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Coronavirus: Over 22% infected in Delhi

July 22, 2020

Experts believe that infection rates could be even higher in densely populated areas. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has admitted his country's COVID-19 outbreak will become even worse. Follow DW for the latest.

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Indien Symbolbild Polizei Kontrolle Lockdown
Image: AFP/N. Nanu
  • More than 22% of people in Delhi have coronavirus antibodies, a study shows
  • After much reluctancethe US president has encouraged citizens to wear face masks 
  • The Australian state of Victoria has recorded its highest-ever daily increase in infections
  • Brazil has reported another 41,008 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours
  • Over 15 million people worldwide have been infected with the coronavirus 

All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT)

23:30 We have now closed this live updates article. For the latest developments, see here: Coronavirus latest: Global infections top 15 million

22:46 Brazil has reported a new record increase in daily coronavirus cases as the country struggles to bring the outbreak under control. The Health Ministry confirmed 67,860 new infections and 1,284 new deaths in the past 24 hours. 

Meanwhile, President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for the third time since he was infected on July 7. His office said he would extend his two-week quarantine and suspend upcoming travel plans.

"President Jair Bolsonaro's health continues to improve, under the treatment of the presidential medical team," his office said in a statement. The far-right leader has often been criticized for downplaying the pandemic, comparing the infection to a "little flu." 

With more than 2.2 million cases, Brazil has the second-biggest outbreak in the world after the US.

22:20 Israeli lawmakers have ratified a law empowering the government to order anti-coronavirus measures with limited parliamentary oversight.

The so-called "Grand Corona Law" will allow the government to impose restrictions it deems urgent, with lawmakers able to review any decisions only after 24 hours. Other orders not deemed urgent will go into effect after a parliamentary review. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has said the legislation is necessary to address the current health crisis. Opposition lawmakers, however, decried the law as "fascistic and dictatorial."

"No democracy in the world would agree to cancel out its own parliament," said Yoel Razvozov, a centrist opposition parliamentarian.

Israel has so far reported more than 50,000 coronavirus cases and 400 deaths.

20:59 California has surpassed New York as the worst-hit US state for coronavirus cases after reporting 12,807 new infections, bringing its total to 413,576. 

New York, which was the original epicenter of the country's outbreak, has since brought down its infection rate. However, it still has the highest number of cases per capita, and the most coronavirus-related deaths. Over 32,000 people have died in the eastern state since the start of the pandemic, whereas California — the most populous US state — has recorded a total of 7,890 deaths.

The US has reported more than 142,000 deaths from the virus, more than any other country in the world.

19:30 Vaccine researchers have been making "good progress" in their work to curb COVID-19, the World Health Organization says, with a handful of studies already at an advanced stage.

However, the head of the WHO's emergencies program Mike Ryan says he does not envisage the first use of a vaccine in any meaningful way until the start of 2021.

"We're making good progress," Ryan said, noting that several vaccines were now in late-stage trials and none had so far failed — neither in terms of patient safety nor the capacity to bring about an immune response.

"Realistically it is going to be the first part of next year before we start seeing people getting vaccinated," Ryan told a public event on social media.

Read more:  Oxford vaccine: Will it provide lasting immunity?

A central objective for the WHO, said Ryan, was to expand access to potential vaccines and help to scale up production capacity.

"We need to be fair about this, because this is a global good. Vaccines for this pandemic are not for the wealthy, they are not for the poor, they are for everybody," he said.

19:00 Travelers entering Germany from countries considered high-risk for coronavirus could face a mandatory coronavirus test when they arrive at airports, Germany's state health ministers have decided.

Health Minister Jens Spahn and counterparts from Germany's 16 states agreed on the measure in a conference call on Wednesday.

People entering Germany from countries deemed to be low-risk, such as France, Spain, and Greece, would not need to submit to testing under the new proposal. The measure has yet to be rubber-stamped.

Germany's disease control agency the Robert Koch Institute currently deems the majority of foreign countries to be high risk.

Airports have expressed concern about the planned move and said authorities must carry out the testing, rather than their own staff.

"If health authorities order a quick test, of whatever kind, then it would have to be carried out by authorities," said a statement from the German Airports Association.

