A New York Times survey of 270 U.S. colleges and universities has uncovered 6,600 COVID-19 infections among students and staff and 14 coronavirus-related deaths.
Hundreds of the almost 1,000 schools the newspaper contacted did not reply to the questions. The statistics do not include numbers for the fall semester that has already started at some schools.
“This data, which is almost certainly an undercount, shows the risks colleges face as they prepare for a school year in the midst of a pandemic,” the newspaper said.
American educators are cobbling together a hodgepodge of plans on how best to protect students and staff from the virus. Some have taken all classes online, while other have a mixture of online and in-class learning.
China is sending seven Chinese health officials, the first of a 60-member team to Hong Kong Sunday to begin widespread COVID-19 testing in the territory. The global financial hub is experiencing a third wave of the coronavirus outbreak. Hong Kong’s new infections have been in the triple digits for the past 11 days.
Australia has not been hit as hard as some countries with the coronavirus, but the state of Victoria has experienced a recent surge in cases, resulting in the imposition of new lockdown restrictions in Melbourne, the capital, effective Sunday. Victoria is Australia's second-most-populous state.
The coronavirus pandemic, declared by the World Health Organization on March 11, will be a lengthy one, the WHO said Saturday.
Citing the likelihood of response fatigue, the health organization’s emergency committee anticipates the COVID-19 pandemic will be long and the global risk level of COVID-19 very high, it said in a statement.
So far, worldwide, at least 17.8 million people have been infected and more than 685,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
"It's sobering to think that six months ago,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said before entering the meeting as it began Friday, “there were less than 100 cases and no deaths outside China."
Lawmakers for the Navajo Nation, another group hit hard by the pandemic, approved nearly $651 million in spending to fight COVID-19. The funds came from more than $714 million the tribe received as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
About 175,00 people live on the reservation that spreads across parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. About one-third of the homes lack running water, and quarantining is an unfamiliar concept.
As of Friday, the tribe reported more than 9,000 people infected and 456 deaths.
On Saturday, Vietnam said it plans to test everyone in Danang, a city of 1.1 million people, for the coronavirus.
The country had been a success story, passing 100 days without a new case of the coronavirus-caused disease, when a cluster of cases surfaced in the popular resort city.
Forty new cases were reported Saturday and four more Sunday, for a total of nearly 600 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and three deaths.
Up to 800,000 visitors to Danang have left for other parts of the country since July 1, the Health Ministry said Saturday, adding that more than 41,000 people have visited three hospitals in the city since.
New coronavirus cases in other cities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, have links to Danang.
Also Saturday, France began testing travelers for the coronavirus when they arrive at an airport or port from one of 16 countries. Travelers can skip the test if they have proof of a negative test within 72 hours.
France is not allowing most travel to or from those 16 countries, which include the U.S. and Brazil.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have increased in France recently to more than 225,000 and more than 30,200 deaths. It is now mandatory to wear a face mask in indoor public spaces.
