French President Emmanuel Macron told European Union leaders it was necessary to find a quick agreement on a proposed 750 billion-euro recovery fund in July to maintain the current momentum, a French official told Reuters news agency.
Failing to agree on the recovery plan would send the wrong signal, Macron said, according to the same official.
In the same call with EU leaders, the French president added that out of 750 billion euros, preserving the 500 billion euros in grants was France’s top priority, in line with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
France finds possible and legitimate to link grants with national reforms, though not through Troika-type mechanism, the official added
Saudi Arabia coronavirus cases exceed 150,000
The number of coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia has exceeded 150,000 following a rise in new infections over the past 10 days.
The Saudi Ministry of Health reported 4,301 new cases on Friday, taking the total to 150,292, with 1,184 deaths. The country hit more than 100,000 cases on June 7. Authorities are expected to lift a nationwide curfew on June 21.
A worker wears a protective suit, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), sterilizes the tables before the customers sit down at a restaurant, in Riyadh
Spain expects decision on travel corridor with Britain soon
Spain expects a decision in the coming hours in its talks with Britain on whether to establish a travel corridor to avoid imposing a quarantine on travelers due to the coronavirus pandemic, a Spanish foreign ministry source was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
“Spain is willing to be open to the United Kingdom, we are in talks with them about their quarantine. We are in a position to open without a quarantine,” the source added.
Spain will open its borders to tourists from most European countries on Sunday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce on June 29 that agreements have been reached for air bridges with a “small number” countries with low levels of the coronavirus outbreak, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Thursday.
Hi, this is Ramy Allahoum in Doha taking over from my colleague Hamza Mohamed.
Indonesia records more than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases
Indonesia reported 1,041 new coronavirus infections, taking its total number of cases to 43,803.
Health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said 34 more deaths were reported, with total fatalities now at 2,373, the highest coronavirus death toll in East Asia outside of China.
So far, 366,581 people have been tested, according to the country’s Covid-19 task force.
Qatar reports another seven coronavirus deaths
Qatar’s public health ministry has confirmed seven coronavirus deaths in the country in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 93.
At least 1,021 people contracted the virus in that period, the ministry said, increasing the total to 85,462.
UK lowers coronavirus alert level
The United Kingdom’s chief medical officers have agreed to lower the country’s coronavirus alert level.
The Joint Biosecurity Centre reduced the Covid-19 alert level from Level 4 to 3, meaning the epidemic is in general circulation but transmission is no longer high or rising exponentially.
“There has been a steady decrease in cases we have seen in all four nations, and this continues,” the chief medical officers of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland said.
“It does not mean that the pandemic is over. The virus is still in general circulation and localised outbreaks are likely to occur.”
Japan lifts all domestic travel curbs
Japan lifted all coronavirus-related curbs on domestic travel, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calling on people to go sightseeing or attend concerts and other events to help the nation’s economy bounce back from a pandemic recession.
Japan began lifting its pandemic lockdown in May as coronavirus infections fell. The latest easing on Thursday comes after the end of an emergency declaration that allowed people to return to work and for bars and restaurants implementing social distancing measures to reopen.
“I would like people, while observing social distancing, to go out on sightseeing trips. We would like you to make an effort to engage in social and economic activity,” Abe said in an address to the country late on Thursday.
In addition to ending the domestic travel advisory, Japan is also allowing up to 1,000 people to gather at indoor and outdoor events. Japanese professional baseball teams will also restart games on Friday, although spectators will be locked out. SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
