World Coronavirus Dispatch: At 800,000, global deaths hit one every 15 secs

Biden willing to 'shut down' US to contain Covid, Germany holds crowded concerts to study risks, 17 die in Australia's second wave and other pandemic-related news across the globe

The global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 800,000 on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally, with the US, Brazil and India leading the rise in fatalities. That equates to 246 people per hour, or one person every 15 seconds. The rate of deaths is holding steady with it taking 17 days to go from 700,000 to 800,000 deaths — the same time it took to go from 600,000 to 700,000. Read more here

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total Confirmed Cases: 23,203,532

Change Over Yesterday: 234,442

Total Deaths: 804,431

Total Recovered: 14,912,501

Nations hit with most cases: US (5,668,245), Brazil (3,582,362), India (3,044,940), Russia (949,531) and South Africa (607,045)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Biden says he is willing to ‘shut down’ US to contain Covid-19: “I will be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives because we cannot get the country moving, until we control the virus,” said Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in an interview. When asked if he would be willing to shut the country down if that was recommended, Biden replied: “I would shut it down, I would listen to the scientists.” Read more here

Children aged 12 and over should wear masks – WHO: The agency has issued guidance saying children over the age of 12 should wear masks, in line with recommended practice for adults in their country or area. It admits little is known about how children transmit the virus but cites evidence that teenagers can infect others in the same way as adults. Read more here

Germany holds crowded concerts to study risks: Scientists in Germany have held three pop concerts in a single day to investigate the risks posed by mass indoor events during the pandemic. About 1,500 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 50 - only a third of the expected number - took part. Read more here

Australia wrestles with coronavirus second-wave, 17 more dead: Australia recorded a further 17 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday but infections in the hard-hit state of Victoria, the site of all the latest deaths, are showing a downward trend. Victoria accounts for over 80 percent of Australia’s Covid-19 deaths. Read more here

Coronavirus spread largely among under 40-year-olds in France – minister: The coronavirus is circulating four times more among people under 40 in France than over among 65-year-olds, France’s health minister said, though he warned that contamination was on the rise among the elderly and more vulnerable too. Read more here

UN: Discussions with Russia on Covid-19 vaccine under way: The WHO’s Europe office said it has begun discussions with Russia to try to obtain more information about the experimental Covid-19 vaccine the country recently approved. Last week, Russia became the first country in the world to license a coronavirus vaccine. Read more here

Specials

Dozens of WWII veterans to gather in Hawaii amid pandemic
 

Several dozen aging US veterans, including some who were in Tokyo Bay as swarms of warplanes buzzed overhead and nations converged to end World War II, will gather on a battleship in Pearl Harbor next month to mark the 75th anniversary of Japan’s surrender, even if it means the vulnerable group may be risking their lives again amid the coronavirus pandemic. The 75th anniversary was meant to be a blockbuster event, and the veterans have been looking forward to it for years. There were to be thousands of people watching in Hawaii as parades marched through Waikiki, vintage warbirds flying overhead, and gala dinners to honor the veterans. Read more here

Japan museum portrays pandemic life through everyday things
 

Takeout menus. Directions for attending a funeral. A leaflet from a local shrine, announcing the cancellation of summer festivals. These humble, everyday artifacts of life in the pandemic have found a home in the Historical Museum of Urahoro, in Hokkaido, northern Japan, a town of just 4,500 residents that lacks a McDonald’s or movie theater. But thanks to the museum’s curator, Makoto Mochida, it has a repository of the dross of the moment, stuff that may tell future generations what it was like to live in the time of Covid-19 — how life was profoundly changed with social distancing and growing fears over the outbreak. Read more here (https://apnews.com/141d00ac816f80995b27ae8dc6b74f4a)

Dot-Com survivors give their verdict on the current tech boom
 

The Nasdaq 100 Index is at a record while retail trading is booming. The priciest stocks -- mostly technology companies -- are at the steepest premium ever versus cheap shares, by some measures. Tesla Inc. is trading at more than 800-times earnings while an electric-truck peer, which made just $36,000 last quarter by installing solar panels for its founder, is valued at $16 billion. This may not be the dot-com bubble. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s no bubble at all. Read more here

Long-read

‘Desperation science’ slows the hunt for coronavirus drugs

Desperate to solve the deadly conundrum of -19, the world is clamoring for fast answers and solutions from a research system not built for haste. The ironic, and perhaps tragic, result: Scientific shortcuts have slowed understanding of the disease and delayed the ability to find out which drugs help, hurt or have no effect at all. As deaths from the coronavirus relentlessly mounted into the hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands of doctors and patients rushed to use drugs before they could be proved safe or effective. A slew of low-quality studies clouded the picture even more. Read more here