COVID-19: Rohani Sees No Early End To Crisis; Serbia Reports Record Number Of Daily Cases

Iranian President Hassan Rohani

The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 640,000, with more than 16 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness.

Here's a roundup of COVID-19 developments in RFE/RL's broadcast regions.

Iran

Iranian President Hassan Rohani has dampened hopes of an early end to the country's COVID-19 crisis, saying on July 25 that people should not assume that the problem will be resolved within a few weeks.

"We should think in the longer term and prepare now for next year," said Rohani, according to the state news agency IRNA.

In the past week, there have been more than 1,500 coronavirus deaths in Iran, raising the death toll to 15,484, according to Ministry of Health on July 25.

Serbia

In Serbia, health officials reported a record number of daily coronavirus cases.

Health authorities said July 26 that 467 people had tested positive for the virus in the previous 24 hours, the highest number since the start of the outbreak. They said eight people have died.

As of July 26, Serbia had reportted more than 23,700 confirmed coronavirus infections with 534 deaths.

Ukraine

Anton Hudaev, the Ukrainian national soccer team's doctor, has died from COVID-19 at the age of 48, the domestic football association (UAF) said.

"On behalf of the President of the Ukrainian Association of Football Andriy Pavelka, head coach of the national team Andriy Shevchenko, and the entire football family of Ukraine, we extend our deepest condolences to his family," the UAF said in a statement.

"The whole national team is in great sorrow."

Hudaev was also team doctor for the Metalist Kharkiv football club.

Ukraine has reported nearly 65,000 infections and more than 1,600 fatalities.

Russia

In Russia, the Moscow region confirmed at least 148 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, the regional coronavirus crisis center said in a statement on July 25.

To date, the Moscow Region has 62,609 cases of the coronavirus, with 1,089 fatalities, the statement said, according to TASS.

Russia’s overall death toll is 13,192, according to government data.

With reporting by AP