The drastic reduction in pollution during coronavirus lockdowns around the world should lead to greater concern for the environment as restrictions are lifted, Pope Francis said.
At his Sunday address in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said the pandemic made many people reflect on their relationship with the environment.
“The lockdown has reduced pollution and revealed once more the beauty of so many places free from traffic and noise. Now, with the resumption of activities, we should all be more responsible for looking after our common home,” he said.
Afghan healthcare personnel deliberately
attacked during pandemic: UN
The United Nations released a special report expressing concerns over what it called recent “deliberate attacks” against healthcare workers and facilities in Afghanistan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, said it documented 12 incidents of deliberate acts of violence between March 11 to May 23.
The report said eight of the incidents were carried out by Taliban insurgents while three incidents were attributed to Afghan security forces.
COVID-19 in Afghanistan The most horrific attack, on a maternity ward last month at a Kabul hospital that killed 24 people, remains unsolved [File: Anadolu]
New coronavirus tally surges in Oman
Oman confirmed three more deaths from the novel coronavirus, said the Omani health ministry, bringing the country’s death toll to 131.
A further 905 new infections were recorded over the last 24 hours, pushing the total cases to 29,471.
The country has so far reported 15,552 recoveries from the disease.
Morocco opens field hospital after spike in virus cases
A new field hospital in eastern Morocco will receive around 700 COVID-19 patients following a sharp spike in infections in the kingdom, the government said.
Morocco reported a record single-day rise in novel coronavirus cases on Friday after an outbreak was detected in fruit packing plants in eastern Kenitra province, prompting Rabat to tighten restrictions in the region.
The North African kingdom reported more than 500 cases on Friday, mainly in Kenitra, having recorded on average fewer than 100 new COVID-19 infections daily since confirming its first cases in early March.
India records highest daily hike in coronavirus cases
India registered 15,413 more cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, its highest single-day hike so far, with total confirmed cases now at 410,461, according to the Ministry of Health.
Data from the health ministry showed that 306 deaths had been confirmed, raising the overall toll to 13,254.
Some 128,205 cases have been confirmed so far in the western state of Maharashtra, which remains the worst-affected state in the country, followed by the southern Tamil Nadu and capital Delhi.
Outside image – blog – Grim India record Data from the health ministry showed that 306 deaths had been confirmed in the past 24 hours [File: Harish Tyafi/EPA]
UK to unveil lockdown easing plans this week
Britain will outline its plans to ease the coronavirus lockdown this week, health minister Matt Hancock said, potentially relaxing the two-metre rule on social distancing, allowing many businesses to reopen in early July.
“We’re about to see another step in the plan,” Hancock told BBC TV.
“This week we will announce further details of the measures we can take to relieve some of the national lockdown measures at the start of July, including on July 4.”
Indonesia reports 862 new coronavirus infections, 36 new deaths
Indonesia reported 862 new coronavirus infections, taking its total number of cases to 45,891.
Health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said there were 36 more deaths reported, with total fatalities now at 2,465, the highest coronavirus death toll in East Asia outside of China.
08:24 GMT – Chinese researchers launch phase-2 human test for possible coronavirus vaccine
Chinese researchers have started a second phase human trial of a possible coronavirus vaccine, the Institute of Medical Biology at Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (IMBCAMS) said, in efforts to further assess effectiveness and safety. SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
