Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Kate Mayberry in Kuala Lumpur.
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Australia has signed a deal to secure supplies of a coronavirus vaccine being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca would have to pass the clinical trial. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also said the vaccine should be mandatory for Australia’s 25 million people.
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South Korea has reported the full daily number of coronavirus cases since March, with many of those diagnosed with the disease linked to churches in the capital.
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The number of people diagnosed with COVID-19 worldwide now exceeds 22 million, and more than 779,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 14 million people have recovered from the disease.
Here are the latest updates:
Wednesday, August 19th
03:20 GMT – Brazil gives cut-off point to latest stage tests for Johnson & Johnson vaccine
Brazil’s health regulator has approved final stage trials for Johnson & Johnson’s experimental coronavirus vaccine – the fourth to get the nod for testing in the country.
The vaccine will be tested on 7,000 volunteers in seven states, Anvisa, the health regulator, said in a statement.
Brazil has the second largest property tax in the world for COVID-19 and has recorded nearly 110,000 deaths from the disease.
02:50 GMT – Indian Protestants move Amazon roadblock
Indian Protestants have restored a roadblock of the main highway through the Amazon rainforest, despite a judge who was then ordered to dismantle the blockade.
The Protestants of the ethnic group Kayapo Mekranoti want help to fight the coronavirus and an end to illegal mining and deforestation.
Indians have been one of the groups least affected by the coronavirus in Brazil with at least 21,000 diagnosed with the disease and 618 dead.
The highway is a major route that takes soybean and corn exports from farms to Amazon River ports and beyond.
A member of the Kayapo at the roadblock along the BR163 highway in the Amazon [Joao Laet/AFP]
02:45 GMT – PM of Australia says COVID-19 vaccine should be mandatory
More about Australia and its plan for faxes.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the coronavirus vaccine should be mandatory for all Australians with only limited medical exceptions.
He told local radio station 3AW the vaccination would be “as mandatory as you can afford” and the stakes were too high to allow the disease to continue spreading.
“We are talking about a pandemic that has destroyed the world economy and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands around the world.”
01:40 GMT – Global caseload greater than 22 million
More than 22 million cases of coronavirus have now been reported around the world, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The first cases were reported late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The US has now confirmed most cases, followed by Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa. The US has also recorded the most deaths.
Coronavirus cases
- FS – 5,481,557
- Brazil – 3,407,354
- India – 2,702,742
- Russia – 930,276
- South Africa – 592,144
Coronavirus dead
- FS – 171,687
- Brazil – 109,888
- Mexico – 57,023
- India – 51,797
- United Kingdom – 41,466
A stained scan electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (green) heavily infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (purple) trapped at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in the US [Handout National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases via AFP]
01:30 GMT – New cases in South Korea reach five months high, tight sidewalks
South Korea has reported the highest number of new cases of coronavirus since March, with many reaching out to churches in Seoul.
The country added 297 cases – including 283 that were transmitted locally – the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. That’s the most since March 8, according to the agency Yonhap.
The spike in cases has prompted authorities to impose restrictions. Meetings involving more than 100 people outside and 50 inside are now banned and locations are seen as high risk including karaoke salons and nightclubs are closed. Churches in Seoul and surrounding areas have been told to stop services for individuals.
00:05 GMT – Victoria’s Australia reports 216 new cases of coronavirus, 12 deaths
Australia’s second most popular state of Australia says 12 people have died in the last 24 hours from the new coronavirus and reported 216 new cases.
Victoria reported 222 cases a day earlier, the lowest rise of one day in a month, and 17 deaths.
The state is the epicenter of Australia’s latest COVID-19 outbreak, but cases seem to be dragging on in recent days.
00:00 GMT – Australia secures vaccination
Australia has signed an agreement with UK drug maker AstraZeneca to secure a potential COVID-19 vaccine that is being developed with Oxford University.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the vaccine is one of the most promising and advanced of the drugs currently in development.
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UK coronavirus vaccine triggers immune response in tears |
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Read all the updates from yesterday (August 18) over here.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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