Global Coronavirus Updates, August 16: South Korea reports highest jump since March

Here are the top developments from across the world:

People queue in line to check-in for the cross channel ferry in Calais, France, Friday Aug.14, 2020.. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

South Korea reports largest virus jump since March

South Korea has reported 279 newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus, it’s highest daily jump since early March, as fears grow about a massive outbreak in the greater capital region. The figures released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sunday brought the national caseload to 15,318, including 305 deaths.

The number of new cases was the highest since 367 were reported on March 8, when the country was concentrating public health tools and personnel from nationwide to combat an outbreak in the less populated southern region.

People wearing face masks queue up to be tested for COVID-19, outside a local clinic in Santa Coloma de Gramanet in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

WHO team to assist South Africa in reinforcing COVID-19 response

A World Health Organisation (WHO) surge team will assist South Africa in bolstering its national COVID-19 response, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has said. The team comprises 43 members and 16 arrived in the country on Friday. Over the last three weeks, the number of new confirmed cases in South Africa has dropped from a peak of over 12,000 a day to an average over the past week of around 5,000 a day.

“We have received queries on why there would be a need for the (WHO) surge team if we are past the surge,” Mkhize said. “I would like to emphasise for our people that we are not past anything: we are still the country with the fifth-highest positive cases in the world,” the minister said.

Ruth Irumva, right, is tested for COVID-19 at a testing center in the capital Kigali, Rwanda, Tuesday, July 28, 2020. (AP Photo)

South Africa, at present, has the world’s fifth largest virus caseload with over 5,79,000 confirmed cases and has reported more than 11,000 deaths, according to the tally by the Johns Hopkins University.

Turkey’s daily virus infection rate at highest in 45 days

The number of new COVID-19 infections in Turkey hit its highest level in 45 days on Saturday, the country’s health minister said as he announced 1,256 new cases. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that the number of seriously ill patients, mostly with underlying medical conditions, was also on the rise with 668 people.

The ministry said 21 people died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the confirmed death toll to 5,955. More than 248,000 people have tested positive for the virus in Turkey since March. Experts say, however, that all confirmed officials are undercounts due to limited testing, missed mild cases, possible government manipulation and other factors.

People wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus walk across a pedestrian bridge during a rainstorm in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Germany’s confirmed cases rise by 625

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 625 to 223,453, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.The reported death toll remained unchanged at 9,231, the tally showed.

China’s local cases fall as Xinjiang cluster recedes

China’s new locally transmitted cases of the novel coronavirus fell to a one-month low as a cluster in the western region of Xinjiang receded, data released by the country’s health authority on Sunday showed. The number of locally transmitted cases in China dropped to four on Aug. 15, all of which were in Xinjiang, the National Health Commission said in a statement. That compares with eight cases nationwide a day earlier, and is the lowest since July 16.No new locally transmitted cases were recorded on August 15 in the city of Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province, after provincial authorities there reported fresh infections a day earlier.

In this handout photo taken on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, and provided by Russian Direct Investment Fund, an employee works with a coronavirus vaccine at the Nikolai Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, Russia. (Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/ Russian Direct Investment Fund via AP)

New Zealand reports 13 new confirmed cases

New Zealand on Sunday reported 13 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus for the last 24 hours, as the country’s first outbreak in months continues to grow. All but one of the new cases were community transmissions and appeared to be linked to a cluster in Auckland where the most recent outbreak started, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a media briefing in Wellington.

The 13th infected person was a traveller returning from abroad and in a managed quarantine. The new cases bring the number of active cases in New Zealand to 69. Since the start of the year, the country has recorded 1,271 cases, Bloomfield said.

People order food on the opening day of the first Beijing outlet of the U.S. fast food chain Shake Shack after an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beijing, China August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Nine football players at University of Oklahoma test positive

Nine football student-athletes from the University of Oklahoma tested positive for COVID-19, head coach Lincoln Riley said on Saturday, amid fierce national debate over the viability of a fall college football season. Oklahoma’s Big 12 Conference said this week it would move forward with the fall football season, a cultural ritual for millions of Americans, after two of its fellow “Power Five” conferences said they would postpone play.

Riley said in a video posted to social media that he received the test results Saturday morning after his players took a week-long break from team activities, noting the new cases were the result of “community-based infections.” “Disappointed by the news, obviously. We’ve done such a tremendous job really this entire time,” Riley said in the video. “You know when you give your players some time, that there is risk in that.”