As 1 million new cases of coronavirus are confirmed worldwide per week, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that hospitals are facing a shortage of oxygen concentrators needed to support the breathing of patients with Covid- 19 suffering from respiratory distress.
“Many countries are now experiencing difficulties obtaining oxygen concentrators,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Demand is currently outstripping supply.”
The health agency has purchased 14,000 oxygen concentrators from manufacturers and plans to ship them to 120 countries in the coming weeks, Tedros said. Another 170,000 hubs, worth approximately $ 100 million, will be potentially available in the next six months.
Cases worldwide passed 9.4 million on Thursday, and the WHO said it expected global infections to top 10 million by the end of the week. At least 480,000 people have died so far.
Cases continue to increase in the Americas, with the U.S confirming its second highest total in a day in the pandemic so far, according to the University of Oxford data project Our World in Data, with 34,700 new infections. It is the highest since April 26, when 48,529 cases were confirmed in 24 hours. Researchers from the University of Washington Institute for Health Assessment and Measurement predicted that deaths in the United States would reach 180,000 by October 1, above the current number of 121,969.
The head of the WHO emergency program, Dr. Mike Ryan, said that many Latin American countries experienced a 25% to 50% increase in cases last week.
“I would consider that the situation in the Americas as a whole continues to evolve, has not yet peaked and is likely to result in a sustained number of cases and continued deaths,” he said.
Mexico It confirmed its second highest coronavirus death so far, with 947 deaths on Wednesday. The highest daily number occurred on June 3 with 1,092 deaths. Mexico has 196,847 known cases.
The death toll from the coronavirus in Latin America is expected to skyrocket to 390,000 in October, with Brazil and Mexico accounts for two-thirds of the deaths while other nations in the region contain their outbreaks, the University of Washington said Wednesday.
This week, deaths in the region passed 100,000 and cases tripled from 690,000 a month ago to 2 million.
Meanwhile in AustraliaThe economic consequences for the airlines continued, with Qantas announcing 6,000 job losses and 15,000 employees to be retired, as they predicted that most international flights were unlikely to resume until mid-2021. The airline also canceled a payment. $ 200 million dividend due to shareholders in September.
In the state of Victoria, more than 1,000 Australian defense force staff will call two suburbs at the heart of the latest Covid-19 outbreak, and residents will enjoy free testing, as 33 more cases of the virus were identified. overnight. .
In other news from around the world:
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New Zealand Citizens returning home from coronavirus hot spots face a backlash from some as people worry that arrivals will bring a resurgence in cases
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Brothels in the Netherlands May reopen July 1 after being closed for more than three months, government announced Wednesday
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Volunteers at the UK, Brazil and South Africa He received his first doses of an experimental vaccine as part of a human trial conducted by the University of Oxford, as cases continue to rise and concerns about potential access to life-saving treatments increase.
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Pilots of a plane that crashed last month in PakistanKilling 98 people, they were concerned about the coronavirus crisis and tried to land with the plane’s wheels still raised, according to initial official reports.
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In the United States, Democrats will hold an almost entirely virtual presidential nomination convention in Milwaukee using live broadcasts and online broadcasts. Joe Biden plans to accept the presidential nomination in person during the convention Aug. 17-20, but it remains to be seen if there will be a significant in-person audience there to see it.
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German Airline Lufthansa’s main shareholder said on Wednesday it would back a € 9 billion government bailout package, removing the threat of a last-minute veto that could have bankrupted the airline, reports AFP.
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China They reported 19 recently confirmed cases of coronavirus amid massive tests in Beijing, where a recent outbreak appears to have been under control. Of the new cases he reported on Thursday, 13 were in Beijing and one in the neighboring Hebei province. Authorities say the other five were brought in by Chinese travelers from outside the country. No new deaths were reported.
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