May 16, 2020 - World

Churches, mosques and temples livestream religious services

Pope Francis livestreams his Sunday Angelus blessing from his private library in Vatican City on May 10. Photo: Vatican Media/Vatican Pool via Getty Images

Churches, mosques and temples around the world — including the Vatican — are continuing to livestream religious services amid the coronavirus pandemic, AP reports.

Zoom in: In the U.S., some pastors in Maryland and Virginia are hesitant to reopen their doors as states begin to relax stay-at-home orders, per the Washington Post.

What's happening: Jerusalem's Western Wall, Japan's Todaiji Buddhist temple and Vaishno Devi, a revered Hindu shrine in India, are all live-streaming prayers, AP reports.

  • In Texas, the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research is uploading YouTube videos, per AP, drawing 20 million views over the last six weeks.

The other side: Churches in Italy and Spain — two European countries with some of the highest known coronavirus death tolls in the world — have reopened as the countries continue phased economic reopenings.

Women pray in the church of San Policarpo in Rome's Tuscolano district on May 10. Photo: Stefano Montesi - Corbis/Getty Images
Priest Antonio Gomez gives the holy communion to worshippers at the San Miguel Basilica in Palma de Mallorca, Spain on May 11. Photo: Jaime Reina/AFP via Getty Images

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Axios
Updated 5 hours ago - Health

World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

The number of COVID-19 cases surpassed 20 million worldwide on Monday evening, Johns Hopkins data shows.

The big picture: World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference as the world approached the milestone that 750,000 deaths were set to be recorded this week. "Behind these statistics is a great deal of pain and suffering. Every life lost matters," he said. "But I want to be clear: there are green shoots of hope and... it's never too late to turn the outbreak around."

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Rebecca Falconer
Aug 10, 2020 - Health

97,000 children test positive for coronavirus in two weeks

A boy has his temperature checked as he receives a free COVID-19 test in South Los Angeles in July. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

At least 97,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 in the final two weeks of July and there's been an estimated 338,000 cases involving kids in the U.S. since the pandemic began, a new report finds.

Why it matters: The report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association comes as schools and day cares look to reopen in the U.S.

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Rashaan Ayesh
Aug 9, 2020 - Health

Ex-FDA head: U.S. will "definitely" see 200,000 to 300,000 virus deaths in 2020

Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that the coronavirus death toll in the U.S. will be "definitely" somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 by the end of 2020.

Why it matters: "Whether we're closer to 200,000 or closer to 300,000 depends on what we do now and how it evolves," Gottlieb warned on Sunday as the U.S. surpassed five million confirmed coronavirus cases.

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