Health and Healthcare Systems

COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 28 September

A man sanitizes railings in the premises of Taj Mahal after authorities reopened the monument to visitors, amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Agra, India, September 21, 2020. REUTERS/Alasdair Pal - RC2U2J9V4ERK

The Taj Mahal has reopened to visitors despite the rise in infections. Image: REUTERS/Alasdair Pal

Briony Harris
Senior Writer, Forum Agenda
  • This daily round-up brings you a selection of the latest news updates on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as tips and tools to help you stay informed and protected.
  • Top stories: India reports more than 6 million cases; Europe further tightens restrictions; China targets frozen food imports to stop the virus spreading.
Have you read?

1. India could become the world's worst affected country

Global deaths from the pandemic have now reached more than 997,000 while global cases have risen to more than 33 million according to data from the Johns Hopkins University.

This tally of deaths is likely to rise to above 1 million shortly and the World Health Organization has warned that the pandemic may eventually cause 2 million deaths before an effective vaccine is rolled out.

India’s coronavirus cases have now topped 6 million after it reported 82,170 new infections in the last 24 hours. Infections are rising faster than anywhere else in the world.

Restrictions began to be lifted in June, despite the fact that cases have continued to rise.

Discover

What is the World Economic Forum doing about the coronavirus outbreak?

2. China acts to prevent future outbreaks

Beijing has said it will protect healthcare workers who warn of emerging health emergencies. The move comes after criticism of the treatment of medical staff in Wuhan when they first warned about a new and unknown disease at the end of 2019.

It now says it will offer a reward to health workers who alert the authorities to new threats, and will also ensure their safety and legal rights are protected.

China had reported no local infections of the coronavirus for more than a month

However, it has detected cases of the virus on imported seafood products, raising new fears that the virus could travel via refrigerated supply chains.

coronavirus cases confirmed COVID-19
The rise and fall of confirmed cases. Image: Our World in Data

3. Tighter restrictions in Europe

France, Spain and the UK are all seeing rising case numbers as winter approaches, and are imposing tighter restrictions as a result.

More than 1 million people in and around Madrid will not be able to leave their area except for school or work. And the Spanish government wants local officials to go further and impose a citywide lockdown, despite a backlash of protests against the new measures.

Nearly two-thirds of Wales’ population is now under lockdown, with households not allowed to mix. Elsewhere in the UK, much of the focus has been on the impact of students starting university, with thousands of students now confined to their halls of residence.

Also in Europe, the Czech Republic is becoming a new hotspot, reporting 1,305 new cases on Sunday, while Russia has reported 8,135 cases in the past 24 hours.

Loading...
Loading...
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Global Health

Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Global Health is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

Intelligent Clinical Trials: Using Generative AI to Fast-Track Therapeutic Innovations

2:25

Meet Liv, the AI helper supporting people recently diagnosed with dementia

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum