Coronavirus: US deaths could reach 145,000 by August, researchers estimate

Coronavirus has infected more than 7.1 million people across the world and killed more than 406,500, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Here are the latest updates on the pandemic from around the world:

US

University of Washington researchers estimated on Monday that 145,728 people could die of Covid-19 in the United States by August, raising their grim forecast by more than 5,000 fatalities in a matter of days. On Friday, the widely cited Institute for Health Metrics and evaluation at the university projected 140,496 deaths by August from Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. Researchers did not give a reason for the abrupt revision. The new estimate came on the same day that Texas reported its highest number of hospitalizations so far in the pandemic and 22 US states showed at least a small uptick in the number of new confirmed cases, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University. Infectious disease experts have said that large street protests held in major US cities after the death of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, could touch off a new outbreak of the disease. A total of more than 1.9 million cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins, which has confirmed 110,000 deaths.

Brazil

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is focused on ensuring his political survival and is mobilising far-right supporters to help him do so as the coronavirus claims tens of thousands of lives in the country. With less than one-third of Brazilians approving of Mr Bolsonaro’s handling of the pandemic, and protests against him increasing, analysts say he is shoring up his base to shield himself from possible impeachment and to improve governability.

“He’s losing support and needs something to put in its place,” said Mauricio Santoro, a professor of political science at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. “Bolsonaro needs people on the street defending him.” Casting doubt on Covid-19 statistics has been a mainstay in far-right circles and Mr Bolsonaro has amplified such claims. Brazil reported 679 new Covid -19 deaths and 15,654 additional confirmed cases on Monday. So far the disease has killed more than 36,000 Brazilians, although such information is now unavailable on the Brazilian health ministry’s website. It stopped publishing cumulative totals last Friday, the day after Brazil surpassed Italy to register the world’s third highest death toll. After a backlash, a senior health ministry official told reporters on Monday that the body would restore the cumulative death toll to its website, as early as Tuesday, but with changes to the methodology for how daily deaths are tallied.

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Italy

Deaths from the Covid-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 65 on Monday against 53 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases rose to 280 from 197 on Sunday. The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21st now stands at 33,964, the agency said, the fourth highest in the world after those of the United States, Brazil and Britain.People registered as currently carrying the illness fell to 34,730 from 35,262 the day before. The northern region of Lombardy, where the outbreak was first identified, remains by far the worst affected of Italy’s 20 regions, accounting for 194 of the 280 new cases reported on Monday. There were 283 people in intensive care on Monday, down from 287 on Sunday, maintaining a long-running decline. Of those originally infected, 166,584 were declared recovered against 165,837 a day earlier. The agency said some 2.643 million people had been tested for the virus as of Monday against 2.627 million on Sunday, out of a population of around 60 million.

Germany

Total cases in Germany increased by 252 to 184,193 and the death toll by 16 to 8,674, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday. The country's reproduction factor of the virus, known as R-naught, rose to 1.11 on Monday from 1.05 the day before, according to the latest estimate from the Robert Koch Institute. The government is trying to keep the figure below 1.0 to prevent exponential growth in the number of cases and a second wave of infections.

France

France’s coronavirus deaths were four times higher on Monday than a day earlier but the increase of new confirmed cases of Covid-19 were at a one-week low.

UK

The daily number of reported deaths of people testing positive for Covid-19 in the UK has fallen to its lowest level since before the lockdown was announced. A total of 55 deaths were reported to the department of health in the 24 hours to 5pm on June 7th. The last time this particular number was lower than 55 was for the 24 hours to 5pm on March 21st, when the total reported deaths were 35. The total number of people in the UK who have died after testing positive for Covid-19 now stands at 40,597, according to the department of health and social care. The overall number of deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK, based on deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate — including suspected cases — is close to 51,000.

India

New Delhi has reversed orders that limited the scope of coronavirus testing and reserved hospital beds for city residents as the Indian capital’s caseload continues to surge. Delhi’s numbers of infected jumped to 29,943 on Tuesday, out of India’s 266,598 cases. Since coming to power in 2013, the local government led by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has prioritised investing in healthcare. Delhi has the best healthcare in India, drawing patients from across the country. But as lockdown restrictions have eased, the number of people infected with coronavirus has soared in the capital. On Sunday, Mr Kejriwal announced that hospital beds for Covid-19 patients would be reserved for Delhi residents and testing limited to those with symptoms. But the central government of prime minister Narendra Modi strongly objected to the rules, and late Monday the Delhi government set them aside, with Mr Kejriwal tweeting: “Making arrangements for treatment for people from across the country during the Covid-19 pandemic is a major challenge. But maybe it’s God’s will that we have to serve everyone in the country.”

UAE

The capital of the United Arab Emirates has extended an emirate-wide lockdown for another week. The lockdown has prevented people from leaving their area in Abu Dhabi. Movement has also been restricted into Abu Dhabi from the rest of the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms also home to Dubai. The lockdown comes as the rest of the UAE is trying to reopen its non-oil economy after the pandemic devastated its tourism and airline industry. There have been nearly 40,000 cases and 280 deaths from Cpvid-19 in the UAE.

Pakistan

Pakistan has recorded more than 100 deaths in a single day from Covid-19 for the first time since keeping statistics in mid-March, when the country imposed a partial lockdown. As of Tuesday, Pakistan has recorded 108,316 coronavirus infections, with 4,646 new cases and a death toll that has climbed to 2,172 amid warnings from prime minister Imran Khan that Pakistan is not likely to see a peak in infections before August. Despite criticism from medical professionals and opposition politicians, Mr Khan has continued to ease lockdown restrictions, saying the country’s ailing economy would collapse and the poorest would suffer most.

South Korea

South Korea has reported 38 new cases of Covid-19 and one more death, bringing national totals to 11,852 infections and 274 virus-related fatalities. Figures from South Korea’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention showed 35 of the new cases came from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, where officials have struggled to trace transmissions linked to entertainment venues, church gatherings and low-income workers who could not afford to stay at home. At least 1,300 infections have been linked to international arrivals, with around 90 per cent of them being South Korean nationals who have returned home amid broadening outbreaks in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. Officials have repeatedly pleaded for people to stay at home amid the resurgence in coronavirus infections, but they are so far resisting calls to reimpose social distancing restrictions after easing them in April, citing concerns about unleashing further shock on a fragile economy.

South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is worried that the country’s numbers of Covid-19 are rising fast. Over half of South Africa’s more than 48,000 confirmed cases have been recorded in the last two weeks, prompting concerns that Africa’s most developed economy is about to see a steep rise in infections. South Africa has the most cases in Africa, whose 54 countries have reported more than 184,000 cases including more than 5,000 deaths, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

New Zealand

New Zealand lifted all social and economic restrictions except border controls after declaring on Monday it was free of the coronavirus, one of the first countries in the world to return to pre-pandemic normality. Public and private events, the retail and hospitality industries and all public transport were allowed to resume without the distancing rules still in place across much of the world. Prime minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference on Monday. “We are confident we have eliminated transmission of the virus in New

Zealand for now, but elimination is not a point in time, it is a sustained effort.” New Zealand has reported 1,154 infections and 22 deaths from Covid-19 since the virus arrived in late February.–PA, Reuters, Bloomberg, Guardian