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Spain to Open Borders to Some Visitors: Coronavirus Live Updates

Accepted submission by upstart at 2020-06-14 16:35:21
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Spain to open borders to some visitors: Coronavirus live updates [aljazeera.com]:

  • US President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a rally on June 20, which experts warn could prove to be "extraordinarily dangerous" amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  • China reported 57 new confirmed - and nine asymptomatic - COVID-19 cases for June 13, the highest since April 13, according to data released by the national health authority on Sunday.
  • African leaders say China will supply the continent with 30 million testing kits and 10,000 ventilators each month as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates there.
  • More than 7.8 million people in total have been infected with the coronavirus, about 3.7 million have recovered, and at least 430,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Here are the latest updates:

Sunday, June 14 16:07 GMT - Chile’s congress agrees to $12 bln emergency plan

After two weeks of political infighting, Chile Finance Minister Ignacio Briones announced a $12 billion citizen support and economic stimulus package to deal with the effects of the coronavirus.

The announcement came as the government was able to reach a cross-party agreement as working together was the only way to offer citizens "a sign of hope" in a "unique moment" of the country’s history, said Briones.

The minister added in a statement that behind the plan was "a permanent source of employment and income for millions of families, ventures, projects and dreams."

15:25 GMT - Pakistan number of cases could peak at 1.2m

The number of infections in Pakistan could double by the end of June and reach more than a million cases just a month later, warned planning minister Asad Umar.

"Expert estimates the number of confirmed cases could go up to 300,000 by the end of June if we keep on flouting SOPs (standard operating procedures) and taking the problem lightly," said Umar, who is helping coordinate the government's coronavirus response.

"We fear the number of confirmed cases could go up further to 1.2 million by the end of next month," he added speaking to reporters in Islamabad.

With nearly 140,000 cases and more than 6,400 fatalities, the minister urged people to respect guidance on social distancing, hygiene and other measures to tackle the disease.

14:51 GMT - Saudi Arabia reports highest daily jump

Saudi Arabia urged its citizens to comply with health measures as the country reported 4,233 new cases, its highest-ever daily increase since the start of the outbreak.

With more than 127,500 infections and about 970 deaths, the country records the highest number of cases among the six Gulf Arab states.

#الصحة [twitter.com]⁩ تعلن عن تسجيل (4233) حالة إصابة جديدة بفيروس ⁧#كورونا [twitter.com]⁩ الجديد (كوفيد19)، وتسجيل (40) حالات وفيات رحمهم الله، وتسجيل (2172) حالة تعافي ليصبح إجمالي عدد الحالات المتعافية (84,720) حالة ولله الحمد. pic.twitter.com/MkX5GEgkV2 [t.co]

— و ز ا ر ة ا لـ صـ حـ ة السعودية (@SaudiMOH) June 14, 2020 [twitter.com]

"There are two paths before us. The average infection rate could rise if people continue not to comply, or we could bring the rate back down," a health ministry spokesman said.

The Kingdom started easing its restrictions last month by allowing its employees to return to offices, commercial centres to reopen and prayers at mosques to resume in a three phase plan.

A curfew is due to end by June 21.

14:27 GMT - Sudan’s airports remain closed for another two weeks

Sudan extended the closure of its airports by another two weeks until June 28, said Abdul Hafiz Abdul Rahim, a spokesman for the country's civil aviation authority.

The country shut its airports in March as part of its efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus which has infected more than 7,000 people and killed 447.

So far, airports are open only for flights transporting cargo, humanitarian aid, oil organisations' workers or evacuating foreigners.

13:55 GMT - Two-metre social distancing rule under review: UK Prime Minister

As the number of infections and fatalities in the UK keeps falling, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the two-metre social distancing rule was under review ahead of a potential further easing of lockdown measures on July 4.

"As we get the numbers down, so it becomes one in 1,000, one in 1,600, maybe even fewer, your chances of being two metres, or one metre, or even a foot away from somebody who has the virus is obviously going down statistically, so you start to build some more margin for manoeuvre," he said.

"We'll be looking at that and keeping it under constant review as we go forward to the next step in our plan, which is as you know July 4."

The statement came as the country reported 36 new fatalities, its lowest since a lockdown began on March 21. The total death toll now stands at 41,698.

13:30 GMT - Spain set to open its borders to most EU countries

Spain will reopen its borders to all travellers from Europe’s Schengen area, except Portugal, on June 21 said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

People coming from abroad will not have to stay in quarantine for 14 days on arrival when the nation reopens on that day.

June 21 will also coincide with the end of the country’s state of emergency when Spaniards will be able to move freely around the country without restrictions, however face masks will remain obligatory in public transport and crowded spaces.

Spain and Portugal will keep their border closed to non-essential crossings until July 1.

