September 2 coronavirus news

Months into the pandemic that has infected more than 6 million Americans, the public and experts alike are learning the impacts of Covid-19 can drag on longer than expected.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that most Americans who have tested positive for coronavirus can return to work or school 10 days after the onset of symptoms, unless the illness requires hospitalization. But new research suggest that the virus and its symptoms are often nowhere near finished by that benchmark.

According to research published Tuesday in the British Medical Journal, patients may need to wait over a month before being retested to know whether they have cleared the virus.

The study also suggests that about one in five negative tests are false negatives, meaning many are still spreading the virus after testing negative without knowing it.

Even once patients do test negative, many report that their symptoms -- from aches to loss of smell to brain fog and affected mood -- can last months longer.

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Globally, there have been more than 25.7 million reported cases of Covid-19, and more than 850,000 people have died, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Here's the latest on the pandemic.

Night curfew to be imposed in Havana as coronavirus cases surge again: For the first time since the pandemic hit Cuba, Havana residents will face a nightly curfew and will not be allowed to travel to other provinces as Cuban authorities have struggled to control a second wave.The curfew, from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., which starts Tuesday evening local time, will last for at least 15 days, and will increase penalties on those not wearing a mask. 

South Korean pastor apologizes after more than 1,000 Covid-19 cases linked to his church: Jun Kwang-hoon, pastor of the Sarang-jeil Church in South Korea's capital Seoul, apologized to the public following his release from hospital 16 days after testing positive for Covid-19. The church attracted widespread backlash in August when it became the center of a coronavirus outbreak, with more than 1,083 cases linked to the church as of Tuesday, according to the country's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Wednesday, Jun addressed the public wearing a face mask and apologized for the concerns he and his church have caused.

Australia pushed into recession for the first time in nearly 30 years: The pandemic has pushed Australia into its first economic recession in nearly three decades, with the country's GDP contracting 7% in the second quarter compared to the prior one, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said Wednesday. It marks the second straight quarter of declines for Australia --- GDP shrank 0.3% in the first quarter --- and the largest drop since records began in 1959. 

Hong Kong relaxes some Covid-19 restrictions as new cases fall: Hong Kong will relax some Covid-19 restrictions as the city's locally transmitted cases start to drop. Starting on Friday, restaurants will be allowed to extend dine-in services until 10 p.m., instead of the current 9 p.m. rule, while gyms, massage parlors, some sports grounds and playgrounds will also be allowed to reopen.

The fatal flaw of US President Donald Trump's botched pandemic response has been a yearning for a quick return to normality that is dangerous and unattainable while the coronavirus still lies in wait.

And now he may be making the same mistake again.

When he is not diverting attention from the health crisis by stoking controversy over racial injustice and unrest in US cities, Trump has returned to his aggressive push to get the economy firing on all cylinders. A new demand for a full slate of college football games follows his earlier demands for all kids and students to get back to class.

With more than 184,000 Americans already dead, White House officials are hoping that Trump's dive into cultural warfare following protests and unrest over police brutality will to some extent cover over his liabilities on the pandemic, sources told CNN reporters.

Following last week's Republican National Convention that largely ignored the virus,Trump is making yet another premature declaration of victory over the worst public health disaster in 100 years.

But the unspoken reality of that approach is that many more Americans will contract Covid-19 before the election, and thousands more will die. That is likely to play into efforts by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to crush Trump's hopes of a second term by lambasting his failures during the pandemic.

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Scotland announced Tuesday that travelers returning from Greece would be required to follow quarantine restrictions, after "a significant rise" in imported cases from the Mediterranean country.

Travelers entering from Greece will be required to self-isolate at home, or another specified address, for 14 days on arrival in Scotland from Thursday, the Scottish government said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, the Welsh government on Tuesday said it has "identified multiple separate clusters linked to the Greek island of Zante/Zakynthos," prompting authorities to ask travelers arriving in Wales from the island to self-isolate for 14 days. 

In a statement, Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething said he has "pressed for an early meeting with the UK government and devolved nations tomorrow to consider the latest assessment of risk by the Joint Biosecurity Centre."

Greek reopening: Greece was one of the first European countries to reopen to tourists, as the country managed to keep its coronavirus death toll remarkably low by enforcing a strict lockdown early on.

Last month, the Greek government announced new measures, including a mandatory negative Covid-19 test for visitors entering the country from Spain, Sweden, Belgium, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.

It also announced a midnight curfew for bars and restaurants in 16 areas in Greece, including Athens where the majority of the cases were reported. 

The Mediterranean nation has so far registered 10,524 coronavirus cases and 271 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Hong Kong will relax some Covid-19 restrictions as the city's locally transmitted cases start to drop, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan said today.

Starting on Friday, restaurants will be allowed to extend dine-in services until 10 p.m., instead of the current 9 p.m. rule, Chan said. 

Gyms, massage parlors, some sports grounds and playgrounds will also be allowed to reopen from Friday.

However, the current ban on gatherings of more than two people will remain in place for another week, she added.

The city clamped down with harsh new restrictions in late July amid a third wave of infections, peaking at 149 cases on July 30.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong reported nine locally transmitted Covid-19 cases, the Centre for Health Protection announced.

Nearly 200 people have been indicted in South Korea for clashes over face mask requirements on public transportation, according to the country's vice health minister.

The government imposed the mandatory face mask rule on public transport on May 26.

Those who violate the rule can be denied entry onto public transit -- but this has led to several violent confrontations between mask-less individuals and drivers, conductors, or other passengers, the country's National Police Agency said.

Authorities have investigated 385 people for such incidents, of which 198 were indicted and arrested.

Vice Health Minister Kim Ganglip said on Wednesday that authorities are taking violations of this mandate very seriously, adding that nine other people are currently under arrest.

South Korea has reported a total of 20,449 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 326 deaths from the virus.

The coronavirus pandemic has officially pushed Australia into its first economic recession in nearly three decades.

The country's GDP contracted 7% in the second quarter compared to the prior one, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said Wednesday.

It marks the second straight quarter of declines for Australia --- GDP shrank 0.3% in the first quarter --- and the largest drop since records began in 1959. It was also worse than the estimated 5.9% drop expected in a poll of analysts by Refinitiv.

Authorities attributed the fall to the pandemic and shutdown measures the country has taken to contain it, though Australia had already been wrangling with issues before then.

In the most recent quarter, the closures of hotels, restaurants and other services because of the pandemic clearly took a hit: Household consumption plunged more than 12%, while spending on services cratered nearly 18%.

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The United States recorded 43,253 new Covid-19 infections and 1,067 virus-related fatalities on Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The national total now stands at 6,075,384 cases, including 184,686 deaths. 

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

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Jun Kwang-hoon, pastor of the Sarang-jeil Church in South Korea's capital Seoul, apologized to the public today after being released from the hospital 16 days after testing positive for Covid-19. 

The church attracted widespread backlash in August when it became the center of a coronavirus outbreak. As of Tuesday, 1,083 cases have been linked to the church, according to the country's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Wednesday, Jun addressed the public wearing a face mask and apologized for the concerns he and his church have caused.

Following the church's outbreak, Seoul's government said it would seek damages against Sarang-jeil Church and Jun for wasting administrative resources and money through their non-compliance.

Jun was already facing criminal charges at the time for allegedly violating quarantine and obstructing contact tracing.