Global coronavirus death toll tops 1.2 million

As lockdowns and shutdowns rear their head in Europe again, an AFP tally has found that the global death toll from the virus has claimed at least 1,201,450 people worldwide since it first emerged in China late last year.

More than 46,543,100 cases have been registered across the globe.

The United States remains the most affected country, with 231,003 deaths. The countries with the next-highest death tolls are Brazil with 160,074, India with 122,607, and Mexico with 91,895.

In South Africa, as of Sunday, the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases stood at 726,823, with 1,371 new cases identified since the last report. The total number of Covid-19 related deaths stands at 19,411.

Here some of the latest global developments:

– Germany shutdown begins –

To curb the spike in the country, a round of shutdowns begins, which will last until the end of the month.

Germans will not be confined to their homes, but bars, cafes and restaurants must close, as well as theatres, operas and cinemas.

– Portugal emergency –

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa says his government intends to declare a health emergency enabling stricter curbs to be imposed in the fight against a surge in infections.

– Prince William had virus –

British media reports that Prince William, second-in-line to the British throne, contracted the virus in April but kept his diagnosis secret.

The Sun newspaper says the Duke of Cambridge, 38, was diagnosed shortly after his father, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, announced he had caught the virus in late March.

But he did not make the diagnosis public “because he didn’t want to alarm the nation”, the tabloid says.

– Ryanair loss –

The Irish no-frills airline says it sank into the red in the first half of its financial year due to the pandemic fallout and warns of more losses to come.

– WHO chief quarantines –

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, chief of the World Health Organisation says he is self-quarantining after someone he had been in contact with tested positive for the virus.

“I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home,” he says in a Tweet.

– Machu Picchu open again –

The Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, the crown jewel of Peru’s tourist sites, reopens after a nearly eight-month lockdown, but for safety reasons is allowing only 675 tourists to access the site per day — just 30 percent of visitor numbers compared with pre-pandemic numbers.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.