Keeping you up to date on the latest novel coronavirus (Covid-19) news from around the world.
Coronavirus toll at 11:00 GMT Wednesday
Paris – The novel coronavirus has killed at least 477 570 people since emerging in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP as of 11:00 (GMT) Wednesday.
At least 9 279 310 cases of Covid-19 have been registered in 196 countries and territories. Of these, at least 4 548 900 are considered recovered.
The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organisation (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections. Many countries are testing only symptomatic or the most serious cases.
The United States is the worst-hit country with 121 225 deaths from 2 347 102 cases. At least 647 548 people have been declared recovered.
After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 52 645 deaths from 1 145 906 cases, Britain with 42 927 deaths from 306 210 cases, Italy with 34 675 deaths from 238 833 cases, and France with 29 720 deaths from 197 674 cases.
- AFP
Covid-19 crisis sinks global economy in 2020, collapsing GDP 4.9% - IMF
Washington – The global coronavirus pandemic has sparked an economic "crisis like no other", sending world GDP plunging 4.9% this year and wiping out $12 trillion over two years, the IMF said on Wednesday.
Worldwide business shutdowns destroyed hundreds of millions of jobs, and major economies in Europe face double-digit collapses.
The prospects for recovery post-pandemic – like the forecasts themselves – are steeped in "pervasive uncertainty" given the unpredictable path of the virus, the IMF said in its updated World Economic Outlook.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has had a more negative impact on activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated, and the recovery is projected to be more gradual than previously forecast," the fund warned.
While businesses are reopening in many countries and China has seen a bigger rebound in activity than expected, a second wave of viral infections threatens the outlook, the report said.
World GDP is expected to rebound by just 5.4% in 2021, and only if all goes well, the IMF warned.
- AFP
Call for mandatory masks as Iran virus toll nears 10 000
Tehran – An Iranian official called for mask-wearing to be made compulsory as the country on Wednesday reported its highest daily coronavirus death toll in more than two-and-a-half months.
Health ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari said on Wednesday that the 133 fatalities in the past 24 hours brought the country's overall virus death toll to 9 996.
"It is certainly required that the wearing of masks becomes mandatory," said Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi.
"If we use masks, especially in closed spaces and gatherings, we can very much reduce the virus' spread," he added in remarks broadcast on television.
Iran reported its first Covid-19 cases on 19 February, and it has since struggled to contain the outbreak as the death toll nears 10 000.
It has refrained from imposing a mandatory lockdown on people to stop the virus' spread, and the use of masks and protective equipment is optional in most areas.
- AFP
UK medical leaders warn of 'real risk' of virus second wave
London – Medical experts on Wednesday warned the British government to prepare for the "real risk" of a coronavirus second wave just a day after the biggest lifting yet of lockdown restrictions in England.
"While the future shape of the pandemic in the UK is hard to predict, the available evidence indicates that local flare-ups are increasingly likely and a second wave a real risk," said the experts in an open letter printed in the British Medical Journal.
The letter added that the overriding task was "to ensure that the country is adequately prepared to contain a second phase".
It was signed by 16 leading experts, including the heads of the Royal College of Surgeons, the Faculty of Public Health and the Royal College of Nursing.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday announced what he called the beginning of the end of "national hibernation", allowing the reopening of large parts of the hospitality, culture and tourism sectors in England from 4 July.
That includes pubs, hotels, restaurants, museums and galleries. The two-metre social distancing rule, in place since March, was also relaxed to one metre, subject to measures such as the use of face coverings.
- AFP
France closes two Paris schools as precaution after coronavirus cases
Paris – French authorities have closed two schools in Paris as a precautionary measure after the discovery of coronavirus cases, but they have not been classed as potentially dangerous clusters, authorities said on Wednesday.
France, unlike some other European countries which have taken a much more cautious approach, on Monday resumed obligatory schooling for all pupils after the coronavirus shutdown.
Some schools had already been open at least partially for several weeks after the initial easing of the lockdown.
But a school in the 12th district of Paris with 180 pupils has been closed until the end of the week after three cases were discovered, the local health authority told AFP.
However, the timescale of the infections – spread over the start of June to Monday – indicates that this is not a cluster, it added.
Another Paris school, in the 4th district and with 200 pupils, has been closed until 7 July after one case was discovered.
- AFP
Beijing officials declare outbreak 'under control'
Beijing – The new coronavirus outbreak that has infected 256 people in Beijing since early June is "under control", officials in the Chinese capital said on Wednesday, but fears still remain over the risk of community transmission.
Authorities have raced to contain the outbreak linked to the largest wholesale food market in Beijing after the first case was announced on 11 June, 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."
Officials found that 253 out of 256 Beijing cases were linked to Xinfadi in the south of the city, while contact tracing for the remaining three was still ongoing.
The city announced seven new cases on Wednesday, with the rate of infection slowing since the start of this week.
"This sends a very positive signal, and proves that the prevention and control measures taken lately, as well as lockdown of residential compounds, are effective," said Lei Haichao, head of the Beijing health commission.
"The combination of fever clinics, discovering (cases) from close contacts, and mass nucleic acid testing have played an important role in early detection."
- AFP
Millions of migrant workers head home due to virus - UN
Geneva – Millions of migrant workers who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic are expected to return home to already overburdened labour markets, the UN said on Wednesday.
Migrant workers were left exceptionally exposed to the virus and the economic shutdown it triggered, said the United Nations' International Labour Organisation (ILO).
"This is a potential crisis within a crisis," said Manuela Tomei, director of the ILO's conditions of work and equality department. "Many millions of migrant workers, who were under lockdown in their countries of work, have lost their jobs and are now expected to return home to countries that are already grappling with weak economies and rising unemployment."
The ILO estimates there are 164 million migrant workers worldwide – nearly half of them women – comprising 4.7% of the global labour force.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many migrant workers were unable to return home due to travel bans, and found themselves stuck.
- AFP
US facing 'critical' coronavirus surge
Washington – Coronavirus infections are surging across large parts of the United States, the top US infectious disease expert has warned.
In the United States, White House advisor Anthony Fauci warned the next two weeks would be "critical to our ability to address... surgings" in Florida, Texas and other states.
The United States has already recorded more deaths than any other nation, with nearly 800 more fatalities on Tuesday taking its toll past 121 000.
However, President Donald Trump, whose handling of the crisis has been widely criticised as erratic, is determined to fast-track efforts to restore normality.
He continued to stoke controversy on Tuesday, doubling down on weekend comments he wanted to slow testing because so many confirmed infections made the United States look bad.
"I don't kid," Trump said, after a White House official described his initial comments as just a joke.
With the parts of the United States unable to contain the pandemic, the European Union was considering blocking US travellers as it reopens its borders to tourism, the New York Times reported.
- AFP
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