Hello, this is Virginia Pietromarchi [aljazeera.com] in Doha taking over from my colleague Usaid Siddiqui [twitter.com].

12:50 GMT - Oman forms committee to tackle economic effect of coronavirus: Government

The sultan of Oman has ordered the formation of a committee to deal with the economic effect of the coronavirus pandemic, a government media office statement said.

Oman, a small oil producer relative to its Gulf neighbours, has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices. The committee, headed by the interior minister, will study the speedy return of economic activities, it said

12:30 GMT - Austria plans investment subsidy, tax breaks for coronavirus-hit firms

Austria plans extra investment subsidies and tax breaks to help companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Economy Minister Margarete Schramboeck said.

Companies that commit to investments in the next six months could get 14 percent of it back as a subsidy, she told broadcaster ORF ahead of a two-day cabinet meeting on more stimulus measures.

This could comprise a basic subsidy of 7 percent and additional support for spending on things like digitalisation, the life sciences and health care, she said, adding a 20 percent subsidy in cash would be "ideal".

12:10 GMT - Delhi coronavirus fears mount as hospital beds run out

Ashwani Jain succumbed to COVID-19 in an ambulance as his family pleaded with several hospitals to take him in. He was the latest victim of the pandemic sweeping through the Indian capital and exposing a deadly shortage of hospital beds.

"They don't care whether we live or die," said his 20-year-old daughter Kashish, whose uncle, Abhishek, sat with Ashwani in the back of the vehicle on its desperate journey across New Delhi.

"It won't matter to them but I have lost my father, he was the world to me," she said, tears welling up as she showed a photo of him.

All of the hospitals the 45-year-old businessman's family tried refused to admit Ashwani, even though an app set up by the city government indicated that COVID-19 beds were free, Abhishek told the AFP news agency.

With surging infections highlighting the precarious state of the Indian healthcare system, the death of Jain and others like him have heightened anxiety in New Delhi over the growing threat.

11:50 GMT - Trump rally called 'dangerous move' in age of coronavirus

After months away from the campaign trail, President Trump plans to rally his supporters this coming Saturday for the first time since most of the country was shuttered by the coronavirus. Trump will head to Tulsa, Oklahoma - a state that has seen relatively few COVID-19 cases.

But health experts question the decision, citing the danger of infection spreading among the crowd and sparking outbreaks when people return to their homes.

Dr Ashish Jha, director of Harvard's Global Health Institute, called the upcoming Trump rally "an extraordinarily dangerous move for the people participating and the people who may know them and love them and see them afterwards".

11:30 GMT - Beijing confirms eight new cases in first seven hours of June 14

Beijing city has confirmed eight new coronavirus cases in the first seven hours of June 14, a city official said.

Beijing health official Pang Xinghuo said at a second news conference on Sunday that these eight cases are all linked to Xinfadi market, a major food wholesale market in the city's southwest Fengtai district.

10:45 GMT - Iran daily virus deaths exceed 100 for first time in two months: Ministry

Iran has reported more than 100 coronavirus deaths in a single day for the first time in two months.

In televised remarks, health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari announced 107 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the overall toll to 8,837.

10:25 GMT - Indonesia reports 857 new coronavirus cases, 43 more deaths

Indonesia has reported 857 new infections and 43 more deaths, taking the total number of cases to date to 38,277 and deaths to 2,134, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said.

Yurianto said 755 more patients had recovered from the virus, bringing the total recoveries to 14,531.

10:01 GMT - Kudlow says White House not concerned about a second coronavirus wave: WSJ

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday the administration of US President Donald Trump is not concerned about a second wave of coronavirus cases, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, made his remarks in a private virtual meeting for clients of investment bank Evercore Inc, the Journal reported, citing a recording reviewed by the newspaper.

"Basically, the story is there have been some flare-ups of the virus, very controllable," Kudlow was quoted by the newspaper as saying. It said his appearance in the closed meeting was approved by ethics lawyers.

09:40 GMT - Spain to open borders to EU Schengen countries on June 21: Reports

Spain will open its borders to countries in the European Union's Schengen area on June 21, except for Portugal where the border will open on July 1 as previously announced, Spanish media reported.

The Spanish government had previously said it would allow foreign tourists to enter Spain on July 1 without self-quarantining, apart from the Balearic Islands which could start receiving tourists on Monday as part of a test programme.

09:25 GMT - Philippines reports 539 new coronavirus cases, 14 new deaths

The Philippines has reported 539 more coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 25,930.

The Department of Health also recorded 14 additional coronavirus deaths, taking the death toll to 1,088.

09:05 GMT - 500 train-coach hospitals for COVID-19 patients amid spike in Delhi

Five hundred railway coaches to serve as hospitals, the rapid ramping-up of testing, and house-to-house health surveys in the worst-affected areas were among the measures announced to tackle a growing spike in COVID-19 cases in the Indian capital.

