Global Coronavirus Case Count Surpasses 8.5 Million

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Over the past 24 hours, 6,271 people died from COVID-19 worldwide, taking the death toll to 456,973 fatalities, according to the report. The cumulative global toll of confirmed cases has now reached 8,525,042, the report states.

Nearly half of the cases and deaths — 4.16 million and 215,903, respectively — remain concentrated in the Americas. The United States remains the country with the single highest number of people who have contracted the virus and fatalities: 2.17 million and 118,205, respectively.

Photo for illustration. Source: Reuters.

* Over 1,000 More Patients Recovered From COVID-19 in Moscow

Another 1,007 people have been cured of COVID-19 in Moscow, bringing the total number of recovered patients in the city to over 135,500, Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova said on Sunday.

"The number of recoveries in Moscow continues to grow. In the last 24 hours, 1,007 more people recovered after treatment. The total number of recoveries has grown to 135,556," Rakova told reporters.

According to the deputy mayor, recovered people in Moscow are offered to become plasma donors.

*Japan's Flag Carrier Eyes to Pay 150,000 Yen Allowances to Each Employee Amid COVID Crisis

Japan's flag carrier Japan Airlines Co. (JAL) intends to pay special allowances of up to 150,000 yen ($1,400) each to about 36,000 its employees to support them amid significant decline in the number of flights due to COVID-19 crisis, Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday, citing sources.

According to the sources, the move aims to boost the morale of employees after the company announced earlier in June that it planned to halve employees' summer bonuses over sharp deterioration in business.

The allowances are expected to be payed in early July, the media said. The total of such payments will be about 5 billion yen.

Against the background of the pandemic and the reduction in the number of flights, JAL's operating losses for the first three months of 2020 are estimated at over 20 billion yen, Kyodo says.

*Number of COVID-19 Cases in India Rises By Record 15,400 in Past Day, Total Passes 410,000

India has registered the highest COVID-19 single-day surge of 15,400 in the past 24 hours with the overall number of cases in the country reaches 410,461, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Sunday.

India keeps recording over a dozen thousand of new cases daily since June 12. On Saturday, the country confirmed 14,500 cases and around 13,500 on Thursday. According to the Johns Hopkins University, India ranks fourth in terms of COVID-19 cases confirmed since the beginning of the pandemic, after the United States, Brazil and Russia.

According to the ministry, 169,451 COVID-19 patients are currently undergoing treatment in the country. The number of recoveries has reached 227,755 after increasing by 13,925 in the past day, and the death toll has grown by 306 to 13,254.

The central state of Maharashtra accounts for about one-third of all the confirmed cases (128,205), followed by Tamil Nadu in the country's south (56,845 cases) and the National Capital Territory of Delhi (56,746 cases).

*Germany Registers 687 New COVID-19 Positive Tests as Case Total Reaches 189,822

The total number of COVID-19 cases registered in Germany since the start of the outbreak has risen by 687 over the preceding 24 hours to 189,822, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Sunday as the disease continues to spread in pronounced clusters across the country.

The latest increase to the country’s coronavirus disease case total is slightly above the 601 new positive tests reported by the institute on Saturday.

The RKI also revised the country’s COVID-19 death toll, which stands at 8,882 as of Sunday. This is one below the 8,883 deaths reported as of Saturday, although no explanation was given for the change.

According to domestic media reports, more than 1,000 cases of the disease have been reported among employees of a meat processing plant in Rheda-Wiedenbruck, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Other clusters have emerged over recent days in the cities of Berlin and Gottingen.

*South Korea Records 48 New Cases of COVID-19 In Sharp Drop From Saturday

A total of 48 new positive tests for the coronavirus disease have been recorded in South Korea over the past 24 hours, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said Sunday.

The latest daily increase to the case total is significantly below the 67 new cases reported on Saturday.

All but 8 of the 48 new positive tests resulted from internal transmission, the KCDC said.

The bulk of the new cases were registered in Seoul, as 17 new positive tests were confirmed in the South Korean capital, the KCDC said. A further ten cases were reported in both Gyeonggi province and the city of Daejeon.

Since the start of the outbreak, 12,421 cases of the coronavirus disease have been registered by the KCDC.

There was no reported rise to the country’s COVID-19 death toll, which still stands at 280, public health officials said.

The daily rise in coronavirus disease cases in South Korea fell to single figures in late April and early May, but a steady rise in positive tests has emerged within certain clusters, such as those who patronized night clubs in Seoul’s Itaewon district.