The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has surpassed 1.2 million people, according to data collected by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. The fatalities are among the 46.5 million total cases compiled in the nearly year-long pandemic, and comes as the European continent reaches its own grim threshold of more than 10 million confirmed coronavirus cases. Europe is in the grips of a second wave of the virus, with a number of nations, including Belgium, Britain, France and Germany, imposing a new set of lockdowns in an effort to contain the surge. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director of the World Health Organization, announced Sunday that he is in self-quarantine after he was identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Dr. Tedros said in a tweet that he is well “and without symptoms” but will sequester himself “in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home.” I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for #COVID19. I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home.— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 1, 2020 “It is critically important that we all comply with health guidance,” Dr. Tedros wrote. “This is how we will break chains of #COVID19 transmission, suppress the virus, and protect health systems.” It is critically important that we all comply with health guidance. This is how we will break chains of #COVID19 transmission, suppress the virus, and protect health systems.— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 1, 2020Britain’s Prince William was one of the 10 million coronavirus cases in Europe, according to British media reports Sunday. The 38-year-old prince was reportedly diagnosed in April, just weeks after his father, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, announced he was entering self-isolation after coming down with mild symptoms of the virus. The illnesses of Prince Charles and Prince William occurred during the same month British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was diagnosed with COVID-19, which eventually led to his being hospitalized and put in intensive care for several days. One bright spot in the global pandemic is Australia, where health authorities said Saturday there were no new COVID-19 cases in the country, the first day of no new confirmed cases in five months. The good news comes as the southern state of Victoria is slowly emerging from a recent uptick in new cases in its capital Melbourne that began in June, peaking at more than 700 new cases a day and 819 of the nation’s 907 total deaths. The surge led state authorities to impose a strict lockdown of the city and its 5 million residents that was finally lifted last week.
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