August 29 coronavirus news

There are more than 8,000 people who have died from Covid-19 in the state of Illinois as of Saturday, according to a tweet from Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

A total of 231,363 people have tested positive in the state and 8,008 people have died from Covid-19, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health website.

The Georgia Department of Public Health on Saturday reported 106 new coronavirus-related deaths statewide.

Georgia last reported more than 100 deaths on Tuesday, when the state also reported 106 total deaths.

Georgia's health department reported another 2,428 Covid-19 cases on Saturday.

Overall, the state has 267,758 confirmed cases and 5,576 reported deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

South Carolina health officials have reported 1,250 new Covid-19 cases and 42 additional confirmed deaths, according to tweets from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC).

This marks the first day since Aug. 14 that state officials reported more than 1,000 cases in a single day, according to SCDHEC. There were 1,015 cases reported on Aug. 14, state health data showed. 

SCDHEC reported a 16.7% positivity rate for tests conducted from Aug. 22 to Aug. 29.

The total number of cases in the state stands at 115,661 and total deaths to 2,563, the department said. 

More than 1,200 students have tested positive for Covid-19 at the University of Alabama since the start of the pandemic, according to the University of Alabama System case dashboard.

Since August 25, the university has added 481 cases. So far, 1,201 Covid-19 cases have been reported at the school in total, according to its case dashboard.

Classes started on August 19, according to the school's academic calendar.

There are at least 5,931,511 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 182,069 people have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.

As of this afternoon, 17,570 new cases and 269 new deaths have been reported in the US since midnight.    

The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.   

Iraq’s health ministry on Saturday reported 3,834 new confirmed cases of coronavirus. The increase brings the total number to 227,446 in the country.

The health ministry also reported 77 coronavirus-related deaths. That brings the total number of deaths in Iraq to 6,891.

This news comes as the country prepares for a major religious commemoration this weekend known as Ashura.

The peak gathering for Ashura will be Saturday afternoon and will continue until Sunday afternoon local time. It's considered the holiest day on the Shia Muslim calendar. 

Iraqi officials and religious figures have been warning citizens to avoid all gatherings during the event. Each year, hundreds of thousands converge on Karbala, about 62 miles south of Baghdad, to visit the Imam Hussein holy shrine. Ashura is the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. 

Florida health officials reported 3,197 new Covid-19 cases and 148 additional resident deaths on Saturday, according to the state's health department. 

This is the fifth day in a row that the number of deaths related to Covid-19 have declined from 183 reported on Monday, CNN's tally showed.  

The state has reported 612,206 positive cases among Florida residents and 619,003 total cases across the state, according to data from the department.      

The Covid-19 death toll in the state stands at 11,105 Florida residents, according to the data.

Note: These numbers were released by Florida’s public health agency, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Projec

Berlin police have ordered a halt to a march protesting the German government’s Covid-19 response due to non-compliance with social distancing guidelines.

Around 3,000 police officers have been deployed to monitor the march that is headed to Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg gate where up to 20,000 people are expected to gather. 

“All previous measures have not led to compliance with the requirements,” police added, specifically “non-compliance with the distance regulations according to the Infection Protection Act, despite constant requests by the meeting management & our colleagues.”

Coronavirus outbreaks have been identified among several hundred students at Kansas State University. 

The students at four sororities have been told to quarantine for 14 days from the day the outbreak was declared. Alpha Delta Pi and Alpha Xi Delta have six cases each, while Chi Omega and Kappa Delta have five cases apiece, the Riley County Health Department said Friday. 

More than 60 US universities and colleges in at least 36 states have reported positive cases of Covid-19, and some have returned to remote learning to try to stem the spread. More than 8,700 infections among American college students and staff were reported through Friday, as the nation approaches 6 million confirmed cases.

At Kansas State, event permits associated with fraternity and sorority organizations through September 10 have been canceled or revoked.

At the university’s main campus, 364 students are in quarantine, and 167 students are in isolation, the school said in a news release, noting an increase of 149 in quarantine and 49 in isolation since last week. The entire student population reports a 3.82% positivity rate, the release states.

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Coronavirus outbreaks identified at 4 sororities at Kansas State University