Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Blasts hit Dubai, Abu Dhabi ahead of first flight from Israel Press TV 31 Aug 2020 -- Three people have been killed and several people injured in two separate explosions in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi and its tourism hub Dubai, police and local media say.
• One Killed, Several Injured in Two Explosions in UAE - Photos Sputnik 31 Aug 2020 -- A number of people have been injured in UAE after two gas explosions that took place at a restaurant in Dubai and a gas blast that occurred on Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Street in the capital, Abu Dhabi.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Weekly Epidemiological Update WHO 31 Aug 2020
• Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 25.31 million, death toll at 846,557 SPA 31 Aug 2020 -- More than 25.31 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 846,557 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
• Opening up without control of COVID-19 is recipe for disaster, says WHO SPA 31 Aug 2020 -- Countries with significant active spread of coronavirus must prevent amplifying events, as opening up without the virus being under control would be a "recipe for disaster", the World Health Organization said on Monday.
• Kickstarting economies without COVID-19 plan, 'a recipe for disaster': Tedros UN News 31 Aug 2020 -- Eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic, countries want to "get their economies going again", the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, advising on the measures that governments, communities and individuals should take, to do so safely.
• Generations of progress for women and girls could be lost to COVID pandemic, UN chief warns UN News 31 Aug 2020 -- Highlighting the disproportionate and devastating socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on women and girls globally, The UN chief António Guterres called on Monday for a major push to prevent "years, even generations" worth of progress on women's empowerment, from being lost to the pandemic.

United States

• State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts California Department of Public Health 31 Aug 2020
• Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Announces Covid-19 Hospitalizations, ICU Patients and Deaths Drop to New Lows New York State 31 Aug 2020
• US Troops May Play 'Lead Role' in Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts Sputnik 31 Aug 2020 -- Senior US government health officials on Friday revealed that US military medical personnel or National Guard troops may assist mass vaccination efforts once a COVID-19 vaccine is available to the public.
• Air Force update for COVID-19 US Air Force 31 Aug 2020
• Remarks by President Trump in Press Briefing | August 31, 2020 The White House 31 Aug 2020
• Readout from the Vice President's Governors Briefing on COVID-19 Response & Best Practices The White House 31 Aug 2020
• Defense Department Aids U.S. Delivery of Ventilators to Indonesia DoD News 31 Aug 2020 -- The U.S. government's contribution of more than $12 million in COVID-19 assistance to Indonesia in addition to the 1,000 ventilators is testament to the strength of the relationship between the two countries, Werner said, adding that DOD's involvement in the shipment of the ventilators reflects the many ways the countries' militaries work together to advance shared interests.
• US Passes 6 Million Cases of Coronavirus VOA 31 Aug 2020 -- The United States on Monday surpassed 6 million confirmed coronavirus cases to go along with the world-leading 183,000 deaths the country has recorded, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

China

• Sign-up for COVID-19 tests beyond expectations in HK, defying opposition's politicization Global Times 31 Aug 2020 -- Two days before Hong Kong activates a mass nucleic acid testing program on Tuesday, the city has seen at least 400,000 sign up for the free COVID-19 tests with some testing centers already fully booked, a slap in the face of some opposition forces who are trying to discourage residents to register and politicize the issue.
• High vigilance as schools fully return 8 months since epidemic Global Times 31 Aug 2020 -- Eight months after the COVID-19 pandemic first hit China, schools from kindergartens to colleges are finally headed toward a full resumption in the fall semester. While students are excited to meet their classmates and teachers again, society faces a big test in epidemic prevention and control.
• China strengthens COVID-19 testing capacity nationwide ahead of flu season Global Times 31 Aug 2020 -- China's virus prevention authority published a plan to further strengthen the country's capacity for COVID-19 nucleic acid testing by specifically deploying facilities in local regions, which experts said will fully prepare the country for any potential recurrence of the COVID-19 ahead of an upcoming flu season.
• Volunteers receive China's first COVID-19 vaccine candidate from insect cells Global Times 31 Aug 2020 -- China's first recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine made from insect cells was recently injected in volunteers, who said they felt good and have had no adverse reactions so far, the Global Times learned from the vaccine developer on Monday.
• Anti-epidemic efforts demonstrate China's great strength People's Daily 31 Aug 2020 -- While the world continues to struggle with the impact of the sudden COVID-19 epidemic, China has taken the lead in controlling the outbreak, achieving economic recovery and advancing international anti-epidemic cooperation.
• Chinese mainland reports no new locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 31 Aug 2020 -- No new locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases were reported Sunday across the Chinese mainland, the National Health Commission said Monday.
• Gov't officials eye universal COVID-19 testing to help Hong Kong return normal People's Daily 31 Aug 2020 -- Officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government called on residents to actively participate in the upcoming universal community testing of COVID-19 and expected the testing will help Hong Kong return normal at an early date.

