Coronavirus Live Updates: India surpasses 1 million infections

Several Indian states have imposed localized lockdowns as the number of new cases continues to surge. A top US health chief has warned that infections there could soon top 100,000 a day. Follow DW for the latest.

India's COVID-19 tally crossed the one million-mark (10 lakh) on Friday after the nation recorded the highest single-day spike of almost 35k positive cases in the past 24 hours, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in its daily update.

The total confirmed cases of the virus now stand at 1003832, as per the government data, while fresh infections clocked  since Thursday were 34956, the highest single-day spike in positive cases.

Pandemic death toll reached 25602 after 687 more lives were claimed by the lethal virus since Thursday.On the brighter side, with the improving recovery rate, the number of cured and discharged cases have now increased to 635757 across the country, according to the government data.

The cases at present under active medical supervision in the country stand at 342473, while the difference between the active cases  and recoveries has been increasing on the positive side.Meanwhile, a total of 1,30,72,718 samples have been tested for COVID as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) till Thursday.

Brazil passes 2 million cases, with 76,688 deaths

US reaches almost 70,000 cases a day

India reaches 1 million cases, behind the US and Brazil

All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT) 

01:10 PM, 17th Jul

The United Nations (UN) is seeking an additional $3.6 billion (€3.2 billion) for its response to the ongoing pandemic. The world body initially requested $2 billion in March, then $6.7 billion in May, to $10.3 billion to help deliver aid in 63 states, mostly in Africa and Latin America.

Developed countries will pay “the price of inaction” if poorer nations do not receive help, the UN said.

“The response so far of wealthy nations, who’ve rightly thrown out the fiscal and monetary rule books to protect their own people and economies, the response that they’ve made to the situations in other countries has been grossly inadequate and that’s dangerously shortsighted,” said UN aid chief Mark Lowcock.

The body warned that if action is not taken, the pandemic will trigger an increase in global poverty for the first time since 1990 and push over a quarter-billion people to the brink of starvation.

01:09 PM, 17th Jul

Meidinger emphasized that his association is counting on "the renovation and modernization backlog being cleared as quickly as possible, also with regard to digital equipment and the call for funds from the Digital Pact," he said, referring to a state and federal initiative to better equip Germany's schools with digital technology.

The German Teachers' Association represents the interests of 160,000 school educators in Germany.

01:08 PM, 17th Jul

The German Teachers' Association has criticized hygiene measures for the next school year presented by the country's Ministry of Education.

"I am very skeptical as to whether these measures are sufficient or can be implemented at all," said the president of the association Heinz-Peter Meidinger in an interview with news agency KNA.

The ministry on Wednesday presented a broad set of national hygiene regulations for schools that included requiring the use of medical face masks and avoiding physical contact. However, the rules allow for the recommended minimum distance of 1.5 meters (5 feet) to be waived between teachers and students in the classroom. The ministry said the recommendations were deliberately kept very general.

"My feeling is that at present the principle of hope is being used, [hope] that there will not be a second wave when the social distancing rules in schools are abolished," Meidinger said.

The start of school after the summer holidays, no matter what form, is, in general, a great challenge for federal states, school boards, municipalities and the federal government, said the association president, who is also the headmaster of the Robert Koch Gymnasium in Deggendorf, Bavaria.

It is not just a matter of improving the hygiene standards at schools, but also of modernizing the digital equipment, he added.

01:07 PM, 17th Jul

China is now requiring those arriving on the mainland from Hong Kong to show a negative coronavirus test taken within the previous three days and undergo 14 days of supervised quarantine in order to gain entry, following a new outbreak in the semi-autonomous region.

Notable exceptions include students and truck drivers who must cross the border on a daily basis, along with "important business people" and others recognized under bilateral policies excluding them from quarantine demands, according to the official notice.

Hong Kong reported 67 new cases of coronavirus infections on Thursday, an all-time daily high. Authorities said 63 were locally transmitted and that they could not trace the source for 35 of them.