Coronavirus instances within the US soared previous 50,000 for the primary time Wednesday (File)
Los Angeles:
New day by day coronavirus instances within the United States soared previous 50,000 for the primary time Wednesday, because the World Health Organization delivered a grave warning that the worldwide pandemic is accelerating.
Restaurants, bars and seashores on the planet’s worst-hit nation closed from California to Florida, as states reeling from yet one more surge within the lethal virus braced for Independence Day festivities.
Global infections have hit their highest stage previously week, WHO information confirmed, with chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying new instances topped “160,000 on every single day.”
The grim milestone got here because the European Union left the United States, Brazil and Russia off its ultimate record of countries secure sufficient to permit residents to enter its borders.
With greater than 52,000 new COVID-19 instances within the United States alone previously 24 hours, in accordance with a Johns Hopkins University tally, a number of US states imposed 14-day quarantines on guests within the buildup to the lengthy weekend’s July four celebrations.
California suspended indoor eating at eating places in Los Angeles and several other counties, whereas New York scrapped plans to permit eating places to seat clients inside from subsequent week.
President Donald Trump reiterated his perception that the contagion will “at some point… sort of just disappear, I hope.”
But the US chief who has but to be seen in public sporting a face masks in the course of the pandemic added he would have “no problem” doing so.
EU journey ban eased
The rollbacks got here because the European Union reopened its borders to guests from 15 international locations.
The bloc hopes enjoyable restrictions on international locations from Algeria to Uruguay will breathe life into its tourism sector, choked by a ban on non-essential journey since mid-March.
Travelers from China, the place the virus first emerged late final yr, might be allowed to enter the EU provided that Beijing reciprocates.
And Brazil — which has suffered probably the most deaths globally for the final week, and is the second-worst affected nation general — was excluded totally.
It topped 60,000 whole fatalities Wednesday, after struggling 1,000 deaths in simply 24 hours.
However, with over 10 million recognized infections worldwide and greater than 500,000 deaths, the pandemic is “not even close to being over”, the WHO warned.
Data offered by the UN well being company for the seven days from June 25-July 1 confirmed the best variety of new day by day instances ever recorded got here on June 28, when over 189,500 new instances have been registered worldwide.
‘Dutch brothels reopen’
According to the United Nations, the coronavirus disaster may value world tourism and associated sectors from $1.2 to $3.Three trillion in misplaced income.
Greece, which has suffered fewer than 200 virus deaths, has seen its financial system hit arduous by lockdowns and journey restrictions — all however ending its profitable tourism season earlier than it started.
Romanian Cojan Dragos was “the first tourist” in a single Corfu lodge after driving there together with his spouse and daughter.
“We have the whole hotel just for us,” he instructed AFP.
Separately, Spain and Portugal held a ceremony as they reopened their land border.
The Netherlands additionally confirmed the reopening Wednesday of one other vacationer draw — its brothels and red-light districts.
“I’m totally booked,” mentioned intercourse employee Foxxy, including that she had held a “little party” when she heard restrictions can be lifted.
Clusters spur new lockdowns
Russia didn’t make the EU’s record of accredited international locations so its residents might be absent from the bloc’s vacationer hot-spots.
The nation, nonetheless, loved a public vacation Wednesday because it voted in a referendum to approve constitutional adjustments permitting President Vladimir Putin to remain in energy for an additional 16 years.
Putin was pressured to postpone the vote in April as his authorities tackled an outbreak that has contaminated nearly 650,000 folks — the third-highest on the planet.
In different international locations, clusters are nonetheless inflicting issues.
Parts of the Australian metropolis of Melbourne suffered sharp rises in infections, spurring new stay-at-home measures.
The Palestinian Authority introduced a five-day lockdown throughout the West Bank after a surge in confirmed instances.
And textile factories within the central British metropolis of Leicester have been recommended as the explanation for a spike in infections that has prompted the reimposition of native restrictions.
Americas spike
In the United States, spikes throughout southern and western states are driving a surge in nationwide infections.
Texas, which once more smashed its day by day COVID-19 report with over 8,000 new instances, joined Florida and California in closing some seashores for the upcoming vacation weekend.
Apple introduced it will shut one other 30 US shops on Thursday, half of them in California.
An extra 700 deaths nationwide took the US previous 128,000 deaths in whole.
The Pan American Health Organization warned that the loss of life rely in Latin America and the Caribbean may quadruple to greater than 400,000 by October with out stricter public well being measures.
The US authorities introduced this week it had purchased 92 p.c of all remdesivir manufacturing — the primary drug to be proven to be comparatively efficient in treating COVID-19.
Britain and Germany, nonetheless, mentioned Wednesday they’d adequate shares of the drug.
‘Corona child’
In Britain, some 1,500 acts from Ed Sheeran and Coldplay to Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones urged the county’s authorities to save lots of the reside music trade, which has been collapsing due to the coronavirus.
But whereas lockdown measures have been a catastrophe for a lot of, some have welcomed the prospect to spend extra high quality time with hard-working companions.
