UK PM Boris Johnson wears a face mask as he visits Tollgate Medical Centre in London on July 24, 2020. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)
SAO PAULO / SANTIAGO / CAIRO / ADDIS ABABA / PARIS / TRIPOLI / RABAT / MOSCOW / MADRID / PRAGUE / MOSCOW - UK PM Boris Johnson said there are lessons to be learned over the way his government handled the coronavirus pandemic, and warned of “tough times” facing the UK as it deals with the virus into next year.
The WHO reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases with the total rising by 284,196 in 24 hours
There are “open questions” about whether the country went into lockdown soon enough to slow the rate of infections, Johnson told the BBC TV on Friday. “There will be plenty of opportunities to learn the lessons of what happened.”
Johnson’s government has faced widespread criticism over its handling of the crisis, from the lockdown timing to the availability of protective equipment and the lack of testing capacity in the early days of the pandemic. Though the prime minister has promised to hold a public inquiry, he’s yet to say when, arguing the priority is to focus on dealing with the outbreak.
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The UK has recorded 45,677 deaths from coronavirus, according to the latest data, the highest level in Europe. There have been 297,914 positive cases since the start of the outbreak.
“I take full responsibility for everything that government did,” Johnson said. Though he also said his administration stuck to the scientists’ advice “like glue,” potentially giving himself a get-out if the inquiry apportions blame.
Earlier, Johnson said his government is preparing for a second wave of infections over the winter months, and warned the pandemic is likely to linger well into 2021.
Ministers have outlined plans to widen the winter flu vaccination program, doubling those eligible for free injections, as it seeks to minimize pressure on hospitals if coronavirus and flu outbreaks occur at the same time.
The prime minister said last week he hopes life in the UK will return to normal by Christmas, but on Friday he wouldn’t say when social-distancing measures, including wearing face masks, might be relaxed.
Global tally
The World Health Organization reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases on Friday, with the total rising by 284,196 in 24 hours.
Deaths rose by 9,753, the biggest one-day increase since a record high of 9,797 deaths on April 30.
The previous WHO record for new cases was 259,848 on July 18. Deaths have averaged 5,000 a day in July, up from an average of 4,600 a day in June.
Visitors take in an art exhibit from inside a car as they drive through a warehouse displaying paintings and photos in Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 24, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (ANDRE PENNER / AP)
Brazil
Sao Paulo, the biggest city in South America, postponed its 2021 Carnival celebrations on the same day that Formula One scrapped its next planned race here, underlying the enduring effects policymakers expect the coronavirus pandemic to have on Brazil.
Carnival, a traditional multi-day holiday known for its colorful parades and raucous revelry, takes places in hundreds of cities throughout Latin America’s largest nation.
While the celebrations, originally scheduled for February, are more traditionally associated with Rio de Janeiro and cities in the country’s northeast, Sao Paulo’s Carnival has grown significantly in recent years.
In a Friday news conference, Sao Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas said possible revised dates included late May and July. June was unlikely, he said, as the separate festival of Sao Joao do Nordeste is scheduled for that month.
Earlier in the day, Formula One officials scrapped the November 2020 race in Sao Paulo, along with the body’s three other stops in the Americas, citing the coronavirus pandemic.
Brazil registered another 1,156 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 85,238. There are now over 2.3 million confirmed cases in Brazil, making it one of the hardest hit nations in the world.
Chile
The Chilean Ministry of Health reported on Friday that the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country has risen to 341,304, with 8,914 deaths.
According to the official report, 2,545 new cases and 76 more deaths from the virus were registered in the last 24 hours.
The ministry stated that there are 527 ventilators available to the country's health network.
It was also reported that an additional 21,071 tests for COVID-19 were administered in the past 24 hours, for a total of 1,485,711 tests administered since screening for the disease began in March, with a positivity rate of 22.97 percent.
Health authorities added that there are currently 18,694 active cases, with 313,696 patients recovered.
Egypt
Egypt reported on Friday 659 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 91,072, said the Egyptian Health Ministry.
The death toll from the virus rose to 4,518 after 38 new fatalities were added, the lowest daily number in nearly six weeks, Health Ministry Spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.
Meanwhile, 904 new patients were discharged from hospitals after fully cured, raising the total recoveries in Egypt to 31,970, he added.
It is the 16th consecutive day for Egypt's COVID-19 daily infections to fall below 1,000, as record 1,774 infections were seen on June 19.
Ethiopians wear masks to curb the spread of the coronavirus as they ride on the electrified Addis Ababa Light Rail transport system, in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, July 23, 2020. (MULUGETA AYENE / AP)
Ethiopia
Ethiopia's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 12, 693 after 760 new COVID-19 positive cases were confirmed on Friday, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said.
This is so far the highest daily increase in the East African country.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Health, in a statement issued on Friday, revealed that from the total of 7,264 medical tests that were conducted within the last 24 hours, some 760 of them have been tested positive for COVID-19, eventually bringing the total number of cases in the country to 12, 693.
The ministry said 5,785 patients who were tested positive for COVID-19 have so far recovered, including 140 in the last 24 hours.
Three more patients succumbed to the COVID-19, bringing the death toll of COVID-19 to 200, according to the Ethiopia Ministry of Health on Friday.
