COVID-19: Over 30.2m infected, 946,727 dead globally

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The COVID-19 pandemic has killed at least 946,727 people in the world since emerging in China late last year, according to an AFP tally released on Friday.

According to the AFP figures obtained from official sources, more than 30.2 million people have now been infected with COVID-19 globally.

The United States has the most deaths with 197,655, followed by Brazil with 134,935, India with 84,372, Mexico 72,179 and Britain 41,705

Israel re-enters lockdown on Friday, the first such move in the world to tackle a renewed spike in coronavirus cases.

The lockdown comes into force hours before Jewish New Year and extends for three weeks over other religious holidays including Yom Kippur and Sukkot.

Hundreds of Hasidic Jewish pilgrims begin leaving after massing along the Belarusian border hoping to enter Ukraine for a Jewish New Year ritual, as Kiev upholds an entry ban citing a sharp increase in coronavirus infections

Tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews, mainly Israeli but also American and French, travel to the central Ukrainian city of Uman every Jewish New Year to visit the tomb of Rabbi Nahman, the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement.

London Mayor, Sadiq Khan says that the British capital’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display, which annually attracts tens of thousands of onlookers, will not go ahead on December 31 due to the pandemic.

He tells LBC radio his administration is working on creating a celebratory event that people could “enjoy in the comfort and safety of their living rooms on TV”.

Music legend Van Morrison says he recorded three “protest songs” against the UK government’s coronavirus lockdown measures, in which he reportedly accuses scientists of “making up crooked facts”.

The Northern Irish singer-songwriter will release the new tracks — named “Born To Be Free”, “As I Walked Out”, and “No More Lockdown” — at two-week intervals from September 25.

The 72nd Emmys, television’s equivalent of the Oscars, will take place live on Sunday from an empty theatre in Los Angeles — which remains under strict lockdown — with winners beaming in from the safety of their homes due to COVID-19.

There will be no red carpet and no star-studded audience as producers scramble to create Hollywood’s first major pandemic-era awards show.

(AFP)