New Jersey adopted a stringent
coronavirus face-mask order on Wednesday, and New York City
unveiled a plan to allow public school students back into
classrooms for just two or three days a week, as newly confirmed
US Covid-19 cases soared to a daily global record.
EUROPE
* The European Commission has struck deals with drugmakers
Roche and Merck KGaA to secure supplies of
experimental treatments for Covid-19, a Commission source told
Reuters.
* Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called on demonstrators
to stop attending anti-government protests in order to halt the
further spread of infections.
* Residents of Moscow will be permitted to visit the theatre
again from Aug. 1 for the first time in more than four months,
even as cases in Russia edged past the 700,000 mark.
AMERICAS
* Mexico posted a fresh record for new coronavirus cases
reported on a single day, with 6,995 infections, overtaking
Spain to register the world's eighth highest case count,
according to a Reuters tally.
* Argentina reported a daily record of 3,604 confirmed cases
of Covid-19 as the South American country grapples with rising
infections that are threatening its early success in stalling
the spread of the virus.
* The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans
to issue new guidelines for reopening schools, Vice President
Mike Pence said, after President Donald Trump criticized the
agency's recommendations as too expensive and impractical.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian nations are struggling
with a surge in Covid-19 cases, which is now testing their
healthcare systems to the breaking point after they relaxed
tough lockdown restrictions in May.
* Thailand expects to delay plans for so-called travel
bubbles given a resurgence in infections in countries that had
managed to contain the initial outbreak, a senior official told
Reuters.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* In Africa, lack of coronavirus data raised fears of a
"silent epidemic".
* Nigeria's confirmed cases passed 30,000 on Wednesday, the
country's disease control centre said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* US drugmaker Johnson & Johnson aims to begin clinical
testing of its Covid-19 vaccine in the coming weeks and produce
billions of doses in 2021, Chief Executive Officer Alex Gorsky
said, but cautioned it would take more than one vaccine to rein
in the virus.
* Smiths Group will help produce a blood-based Covid-19 antibody test approved by Britain's healthcare
regulator.
* Gilead Sciences Inc said it has started an
early-stage study of its antiviral Covid-19 treatment remdesivir
that can be inhaled, for use outside of hospitals.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Federal Reserve officials raised fresh doubts about the
durability of the US recovery, while new business surveys
highlighted developing risks from the relentless pandemic.
* Canada's budget deficit is expected to hit C$343.2
billion, the largest shortfall since the Second World War, the
finance department said.
* China's factory gate prices fell for a fifth straight
month in June, although signs of a pickup in some parts of the
sector suggest a slow economic recovery remains intact.