Daily Covid-19 update: latest developments in the coronavirus crisis

As of today, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is 640,441, with 1,079 new cases, Health Minister Zweli Minister has announced.

The country has recorded 82 more Covid-19 deaths: 27 from KwaZulu-Natal, 15 from Gauteng, 9 from Eastern Cape, 6 from Free State, 5 from Northern Cape, 20 from Western Cape. This brings the total number of Covid-19 deaths to 15,086.

“We extend our condolences to the loved ones of the deceased and thank the health care workers that treated the deceased patients,” said Mkhize.

Source: Health department

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

– China hails virus success –

President Xi Jinping says China has passed “an extraordinary and historic test” and is “leading the world in economic recovery and in the fight against Covid-19.”

In China, where the virus first broke out late last year, it has been all but banished through a combination of lockdowns and travel restrictions earlier in the year. However, the United States of President Donald Trump has criticised Beijing for its initial response to the epidemic.

– World sports disrupted –

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme tests positive for Covid-19 and will have to go into quarantine. French footballer Kylian Mbappe is also positive and out of France’s Nations League game against Croatia on Tuesday.

World Tennis women’s number one Ashleigh Barty of Australia also announces she will not defend her French Open crown, citing coronavirus fears.

And the governing body for football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean confirms that 2022 World Cup qualifiers due to take place in October and November will be postponed until March 2021.

– More than 893,000 dead –

The pandemic has killed at least 893,524 people worldwide since surfacing in China late last year, according to an AFP count at 1100 GMT on Tuesday based on official sources.

More than 27.3 million cases have been confirmed.

The United States has the most deaths with 189,221, followed by Brazil with 126,960, India with 72,775, Mexico  67,781 and Britain 41,554.

– EU parliament session moved –

The European Parliament cancels plans to hold a plenary session in Strasbourg next week, shifting it to Brussels, after the French city was placed in a coronavirus “red zone”.

The costly and time-consuming trek for MEPs and their staff between Brussels and Strasbourg has often been criticised but France insists on its right — enshrined in the EU treaty — to host the assembly.

– South African economy shrinks by half –

Gross domestic product in South Africa shrank by 51 percent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, battered by the impact of the coronavirus lockdown, the country’s statistics agency says.

– Taj Mahal to reopen –

India’s top tourist attraction the Taj Mahal is set to reopen on September 21, more than six months after closing down, say officials in the nation of 1.3 billion people which has the world’s second biggest number of cases.

“All Covid-19 protocols, like physical distancing, masks, will be followed,”  Uttar Pradesh state’s Tourism Department deputy director Amit Srivastava tells AFP.

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