NEW DELHI – India has registered a single-day spike of 94,372 new confirmed coronavirus cases, driving the country’s overall tally to 4.75 million.
The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported 1,114 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 78,586.
Even as infections are growing faster in India than anywhere else in the world, the number of people recovering from the virus has also risen sharply. The country’s recovery rate stands at 77.77% and nearly 70,000 recoveries have been reported every day in the month of September, according to the Health Ministry.
The ministry attributed India’s COVID-19 recovery pace to aggressive testing and prompt surveillance, but experts say India needs to test more due to its huge population. It’s climbed to the second worst-hit country behind the United States, and is now testing more than 1 million people every day.
India’s Parliament is expected to resume work on Monday with strict physical distancing. Parliament adjourned in March just before a nationwide lockdown was announced to contain the pandemic.
The harsh lockdown caused a severe economic crisis, with India’s economy contracting nearly 24% in the second quarter, the worst among the world’s top economies.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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– Oxford University says trials of a coronavirus vaccine its developing with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will resume, days after a pause due to a reported side-effect in a U.K. patient.
– Antarctica is still free of COVID-19. Can it stay that way? Nearly 1,000 scientists have wintered on the ice and are getting a peek of the sun for the first time in months. Now the task is making sure incoming colleagues don’t bring the virus.
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Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
BEIJING – Domestic air travel in Wuhan, the epicenter of the global coronavirus outbreak, has returned to pre-pandemic levels, authorities say.
The virus was first detected in Wuhan late last year and the city underwent a draconian 76-day lockdown as its hospitals struggled to deal with a tidal wave of cases that required the rapid construction of field hospitals to handle the overflow.
Since reopening in early April, life has gradually returned to normal and numbers of domestic flights serving the city, as well as the number of passengers, had both fully recovered, according to the operator of Wuhan Tianhe International airport. It said 64,700 passengers were transported aboard 500 domestic flights on Friday.
The airport is preparing to eventually resume international passenger flights to destinations such as Seoul, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, Qu Xiaoni, an airport representative was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.
International cargo routes have already re-opened connecting the major industrial city and center of the Chinese auto industry with destinations such as Amsterdam and New Delhi.
China has gone almost a month without registering a new case of local transmission and on Sunday, the National Health Commission reported just 10 new cases, all of them imported. Hospitals are treating 151 people for COVID-19 and another 357 people are in isolation after testing positive for the disease without showing any symptoms, the commission said. China has reported a total of 85,184 cases of COVID-19 with 4,634 deaths.
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FRANKFORT, Ky. – A prominent Kentucky infectious disease specialist who was hailed by the governor as a “front line hero” has died after a nearly four-month battle against COVID-19.
Dr. Rebecca Shadowen, who tested positive for the virus on May 13, died on Friday night, Med Center Health in Bowling Green said. Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted Saturday that he was “heartbroken” to hear of her death and urged people to follow her advice and “wear a mask in her honor.”
Connie Smith, president and CEO of Med Center Health, said Shadowen “will forever be remembered as a nationally recognized expert who provided the very best care for our patients and community. She was a dear friend to many.”
Before contracting the virus, Shadowen led Med Center Health’s work in National Institute of Health trials of patients’ treatment for the virus, according to media reports.
Shadowen had said she believed she contracted the virus after an elderly family member received care at home from an infected caregiver.
“COVID-19 does not discriminate in its ability to penetrate our homes and communities,” Shadowen said when announcing in the spring that she had tested positive for the virus.
While battling the virus, she surprised members of the Bowling Green–Warren County Coronavirus Workgroup by joining in a conference call, telling the group: “It’s a great day to be alive.” She stressed the importance of wearing a mask in public.
In his social media tribute Saturday, Beshear referred to Shadowen as a “front line hero who worked tirelessly to protect the lives of others.”
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri has topped 100,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ coronavirus dashboard cited 1,974 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 101,134. The true number is likely much higher since many people with the virus go undiagnosed.
The state also added three new deaths. All told, 1,704 Missourians have died from COVID-19.
The number of cases in the state is growing at a rate faster than most places. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that over the seven-day period of Sept. 4-10, Missouri saw the nation’s sixth-highest number of new cases.
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PHOENIX – Arizona Department of Health Services officials on Saturday reported more than 600 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and 27 additional deaths as the state’s coronavirus outbreak continues to slow.
The additional 605 cases increased the statewide total to 208,128 as the death toll increased to 5,315.
COVID-19-related hospitalizations reported by the department continued to drop, a trend that began in July after the state became a national hot spot in June.
Johns Hopkins University data analyzed by The Associated Press showed drops in seven-day rolling averages of daily new cases and daily deaths over the past two weeks.
The average of daily new cases went from 537 on Aug. 28 to 406 on Friday while the average of daily deaths went from 41 to 20.
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CARSON CITY, Nev. – Nevada health officials on Saturday reported 414 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and 10 additional deaths, increasing the statewide totals to 73,220 cases and 1,439 deaths.
Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins University data analyzed by The Associated Press showed seven-day rolling averages for Nevada’s daily new cases and daily deaths dropping over the past two weeks.
The average of daily deaths went from 488 on Aug. 28 to 299 on Friday while the average of daily deaths dropped from 15 to 9.
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EAST LANSING, Mich. – Health officials are strongly recommending Michigan State University students living on or near the school’s East Lansing campus self-quarantine because of an outbreak of the coronavirus.
The Ingham County Health Department says at least a third of the 342 people affiliated with the university testing positive for the virus since Aug. 24 attended parties or social gatherings. At least one third of the gatherings were associated with fraternities or sororities.
The health department says in the three weeks before the surge, only 23 people affiliated with the university had tested positive.
The state has more than 110,800 confirmed cases and more than 6,500 deaths.
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BLACKSBURG, Va. – The coronavirus pandemic disrupted college sports again Saturday, with Virginia and Virginia Tech postponing their Sept. 19 football opener because of issues at Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech reported Friday it had 219 positive tests among students and staff for the coronavirus in the previous seven days, putting its total infections at 633 since testing began Aug. 3. The numbers have risen steadily since students returned Aug. 24.
The school hasn’t been releasing athlete-specific results.
Virginia Tech won’t hold football practice for four days. No makeup date was announced for the game set for Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium.
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Anchorage will receive federal support to aid in lessening the coronavirus outbreak in its homeless population.
There have been 168 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Anchorage’s homeless shelters and one death. Anchorage Health Department Epidemiologist Janet Johnston says about 100 of those cases are associated with an outbreak at the Brother Francis Shelter.
The city was assigned three employees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and one from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The four federal staffers will help with on-site epidemiology, contact tracing and other management of the city’s outbreak.
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HONOLULU – The federal Department of Veterans Affairs has sent a team of health care staffers to help contain a coronavirus outbreak at a veterans’ home in Hawaii.
Officials says 10 residents have died at the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports most of the veteran home’s 74 residents have tested positive for the coronavirus after an asymptomatic staffer is thought to have brought it on site.
Sen. Brian Schatz implored the VA this week to help after asserting the home was understaffed and not equipped to halt the outbreak.
The federal health care team includes an infectious disease doctor, a facilities engineer, an infectious disease nurse, a safety officer, an industrial hygienist and a nurse manager.
The team will investigate infection control issues at the home and recommend procedures to manage the outbreak.