Europe

• European countries brace for new school year amid COVID-19 resurgence People's Daily 31 Aug 2020 -- The recent resurgence of COVID-19 in many parts of Europe is challenging the preparation work of most schools across Europe, as they are set to open their campuses to students for the new school year in the coming days.
• Germany's Confirmed Coronavirus Cases Rise by 610 to 242,381 SPA 31 Aug 2020 -- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 610 to 242,381, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday, Reuters reported.

Russia

• Russia Will Start Mass Vaccination of People Vulnerable to COVID-19 in November or December Sputnik 31 Aug 2020 -- On 11 August, the Russian government officially registered Sputnik V as the world's first vaccine against COVID-19.

India

• Health Ministry to rush Central teams to UP, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha India PIB 31 Aug 2020 -- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided to deploy high level Central teams to four States of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. These States are seeing a sudden surge in the number of COVID cases and some of them are also reporting high mortality.
• On a steep rise, India conducts more than 4.23 cr tests India PIB 31 Aug 2020 -- India has exhibited determined resolve to expand the testing which has led to an exponential hike of COVID-19 testing. Starting from a single test in one lab in Pune in January 20202, the daily testing capacity has been scaled up to more than 10 lakh in August 2020.

Iran

• Official: COVID-19 kills 109 more in Iran IRNA 31 Aug 2020 -- Iran's Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Monday that some 109 more Iranians have died from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours bringing the total deaths to 21,571.
• Iran Students To Start School Except In 'Red Zones' Next Week Amid COVID Fears Radio Farda 31 Aug 2020 -- Mohsen Haji-Mirzai, Iran's Minister of Education, said on Monday that students will start school in all areas around the nation except for those designated as "red zones" as recently as Saturday. Currently, 12 out of 31 provinces of the country are considered COVID-19 hotspots and categorized as red zones.

Saudi Arabia

• Health Ministry: COVID-19 related Recovery Cases Toll Exceed 290,000 SPA 31 Aug 2020 -- The Ministry of Health announced in a statement here today that 951 new confirmed cases of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 315,772 cases, including 21,079 active cases undergoing treatment.

North Korea

• North Korea Army Quarantines Entire Company on Coronavirus Fears Radio Free Asia 31 Aug 2020 -- Military authorities in North Korea have quarantined an entire company of soldiers who patrol the country's border with China, after it was discovered that one of the soldiers had come in contact with a Chinese national, sources in the country told RFA.

Australia

• Pressure on Aussie state as COVID-19 lockdown weighs on national economy People's Daily 31 Aug 2020 -- A lockdown in the Australian state of Victoria aimed at stopping a COVID-19 outbreak came under scrutiny on Monday, with critics calling for a clearer plan to end the restrictions which are said to be weighing on the nation's economic recovery.
• Aussie researchers repurpose SARS treatment to fight COVID-19 People's Daily 31 Aug 2020 -- In the race to find a cure for COVID-19, Australian researchers have discovered that a compound originally designed to fight SARS can also stop COVID-19 growth in the laboratory.

Other Countries

• In Myanmar's Rakhine State Mistrust Hampers COVID-19 Response Radio Free Asia 31 Aug 2020 -- The fight to contain a surge in coronavirus infections in Myanmar's Rakhine state is being complicated by mistrust of government health guidelines that leads local villagers to reject masks and embrace conspiracy theories, relief workers and residents told RFA.
• Brazil Reports 566 Coronavirus Deaths on Sunday SPA 31 Aug 2020 -- Brazil registered 566 additional coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours and 16,158 new cases, the Health Ministry said on Sunday evening, Reuters reported.
• Mali reports 16 new COVID-19 Cases SPA 31 Aug 2020 -- Mali recorded 16 new confirmed cases of Novel Coronavirus (Covid 19) during the past 24 hours,
• Nepal reports record high infections, deaths from COVID-19 in single day Global Times 31 Aug 2020 -- The Nepali government on Sunday confirmed record high deaths from COVID-19 and the record daily spike in cases in a single day.
• Canada's COVID-19 cases continue to surge before school reopening People's Daily 31 Aug 2020 -- There have been 127,673 cases of COVID-19 in Canada, including 9,113 deaths, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada on Sunday.
• COVID-19 cases in Mideast exceed 2 million with different outbreak situations, restrictive measures among countries People's Daily 31 Aug 2020 -- The total number of COVID-19 infections in the Middle East has exceeded 2 million as of Sunday. As the pandemic situation varies from place to place, different measures have been taken by countries in the region to fight the virus.
• Mosques, Churches in Egypt Emerge from Coronavirus Closure VOA 31 Aug 2020 -- Major mosques and churches reopened in Cairo over the weekend after a more than five-month shutdown. This comes as the number of Egypt's new COVID-19 cases rise again after weeks of decline.