Wednesday 1 July
BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING
Wednesday 1 July 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.
Global COVID-19 UPDATE
Coronavirus Cases: 10,591,079
Deaths: 514,021
Recovered: 5,798,973
Fauci warns Congress that new US coronavirus cases could rise to 100,000 a day.
Data needed quicker to target local outbreaks, say doctors.
Boris Johnson unveils £5bn plan to build back.
US buys up world stock of Covid-19 drug remdesivir.
‘Chasing the virus’ how India’s largest slum beat back a pandemic.
Strained Iraq doctors crack under virus spike fears.
Fauci warns Congress that new US coronavirus cases could rise to 100,000 a day
CNN says coronavirus task force member Dr Anthony Fauci issued a stark warning on Tuesday to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, telling them he wouldn’t be surprised if the US sees new cases rising to levels of 100,000 a day.
“We are now having 40-plus thousand new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around and so I am very concerned,” Fauci told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee during a hearing on the pandemic on Tuesday.
Read the full story on CNN
…………………………………………..
Data needed quicker to target local outbreaks, say doctors
BBC News says the government must provide vital data more quickly to local authorities to help them deal with Covid-19 spikes in the areas, doctors say.
The comments from the British Medical Association follow criticism about the length of time it took to get testing data to officials in Leicester. The city is the first to experience a local lockdown, after a rise in cases. The government insisted it had been working closely with local partners.
Read the full story on BBC News
…………………………………………..
Boris Johnson unveils £5bn plan to build back
Aljazeera says Boris Johnson set out plans on Tuesday to try to spur the UK’s economy, promising to fast-track 5 billion pounds of infrastructure investment and to “build, build, build” out of the coronavirus crisis.
In a speech, Johnson set out a vision where the government could cut through red tape to speed up construction and infrastructure projects and kick-start the economy to “level up” wealth and opportunity in the UK.
Read the full story on Aljazeera
…………………………………………..
US buys up world stock of Covid-19 drug remdesivir
The Guardian says the US has bought virtually all the stocks for the next three months of one of the two drugs proven to work against Covid0-19, leaving nothing for the UK and the rest of the world.
Experts and campaigners are alarmed by both the US unilateral action on remdesivir and the wider implications, for instance in the event of a vaccine becoming available. The Trump administration has shown it is prepared to outbid and outmanoeuvre all other countries to secure the medical supplies for the US.
Read the full story on The Guardian
…………………………………………..
‘Chasing the virus’ how India’s largest slum beat back a pandemic
France24 says when the virus claimed its first victim in India’s largest slum in April, many feared the disease would turn its narrow, congested streets into a graveyard, with social distancing or contact tracing all but impossible.
But three months on, Mumbai’s Dharavi offers a rare glimmer of hope with new infections shrinking, thanks to an aggressive strategy that focused on “chasing the virus, instead of waiting for disaster,” according to city official Kiran Dighavkar.
Read the full story on France24
…………………………………………..
Strained Iraq doctors crack under virus spike fears
Arab News says unpaid salaries, mask shortages, threats from patients’ families – doctors across Iraq are struggling under such conditions, just as they face a long-feared spike in coronavirus cases.
“We’re collapsing,” said Mohammed, a doctor at a Covid-19 ward in Baghdad who did not want to use his full name so he could speak freely.
“I just can’t work anymore. I can’t even focus on the cases or the patients,” he said at the end of a 48-hour shift.
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
California smashes state record with over 8,000 confirmed cases
FOX News says California recorded its highest daily coronavirus count for the third time in just over a week on Monday with 8,000 infections while also surpassing 6,000 deaths, officials said.
Europe suspends Pakistan airline over pilot license concerns
EuroNews says the European Union’s aviation safety agency said Tuesday that Pakistan’s national airline will not be allowed to fly into Europe for at least six months after the country’s aviation minister revealed last week that nearly a third of Pakistani pilots had cheated on their pilot’s exams.
Murder of singer triggers deadly protests, net blackout in Ethiopia
Africa News says there are differing reports of deaths arising from protests across Ethiopia due to the killing of Hachalu Hundessa, the iconic Oromo artiste.
Somalia rejects ‘ridiculous’ UAE incentive to join Yemen war
MEM says Somalia has rejected as “ridiculous” an offer made by the UAE for the African state to join the war in Yemen in return for financial incentives, the country’s foreign minister has revealed.
UN says ‘as many as 10,000’ flee Myanmar Army operations
CNA says the United Nations human rights chief said on Tuesday that up to 10,000 people had fled their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state after what she described as heavy fighting in the past week between government troops and ethnic insurgents.
