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 Fourth in the world for most new cases
Florida reported a record increase of more than 15,000 new
coronavirus cases in 24 hours on Sunday, as the Trump administration
renewed its push for schools to reopen and anti-mask protests were
planned in Michigan and Missouri.
If Florida were a country, it would rank fourth worldwide for the
most new daily cases, after the United States, Brazil and India,
according to a Reuters analysis.
Health officials have pleaded with the public to wear masks to limit
the virus spread, but the issue has become politically divisive in
the United States, unlike many other countries with far fewer
infections and deaths.
Many Americans still refuse to wear a mask, which health experts say
helps stop transmission of the virus that has killed more than
134,000 Americans.
Antiviral drug hope
One in three South Korean patients seriously ill with COVID-19
showed an improvement in their condition after being given Gilead
Sciences’ antiviral remdesivir, health authorities said.
More research is needed to determine if the improvement was
attributable to the drug or other factors such as patients’ immunity
and other therapies, they said.
Remdesivir has been at the forefront of the global battle against
COVID-19 after the intravenously administered medicine helped
shorten hospital recovery times in a U.S. clinical trial.
In its latest update on the drug, Gilead said on Friday an analysis
showed remdesivir helped reduce the risk of death in severely ill
COVID-19 patients but cautioned that rigorous clinical trials were
needed to confirm the benefit.
Counting the burials
Long after the funding for his project was frozen, Bilal Endris has
kept a lonely watch over cemeteries in Ethiopia's capital by
slipping cash to gravediggers to alert his team to any sudden spikes
in burials.
In a nation where fewer than 2% of deaths are registered, an
increase in burials may be one of the first signs that a killer
disease is on the loose.
The program was set up to monitor deaths related to HIV/AIDS a
decade ago. Now doctor Bilal monitors for a spike in fatalities
linked to COVID-19.
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He has yet to see one, but projects like his are being set up in other African
countries where many deaths go unrecorded, making it hard to assess the scale of
a disease. In some cases, nations are dusting off programs set up during Ebola
outbreaks.
Outbreaks on U.S. military bases
Japan and the United States are sharing infection information after about 62
cases at three U.S. military bases from July 7 to Sunday provoked ire in the
southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, a top Japanese official said on Monday.
"I can't help but have strong doubts about the U.S. military's measures to
prevent infections," said Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, pointing to reports of
personnel leaving base for beach parties and visits to nightlife districts
around Independence Day on July 4.
On its Facebook page for Pacific bases, the Marine Corps said it was prohibiting
off-base activity for all installations across Okinawa, except essential needs
such as medical appointments approved by a commanding officer.
Life after Zoom
Corporate travel agents are using the coronavirus-induced lull in bookings to
work with companies on how to get their staff out of Zoom videoconferences and
safely back in the air.
They are launching new tools to provide on-the-ground information about local
mask requirements, social distancing regulations and quarantine rules, as well
as details of hotel, airline and ground-transport hygiene.
Travellers are moving away from cheaper online bookings to seek counsel from
experienced consultants amid a slow but growing rebound in the corporate travel
industry, which normally accounts for $1.4 trillion of annual spending.
"I am seeing a trend now starting to pick up ... We can Zoom or Microsoft
meetings but nothing beats the face to face," said Jo Sully, regional general
manager Asia-Pacific at American Express Global Business Travel.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes and Karishma Singh; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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