India coronavirus cases top 800,000

Health workers wearing protective clothing arrive to screen people for Covid-19 symptoms at a slum in Mumbai on Friday. Rafiq Maqbool/AP

India has registered more than 800,000 Covid-19 cases so far, the country’s health ministry announced Saturday.

It reported a record 27,114 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, bringing the nationwide total to 820,916. 

This is the third consecutive day that the country has recorded its highest single-day jump in new coronavirus cases. 

As Covid-19 cases continue to soar, Indian cities and states are reimposing strict measures to curb the spread.

On Friday, India’s most populous Uttar Pradesh state issued several restrictions in the state for the weekend in a bid to contain the surge, with only essential services operating.

At least 515,000 people have recovered from the virus to date, the ministry said. 

The South Asian nation has so far tested over 11.3 million samples for coronavirus, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research. 

A garment manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles with more than 300 employees infected by the coronavirus has been ordered closed after an investigation into the deaths of four workers, county health officials said Friday. 

The Los Angeles Apparel had three deaths in June and one in July, prompting an investigation, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced in a statement. 

Los Angeles Apparel was founded in 2016 by Canadian businessman Dov Charney, who previously founded American Apparel. It was first shut down on June 27 after violating the county's mandatory health orders. The company failed to cooperate with the health department's investigation of a reported coronavirus outbreak, health officials said.

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People lining up at a CityMD clinic on May 20 in Lincoln Center, New York. John Nacion/STAR MAX/IPx/AP

New data suggests that working-class and minority neighborhoods hit hardest by coronavirus in the borough of Queens in New York are now overwhelmingly testing positive for antibodies. 

But that data doesn't mean those who have antibodies are immune.

The data, first reported by The New York Times Thursday, shows that more than 68% of people tested positive for antibodies at a clinic in Corona, Queens, while 56% tested positive at another clinic in Jackson Heights, Queens. CityMD, which operates dozens of walk-in clinics in New York, confirmed the data to the Times and CNN.

While these two working-class neighborhoods saw high numbers for their antibody tests, only 13% of people tested positive for antibodies at a clinic in Cobble Hill, a mostly white and wealthy neighborhood in Brooklyn. The data suggest that while minority and working-class communities were hit hard by the virus, they may be first to build immunity. 

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Three months after US President Donald Trump suggested ingesting disinfectants as a treatment for coronavirus, a Florida man and his three sons are facing criminal charges for allegedly selling a toxic solution to tens of thousands of people as a cure for Covid-19. 

Mark Grenon, 62, and his sons allegedly manufactured, promoted and sold "Miracle Mineral Solution," a chemical solution containing sodium chlorite and water, according to the criminal complaint affidavit.

The men sold the toxic bleach under the guise of Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, an entity they allegedly created in an attempt to avoid government regulation, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement.

They've been charged with criminal contempt, conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for their alleged actions, the US Attorney's Office said. 

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Nearly 1.5 million teachers in the United States are at higher risk of serious illness if they contract the coronavirus, according to an analysis released Friday. 

These teachers and instructors, about 24% of the total, suffer from health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or obesity, or are older than 65, which make them more vulnerable, the Kaiser Family Foundation report found.

The share of teachers at high risk based on criteria identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the same as for workers overall, Kaiser said. Schools face the challenge of high traffic and tight quarters, which could make social distancing difficult.

The analysis comes as the nation is engulfed in a debate over whether it's safe to bring children back into the classroom this fall. This week, President Donald Trump ramped up the pressure on state officials to reopen schools, threatening to withhold federal funding.

But many teachers and parents remain concerned about being able to keep children and their instructors safe, especially as the number of cases surges across the nation.

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A nurse administers a coronavirus test in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 10. Nati Harnik/AP

The US had a record number of new coronavirus cases in a single day Friday, with 63,900 reported, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

There have now been at least 3,181,846 cases of the coronavirus in the US -- a quarter of the global total -- including 134,059 related deaths.

This includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

Friday’s total eclipsed the previous high reached just a day earlier, when 63,247 new coronavirus cases were reported across the country.

CNN’s map is tracking the US cases here.

Police officers and health care workers outside a locked-down public housing tower in Melbourne, Australia, on July 8. James Ross/AAP/AP

The Australian state of Victoria recorded 216 new coronavirus cases Friday, Premier Daniel Andrews announced Saturday. 

Of the new cases, 186 remain under investigation. The other 30 have been linked to known outbreaks. 

On Thursday, Victoria reported 288 fresh cases -- the most in a single day in any Australian state since the pandemic began. 

“We will see more and more additional cases,” Andrews said. “Steps we've taken as a Victorian community this week won't be reflected in the numbers until next week and the week after. That's just the nature of how this virus moves.”

The neighboring state of New South Wales posted seven new cases on Friday, its health department said.

World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks at a press conference at its head office in Geneva on July 3. Kyodo News/Getty Images

The director-general of the World Health Organization has condemned a "lack of leadership" in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and made an emotional plea for global unity, as cases soar in multiple countries and the world struggles to contain the devastating virus more than six months after it was first identified.

His intervention will be seen as a thinly veiled swipe at leaders including US President Donald Trump, who has waged a public battle against the WHO while failing to suppress the world's worst Covid-19 outbreak in his own country.

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Medical workers secure a Covid-19 test sample in San Jose, Costa Rica, on July 10. Ezequiel Becerra/AFP/Getty Images

Costa Rica announced Friday that an “epidemiological fence” will be put in place around the metropolitan region of its capital San José in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus. 

Vehicle traffic will be severely restricted in the "orange alert" area around and including the capital. Cars will be restricted by license plate numbers to only two specific days a week. Only essential businesses, such as ones involved in food provision and funeral services, are allowed to function. 

"At this point in the pandemic, the time to use the hammer has come," President Carlos Alvarado Quesada said. "Why do we have to do this? We have to do so because health is the priority. We are prioritizing the lives of people in Costa Rica." 

The country has reported a total of 6,845 Covid-19 cases so far.