A woman sits by the beach while wearing a protective face mask at al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza city on August 30, 2020, amid an extended lockdown in an effort to stem a surge in coronavirus cases in the Palestinian enclave. (Photo: AFP)

The total number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has increased to 848,394 with the global confirmed cases reaching 25,349,528 as of 9 am BJT on Tuesday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. 

Current status (data as of 9 am BJT, September 1):

China will further beef up its capacity of nucleic acid testing of novel coronavirus, according to a newly released work plan. A total of 100 public testing laboratories will be set up across the country, with each being able to handle 10,000 samples daily, said the document released by the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19.

Only 6 percent of COVID-19 deaths in the Untied States had COVID-19 as the only cause mentioned, suggesting that 94 percent of patients who died from the coronavirus also had other underlying conditions, according to a new report of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Palestine recorded the highest daily rise of COVID-19 cases on Monday after the outbreak of the deadly pandemic in the Palestinian territories in March, its health minister said.

Schools and kindergartens in 23 cities and towns across Israel will remain closed on Tuesday, the opening day of the school year, due to high COVID-19 morbidity, Israel's Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Health said in a joint statement on Monday night.

Turkish students started online schooling on Monday amid growing concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 infection as the daily cases are on the rise in Turkey. The country mulls to start face-to-face education on Sept. 21 after evaluation of the pandemic situation, the Turkish education minister said on Monday.