By Nectar Gan, Brett McKeehan, Angela Dewan, Fernando Alfonso III and Amir Vera, CNN
From CNN's Hilary McGann
The global coronavirus death toll has reached 800,000, according to the latest data released by John Hopkins University on Saturday.
The US remains the country with the highest death toll, with a total of 175,429 coronavirus-related deaths recorded so far.
The US, Brazil, Mexico, India and the United Kingdom have the five highest death tolls recorded globally.
From CNN's Ben Church
The Slovan Bratislava football team from Slovakia is under quarantine in the Faroe Islands after two of its players tested positive for coronavirus, Europe's soccer governing body UEFA said in a statement Saturday.
The entire team had tested negative before arriving at the North Atlantic archipelago, where it was scheduled to play a Champions League qualifier against the Faroe Islands' team KI Klaksvik on Wednesday, UEFA said. But all players were tested again after arriving, with one testing positive.
"Following a member of the delegation of ŠK Slovan Bratislava having returned a positive test for COVID-19, the local authorities decided to quarantine the entire ŠK Slovan Bratislava team," UEFA said.
Slovan Bratislava came up with a second group of players to represent the club in a rescheduled match on Friday, but one among them also tested positive. That match was cancelled and the entire second group, which also included officials, has also been quarantined.
From CNN's Sarah Westwood
President Trump took aim Saturday at the Food and Drug Administration commissioner he nominated, Dr. Stephen Hahn, and accused some in the agency of being part of the “deep state.”
Trump called on Hahn to speed up testing for a coronavirus vaccine.
The President claimed some in FDA are deliberately delaying vaccine trials so one would not be available until after the election.
Critics have expressed concerns the administration will rush to prepare a vaccine at the expense of safety.
CNN has reached out to the FDA for comment.
Some background: Hahn addressed some of those concerns in an op-ed on Aug. 5, in which he wrote: “While speed is essential in this global emergency, we at the FDA are committed to maintaining strict scientific principles and protection of those who volunteer as vaccine test subjects.”
From CNN's Nada Bashir
An expert adviser to the UK government on the pandemic has warned that the coronavirus could remain active on a global scale indefinitely, adding that the world may need to undergo several rounds of vaccinations.
“This is not going to be a disease like Smallpox, which could be eradicated by vaccination. This is a virus that is going to be with us forever in some form or another,” Professor Mark Walport, who sits on the government’s scientific advisory board, SAGE, told BBC Radio 4 on Saturday.
“[It] almost certainly will require repeated vaccinations so, a bit like flu, people will need re-vaccination at regular intervals.”
Pressed on whether he agrees with projections from WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said Friday that he hoped the pandemic would be over in under two years, Walport told the BBC that tackling the virus will depend on a successful vaccine.
“I am reasonably optimistic that it will be possible to make such a vaccine -- there are a large number in development, including two that are in advanced stages from the UK,” Walport said.
The government adviser also cautioned that the percentage of new cases in the UK is rising in some parts of the country, warning that “much more draconian measures” may need to be enforced if there is a significant rise in the infection rate.
“Is there a situation where it could get out of control? Well, obviously, that is possible and that is why it is so important that we all work together,” Walport said.
“This infection is with us. We know that less than one in five people around the country have been infected, so 80% of the population are still susceptible to the virus."
From CNN's Angela Dewan, Martin Goillandeau and Hilary McGann in London, Peter Taggart in Belfast and Niamh Kennedy in Dublin
Irish politics has been plunged into chaos after dozens of current and former politicians attended a parliamentary golf society dinner, allegedly in breach of the country's coronavirus social distancing rules.
Ireland's national police force confirmed in a statement Friday that it was "investigating an event" held in the city of Galway on Wednesday evening that may have breached coronavirus-related health laws. Minister for Agriculture Dara Calleary has resigned, as has the vice chair of Ireland's upper house, Jerry Buttimer.
Irish Twitter users expressed their furor Saturday over the dinner using the hashtag #golfgate. The dinner was held by the parliamentary Oireachtas Golf Society at a hotel in Galway with more than 80 people listed as in attendance and with seating plans showing 10 people per table, according to the Irish Examiner.
