Yahoo News Coronavirus world round-up: California drops reopening efforts as cases surge
California is dramatically rolling back its reopening plans as it struggles to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus, with Los Angeles' mayor threatening to impose a full shutdown if the situation does not improve.
America's most populous state has reached more than 7,000 coronavirus-related deaths and on Monday recorded almost 8,400 new cases of the virus within a 24-hour period.
The new figures prompted Gavin Newsom, California's governor, to order all bars to close, while restaurants, cinemas and museums can no longer allow customers indoors.
Indoor religious services, gyms and beauty salons have also been forced to close again in the worst hit parts of the state, Mr Newsom said as he aims to halt the surge in infections and hospitalisations.
“We’re going back into modification mode of our original stay-at-home order,” Mr Newsom said. “This continues to be a deadly disease.”
Read more: California orders dramatic rolling back of reopening plans
Swedes with antibodies free to visit elderly
Sweden has authorised asymptomatic people who have Covid-19 antibodies to visit family members inside nursing homes in a major shift in public health policy by a country that bucked the global trend for full lockdowns.
Until now, Sweden had banned indoor visits and imposed strict limits on outdoor ones.
However, in an update to its guidelines, the National Board of Health and Welfare outlined exceptions to the rules. Among these, it gave the green light to indoor visits from people who can prove they have developed antibodies to Covid-19 and provide a test no older than six months that has been approved by the public health agency.
It is a retirement home's responsibility to ensure the individual's test result is reliable. Visitors must also not display any Covid-19 symptoms, which can last for several months after someone is first infected.
Read more: Sweden gives green light to indoor nursing home visits
Police fatally shoot man after store stabbing over a mask
A Michigan sheriff's deputy on Tuesday fatally shot a man suspected of stabbing another man who had challenged him about not wearing a mask at a store, police in the United States said.
The shooting occurred in Eaton County, south-west of Lansing, about 30 minutes after the stabbing at a Quality Dairy store, state police Lt Brian Oleksyk said.
A sheriff's deputy spotted the man's vehicle in a residential neighbourhood and shot him when he got out of his car and tried to attack her, Lt Oleksyk said.
"It's very unfortunate she had to use her weapon, but she had to save her life," Sheriff Reich said.
"She had to use deadly force. She did it properly."
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has ordered people to wear masks in stores to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus.
"The goal here is to be safe. We all have to do our part so this doesn't spread," Sheriff Reich said.
Read the full story here.
Macron's mask promise as France hails its health workers
France is to make it compulsory to wear masks in shops and other closed public space by next month, said President Emmanuel Macron.
His pledge came as the nation honoured its health workers in a special Bastille Day parade where doctors and nurses shared the limelight with soldiers.
"I would like to make masks mandatory in all enclosed public spaces," said Mr Macron as he renewed the tradition of the presidential July 14 televised interview, shunned since he took office three years ago.
"We have indications that (the outbreak) is accelerating a little,” he said, pointing out that the R number indicating the virus reproduction rate had risen above the watermark figure of one.
Read more: France pays tribute to health heroes on Bastille Day
Italian aristocrat's 18th birthday party ends in chaos
When the 18-year-old scion of the noble Corsini family planned a party in his fabulous villa in the Tuscan town of Porto Ercole, he couldn’t imagine it would end up with a brawl, two youths hospitalised and the intervention of riot police.
The private party was organised by Henrik Corsini last Saturday in the garden of the historic residence where his family – based in the United States – spends part of the summer.
Marquis Alessandro Corsini explained that his son had invited “only” 150 friends to celebrate his 18th birthday. But rumours of an open bar attracted hundreds of uninvited youths, mostly coming from Rome and the nearby Lazio region.
The Marquis said that the villa’s outdoor space - which usually hosts charity events and includes one of Italy’s oldest botanical gardens - can contain up to 800 people.
He ensured that the party was planned in full respect of the social distancing measures imposed by the Italian government to contain the coronavirus outbreak. But it didn’t go quite as planned.
Read more: Party ends in a punch-up after breaching social distancing rules
Hong Kong Disneyland shut again by outbreak
Hong Kong's Disneyland Park is shutting up shop for the second time this year following the city's decision to ban public gatherings of more than four people because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Disney officials said the park would close today until further notice. It had been open for less than a month after initially closing in January.
Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam announced new restrictions on Monday after the majority of 52 new coronavirus infections were found to be locally transmitted cases. Monday's tally marked the highest number of new cases in Hong Kong since March.
Singapore's economy slumps by record 41pc
Singapore has plunged into recession for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis, with preliminary data showing that growth fell by a record 41.2 per cent in the second quarter of the year when compared with the first quarter.
Its export-driven economy has been hit by global lockdowns, plus local restrictions that closed non-essential businesses from April to June. The economy shrank 12.6 per cent year-on-year, the largest drop since 1965.
Egyptian journalist dies from virus while in jail
A leading Egyptian journalist who was jailed after criticising his country's coronavirus response has died after contracting the virus while in prison.
Mohamed Monir died in an isolation unit at a Cairo hospital on Monday, his family said yesterday.
He had criticised the government's handling of the pandemic on theAl Jazeera television network, which is banned within Egypt. He was subsequently charged with joining a terrorist group, spreading false news and misusing social media.
Egypt has recorded more than 82,000 cases and nearly 4,000 deaths, the highest toll in the Arab world.
Another 63,000 infections in US in one day
The United States has recorded 63,262 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, according to a tally by the Johns Hopkins University on Tuesday.
The total number of cases recorded in the country since the start of the pandemic now exceeds 3.42 million.
Covid-19 also claimed 850 new victims in the US, bringing the total death toll to 136,432.
The world's wealthiest country has in recent weeks seen a surge in infections, mainly in its south and west, which have kept it by far the most affected nation.
In Florida, which was one of the first states to lift lockdown restrictions, for example, officials reported 132 deaths on Tuesday - a new daily record for the state - while more than 9,000 new cases of the virus were detected there in the past 24 hours.
Faced with this trend, some states have reversed the opening of shops and services, such as California, and many of them have made masks compulsory in public places.
Fears for Americans' health insurance
Around 5.4 million Americans lost their health insurance along with their jobs in the first few months of 2020, according to Families USA, a consumer advocacy group.
It adds to 27.5 million people, or 8.5 per cent of the population, who had no health insurance as of 2018.
Families USA called for "protections in the next Covid-19 bill".
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India's northern state of Bihar, which has a population of about 125 million people, will go into lockdown on Thursday for 15 days, the local government has said. The announcement comes as the southern city and IT hub Bangalore, home to more than 13 million people, begins a week-long lockdown.
Thailand has suspended all inbound flights after an Egyptian soldier skipped self-quarantine and visited a shopping mall before testing positive for the virus. Authorities are now scrambling to trace about 1,700 people at the mall and the surrounding area.
Cyprus has threatened to fine or turn away incoming passengers who fail to complete its online arrival forms aimed at preventing a resurgence of the virus, after a visitor who misrepresented their itinerary later tested positive.
