(Reuters) – Global coronavirus cases surged past 25 million on Sunday, according to a Reuters tally, as India marked a worldwide record for daily new cases in the pandemic.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.
* For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.
* Eikon users, see MacroVitals (cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098) for a case tracker and summary of news.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* India on Sunday reported the biggest single-day jump in coronavirus infections of any nation in the COVID-19 pandemic – 78,761 cases.
* New coronavirus cases in Australia’s state of Victoria returned to the triple digits, while neighbouring New Zealand said it would ease curbs slightly in its largest city, hit by a resurgence of infections.
EUROPE
* Berlin police broke up a mass protest against coronavirus curbs on Saturday and arrested 300 in the German capital after demonstrators failed to keep their distance and wear masks as instructed.
* France reported 5,453 new confirmed cases on Saturday, and the health ministry described the situation as “worrying” following a spike the previous day when the country registered its highest number of cases since mid-March.
* French health authorities introduced stricter regulations for exclusions from the Tour de France in the event of coronavirus cases, hours before the race began in unusual conditions on Saturday.
AMERICAS
* A majority of U.S. states have rejected new Trump administration COVID-19 testing guidance in an extraordinary rebuke of the nation’s top agency for disease prevention, according to officials at state health agencies and public statements reviewed by Reuters.
* The number of coronavirus deaths rose by 978 to 181,143 people, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Saturday, reporting a total of 5,890,532 cases, an increase of 44,656 from its previous count.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Namibia will lift lockdown restrictions, allowing international travel, schools to reopen and onsite alcohol consumption from September, President Hage Geingob announced Friday, but he extended an overnight curfew as COVID-19 cases continue to rise
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Sinovac Biotech Ltd’s coronavirus vaccine candidate CoronaVac was approved for emergency use as part of a programme in China to vaccinate high-risk groups such as medical staff, a person familiar with the matter said.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Treasury officials in Britain are pushing for tax hikes to plug holes blown in the public finances by the pandemic, two British newspapers reported.
* Nigeria’s capital imports plunged 78.6% in the second quarter year-on-year to $1.295 billion, the statistics office said, as lower oil prices push Africa’s largest economy towards recession.
* Brazil will officially announce on Tuesday the extension of an aid payment program designed to help people weather the economic damage of the pandemic, a government official said on Saturday.
(Compiled by Frances Kerry)
