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HEALTH-VIRUS-WORLD FACTS
Coronavirus: latest global developments
PARIS, July 25, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Here are the latest developments in
the coronavirus crisis:
– Daily record surge in US –
For the second straight day the United States reports more than
70,000 new cases and over 1,000 deaths as the virus takes hold in the
country’s south and west.
– Nearly 640,000 dead –
The pandemic has killed more than 639,981 people worldwide since it
surfaced in China late last year, with more than 15.8 million people
infected, according to an AFP tally at 1100 GMT on Saturday based on
official sources.
The United States has the most deaths with 145,546, followed by
Brazil with 85,238, Britain with 45,677, Mexico with 42,645 and Italy
with 35,097.
– Asia new outbreak –
South Korea reports its highest infections figure in nearly four
months, adding 113 new cases, including 86 among people who arrived
from overseas.
And in Vietnam the first locally-transmitted case in nearly 100
days is detected.
– Losing support –
A survey of six countries by the Kekst CNC communications
consulting group reveals that governments are fast losing support for
their handling of the pandemic from a public that widely believes
death and infection figures to be higher than statistics show.
Of the six countries included in the report — United States,
Britain, France, Sweden, Japan and Germany — only France was the
exception, where approval rose from mid-June by six percentage points.
– Pressure on US schools to reopen –
The top US health body the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention issues new guidelines on the reopening of schools, clearly
weighting its recommendations in favour of having students return to
their classrooms from September.
– China kick-off at last –
Top tier football returns in China, with the Chinese Super League
holding a minute’s silence before getting the season underway five
months late because of the pandemic.
– Football star tests positive –
Former Barcelona star Xavi Hernandez has tested positive for the
virus, his Qatari club Al-Sadd says, adding he will miss their league
restart fixture against Al-Khor.
– No carnival for Sao Paulo –
Sao Paulo, the biggest city in virus hotspot Brazil, says it is
indefinitely postponing its 2021 carnival because of the pandemic.
Rio de Janeiro, home to the largest carnival in the country, and
one of the most famous in the world, is considering a similar move.
BSS/AFP/MRU/1841hrs