A healthcare worker conducts a test to a patient while going house to house to test people for Covid-19 in the municipality of Tlahuac, one of the highly contagious zone of Mexico City, July 20, 2020. (Reuters)
Coronavirus Global Updates: European Union leaders agreed on a landmark stimulus package that will see the bloc issue 750 billion euros ($860 billion) of joint debt to help member states mitigate the economic downturn.
The agreement, signed in the early hours of Tuesday after more than four days of acrimonious negotiations in Brussels, required the unanimous approval of all 27 member states and represents a victory for German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, who drafted an early outline for the proposal in May. The emergency fund will give out 390 billion euros of grants and 360 billion euros of low-interest loans.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the deal was “truly historic” and that he was convinced the recovery plan and budget could meet the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. “With this recovery plan, we will reach a near doubling of the European budget over the next three years,” he added.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday said the European Union’s deal on a massive post-pandemic recovery fund shows that the bloc is capable of acting jointly, even during its biggest crisis, and is willing to go down new paths in unusual circumstances. “This is an important signal beyond Europe’s borders that the EU, even with all the (EU member states’) varying backgrounds, is able to take action.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pictured with a face mask during the last round table discussion following a four-day European summit at the European Council in Brussels, Belgium, July 21, 2020. (Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via Reuters)
Oxford vaccine candidate shows promise
Results published on Monday of early human trials of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and drugmaker AstraZeneca have shown promise. The results come around a week after US biotech firm Moderna had released its own early trial data and at a time when several firms are racing to find an effective vaccine against the coronavirus that has killed over 600,000 globally.
The vaccine developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca, which belongs to a category called non-replicating viral vector vaccines, tries to build the body’s immunity against this spike protein. The idea is to create antibodies to fight this spiked surface so that the virus does not even have the chance to penetrate the cells. At least 14,703,293 people have been infected with the novel coronavirus across the world, with 6,09,887 deaths and 8,290,431 recoveries.
Virus stalks Egypt’s prisons amid news blackout
Coronavirus has infected several people inside Egyptian prisons and killed at least 14 detainees, the Associated Press quoted a leading human right watchdog as saying.
Human Rights Watch released a report based on letters smuggled from prison and interviews with inmates and their relatives. It documented cases of detainees who died after experiencing suspected virus symptoms without being tested or receiving adequate medical treatment.
Tens of thousands of people are crammed into what rights groups say are overcrowded and unsanitary prisons.
Despite appeals for the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to release thousands of inmates to curb the pandemic, authorities have accelerated a long-running crackdown on dissent, arresting health workers, journalists and critics who voice concerns over the government’s handling of the pandemic.
Egypt has reported 88,402 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 4,352 deaths.
Two more ministers in Brazil test positive
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro arrives at the ceremony to lower the Brazilian National flag down for the night, at the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 20, 2020. (Reuters)
Two more ministers in the Cabinet of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said they have tested positive for coronavirus, the Associated Press reported.
Four Cabinet ministers have tested positive so far, along with president Bolsonaro. The Latin American nation has reported over 2 million Covid-19 cases, with at least 79,488 deaths.
White House coronavirus task force briefings to be revived
The White House is reviving its public coronavirus task force briefings, the Associated Press reported.
The coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, briefed the public daily in March and April, with president Donald Trump participating and dominating many of the sessions. Trump said he will lead a briefing at 5 pm on Tuesday, his first since April 27.
The US Department of Health and Human Services is issuing guidance on preventing discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The guidelines issued Monday instruct health departments to ensure that racial and ethnic minority populations “are not subjected to excessive wait times, rejected for hospital admissions or denied access to intensive care units compared to similarly situated non-minority individuals.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious diseases expert says the best way to manage the surging coronavirus and prevent future outbreaks is by sticking to what he calls the “fundamentals”. He told the nation’s governors that those include wearing face masks, shutting bars, limiting indoor dining, avoiding crowds and frequent hand-washing.
France imposes fine for not wearing face masks
Face masks are now required in France’s supermarkets, shopping malls, banks, stores and indoor markets to curb signs that the virus is making inroads again, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
The measure took effect on Monday and a fine of 135 euros ($155) can be levied against defaulters. Masks were already required in museums, public transport, cinemas, places of worship and other enclosed places.
France has reported over 30,000 Covid-19-related deaths, nearly half of them in retirement homes for older adults. It brought down infections with a strict two-month lockdown but is now seeing that the virus is making a comeback.
India reports over 37,000 new coronavirus cases
Health care workers in New Delhi on Monday, July 20, (Express file photo by Amit Mehra)
India reported 37,148 cases and 587 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of coronavirus infections to 11,55,191 including 28,084 casualties, 4,02,529 active cases, and 7,24,578 people who have been treated and discharged so far, according to the data by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
According to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data, as many as 1,43,81,303 samples have been tested in the country so far, with 3,33,395 samples being tested yesterday.