Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. In grim milestone, United States logs world's highest coronavirus death toll

The United States surpassed Italy on Saturday as the country with the highest reported coronavirus death toll, recording more than 20,000 deaths since the outbreak began, according to a Reuters tally. The grim milestone was reached as President Donald Trump mulled over when the country, which has registered more than half a million infections, might begin to see a return to normality. UK coronavirus death toll nears 10,000 as minister says PM Johnson must rest

Britain's COVID-19 death toll neared 10,000 on Saturday after health officials reported another 917 hospital deaths, while one senior minister said Prime Minister Boris Johnson will need time off as he recovers from being seriously ill with the virus. Britain has now reported 9,875 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, the fifth highest national number globally. Saturday's increase was the second day running that the number of deaths had increased by more than 900. Latest on the spread of the coronavirus around the world

More than 1.6 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 102,151 have died, according to a Reuters tally, as of 0200 GMT. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS Coronavirus fight is a marathon not a sprint, top British doctor says

The fight against the novel coronavirus is a marathon not a sprint and lifting the lockdown may involve drugs and not just vaccines, the medical director of England's national health service said on Saturday. NHS England's medical director Stephen Powis said vaccines were not the only component of an exit strategy from lockdown. Indonesia reports 330 new coronavirus cases, 21 deaths

Indonesia confirmed 330 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking its tally to 3,842, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said. It also confirmed 21 virus-related deaths, taking the total to 327, Yurianto told a televised news conference. U.S. coronavirus deaths top 20,000, highest in world exceeding Italy: Reuters tally

U.S. deaths due to the coronavirus surpassed 20,000 on Saturday, the highest reported number in the world, according to a Reuters tally, although there are signs the pandemic might be nearing a peak. Italy has the second most reported deaths at 19,468 and Spain is in third place with 16,353. The United States has five times the population of Italy and nearly seven times the population of Spain. WHO is investigating reports of recovered COVID patients testing positive again

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that it was looking into reports of some COVID-19 patients testing positive again after initially testing negative for the disease while being considered for discharge. South Korean officials on Friday reported 91 patients thought cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again. Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a briefing that the virus may have been "reactivated" rather than the patients being re-infected. U.S. CDC reports 492,416 coronavirus cases, 18,559 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 492,416 cases of the coronavirus, an increase of 33,251 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths rose by 1,989 to 18,559. The numbers updated by the CDC on Saturday are not confirmed by the U.S. state and territorial health departments, and will be modified when tally is updated on Monday. Could the new coronavirus weaken 'anti-vaxxers'?

An American mother-of-three is a long-time member of "anti-vaxxer" groups online: a small but vocal global community that believes vaccines are a dangerous con and refuse to immunize themselves or their children. But COVID-19 is shaking her views. The woman who would identify herself only as Stephanie, citing a fear of reprisals from committed anti-vaxxers, says she is now 50:50 on taking a vaccine should one be discovered for the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. Philippines reports 26 new coronavirus deaths, 233 more infections

The Philippines reported 26 new coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday, taking the total to 247. It also confirmed 233 new infections for a tally of 4,428. Seventeen more patients have recovered, the health ministry said in a bulletin, bringing the number of recoveries to 157.