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What you need to know about the coronavirus today

Coronavirus mutation
The increasingly common D614G mutation of the novel coronavirus found in Europe, North America and parts of Asia may be more infectious but appears less deadly, according to Paul Tambyah, senior consultant at the National University of Singapore and president-elect of the International Society of Infectious Diseases.

Evidence suggests the proliferation of this mutation in some parts of the world has coincided with a drop in death rates, suggesting it is less lethal, said Tambyah, adding that most viruses tend to become less virulent as they mutate.

“It is in the virus’ interest to infect more people but not to kill them because a virus depends on the host for food and for shelter,” he said. Scientists discovered the mutation as early as February, the World Health Organization said.

Younger adults increasingly unknowing carriers
The spread of the coronavirus is being increasingly driven by people aged in their 20s, 30s and 40s and many are not aware that they have been infected, the World Health Organization’s regional director for the Western Pacific said on Tuesday.

“This increases the risk of spillovers to the more vulnerable: the elderly, the sick people in long-term care, people who live in densely populated areas and underserved areas,” Takeshi Kasai told a virtual briefing.

Link to diabetes?
Cases of type 1 diabetes among children in a small UK study almost doubled during the peak of Britain’s COVID-19 epidemic, suggesting a possible link between the two diseases that needs more investigation, scientists said.

While the study is based on only a handful of cases, it is the first to link COVID-19 and new-onset type 1 diabetes in children, and doctors should be on the look-out, the Imperial College London researchers said.

“Our analysis shows that during the peak of the pandemic the number of new cases of type 1 diabetes in children was unusually high in two of the hospitals (we studied) compared to previous years,” said Karen Logan, who co-led the study.

“When we investigated further, some of these children had active coronavirus or had previously been exposed to the virus.”

South Korea tightens curbs
South Korea tightened social distancing rules on Tuesday as it reported a three-digit increase in novel coronavirus cases for a fifth day and authorities scrambled to trace hundreds of members of a church congregation.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 246 new cases as of midnight on Monday, bringing its total infections to 15,761, with 306 deaths.

South Korea has been one of the world’s coronavirus mitigation success stories but it has suffered repeated spikes in cases.

Two days after re-imposing stricter social distancing in Seoul, the government expanded the curbs to include the port city of Incheon, while ordering the closure of nightclubs, karaoke bars, buffets and cyber cafes.

Ardern hits back at Trump
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hit back on Tuesday against U.S. President Donald Trump for saying her country is experiencing a “big surge” in COVID-19, calling the remarks “patently wrong”.

Trump sparked uproar in New Zealand when he told a crowd in Minnesota that the South Pacific country of 5 million people was in the grip of a “terrible” upsurge in COVID-19 cases, having earlier succeeded in eliminating the disease.

Thirteen new infections were confirmed in New Zealand on Tuesday, taking the country’s total number of cases since the pandemic began to 1,293, with 22 deaths. This compares with the U.S. tally of more than 5.2 million cases and 170,000 deaths.

Track the spread with our U.S.-focused and global interactive graphics.

Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Vaccines, Houses, Nordic airlines. Read concise views on the pandemic’s financial fallout from Breakingviews columnists across the globe.

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U.S.

Former first lady Michelle Obama launched a blistering attack on President Donald Trump and urged Americans to elect Democrat Joe Biden in November to end the chaos she said had been created during the four years of Trump’s presidency. In an impassioned speech capping the first night of the Democratic National Convention, Obama said the Republican Trump “has had enough time to prove that he can do the job” but had failed to meet the moment in a country reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, economic turmoil and racial injustice.

Democrats will highlight the party’s future leaders and turn to a political powerhouse from the past, former President Bill Clinton, to make the case for U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden at their national convention on Tuesday. Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, one of his closest political advisers, will deliver the main speech for the second night of the Democratic National Convention, after an opening night that featured a scathing attack on President Donald Trump from former first lady Michelle Obama.

Republicans choose a standard-bearer in their effort to snatch back a south Florida congressional district on Tuesday, as three states hold primaries that will help set the stage for elections in November to determine the balance of power in Washington Republicans want to reclaim Florida’s 26th district from Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, an immigrant from Ecuador who ousted a Republican to win the House of Representatives seat in a close race two years ago. .

President Donald Trump’s postmaster general agreed to testify before Congress next week on cuts in service that lawmakers fear could hamper the Postal Service’s ability to handle a flood of mail-in ballots in November’s election. Louis DeJoy, a large donor and Trump ally who became the new postmaster general in June, agreed to testify next Monday before the Democratic-led House of Representatives Oversight and Reform Committee, which is investigating whether service changes adopted in recent weeks have slowed mail deliveries.

COVID Science

Mild COVID-19 induces prolonged immune response
In patients with mild COVID-19, immune responses last months and possibly longer, researchers found. Early reports suggested that in mildly ill patients, antibodies decrease and immunity wanes soon after recovery. But a study from China last month on 349 COVID-19 patients, which has not yet undergone peer review, found similar immune response patterns at six months regardless of symptom severity.

COVID-19 survivors at risk for psychiatric disorders
A study of more than 62,000 COVID-19 survivors has found significant risks for mental health issues. Researchers found that one in 16 COVID-19 patients who never had a mental illness will be diagnosed with one within three months after infection. This risk is about twice as high as expected and is even higher among patients who were sick enough to be hospitalized, study leader Maxime Taquet of the University of Oxford told Reuters.