A worker for Leicester City Council disinfects public toilets in Leicester, England. Photo / AP
The British Government has reimposed lockdown restrictions in the English city of Leicester after a spike in coronavirus infections, including the closure of shops that don't sell essential goods and schools.
In a statement in Parliament, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the Government won't be recommending that the city joins in the easing of the lockdown in England that is due to take place on Saturday, which includes the reopening of pubs and restaurants.
He also said non-essential retailers, such as department stores and electronic retailers, will have to close again, two weeks after they reopened.
In addition, he said that schools will have to close from Thursday, though they will stay open for vulnerable children. And he also said travel to, from and within the city will have to be curtailed.
Hancock said "precise and targeted actions like these will give the virus nowhere to hide and help us defeat this invisible killer."
New York City's Empire State Building symbolizes the challenge many commercial spaces face as the city reopens pic.twitter.com/JtC2HobOrg
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 29, 2020
In the United States, the city of Jacksonville, where US President Donald Trump is expected to accept the Republican nomination, enacted a mandatory mask requirement for public and indoor locations, and "in other situations where individuals cannot socially distance."
This is a reversal from city leaders. On June 23, Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry said he didn't plan to issue a mask mandate.
The Republican event is scheduled to be held in Jacksonville in late August.
Thailand's nightlife will restart with some restrictions this week, the kingdom announced Monday, part of a return to normalcy as it prepares to welcome business travellers and medical tourists after a ban on foreign entry https://t.co/tivGwwQg1G
— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 29, 2020
The head of the World Health Organisation says the coronavirus pandemic is "not even close to being over" and that the outbreak is accelerating globally.
At a news briefing today, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that tomorrow marks six months since the UN health agency was first informed of a cluster of unusual pneumonia cases in China - the first indications of the coronavirus' emergence.
"Six months ago, none of us could have imagined how our world and our lives would be thrown into turmoil by this new virus," he said, noting the WHO has since recorded more than 10 million cases and 500,00 deaths globally.
Tedros warned that because "most people remain susceptible" to the virus, the world is still only in the early stages of the outbreak. "The worst is yet to come. With this kind of environment and condition, we fear the worst."
WATCH: COVID-19 cases surge, hospitalizations rise in number of states #MTPDaily@DrRichBesser: "There's a lag. From the time that someone gets an infection, it may be a couple weeks before they infect somebody else .... Hospitals are going to continue to see big pressure." pic.twitter.com/pwJ3jSfEJ8
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 29, 2020
Swiss authorities say 20 people who were patrons of a bar outside Zurich have tested positive for the coronavirus, and it is suspected that the virus spread there from an outbreak at club in the city.
Aargau canton (state) authorities said that patrons of the bar in Spreitenbach who were infected had been linked to the "superspreader event" at the Flamingo Club in Zurich.
They said that they were in contact with the infected people and other others and "where necessary, quarantine has been ordered."
"The Trump Administration knew many of the antibody tests were seriously flawed but continued to allow them to be sold anyway..."https://t.co/Nyc9TUpZaN
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) June 29, 2020
Italy added six new victims and 126 new coronavirus infections to its official Covid-19 toll, one of its lowest daily tallies since the outbreak began four months ago in the onetime European epicentre.
Three of those new infections are in the northern Veneto region, which is now ordering tests for foreign home care workers after a cluster developed among returning Moldovans.
Spanish health authorities are closely watching how coronavirus clusters involving agricultural workers in northern Spain and that have infected some 300 people over the past two weeks are evolving.
Spain has recorded 84 new confirmed infections in the past 24 hours, including among people who showed no clear symptoms of the Covid-19 disease. There have been three new recorded deaths.
“Matt Hancock is taking this action is because he says Leicester now accounts for 10% of all positive cases of #Covid19 in the UK over the past week.”
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) June 29, 2020
Political Editor @nicholaswatt has the latest on news that lockdown measures will be re-imposed on Leicester👇#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/PFhD58OLwW
In Brazil, Sao Paulo state, the epicentre of the country's crisis, will start fining people who are unmasked in public areas.
Governor João Doria said the penalty will be equivalent to US$92 and will be enforced by sanitary agents. Doria said a fine 10 times higher will be given to stores for each unmasked client who is allowed in.
More than 14,000 of Brazil's 57,000 confirmed fatalities from Covid-19 are in Sao Paulo state. Doria issued a decree in the beginning of May saying masks should be worn in public spaces, but it did not stipulate any penalty for people who didn't. The use of masks has been mandatory in Sao Paulo city's public transport since May.
British Prime Minister @BorisJohnson will tomorrow announce a major building plan to help lift the nation out of economic crisis.https://t.co/Mfb21nOiVN
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) June 29, 2020
Authorities have extended by a week a partial lockdown in a western German district hit by a big coronavirus outbreak at a slaughterhouse.
The measures were imposed on Guetersloh county, home to some 360,000 people, for an initial one-week period nearly a week ago.
Cinemas, gyms and bars were closed, but stores remained open and restaurants have been able to serve customers from the same household. People from the district have faced restrictions on travel elsewhere in Germany.
Australia has recorded 85 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, with 75 of them in Victoria. https://t.co/82x843ewdS
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) June 29, 2020
Japan's capital city of Tokyo reported 58 new cases of coronavirus, as the number remained at recent highs since last week and a top government official said the trend doesn't look good.
The number of cases in Tokyo rose to 60 yesterday, the highest since early May and nearly doubling from 31 five days ago.
About half of recent daily confirmed cases have been detected among staff or customers of Tokyo's nightlife districts.
Defund Cuomo's prop department. https://t.co/1SzoinTCy6
— Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) June 29, 2020
Movie theatres, casinos and children's summer camps reopened in Greece today, while concerts, conferences, commercial fairs and artistic events can once again be held, in the latest phase of the country's easing of lockdown measures.
Outdoor summer movie theatres have already been open for several weeks, but this is the first time indoor theatres will be able to operate since the lockdown was imposed in March.
Yesterday, Greece reported no new deaths and 10 new cases, for a total of 191 deaths and 3376 confirmed cases. The country has gradually been easing restrictions.
On Thursday, international flights will be allowed at regional airports across the country once more. Currently tourists can fly into only Athens or the northern city of Thessaloniki.
- AP
Trump says US dropped 'full payload of bombs' on Iran's Fordow nuclear site.