morales wrote on social media. He was forced to resign last year after an election assassination due to irregularities.
Morales, who is in Argentina, faces sedition and other charges when he returns to Bolivia. He accused “racism and political persecution” of preventing him from visiting his sister in a hospital in Oruro, southeast of La Paz.
In the last two weeks, supporters of Morales’ party have imposed national blockades to protest the recent postponement of elections as Bolivia wrestles with the coronavirus pandemic.
00:08 GMT – Australia reports deadliest day of pandemic
Australia has reported the deadliest day of the pandemic with 25 deaths from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours and 282 new cases in the state of Victoria, according to the government.
The previous record for Australia was 21 deaths in one day.
00:05 GMT – Mexico’s president says vaccine is expected to be ready by early next year
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has announced that a COVID-19 vaccine could be available nationwide and throughout Latin America by the first quarter of 2021.
In a video posted on social media on Sunday, Obrador said Mexico has reached a deal with the AstraZeneca pharmaceutical company Argentina to produce a vaccine for distribution in Latin America.
Mexico has recorded more than 517,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 56,500 deaths – the third-highest in the world after the US and Brazil.
00:01 GMT – Lebanon records new daily record of coronavirus infections
Lebanon has recorded a record number of coronavirus infections every day, with 439 people contracting the virus and killing six.
The new infections bring the total number of people reported to be infected in the small country of just over five million. Some 103 died due to COVID-19.
The latest development comes as the country continues with the aftermath of the Beirut explosion that killed more than 200 people and injured about 6,000 others.
Lebanon’s health sector has been challenged by the pandemic in the midst of a deepening economic crisis. The blast in central Beirut hit at least three hospitals in the capital, sharply increasing pressure on those still working.
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Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Go here for all the major developments from yesterday 16 August.
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