Monday 29 June
BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING
Monday 29 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.
Monday’s leading story: the UK needs the ‘biggest peacetime job creation plan’ to stop mass unemployment.
Global COVID-19 UPDATE
Coronavirus Cases: 10,249,460
Deaths: 504,466
Recovered: 5,556,634
- Covid-19 global death toll hits 500,000.
- UK needs ‘biggest ever peacetime job creation plan’ to stop mass unemployment.
- Mike Pence tells young Americans to wear masks.
- As Tokyo cases spike, experts dismiss second-wave – for now.
- Saudi Arabia’s virus rate ‘fluctuating’ health experts warn.
- Philippines coronavirus cases surge.
UK needs ‘biggest ever peacetime job creation plan’ to stop mass unemployment
The Guardian says according to a leading thinktank, the UK needs the biggest job creation package in peacetime to prevent the worst unemployment crisis in Britain for a generation.
Sounding the alarm as job losses mount, the Resolution Foundation called on the government to continue subsidising the wages of workers in the sectors of the economy hardest hit by the pandemic until at least the end of next year.
Read the full story on The Guardian
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US vice president Mike Pence encourages young Americans to get tested and to wear masks
CNN says US Vice President Mike Pence has encouraged young Americans to get coronavirus tests if they have concerns.
“If your local officials in consultation with the state are directing you to wear a mask, we encourage everyone to wear a mask in the affected areas and where you can’t maintain social distancing, wearing a mask is just a good idea and it will, we know, from experience, will slow the spread of the coronavirus,” Pence said at a briefing at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas on Sunday.
Read the full story on CNN
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Covid-19 death toll hits 500,000 worldwide
BBC News says more than 500,000 people worldwide have died as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University in the US.
Since the virus emerged in China late last year, there have been more than 10 million cases, Johns Hopkins reports.
Half of the world’s cases have been in the US and Europe, but Covid-19 is now rapidly growing in the Americas. Outbreaks are still being recorded in many parts of the world. Outbreaks in South Asia and Africa are expected to peak at the end of July.
Read the full story on BBC News
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As Tokyo coronavirus cases spike, experts dismiss second-wave fears – for now
Japan Times says fear weights heavy on the capital where a rise in infections has residents worried if a second-wave is approaching.
It’s unclear which parts of the world are emerging from a first wave or teetering on the cusp of a second. Either way, experts say distinguishing one from another will be difficult, and discerning its progression might only be possible in retrospect.
“We don’t even know if what happened in Japan was the first wave,” said Koji Wada, a professor of public health at the International University of Health and Welfare in Tokyo and a member of the government’s coronavirus panel.
Read the full story on Japan Times
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Saudi Arabia’s virus rate ‘fluctuating’ health experts warn
Arab News says Saudi Arabia’s Covid-19 infection rate is fluctuating a week after a nationwide lifting of curfews, health authorities warned.
The Health Ministry spokesman told a press conference on Sunday that the infection curve is rising again and urged people to follow medical advice to limit the spread of the illness.
He said that the infection rate, or R number, in the Kingdom is now between 1 and 1.5, but is fluctuating.
Read the full story on Arab News
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Philippines coronavirus cases surge, cross 35,000
Aljazeera says the number of coronavirus cases in the Philippines has passed 35,000 as data from the WHO shows the country also recorded the fastest increase in the number of infections in the Western Pacific region in the last two weeks.
The Philippines Department of Health (DoH) reported on Sunday an additional 653 positive cases, bringing the total to 35,455. At least eight new deaths were also recorded, with the total number of fatalities reaching 1,244.
Read the full story on Aljazeera
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A quick look at the other top headlines
California gov orders bars closed in counties including LA
FOX News says California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday ordered bars to close in counties including Los Angeles, while recommending closures in some other counties, citing the spread of the coronavirus.
Green wave as environmentalists win key French cities, say exit polls
Euronews says a green wave swept over France on Sunday as environmental parties won control of a clutch of major cities including Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg and Bordeaux, according to estimates by Ipsos and partners.
Malawi’s new president takes office
AfricaNews says Malawi held an investiture for president Lazarus Chakwera and vice-president Saulos Chilima, hours after the elections body declared Chakwera winner of last Tuesday’s polls.
Yemen president urges separatists to ‘stop the bloodshed’
Aljazeera says Yemen’s president has called on southern separatists to “stop the bloodshed” and abide by a power-sharing agreement in his first public comments since the secessionists declared autonomy in April.
