Following is a summary of current health news briefs. India’s coronavirus cases surge to 3.1 million

India reported 61,408 coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking its total caseload past 3.1 million, data from the federal health ministry showed. India crossed the 3 million cases milestone on Sunday, 17 days after it crossed the 2 million mark. It is the worst-affected country in Asia, and third behind Brazil and the United States globally. Seoul mandates face masks as South Korea battles spike in coronavirus

South Korea’s capital Seoul on Monday mandated the wearing of face masks in both indoor and outdoor public places for the first time, as the country battles a surge in coronavirus cases centred in the densely populated city region. In May, Seoul’s government had ordered that face masks be worn on public transport and taxis, but the latest spike in cases has health officials worried that the country may need to impose its highest level of social distancing. Mexico posts lowest weekly coronavirus death toll in two months

Mexico reported 226 more deaths from coronavirus on Sunday, finishing the week with 3,723 fatalities, the lowest total in over two months and lending weight to government assertions it is beating back the pandemic. On Tuesday, the government’s coronavirus czar, Deputy Health Minster Hugo Lopez-Gatell, declared the novel coronavirus was in “sustained decline” in Mexico, barely two weeks after the country posted its highest daily new infections. EPA to OK American Airlines use of surface coating to fight COVID-19

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to announce on Monday it will issue an emergency exemption to the state of Texas permitting it to allow American Airlines Group Inc to use a new surface coating that kills coronaviruses for up to seven days, sources briefed on the matter said. EPA officials said the agency would approve the emergency exemption requests under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to allow the use of SurfaceWise2 — a product manufactured by Allied BioScience Inc – by both American Airlines and Texas-based Total Orthopedics Sports & Spine’s two clinics for up to a year. U.S. FDA authorizes use of blood plasma to treat coronavirus

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on Sunday said it authorized the use of blood plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 as a treatment for the disease, a day after President Donald Trump blamed the agency for impeding the rollout of coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics for political reasons. The announcement from the FDA of a so-called “emergency use authorization” also comes on the eve of the Republican National Convention, where Trump will be nominated to lead his party for four more years. Brazil coronavirus cases pass 3.6 million, death toll at 114,744

Brazil reported 23,421 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 494 deaths from the disease caused by the virus in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday. Brazil has registered 3,605,783 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 114,744, according to ministry data, in the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak outside the United States. New Zealand extends Auckland coronavirus lockdown, Australia case numbers slow

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday extended a coronavirus lockdown in the country’s largest city until the end of the week and introduced mandatory mask wearing on public transport across the nation. Ardern said the four-day extension in the city of Auckland was critical to enable the country to step down its scale of emergency restrictions – and remain at less restrictive levels. Airplane mode and prepaid SIMs: some Israelis dodge COVID-19 tracking

Israel’s cellphone surveillance for coronavirus contact-tracing may have overcome challenges by privacy watchdogs, but the state tracking policy is hard put to deal with low-tech evasion methods seemingly lifted from TV cop shows. Some Israelis, fearing a quarantine order after unwittingly being near a coronavirus carrier, are rendering themselves untraceable while in public by switching their cellphones to “airplane mode” or using prepaid “burner” SIM cards instead. U.S. CDC reports 175,651 deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday said the number of deaths due to the new coronavirus had risen by 1,006 to 175,651 and reported 5,643,812 cases, an increase of 45,265 cases from its previous count. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Aug. 22 versus its previous report a day earlier. Survey finds most Britons reject COVID-19 ‘vaccine nationalism’

Most Britons reject COVID-19 “vaccine nationalism”, and say they would be willing to wait until health workers in other countries have had vaccines if that would help end the pandemic sooner, according to poll findings released on Monday. Conducted in mid-August by polling firm Savanta ComRes for anti-poverty organisation The ONE Campaign, the survey found significant public support for COVID-19 vaccines being made available to all countries at the same time, regardless of how rich or powerful they are.