France sets new post-lockdown coronavirus cases record: Live

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Over 2,200 new daily infections were reported in France as the US surpassed more than 160,000 deaths. France has recorded over 2,200 confirmed coronavirus infections, a new daily record since the lockdown was lifted in June. The total number of United States coronavirus deaths surged past 160,000 with more than 4.9 million confirmed infections across the country. At least 19.1 million people around the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while the global death toll crossed 716,000. More than 11.6 million have recovered. Here are the latest updates: An approved coronavirus vaccine could end up being effective only 50 to 60 percent of the time, meaning public health measures will still be needed to keep the pandemic under control, said Dr Anthony Fauci, the top United States infectious diseases expert. We dont know yet what the efficacy might be. We dont know if it will be 50 percent or 60 percent. Id like it to be 75 percent or more, Fauci said in a webinar hosted by Brown University. But the chances of it being 98 percent effective is not great, which means you must never abandon the public health approach. Racial disparities in the United States coronavirus epidemic extend to children, according to two sobering government reports. One of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports looked at children with COVID-19 who needed hospitalisation. Hispanic children were hospitalised at a rate eight times higher than white kids, and Black children were hospitalised at a rate five times higher, it found. The second report examined cases of a rare virus-associated syndrome in kids. It found that nearly three-quarters of the children with the syndrome were either Hispanic or Black, well above their representation in the general population. A last-ditch effort by Democrats to revive collapsing Capitol Hill talks on vital COVID-19 rescue money ended in disappointment, making it increasingly likely that Washington gridlock will mean more hardship for millions of people who are losing enhanced jobless benefits and further damage for an economy pummeled by the still-raging coronavirus. It was a disappointing meeting, declared top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, saying the White House had rejected an offer by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to curb Democratic demands by about $1 trillion. He urged the White House to negotiate with Democrats and meet us in the middle. Dont say its your way or no way. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico defended his governments record fighting the coronavirus and ruled out a change in strategy after the official death toll surged past 50,000. The Latin American nation recently overtook the United Kingdom to become the third hardest-hit country in terms of total virus deaths, after Brazil and the United States. On Thursday the Mexican health ministry reported a total of 50,517 deaths and 462,690 infections in the nation of more than 128 million. The number of people in France infected with coronavirus on Friday rose by 2,288, a new post-lockdown high, following increases of 1,604 on Thursday and 1,695 on Wednesday, the health ministry said in a statement. It also said the cumulative death toll from the virus now stood at 30,324, an increase of 12 compared with seven on Thursday and nine on Wednesday. Irelands prime minister or taoiseach has ordered regional lockdowns in three counties amid a surge of new COVID-19 cases. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the restrictions will apply in counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly and are in response to a deep and urgent threat. The restrictions begin at midnight and will last for two weeks. More than 5,400 people died in Russia from the coronavirus in June, the state statistics service said, 1,000 more than previously announced by the authorities. Russias reported mortality rate is much lower than other countries with similar rates of infection, leading critics to accuse officials of under-reporting deaths to minimise the scale of the crisis. Turkey confirmed 1,185 additional cases of COVID-19, taking the tally to 238,450, according to the countrys health minister. The rise in the number of cases continues. The number of recoveries from the virus is less than the number of new cases, as it was yesterday, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter. Preston, in the northwest of England, became the latest UK town to face a local lockdown due to a reported rise in coronavirus infection rates. Under the restrictions, which come into force at midnight, people from separate households will be banned from meeting each other at home. Official figures showed a rolling seven-day rate of new cases of the virus in Preston rose from 20.3 per 100,000 people in the seven days to July 27, to 32.8 in the seven days to August 3. Two more top-10 women Elina Svitolina and Kiki Bertens will miss the US Open, joining number one Ash Barty in skipping the grand slam tennis tournament during the coronavirus pandemic. The fifth-ranked Svitolina, a Ukrainian who was a semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows a year ago, posted on Friday on social media that she does not feel comfortable to travel to US without putting my team and myself at high risk. Russia set up COVID-19 express tests at Moscows Vnukovo airport, allowing passengers to get tested for COVID-19 within an hour on arrival or prior to departure. For the cost of 2,750 roubles ($37), arriving and departing passengers can use the new mobile testing service, using the EMG diagnostic system. Germany will give a welcome break to the coronavirus lovelorn from Monday easing its border controls to allow unmarried couples to reunite after what has been months of separation for some. The exemption will apply to the partners of Germans from countries that Germany considers high-risk currently most of the world outside the EU and couples will have to provide some proof that they were in a relationship before the pandemic, the interior ministry said. New Yorks governor has said he would allow children statewide to return to classrooms for the start of the new school year, citing the states success in battling the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement by Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo