Teacher Lise Genrault looks at a student washing his hands at the Roissy-en-Brie school, outside Paris. Millions of French children are returning to classes. Photo / AP
New daily coronavirus cases in France have tipped above 7000 for the second time in five days.
The daily count adds weight to French authorities' worries about the virus spreading further as the nation's schools reopened their doors and numerous businesses were following suit.
Today's daily count put new cases at just over 7000, still below Friday's count of more than 7300. Health officials counted 43 new clusters in 24 hours.
The figures remain well under those at the peak of the pandemic that forced France into a strict two-month lockdown until mid-May.
Paris joined with some other cities in requiring everyone to wear masks outdoors and now also is requiring masks be worn in work places.
New cases began climbing again in France with the northern summer holidays. The coronavirus has killed more than 30,600 people in France.
“A Minnesota biker who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has died of covid-19 —- the first fatality from the virus traced to the 10-day event that drew more than 400,000 to South Dakota.” https://t.co/EdLSOGvagn
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) September 2, 2020
Turkey's Health Ministry says the country is experiencing the second peak of the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak and blamed gatherings at weddings and holidays.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca says the Government has been advised to consider expanding restrictions imposed on social gatherings such as weddings, engagement parties and henna nights in more than a dozen provinces to the entire country.
The minister says nearly 30,000 health sectors workers have contracted the virus since the outbreak and 52 have died.
Koca says the capital Ankara has the highest active coronavirus cases, overtaking Istanbul. More than 273,000 people have tested positive for the virus in Turkey since March, including 1596 in the last 24 hours.
Another 45 have died in the last day, bringing the confirmed total to 6462.
"The virus is still nasty."
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) September 2, 2020
WHO expert Dr David Nabarro says we should not forget how serious coronavirus is - even if the official death rates are low. pic.twitter.com/HADCBVT6xQ
Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has tested positive for the coronavirus after a precautionary check.
His press office says he's currently isolated in his Arcore residence, near Milan. He'll continue to work from there as he completes the necessary quarantine period.
The three-time-Premier and media tycoon had been recently pictured with his friend and businessman Flavio Briatore, who was recently hospitalised after testing positive for the coronavirus last month. The 83-year-old Berlusconi had tested negative at the time.
Italy registered a new surge in coronavirus infections, which rose by 1326 today.
That's up from 978 a day before, according to the latest Health Ministry figures.
The data confirm the rising trend in new cases observed in the country over the past month, but also reflect the wider number of swab tests performed daily, which for the first time topped the 100,000 level. The testing reached almost 103,000 in the past 24 hours.
Italy now has 271,515 confirmed infections and 35,497 known deaths, including six in the last day.
Health experts are encouraging Italy to boost testing and tracing of contacts of the newly infected before schools open on September 14.
Confusion across west Scotland over coronavirus household ban https://t.co/vpiFmg1xzr
— The Guardian (@guardian) September 2, 2020
The United Arab Emirates has reported 735 cases of coronavirus, the country's highest one-day increase in over three months.
That brings the total number of recorded infections to 71,540 and 387 confirmed deaths.
Students are returning to schools across the country for in-person instruction and tourists are trickling back to the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai.
The steadily rising infections have some concerned that authorities could reinstate lockdowns in parts of the country.
Many of you asked for the chart I showed on the @newshour last night, comparing Covid-19 deaths/per million amongst modern, developed nations. Here it is: pic.twitter.com/DuQM42asaU
— William Brangham (@WmBrangham) August 29, 2020
Parts of Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, returned to lockdown, after an increase in cases of the coronavirus.
Authorities imposed a stay-at-home order on seven townships and set up checkpoints to prevent entry. The order exempts those working for government organisations and people working in companies, factories and workshops.
Only one person from a family is allowed out shopping, while a maximum of two people are permitted to go for medical treatment. Authorities say offenders will face legal action.
Myanmar has seen a recent rise in confirmed cases of coronavirus, with most occurring in Rakhine State, where a lockdown and curfew were imposed last week.
