At the moment, the pandemic is on the rise in the US, India, Mexico, and many Latin American countries, including Brazil, Chile, and Peru. At the same time, multiple nations in Europe and across the globe are easing restrictions and reopening economies, hit by the crisis.
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Germany has confirmed 687 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, with the total count reaching 193,243, the Robert Koch Institute said on Saturday.
The death toll has grown by six to 8,954 people within the same period of time. Some 177,500 people have recovered since the start of the outbreak.
A day earlier, the country confirmed 477 new cases and 21 fatalities.
The data showed on Friday that the United States has 125,045 fatalities caused by the disease and more than 2.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases.
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – The number of people, who have died of COVID-19 in Mexico, has risen by 719 to 25,779 within the past 24 hours, Jose Luis Alomia, the director of epidemiology at the Health Ministry, said.
He also said on late Friday that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases had increased by 5,441 to 208,392 within the same period of time.
A day earlier, the Latin American nation recorded 6,104 new cases of the coronavirus, with 736 fatalities.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brazil has increased by 46,860 to 1,274,974 within the past 24 hours, the national Ministry of Health said on late Friday.
The death toll has risen by 990 to 55,961 people within the same period of time.
A day earlier, Brazil reported about 39,483 new cases of the coronavirus disease and 1,141 new fatalities.
Brazil comes second on a global tally of coronavirus cases after the United States, which has recorded over 2.4 million COVID-19 patients.
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - Lockdown measures currently in force in Mexico City will be eased further from Monday, the mayor of the Mexican capital Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday, while announcing that the city's COVID-19 threat level will be downgraded.
"The government of Mexico City and the Ministry of Health have applied an orange warning over the next week", Sheinbaum said in a broadcast that was streamed on Twitter.
The threat level had previously been red, which indicates that 65 percent of hospital beds and ventilators for COVID-19 patients are in use.
From Monday, Mexico City's central squares, department stores, and hotels will be allowed to reopen gradually. Citizens will be allowed to exercise outdoors and restaurants, markets, and beauty salons will also begin to resume activities, Sheinbaum said.
Despite the lockdown easing, public gatherings and religious services will remain prohibited. Cinemas, theatres, and museums will remain closed, as will most public offices and educational institutions.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide has risen by over 177,000 in the past 24 hours to 9.4 million, and the death toll has topped 480,000, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.
On Thursday, the WHO reported 167,056 new cases and 5,336 related deaths.
The fresh daily situation report estimates the number of infections confirmed in the past 24 hours at 177,012. Further 5,116 virus-related deaths were reported over the same period, taking the toll to 484,249.
The Americas lead the count with over 4.7 million cases, followed by Europe with more than 2.6 million.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow has registered 20 deaths of patients infected with COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the Russian capital's death toll to 3,714, the city's coronavirus response centre said in a statement on Friday.
"Another 20 patients, who were diagnosed with pneumonia and tested positive for the coronavirus infection, died in Moscow", it said.
In the previous day, 25 people infected with the coronavirus died in Moscow.
Effective immediately, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is suspending on premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide.
— HalseyBeshears (@HalseyBeshears) June 26, 2020
Nothing changes for restaurants to be clear. The order can be found here: https://t.co/cuvYfAplyX
— HalseyBeshears (@HalseyBeshears) June 26, 2020
The announcement came after Florida's health department reported over 8,000 new COVID-19 cases, a record high.
Florida’s bars were closed for a two month period until Republican Governor Ron DeSantis opened them again earlier this month.
"There are 16 states with rising cases and rising percentages", Vice President Mike Pence said during a gathering of the White House Coronavirus Task Force convened at the request of President Donald Trump.
Pence noted a higher share of individuals under the age of 35 among new cases and, importantly, a decline in rates of hospitalization from 15 percent to five percent today.
NEW DELHI (Sputnik) - A ban on international flights in and out of India has been extended until 15 July amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in the country, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in a statement on Friday.
"In continuation of the circular dated 30.05.2020 … the competent authority has decided that Scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India shall remain suspended till 2359 hrs IST [18:29 GMT] of 15th July, 2020", India’s civil aviation authorities stated.
The extension will not apply to international cargo flights and passenger flights that receive the approval of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, according to the statement.
The Indian government in late March suspended all domestic and international flights due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Domestic flights were allowed to resume in late May, although strict social distancing measures remain in force.
On Thursday, the country’s state railroad company Indian Railways announced that all timetabled passenger trains would be suspended until August 12 in light of the continued spread of the disease.
