COVID-19 Pandemic Update: New COVID-19 Cases Hit 5-Month High In South Korea, France Smashes Post-Lockdown Record

• The U.S. coronavirus death toll is expected to pass 180,000 and could reach 200,000 by Sept. 5, according to modelers whose forecasts are shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• U.S. deaths currently number at least 169,313, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University
• Total coronavirus infections exceed 5.3 million, with the new cases logged Friday topping 60,000 after two days of over 50,000 new cases, according to the Johns Hopkins data
• California became the first U.S. state to report more than 600,000 confirmed coronavirus cases
• Deaths in California exceed 11,000
• According to the CDC, children make up more than 7% of all coronavirus cases in the US — while comprising about 22% of the country’s population — and the number and rate of child cases have been “steadily increasing” from March to July
• Italy is to shut discos and clubs and make it compulsory to wear a mask outdoors in some areas during the night-time in the first reimposition of restrictions as cases of coronavirus pick up across the country
• The first major cruise ship to resume tours of the Mediterranean since the coronavirus pandemic hit Europe set sail from the Italian city of Genoa on Sunday
• After reviving mandatory mask orders in Paris, French officials on Sunday proposed making face masks mandatory in shared work-spaces as the country continued to grapple with a coronavirus rebound
• The spike in new cases prompted the UK to impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine on any travelers returning from France
• South Korea triggered anxieties in Asia after reporting a staggering 279 new cases on Sunday

The health ministry reported 3,310 new infections on Sunday, marking a post-lockdown high for the fourth day in a row, while the number of clusters being investigated has increased by 17 to 252. The spike in new cases prompted the UK to impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine on any travelers returning from France.

While France drew most of the attention in Europe Sunday morning, South Korea triggered anxieties in Asia after reporting a staggering 279 new cases on Sunday, breaking above 200 for the first time in five months, with a set of clusters in the greater Seoul area contributing most of the new cases.

Of these new cases, 146 were in Seoul and 107 were linked to Sarang Jeil Church, which is led by Reverend Jun Kwang-hoon, a controversial pastor and an outspoken government critic. SK Health ministry officials said they would file a complaint against the leader of the church for violating social distancing rules.

Meanwhile, South Korea and the US said they would delay the start their annual joint military drills until Tuesday after a South Korean officer tested positive. That marked a 2 day delay.

Chinese state media reported that the number of people in Xinjiang with coronavirus who have recovered far exceeded the number of newly reported cases for the 9th day in a row, a sign that the outbreak in the far-flung region dominated by an oppressed Muslim ethnic group is finally starting to wane.

Only 4 new cases were reported across the vast region on Sunday, down from 19 new cases across the entire country on Sat.

Worldwide, total cases have passed 21.35 million after another roughly 260,000 cases were added yesterday…

…while deaths have topped 769,000, after another 5,000 were reported.

More than 13.36 million people have recovered worldwide.

Cases in the US climbed by 47,813, or 0.9%, less than the 1% increase over the previous week, data compiled by JHU and Bloomberg showed.

That’s below the 1% increase over the previous week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. It was the smallest increase since Tuesday.

Deaths related to Covid-19 rose by 1,046 nationwide, the fifth-consecutive day with more than 1,000, though almost 300 fewer than the previous day, according to the data.

On the vaccine front, the CFO from CureVac told the FT it wouldn’t sell its coronavirus vaccine candidate at cost, but would instead ask for an “ethical margin”. Considering that experts have widely accused Moderna and others of pricing their still-unapproved vaccines at exorbitant prices.