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Coronavirus world round-up: Australia to slow return of its citizens from abroad amid fresh lockdown

Healthcare workers wait to test residents inside a public housing tower locked down in response to an outbreak of COVID-19 in Melbourne - REUTERS
Healthcare workers wait to test residents inside a public housing tower locked down in response to an outbreak of COVID-19 in Melbourne - REUTERS
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter ..
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter ..

Australia will likely slow down the return of its citizens from abroad, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday, as it grapples with a fresh outbreak of the coronavirus that has led it to isolate its second most populous state.

The border between Victoria and New South Wales, the busiest in the country, was closed overnight and around 4.9 million residents in the Victorian capital of Melbourne will return to partial lockdown at midnight following a spike in Covid-19 cases in the city.

"The rest of the country knows that the sacrifice that you're going through right now is not just for you and your own family, but it's for the broader Australian community," Morrison said during a televised media conference.

"I can imagine the frustration ... we don't have control over the virus as such, but we do have control over how we respond."

With the Victoria shutdown putting pressure on other states, Morrison said he would take a proposal on Friday to the national cabinet created to deal with the pandemic, seeking to slow down the return of Australian citizens and permanent residents by reducing the number of repatriation flights.

The state reported 134 new infections in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning, down from the previous day's record 191 but well over the low single digit daily increases of the other states and territories.

Read more here: Australia reimposes Melbourne lockdown for six weeks after cases surge

US to cut ties with WHO

The Trump administration has formally notified the United Nations that it will withdraw from the World Health Organisation (WHO), breaking ties with the international health body as the US death toll from coronavirus surpassed 130,000.    

The US notice of withdrawal, effective from July 6, 2021, was formally submitted to the United Nations secretary-general - the depository for WHO - on Monday, a senior administration official told The Telegraph.

The move was immediately criticised by Democrats, with Joe Biden pledging to rejoin WHO on his first day as president if he is elected in November.

Read the full story here.

Naked sunbathers ignore social distancing in Italy

Six Italians who were sunbathing completely naked on the shores of Italy's Lake Como have been fined € 3,333 (£3,000) each for acting “against public decency”.

The nudists were spotted on Sunday by the carabinieri police patrolling the shores of the popular lake by boat to ensure that beach-goers complied with social-distancing rules.

According to local media, the six men – aged between 43 and 68 – were sunbathing on the small beaches of Abbadia Lariana, which was crowded with both local and international tourists.

Read the full story here.

Brazil's President tests positive

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for Covid-19 after months of downplaying the virus' severity.

Mr Bolsonaro confirmed the test results while wearing a mask and speaking to reporters in the capital Brasilia.

"I'm well, normal. I even want to take a walk around here, but I can't due to medical recommendations," Mr Bolsonaro said.

The far-Right leader has caused huge controversy in Brazil for repeatedly flouting containment measures and minimising the risk of the virus, which has killed 65,000 people and infected 1.6 million.

US reaches grim milestone of three million cases

The US coronavirus outbreak crossed a grim new milestone of more than three million confirmed cases on Tuesday as more states reported record numbers of new infections, and Florida faced an impending shortage of intensive-care unit hospital beds.

Authorities have reported alarming upswings of daily caseloads in about two dozen states over the past two weeks - a sign that efforts to control transmission of coronavirus have failed in large swaths of the country.

Read the full story here.

Positive case in New Zealand escapes hotel quarantine to visit supermarket

New Zealand authorities will press charges against a coronavirus patient who escaped quarantine in Auckland and went shopping at a supermarket.

Air Commodore Darryn Webb, the head of managed isolation and quarantine, said the 32-year-old man escaped through a fence at the Stamford Plaza hotel and was gone for just over an hour before returning.

The man later tested positive for the virus.

Air Commodore Webb said the man was a New Zealand citizen who had recently returned from India and his actions were "completely unacceptable".

New Zealand has eliminated community transmission of the virus and is trying to contain cases at the border by placing new arrivals into a 14-day quarantine at hotels.

Air Commodore Webb said CCTV footage indicated the man had not been in close contact with others at the Countdown supermarket and had used a self-service checkout. Nevertheless, the supermarket has been closed for a deep clean.

Coronavirus podcast newest episode
Coronavirus podcast newest episode

British holiday-makers may have to wear masks on beach

British holiday-makers heading for the Costa Brava will be expected to wear masks on the beach as Catalonia prepares to tighten its rules after it was hit with a surge in coronavirus.

Catalan Health Minister Alba Verges is proposing the move with the Spanish region in renewed lockdown, with regional governors deciding on Wednesday whether to back it.

Face masks are currently obligatory in Spain only on public transport and in closed public spaces, and outdoors where social distancing cannot be guaranteed.

But the proposal would require people in Catalonia, one of two areas back in mini-lockdown, to wear them virtually everywhere outside their home - including on the beach.

Read the full story here.

Guadalajara team cleaning staffers disinfect the areas for the football players, before the start of the Mexican football tournament match between Mazatlan and Atlas in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico - AFP
Guadalajara team cleaning staffers disinfect the areas for the football players, before the start of the Mexican football tournament match between Mazatlan and Atlas in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico - AFP

'This epidemic is accelerating'

The emergencies chief of the World Health Organisation says coronavirus is continuing to gain pace globally.

Noting the marked increase in the number of confirmed cases being reported in the past several weeks, he warned that a spike in deaths could soon follow.

"In April and May, we were dealing with 100,000 cases a day. Today we're dealing with 200,000 a day," Dr Michael Ryan said.

He dismissed the idea that the significant jump in cases was due to more widespread testing: "This epidemic is accelerating."

What you might have missed

  • Melbourne’s five million residents will be under a strict lockdown as of midnight on Wednesday after Victoria’s surge in Covid-19 cases leapt by 191 on Tuesday. Daniel Andrews, the Victorian Premier, said metropolitan Melbourne will be under the restrictions for six weeks.

  • San Francisco is holding off on reopening indoor restaurants and outdoor bars because of continued infections. In Santa Clara County, officials plan to open hair and nail salons after receiving permission.

  • Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tested negative, a step he needed to take before travelling to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

  • A member of the Trump administration's White House task force on Covid-19 says experts have been surprised by the impact the virus has had on high-income and upper-middle-income countries. Dr Deborah Birx says Covid's impact on the United States has been aggravated by the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and obesity - highlighting America's need to become a healthier nation.

  • Latin America and the Caribbean now account for 50 per cent of cases in the Americas, and the number of registered cases continues to accelerate, the World Health Organisation's regional director says.

  • India's death toll has surpassed 20,000 and case numbers have surged as the South Asian nation pushes ahead with relaxations to its almost two-month lockdown.

  • Doctors in Sierra Leone, who are refusing to treat Covid patients in an attempt to press demands for bonus payments and more protective equipment, have threatened to suspend care for other patients too.

  • Iran has recorded its highest number of deaths from Covid within a 24-hour period.