(Reuters) – The death toll from COVID-19 surpassed half a million people on Sunday, according to a Reuters tally, a grim milestone for the global pandemic that seems to be resurgent in some countries even as other regions are still grappling with the first wave.
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 a summary of developments.
EUROPE
* Zurich’s health authority said it had ordered a 10-day quarantine for almost 300 guests and staff of a nightclub after a reveller tested positive for the new coronavirus and had been proven to have infected others during his outing.
* A growing number of COVID-19 cases among people under 35 years of age is a “worrying trend,” Ireland’s chief medical officer Tony Holohan said on Saturday as the country reported the highest number of new infections for two weeks.
* Spain is to uphold a ban on cruise liners from docking at its ports to stop the coronavirus spread, according to a ministerial order published on Saturday.
* Russia on Sunday reported 6,791 new cases and 104 additional deaths. Its national tally of confirmed infections stood at 634,437 and the death toll at 9,073.
AMERICAS
* More than 2.56 million have been infected with the novel coronavirus in the United States and over 125,700 have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 0540 GMT on Monday.
* Brazil recorded 30,476 new cases and 552 additional deaths, the Health Ministry said on Sunday, while Mexico reported 4,050 new infections and 267 additional fatalities.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* China’s military has received the greenlight to use a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by its research unit and CanSino Biologics.
* Australia’s second most populous state, Victoria, said it is considering re-imposing social distancing restrictions after the country reported its biggest one-day rise in new coronavirus infections in more than two months.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Sudan is extending a lockdown in the state of Khartoum by one week until July 7.
* Qatar aims to further ease coronavirus curbs from July 1, allowing the limited reopening of restaurants, beaches and parks, as infections have passed their peak and the rate was subsiding.
* Tunisia reopened its land, sea and air borders for the first time in more than three months on Saturday after it announced it had brought the coronavirus outbreak under control.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* China National Biotec Group (CNBG) said early human test results for a vaccine candidate suggested it could be safe and effective, the second vaccine candidate from the firm to show encouraging results in a clinical trial.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Asian share markets began the week with a cautious tone as the relentless spread of the novel coronavirus made investors question their optimism on the global economy, benefiting safe harbour bonds and crimping oil prices. [MKTS/GLOB]
* China’s central bank said the country’s economic growth faces challenges from the pandemic, despite signs of improvement amid business re-openings.
* Retail sales in Japan tumbled at a double-digit pace for the second straight month in May as the pandemic and lockdown measures delivered a heavy blow to consumer confidence and economic recovery prospects.
* Vietnam’s economic growth in the second quarter fell to its slowest pace in decades.
* Coronavirus has done to Australia what even the global financial crisis couldn’t: abruptly end a record growth run and help trigger a deep recession from which the country will take time to recover.
(Compiled by Frances Kerry and Uttaresh.V; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
