- South Korea reports the highest number of daily cases of coronavirus since March, and has forced parliament to close amid expectations that authorities will impose tougher restrictions.
- The U-turn by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on testing close contacts of people with COVID-19 raises concerns among experts about asymptomatic spread of the disease.
- The Australian state of Victoria has reported its lowest number of cases in almost two months.
- More than 24 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and 15.8 million have been recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 826,000 people have died.
Here are the latest updates:
Thursday 27 August
07:45 GMT – Russia’s coronavirus cases exceed 975,000
Russia has reported 4,711 new cases of the new coronavirus, bringing its national tally to 975,576 – the fourth largest business tax in the world.
The Russian task force of the coronavirus said 121 people had died in the last 24 hours, hitting their official death toll at 16,804.
07:30 GMT – Rwanda re-tightens Covid-19 measures if cases arise
An engineer operates a high-tech robot developed by Zora Bots, which was donated by the UNDP Development Program (UNDP) to the Kanyinya Treatment Center, which treats COVID-19 patients in Kigali, Rwanda. [File: Clement Uwiringiyimana/Reuters]
Rwanda has extended its evening clock and prevented movement in and out of the western part of Rusizi following a recent rise in cases of the new coronavirus.
After a cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame, the government announced that a national starting point would be tightened to 7 pm-5am from the current 9pm to 5am.
“Due to increasing cases of coronavirus in Kigali City, public transportation between Kigali and other districts is also prohibited,” the government said in a statement.
All transportation in and out of Rusizi is prohibited where there has been a significant increase in cases.
07:00 GMT – Aerospace giant Rolls-Royce logs £ 5 billion H1 loss on virus
British aviation giant Rolls-Royce said it was suffering a massive net loss in the first half of the year, when the outbreak of the coronavirus sparked a crisis in air transport.
Rolls, which operates in the aerospace, defense and energy sectors, posted a net loss of £ 5.4 billion ($ 7.1 billion) in the six months to June, following a net loss of £ 909 million ($ 1.2 billion) a year earlier.
The company also unveiled a £ 2 billion ($ 2.6 billion) asset removal program.
06:45 GMT – India reports record 75,000 new virus infections
India recorded another day of new cases of coronavirus, reporting 75,760 new confirmed infections in the past 24 hours.
The Ministry of Health also reported 1,023 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total deaths to 60,472.
The previous highest daily count of India on August 22 was 70,488. India has been registering more than 60,000 new infections per day over the last two weeks and has now reported 3.3 million cases since the pandemic began.
Hi, this is Linah Alsaafin taking over the blog from my colleague Kate Mayberry.
04:40 GMT – Online schools excluding 463 million children: UN
The UN Children’s Fund says 463 million children do not have access to virtual schooling, which became necessary during the pandemic because they did not have the equipment or access to the internet.
After collecting data from 100 countries, UNICEF said that children in South Asia, Africa, the Pacific and East Asia were most seriously affected.
“The large number of children whose education has been completely disrupted for months on end is a global need for education,” said Henrietta Fore, executive director of the fund.
03:50 GMT – South Korean parliament closes; legislators in self-quarantine
South Korea’s parliament is closed after a photojournalist covering the ruling party on Wednesday tested positive for COVID-19, according to Yonhap news agency.
Parliament said more than 50 people, including 14 senior members of the Democratic Party, had been in contact with the journalist and would have to go into self-quarantine and be tried.
Several government offices have also been forced to close due to reported cases, Yonhap said.
03:40 GMT – South Korea calls on people to work from home
South Korea is urging employers to allow their staff at home.
The country is struggling with a rise in new cases, mostly linked to churches and an anti-government action earlier this month, and are worried that offices could become hotspots.
“Please carry out in-depth checks on risk factors in workplaces where the work environment is particularly vulnerable to infection, such as call centers and logistics warehouses,” said Health Minister Park Neung-hoo as he reminded companies of the need to adopt flexible work practices nobody. ,
02:30 GMT – Hong Kong moves to relax some coronavirus restrictions
Hong Kong moves to relax some of its rules on social distance measures seven days from midnight on Thursday (16:00 GMT).
The first phase of relaxation includes reopening interior doors such as cafes and restaurants for limited hours, as well as outdoor playgrounds where activities involve a bit of physical contact.
Meetings of more than two people will remain prohibited.
02:10 GMT – Urumqi launches new test round: state media
In China, the People’s Daily reports that the city of Urumqi in the entire western region of Xinjiang has begun testing nucleic acid from “key communities” as part of measures to “gradually restore normalcy”.
The city did not report any new infections for 11 days.
Urumqi in Xinjiang, NW China, on Wednesday began conducting a new round of nucleic acid tests among key communities and later adjusting its current preventive measures for #COVID to recover slowly again. The city reported ZERO new infections 11 consecutive days. pic.twitter.com/wQIo6HLeYD
– People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) August 27, 2020
01:35 GMT – South Korea reports biggest jump in cases since March
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the country registered 441 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the highest daily number since March.
This is the first time the number has been above 400 since March 7, and makes the prospect of stricter restrictions to limit the spread of the disease. Cases have been in double digits since 14 August.
Higher restrictions would include a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people, while cinemas, cafes and wedding venues may also have to close.
00:00 GMT – Victoria reports the lowest number of daily cases in two months
The Australian state of Victoria reported 23 deaths and 113 new infections – the lowest figures in almost two months, helped by a strict lockdown.
The state is battling a second wave of the virus that was thought to have been delayed by returning travelers who have violated quarantine rules.
23:00 GMT (Wednesday) – Air New Zealand posted $ 300 million loss
Air New Zealand posted a net loss of 454 million New Zealand dollars ($ 300 million) for the fiscal year ending June 30.
Like many around the world, closing borders has led to a collapse in airline passenger traffic.
About one-third of Air New Zealand’s 12,500 employees expect to lose their jobs as a result.
22:30 GMT (Wednesday) – Care at US test U-turn
Healthcare professionals are concerned about a sudden decision by the US to change test results for people who have been exposed to COVID-19 patients but have not developed any symptoms, risks to spread the virus further.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now says that so-called “close contacts” of people with COVID-19 should not be “necessarily” checked if they have no symptoms.
The CDC did not explain the decision.
We can not control #covid if we cannot identify asymptomatic cases. We need MORE tests, not less.
My @washingtonpost column on how the new guidelines through @cdcgov flying in the face of public health. We can not put a political advantage over science. Https://t.co/6QUDHk21Ew
– Leana Wen, MD (@DrLeanaWen) August 26, 2020
At what point does society rise?
We have a Trump administration that apparently places politics and image over American life. At each turn, the administration provided it #COVID any opportunity to spread further. This is a national travesty and should be mentioned as such https://t.co/VUVpVhCfaw
– Michael Mina (@michaelmina_lab) August 26, 2020
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Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I am Kate Mayberry in Kuala Lumpur.
Read all the updates from yesterday (August 26) here.
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