COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 7 September

Sep 7, 2020

A woman wearing a face mask travels inside a Delhi metro train, on the first day of the restart of their operations, amidst the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New Delhi, India, September 7, 2020. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi - RC2ITI9WIHTH

India now has more confirmed cases than Brazil, making it second only to the United States in rates of infection. Image: REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Joe Myers

Writer, Forum Agenda

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COVID-19

This daily round-up brings you a selection of the latest news updates on the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as tips and tools to help you stay informed and protected.
Top stories: India overtakes Brazil for confirmed cases; UK case rise 'concerning'; Melbourne extends lockdown.

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1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have now reached more than 27 million globally, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The number of confirmed coronavirus deaths now stands at more than 883,000.

France reported 7,071 new coronavirus infections yesterday, down from 8,550 on Saturday and 8,975 on Friday. Friday's total was a record daily increase in the country.

South Korea has reported its lowest daily case rise in three weeks, suggesting tougher restrictions are working.

The Honduran Finance Minister, Marco Midence, has tested positive for COVID-19.

More than 200 UN staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in Syria, the organization has said.

Indonesia has reported 3,444 new coronavirus cases, bringing its total to 194,109. It's also reported 8,025 deaths overall.

Australia has extended a lockdown in Melbourne until the end of the month. The infection rate has declined more slowly than hoped, reports Reuters.

A Reuters analysis says that coronavirus cases are rising in nearly half of US states. The analysis suggests cases are rising in 22 states, mainly in the Midwest and South.

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What is the World Economic Forum doing to manage emerging risks from COVID-19?

The first global pandemic in more than 100 years, COVID-19 has spread throughout the world at an unprecedented speed. At the time of writing, 4.5 million cases have been confirmed and more than 300,000 people have died due to the virus.

As countries seek to recover, some of the more long-term economic, business, environmental, societal and technological challenges and opportunities are just beginning to become visible.

To help all stakeholders – communities, governments, businesses and individuals understand the emerging risks and follow-on effects generated by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Marsh and McLennan and Zurich Insurance Group, has launched its COVID-19 Risks Outlook: A Preliminary Mapping and its Implications - a companion for decision-makers, building on the Forum’s annual Global Risks Report.

The report reveals that the economic impact of COVID-19 is dominating companies’ risks perceptions.

Companies are invited to join the Forum’s work to help manage the identified emerging risks of COVID-19 across industries to shape a better future. Read the full COVID-19 Risks Outlook: A Preliminary Mapping and its Implications report here, and our impact story with further information.

2. Indian cases overtake Brazil

Data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center shows that India has overtaken Brazil to have the world's second highest COVID-19 caseload.

More than 4.2 million cases have now been reported in the country, compared to around 4.1 in Brazil. It comes after India reported 90,000 new cases on Sunday - a record global daily rise.

The US still has the world's highest number of confirmed cases, with more than 6 million. And in terms of deaths, India still remains behind Brazil, with 71,000 to Brazil's 126,000.

Case rises in India. Image: Our World in Data

3. 'Concerning' case rise in the UK

A rise of 2,988 cases in the UK has been labelled "concerning" by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

"The rise in the number of cases that we've seen today is concerning," he said. "The cases are predominantly among younger people, but we've seen in other countries across the world and in Europe this sort of rise in cases amongst younger people leading to a rise across the population as a whole."

Daily case numbers have trended up in recent weeks in the UK, but hospital admissions and fatalities remain low.

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