According to Indian public health officials on Friday, a single-day record of 17,296 new COVID-19 cases were registered over the preceding 24 hours.
A total of 490,401 cases of the disease have been confirmed in the country since the start of the outbreak, and the death toll stands at 15,301.
HELSINKI (Sputnik) - The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Estonia has increased by three over the past 24 hours, bringing the total case tally to 1,986, the Estonian Health Board said on Friday.
"COVID-19 was confirmed among 1,986 residents of Estonia in different regions of the country", the statement read.
On Thursday, Estonia reported one case of the infection.
A total of 69 patients have died of COVID-19 in Estonia since the start of the pandemic.
On 18 May, Estonia lifted its state of emergency, which was declared on March 12 over the pandemic, but the measures are being relaxed gradually and in several stages.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Lithuania has increased by two to 1,808 over the past 24 hours, the government said.
The death toll from the coronavirus there remains at 78 and a total of 1,501 patients have fully recovered.
The lockdown in Lithuania expired on 17 June. However, the state of emergency remains in place.
Health officials in neighboring Latvia have, in turn, has recorded one COVID-19 case over the given period, the country's Center for Disease Prevention and Control said, adding that this was the first registered case in the past six days.
There are now a total of 1,112 coronavirus cases in the country. The death toll stands at 30.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will not travel to the Japanese city of Hiroshima this year to participate in a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the US dropping of an atomic bomb on the city due to COVID-19 related restrictions, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.
On Thursday, Guterres said in a press briefing that it was not clear whether quarantine restrictions in both the United States, where the UN chief resides, and Japan will allow for the travel.
“I will, in any case, send a very strong message, and I want to fully associate myself to the people of Hiroshima and to the people of Japan in this moment”, Guterres said.
On August 6,1945, the United States first used an atomic bomb in combat in Hiroshima that killed between 90,000 and 146,000 people.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The authorities in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, the location of the spaceport bearing the same name, have reintroduced strict social distancing restrictions amid a surge in new COVID-19 cases, according to a statement published on Friday.
“We made a decision to return to the measures that we introduced in March. At that time, they were very helpful and there were no cases in the city. Therefore, it was decided to reintroduce restrictions through the checkpoint until 5 July, allowing entry and exit only under special circumstances”, the city authorities said.
A curfew has been imposed in the city starting from 21:00 local time [16:00 GMT] and running until 06:00 the following morning [01:00 GMT]. Non-essential stores have been ordered to close, as have kindergartens, sports facilities, swimming pools, and saunas. Cafes and restaurants will only be allowed to serve take-out and delivery customers, the city said.
As of Thursday, 60 patients with COVID-19 are currently being treated in one of the city’s medical facilities. A total of five people in the city have died after contracting the disease, and there have been 143 confirmed positive tests for COVID-19, the authorities said.
In a later statement, the Russian space agency Roscosmos stated that the Baikonur spaceport will continue operations despite the restrictions applied in the city.
“The Baikonur spaceport will continue to operate normally, applying all the relevant preventive measures”, a Roscosmos representative said.
According to the agency, vehicles that bring workers to the facility are disinfected twice a day, and regular sanitization takes place within all buildings.
A total of 19,750 cases of the coronavirus disease have been reported in Kazakhstan since the start of the outbreak, and the country’s death toll stands at 140. On Friday, 465 new cases of the disease were registered across the entire country, down from the 520 new positive tests confirmed the day before.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Drivers of school and tourist buses in several Spanish cities took to the streets on Friday to demand that the government take additional measures to support the industry amid financial hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the union Direbus said.
"We need concrete help and fast, because these companies can no longer pay taxes while having no income”, Direbus President Alfonso Taborda was quoted as saying by the Europa Press news agency.
This is already the second such strike in Spain in a month. The first time, bus drivers protested was 10 June.
🇬🇧 @DavisCupFinals has been postponed until 2021 🇬🇧
— LTA (@the_LTA) June 26, 2020
We look forward to competing again next year pic.twitter.com/IaTs9Xydq1
TEHRAN (Sputnik) - A further 2,628 new positive tests for COVID-19 have been reported in Iran over the past 24 hours, taking the country’s case total above 217,000, the country’s Ministry of Health said on Friday, amid a continued surge in new cases.
As a result of the latest increase, 217,724 cases of the coronavirus disease have been reported in Iran by the country’s Health Ministry since the start of the outbreak.
The corresponding rise on Thursday was 2,595.
Iranian public health officials on Friday also confirmed that 109 people died from complications related to the disease over the preceding 24 hours, taking the country’s death toll to 10,239.
