in-cyprus 12 September 2020 - by Josephine Koumettou
Top US government infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Friday he disagreed with President Donald Trump’s assessment the United States has “rounded the corner” on the coronavirus pandemic, saying the statistics are disturbing.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, click here.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* India reported a record daily jump in coronavirus cases for a second consecutive day, logging 97,570 new infections on Saturday, data from the federal health ministry showed.
* Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, widely expected to become prime minister next week, said on Saturday he will consider topping up payouts to households and companies to cushion the economic blow from the pandemic.
AMERICAS
* President Donald Trump’s administration has expelled about 8,800 unaccompanied migrant children intercepted at the U.S.-Mexico border since March 20 under rules seeking to limit the coronavirus spread in the United States, according to court documents filed Friday by the Justice Department.
* Canada reported no COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours for the first time since March 15, according to public health agency data released late on Friday.
EUROPE
* French Prime Minister Jean Castex said his government is not planning a new, nationwide lockdown to contain a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, but will instead implement a raft of less radical measures.
* The UK government brought in new limits on households meeting up in Birmingham, England’s second biggest city, and some surrounding areas, where infections have been increasing significantly.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* A first official visit to Israel by United Arab Emirates delegates may be postponed or conducted under restrictions as a lockdown looms.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* U.S. hospitals have turned down about a third of their allocated supplies of the COVID-19 drug remdesivir since July as need for the costly antiviral wanes.
* U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co Inc has begun recruiting participants to its early-stage COVID-19 vaccine study, according to the government database clinicaltrials.gov.
(Reuters)
Pictured: A participant in a traditional costume wearing a face mask attends a rehearsal for Garba, a folk dance, ahead of Navratri, a festival during which devotees worship the Hindu goddess Durga and youths dance in traditional costumes, amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Ahmedabad, India, September 12, 2020. REUTERS/Amit Dave