World News in Brief: June 30

Brazil still faces a "big challenge" to curb the coronavirus pandemic and should do more to integrate its efforts at different levels of government, a top World Health Organization official said on Monday (June 29). Brazil, which is suffering the second worst outbreak behind the United States, reported on Monday 24,052 new confirmed cases and 692 additional deaths, taking the overall death toll in the country to 58,314.

(Illustrative Image) Some countries are experiencing a resurgence in infections, leading to partial reinstate of lockdown.
(Illustrative Image) Some countries are experiencing a resurgence in infections, leading to partial reinstate of lockdown.

* China on Tuesday (June 30) reported 19 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for June 29, up from 12 a day earlier, the health authority said. There were no new deaths. Of the new infections, seven were in Beijing, the National Health Commission said in a statement. The capital city, which is battling a fresh outbreak, had also reported seven new infections for June 28. As of June 29, mainland China had a total of 83,531 confirmed coronavirus cases, while the death toll stands at 4,634.

* Thailand on Tuesday confirmed two new coronavirus cases imported from abroad, marking 36 days without local transmission. The coronavirus has killed 58 people in Thailand among its 3,171 infections. Of those, 3,056 patients have recovered. Thailand will reopen schools and bars and allow some foreigners into the country from Wednesday (July 1).

* California and Texas both marked record spikes in new COVID-19 infections on Monday, a Reuters tally showed, as Los Angeles reported an "alarming" one-day surge in America's second-largest city that put it over 100,000 cases. Los Angeles has become a new epicenter in the pandemic as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations surge there despite California Governor Gavin Newsom's strict orders requiring bars to close and residents to wear masks in nearly all public spaces.

* Mexico's health ministry on Monday reported 3,805 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 473 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 220,657 cases and 27,121 deaths.

* The Japanese government said existing border restrictions would remain in place except in cases involving humanitarian reasons. The country said it would add 18 countries to its entry ban from July 1, according to a June 29 posting on the foreign ministry website. That brings the total number of countries subject to Japan's entry ban to 129.

* Britain has imposed a stringent lockdown on the English city of Leicester following a local flare-up of the novel coronavirus just as Prime Minister Boris Johnson attempts to nudge the United Kingdom back to normality.

* Authorities on Tuesday ordered the lockdown of 36 suburbs in Australia's second biggest city Melbourne in an attempt to stop a spike in coronavius cases, a dramatic departure from the relaxation of restrictions elsewhere in the country. The country has had 104 deaths from about 7,800 infections.

* The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 498 to 194,259, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday. The death toll rose by 12 to 8,973, the tally showed.

* Poland's President Andrzej Duda got the most votes in the first round of elections, final results showed on Tuesday, as the focus turned to what looks set to be a close-fought run-off vote on July 12. Duda, an ally of the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, will now face off against liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, a member of the centrist opposition Civic Platform. Duda got 43.50% of the vote in the first-round presidential vote and Trzaskowski came second with 30.46%, the results showed.

* Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday ordered the European Union envoy to leave the country, hours after the EU announced sanctions against several officials loyal to the socialist leader. The EU subjected 11 officials to financial sanctions, citing their actions against the democratic functioning of Venezuela's National Assembly.

* Australia will spend AUD1.35 billion (US$926.1 million) over the next 10 years to boost its cyber security defences, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday, as Canberra seeks to combat a wave of attacks.

* The number of workers in Germany on reduced hours has fallen to 6.7 million from 7.3 million in May, economic institute Ifo said on Tuesday, pointing to a slow recovery from the coronavirus pandemic's impact.

* Uzbekistan has imposed an overnight curfew in some parts of the country, including the capital Tashkent, as it seeks to curb a fresh rise in COVID-19 infections following the gradual lifting of a two-month lockdown. The Central Asian nation had been cautiously lifting a nationwide lockdown that had been in place in April and May. However, after a decline in COVID-19 cases between mid-April and mid-May, it has once again seen a steady rise. The country of 34 million people has confirmed 8,298 COVID-19 cases, with 24 deaths.

* Kuwait will partially resume commercial flights from August, but does not expect to reach full capacity until a year later, the civil aviation authority said, as its aviation sector gradually recovers from a suspension sparked by the COVID-19 crisis. Kuwait, which has recorded more than 45,520 COVID-19 cases with 350 deaths, initiated a five-phase plan at the start of June to gradually lift restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus. A partial curfew remains in place.

* Panama registered a record 1,099 new cases of coronavirus infection on Monday, taking the total number in the country to 32,785, while deaths climbed by 16 to 620 overall, the health ministry said in a statement. The record number surpassed a previous high of 1,028 new cases reported by the Panamanian government on Sunday.

Reuters