Health News Roundup: CanSino's COVID-19 vaccine candidate approved for military use in China; Australia sees biggest daily rise in COVID-19 cases in two months and more

Australia sees biggest daily rise in COVID-19 cases in two months Australia's second most populous state said on Monday it is considering reimposing social distancing restrictions after the country reported its biggest one-day rise in new coronavirus infections in more than two months.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Mexico posts more than 4,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases: health ministry

Mexico's health ministry reported on Sunday 4,050 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 267 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 216,852 cases and 26,648 deaths. The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

Brazil reports 30,476 new coronavirus cases, 552 new deaths

Brazil recorded 30,476 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours and 552 additional deaths, the Health Ministry said on Sunday. The nation has now registered 1,344,143 total confirmed cases of the virus and 57,622 deaths.

CanSino's COVID-19 vaccine candidate approved for military use in China

China's military has received the green light to use a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by its research unit and CanSino Biologics after clinical trials proved it was safe and somewhat efficient, the company said on Monday. The Ad5-nCoV is one of the eight vaccine candidates being developed by Chinese companies and researchers approved to be moved into human trials for the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. The shot also won approval for human testing in Canada.

Closing time for some California bars as U.S. posts record coronavirus cases

California ordered some bars to close on Sunday, the first major rollback of efforts to reopen the economy in the most populous U.S. state as novel coronavirus cases nationwide soars to record levels day after day. Governor Gavin Newsom's order for bars to close in Los Angeles and six other counties followed moves by Texas and Florida to shut all their bars on Friday. Public health officials in California and throughout the United States have identified bars as the riskiest non-essential businesses currently open.

Australia sees biggest daily rise in COVID-19 cases in two months

Australia's second-most populous state said on Monday it is considering reimposing social distancing restrictions after the country reported its biggest one-day rise in new coronavirus infections in more than two months. While many states and territories have yet to report their latest numbers, Victoria said it has detected 75 cases in the past 24 hours - enough to make it Australia's biggest daily outbreak since April 11.

Global coronavirus cases exceed 10 million

Global coronavirus cases exceeded 10 million on Sunday according to a Reuters tally, marking a major milestone in the spread of the respiratory disease that has so far killed almost half a million people in seven months. The figure is roughly double the number of severe influenza illnesses recorded annually, according to the World Health Organisation.

CanSino's COVID-19 vaccine candidate approved for military use in China

China's military has received the green light to use a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by its research unit and CanSino Biologics after clinical trials proved it was safe and somewhat efficient, the company said on Monday. The Ad5-nCoV is one of the eight vaccine candidates being developed by Chinese companies and researchers approved to be moved into human trials for the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. The shot also won approval for human testing in Canada.

Global coronavirus deaths top half a million

The death toll from COVID-19 surpassed half a million people on Sunday, according to a Reuters tally, a grim milestone for the global pandemic that seems to be resurgent in some countries even as other regions are still grappling with the first wave. The respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus has been particularly dangerous for the elderly, although other adults and children are also among the 501,000 fatalities and 10.1 million reported cases.

U.S. to extend Texas testing capabilities as long as state leaders want: Pence

U.S. Vice President Pence on Sunday said the federal government would extend support for coronavirus testing in Texas as long as necessary amid a dangerous surge in new cases after U.S. health officials had moved to curb some sites in various localities. Pence said the decision to transition from some federal testing sites was made "several weeks ago," before the latest rise in COVID-19 cases, telling reporters at a news conference in Dallas: "We'll be extending that every bit as long as Texas wants us to."

China reports 12 new COVID-19 cases vs 17 a day earlier

China reported 12 new confirmed COVID-19 cases as of the end of June 28, down from 17 reported a day earlier as the country's capital tries to curb a new wave of infections that emerged from a wholesale market in mid-June. The National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement that five of the new COVID-19 cases were so-called imported infections involving travelers from overseas, compared with three such cases reported a day earlier. The seven local infections were all in the capital city of Beijing.

(With inputs from agencies.)