Brazil tops 1.6 million coronavirus cases, nears 65,000 deaths

People wearing face masks enjoy the weather at Botafogo Cove, as the Christ the Redeemer statue is seen in the distance, on July 5, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Buda Mendes/Getty Images

Brazil's health ministry recorded 26,051 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the country's total to 1,603,055 confirmed cases.

Brazil also reported 602 new related deaths, bringing the death toll to 64,867.

The new figures come as Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo, prepares to reopen bars, restaurants, beauty salons, and barbershops on Monday, and as Rio de Janeiro opened its bars and restaurants over the weekend.

Street shops and shopping malls in Sao Paulo will also be open for six hours starting Monday, after having operating four hours a day since they reopened on June 11.

Four top Bolivian government officials, including the health minister, have tested positive for Covid-19 within days of each other.

As of Sunday night, Bolivia has 38,071 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 1,378 virus-related deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.  

Mexico's health ministry reported 4,683 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the nationwide total to 256,848 confirmed cases.

The ministry also reported 273 new related deaths, raising the coronavirus death toll to 30,639. Mexico now has the fifth highest number of coronavirus deaths globally.

Saturday saw Mexico's highest daily jump in new cases so far. This comes just after some parts of the country began reopening measures last week.

Nick Cordero, a Broadway actor who had admirers across the world rallying for his recovery, has died after a battle with Covid-19, according to his wife, Amanda Kloots.

He was 41.

Kloots has been regularly updating her social media accounts with news of her husband's ups and downs as he battled the virus and complications, including an amputated leg. She said Cordero battled the disease for 95 days.

Born in Canada, Cordero grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, and eventually made his way to the Big Apple.

In 2014 he was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award his role in "Bullets Over Broadway," a role that earned him a Theatre World Award and Outer Critics Circle Award.

Cordero originated the role of the husband, Earl, in the Broadway production of "Waitress," as well as the role of Sonny in the musical version of Chazz Palminteri's "A Bronx Tale."

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The Australian state of Victoria, which has seen its coronavirus cases spike this past week, is effectively cutting itself off from the rest of the country.

Victorian authorities announced today they will close the border with neighboring state New South Wales starting tomorrow night local time.

This comes after a man in his 90s died of coronavirus in a hospital in Victoria on Sunday, bringing the state's death toll to 21, said State Premier Daniel Andrews today. There have been 105 coronavirus-related deaths nationwide.

Lockdowns and mass testing: On Saturday, Andrews placed 3,000 people in nine public housing towers in Melbourne under "hard lockdown." The residents would not be allowed to leave their homes for any reason, and will all be tested.

Authorities have provided meals and other essentials for the residents, Andrews said.

A total of 398 tests have been conducted so far in the towers, of which 53 cases have been found positive. Further mass testing statewide identified 127 new cases in Victoria by Sunday.

He added that his government was worried about the “vast numbers of people (in the towers) with underlying health conditions infected by this virus” and the “tragic outcomes that would come with that.”