|SHIFTMEDIA NEWS| The President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, is said to be in good condition after being admitted to a military hospital for pneumonia on Wednesday, a day after revealing he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19.

A health agency spokesman said Wednesday that Hernández was receiving intravenous medicine. Hernandez said late Tuesday, his wife had not shown any symptoms. The president said he began feeling discomfort over the weekend.

The health agency spokesman said two presidential aides also tested positive for the coronavirus, but their status was not immediately clear.

President Hernandez’s health challenge comes as some hospitals in Honduras are being strained by the rise in coronavirus cases, which the country confirmed has reached 10,000 infections and 330 deaths.

The World Health Organization considers Latin America the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 1.5 million coronavirus cases and more than 70,000 deaths linked to the disease.

Latest on COVID-19

Covid-19 has now killed over 455,000 people worldwide since the outbreak emerged in China last year, according to tracking websites.

Here are the developments for June 19:

Brazil on the brink of 1 million coronavirus cases –

China reports 32 new cases

Mainland China reported 32 new coronavirus cases, 25 of which were reported in the capital city Beijing, China’s National Health Commission said.

This compared with 28 confirmed cases a day earlier, 21 of which were in Beijing. Local authorities are restricting the movement of people in the capital and stepping up other measures to prevent the virus from spreading further following a series of local infections.

Another five asymptomatic Covid-19 patients, those who are infected with the coronavirus but show no symptoms, were also reported as of June 18 compared with eight a day earlier.

Africa cases rise to 267,000

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent surpassed 267,519 as of Thursday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC in its latest situation update said that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across Africa rose from 259,036 on Wednesday afternoon to 267,519 as of Thursday afternoon.

The continental disease control and prevention agency also disclosed that the death toll from the pandemic also rose from 6,999 on Wednesday to 7,197 as of Thursday afternoon.

The Africa CDC, which noted that the virus had spread into 54 African countries, said that some 122,661 people who were infected with COVID-19 had recovered across the continent as of the stated period.

Amid the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the African continent, the highly affected African countries include South Africa with 80,412 confirmed cases, Egypt with 49,219 confirmed cases, Nigeria with 17,735 confirmed cases, Ghana with 12,590 confirmed cases, and Algeria with 11,268 confirmed cases, it was noted.

When the population is taken into consideration, Djibouti, Sao Tome, and Principe, Gabon, Cape Verde, and Equatorial Guinea, are reporting the most cumulative COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population within the continent, according to the Africa CDC.

The Africa CDC also said that the Southern Africa region is now the most affected area across the continent in terms of positive COVID-19 cases, overtaking the Northern Africa region. Western Africa region is the third-most affected area in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases.

According to figures from the Africa CDC, during the past week, some 55,612 new COVID-19 cases have been reported across the continent, which the Africa CDC said has registered a 27 percent increase in new COVID-19 cases compared to what was reported in the previous week.

Five countries account for 63 percent of the new COVID-19 cases reported over the past week that are South Africa with 34 percent, Egypt with 16 percent, Nigeria with 6 percent, Ghana with 4 percent, and Cameroon with 3 percent, it was noted.