A medical staff collects a nasal swab from a man at a COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) free screening tent set up in the parking lot of the Petit Nice beach in La Teste-de-Buch, southwestern France, on July 24, 2020. (PHILIPPE LOPEZ / AFP)
France
France recorded 1,130 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Friday, in a fresh sign that the rate of infection is accelerating again after the government eased lockdown restrictions.
It was the second consecutive day that the daily number of new cases exceeded 1,000.
The ministry, in a statement, said the figures showed the need for people to show discipline by limiting unnecessary exposure and respecting hygiene rules.
Libya
The National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Friday reported 110 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases in Libya so far to exceed 2,400.
The center said in a statement that it received a total of 1,473 suspected samples, of which 110 were tested positive, adding that three patients have recovered while one died.
According to the center, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Libya so far is 2,424, including 504 recoveries and 57 deaths.
A series of protective measures against the pandemic have been taken by the Libyan authorities since the first case was announced in March, which include closing the country's borders, closing schools and mosques, banning public gatherings, and imposing a curfew.
Morocco
Morocco registered 570 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, raising the tally of infections in the North African country to 18,834, the health ministry said.
The total recoveries increased by 228 to 16,100, while the death toll from the virus rose by five to 299 in the last 24 hours, said Mouad Mrabet, coordinator of the Moroccan Center for Public Health Operations at the Ministry of Health, at a press briefing.
The COVID-19 death rate in Morocco stabilizes at 1.6 percent, with the recovery rate at 85.5 percent, he noted.
Meanwhile, Moroccan Minister of Health Khalid Ait Taleb warned that the North African country has noticed recently the emergence of serious cases and an increasing number of coronavirus-related deaths.
Russia
Russia registered 5,871 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its total to 806,720, the country's COVID-19 response center said in a statement Saturday.
Meanwhile, 146 new deaths were reported, bringing the nationwide count to 13,192, said the statement.
Moscow, the country's worst-hit region, reported 648 newly confirmed cases, taking its total number of infections to 237,264, it added.
According to the statement, 597,140 people have recovered so far, including 8,366 over the past day.
On Friday, 266,740 people were still under medical observation, while over 26.6 million tests have been conducted nationwide, Russia's consumer rights and human well-being watchdog said Saturday in a separate statement.
People wearing face masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus gather in a discotheque in Madrid, Spain, July 25, 2020. (MANU FERNANDEZ / AP)
Spain
Spain registered 922 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, a day after the country recorded 971 new cases on Thursday -- the highest daily rise in infections since May 8, according to the country's Ministry of Health.
In the last 24 hours, the communities with the most cases were Aragon, with 298 infections, Catalonia with 133, and Madrid with 107, showed data published by the ministry.
The ministry reported that there have been 369 local outbreaks since the end of Spain's scaling down of mobility restrictions on June 21.
Speaking to the press on Thursday, Maria Jose Sierra, from the Health Ministry's Coordination Center for Health Emergencies, informed that 70 percent of these outbreaks involved 10 people or less and that the larger outbreaks were connected to "social settings and vulnerable workers."
Czech Republic
A total of 109 people have been infected with COVID-19 after a birthday party at a nightclub in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, on July 11, local media reported Friday.
"It's a group of young people who met there, and because they all have a lot of activities and a lot of contacts, the number of reported illnesses has risen to 109 to date," Czech News Agency quoted Zdenka Jagrova, head of the Prague regional hygiene station, as saying.
The number of cases is expected to rise due to the high number of social contacts at the club called Techtle Mechtle. So far, 270 people have already been quarantined, local health officials said.
According to health officials, the partygoers took no precautions against the virus and were reported to have drunk cocktails from a shared straw.
To date, the Czech Republic has a total of 14,924 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 365 deaths.
Russia
Human trials of Russia’s second potential coronavirus vaccine, developed by the Siberian Vector institute, will begin on July 27, the TASS news agency cited Russia’s consumer safety watchdog as saying on Friday.
An early-stage human trial of a separate vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya institute in Moscow, was completed this month, with scientists hailing the results and authorities planning to move to mass production in the autumn.
A health worker takes a nasal swab sample at a COVID-19 testing site at St. John's Well Child and Family Center, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, July 24, 2020, in Los Angeles, California. (VALERIE MACON / AFP)
US
The United States recorded more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19 for the fourth straight day on Friday but a top White House advisor on the pandemic said she saw signs that the worst could be past in hard-hit southern and western states.
At least 1,019 fatalities due to COVID-19 were confirmed nationwide on Friday, following 1,140 on Thursday, 1,135 on Wednesday and 1,141 on Tuesday. Total cases across the United States rose by at least 68,800 on Friday to over 4 million.
The numbers have been driven in large part by a surge in infections in Arizona, California, Florida, Texas and California.
The federal health and education officials stressed the need for children to return to in-class instruction. The American public and its leaders have been sharply divided over whether students should return to school for the fall term during the pandemic.
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Dr Deborah Birx said children under the age of 18 are typically less sick than older adults from the sometimes deadly illness but called it an “open question” how readily those under 10 can spread the virus.
US President Donald Trump has pushed for schools to reopen, saying that it was critical to the mental and emotional well-being of children and the ability of their parents to work.
Business closures and “stay-at-home” orders imposed by governors and local officials have badly damaged the nation’s economy and thrown millions of Americans out of work.
