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- Spain reported a second day of 1,000-plus coronavirus infections, the highest since the nation lifted its lockdown in June.
- Libya’s United Nations-recognised government in Tripoli announced it will impose a full lockdown in areas of the country it controls, after a rise in COVID-19 cases.
- Over 17.2 million people around the world have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus. More than 10 million patients have recovered, and at least 671,000 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Here are the latest updates:
04:35 GMT – Philippines extends restrictions
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte extended quarantine restrictions in the capital Manila, limiting movements of the elderly and children, and the operations of businesses from restaurants to gyms, until mid-August.
“My plea is to endure some more. Many have been infected,” Duterte said in a televised address.
Duterte promised free vaccines if they became available by late this year, prioritising first the poor and then the middle class, police and military personnel. The Philippines will be given precedence by China in vaccine distribution, he said.
04:03 GMT – Australia’s Victoria flags new steps to control surge in cases
Australia’s Victoria state recorded its second-highest day of new coronavirus infections, as the state’s Premier Daniel Andrews flagged the prospect of more rigorous steps to contain the spread of the disease.
Victoria reported 627 new infections on Friday, down from a record of 723 new infections on Thursday.
“It is clear to all of us that these numbers are still far too high,” Andrews told reporters. “It may well be the case…that we need to take further steps. The data will tell us, the experts will tell us, what and if any next steps need to be.”
03:20 GMT – Hong Kong logs new high of 149 cases
Hong Kong reported a new daily record of coronavirus cases, logging 149 additional infections at the end of Thursday.
Amid the rise in cases, authorities reversed a ban on indoor dining, along restaurants to operate under limited hours and with limited capacity. Businesses such as bars, karaoke bars and amusement parks remain temporarily closed, and public gatherings are restricted to two people.
People have lunch at a mall in Hong Kong after the government banned dine-in services [Tyrone Siu/ Reuters]
03:01 GMT – China tightens travel rules for Xinjiang capital
China tightened travel restrictions in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, requiring people arriving in the city from regions deemed to have high infection risks to undergo a two-week quarantine.
Others arriving from less risky areas most show proof of good health. Locals “in principle” must stay in the city or show proof of health to be allowed to leave.
Since mid-July, the Xinjiang outbreak centered in Urumqi has seen more than 600 cases of illness, including 112 new ones reported on Friday.
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China’s Pushback: Beijing questions Western reporting on Xinjiang | The Listening Post (26:11) |
2:49 GMT – Brazil first lady tests positive
Brazil’s first lady Michelle Bolsonaro tested positive for the new coronavirus, the government announced on Thursday, five days after her husband Jair Bolsonaro said he had recovered from his COVID-19 infection.
The 38-year-old first lady “is in good health and will follow all established protocols,” the president’s office said.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro with his wife Michelle Bolsonaro in Brasilia, Brazil, on March 6, 2020 [File: Adriano Machado/ Reuters]
2:42 GMT – China’s factory recovery accelerates in July
China’s factory activity expanded in July for the fifth month in a row and at a faster pace, beating analyst expectations despite disruptions from floods and a resurgence in coronavirus cases around the world.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) rose to 51.1 in July from June’s 50.9, official data showed on Friday, marking the highest reading since March.
Analysts had expected it to slow to 50.7. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.
02:14 GMT – More than 3 million Chileans seek to withdraw pensions
Long lines formed outside Pension Fund Administrators offices in Chile’s capital, Santiago, and the websites of several fund managers collapsed as Chileans sought to take advantage of a new law allowing citizens to tap into retirement savings amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The emergency measure, which came into effect on Thursday, allows those with savings to withdraw up to 10 percent of their pensions.
In a statement, Chile’s Superintendent of Pensions said 3,024,347 people had asked to withdraw their share by 5pm local time.
Opinion polls indicate nearly nine out of every 10 Chileans planned to tap their funds, with most saying they would use the money to pay for basic goods and services.
People wear face masks while queueing to enter a branch of the pension funds office to start the procedure to withdraw up to a ten percent of their deposits in Santiago, on July 30, 2020 [Martin Bernetti/ AFP]
01:53 GMT – US epicentre shifts toward Midwestern states
Coronavirus infections appear to be picking up in mid-western United States, the coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force said, as the state of Ohio reported a record day of cases and Wisconsin’s governor mandated the use of masks.
The coronavirus outbreak is “moving up” into Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska from the south “because of vacations and other reasons of travel,” Deborah Birx told Fox News.
01:19 GMT – Iran prison officials’ pleas for virus help ‘ignored’
Iran’s government ignored repeated requests from senior prison officials for help in containing coronavirus in the country’s overcrowded jails, according to Amnesty International.
The rights group said it reviewed copies of four letters to the health ministry signed by officials at Iran’s Prisons Organization, “raising the alarm over serious shortages of protective equipment, disinfectant products, and essential medical devices”.
The ministry “failed to respond, and Iran’s prisons remain catastrophically unequipped for outbreaks”, Amnesty said.
Leaked official documents obtained by Amnesty International reveal the Iranian government ignored repeated pleas by senior officials responsible for managing Iran’s prisons for additional resources to control #COVID19 spread & treat infected prisoners. https://t.co/7GF6ajrfT7
— Amnesty Iran (@AmnestyIran) July 30, 2020
00:50 GMT – Vietnam reports 45 new cases
Vietnam’s health ministry reported 45 new coronavirus infections linked to a recent outbreak in the central city of Da Nang, marking the highest daily increase since the first cases emerged in the country in late January.
The new patients, with ages ranging from 27 to 87, are linked to four hospitals and a hotel in Da Nang. Total infections since the virus resurfaced have reached 93, the ministry said in a statement.
Vietnam has registered 509 cases of the virus in total, with no deaths. The country had recorded 100 days without a locally transmitted case before the re-emergence of the virus.
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COVID-19 spreads in Vietnam after outbreak at tourist spot (1:59) |
00:42 GMT – Brazil’s Bolsonaro says he has ‘mould’ in lungs
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he was taking antibiotics for an infection that left him feeling weak, chuckling in an online video about “mould” in his lungs, having spent weeks in isolation after catching the new coronavirus.
“I just did a blood test. I was feeling kind of weak yesterday. They found a bit of infection also. Now I’m on antibiotics,” Bolsonaro said in a livestream video, without elaborating on the infection.
“After 20 days indoors, I have other problems. I have mould in my lungs,” he said, referring to nearly three weeks he spent at the official presidential residence.
He tested positive for the coronavirus on July 7 and then negative last Saturday.
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Latin America: Millions at risk of famine as COVID-19 cases surge (2:34) |
00:05 GMT – Botswana reinstates lockdown in capital
Botswana’s capital city Gaborone has returned to a two-week lockdown to stem its latest surge in coronavirus infections.
Under new rules for the capital and surrounding areas, only essential workers would be able to leave home for work, with others only able to leave the house to buy groceries. All gatherings will be banned and hotels, restaurants, gyms and schools will close.
“During the course of the week the disease has taken an unprecedented turn, which now required we place the greater Gaborone region under lockdown to enable our containment measures to take hold,” Kereng Masupu, coordinator of the COVID-19 task force team, said in a televised briefing.
Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives.
You can find all the key developments from yesterday, July 20, here.
