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Monday, June 22, 2020, 22:23
Spain to decide this week which non-European tourists can visit
By Agencies
Monday, June 22, 2020, 22:23 By Agencies

Sunbathers in designated roped-off areas enjoy a day out on Poniente Beach in Benidorm, Spain on June 21, 2020, a day after the town's beaches were reopened after three months of closure due to a national lockdown to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. (JOSE JORDAN / STR / AFP)

LONDON / MILAN / FRANFURT / RIO DE JANEIRO / PARIS / MADRID / LIMA / CAIRO / MOSCOW / WINDHOEK / THE HAGUE- Spain will decide this week which visitors from outside Europe can enter as it welcomes back travelers from neighboring nations in an effort to revive a tourism industry hammered by the coronavirus lockdown, a minister said.

Borders between European Union (EU) nations have reopened, prompting thousands of French to cross into Spain on Sunday seeking cheap tobacco and alcohol

Borders between European Union (EU) nations have reopened, prompting thousands of French to cross into Spain on Sunday seeking cheap tobacco and alcohol.

Spain is the world’s second most-visited nation, with roughly one in five of its normally 80 million annual visitors coming from Britain.

Health Minister Salvador Illa told Cadena SER radio station that Madrid would discuss with EU partners whether to also let in travelers from outside the continent and make a decision this week.

Would-be holidaymakers and Spain’s tourism industry are waiting anxiously.

“This year it isn’t a question of making money, it is about losing less,” said Miguel Fluxa, owner of the Iberostar hotel chain, at a news conference on Mallorca island.

Mallorca was the first Spanish destination to open to international tourists last week, but Fluxa still expected summer business to reach only 40 percent of last year’s rates.

Spain’s Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya confirmed to COPE radio that a two-week self-quarantine for visitors had been lifted, but non-Europeans were still not allowed in except for Spanish passport-holders, health workers or people in transit.

ALSO READ: EU to draw up safe countries list as borders open to travelers

EU nations will decide whether to open borders to non-Europeans based on epidemiologic criteria, she added.

Madrid hopes a resurgence of visitors will allow tourism, which accounts for one job in eight and about 12 percent of the economy, to salvage its summer season.

Spain had considered a quarantine on travellers from Britain, which has left the EU, but eventually decided not to.

One of the worst-hit nations, Spain has registered 246,272 cases and 28,323 deaths from the COVID-19 disease.

Health Minister Illa said there were some new, small coronavirus outbreaks, but they were under control. Restrictions to mobility were re-imposed in three villages in the Aragon region where one of the outbreaks was spotted.

Global tally

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases on Sunday, with the total rising by 183,020 in a 24-hour period.

The biggest increase was from North and South America with over 116,000 new cases, according to a daily report.

Total global cases are over 8.7 million with more than 461,000 deaths, according to the WHO.

The previous record for new cases was 181,232 on June 18.

ALSO READ: WHO drawing up plans for 'fair, equitable' access to virus vaccine

Albania

International passenger maritime transport in Albania will restart on June 22, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy (MIE) said in a press statement on Sunday.

The Albanian government stopped international passenger maritime transport after the first coronavirus cases were confirmed on March 9.

On Sunday, health authorities reported 71 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Albania to 1,962, with 1,134 recoveries and 44 fatalities. 

Belarus

Belarus reported 569 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking its tally to 58,505, according to the health ministry.

The country also reported 917 new recoveries in the past 24 hours, taking its number of recoveries to 36,666, said the ministry.

The death toll stood at 346, according to the ministry.

Brazil

Brazil officially passed 50,000 coronavirus deaths on Sunday, with more than 1 million total cases, the Health Ministry said.

ALSO READ: Brazil's COVID-19 infections top 1m with no end in sight

Brazil, the world's No. 2 coronavirus hot spot after the United States, now has a total of 1,085,038 confirmed cases and 50,617 deaths, up from 49,976 on Saturday, the ministry said. 

Egypt

Egypt confirmed on Sunday 1,475 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the country's tally to 55,233, the Health Ministry said.

Another 87 deaths were reported Sunday, raising the death toll to 2,193, the ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

He added that 409 more patients were completely cured and discharged from hospitals in the past 24 hours, increasing the number of recoveries to 14,736.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 4,532 after 63 new cases were confirmed on Sunday, the Ministry of Health said.

The ministry said one more death was reported on Sunday, raising the death toll to 74.

In the past 24 hours, aAnother 91 patients were reported to have recovered, bringing the number of recoveries to 1,213, according to the ministry.

France

The coronavirus has been spreading faster in the last 10 days in French Guiana and the French government is not ruling out imposing a new lockdown on the French overseas territory, the prime minister's office said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe's office also said in the statement that the government would be stepping up its resources to tackle the virus in the region.