"It must also then be determined how to deal with passengers who have tested positive."

17:30 A woman from the Austrian state of Carinthia has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence for leaving her home despite having tested positive for coronavirus.

The state court in the city of Klagenfurt also fined her 800 euros ($930) for putting people in deliberate danger from a transmissible disease.

The court heard that the woman had tested positive for SARS-Cov-2  in March when she left her home without a mask to visit a post office inside a supermarket to transfer money to relatives in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The 49-year-old woman pleaded guilty but said she had left the house because her granddaughter had fallen ill and needed the money to be transferred to buy medicines.

According to the Austrian broadcaster ORF, the judge said the sentence was intended as a warning to "some in the population" that did not observe measures ordered by the authorities to control the virus.

It is the first time an Austrian court has found a person guilty for ignoring quarantine measures after becoming infected with the virus.

15:30 Organizers have published details on how this year's delayed Indianapolis 500 race in the US will go ahead on August 23. Attendance on the day will be limited to 25% of capacity and a typical ban on local broadcasters airing the race live (designed to encourage people to buy tickets and attend in person instead) will be waived this year. The 104th Indy 500 will be the first with the circuit under new ownership. Roger Penske, who has long operated one of the IndyCar series' most successful teams, completed the purchase of the circuit in January.

13:40 Austria's highest court has ruled that a curfew imposed as part of government efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 was unconstitutional. The decision came in response to a citizen's complaint against a Health Ministry ordinance in March and April that banned people from public spaces unless they were alone or with members of their own household.

The Constitutional Court in Vienna said the ordinance was based on a law that allowed bans only for specific public places, and that Health Minister Rudolf Anschober did not have the authority to issue a blanket ban.

The court also ruled against the government's decision to initially only open hardware and garden stores, as well as shops with less than 400 square meters of floor space, as Austria began loosening lockdown measures. "The Constitutional Court could not find an objective reason for this unequal treatment," it said in a statement.

Wednesday's rulings have fueled criticism from opposition politicians over how conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's government responded to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The Constitutional Court confirms the government's sloppy attitude towards the rule of law," the center-left Social Democratic Party said in a statement. The liberal Neos party, meanwhile, said the government "deliberately acted against the law for months."

13:20 Police have seized 17,000 fake COVID-19 testing kits as part of global raids against illicit food and drink products, Interpol said on Wednesday. Law enforcement collected $40 million (€34.5 million) worth of fake or substandard products in operations across 77 countries from December 2019 to June 2020. An additional 407 people were arrested during the raids.

The fake medical products were seized as countries around the world rushed to obtain supplies in an effort to curb the coronavirus pandemic. Police also found contaminated dairy products, meat from illegally slaughtered animals and food products falsely labeled as medicinal cures, Interpol said. 

"As countries around the world continue their efforts to contain COVID-19, the criminal networks distributing these potentially dangerous products show only their determination to make a profit," Interpol's secretary general, Jürgen Stock, said in a statement.

12:40 The US government is paying Pfizer Inc and German biotech firm BioNTech SE $1.95 billion (€1.68) to produce and deliver 100 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine candidate in December.

The agreement allows the US government to acquire an additional 500 million doses, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense said.

"Now those, would, of course, have to be safe and effective," and approved by the Food and Drug Administration, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said during an appearance on Fox News.

The deal is part of the Trump administration's plan to spend billions of dollars on expedited vaccine development, dubbed Operation Warp Speed. Under the plan, multiple coronavirus vaccines will be developed simultaneously. It aims to deliver 300 million doses by January 2021, according to HHS. 

More than 150 COVID-19 vaccines are currently being developed globally, around two dozen of which are already in human trials. The joint project by Pfizer and BioNTech SE is among those set to be tested in a large trial.

11:33 Romania confirmed 1,030 new cases, marking a new record daily high, the government said.

The new figures come as the World Health Organization warns of worrying spikes in southern Europe and the Balkans. Romania has confirmed over 40,000 cases and over 2,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Earlier this week, the government extended a state of alert, in place since May 15, by another 30 days until the middle of August.

Read more:Romanian lawmakers reinstate PM Orban amid coronavirus fears 

11:08 A Belgian coronavirus spokesman has warned of an "avalanche" of new cases if the country does not take drastic measures to curb its spread.