clears the way for schools to offer at least some days of in-person classes, alongside remote learning. The United States coronavirus death toll surpassed 160,000, with more than 4.8 million confirmed cases reported across the country. The pandemic has killed at least 712,315 people worldwide with the US recording the most deaths, followed by Brazil with nearly 100,000. Globally, 40 percent of all cases have been recorded in the two countries. French health ministry chief Jerome Salomon said there had been a clear uptick in coronavirus infections in France and Europe. The virus continues to circulate very actively worldwide. There is an upward trend in France and Europe, Salomon told a news conference. Frances new COVID-19 infections rose by more than 1,600 over 24 hours for the second day running on Thursday. A boy aged seven with COVID-19 has become the youngest known person to die in Georgia since the start of the pandemic. The African-American boy had no other chronic health conditions, according to data released by the state. The case is from Chatham County, which includes Savannah, the Georgia Department of Public Health reported. The death comes amid nationwide debate ahead of the school year about the risks that children face for infection or spread of the coronavirus. If governments choose strong green policies and investments to revive economies after the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has a good chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, an internationally agreed aim, researchers said. But if the world sticks to business as usual even if some lockdown measures stay in place to the end of 2021 global temperatures would only be roughly 0.01C lower than expected by 2030, found the study published in Nature Climate Change. Large parts of the worlds economy ground to a halt earlier this year as travel and other restrictions were imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, causing carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and other emissions to drop 10-30 percent globally. The coronavirus-hit Canadian economy created 419,000 jobs in July, a higher-than-predicted increase of 2.4 percent, while unemployment continued to fall to 10.9 percent, the national statistics institute said. The unemployment rate drop of 1.4 percentage points marked the second month in a row that it has fallen, after reaching an all-time high of 13.7 percent in May. It stood at 5.6 percent in February, before lockdown restrictions implemented in an attempt to contain COVID-19 hit the economy. Malta banned mass gatherings and made it mandatory to wear masks in public as new coronavirus cases surged after having been reduced to zero for a week early in July. Health authorities reported 49 new infections, the second-highest daily number since the first case was detected on March 7. Nine patients have died. Three workers hired to help set up the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the events organisers. Daily screening began last week for people working at the Wisconsin Center in preparation for the August 17-20 convention, which will be largely virtual because of the coronavirus. The Journal Sentinel reports the staff at the Wisconsin Center followed the guidelines set forth by our client regarding daily health screens, the centre district said in a statement. The US economy added 1.8 million jobs in July, far fewer than in May and June, but not as bad as some economists feared, according to government data. As COVID-19 cases spiked in several states in recent weeks, new restrictions to contain the virus forced some businesses to close their doors again, while many have already closed permanently, raising concerns the labour market would take a turn for the worse. But the unemployment rate fell to 10.2 percent from 11.1 percent in June, still slightly worse than the depth of the global financial crisis in October 2009. Hello, this is Usaid Siddiqui in Doha taking over from my colleague Saba Aziz. Norwegians should avoid all travel abroad, also to countries with few COVID-19 cases as authorities try to prevent a resurgence in coronavirus cases, Norways health minister has said. There is still little contamination in Norway, but we see increased contamination in countries that used to have control over their situations, Bent Hoie told a news conference. Norway has so far reported 9,468 coronavirus cases and 256 related deaths. At least 8,857 people have recovered. At least 156 new coronavirus-related deaths in Iran have raised the countrys toll to 18,132, the health ministry said. A total of 2,450 people tested positive for COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 322,567, according to ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari. She said more than 279,000 patients have recovered so far, while 4,136 are still hospitalised in critical condition. Englands cricket tour of India that was scheduled to start in late September has been postponed until next year, the England and Wales Cricket Board said. The move comes after the mens T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played across Australia in October and November, was also postponed because of the ongoing pandemic. No new dates for the rescheduled tour have been announced. Englands tour of the subcontinent was set to include three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches. It was intended to serve as a warm-up for the T20 World Cup. Our men's white-ball Tour to India has been postponed until early 2021 England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 7, 2020 Bollywood actors and crew older than 65 will be allowed to resume shoots, an industry official said, after an Indian court overturned coronavirus restrictions limiting the presence of older people on film sets. The worlds most prolific film industry has been struggling to get back on its feet after strict rules banning elaborate scenes and barring senior actors from shoots were unveiled in June. But Fridays decision by a court in Mumbai has paved the way for actors older than 65 to return to work, allowing some of Indias most revered stars such as 77-year-old Amitabh Bachchan, who was hospitalised with the coronavirus, to resume filming. Spanish authorities have ordered about 32,000 people into lockdown in the central riverside town of Aranda de Duero in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Known for its vineyards, Aranda