Coronavirus Global Updates, 30 June: Mexico city begins reopening; Thailand reports no local transmission in 36 days

Global Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases Updates: As the pandemic is “not even close “ to getting over “180,000 people worldwide have tested positive in the last 24 hours” WHO Director General said. He also notified that a team will be sent to China next week to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.




Seven months into the coronavirus pandemic, over 5.8 million people have been tested positive and more than half a million deaths have been witnessed globally. The United States accounts for a quarter of all deaths.

As more and more US states are taking a step back from reopening their economies due to a fresh wave of new cases reported in Sun Belt states, Los Angeles saw an “alarming surge” taking its total infections to over 100,000.

Meanwhile, the European Union is set to prepare a list of 15 Covid-19-safe countries for travel, Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said. As infection rates in the US, Brazil, Russia and India continue to soar, it is unlikely they would make the cut.

As the pandemic is “not even close “ to getting over “180,000 people worldwide have tested positive in the last 24 hours”, WHO Director General said. He also notified that a team will be sent to China next week to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

Here are the top global developments today

Rare syndrome linked to COVID-19 found in almost 300 US kids, adolescents

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a rare life threatening syndrome associated with the coronavirus have been discovered in almost 300 children and adolescents in the United States, studies by the New England Journal of Medicine reported.

MIS-C shares symptoms with toxic shock and Kawasaki disease, including fever, rashes, swollen glands and, in severe cases, heart inflammation.

Apart from the 300 cases identified in the US, over 100 cases are reported worldwide and the syndrome is usually occurring two to four weeks after coronavirus infection settles in, Michael Levin, professor at Imperial College London said.

Mexico City begins reopening amid high coronavirus case load

After almost three months of lockdown, Mexico’s capital has allowed more business to reopen while officials estimate that the gradual reopenings this week could put another 1 to 15 million people on the streets of the capital.

Today, the capital’s historic center is scheduled to reopen following reopening of restaurants and hotels on Wednesday but with half their normal capacity. Some city metro stations will be open, too. And the metro authorities plan to distribute 1 million face shields to lower the risk of infections.

Thailand reports no local cases in 36 days; schools, bars to reopen tomorrow

Tuesday marked 36 days without any local transmission in Thailand after the two new cases were both imported from abroad. The new cases were Thai nationals returning from Qatar who were in state quarantine, government’s COVID-19 Administration Centre spokesperson said.

Thailand is set to reopen schools and bars from Wednesday and also allow some international flights into the country. The country currently has 3,171 infections and 58 deaths.

California, Texas see record jump in coronavirus infections

The US states of California and Texas witnessed record surge in new coronavirus infections on Monday.

After New York City, Los Angeles has now become the new epicentre of the pandemic as it reported an “alarming” daily spike that has taken the number of cases over 100,00.

“The alarming increases in cases, positivity rates and hospitalizations signals that we, as a community, need to take immediate action to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Barbara Ferrer, director of public health for Los Angeles County, said in a statement announcing the sharp rise.

California recorded over 7,000 cases Monday taking the state’s total tally to 223,000. COVID-19 infections in Texas rose by 6,545 on Monday to nearly 160,000, also setting a record for a one-day increase.

South Australia state cancels reopening borders after cases surge

The Australian state, South Australia on Tuesday cancelled its scheduled reopening of its borders, citing a spike in coronavirus infections in neighbouring Victoria.

“We are very hopeful that Victoria will be able to bring their outbreaks under control but at this stage we cannot possibly lift that border on 20 July as we were hoping to do,” South Australia Premier Steven Marshall told reporters.”

With around 7,800 cases and 104 deaths, Australia has fared better than many countries in the pandemic but the recent surge has stoked fears of a second wave.

New Zealand cancels APEC summit 2021, will lead it virtually

Due to the coronavirus, New Zealand on Tuesday cancelled to host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Auckland and will now host the summit virtually.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters emphasised on the necessity to cancel the meet due to security and health reasons. “So we had to accept the plain fact that we couldn’t do it other than by the mechanism we’re going to use now” he said.

Covid infections in South Korea spread beyond the capital

As the new wave of infections are on the rise since late May, they are beginning to spread beyond the greater capital area of the Korean republic which became the hotspot for virus resurgence.

The country reported 42 new infections on Tuesday bringing the national total to 12,800 cases including 282 deaths. Seventeen of the new cases came from the Seoul metropolitan area where about half of South Korea’s 51 million people live, and 20 were linked to international arrivals.

UN says coronavirus puts millions more at risk of child marriage and FGM

The coronavirus pandemic has reversed the progress on ending child marriage and femal genital mutilation (FGM), Natalia Kanem, head of the United Nations’ sexual and reproductive health agency said on Tuesday.

“The pandemic both makes our job harder and more urgent as so many more girls are now at risk” she said and an additional million girls could be married off and 2 million more could undergo FGM in the next decade, “beyond what would have been expected, as COVID-19 disrupts global efforts to end both practices”.

(With inputs from AP, Reuters)

 

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