AFP reports that the World Health Organisation on Thursday warned that spikes in coronavirus transmission in a number of countries were being driven by young people "letting down their guard".
"Young people are not invincible," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual news conference in Geneva.
While the pandemic, which has killed nearly 670 000 and infected more than 17 million people worldwide, has disproportionately impacted the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions, he stressed that "younger people are at risk too".
He lamented that a major challenge in trying to rein in the novel coronavirus was "convincing younger people of this risk".
He said there was evidence that "spikes of cases in some countries are being driven in part by younger people letting down their guard during the northern hemisphere summer."
WHO 's technical lead for Covid-19 Maria Van Kerkhove lamented in particular that nightclubs in a number of places had become "amplifiers" of transmission.
Tedros insisted that "young people must take the same precautions to protect themselves and protect others as everyone else".
"Young people can be infected, young people can die, and young people can transmit the virus to others."
Herman Cain, former Republican presidential candidate, dies after Covid-19 diagnosis
Reuters reports that Herman Cain, a 2012 Republican presidential candidate, has died after contracting Covid-19, according to a statement on his website and Facebook page.
Cain was diagnosed with the disease in late June after attending a Tulsa, Oklahoma, rally for President Donald Trump, an event where many attendees crowded close together without wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
"We're heartbroken, and the world is poorer: Herman Cain has gone to be with the Lord," the statement on his website said.
Libya to impose full lockdown
Reuters reports that Libya will impose a full lockdown in areas of the country it controls, it said on Thursday, after a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.
The disease has been spreading more quickly this month and Libya's National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), one of the few bodies that operates across the country despite the conflict, has confirmed 3 222 cases.
Libya's health system is in tatters after nearly a decade of chaos and war that has fragmented the state, destroyed infrastructure and left many people living in crowded conditions after fleeing their homes.
The lockdown will start on Friday and last for at least five days, forbidding all movement outside except to buy necessities, and replacing a partial 21:00 to 06:00 curfew.
French cities tighten rules as cases rise
AFP reports that several French cities on Thursday announced new face mask requirements and other measures to contain the coronavirus as the number of new cases continues to increase after a long lull, officials said.
The government, anxious to avoid a new outbreak but wary of clamping down too hard during the summer holidays, has stepped up guidance on social distancing as officials report new contagion "clusters" daily.
Face masks are already required in all enclosed public spaces nationwide, and in recent days several cities have cracked down on mass gatherings of young people in particular.
France's health ministry reported Wednesday 15 new Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall toll to 30 238 since the outbreak began.
Nordic countries shun masks
As most of the world either orders or recommends the use of face masks, with even US president Donald Trump seen wearing one, Nordic nations are the remaining holdouts, AFP reports.
In supermarkets, on buses, and along the streets of capitals - such as Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki and Reykjavik - face masks are a rare sight, worn only by a small minority, many of who are tourists.
According to a recent survey by YouGov, only five to 10% of respondents in the Nordic countries said they used a mask in public settings, a figure that has remained stable since the start of the crisis in March.
At the same time, the corresponding figures have risen to between 70% and 80% for most of the other 20 countries polled, including India and the United States.
Mika Salminen, director of Health Security at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, told broadcaster YLE the issue would likely resurface "when people begin to return from holidays to a greater extent, and of course if the epidemic situation changes radically."
On Thursday however, one Nordic country broke slightly from the mold.
Iceland - which like its neighbours have so far sworn off masks - announced that it would start requiring their use on public transport, domestic flights, ferries and in hairdressing salons.