de Duero residents will find their movements restricted to the absolute minimum and be barred from entering or leaving the town which lies 150 kilometres (90 miles) north of Madrid. Other areas have already put local lockdowns in place, including in the Basque Country, and the regions of Catalonia and Aragon. Russia is willing to supply a coronavirus vaccine to the Philippines, or team up with a local firm to mass-produce it, its ambassador to Manila said. Russia is expecting regulatory approval for its first potential COVID-19 vaccine this month, with doses to be administered to front-line health workers first. We are ready to supply vaccines to the Philippines, Igor Khovaev, Russias ambassador to the Philippines, told a virtual news conference. Syrias capital is facing a terrible spike in coronavirus infections, with hospitals packed, patients scouring Facebook for advice and medics fearing the virus is spreading faster than clinics can test for it, the AFP news agency reported. Authorities in government-held areas confirmed 999 cases including 48 deaths, but the health ministry admitted this week it lacks the capacity ... to carry out widespread testing in the provinces. There has been a massive spread among cities, the ministry admitted, saying there are only 25,000 hospital beds available in government-controlled areas. In Damascus, doctors reported that public facilities are already packed and unable to admit new patients. The unprecedented fall in greenhouse gas emissions from lockdowns during the pandemic will do nothing to slow climate change without a lasting switch from fossil fuels, an international team of researchers has said in a new study. Global emissions from the burning of coal, oil and gas could fall up to eight percent in 2020 after governments moved to confine billions of people to their homes in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19. But in the absence of a systemic change in how the world powers and feeds itself, experts warned that the emissions saved during lockdown would be essentially meaningless. Find out more in our Green Read . Rugby in South Africa is aiming to restart next month after the government gave permission for matches to go ahead again without spectators. National body SA Rugby said approval for full-contact training sessions and games was given on Thursday but it will take teams around a month to be ready to play competitive matches again. SA Rugby has not announced where games will be played in a country among the worst affected in the world by the coronavirus pandemic. Poland has reported a record number of new daily coronavirus infections, taking the countrys total number of cases to 50,324. The health ministry reported 809 new infections within 24 hours, up from 726 on Thursday. At least 1,787 people have died from the disease. On Thursday, the government imposed stricter rules on a number of Polish counties, including the compulsory wearing of face masks outside the home. A Russian state laboratorys vaccine for the novel coronavirus is undergoing its final testing phase and is expected to be registered next week, a senior health official said. Currently it is in the final testing phase, which is extremely important. We need to understand that the vaccine will be safe, Deputy Health Minister Oleg Grinev said in comments carried by the Russian news agency Interfax. Another senior health official said last month the vaccine was expected to be mass-produced in September. The vaccines alliance GAVI says it has agreed to a deal with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the worlds biggest vaccine producer, Indias Serum Institute, to speed up the manufacturing and delivery of up to 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to developing countries in 2021. The collaboration will give upfront capital to the Serum Institute so that once any effective COVID-19 vaccine is licensed, the company can mass-produce the shots at scale, as early as the first half of 2021. In a statement, GAVI CEO Dr Seth Berkley said the deal was aimed at making sure rich countries would not be the only ones with access to coronavirus vaccines. Global health and scientific communities are racing to develop a vaccine for the new coronavirus in just 12-18 months a process that can normally take between five to 10 years. Read our latest Doctors Note by WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan on the latest work being done to help protect against the novel coronavirus. The International Cricket Council released figures showing it had 1.65 billion video views on its Facebook channel in the first half of 2020, saying it topped the rankings in terms of video consumption among leading sports bodies on the social media platform. Cricket was shuttered globally from late March until last month, when host England beat West Indies 2-1 in a three-test series that was played inside bio-secure venues in Southampton and Manchester. The ICC, citing statistics from the CrowdTangle analytics tool, said daily video consumption on its Facebook page increased from three million minutes viewed to 15 million minutes a day during the lockdown. Israel: 80,431 cases (1,674), 578 deaths (2) Indonesia: 121,226 cases (2,473), 5,593 deaths (72) Russia: 877,135 cases (5,241), 14,725 deaths (119) Philippines: 122,754 cases (3,379), 2,168 deaths (24) Hong Kong will offer free voluntary coronavirus testing for residents, leader Carrie Lam has said, as the global financial hub races to contain a resurgence of the virus over the past month. The plan, which will enable city-wide testing for the first time, is likely to be implemented in two weeks at the earliest, Chief Executive Lam said. The situation in Hong Kong is still critical, with the number of cases remaining high, Lam told reporters. Since January, almost 3,900 people have been infected in Hong Kong, 46 of whom have died. More than a million people across Africa have now been confirmed to have had the new coronavirus, with health experts warning the peak of the pandemic has yet to hit the continent. Here is an animated graphic showing how the coronavirus spread across the African nations: Read more here . Switzerland has signed an agreement with Moderna to secure early access to the COVID-19 vaccine the US biotech company is developing, the government said. Switzerland will get 4.5 million doses of the vaccine, enough to vaccinate 2.25 million people if as expected