(Reuters) – The global coronavirus death toll surpassed 800,000 on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally, with the United States, Brazil and India leading the rise in fatalities.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.
* For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.
* Eikon users, see MacroVitals (cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098) for a case tracker and summary of news.
EUROPE
* The chief medical officers of the United Kingdom have said children should return to school after the summer holidays, warning that missing out on their education poses much bigger risks to them than catching COVID-19.
* The coronavirus is circulating four times more among people under 40 in France than over among 65-year-olds, the health minister said, though he warned that infection was on the rise among the elderly and more vulnerable too.
* Italy’s health ministry on Saturday reported 1,071 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, exceeding 1,000 cases in a day for the first time since May when the government eased rigid lockdown measures.
* Around 1,500 volunteers equipped with face masks, hand disinfectant and tracking gadgets attended an indoor concert in Germany as part of a study to simulate how the coronavirus spreads in large gatherings.
AMERICAS
* At least 13 people were crushed to death or asphyxiated as people tried to flee a Lima nightclub raided by police because it was open in violation of coronavirus restrictions, officials said.
* U.S. President Donald Trump accused members of the “deep state” at the Food and Drug Administration, without providing evidence, of working to slow testing of COVID-19 vaccines until after the November presidential election.
* The scale of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico is “under-represented” and “under-recognised” and testing is limited, the World Health Organization’s Dr Mike Ryan said.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Australia recorded a further 17 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday but infections in the hard-hit state of Victoria, the site of all the latest deaths, are showing a downward trend, authorities said.
* South Korean authorities reported the highest daily rise in coronavirus cases since early March, saying tougher social distancing rules may be needed as outbreaks continued to spread from a Seoul church and other gatherings.
* Finding the pandemic scary? A Japanese group is trying to take people’s minds off COVID-19 – by putting them in coffins surrounded by chainsaw-wielding zombies.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Saudi public sector employees will return to on-site work on Aug. 30, state TV reported, quoting the human resources ministry, further relaxing coronavirus restrictions.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* The World Health Organization (WHO) said children aged 12 and over should wear masks to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic under the same conditions as adults, while children between six and 11 should wear them on a risk-based approach.
* China has been giving experimental coronavirus vaccines to groups facing high infection risks since July, a health official told state media.
* China has approved human testing for a potential coronavirus vaccine cultivated within insect cells, local government in the southwestern city of Chengdu said.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* More than half the companies in Spain that closed at the height of the coronavirus pandemic have reopened, according to government data, suggesting the economy is recovering slowly.
(Compiled by Frances Kerry)
