Australian state of Victoria battling new wave of Covid-19 cases

Medical workers check patients for COVID-19 at a drive-thru testing center in Melbourne, Australia on July 10, 2020. Recep Sakar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The Australian state of Victoria reported another 273 cases of coronavirus and one death on Saturday, according to the state’s Premier Daniel Andrews. 

The state has now recorded 1,184 active cases -- 57 of those are in hospital, with 16 patients in intensive care, Andrews said.

After weeks of keeping the virus under control, Victoria is battling a worrying spike in cases. Last week, the state closed its borders in order to stop the spread.

He urged people to follow the government's stay-at-home order and warned citizens that they would be fined if caught "out and about doing the wrong thing."

Residents in metropolitan Melbourne have been subject to strict lockdown measures since earlier this week. They cannot leave their homes unless it's for grocery shopping, caregiving, exercise or work. 

Healthcare workers test positive: Eight healthcare workers at a hospital in Melbourne have tested positive for coronavirus.

Five of those people are believed to have contracted the virus through community transmission, and not at work, the Alfred Hospital said in a statement released Sunday.

Three of the cases were identified through contact tracing efforts. Currently, no patients have contracted Covid-19 within the hospital.

Schools go virtual: Andrews also said Sunday that most students in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, a municipality north of Melbourne, will return to online learning once the winter break ends on July 20.

Andrews said that students in years 11-12 will be returning to face-to-face learning, while certain year 10 students will also be allowed to return to in-person classes. 

Education Minister Jason Merlino said the state has already rolled out 48,000 laptops and 26,000 WiFi dongles for students who will be doing at home learning.

A health worker cares for a COVID-19-infected patient at the intensive care unit of Anhembi emergency makeshift hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil on July 1. Miguel Schincariol/AFP

Another 1,071 people have died from Covid-19 in Brazil, health authorities there announced on Saturday.

The South American country's death toll now stands at 71,469, the second-highest in the world. Only the United States has recorded more coronavirus-related fatalities.

Authorities also said that they recorded another 39,023 Covid-19 cases, bringing the nationwide total to 1,839,850 since the pandemic began.

Among those who have tested positive is Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Following his diagnosis, Bolsonaro acknowledged the grave risk posed by the virus, which he has in the past dismissed as just a "little flu."

Brazil has been reporting tens of thousands of new cases, and over 1,000 deaths, a day since late May.

President Donald Trump wore a face mask during a visit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on Saturday, July 11. Patrick Semansky/AP

President Donald Trump paid a visit to wounded service members at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Saturday and wore a mask after months of refusing to be seen doing so in public.

Trump was seen briefly in a mask while walking with staff, who also were wearing masks, at the medical center in Bethesda, Maryland. He did not make any remarks while wearing one. This is the first time since the pandemic began that the White House press corps got a glimpse of Trump with a face covering.

The President's decision to wear a mask during his Saturday trip to the medical center comes after months of declining to publicly wear one -- against the recommendations of his own administration's public health experts.The President said that wearing a mask while he is in the hospital is “a very appropriate thing.”

“I think when you're in the hospital you should definitely wear a mask. That wouldn't be difficult at all for me,” Trump said in an interview with Telemundo on Friday. 

Over the course of the pandemic, Trump has refused to wear a mask in public, ridiculed those who have and done little to encourage his supporters to embrace the common sense public health measure.

CNN has previously reported that some of the President's aides practically begged him to agree to today’s mask photo op and hope it will encourage skeptical Trump supporters to do the same.

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Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan said he has been hospitalized after testing positive for coronavirus.

The 77-year-old actor tweeted on Saturday that he tested positive for the virus and asked that anyone who has "been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested!"

Bachchan is a living legend in Hindi-language cinema and many consider him to be India's greatest living actor.

He starred in his first film in 1969 and has dominated the silver screen since then. To date, Bachchan has made has made more than 180 films in a career spanning five decades -- most of India's 70 years as an independent nation.

Staffers from Colombia's Secretary of Health check Venezuelan Yukpa indigenous ethnic group member, in Cucuta, Venezuela on July 9, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Schneyder Mendoza/AFP

Venezuela has now recorded 9,178 cases of Covid-19, after another 375 infections were registered in the past 24 hours, the government said Saturday. 

At least 85 people have now died from the virus in the country. Two deaths were reported on Saturday.