Delhi has reported 2,000 new cases for the past two days, and has emerged as one of the major centres of the pandemic in India along with the cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

08:45 GMT - UK will look at two-metre distancing rule urgently: Sunak

The UK's government will review its two-metre (six-foot) social distancing rule as a matter of urgency as it tries to help the country's economy recover from a 25-percent collapse after the onset of the coronavirus crisis, finance minister Rishi Sunak said.

Sunak said progress in tackling the spread of COVID-19 meant the country was able to take a "fresh look" at the two-metre rule which many employers have said will make it harder for them to get back up to speed after the coronavirus lockdown.

08:25 GMT - Taking pay cut to help FA a no-brainer, says England football boss Southgate

England manager Gareth Southgate has said it was an easy decision to accept a 30-percent wage cut to help the Football Association (FA) mitigate the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Football was suspended in March due to the outbreak and England's friendlies against Italy, Denmark, Romania and Austria were cancelled. Euro 2020 was also pushed back by a year.

The FA said the lack of international matches and domestic cup games would cost it 100 million pounds ($125.42m) and Southgate was among the senior figures to take wage cuts for three months starting in April.

08:05 GMT - North Macedonia: 196 newly infected, eight dead

North Macedonia has recorded 196 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, while eight people died.

According to Al Jazeera reporter Maja Blaževska Evrosimoska, both figures represent records in terms of daily reports since the outbreak.

The total number of infected since the beginning of the epidemic has now climbed to 3,895. The total number of deaths is 179.

07:40 GMT - Biggest single-day spike in cases in India

India reported its biggest surge in COVID-19 cases, with 11,929 new cases and 311 deaths in the last 24 hours.

The country now has over 320,000 cases as the total death toll has neared 9,200.

07:08 GMT - China Southern Airlines flight from Dhaka to Guangzhou suspended

A China Southern Airlines flight from Dhaka to Guangzhou will be suspended for four weeks from June 22 due to concerns about COVID-19 infections, China's aviation regulator said.

Seventeen passengers on a June 11 flight from the Bangladeshi capital to the southern Chinese city tested positive for the coronavirus, meeting the conditions for a "circuit breaker" suspension of the service, the Civil Aviation Administration of China in a statement.

China reported 19 new confirmed cases involving travellers from overseas for June 13, with 17 of them arriving in Guangdong province.

06:43 GMT - Yemen, Philippines missions in Saudi Arabia close

The Yemeni Embassy in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, is shuttering indefinitely due to a number of coronavirus cases among staff.

The embassy made the announcement on Twitter late Saturday, but did not specify how many people were infected.

Similarly, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh announced that, starting Sunday, its office for labour affairs would close after six employees were confirmed positive for coronavirus. The office is being sterilised, and employees were working remotely, according to the embassy.

06:10 GMT - Rugby match postponed over coronavirus fears

A match in Australia's National Rugby League between the Sydney Roosters and Canterbury Bulldogs has been postponed over fears a Bulldogs player may have been exposed to the coronavirus.

Prop Aiden Tolman has a child at the Laguna Street Public School in Caringbah, Sydney at which a staff member has tested positive to COVID-19.

05:40 GMT - Two positive cases found ahead of Premier League restart

A Norwich City player is one of two positive coronavirus results found in the Premier League's latest round of testing, the club confirmed.

The Premier League, which has been suspended since March 13 because of the virus, is set to resume with two fixtures on June 17 before Norwich play Southampton in their restart fixture on June 19.

All 20 club players and staff members have been tested twice weekly for COVID-19. After the latest round on June 11-12, a total of 16 positive cases have been found from a total 8,687 tests.

Hello, this is Usaid Siddiqui [twitter.com] in Doha taking over from my colleague Ted Regencia [twitter.com].

05:11 GMT - El Salvador's president says economic re-opening to begin June 16

President Nayib Bukele has announced that El Salvador's economy could start to reopen on June 16, following weeks of strict lockdown. The process will be in several stages, with the airport not restoring operations until August 6, Bukele said.

Bukele has imposed some of the toughest measures in the Americas against the pandemic, in which El Salvador has registered 72 deaths and 3,603 infections.

He had clashed with legislators who wanted an earlier end to the lockdown, saying it would be too risky. Upon announcing plans for the economy's reboot, he urged residents to stay in their homes a bit longer than required.

04:55 GMT - Beijing should expand nucleic acid testing for coronavirus: Spokesman

Beijing should expand the scope of nucleic acid testing for the new coronavirus and sampling in the Chinese capital, a city government spokesman said on Sunday.

He told a news conference Beijing has entered an "extraordinary period" after the city reported a record 36 confirmed new cases of the virus for Saturday.

03:49 GMT - Pharma giant stikes deal with Europe for vaccine supply

Pharma giant AstraZeneca has struck a deal with Europe's Inclusive Vaccines Alliance to supply up to 400 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine, AP news agency reported.

