Tracking The Virus Around The Globe

The Washington Post: North Korea Locks Down Kaesong Amid Coronavirus Fears 
North Korea locked down the city of Kaesong near the border with South Korea after finding what could be the country's first official coronavirus case there, state media reported Sunday. North Korea’s state-controlled Central News Agency announced “a critical situation in which the vicious virus could be said to have entered the country” after a suspected patient returned from South Korea by illegally crossing the border last week. Coronavirus test results were described as “uncertain,” but the person was still put under quarantine while health officials launched an investigation into those who might have come in contact with the individual in Kaesong, the state media reported. (Joo Kim, 7/26)

Reuters: Mexican State Health Minister Dies After Being Hospitalized For COVID-19
The health minister of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, Dr. Jesus Grajeda, has died, Chihuahua’s governor said on Sunday, nearly two weeks after Grajeda was hospitalized with COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. “I have no words to express all my feelings in this moment, except for profound sadness,” Chihuahua Governor Javier Corral wrote on Facebook on Sunday morning, saying Grajeda had died of heart failure. (Gottesdiener, 7/26)

AP: German Cruise Ship Sets Sail, Hopes Short Trip Thwarts Virus
A German cruise ship is gingerly testing the water amid the coronavirus pandemic, setting sail for the first time since the industry was shut down months ago and using strict precautions to keep passengers and crew as safe as possible. The TUI cruise ship “Mein Schiff 2” — literally “My Ship 2” — set sail for a weekend cruise in the North Sea late Friday night, the dpa news agency reported .Occupancy was limited to 60% so passengers could keep their distance from one another, but even that level was not reached. The ship sailed off with 1,200 passengers on board compared to its normal 2,900 capacity. It was not reported how many crew were also on board. (7/25)

Reuters: Bavaria To Set Up COVID-19 Test Centres At Border Crossings, Train Stations 
Bavaria is setting up voluntary coronavirus test centres at border crossings and railway stations and urged the federal government to make tests for returning holidaymakers mandatory as soon as possible, its state premier said on Monday. “We need mandatory testing at airports and we need it as soon as possible,” Bavaria’s State Premier Markus Soeder told a news conference. (7/27)

Also —

AP: Vietnam Bans Wildlife Imports, Markets Amid New Health Fears
Vietnam announced Friday that it was banning wildlife imports and would close wildlife markets in response to renewed concerns about the threat from diseases that can jump from animals to humans, such as the virus that causes COVID-19. An order signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Thursday bans all imports of wildlife dead or alive and includes eggs and larvae. It also merits tougher penalties for crimes involving the trade in wildlife. (Dinh, 7/25)

AP: Luck? Genetics? Italian Island Spared From COVID Outbreak
Stranded on a tiny Italian island, a cancer researcher grew increasingly alarmed to hear that one, and then three more visitors had fallen ill with COVID-19. Paola Muti braced for a rapid spread of the coronavirus to the 800 closely-knit islanders, many of whom she knows well. Her mother was born on Giglio Island and she often stays at the family home with its charming view of the sea through the parlor’s windows. (D'Emilio, 7/26)

AP: South Africa Warns COVID-19 Corruption Puts 'Lives At Risk'
South Africa’s COVID-19 response is marred by corruption allegations around its historic $26 billion economic relief package, as the country with the world’s fifth highest number of COVID-19 cases braces for more. President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a wide-ranging investigation into claims that unscrupulous officials and private companies are looting efforts to protect the country’s 57 million people. (Magome, 7/26)

CIDRAP: Plague Outbreak In DRC Sickens 45, Some With Pneumonic Symptoms
A plague outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that began on June likely involves all three types, including pneumonic, and has so far resulted in 45 cases, 9 of them fatal, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in a statement. Plague is endemic in Ituri province, and since the first of the year, officials have reported 64 cases and 14 deaths across five of its health zones, including Rethy. Disease levels this year are up sharply from the 10 cases and 5 deaths that were reported in all of 2019, with only one affected health zone. (7/24)

Updates on COVID cases across the globe —

Bloomberg: China Reports Biggest Virus Spike Since End Of Wuhan Outbreak
China reported the most domestic coronavirus infections in more than four months as it battles outbreaks in its western and northeastern regions, raising fears of a serious resurgence. The jump in cases is the worst flareup since China contained its first epidemic in March, which centered on Wuhan in Hubei province where the virus first emerged last year. (Bloomberg News, 07/26)

Reuters: Second Wave Of Coronavirus In Asia Prompts Fresh Lockdowns 
Countries around Asia are confronting a second wave of coronavirus infections and are clamping down again to try to contain the disease, with Australia recording a record daily rise in cases and Vietnam locking down the city of Danang. Mainland China is battling the most aggressive return of COVID-19 in months, confirming 57 new locally transmitted cases on Sunday, the highest level since early March, driven by fresh infections in the far western region of Xinjiang. In the northeast, Liaoning province reported a fifth straight day of new infections and Jilin province reported two new cases, its first since late May. (Coates, 7/27)

Bloomberg: India’s Coronavirus Epidemic Is Now The World’s Fastest Growing 
India’s coronavirus epidemic is now growing at the fastest in the world, increasing 20% over the last week to more than 1.4 million confirmed cases, according to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Tracker. Infections in the South Asian nation of 1.3 billion people have reached 1.43 million, including 32,771 deaths, India’s health ministry said, with daily cases close to a record 50,000 on Monday. India is only trailing the U.S. and Brazil now in the number of confirmed infections, but its growth in new cases is the fastest. (Pradhan, 7/27)

Reuters: Israel Coronavirus Cases Top 60,000 As Infections Jump
The number of people to test positive for coronavirus in Israel topped 60,000 on Saturday as the government struggles to contain a resurgence in infection rates.The latest daily tally showed 1,770 new infections, bringing the total number of cases to 60,496, the country’s health ministry reported.With a population of 9 million, Israel has reported a total of 455 fatalities from the pandemic. (7/25)

Reuters: Latin America Leads World In Coronavirus Cases, Reuters Count Shows 
Coronavirus cases in Latin America for the first time have surpassed the combined infections in the United States and Canada, a Reuters tally showed on Sunday, amid a surge of infections in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Argentina. The quickly growing number of cases make Latin America the region most impacted by the pandemic globally, with 26.83% of worldwide cases. (Desantis and Leira, 7/26)

Reuters: Tokyo Confirms 239 New Coronavirus Cases On Sunday
Tokyo officials confirmed 239 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, Japanese media reported, as the capital struggles with a resurgence in cases after the government lifted a state of emergency. The total marks the sixth straight day new cases in the city have exceeded 200. While Japan was spared the kind of surge in infections that have killed tens of thousands in other countries, Tokyo has raised its coronavirus alert to the highest level after a series of new cases. (7/26)