More than 35.27 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,038,062 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump told Americans not to fear COVID-19 as he returned to the White House on Monday after a three-night hospital stay for coronavirus treatment and removed his surgical mask to pose for pictures.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
AMERICAS
* White House officials are blocking new federal guidelines for the emergency release of a coronavirus vaccine, including one that would likely ensure that no vaccine could be authorized before the Nov. 3 presidential election, the New York Times reported on Monday.
* The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday said COVID-19 can spread through virus lingering in the air, sometimes for hours.
* Mexico on Monday reported a record jump of 2,789 deaths and 28,115 cases due to what the government said was a change in methodology.
* New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday agreed to New York City’s plan to close schools in nine coronavirus “hot spots” in Brooklyn and Queens, but said he was still discussing whether non-essential businesses should be shut down again in those areas.
EUROPE
* Spain became the first Western European nation to surpass 800,000 total coronavirus cases after registering 23,480 new infections over the weekend, health ministry data showed on Monday.
* Confirmed cases in Germany increased by 2,639 to 303,258, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday.
* Britain will roll out COVID-19 vaccinations when they are ready based on clinical advice about who should be prioritised, health minister Matt Hancock said.
* Ireland’s government is set to reject a surprise recommendation by its health chiefs to go into lockdown and will instead propose a tightening of current restrictions, two government sources said.
* Britain’s government has launched an investigation into why a technical issue with its test and trace programme had not been identified sooner, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
* Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Minister Linas Linkevicius will self-isolate for a week after contact with members of visiting French President Emmanuel Macron’s delegation who later tested positive for the coronavirus.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Australia’s coronavirus hotspot of Victoria will look into ways to increase testing for the disease to control its spread ahead of easing of lockdown restrictions.
* Malaysia’s prime minister said he will self quarantine for 14 days after a minister who attended a high-level government meeting on Saturday tested positive for COVID-19.
* Restrictions in New Zealand’s largest city will be lifted this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said as she expressed confidence a second wave of infections in Auckland has been almost eliminated.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* A drastic rise in infections has pushed Lebanon’s hospitals to the edge, and experts warn they will soon be unable to cope.
* Iran registered a record high 3,902 new cases in the past 24 hours, state TV reported on Monday.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Germany must avoid another shutdown of industrial activity, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said as rising infections cloud the growth outlook for Europe’s largest economy.
* British finance minister Rishi Sunak warned of the damage higher interest rates could do to the country’s debt mountain.
* Cineworld, the world’s second-biggest cinema chain, will close its UK and U.S. movie theaters this week, leaving as many as 45,000 workers unemployed for the foreseeable future.
