A baker produces biscuits featuring Santa Claus wearing a face protection mask at Schuerener Backparadies bakery in Dortmund, western Germany, on December 17, 2020 during the partial lockdown to curb the spread of the ongoing novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. - Germany went into a partial lockdown from December 16 with non-essential shops and schools to close, as Europe's biggest economy battles to halt an "exponential growth" in coronavirus infections. The new curbs will apply until January 10, 2021, with companies also urged to allow employees to work from home or offer extended company holidays, under the new measures agreed by Chancellor Merkel with regional leaders of Germany's 16 states on December 13. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP)
As of Thursday, the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases stands at 892 813. This is 9 126 new cases in the past 24 hours.
“A cumulative total of 6 011 235 tests have been completed with 42 543 new tests conducted since the last report,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement.
“Regrettably, in the last 24 hours, 184 deaths have been reported: Eastern Cape 103, Free State 4, Gauteng 11, KwaZulu-Natal 8 and Western Cape 58. This brings the total deaths to 24 011.
“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the health workers that treated the deceased,” he added.
Recoveries now stand at 780 313.
Health officials were rushing Thursday to trace the source of a growing cluster of Covid-19 cases in Australia’s largest city of Sydney, with thousands of residents urged to stay home.
Initial reports of five cases on Thursday morning had grown to 17 hours later, as officials worked to uncover the source of the infection in the city’s northern beaches.
New South Wales Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said at an earlier press conference that the cases were “a wake-up call” to Sydneysiders, who had been enjoying a relative return to normal in recent months.
“I think that it’s fair to say that mask wearing has declined, with some level of complacency in the population,” Chant said.
“And I think this is a wake-up call to urge the community to continue to follow that health advice.”
Mask wearing — although encouraged — remains optional in Sydney as daily community cases in the country have remained low or at zero for months, allowing a continued rollback of restrictions ahead of Christmas.
NSW Health told around 250,000 residents in the affected suburbs to stay home for three days and urged people to get tested, prompting large queues outside clinics.
Health alerts were also issued for a growing number of venues with one confirmed case in a worker at a retirement village.
The news triggered swift action from several state officials around Australia, with some immediately revising travel rules for those arriving from Sydney.
“I know these changes will cause frustration and uncertainty for some people,” Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said, as he announced quarantine measures and mandatory testing for all travellers arriving from Sydney.
Australia has recorded over 28,000 coronavirus cases and 908 deaths in a population of 25 million. – AFP
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