Last updated: 25/06/2020 08:53
The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut on Wednesday ordered travelers from eight other U.S. states to be quarantined for two weeks on arrival, as COVID-19 infections surged in regions spared the brunt of the initial outbreak.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* More than 9.44 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 481,672​ have died, a Reuters tally showed as of 0400 GMT on Wednesday.
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, click here.
EUROPE
* The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 630 to 192,079, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Thursday.
* A second wave is a real risk for Britain and local flare-ups are likely, major health bodies said, in one of the strongest warnings yet to Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he eases the lockdown.
* The Dutch government announced a widespread easing of coronavirus lockdown measures that will allow outdoor gatherings, group restaurant visits and regular public transport services from July 1.
* Ukraine is opening more of its hospitals to coronavirus cases as the institutions initially chosen to accept patients no longer have enough beds to cope with a surge in infections, the health minister said.
AMERICAS
* Walt Disney Co said the reopening of theme parks and resort hotels in California will be delayed until Disneyland receives approval from state officials, as the state is hit by a huge spike in new coronavirus cases.
* Mexico’s health ministry on Wednesday reported 947 new deaths from the coronavirus and 5,437 new cases.
* The University of Washington forecast nearly 180,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19 by Oct. 1 as cases showed new signs of surging.
* The Trump administration said it would no longer directly fund 13 of its original coronavirus testing sites in five states, saying states were allocated money for testing by the federal government last month.
* U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. was working with countries in Europe and elsewhere on how to reopen for travel safely.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Thailand on Thursday reported one new coronavirus case detected in a Thai national returning from abroad, taking the country to 31 days without a local transmission.
* Australia’s second most populous state deployed ambulances and mobile test centres in a coronavirus testing blitz as the country recorded the biggest daily rise in cases in two months.
* China’s health authority reported on Thursday 19 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for June 24, up from 12 a day earlier.
* Taiwan has put more than 100 people under quarantine while it investigates its first possible local case of coronavirus infection in more than two months, a Japanese woman who tested positive last week, the government said on Wednesday.
* Philippines’ stock trading floor will remain shut for decontamination, but trades were unaffected and the trading floor and on-site work will resume on Friday, the bourse operator said.
* Indonesian authorities complained that hundreds of people had refused testing for the virus as social taboos emerge as another obstacle to stopping its spread.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Millions of women and children in poor countries are at risk because the pandemic is disrupting health services they rely on, a World Bank global health expert has warned.
* All African countries have now developed laboratory capacity to test for the coronavirus, the head of the World Health Organization said.
* Iran’s death toll has risen to nearly 10,000 with 133 new fatalities in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Gilead Sciences Inc’s antiviral remdesivir could be priced up to $5,080 per course based on benefits shown in COVID-19 patients, a U.S. drug pricing research group suggested.
* A Chinese military research institute has been approved to test its second experimental coronavirus vaccine in humans, the eighth candidate in clinical trials for China as it emerges as a front-runner in the global fight against COVID-19.
* Oxford University rolled out Africa’s first human trials for a potential vaccine against the new coronavirus in South Africa.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Weak demand is forcing U.S. employers to lay off workers, keeping new applications for unemployment benefits extraordinarily high, even as businesses have reopened, buttressing views the labor market could take years to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
* Britain’s economy is shrinking at its fastest pace in centuries as the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic saps demand, but it’s likely to bounce back to growth next quarter as more businesses reopen, a Reuters poll found.
* China is adding a new face to its trade negotiation team by appointing its chief representative at the World Bank to head the Finance Ministry’s international cooperation department, sources said.
* The pandemic has caused wider and deeper damage to economic activity than first thought, the International Monetary Fund said, prompting the institution to slash its 2020 global output forecasts further.
* Portuguese banks are likely to suffer a significant impact from the coronavirus, the Bank of Portugal warned.
* The Philippine government is seeking a record 4.3 trillion peso budget for 2021 focused on reviving an economy expected this year to shrink for the first time in two decades, a top official said.
(Reuters)
Pictured: A passenger wearing a face mask sits on bus called “Car Rapide”, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Dakar, Senegal June 24, 2020. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
