BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Brazilian government announced on Wednesday that the country registered 987 deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the last 24 hours, bringing the national death toll to 134,106.

The Ministry of Health also reported that 36,820 new cases had been detected in the same period of time, for a total of 4,419,083 since the disease was first detected in the South American country.

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JERUSALEM -- Israel's Ministry of Health reported 6,063 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 170,465.

It is the highest daily rise since the outbreak of the pandemic in Israel in late February, as the previous record was 4,764 registered on Sept. 14.

The number of death cases reached 1,165, with 18 new deaths, while the number of patients in serious condition rose from 534 to 549, out of 1,163 patients currently hospitalized.

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BUCHAREST -- Romania on Wednesday reported 1,713 COVID-19 infections, its highest single-day increase since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country.

The previous daily high, standing at 1,504, was registered on Aug. 27.

The country, with a tally of 107,011 confirmed cases so far, remained the most affected in Central and Eastern Europe.

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WASHINGTON -- It will be the late second quarter or third quarter of 2021 before a COVID-19 vaccine is generally available to the American public, said Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Robert Redfield on Wednesday.

During a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Redfield said he thought that there would be vaccine initially available sometime between November and December, but "very limited supply and will have to be prioritized."

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ANKARA -- Turkey reported 1,771 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, raising the total diagnosed patients to 296,391, the Turkish Health Ministry announced.

Meanwhile, 63 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 7,249, according to the data shared by the ministry.

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ACCRA -- The Chinese government on Wednesday presented the second batch of medical supplies to the Ghanaian government to support its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The medical supplies presented through Ghana's health ministry included 20,000 N95 protective face masks, 350,000 surgical masks, 10,000 disposable coveralls, 15,000 medical goggles, 15,000 pair of disposable nitrile gloves, and 3,000 pair of disposable shoe covers.

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MINSK -- Belarus reported 211 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the nationwide count to 74,763, according to the country's health ministry.

There have been 149 new recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 72,810, the ministry added.