two doses are needed per patient. The government is also talking to other vaccine companies and has allocated 300 million Swiss francs ($329m) to the project. Thousands of young doctors in South Korea have begun a strike in protest of government medical policy, causing concerns about the treatment of patients amid the coronavirus pandemic. The striking doctors are interns and resident doctors, who oppose the governments plan to expand admissions to medical schools to resolve the shortage of doctors in South Korea. The doctors call the plan a populist policy that would waste taxpayers money and nurture low-quality medical schools. In a statement posted on their website, they accused the government of making little financial support for their practising programmes and said that they work with an extremely low salary. Indias coronavirus cases have passed two million, hitting another grim milestone in the pandemic that has killed more than 41,000 people in the worlds second-most populous country. The health ministry said 62,538 cases the highest one-day jump were reported in the past 24 hours, raising the nations total to 2.03 million. Also, 886 new deaths were reported raising the death toll to 41,585. Read more here . Hello, this is Saba Aziz in Doha, Qatar. Im taking over the live blog from my colleague Zaheena Rasheed. Australias second-most populous state of Victoria has reported 11 coronavirus-related deaths and 450 new infections in the last 24 hours, compared with eight and 471 cases respectively a day earlier. Victoria reported its deadliest day of the coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday with 15 deaths and a record daily rise of 725 cases. Mike DeWine, the governor of Ohio, tested has negative for COVID-19 after testing positive earlier on Thursday ahead of a planned visit with US President Donald Trump. In a tweet, DeWine said his wife, Fran DeWine, also tested negative, as did staff members. The governor, who had cancelled his meeting with Trump, said the earlier positive result came from a rapid antigen test, while the second negative result came from a more sensitive PCR test. UPDATE: In a second COVID-19 test administered today in Columbus, Governor Mike DeWine has tested negative for COVID-19. First Lady Fran DeWine and staff members have also all tested negative. pic.twitter.com/0Ixap90mJg Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) August 7, 2020 Democratic leaders in the US Congress and top aides to President Donald Trump have failed to make substantial progress on a new coronavirus aid bill, but both sides expressed a willingness to continue the negotiations. If we conclude tomorrow that theres not a compromise position on the major issues, the president has alternatives in executive orders, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters. Were still very far apart on key issues, he said. Their differences centred around new aid to state and local governments and continuing the additional $600 a week federally-backed unemployment benefits agreed to earlier in the crisis. Nearly 300,000 Americans could be dead from COVID-19 by December 1, according to a forecast by health experts at the University of Washington, although they have said 70,000 lives could be saved if people were scrupulous about wearing masks. Were seeing a rollercoaster in the United States. It appears that people are wearing masks and socially distancing more frequently as infections increase, then after a while as infections drop, people let their guard down, said Dr Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. The US death toll stands at more than 159,000, the most of any country in the world, with 4.8 million known cases. Mexicos health ministry has reported 6,590 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 819 deaths, bringing the countrys totals to 462,690 infections and 50,517 deaths. Mexico now has the third-highest death toll in the world, after Brazil, which is approaching 100,000, and the US, which is approaching 160,000. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has issued a decree to provide 1.9 billion reais ($356m) in funds to purchase and eventually produce a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca PLC and Oxford University researchers. Brazils Acting Health Minister General Eduardo Pazuello said the vaccine could be available for Brazilians by December or January. January is the best bet. The vaccine is the solution to end the pandemic, he said, adding that Brazil would initially receive 100 million doses, which would allow for the vaccination of half the countrys population, and then to produce the vaccine locally. The US State Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have lifted global advisories recommending US citizens avoid all international travel because of the coronavirus pandemic, and instead issued many high-level warnings for individual countries. With health and safety conditions improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others, the department is returning to our previous system of country-specific levels of travel advice, the State Department said in a statement lifting its Do Not Travel advisory. The CDC also dropped its global advisory recommending against all nonessential international travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but nearly all countries remain on its highest Level 3 advisory to avoid all non-essential travel. A few countries, including Thailand, New Zealand and Fiji, were put on a low-risk Level 1 advisory. The pandemic-delayed London Marathon will be staged on October 4 using a different route than usual and with only elite runners participating. Rather than starting in Greenwich in east London, there will be a looped 42.2-kilometre (26.2-mile) course featuring 19.8 laps around St Jamess Park within a biosecure bubble with spectators excluded. It will finish in the traditional place in front of Buckingham Palace. Despite all our efforts, the fantastic support from all of our partners and the progress that has been made on planning for the return of smaller mass participation events that are not on the roads, it has not been possible to go ahead with a mass socially distanced walk or run, said Hugh Brasher, event director of the London Marathon. Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Im Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives. For key developments from yesterday, August 6, go here .