One Twitter user vented his anger over the dinner, saying the dinner made a mockery of everyday people's sacrifices.
The day before the dinner, the government tightened restrictions on indoor gatherings to just six people. Weddings and some cultural events, including plays and concerts, could be attended by up to 50 people, although there was confusion over whether those rules had come into effect. Older restrictions also capped the number of people sitting at one table indoors to six from no more than three households.
Irish media reports said that the event space originally included a partition to separate the group and keep numbers in each section to below 50. Some quoted sources saying the partition was removed for speeches.
Several Twitter users pointed out the hypocrisy of having one rule for politicians and another for everyone else.
Calleary, who resigned Friday, apologized in a series of tweets on Thursday, expressing “sincere regret” to his government colleagues. “In light of the updated public health guidance this week I should not have attended the event. I wish to apologise unreservedly to everyone,” he wrote.
Buttimer shared on Twitter a letter sent to the chief of parliament's upper house saying his attendance “had compromised the government at a time when people, across every sector of Irish society are doing their best to keep all safe during this global pandemic.” Calling it an “unintended but serious lapse in judgement,” Buttimer said he “should not have attended the dinner” and consequently would tender his resignation.
From CNN’s Jake Kwon in Seoul
South Korea will close entertainment venues such as nightclubs, karaoke bars and internet cafes, and ban spectators from sporting events after new Covid-19 cases were reported across the country on Saturday.
Beaches across the country will also be closed indefinitely.
The restrictions, which will also limit indoor gatherings to 50 and outdoor gatherings to 100, will come into effect on Sunday, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo has announced.
South Korea detected 332 new cases Friday, Park said Saturday. Imported cases counted for 17 of the total infections. More than 75% of new local cases were found in the Seoul metropolitan area. No deaths were recorded on Friday, Park said Saturday.
The measures align the rest of the country with the capital, Seoul, which has been operating under these restrictions since August 16. Provinces with lower counts will be able to follow these restrictions as a recommendation rather than a mandate.
South Korea has been credited for having one of the world's most rigorous and well-planned responses to the coronavirus.
By CNN's Angela Dewan, Sharon Braithwaite and Lauren Kent
British people on summer holidays abroad are rushing home as government rules on who must quarantine on their return have again changed.
The UK on Thursday removed Croatia, Austria, and Trinidad and Tobago from its list of safe travel corridors as cases in those countries rise, obliging those returning from those countries to quarantine for 14 days. The new restrictions were scheduled to take effect after 4 a.m. on Saturday, triggering masses of holidaymakers to cut short their vacations and get on earlier, often more expensive, flights home.
Thomas Maguire, 63, a sales manager from Northern Ireland was among those on the last planes to land at London's Heathrow Airport before the quarantine rules went into effect. He was due to fly back Sunday but returned early on Friday evening.
He told the UK's PA Media the rule changes were a “complete shambles,” saying he had spent almost £400 ($523) to get on an early flight.
“Why they decided to do it the way they have done it, it’s not in support of any scientific evidence ... that I’m safer today than I would be tomorrow,” he said.
The UK on Thursday also added Portugal to its list of safe travel corridor countries.
The UK government has advised British residents to only travel if they are happy to be forced to quarantine on their return.
"As with all air bridge countries, please be aware that things can change quickly. Only travel if you are content to unexpectedly 14-day quarantine if required (I speak from experience!)," UK Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps said in a Tweet on Thursday.
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
Germany reported 2,034 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday -- its highest single-day increase in infections since April 26, according to the Robert Koch Institute, the national agency for disease control and prevention.
Germany experienced its peak in daily new infections from late March to the beginning of April, with more than 6,000 cases reported a day. Since then, new daily case numbers had fallen significantly, until rising again in late July.
The United States recorded 48,693 new Covid-19 cases and 1,108 related deaths on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
As of Friday, the country has reported a total of 5,622,540 infections, including 175,363 deaths, according to JHU's tally.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
CNN is tracking the coronavirus outbreak in the US here:
