FACTBOX - The latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Dr Miguel Vazquez, left, and a medical worker, check the status of a new coronavirus patient in Tijuana, Mexico. TFile picture: Joebeth Terriquez/AP

Dr Miguel Vazquez, left, and a medical worker, check the status of a new coronavirus patient in Tijuana, Mexico. TFile picture: Joebeth Terriquez/AP

Published Jul 9, 2020

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The World Health Organization (WHO) said

on Thursday it was setting up an independent panel to review its

handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the response by

governments worldwide.

EUROPE

* The United Kingdom's death toll from confirmed cases of

Covid-19 rose to 44 602 on Thursday, up 85 on the previous day,

the government said.

* Twenty-six Irish pubs face possible prosecution and risk

losing their licences over potential Covid-19 public health

breaches, Irish police said.

* Hungary is going to review rules on cross-border travel to

neighbouring countries where coronavirus infections are on the

rise, the prime minister's chief of staff said.

AMERICAS

* The Trump administration will not cut federal education

spending but could allow families to use funds elsewhere if

their school does not open amid the coronavirus pandemic, the

US education secretary said.

* The pandemic has made it even harder for senior-care

centers in the United States to find or afford standard

liability insurance, with rates soaring by as much as 300%,

insurance brokers said.

* The booming rooftop solar panel industry nosedived

overnight when the coronavirus forced homeowners to cut spending

and keep their distance from would-be installers.

* Mexico posted a record for new coronavirus cases reported

on a single day, with 6 995 infections, overtaking Spain to

register the world's eighth highest case count.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Australia's second-most populous state will relax

restrictions on many of the 3 000 people locked down in nine

public-housing towers despite surging numbers of cases.

* There is no need to reintroduce a state of emergency,

Japan's top government spokesman said when asked about a record

one-day rise in Tokyo coronavirus cases.

* Beijing reported no new confirmed coronavirus cases for

July 8, the third straight day of no new cases.

* Just one person in a South Korean survey of more than

3 000 people showed neutralizing antibodies to the novel

coronavirus, indicating the virus has not spread widely.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* African countries must carry out more testing and make

people use masks, a regional disease control body said as cases

topped half a million in the continent.

* Nigeria has dropped a plan to allow some pupils to return

to school because of a continued increase in the number of

Covid-19 infections, its education minister said.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Moderna Inc said on Thursday it has signed an

agreement with Spain's Laboratorios Farmacéuticos Rovi SA

to provide vial filling and packaging capacity for its

potential COVID-19 vaccine to supply markets outside of the

Unites States.

* The European Union wants to fast-track funding to treat

Covid-19 patients with blood plasma collected from survivors, an

EU document seen by Reuters shows.

ECONOMIC FALLOUT

* European shares rose on Thursday after a two-day wobble,

as Chinese markets continued their charge, while investors

propelled gold to a nine-year high.

* Global powers should cooperate better on monetary and

fiscal policy to tackle the Covid-19 economic crisis, European

Union finance ministers and central bankers will tell their G20

counterparts at a meeting next week.

* Concerns about renewed coronavirus lockdowns in the United

States outweighed signs of a recovery in US gasoline demand on

Thursday to keep a lid on oil prices.

Reuters

Related Topics:

coronavirus