World Coronavirus Dispatch: Death toll crosses 600,000, quarter in US alone

Israelis protest govt handling of Covid, 100 new cases in Hong Kong on Sunday, food prices shoot up in Africa and other pandemic-related news across the globe

More than 600,000 people have died with the coronavirus around the world, nearly a quarter of them in the US. The World Health Organization reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases for the second day in a row, with the total rising by 259,848 in 24 hours. The US, Brazil, India and South Africa were among the countries that reported a rapid daily increase. Read more here

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total Confirmed Cases: 14,292,005

Change Over Yesterday: 173,890


Total Deaths: 602,138


Total Recovered: 8,031,031

Nations hit with most cases: US (3,711,464), Brazil (2,074,860), India (1,077,781), Russia (764,215) and South Africa (350,879)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center 

Israelis protest against Netanyahu, govt handling of Covid-19: Hit by high unemployment, a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases and reimposed coronavirus curbs, Israelis have taken to the streets in almost daily demonstrations against the government.

Public anger has been compounded by corruption alleged against Netanyahu, who went on trial in May for bribery, fraud and breach of trust - charges he denies. Read more here

Hong Kong saw record 100 new cases on Sunday: Hong Kong set a single-day record on Sunday with more than 100 new coronavirus infections. The latest virus outbreak in the Asian financial hub has exceeded the magnitude of its previous waves, a sign the worst may be yet to come in the pandemic. Read more here
 

In central Beijing, 400 luxury condos sell out in a day: A surge in condominium sales helped China's economy grow at a better-than-expected rate in the April-June quarter. Although the price for the accommodation was 98,000 yuan ($14,000) per sq. meter, the condos are still attracting buyers. According to a sales assistant, "50 of the 400 flats for sale were sold in June alone." Read more here

UN chief to world leaders: 'Inequality starts at the top': UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday accused world powers of ignoring inequality in global institutions, but said the coronavirus pandemic has created a "generational opportunity" to build a more equal, sustainable world. Read more here

Specials

How the coronavirus jacked up food prices in Africa: Panic buying and lockdown-driven price increases pushed up food prices in major economies in sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s most food-insecure region. Data for South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria published in the past week show food prices among the main contributors to headline inflation. About 30 per cent of households reported severe food insecurity last month due to a lack of money or other resources, compared with 5.9 per cent at the start of 2019. Read more here

Are mutations making SARS-CoV-2 more infectious?
 

This coronavirus is actually changing very slowly compared with a virus-like flu. With relatively low levels of natural immunity in the population, no vaccine and few effective treatments, there's no pressure on it to adapt. So far, it's doing a good job of keeping itself in circulation as it is. The notable mutation - named D614G and situated within the protein making up the virus's "spike" it uses to break into our cells - appeared sometime after the initial Wuhan outbreak, probably in Italy. It is now seen in as many as 97 per cent of samples around the world. Read more here 

Podcast
: A Historian's View on Coronavirus featuring Niall Ferguson

In January, Stanford historian and author Niall Ferguson saw the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan for what it was - a pandemic in the making. But what can history teach us about recovery and the road ahead? Listen here