There have been 163 new cases reported since Monday nationwide, bringing the total to 938 and six deaths.
Coronavirus: Australia sent into first recession for 28 years https://t.co/1Xx2fZp1Nv
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) September 2, 2020
The head of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says the coronavirus doesn't seem to be spreading significantly in schools that opened early in Europe.
Many students returned to classrooms around Europe this week, but some partly opened before the end of June. A few countries, such as Germany, opened their doors for the new school year in August.
ECDC director Andrea Ammon told EU lawmakers that anti-virus measures like social-distancing, hand washing, avoiding mass gatherings and the confinement of suspect cases among students and staff should be enough to limit the spread of the disease. She made no mention of wearing masks.
Ammon says, "closing the schools should be really the last measure that you take."
Belgium has one of the highest per capita death rates in the world from the coronavirus. Nearly 10,000 people have died in a country of 11.5 million. Belgium has 85,393 cases, according to the ECDC.
Covid-19 is becoming less deadly in Europe but we don't know why https://t.co/Gbwa4xvuIC pic.twitter.com/aZA3UnS5qR
— New Scientist (@newscientist) September 2, 2020
The United Nations refugee agency says Uganda's Government has locked down a refugee camp of more than 100,000 people after an outbreak of the coronavirus.
The lockdown imposed a week ago on the Kyangwali settlement comes amid growing concerns about infections in vulnerable refugee camps around the world. A UN refugee agency spokeswoman says Kyangwali has had 24 confirmed virus cases, including one death.
Uganda hosts one of the world's largest number of refugees. At least 89 refugees in camps across the East African country have tested positive for the virus. Uganda has had a total of more than 3,000 confirmed virus cases.
"We’re barreling toward 300,000 deaths before Christmas without a vaccine, which means our pandemic-shaped half-lives will continue, except with all the misery of winter and none of the usual solace." @angelinachapin writes https://t.co/nGeTmwtz3x
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) September 2, 2020
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is resisting calls to extend a government program that has paid the wages of millions of workers laid off during the coronavirus lockdown.
Since April, the government has paid 80 per cent of the salaries of furloughed employees. The programme has supported almost 10 million workers but is due to end on October 31.
Opposition parties have called for its extention. Scottish National Party lawmaker Ian Blackford says failing to do so would bring "levels of unemployment last seen under (Prime Minister Margaret) Thatcher in the early 1980s."
Answering questions in the House of Commons, Johnson says the Government had spent 40 billion pounds on the programme but continuing it indefinitely would keep workers "in suspended animation."
Johnson says, "indefinite furlough is just not the answer." He says the Government was helping people with other programmes, including a "Kickstart scheme" that will subsidise companies to hire young people.
JUST IN: The CDC has told states to prepare to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as soon as late October and provided planning scenarios to help officials get ready https://t.co/dMiUllQngv
— CNN (@CNN) September 2, 2020
Thousands of Spanish teachers and auxiliary staff are standing in long lines in the street in Madrid after being told to take a coronavirus test just days before the start of classes.
Labour groups say some 100,000 teachers were informed less than 24 hours beforehand about five locations in the city where they had to take the coronavirus tests. The tests are mandatory for school employees.
The tests are taking place between today and next Tuesday. School re-openings are staggered, with preschool starting tomorrow. Older children go back next week.
The Madrid region is a coronavirus hot spot, with almost 32,000 new cases officially recorded in the past two weeks.
Like the threat of antifa, only real. https://t.co/x3s6If44Jc
— David Roberts (@drvox) September 2, 2020
The top UN official for Libya says the coronavirus pandemic "appears to be spiraling out of control" in the conflict-torn north African country.
Acting special representative Stephanie Williams told the UN Security Council the number of confirmed coronavirus cases "has more than doubled in the last two weeks, with 15,156 cases and 250 recorded deaths as at September 1."
She says the country is at "a critical juncture" and community transmission has been reported in Libya's main cities, including Tripoli and Sebha.
Williams says constraints in dealing with the coronavirus include a shortage of medical supplies, workers and funding.
- AP