"It is very important that we work together to halt this snowball effect before it provokes a new avalanche," said Boudewijn Catry. "The situation is not without an exit, we can still change the course of events, but we must act fast."

The Belgian National Security Council is set to meet on Thursday and could decide to postpone the next phase of the country's staggered return to normal economic and social life. However, officials at a public briefing on Wednesday were warning residents to better observe social distancing guidelines and to wash their hands more often.

Belgium saw one of Europe's worst per-capita outbreaks earlier this year but was able to tame the spread of the virus. However, cases are on the rise again. There were 184 new infections per day on average last week, up by 89% over the previous seven days. The number of hospitalized cases is also increasing.

"Last week we counted on average 12 new hospitalizations by day on average, up from 9.7 the week before. We expected this increase. This indicator follows that of new infections with a two- to three-week delay."

Belgium has reported over 64,000 cases and a death toll of 9,805.

Medical workers work at an intensive care unit for coronavirus patients in Brussels, in March.
Medical workers work at an intensive care unit for coronavirus patients in Brussels, in March.Image: Getty Images/AFP/K. Triboillard

10:28 The Tokyo Olympics cannot be held next year under the current conditions created by the coronavirus pandemic. That's according to the head of the Games' Organizing Committee. Speaking to Japanese broadcaster NHK, Yoshiro Mori said: "Whether the Olympics can be done or not is about whether humanity can beat the coronavirus"

"Specifically, to develop a vaccine or drug is the first point," he added.

When asked whether it would be possible to hold the Tokyo Olympics, which have already been postponed a year, in the current pandemic, Mori said: "If the current situations continues, we couldn't."

The delayed Tokyo Olympics are slated to open on July 23, 2021. A short ceremony is scheduled to take place on Thursday without fans, marking the new opening date.

The International Olympic Committee and organizers have already said that if the Games cannot be held next year, they would be canceled rather than postponed again.

Organizers and the IOC have also said they want to simplify the Tokyo Olympics in the face of soaring costs, but have offered few details on how fans could be accommodated amid the pandemic, and whether athletes would face quarantines.

09:47 Indonesia reported 139 new deaths, marking the country's highest daily death toll since the start of the pandemic, and bringing the total number of fatalities to 4,459.

The number of infections also rose by 1,882, bringing the total to 91,751 in Indonesia, which has the most confirmed cases in East Asia.

09:05 The German job market could take up to three years to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic

"It will certainly take until 2022 or 2023 before we are back to normal levels," Detlef Scheele, the head of the country's Federal Employment Agency, told dpa news agency. "But we believe this can happen again."

Germany's unemployment rate was 6.2% in June, or some 2.85 million people. Nearly 640,000 of those without a job have the COVID-19 pandemic to blame.

"We are currently expecting a downturn that is predominantly due to the effects of the pandemic. The labor market was, in fact, in good health," Scheele said.

Many people in Germany are currently taking part in a furlough program known as "Kurzarbeit," or "short-time work," where the state covers wages for out-of-work employees or those on reduced hours whose companies are struggling amid the economic downturn.

Scheele did not agree with the notion that the short-time work scheme will simply delay a larger wave of layoffs or insolvencies.

"Short-time work is functioning," he said. "At the moment, we have no indications of a larger wave of redundancies."

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said earlier this month that while he expects unemployment numbers to continue rising over the summer, he believes the "economy will start to grow again by October at the latest."

Read more:1 in 5 children in Germany grow up in poverty 

08:27 Thailand is set to extend a state of emergency until the end of August. The announcement comes after nearly two months without local transmission, and with many people in Thailand questioning the need for an emergency decree.

"It is still necessary to have the decree because we are opening up the country for more business meetings and tourism to stimulate the economy," said Somsak Roongsita, secretary-general of the National Security Council, adding that doctors had requested it be maintained.

Additionally, faced with a labor shortage in construction and agriculture, Thailand has agreed to let in about 120,000 migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos in the next phase of easing restrictions. Further loosening of restrictions, which also includes opening the borders to foreigners visiting for medical and business purposes, is expected on August 1.

