The global coronavirus case tally has reached 11,900,855, with 545,728 fatalities, according to the Johns Hopkins University. While some countries continue gradually easing restrictions, others implement new measures to contain the virus
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2020) The global coronavirus case tally has reached 11,900,855, with 545,728 fatalities, according to the Johns Hopkins University. While some countries continue gradually easing restrictions, others implement new measures to contain the virus. The Serbian government's decision to impose a curfew over the weekend has triggered mass protests in the country's capital.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States has exceeded three million after a record 60,000 daily increase, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University revealed on Wednesday. The US is leading the world in the number of coronavirus cases and COVID-19 fatalities, with the case count totaling 3,022,899 and the death toll amounting to 131,857.
Brazil, ranking second, has recorded 45,305 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total count to 1,668,589, the Health Ministry said.
India, which has recently become the third worst-affected country after surpassing Russia, has registered over 22,700 new cases, pushing the total to 742,417, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Russia has recorded 6,562 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, with the total reaching 700,792, the response center said Wednesday.
Riots rocked the center of Belgrade in the early hours of Wednesday after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced plans to impose a curfew over the weekend amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and related deaths, a Sputnik correspondent reported. The most radical demonstrators attacked police cordons, entered the lobby of the Serbian parliament, burned down three police cars and several garbage containers. In response, the police used tear gas and other riot gear.
As many as 43 Serbian police officers were injured and 24 activists were detained during mass riots in Belgrade, Serbian police director, Vladimir Rebic said on Wednesday.
Vucic on Wednesday called the night riots the most flagrant case of political violence in several years.
Later, over 1,000 protesters gathered in Belgrade for a new violent rally organized by opposition parties. One of the leaders of the Serbian opposition has already suffered a head injury.
The French government is preparing a plan for a possible new COVID-19 outbreak in the country in the coming months, but it excludes a second national lockdown as a measure to prevent it from spreading further, as the country's economy would not "endure" its consequences, newly appointed Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Wednesday on the BFMTV and RMC broadcasters.
Australia is considering restricting the number of residents returning to the country to help states that need to organize quarantine for travelers amid COVID-19 spreading at a high rate in Victoria, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday.
Uzbekistan will introduce between Friday and August 1 new restrictions for curbing the spreading of COVID-19, which will include vehicles movement limitations, closure of restaurants and entertainment venues, and self-isolation for citizens aged above 65, the response center said.
Authorities in the Netherlands reimposed a ban on entry for visitors from Serbia and Montenegro after a surge in the numbers of COVID-19 cases in these countries, Justice and Security Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus said on Wednesday.
Foreign tourists from 12 countries, including Russia, are required to provide a negative test for COVID-19 for traveling to Dubai by Emirates Airlines, the UAE flag carrier said on Wednesday.
Georgia is ready to resume direct air traffic and open the borders with Germany, France, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia without limitations amid the coronavirus pandemic, Irakli Chikovani, the prime minister's spokesman, said on Wednesday at a press conference.
The Danish government has allowed gatherings of up to 100 people, as part of the gradual reopening strategy, The Copenhagen Post newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Qatar's government on Wednesday decreed that all shopping malls can open on weekends after a four-month break amid loosening restrictions, The Qatar News Agency reported after a cabinet meeting.
The European Commission has approved Germany's plan to create a fund with a 500 billion euros ($566 billion) investment for assisting enterprises affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Wednesday that the country had allocated $10 million to the World Heath Organization to boost its coronavirus response, and had also provided humanitarian and financial assistance to over 30 countries.
The Belarusian government has by far disbursed close to 23 million Belarusian rubles ($9.4 billion) in state support to coronavirus-affected businesses, Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said on Wednesday.
The COVID-19 pandemic should not be used as an excuse to curtail democracy as well as fundamental rights and values, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday while presenting the country's EU council presidency plan for the next six months to the European Parliament.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe does not plan to send its missions abroad to monitor elections before the fall, spokesman Nat Parry told Sputnik on Wednesday.
A new wave of COVID-19 infections could stall the V-shaped US economic recovery the Trump administration is counting on, although data thus far indicates a positive story, White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow said on Wednesday.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared on Wednesday that July 13 would mark the national day of mourning for those who died from the coronavirus. Earlier in the day, Kazakh Interior Minister Yerlan Turgumbayev refuted rumors that the coronavirus outbreak hit the country because biological warfare agents were dispersed above its territory.
No direct causality has been established between a malfunction detected in the Aventa-M ventilators and fires that broke out in hospitals of Moscow and St.Petersburg, the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare (Roszdravnadzor) said on Wednesday.
The UAE Interior Ministry has started using police dogs to detect COVID-19-positive people across the country after trials have revealed that dog's diagnosis is 92 percent accurate.
COVID-19 medication Koronavir, produced by Russian pharmaceutical company R-Pharm and known under international nonproprietary name Favipiravir, was approved by the Russian Ministry of Health, according to the state register of medical products.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has asked the Ministry of Health to allow outpatient administration of the Avifavir medication, developed by RDIF and ChemRar pharmaceutical company, to coronavirus patients who undergo treatment at home, RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said on Wednesday.
Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Wednesday that 17 vaccines against coronavirus that are currently under development in Russia are seen as promising, and profound effort is therefore ongoing. Russians have changed their attitude to immunization to more positive since the onset of the pandemic, the health minister noted.
