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 EU leaders' "mission impossible"
EU leaders stood at an impasse on Monday after three days of
haggling over a plan to revive economies throttled by the COVID-19
pandemic, but the chairman of their near-record-length summit
Charles Michel urged them to make one last push on "mission
impossible".
The leaders are at odds over how to carve up a vast recovery fund
designed to help haul Europe out of its deepest recession since
World War Two, and what strings to attach for countries it would
benefit. A group of "frugal" wealthy north European states pushed
during the summit for a smaller recovery fund and sought to limit
how payouts are split between grants and repayable loans.
For some, the summit was a critical moment for nearly 70 years of
European integration, and failure to agree could both unnerve
financial markets and fuel doubts about the bloc's future.
Tamping down Australia's outbreak
Australia's Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said it would
take "weeks" to slow the Melbourne outbreak to levels seen as
recently as June, when Victoria and the rest of Australia reported
single or double-digit daily infections.
"We have learned over time that the time between introducing a
measure and seeing its effect is at least two weeks and sometimes
longer than that," Kelly told Australian Broadcasting Corporation
radio. An official inquiry into the outbreak began hearings on
Monday.
New South Wales state reported 20 new infections on Monday, the
highest in three months. Authorities here have been unable to trace
some of the clusters and state authorities have urged people to
avoid unnecessary travel and public transport.
Hong Kong tightens, China relaxes
Hong Kong tightened coronavirus restrictions on Sunday, with
non-essential civil servants told to work from home from this week,
as the global financial hub reported more than 100 daily cases, a
record number.
"The situation is very serious and there is no sign of it coming
under control," Chief Executive Carrie Lam said. A requirement for
restaurants to only provide takeaway after 6pm was extended. Face
masks will be mandatory in indoor public areas.
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Meanwhile, in Beijing, the emergency response level was lowered to Level II,
after two weeks of no new cases. Conferences with no more than 500 participants
will be allowed, while exhibitions, sports matches and cinemas are also expected
to reopen gradually, said Liu Bei, vice secretary of the Beijing Municipal
government.
Six strains
British scientists analysing data from a widely-used COVID-19 symptom-tracking
app have found there are six distinct types of the disease, each distinguished
by a cluster of symptoms.
The King's College London team found that the six types also correlated with
levels of severity of infection, and with the likelihood of a patient needing
help with breathing - such as oxygen or ventilator treatment - if they are
hospitalised.
The study, released online on June 16 but not peer-reviewed by independent
scientists, described the six COVID-19 types as:
1. 'Flu-like' with no fever: Headache, loss of smell, muscle pains, cough, sore
throat, chest pain, no fever.
2. 'Flu-like' with fever: Headache, loss of smell, cough, sore throat,
hoarseness, fever, loss of appetite.
3. Gastrointestinal: Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, sore
throat, chest pain, no cough.
4. Severe level one, fatigue: Headache, loss of smell, cough, fever, hoarseness,
chest pain, fatigue.
5. Severe level two, confusion: Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite,
cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle
pain.
6. Severe level three, abdominal and respiratory: Headache, loss of smell, loss
of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue,
confusion, muscle pain, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, abdominal pain.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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