Coronavirus: What's happening around the world on June 30 - Action News
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Coronavirus: What's happening around the world on June 30

Cities and statesacross the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia are closing businesses and reverting back to lockdown measures as coronavirus cases surge following a spate of recent reopenings.

Cities and states reverting to lockdown measures as COVID-19 cases climb

Medical professionals work at a pop-up coronavirus testing facility, as the state of Victoria experiences a spike in cases, in Melbourne, Australia. (James Ross/Reuters)

The latest:

Cities and statesacross the United States, United Kingdom and Australia are closing businesses and reverting to lockdown measures, as coronavirus numbers surge following a spate of recent reopenings.

In the U.S., cases are surging in the south and southwest. At least a dozen states and cities are revising plans to reopen.

WATCH | COVID-19 surge in U.S.leads some states to reinstate restrictions:

COVID-19 surge in U.S. leads to some states reinstating restrictions

4 years ago
Duration 2:03
A spike in COVID-19 cases across the U.S. has several states putting restrictions back in place after lifting them too early.

California and Texas saw record spikes in new infections on Monday, and Los Angeles reported an "alarming" one-day surge in America's second-largest city that put it over 100,000 cases.

Los Angeles County ordered all its beaches closed for the Fourth of July after reporting its highest single-day number of new cases.

In Australia,Melbourne will lock down dozens of suburbs for a month in a bid to contain the spread of the novel coronavirusthat causes the COVID-19 disease. Residents will face fines if they leave home for reasons other than to give or receive care, to exercise, to buy essentials or to go to work or school. People who live outside those suburbs will only be allowed to enter them for the same reasons.

Andthe U.K.said Tuesday it will introduce legal changes shortly to enforce a lockdown imposed on the English city of Leicester, where there has been a flare-up of the virus. This comes as the country'sCOVID-19 death toll has hit 43,659, according to John Hopkins University,underliningthe country's status as one of the worst hit in the world.

In a statement in Parliament, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government won't be recommending that the city joins in the easing of the lockdown in England that is due to take place on Saturday, which includes the reopening of pubs and restaurants.

He also said non-essential retailers, such as department stores and electronic retailers, will have to close again, two weeks after they reopened.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a speech during his visit to Dudley College of Technology in Dudley, central England on Tuesday. He said Britain needs the type of massive economic response that former U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt mobilized to deal with the Great Depression. (Paul Ellis/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to shake Britain's economy out of its coronavirus-induced crisis, saying on Tuesday he wants tofast-trackinfrastructure investment.

"We cannot continue simply to be prisoners of the crisis," Johnson said. "It's absolutely vital for us to set out the way ahead, so that everyone can think and plan for the futureshort, medium and long term."

Johnson is looking to move past criticism of his government's handling of the pandemic with a plan to repair the economic damage and reshape the country.

What's happening with COVID-19 in Canada

As of8p.m.ET on Tuesday, Canada had 104,204confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 67,592of the cases as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 8,639.

Air Canada is indefinitely suspending 30 domestic regional routes and closing eight stations at regional airports across Canada because of an unprecedented drop in demand for air travel as a result of COVID-19.

The Montreal-based airline said Tuesday the cuts are being made because of continuing weak demand for both business and leisure travel because of COVID-19-travel restrictions and border closures.

B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said news of COVID-19 exposure at a Vancouver strip club should serve as a reminder that the provinceneeds to stay vigilant about preventing spread of the virus."It is a team effort that we need to continue together in B.C.," Henry said. "One slip is all it takes."

B.C.is easing restrictions for visits in long-term care homes and assisted living facilities in the province, allowing residents to have in-person visits for the first time since March.

Residents will be able to see one person at a time a single, "designated" visitor in a designated area. The visits will be booked in advance and can happen indoors, outdoors or, in some cases, in a single room. Visitors will be screened for illness upon entry and must wear a mask.

Visits will not be allowed in facilities with ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19.

During Monday's daily briefing, Henry said another 26 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in British Columbiasince Friday, but no more deaths have been reported.

Meanwhile in Ontarioon Tuesday morning, Toronto's mayor and medical officer of health recommended that non-medical masks and face coverings be made mandatory in indoor public spaces.

"It is about respecting and protecting each other," Mayor John Tory said at a morning news conference. He saidit will be a key element to reopening the city safely.

WATCH |Toronto mayor backs mandatory masks for indoor public spaces:

Toronto mayor backs mandatory masks for indoor public spaces

4 years ago
Duration 2:35
Saying it's about 'respecting and protecting each other,' Toronto Mayor John Tory said he will support making masks mandatory for indoor public spaces in the city.

"We hope there are more and more people out in the stores and in the businesses across the city. We want that to happen for the sake of our economy and for the sake of returning to a nearer to normal kind of life."

On Monday, the province's Health Ministry rejected a call by some municipal leaders for a provincial mandatory mask policy, saying it "isn't necessary" to require all residents to wear face masks when they are indoors in public spaces in large urban centres.

WATCH | Ontario Premier Doug Ford says mandating mask wearing a regional decision:

Mandating mask wearing a regional decision, Ford says

4 years ago
Duration 0:57
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said it is up to each region to decide whether to impose mandatory mask-wearing rules.