The number of COVID-19 deaths in France rose by seven from the previous day to stand at 29,640 said the country's national health service on Sunday.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 284 to 160,377.

Red Cross helpers wearing face masks and protective clothing distribute bread to residents of a house who are being quarantined in Verl, Germany, June 21, 2020. (DAVID INDERLIED / DPA VIA AP)

Germany

The number of confirmed cases increased by 537 to 190,359, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for public health showed on Monday. The reported death toll rose by 3 to 8,885.

According to a tally by Johns Hopkins, there were 602 new infections in the 24 hours through Monday morning, bringing the tally to 191,272. The number of fatalities was unchanged from Sunday at 8,895.

The coronavirus reproduction rate in Germany jumped to 2.88 on Sunday, up from 1.79 a day earlier, RKI said.

The number, a sharp increase from 1.06 on Friday, is based on RKI's 4-day average.

The spike in infections is mainly related to local outbreaks including in North Rhine-Westphalia, RKI said.

Over the weekend, authorities in Goettingen needed riot police to enforce quarantine measures.

In North-Rhine Westphalia, more than 1,300 people working at a slaugterhouse in Guetersloh tested positive for coronavirus, up from 803 infections on Friday. As a result, North-Rhine Westphalia has put 7,000 people under quarantine and closed kindergartens and schools close to the abbatoir. The region's premier told German television ZDF on Sunday he could not rule out a broader lockdown.

READ MORE: Fearing second COVID-19 wave, Europe to train 'army' of medics

Italy

Italy reported 24 deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday, compared with 49 a day earlier, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases stood at 224 from 262 on Saturday.

The country's death toll now stands at 34,634, the agency said, the world's fourth-highest after the United States, Brazil and Britain.

The number of confirmed cases amounts to 238,499, the eighth-highest global tally.

The number of people registered as currently carrying the illness fell to 20,972 from 21,212 the day before.

Italy is planning value-added tax reductions in areas hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, Deputy Finance Minister Laura Castelli said in an interview with la Repubblica, specifying areas including restaurants and tourism, clothing and cars. La Stampa reported that Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri, of the Democratic Party, on the other hand favors proceeding more cautiously on tax cuts.

Mexico

Mexico on Sunday reported 5,343 new infections and 1,044 additional deaths from the coronavirus, the Health Ministry said, bringing the totals for the country to 180,545 cases and 21,825 deaths.

It was the second-highest daily fatality toll from the pandemic, according to data from the ministry. The rising number of cases prompted Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum to delay the capital’s gradual reopening.

Meanwhile, Mexico will resume sending temporary farmworkers to Canada after the two countries reached an agreement on improved safety protections for laborers on Canadian farms during the pandemic, the Mexican government said.

Mexico said last Tuesday it would pause sending workers to farms with coronavirus infections after at least two of its nationals died from COVID-19 after outbreaks on 17 Canadian farms.

Morocco

Morocco on Sunday announced 138 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the North African country to 9,977.

The number of recoveries rose to 8,284 with 61 new recoveries reported, said Hind Ezzine, head of the Department of Epidemic Diseases of the Ministry of Health.

One death was reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 214.

Earlier on Sunday, Morocco announced that it will relax travel restrictions inside the country and allow cafes and restaurants to reopen starting from June 25.

Shopping malls, commercial centers, leisure and entertainment stores will also open from June 25, and public transport between cities and domestic flights will also resume.

Mozambique

Mozambique registered its fifth COVID-19 death and another 45 confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, said the country's health authorities on Sunday.

The patient succumbed to the disease on June 18 in the city of Maputo, but the cause of death was only confirmed on Sunday, said Minister of Health Armindo Tiago at a daily press conference on COVID-19.

The country's tally of infections stood at 733, including 181 recoveries, according to Tiago.

Tiago declared the city of Pemba, the provincial capital of Cabo Delgado, as another geographical location with community transmission of COVID-19, after the city of Nampula.

Namibia

Namibian President Hage Geingob on Monday announced that Namibia will migrate from stage 3 to stage 4 from June 30 while the points of entry will remain closed except for food and essential supplies.

The Namibian President also lifted stage 1 to stage 3 in the coastal region of Erongo but kept movement banned from Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.

He said the opening of ports of entry airports will be considered after stage 5 with all foreigners coming to Namibia expected to present a COVID-19 free certificate on arrival. He said all those that will be allowed to come in will also go through mandatory quarantine at their own cost.

Geingob also said travelling from the two coastal towns of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay remains strictly prohibited to contain the possible spread of the virus from the two towns.

Namibia has reported 63 cases of COVID-19. Geingob also deferred school learning for a further 2 weeks.