Thailand has recorded just over 3,000 cases and a death toll of 58.

08:08 Czech authorities have reported the country's highest daily coronavirus infection increase in nearly a month, bringing the total number of active cases past 5,000 for the first time.

The Health Ministry said there were 212 new infections by Tuesday night. The Czech Republic has reported 14,324 total cases, including those who have recovered or died, and 360 fatalities.

Those figures are much lower than many Western European nations, but infections have begun to rise of late, in part due to an outbreak at a mine in the northeastern Moravia-Silesia region.

The government last week tightened restrictions in that part of the country, including requiring face masks, limiting restaurant hours and carrying out border checks. However, authorities have vowed not to order another nationwide lockdown since lifting the initial measure that was first imposed in March.

08:07 Spanish Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said that a resurgence in cases in Catalonia was coming under control and that she hoped this meant there would be no need for France to close its border with Spain.

"With the latest data we have in Aragon and Catalonia we are a bit more optimistic. Catalonia has already reduced the number of infections over the last three days," Maroto said.

"Let's hope that with these better data we don't have to close a border that for us is very important for mobility with our European partners."

Spain, one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe has recorded over 266,000 cases and over 28,000 deaths. Both France and Spain, particularly the northern regions of Spain, have seen a spike in cases following the easing of lockdown measures.

08:00 Hong Kong is requiring residents to wear masks on public transit, in indoor areas — including malls and markets — and in passenger terminals. The move comes amid a spike in the local transmission of coronavirus cases. Authorities said the rule will last until August 5.

Health authorities have warned of a third wave of infections. "This is the most critical time for Hong Kong. We ask citizens to be patient and stay at home as much as possible," said Health Secretary Sophia Chan, who attributed much of the latest spike to people not wearing masks.

The island has reported 2,015 infections thus far, with 14 deaths. A further 58 cases were reported Tuesday, 25 of which came from an unknown source.

Mexico: Child labor crisis

07:28 Lebanon's hospitals, considered among the best in the Middle East, are cracking under the financial pressure and surge in patients due to the pandemic.

Hospitals are struggling to pay staff and keep equipment running, while some private hospitals have warned that they may have to shut down.

Doctors are reporting shortages in essential medical supplies such as anesthesia drugs and sutures, while facilities spend money on fuel for generators amid power cuts that run through most fo the day.

"The situation is really catastrophic, and we expect a total collapse if the government doesn't come up with a rescue plan,'' said Selim Abi Saleh, the head of the Physicians Union in northern Lebanon.

In addition to layoffs of essential medical staff, nearly a third of Lebanon's 15,000 physicians aim to migrate or already have, a doctors' union official said. So far, Lebanon, a country of 6.8 million, has recorded just under 3,000 cases and a death toll of 41. However, officials fear that that number could increase substantially if hospitals are forced to close or reduce services.

06:44 A new travel campaign to promote domestic tourism in Japan has spurred heavy criticism and confusion within the travel industry this week. 

The "Go To Travel" campaign, dubbed "Go To Trouble" by some local media outlets, offers subsidies of up to 50% on trips to and from prefectures excluding Tokyo.

Many of Japan's governors have called for the campaign to be delayed or amended out of fears that it would spread the virus to rural areas with low infection numbers, while a newspaper poll showed that 69% of the public wanted the program canceled entirely.

"There is no change to our stance to cautiously restart economic activity while asking the public to cooperate in preventing the spread of the coronavirus," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters on Wednesday. However, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike urged residents to stay home and not make unnecessary outings.

The campaign has additionally confused the management of many travel industry services. "It's clear the government is scrambling and was totally unprepared. It's also so hard to get information about this scheme because things change a lot," a general manager of a mid-sized business hotel in Osaka, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.

Tokyo announced on Wednesday morning that daily infections were expected to reach over 230 — a significant rise that Japan has not yet seen. Japan, a country of nearly 127 million, has recorded nearly 26,500 cases and a death toll of 988.

Tourists at the reopening of Disneyland Tokyo
Tourists pose for a photograph at the reopening of Tokyo's Disneyland.Image: Reuters/Issei Kato

06:11 Nepal officially ended its four-month lockdown, with plans to return to full normality by mid-August.

