Health News Roundup: Foresight to begin pliot for its COVID symptom, Sen-seekers crowd Barcelona beaches and more

U.S. coronavirus deaths surpass 140,000 as outbreak worsens U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus topped 140,000 on Saturday as cases continued to rise in 42 out of 50 states over the past two weeks, according to a Reuters tally.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Foresight to begin pilot for its COVID-19 symptom detection system

Automotive sensor developer Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd said it will begin a pilot project in Israel for its COVID-19 symptom detection technology. The system will be evaluated for several months by Meuhedet, one of Israel's main health maintenance organizations, at a clinic that serves about 50,000 patients in the city of Ashdod.

Sun-seekers crowd Barcelona beaches, defying coronavirus stay-at-home advice

People sunbathed and played in the sea along Barcelona's beaches on Sunday, ignoring pleas from Catalan authorities for area residents to stay at home as coronavirus cases continued to rise in one of Spain's worst-hit regions. As police patrolled in masks to ensure social distancing, Barceloneta beach, a favourite with tourists, reached capacity and had to be closed to new bathers on Sunday afternoon. People were queueing to access the beach.

Czech active coronavirus cases swing to new high as local outbreaks continue

The tally of active cases of the new coronavirus has risen to 4,764, above the previous high of 4,737 seen in April, health ministry data showed on Sunday. On Saturday 113 new cases were identified, bringing the total since the beginning of March when first cases were found to 13,885.

Russia reports 6,109 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours

Russia on Sunday reported 6,109 new cases and 95 more deaths from the coronavirus. The nationwide tally of infections has risen to 771,546 cases, Russia's coronavirus crisis response centre said.

U.S. coronavirus deaths surpass 140,000 as outbreak worsens

U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus topped 140,000 on Saturday as cases continued to rise in 42 out of 50 states over the past two weeks, according to a Reuters tally. Since late June, the United States has seen a resurgence in new cases and now, six weeks later, deaths have also begun rising, according to a weekly Reuters analysis of state and county data.

Mainland China reports 16 new coronavirus cases including 13 in Xinjiang

Mainland China reported 16 new cases of the novel coronavirus as of the end of July 18, up from 22 reported a day earlier, the Chinese national health authority said on Sunday. Of the new infections, 13 were found in Urumqi, the capital of China's far western region of Xinjiang. The other three, recorded in the southern province of Guangdong and eastern province of Shandong, were imported infection involving travellers from overseas, according to the National Health Commission (NHC) and Xinjiang local health commission.

Trump pledges COVID outbreak coming under control as Florida cases surge for fifth day

Even as U.S. President Donald Trump pledged that the coronavirus was coming under control on Sunday, Florida reported over 12,000 new cases of COVID-19, the fifth day in a row the state has announced over 10,000 new infections. The virus has claimed over 140,000 U.S. lives total since the pandemic started, and Florida, California, Texas and other southern and western states shatter records every day. Despite record levels of new cases nationwide, the Trump administration is pushing for school to reopen in a few weeks and resisting a federal mandate to wear masks in public.

Australia's Victoria requires masks for Melbourne hit by COVID-19

People in Melbourne must now wear masks when leaving their homes as Victoria, Australia's second most-populous state, marked two weeks of triple-digit increases in new coronavirus infections on Sunday. Melbournians not wearing face coverings will be fined A$200 ($140), said Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews.

WHO reports record daily increase in global coronavirus cases for second day in a row

The World Health Organization reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases for the second day in a row, with the total rising by 259,848 in 24 hours. The biggest increases reported on Saturday were from the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa, according to a daily report. The previous WHO record for new cases was 237,743 on Friday. Deaths rose by 7,360, the biggest one-day increase since May 10. Deaths have been averaging 4,800 a day in July, up slightly from an average of 4,600 a day in June.

Hong Kong tightens coronavirus restrictions as cases hit record

Hong Kong tightened coronavirus restrictions on Sunday, with non-essential civil servants told to work from home from this week, as the global financial hub reported a record number of daily cases. Earlier on Sunday, an event by pro-democracy politicians to mark the one-year anniversary of an attack in a train station by an armed mob was stopped by police in riot gear for breaking coronavirus measures already in place that restrict group gatherings to four people.