"The resumption of grade 11 and 12 and pre-primary to grade 3 face to face learning will remain suspended for the next 2 weeks while workers will be asked to work from home, subject to approval from their employers," he said.

Netherlands

For the first time since the beginning of March, no COVID-19 patient was reported dead in the past 24 hours in the Netherlands, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) announced on Monday.

The total death toll in the country stood at 6,090. The first confirmed coronavirus patient in the Netherlands was reported on Feb 27 this year, and the first death involving COVID-19 was reported on March 6.

The daily deaths reached a peak of 234 on April 7 during the novel coronavirus crisis. The number of people who tested positive to COVID-19 grew by 69 since Sunday to a total of 49,658. Hospital admissions rose by 2 to a tally of 11,851.

Nigeria

Nigerian doctors suspended a nationwide strike to continue talks with the government over a lack of protective equipment needed to treat COVID-19 patients and other benefits.

The medical officers decided to return to work after an intervention from government officials, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors said in emailed statement on Monday. The group will “continue negotiations with stakeholders and progress made shall be reviewed in four weeks,” they said.

Nigeria’s Minister of Information Lai Mohammed has called the action of the body “a setback for the nation’s effort” to fight COVID-19. He accused the group of betraying the nation and their professional oath by denying people medical care during a public health emergency.

“This is not right and it clearly negates the Hippocratic Oath to which the doctors subscribe,” Mohammed said in an emailed statement. “This is an ill-timed and ill-considered strike, -- there is no doubt that the strike has impacted negatively on public health, putting many lives at risk.”

About 300 doctors have been infected with coronavirus in the line of duty and 10 have died, secretary general of the association, Bilqis Muhammad, said by phone.

Africa’s most populous country has recorded 20,244 coronavirus infections and 518 deaths since its first case on Feb 27.

Peru

Peru's COVID-19 death toll surpassed 8,000 on Sunday as the total number of people infected with the novel coronavirus reached 254,936.

In the past 24 hours, 3,598 new cases and 184 more deaths from the disease were registered, the Health Ministry said.

Peru's toll has risen to 8,045, the ministry said.

A woman talks to a vendor through a protective plastic at a street market in the Barranco neighborhood in Lima, Peru, June 20, 2020. (RODRIGO ABD / AP)

Russia

Russia reported 7,600 new confirmed infections in the past 24 hours, raising the total to 592,280, according to data from the government’s virus response center.

The number of cases remained below 8,000 for a sixth straight day. Of those, 32.5 percent were asymptomatic, the government said.

The daily death toll was 95, the lowest since May 25, bringing the total to 8,206. Also in the past 24 hours, 4,705 people recovered.

South Africa

The outbreak in South Africa is about to peak and the government expects hospitals to start filling up with patients, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said.

The number of new infections is projected to first peak in the Western Cape, which has been hardest hit by the pandemic, followed by Gauteng and the Eastern Cape province, Mkhize said in an interview with radio station Safm on Monday.

UK

A weekly coronavirus testing regime using a "no-swab" saliva test is being trialled in Southampton, southern England, and could result in a simpler and quicker way to detect outbreaks of the virus, the British government said on Monday.

More than 14,000 doctors and health workers, other essential workers and university staff and their households will participate in the trial, which uses an Optigene test, the government said.

Rather than taking a swab, which some people find uncomfortable, participants will spit into a pot. Test results will be received within 48 hours, the government said.

Britain has so far reported 42,632 COVID-19 related deaths and 304,331 confirmed cases, according to the British Department of Health and Social Care.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will unveil the latest easing of Britain's coronavirus lockdown on Tuesday, when he will also announce the conclusion of a review into whether a two-metre rule on social distancing should be relaxed, his office said.

Johnson insisted Sunday he was "sticking like glue" to his plans for easing the coronavirus lockdown for the hospitality industry from July 4.

READ MORE: UK lowers COVID-19 alert level to 'epidemic' from 'exponential'

Ukraine

Ukraine confirmed 735 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking its tally to 36,560, the country's health ministry said Sunday.

A total of 16,509 patients have recovered while 1002 people have died, the ministry said.

Health Minister Maxym Stepanov said at a daily briefing that 5,998 medical workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ukraine, of which 3,639 have recovered.

US

Coronavirus cases in the US increased by 27,476 from the same time Saturday, to 2.27 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. 

Arizona cases jumped by 2,592 while California added 4,515 cases, a daily record.

Fatalities rose 0.3 percent to 119,854.

More than 40 California deaths are waiting for a decision by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on whether to test for COVID-19, and any positive finding among them "could dramatically rewrite the narrative of COVID-19" in the country, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

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