Tuesday June 30
BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING
Tuesday 30 June 2020 News Briefing – Today’s headlines are dominated by the global Coronavirus Pandemic. As of 6:30 am (GMT), these are the global active numbers.
The top story this Tuesday morning: Leicester back in lockdown as infection cases spike. The city will not join the rest of England in the reopening of pubs and other businesses on July 4.
Global COVID-19 UPDATE
Coronavirus Cases: 10,412,421
Deaths: 508,228
Recovered: 5,668,668
No proof partial closures will help stop resurging coronavirus, infectious disease expert says.
Leicester back in lockdown as infection cases spike.
Coronavirus: NZ prime minister dismisses calls to open borders.
WHO says pandemic is ‘not even close to being over’.
India’s first Covid-19 vaccine candidate cleared for human trials.
Iran records 162 Covid-19 deaths single-day death toll.
No proof partial closures will help stop resurging coronavirus, infectious disease expert says
CNN says there is no proof reclosing bars and other businesses will slow the resurgence of coronavirus in the US, according to Dr Peter Hotez, an infectious disease specialist.
“So far, most of the governors have not been willing to do that full lockdown that was so successful in New York in the northeast back in March, April,” Hotez told CNN’s, Anderson Cooper.
Read the full story on CNN
…………………………………………..
Leicester back in lockdown as infection cases spike
BBC News says stricter lockdown measures have been announced in Leicester because of a rise in coronavirus cases in the city.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said non-essential shops will shut on Tuesday, and schools will close for most pupils on Thursday. The loosening of restrictions for pubs and restaurants in England on Saturday will also not be taking place.
Mr Hancock said Leicester accounted for “10% of all positive cases in the country over the past week.”
Read the full story on BBC News
…………………………………………..
Coronavirus: NZ prime minister dismisses calls to open borders
The Guardian says Jacinda Arden has denounced her detractors’ calls to open New Zealand’s borders as “dangerous.” At present, the country remains largely free of Covid-19 while the virus spreads abroad.
Telling reporters on Tuesday that she had heard “calls for our borders to be opened to the world,” the New Zealand prime minister referred to “a world where the virus is escalating not slowing and not even peaking in some countries yet, where cases exceed 10 million globally and deaths half a million, where countries are extending and returning to lockdown.”
Read the full story on the Guardian
…………………………………………..
WHO says pandemic is ‘not even close to being over’
France24 says the coronavirus pandemic is “not even close to being over,” the WHO warned Monday, as the global death toll passed half a million and cases surged in Latin America and the US.
In another grim milestone, the number of infections recorded worldwide topped 10 million, while some authorities reimposed lockdown measures that have crippled the economies worldwide.
“We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives,” World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Gjebreyesus said.
Read the full story on France24
…………………………………………..
India’s first Covid-19 vaccine candidate cleared for human trials
Aljazeera says Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for human trials, making it India’s first domestic candidate to get the green light from the government’s drug regulator as cases surge in a country with more than 1.3 billion people.
The Drug Controller General of India has approved the company’s application to conduct a Phase I and II clinical trial of Covaxin, which was developed along with the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Insitute of Virology, the company said in a statement on Monday.
Read the full story on Aljazeera
…………………………………………..
Iran records 162 Covid-19 deaths single-day death toll
Arab News says Iran reported on Monday 142 more deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest single-day toll since the country’s outbreak began in February.
“This increase in numbers is in fact a reflection of our overall performance, both in terms of reopening and in compliance with health protocols,” health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said at a news conference. The previous record daily toll of 158 deaths was reported by health authorities in early April.
Read the full story on Arab News
………………………
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND SHARE WTX NEWS WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY:
Facebook – Please like our page
Twitter – Twitter updates available in English and Arabic. Please follow us and we would love to hear from you
Instagram – Follow our pages in English and Arabic
A quick look at the other top stories
Four ex-cops linked to George Floyd’s death appear in court, judge sets 2021 trial date
FOX News says Judge Peter Cahill set a March 8, 2021, trial for the former officers charged in the killing of George Floyd. He did not indicate whether they would be tried separately or together.
Europeans’ trust in US falls during pandemic, survey finds
Euronews says the COVID-19 pandemic has left Europeans uncertain who they can rely on, with just two per cent now seeing the US as a “useful” ally on matters of global significance, a major new survey has found.
Women occupy 30% of Burundi’s new cabinet
Africa News says women make up over thirty per cent of Burundi’s new cabinet according to a government release issued over the weekend.
Portfolios handed to women include Justice, Labour, Tourism and Communication. Ex-president Nkurunziza’s last health minister, Thadee Ndikumana, also maintains her ministerial portfolio.
Middle East risks renewed arms race, US warns
BBC News says the US and Saudi governments have made a joint public appeal to the UN Security Council to extend the 13-year old arms embargo on Iran or risk a renewed arms race in the Middle East.