The lockdown was ended due to a decrease in cases, and the growing psychological impact the restrictions were having on people, said Information Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada.

Under the new easing of measures, there are no more restrictions on intra-city transport, and most government and private businesses can return to their regular services. Additionally, hotels, restaurants and travel agencies will be able to resume services within the month.

However, existing restrictions on cross-border movement, domestic and international flights, long-haul public transportation, academic institutions, entertainment venues and large public gatherings will continue until August 16.

The nationwide lockdown began on March 24, with penalties and possible prison time for those who violated the stay-at-home order.

Nepal has reported nearly 18,000 cases and a death toll of 40.

Read more:Coronavirus: Nepal's rising unemployment stokes political crisis fears 

04:55 More than one in five people in Delhi have been infected with coronavirus, according to a study released by the National Center for Disease Control.

The center tested 21,387 people selected randomly across the state, and found that 23.48% had antibodies to the virus. Adjusting for false positives and negatives, it estimated that 22.86% of the population had been infected by the virus.

Dr. Jayaprakash Muliyil, an epidemiologist advising the government on virus surveillance, added that the survey results are an average and the percentage of people infected could be much higher in certain areas, such as slums.

Delhi, with a population of 29 million, has officially reported 123,747 cases and a death toll of 3,663 deaths. The study, however, indicates that there could be more than 6.6 million cases, with most not identified or tested.

The study was conducted between June 27 and July 10, and Muliyil said the number of infections has likely increased since then. Experts also suspect that many virus deaths, especially among the elderly, are not being recorded in official fatality numbers, as testing is even more limited outside the capital.

India has the third-highest confirmed case count in the world after the United States and Brazil. The country has reported nearly 1.2 million cases and a death toll above 28,700.

Read more:India reports record coronavirus case increase 

03:37 Germany has reported 454 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 202,799. 

According to the figures from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), a total of 9,095 people have died from COVID-19 in Germany, five more than the day before. 

RKI pegged the reproduction figure, or R-value, at 1.04, meaning that on average one infected person in Germany infects one further person. The latest figure was down from 1.15 the day before.

02:44 Wearing a face mask in public is mandatory from today in Melbourne, Australia's second-most populous city, which has seen a rapid increase in cases over the past few weeks. 

The state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, reported  484 new cases on Wednesday — a record daily increase — as well as two new deaths.

With around 6,300 confirmed cases, Victoria accounts for nearly half of the total infections in Australia. 

The neighboring state of New South Wales (NSW) has tightened controls along its border with Victoria. Inter-state travel will only be permitted for work, education, and medical care.

NSW reported 16 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian saying the state was on "high alert." 

Since the pandemic began, Australia has recorded around 12,500 infections and 126 deaths.

02:27 Police in Bolivia have collected over 400 bodies from streets, vehicles, and homes over the past five days, with 85% believed to have been victims of the coronavirus. 

Between July 15 and July 20, a total of 191 bodies were recovered in the Cochabamba metropolitan area, national police director Coronel Ivan Rojas told journalists. Authorities collected another 141 bodies in La Paz and 68 in Santa Cruz, the country's biggest city. 

Santa Cruz is the worst-affected city in Bolivia, accounting for nearly half of the country's more than 60,000 cases. 

Around 85% of the bodies were "positive cases for COVID-19 and cases with COVID symptoms," said Roja. The others died of "other causes, meaning death from an illness or a violent cause."

Bolivia's national epidemiological office has said that the western regions of Cochabamba and La Paz are experiencing a "very rapid increase" in cases. 

Between April 1 and July 19, over 3,000 bodies were recovered outside of hospital settings that been identified as confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases, according to Andres Flores, director of the Forensic Investigations Institute. 

In an attempt to avoid or cure themselves of the virus, some Bolivians have taken to ingesting chlorine dioxide, according to Reuters news agency. Bolivia's senate has approved the bleach-like substance as a treatment for COVID-19, despite the country's Health Ministry warning against it. 

Bolivia has reported over 2,200 deaths from COVID-19 among its population of 11 million.

Colombia: Medical staff at risk

01:55 Japan has approved the use of dexamethasone, a cheap and widely available steroid, for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, Reuters news agency reports. The decision came after a trial in the UK showed the drug reduced mortality rates among severe cases.

