- Spain, one of the worst affected countries, has ended its 14-week lockdown
- US President Trump asks health officials to test less to improve statistics
- Brazil is approaching 50,000 deaths
- In Germany, an outbreak in an abbatoir bumps up the reproduction rate
All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT)
10:56 India marked International Yoga Day with small events, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also commented that the virus has made yoga even more relevant, both to mental and physical health.
“Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the world is realizing the need of yoga now more than ever,” Modi said in Hindi in a video speech shared on social media. “COVID-19 virus attacks our respiratory system. Pranayam [breathing exercises] helps the most in making our respiratory systems strong.”
Since 2014, Modi has pushed an initiative to reclaim the practice as a historic part of Indian culture.
The event, proposed by Modi and adopted by the United Nations in 2014, is observed mostly in India, but also worldwide on the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice.
India also reported a record single-day spike of 15,413 new infections, bringing the nationwide total to over 410,451. The country has an official death toll of 13,254.
10:14 Iran’s health minister said that the country’s coronavirus outbreak would last until 2022, the Isna news agency reported.
Health Minister Saeed Namaki said that according to official estimates, Iranians would “have to live with the coronavirus for another two years,” and liked the virus to an animal, saying that it would “bite and kick.”
Iran faced one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the Middle East, with speculation over official figures and top government authorities falling ill and dying of the virus.
Iranian authorities began lifting coronavirus-related restrictions in May, as the number of new infections eased. However, as people aren’t taking hygiene and social distancing measures as seriously, the number of cases has started to rise again.
Iran currently has 202,584 confirmed cases and an official death toll of 9,507.
09:38 Indonesia has reported 862 new coronavirus infections, bringing its total number of confirmed cases to 45,891.
Health Ministry official Achmad Yurianto said the country recorded 36 more deaths, bringing the official toll of fatalities to 2,465 — the highest coronavirus death toll in East Asia outside of China.
With a population of near 268 million, Indonesia has maintained one of the lowest coronavirus testing rates, stoking fears that the actual death toll and infection rate could be much higher than the reported figures.
09:36 Russia reported 7,728 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 584,680. That count is slightly lower than the day prior, which saw 7,889 new cases – a figure consistent with the results of previous days.
The country also logged 109 new deaths, bringing the total death toll to 8,111.
06:40 China has reported 25 new cases, 22 of which were in Beijing, following an effort to test 2 million people.
The cluster in Beijing has raised fears of a resurgence of the virus in China, which on some days has reported new cases in the single digits. Dozens of Beijing communities have been sealed off to contain the virus, while schools have been closed and residents told to avoid non-essential travel.
So far, more than 220 people have tested positive in the new cluster. State news agency Xinhua said local authorities had set up more than 2,000 testing sites across the city to conduct so many COVID-19 tests.
The most recent outbreak has been traced back to the Xifadi wholesale food market, which supplies more than 70% of Beijing’s fresh produce, raising fears over the safety of the city’s food supply.
China has reported 84,553 cases and 4,639 deaths since the start of the outbreak.
05:25 Germany reported 687 new cases on Sunday, bringing the total to 189,822, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). That figure is slightly higher than the day before, which saw 601 new confirmed cases.
The institute also reported a death toll of 8,882.
The reproduction rate of coronavirus has also jumped to 1.79 – far above the level needed to contain the disease over the longer term – following a series of local outbreaks.
That figure marks a sharp increase from 1.06 on Friday. RKI has attributed the higher rate to outbreaks that can be linked to the Tönnies meatpacking plant in the state North Rhine-Westphalia, which saw over 1,000 workers test positive for the virus, as well as outbreaks in logistics centers, shelters for refugees and churches.
“Since case numbers in Germany are generally low, these outbreaks have a relatively strong influence on the value of the reproduction number,” RKI said. “A nationwide increase in case numbers is not anticipated.”
A reproduction rate, or ‘R’, of 1.79 means that 100 people who contracted the virus infect about 179 other people. A rate of less than 1 is needed to contain the virus.
05:00: Brazil’s has recorded nearly 50,000 deaths from COVID-19. It has more than 1 million confirmed cases. The number of cases is likely much higher due to the low number of tests being conducted.
04:50 Spain has ended its 14-week lockdown. It was one fo the worst affected countries, with a death toll of more than 28,000 and more than 245,000 infections. Spaniards will be free to travel around the country.
Tourists from Schengen countries can enter the country again, with travelers from everywhere else allowed back from July 1
Some restrictions remain, such as wearing a mask in shops, airports, on public transport and in other enclosed public spaces. Schools will not reopen until September.
04:45 Speaking at a contentious rally on Saturday, Trump said he had asked health officials to slow down coronavirus testing as it leads to a higher case count.
”When you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people, you’re going to find more cases,” he said. ”So I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’ They test and test.” He added that the US has tested 25 million people.
The rally was Trump’s first in 110 days, and was held despite concerns from local health officials that it could lead to an outbreak of the virus in Tulsa. Most of those in attendance also did not wear masks.
Just hours before the rally, Trump’s campaign reported that six staff members who had been setting up the event had tested positive for the virus.
His rival, Joe Biden later issued a statement. “In an outrageous moment that will be remembered long after tonight’s debacle of a rally, President Trump just admitted that he’s putting politics ahead of the safety and economic well-being of the American people – even as we just recorded the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in almost two months and 20 million workers remain out of work,” the statement read.
The US has over 2.2 million cases, and a death toll of 119,719.
In reporting on the coronavirus pandemic, unless otherwise specified, DW uses figures provided by the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Coronavirus Resource Center in the United States. JHU updates figures in real-time, collating data from world health organizations, state and national governments, and other public official sources, all of whom have their own systems for compiling information.
Germany’s national statistics are compiled by its public health agency, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). These figures depend on data transmission from state and local levels and are updated around once a day, which can lead to deviation from JHU.
lc/ng (AFP, dpa, Reuters, AP)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-latest-german-state-minister-rules-out-new-lockdown/a-53886880?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf