A visitor wearing a protective masks and gloves talks to a staff member behind a protective barrier at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, US, on Aug. 27, 2020. (PHOTO／BLOOMBERG)

RIO DE JANEIRO / BERLIN / NEW YORK / CAIRO / LONDON - Global coronavirus cases reached the 25-million mark, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University. 

Germany

Berlin police broke up a mass protest against coronavirus curbs on Saturday and arrested 300 in the German capital after demonstrators failed to keep their distance and wear masks as instructed.

Around 38,000 protesters gathered for events across the city and police reported pockets of unrest, as infections rise in Europe and public frustration at measures to contain the virus grows. Similar events took place in Paris, London and elsewhere on Saturday.

“Unfortunately, we have no other option,” Berlin police said on Twitter, adding that those taking part had failed to comply with the safety conditions of the march.

At a demonstration close to Brandenburg Gate, several thousand were still gathered by early evening, some throwing rocks and bottles. Police arrested around 200 protesters, Berlin’s interior minister Andreas Geisel said, describing the group as “extremist”. Seven police were injured.

Nearby, a separate protest with around 30,000 was expected to carry on until 9 pm because demonstrators were respecting the social distancing rules, Geisel said.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Germany increased by 785 to 241,771, the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said on Sunday.

Data from the federal government agency also showed that deaths from the disease rose by six to 9,295 over the past 24 hours.

As the country saw rising daily infection numbers in recent weeks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the minister presidents of the federal states on Thursday agreed to step up COVID-19 measures.  

US

The US added 47,860 virus cases Friday, a 0.8% rise compared with the average 0.7% daily increase of the previous seven days, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The total is 5,913,913.

Another 975 deaths were reported, after three days of increases over 1,000, the data show. Total fatalities are 181,789.

Russia

Russia registered 4,980 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking its national caseload to 990,326, the country's COVID-19 response center said in a statement Sunday.

Meanwhile, 68 new deaths were reported, taking the death toll to 17,093.

Moscow, the country's worst-hit region, reported 695 new cases, bringing its tally of infections to 261,733, the center said.

UK

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that the country could face “very extensive” local lockdowns in the event of a second wave of coronavirus this winter.

The UK reported 1,108 new coronavirus cases bringing the total number of infections to 332,752. Cases have increasing by more than 1,000 a day for much of the past two weeks, raising concerns about the growing spread of the virus as the country prepares to reopen schools in the coming days.

The surge in cases has not been accompanied by a jump in fatalities, with only 12 new deaths reported Saturday, bringing the total to 41,498, the world’s fifth highest tally.

READ MORE: France sees nearly 7,400 new daily cases in exponential surge

People gather at the Victory Column in the city center to hear speeches during a protest against coronavirus-related restrictions and government policy on August 29, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

Italy

Italy’s new virus cases declined to 1,444 on Saturday, the day after the nation reported its largest increase since May. Anti-migrant politicians have used the late-summer surge to try to drum up support for tighter border controls. The government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was forced to clarify that migration policy is controlled from Rome after Sicily’s governor ordered migrant centers closed citing virus risk.

An outbreak on the country’s other main island, Sardinia, has led authorities to draw up a contingency plan for tourists who’ve tested positive to return to the mainland on separate vessels, newspapers reported Saturday.

Romania 

Romania has reported 1,365 novel coronavirus cases on Saturday as the country moves to further lift its virus restrictive measures next month.

With the new daily figure, the country now has a total of 85,833 confirmed cases, according to the Strategic Communication Group (GCS), Romania's official COVID-19 communication task force.

ALSO READ: Peru now world's deadliest COVID-19 pandemic hot spot

Brazil 

Brazil will officially announce on Tuesday the extension of an aid payment program designed to help people weather the economic damage of the novel coronavirus pandemic, a government official said on Saturday.

President Jair Bolsonaro has previously stated that the aid payments, which are due to expire this month, will be renewed through the end of the year. 

The value of future payments is still unknown, but leaders have signaled it will be less that the monthly 600 reais (US$111) that are currently given.

The Brazilian government said Saturday that 758 deaths were reported over the past 24 hours, bringing to 120,262 the national death toll from COVID-19.

The Health Ministry said that a total of 3,846,153 cases have been reported, up by 41,350 cases from the previous day.

Argentina

Argentine health authorities said Saturday that a total of 401,239 COVID-19 cases have so far been reported nationwide with 8,353 deaths.

The Health Ministry said that 9,230 cases and 82 deaths were registered over the past 24 hours, after a record daily increase of 11,717 cases a day earlier.

Of the new cases, 5,545 were confirmed in the province of Buenos Aires and 1,195 in the city of Buenos Aires.

Chile

The Chilean Health Ministry said Saturday that a total of 408,009 COVID-19 cases have been reported nationwide with 11,181 deaths.

According to the ministry, 2,033 new cases and 49 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

Chilean health authorities also reported that 381,183 patients have recovered from the disease.

Given a decline in infections, the Chilean government has implemented a gradual reopening plan in order to reactivate the economy and resume face-to-face work.

Peru

The Peruvian Health Ministry reported on Saturday a total of 639,435 cases of COVID-19, with 9,474 new infections registered in the last 24 hours in the country.

The ministry also reported that the death toll has risen to 28,607 in the country, with 136 more deaths occurring over the last day.

According to health authorities, 12,537 people have been hospitalized for the disease and 1,524 people have been placed in intensive care units.

Ecuador

The Ecuadoran Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that the country has reached 112,906 cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), with 6,537 deaths after registering 765 new cases and 33 more deaths in the last 24 hours.

The ministry added that it has administered a total of 326,552 tests for the virus so far.

Dominican Republic 

Dominican Republic health authorities reported on Saturday that the number of cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country has risen to 93,732, with 1,673 deaths.

The Ministry of Public Health stated in a release that 342 new cases and 25 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

African tally

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Saturday said that the number of positive COVID-19 cases across the African continent has reached 1,228,971 amid rapid spread of the virus in a few African countries.

The Africa CDC, noting that five African countries account for about 72 percent of all COVID-19 infections in the continent, also stressed that the death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic rose to 29,087 on Saturday.

Egypt

Egypt’s health minister warned that a second coronavirus wave could emerge due to dismissal of precautionary measures, according to Egypt Today.

Egypt reported on Saturday 212 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections in the country to 98,497, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

The new cases marked a slight increase in Egypt's daily COVID-19 infections as it was the fourth day they exceeded 200 since Aug. 1.

Meanwhile, 14 patients died in the past 24 hours from the novel coronavirus, taking the death toll to 5,376, while 883 were cured and discharged from hospitals, raising the total recoveries to 71,302, according to the statement.

Libya 

Libya reported 329 new cases, increasing the total confirmed cases in the country to 12,958, which included 1,333 recoveries and 231 fatalities.

Morocco

In Morocco, the tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 60,056 after 1,567 new cases were added, which included 1,078 fatalities and 44,618 recoveries.