The country's Health Ministry included dexamethasone as an option for treatment, along with remdesivir, in a recent revision to its handbook.

Shares of Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical, a pharmaceutical company that produces the drug, gained as much as 6.5% in early trade. 

Last month, a trial by researchers from Oxford University showed dexamethasone as the first drug to save the lives of patients suffering from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The trial was hailed as a "major breakthrough."

Read moreCoronavirus: End-of-year rollout for vaccine 'a possibility'

01:14 The coronavirus pandemic shows "no sign of slowing down" in the Americas, said Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization. She added that some Central American nations are seeing their highest weekly increase since the first case was confirmed in the region. 

Three out of every 10 people or 325 million in the Americas were at "increased risk" of developing complications from COVID-19, Etienne said.

"The impact of co-morbidities on the spread of the virus should be a clarion call to every country in the Americas: Use data to tailor your response and make health your top priority," she said.

Etienne also pointed out that the Americas recorded 900,000 new cases and 22,000 deaths over the past week, most of them in the US, Brazil, and Mexico. Infection numbers were also surging in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia.

COVID-19 rise in Miami

01:03 Ireland's government has said it is planning to end a 14-day quarantine requirement for arrivals from 15 European countries

With around 5 cases of coronavirus per 100,000 people, Ireland has one of the lower rates of infection in the EU. It will now drop a previously required quarantine for people coming from countries with a similar or lower rate of infection. 

The "green list" of countries that will not have to restrict their movements includes Malta, Finland, Norway, Italy, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Slovakia, Greece, Greenland, Gibraltar, Monaco, and San Marino. 

Arrivals from other countries, including the US and the UK, will still have to quarantine for 14 days. The list will be reviewed every two weeks, based on advice from officials and public health experts.

00:48 Mexico's coronavirus-related fatalities have surpassed 40,000, after 915 new deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours. The country's Health Ministry also confirmed 6,859 new infections, taking the total number of cases to 356,255. 

With 40,400 deaths, Mexico has the second-highest toll in Latin America after Brazil, and the fourth-highest in the world. The government has said the actual numbers may lot higher than the confirmed cases.

00:27 Brazil's Health Ministry has reported another 41,008 cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 1,367 more related deaths.

This brings the total number of infections in Brazil to nearly 2.2 million since the outbreak there began. 

The national death toll now stands at 81,487, according to ministry data. 

Brazil is the second-worst affected country in the world behind the United States.

Read moreBrazil's favelas forced to fight coronavirus alone 

00:09 US President Donald Trump has warned that the coronavirus crisis in the United States is likely to "get worse before it gets better." 

"Some areas of our country are doing very well," Trump said, speaking at his first formal White House virus briefing since April. "Others are doing less well. 

"It will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better  something I don't like saying about things, but that's the way it is." 

There has been "a concerning rise in cases in many parts of our South," the president said. 

In an about-face, Trump also urged Americans to wear face masks to help slow the spread of the infection, which has left over 141,000 people dead in the US. 

"We are asking everybody that when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask," he said. "Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact. They will have an effect and we need everything we can get." 

Trump said he is "getting used to" wearing a mask himself and that he has "no problem" wearing one. 

"I carry it. I wear it ... and I'll continue," he said in the briefing. 

Read moreOn accepting US election result, Donald Trump says 'I have to see'

Over the past months, Trump has resisted wearing a face mask in public and once suggested that doing so was a political statement against him. 

The president said he carries a mask and would use it gladly. The goal is "not merely to manage the pandemic but to end it," Trump said. "The vaccines are coming and they're coming a lot sooner than anyone thought possible," he said. 

00:00 Catch up on Tuesday's coronavirus news here.

In reporting on the coronavirus pandemic, unless otherwise specified, DW uses figures provided by the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Coronavirus Resource Center in the United States. JHU updates figures in real-time, collating data from world health organizations, state and national governments, and other public official sources, all of whom have their own systems for compiling information.

Germany's national statistics are compiled by its public health agency, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). These figures depend on data transmission from state and local levels and are updated around once a day, which can lead to deviation from JHU.

kp/nm (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)