The alliance forged by Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands is set to take delivery by the end of 2020 of a vaccine being tested by the University of Oxford. The agreement struck Saturday aims to make the vaccine available to other European countries that wish to take part.

The cost is expected to be offset by funding from the governments.

AstraZeneca, an Anglo-Swedish company, recently completed similar agreements with Britain, the US, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance for 700 million doses. A license also has been agreed with the Serum Institute of India for one billion doses.

03:21 GMT - Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 247 to 186,269

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 247 to 186,269, according to Reuters news agency quoting the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases on Sunday.

The reported death toll rose by six to 8,787.

03:02 GMT - South Korea reports 34 new coronavirus cases

South Korea has confirmed 34 coronavirus cases in a continuation of an upward trend in new infections, mostly in the densely populated Seoul region, AP news agency reported.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday that 30 of the new cases are in the greater Seoul area, where half of the country's 51 million people live. New cases have been linked to nightlife establishments, church services, a large-scale e-commerce warehouse and door-to-door sellers.

The agency says South Korea has now recorded 12,085 virus cases: 10,718 have recovered, 1,090 remain in treatment, and 277 died.

02:45 GMT - Pakistan seals off nearly 1,300 coronavirus hot spots

Pakistani authorities have identified and sealed off nearly 1,300 hot spots to contain the rising trajectory of new infections.

The sealing of high-risk area comes as Pakistan reported 6,472 news cases on Saturday, the country's highest single-day total. Pakistan has confirmed a total of 132,405 cases, including 2,551 deaths.

Pakistan put its entire population of 220 million under lockdown in March. The government has since eased restrictions, saying it was necessary to save the economy, but it has caused a surge in infections.

02:07 GMT - South Africa reports backlogs, shortages of testing

South Africa says the average delay in obtaining coronavirus test results from public labs has risen to 12 days amid backlogs and shortages of testing materials.

South Africa represents well over a quarter of Africa's virus cases, with more than 61,000, and 1,423 deaths. The country has conducted about a third of the virus tests in Africa, and countries with fewer resources could face similar delays or worse.

The longer it takes to confirm a positive case, the greater the risk that an infected person is unknowingly spreading the virus. The African continent overall has more than 225,000 cases.

01:37 GMT - China reports 66 new coronavirus cases

China reported 57 new confirmed - and nine asymptomatic - COVID-19 cases for June 13, the highest since April 13, according to data released by the national health authority on Sunday.

The National Health Commission said in a statement that 38 of the new confirmed cases were locally transmitted, with 36 of them in Beijing. This is the highest daily infection count for China's capital since authorities started releasing data. There were no new reported deaths.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in mainland China now stands at 83,132, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634. China does not count asymptomatic patients, who are infected with the virus but do not display symptoms, as confirmed cases.

01:10 GMT - French court lifts ban on public protests

France's highest administrative court says coronavirus concerns no longer justify banning public protests, according to AP news agency.

In a country that sees thousands of protests annually, the Council of State's ruling allows demonstrations to resume as long as health protections are respected, the events are declared in advance to authorities, and not deemed a risk to public order.

The ruling came as an unauthorised protest against police violence and racial injustice wound down in Paris. Police stopped at least 15,000 protesters from marching through the city Saturday, citing virus restrictions on any gathering of more than 10 people.

00:40 GMT - Mexico reports 3,494 new coronavirus cases

Mexico's health ministry reported 3,494 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 424 additional deaths on Saturday, bringing the total in the country to 142,690 cases and 16,872 deaths.

The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the official count, according to Reuters news agency.

00:05 GMT - Ukraine records highest daily count for third day in a row

Ukraine has recorded its highest daily count of new coronavirus infections for the third day in a row, more than double the count earlier in the month.

The health ministry on Saturday reported 753 new cases, compared with 683 the previous day.

In early June, Ukraine was recording fewer than 350 new cases a day. Overall, Ukraine counts 30,506 confirmed infection cases and 880 deaths.

00:01 GMT - Egypt's one-day coronavirus infections at new high

Egypt's Health Ministry has announced 1,677 new confirmed cases of coronavirus - the highest 24-hour total since the virus was first detected in the country in mid-February, according to The Associated Press news agency.

The ministry also reported 62 deaths from COVID-19.

The figures raise Egypt's coronavirus totals to 1,484 deaths and 42,980 confirmed cases. The ministry says 11,529 patients have been discharged after their recovery.

Egypt is the Arab world's most populous country, and it has the highest death rate from COVID-19 among Arab nations. It ranks third in the Middle East after Iran and Turkey.

___________________________________________________________________

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera's continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I'm Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

You can find all the developments from yesterday, June 13, here [aljazeera.com].

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Original Submission