A sustained surge in new cases has been observed in Iran since early June, after the government took steps to ease social distancing measures. The rise in positive tests has also followed in the wake of several prominent holidays.
"If you look at what is happening elsewhere in the world, where people have been coming out of lockdown, I'm afraid what you're also seeing is people taking too many liberties with the guidance, mingling too much, not observing social distancing", British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. "You've got really serious spikes."
"You may think that you're not going to get it and you are immortal and invincible and so on, and very likely that's true, particularly if you are a young person, but the bug you carry can kill elderly people particularly, it is still dangerous". "To win, to beat this thing, we have to stay alert."
"Our preparations to deal with a possible second wave of COVID-19 are on track, with an operation plan, a stockpile of medical equipment and more funding ... Our armed forces have been supporting civilian efforts day and night. Our countries must continue to invest to equip them strong and ensure that this health crisis does not turn into a security crisis. Because the security challenges we faced before the pandemic have not disappeared", NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said ahead of talks with US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian-made vaccine from the coronavirus increases appetite and does not cause any body discomfort, three male patients who volunteered for the first trial said on Friday.
"I did not feel how they injected the vaccine, it felt like an ordinary upper arm injection. I have no symptoms, body temperature is normal 36.6 degrees Celsius [97.9 Fahrenheit], no headache even. They told me I might lose appetite, but quite the contrary we eat even more than before", a patient named Sergei told the Russian newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda.
Another volunteer named Nikolay also said that he was warned of possible reactions that did not materialize, according to the report.
"During the first hours after vaccination, everyone was carefully tracking their bodies and sensations, checked temperature and heart rate. Then and now, the temperature varied from 36.6 degrees Celsius to 36.7 degrees Celsius. No rash, no itchiness, no inflammation in the injection area. As if they injected vitamins or something. The vaccine had no impact on the body neither inside nor out", a volunteer named Yury said as quoted in the report.
The vaccine has been developed by the Russian Defense Ministry in cooperation with the Gamaleya Federal Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology. Clinical trials on 18 volunteers, including both women and men, military and civilians, began on 18 June in Moscow to run by the end of July.
PARIS (Sputnik) – The Orly Airport in Paris has reopened after being shut down for almost three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the first commercial flight taking off early on Friday.
The first plane leaving the airport on Friday took off for the Portuguese city of Porto and was operated by the carrier Transavia. It was the first commercial flight since the end of March, when the Orly Airport was closed due to the collapse of air traffic over the travel restrictions.
However, air traffic is to be limited for some time, with only terminal 3 in the airport reopening and all other facilities remaining closed.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's COVID-19 total count has reached 620,794 after increasing by 6,800 over the past 24 hours, the country's coronavirus response centre said on Friday.
As many as 1,941 of the new cases (28.5 percent) have been detected with people showing no clinical symptoms, the centre specified.
Of the new cases, 813 were registered in Moscow, 390 in the Moscow Region, and 295 in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area (compared to yesterday's 885, 467, and 319, respectively).
The country's COVID-19 death toll has grown by 176 (92 yesterday) to 8,781.
As many as 8,988 COVID-19 patients have recovered across the country (6,342 yesterday), bringing the total number of cured people to 384,152.
"I know that Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, is giving this a lot of consideration so that the quarantine provisions that we have got in place can perhaps start to be relaxed with certain countries where the risk is low", Environment Secretary George Eustice told BBC TV.
"I don't know exactly when further information will be announced but I know that it is something the government is working on", he added. "I know it is being considered".
CAIRO (Sputnik) - The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Egypt has surpassed 60,000 as the authorities are planning to cancel curfews and reopen businesses, the Egyptian Health Ministry's spokesman said in a statement obtained by Sputnik.
Over the past week, the authorities registered over 10,000 new cases of the infection.
"As many as 1,569 new positive test results or coronavirus were recorded [over the past 24 hours] ... 83 people died of the infection over the past day ... The total number of coronavirus cases in Egypt is 61,130, including 16,338 who've recovered and been discharged from hospitals and 2,533 fatalities", Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Mogahed said.
NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – India has confirmed a record 17,296 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of those infected to 490,401, the country's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday.
The death toll from the disease has reached 15,301, with 407 new fatalities recorded over the past day.
The central Indian state of Maharashtra, with 147,741 confirmed cases, remains the most affected region. It is followed by the national capital territory of Delhi, with 73,780 cases, and the southern state of Tamil Nadu, with 70,977 cases.
India is fourth in terms of the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, following the United States, Brazil, and Russia.
