Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Kate Mayberry in Kuala Lumpur.
- US top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci has warned about the risks of rushing out a coronavirus vaccine before it is proved to be effective.
- More than 23.6 million people around the world have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and 15.2 million have recovered. More than 811,000 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Here are the latest updates:
Tuesday, August 26
01:30 GMT – Jump in cases from unknown sources in Seoul
South Korea’s just reported 280 new cases of coronavirus – including 264 local infections.
While many of the cases are linked to the Sarang Jeil Church and a mass rally many members later attended, there are also a growing number of unlinked cases, according to Yonhap news agency.
It says about 18.5 percent of the cases identified over the past two weeks have no known infection route, compared with 8.5 percent in the previous two-week period.
Physical distancing measures have already been tightened in Seoul and from Wednesday all teaching in schools in the metropolitan area will go online again.
01:05 GMT – Coronavirus catches world’s fastest man?
Usain Bolt has put himself into quarantine after being tested for COVID-19 on Saturday.
“I am trying to be responsible so I am going to stay in and be safe for my friends,” the sprinter, who’s won eight Olympic golds, said in a video he posted to Twitter.
00:15 GMT – Victoria reports 148 cases, 8 deaths
The Australian state of Victoria has confirmed 148 new cases of coronavirus and eight deaths in the past 24 hours.
The state’s capital, Melbourne, is slightly more than halfway through a six-week lockdown imposed as a second wave of cases emerged in the state.
00:00 GMT – Fauci warns against rushing approval for vaccine
Anthony Fauci, the top infectious diseases expert in the United States, has warned about the risk of rushing through a vaccine without testing it properly first.
Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Reuters News Agency that giving approval to one potential vaccine would make it “difficult, if not impossible for other vaccines to enrol people in their trial.”
Scientists and health experts are concerned US President Donald Trump might pressure the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the country’s main regulator, to approve a vaccine as a way to boost his chances in November’s presidential election.
On Sunday, Trump signed emergency use authorisation for COVID-19 plasma before the treatment had been properly assessed in clinical trials.
“It’s absolutely paramount that you definitively show that a vaccine is safe and effective, both” Fauci said.
23:30 GMT – UN says virus lockdowns have helped keep ISIL at bay
The United Nations said the threat from ISIL (ISIS) has been reduced by the coronavirus lockdowns imposed in many countries.
“Measures to minimise the spread of COVID-19, such as lockdowns and restrictions on movement, seem to have reduced the risk of terrorist attacks in many countries,” said Vladimir Voronkov, undersecretary-general for counter-terrorism.
Voronkov warned, however, that there was evidence ISIL was regrouping in conflict zones like Syria and Iraq, and had an estimated 3,500 fighters in West Africa.
Read all the updates from yesterday (August 25) here.
