India reports highest spike of 16,000 cases
India has recorded the highest spike of 15,968 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to to 456,183, with Mumbai and New Delhi as the worst-hit cities in the country.
The Health Ministry also reported a record 24-hour increase of 465 deaths due to COVID-19, driving fatalities to 14,476.
Iran’s coronavirus death toll continues to resurge, nears 10,000
Iran’s death toll from COVID-19 has risen to nearly 10,000 with 133 new fatalities in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said, extending a reversal from a steady fall in daily numbers as the country has relaxed its lockdown.
There were 2,531 new coronavirus infections reported in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of cases to 212,501, along with 9,996 deaths in all, the ministry explained.
The daily death toll has regularly topped 100 in the past week for the first time in two months, mirroring a sharp rise in new infections since restrictions on movement began to be lifted in mid-April.
Beijing officials declare second outbreak ‘under control’
Authorities have raced to contain a second outbreak linked to the largest wholesale food market in Beijing after the first case was announced on June 11, leading to a partial lockdown of the city.
“The Beijing epidemic directly linked to Xinfadi (market) is basically under control, but at the same time we have discovered household and workplace cluster infections and cases of community transmission,” said Beijing municipal government spokesman Xu Hejian at a briefing.
“The prevention and control situation remains complicated, we cannot lower our guard in the slightest.”
Scarce medical oxygen worldwide leaves many gasping for life
As the coronavirus spreads, soaring demand for oxygen is bringing out a stark global truth: Even the right to breathe depends on money. In much of the world, oxygen is expensive and hard to get – a basic marker of inequality both between and within countries.
In wealthy Europe and North America, hospitals treat oxygen as a fundamental need, much like water or electricity. But in poor countries, from Peru to Bangladesh, it is in lethally short supply.
Indonesia reports 1,113 new coronavirus infections, 38 new deaths
Indonesia has reported 1,113 new coronavirus infections, taking its total number of cases to 49,009.
Health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said there were 38 more deaths reported, with total fatalities now at 2,573.
Indonesia’s coronavirus death toll is the highest in East Asia outside of China.
Coronavirus testing may not reach women in conflict zones: IRC
Big gaps between the number of male and female coronavirus cases in parts of Africa and the Middle East suggest that women may be struggling to access testing or care, an aid agency has said.
In Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen, more than 70 percent of reported cases were male, compared with a global average of 51 percent, and the same was true in the Central African Republic, Chad and Somalia, said the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
“What we are seeing is a situation in which women are potentially being left out of testing and their health deprioritised,” Stacey Mearns, senior technical adviser of emergency health at the IRC, said in a press release.
Bulgaria to extend coronavirus state of emergency until mid-July
Bulgaria will extend a state of emergency declared in response to the coronavirus outbreak until July 15 after another jump in new registered cases, Health Minister Kiril Ananiev has said.
Bulgaria began to relax restrictions to stop the spread of the virus earlier this month, but last week it reported 606 new COVID-19 cases, its highest weekly rise since the epidemic. Some 130 new cases were reported on Wednesday, bringing the total to date to 4,114, with 208 deaths.
Russia’s coronavirus case tally passes 600,000
Russia has reported 7,176 new cases of the novel coronavirus, pushing its nationwide case total to 606,881, the world’s third highest tally. The country’s coronavirus crisis response centre said 154 people had died in the past 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 8,513.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
Kazakhstan locks down two towns over coronavirus
Kazakhstan has locked down two towns near its capital Nur-Sultan to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the surrounding province, authorities have said.
Roads leading to the towns of Kokshetau and Stepnogorsk will be blocked by checkpoints and a 10 pm to 6 am curfew has been imposed in both, the chief sanitary doctor of Akmola province said in a statement.
The authorities have also closed all entertainment venues and barred mass public gatherings throughout the province and restricted access to hospitals and institutions such as orphanages and retirement homes.
Emirates suspends flights from Pakistan
Emirates has suspended flights from Pakistan after passengers tested positive for coronavirus in Hong Kong.
The Dubai state carrier, which is operating limited services due to the coronavirus pandemic, said the temporary suspension was effective June 24.
“We are co-ordinating closely with the various authorities and will review and implement any required additional measures to satisfy all parties before we resume services from Pakistan,” a spokeswoman told Reuters.
Israel, Palestinians tighten restrictions as coronavirus reemerges
Israeli and Palestinian authorities have brought back some coronavirus restrictions after the number of new cases jumped in what officials fear could herald a “second wave” of infections.
A partial lockdown went into effect in a town in central Israel and several neighborhoods in the city of Tiberias where infection rates were particularly high. The Palestinian Authority put the West Bank city of Hebron on lockdown as well.
Israel was one of the first countries to close its borders and impose restrictions when the global pandemic first emerged and the Palestinians quickly followed suit.
Austria warns against travel to German state after outbreak
Austria has issued a warning against travel to the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia after a coronavirus outbreak at a meatpacking plant there, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said.
The move puts the state in the same category as the Italian region of Lombardy, the epicentre of Italy’s coronavirus outbreak, which was one of the worst in Europe.
Hong Kong dismisses privacy concerns in China travel scheme
Sophia Chan, Hong Kong’s secretary for food and health, defended a planned travel scheme requiring residents of the city to share their coronavirus test results with authorities in Guangdong province in mainland China, dismissing concerns that residents’ sensitive personal data, such as medical records, could be transferred to mainland security authorities.
Hong Kong will develop a “Health Code” system to enable “the virus test results of participants of the pilot scheme in Hong Kong to be uploaded onto the code” and shared with mainland authorities, she said. Travellers will not be required to install a mobile application, she said.
“The … computer system will only collect basic personal information and nucleic acid test results from applicants for the purpose of applying for the ‘Hong Kong Health Code’. The development process is premised on the protection of personal privacy and the code exchange procedures must also be explicitly initiated and agreed by the applicant,” she added.
Maldives to open borders to all tourists on July 15
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, president of the Maldives, says the island nation is opening its borders on July 15 to tourist arrivals from all countries.
The Indian Ocean archipelago’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism, and arrivals will not be subject to quarantine measures with only symptomatic travellers required to undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing at the airport, according to the tourism ministry.
Testing will be made available for travellers who require it to return to their countries or continue on their onward journeys, the ministry added.
Washington state makes face masks mandatory
Jay Inslee, the governor of the US state of Washington, ordered residents to wear face masks in public after the region saw its positive tests rise by 35 percent last week.
“This is about saving lives. It’s about reopening our businesses. And it’s about showing respect and care for one another,” Inslee said.
The states of Arizona, California, Mississippi and Nevada have reported record numbers of new cases of COVID-19 while Texas set a record on Monday.
Trump claims border wall ‘stopped’ virus
US President Donald Trump visited the border with Mexico on Tuesday and claimed it had stopped both undocumented immigration and the coronavirus.
In the blazing heat, Trump briefly stopped to inspect a new section of the wall and scrawled his signature on the concrete and rebar structure.
Trump is looking to regain campaign momentum after a poor turnout for a weekend rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
