Health News Roundup: Indonesia reports 700 new coronavirus infections; Lack of protective gear leaves Mexican nurses in fear and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Indonesia reports 700 new coronavirus infections

Indonesia reported on Sunday 700 new coronavirus infections, taking the tally in the Southeast Asian nation to 26,473, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto. Yurianto reported 40 new deaths from COVID-19, taking the total to 1,613, while 7,308 have recovered.

Lack of protective gear leaves Mexican nurses battling pandemic in fear

As a nurse on the front lines of Mexico's coronavirus battle, Gisela Hernandez has stayed away from her children for nearly two months, sleeping in a hotel and even her car to avoid infecting them because she feels inadequately protected at work. At night, she video calls Santiago, 5 and Renata, 9, who are both asthmatic, to hear about what they've done during the day and remind them how much she misses them.

Mexico counts 9,779 coronavirus deaths, 87,512 cases

Mexico on Saturday registered 2,885 new cases of coronavirus and 364 more deaths, bringing the total numbers to 87,512 cases and 9,779 fatalities, according to data from health authorities.

U.S. CDC reports total of 1,761,503 coronavirus cases, 103,700 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported a total 1,761,503 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 23,553 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 915 to 103,700. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. EDT on May 30 versus its previous report released on Saturday.

Singapore's health ministry confirms 518 more coronavirus cases

Singapore has confirmed 518 more coronavirus infections, the health ministry said on Sunday, taking its tally to 34,884. Migrant workers living in dormitories make up the vast majority of the new cases, the ministry said in a statement.

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 286 to 181,482

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 286 to 181,482, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday. The reported death toll rose by 11 to 8,500, the data showed.

Global coronavirus cases surpass 6 million

Global coronavirus cases surpassed 6 million on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally, as Latin America reported a grim milestone of 50,000 deaths from the disease. Countries such as Brazil, Chile, and Mexico are struggling to stem the spread of the virus, which initially peaked in China in February before large-scale outbreaks followed in Europe and the United States.

Workers living in Mexico helping California's pandemic health response

Hundreds of Mexicans and Americans who live south of the border enter southern California's hospitals every day. But these are not the patients — they are medical workers and support staff keeping a saturated healthcare system running amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Chile surpasses 1,000 coronavirus deaths, almost 100,000 cases confirmed

More than 1,000 people have died from the coronavirus in Chile, the health ministry reported on Sunday, with 827 of the deaths occurring in May alone as the pandemic spreads quickly in the South American mining powerhouse. The country has had 99,688 confirmed cases of the disease so far, 1,054 of them fatal, the ministry said.

New coronavirus losing potency, top Italian doctor says

The new coronavirus is losing its potency and has become much less lethal, a senior Italian doctor said on Sunday. "In reality, the virus clinically no longer exists in Italy," said Alberto Zangrillo, the head of the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan in the northern region of Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of Italy's coronavirus contagion.