In an email on Monday evening, Alexandra Hilkene, spokesperson for Health Minister Christine Elliott, said local medical officers of health have the power to implement mandatory face mask policies in their respective health regions under existing legislation.

"Doing so at a local level would ensure responsiveness to community needs without applying the same policy to regions with little or no COVID," Hilkene said in the email.

WATCH | Federal government reluctant to make masks mandatory:

Federal government reluctant to make masks mandatory

4 years ago
Duration 1:58
Federal government and health officials are reluctant to make wearing a mask mandatory in Canada, citing a focus on education and issues with enforcement.

What's happening around the world

At a U.S. Senate hearing focused on ways to safely reopen schools and businesses, Dr. Anthony Fauci said TuesdayCOVID-19 cases could grow to 100,000 a day in the U.S.if Americans don't start following public health recommendations.

Asked to forecast the outcome of recent surges in some U.S. states, Fauci said he can't make an accurate prediction but believes it will be "very disturbing."

"We are now having 40-plus-thousand new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we go up to to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around, and so I am very concerned," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

WATCH | Fauci says states need to follow guidelines carefully when reopening again:

Fauci says states need to follow guidelines carefully when reopening again

4 years ago
Duration 2:20
U.S. infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci emphasized the role of both states and individuals as part of a successful reopening strategy, noting some states failed to follow guidelines the first time.

Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, whochairs the hearing, saidPresident Donald Trump should start wearing a mask at least some of the time because politics is getting in the way of protecting the American people from COVID-19.

"The stakes are too high for the political debate about pro-Trump, anti-Trump masks to continue," said Alexander, whohad to self-quarantine after he was exposed to a staff member who tested positive. But the senator saidhe was protected because that personwas wearing a mask.

This week, the Brazilian cities of Belo Horizonte and Cuiabrolled back reopening to only essential businesses due to an increasing number of coronaviruscases in the last few days.

While the cases and deaths caused by the virus were falling in cities like Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo, reopening of commerce and easing the restrictions saw it spread to the countryside, affecting other cities and small towns.

WATCH |Brazilian authorities shut down bar disguised as pet shop:

Brazil shuts down bar disguised as pet shop

4 years ago
Duration 0:32
Municipal authorities in the Brazilian city of Petropolis discovered a speakeasy aimed at skirting the coronavirus lockdown after neighbours complained.

According to Dr. Margareth Dalcolmo, pneumologist and researcher at the renowned FIOCRUZ Institute, less than 20 per centof the Brazilian municipalities can properly treat patients in serious conditions.

She saidthat the lack of efficient logistics, such asthe ability to transport patients to larger cities with ICUs, hospitals and functional health systems will present a problem for Brazil, which registered nearly 59,000 deaths on Monday.

The European Union announced Tuesday that it will reopen its borders to travellers from 14 countries, but most from the U.S. have been refused entry for at least another two weeks because ofsoaring coronavirus infections there.Travellers from other countries includingRussia, Brazil and India will also miss out.

As Europe's economies reel from the impact of the coronavirus, southern EU countries like Greece, Italy and Spain are desperate to entice back sun-loving visitors and breathe life into their damaged tourism industries.

Citizens from the following countries will be allowed into the EU's 27 members and four other countries in Europe's visa-free Schengen travel zone: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.

Officials said China is "subject to confirmation of reciprocity," meaning it must lift all restrictions on European citizens entering China before the EUwill allow Chinese citizens back in.

The United Nations pushed governments at a virtual conference on Tuesday for nearly $10 billionin aid for Syria, where nine years of war has displaced millions in a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by soaring food prices and thepandemic.

The UN is pushing governments for nearly $10 billion US in aid for Syria to curb the spread of COVID-19. (Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images)

"Syrian men, women and children have experienced injury, displacement, destruction, terror on a massive scale. The danger of COVID-19 remains acute," said UNSpecial Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen.

According to the Johns Hopkins tally, there have only been 269 confirmed cases, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned the real situation is probably far worse and the number of infections likely to accelerate.

WATCH |Infectious disease specialist on China's early vaccine test andpossible fluthreat:

Infectious disease specialist on China's early vaccine test and a possible influenza threat

4 years ago
Duration 5:59
'I really, really hope they're collecting detailed data,' Dr. Isaac Bogoch says of China's jump to try out a coronavirus vaccine on its soldiers. The vaccine is approved for human trials in Canada.

South Korea has reported 43 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 from across the country as infections begin to spread beyond the greater capital area, which has been at the centre of a virus resurgence since late May.

The figures announced by South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday brought national totals to 12,800 cases, including 282 deaths. Seventeen of the new cases came from the Seoul metropolitan area, where about half of South Korea's 51 million people live, while infections were also reported in other major cities, such as Daejeon, Gwangju, Busan and Sejong.

Twenty of the new cases were linked to international arrivals.

Uzbekistan has imposed an overnight curfew in some parts of the country, including the capital Tashkent, as it seeks to curb a fresh rise in infections following the gradual lifting of a two-month lockdown.

Pedestrians wearing face masks walk through a market in central Seoul. Korea reported 43 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 from across the country on Tuesday as infections have begun to spread beyond the greater capital area. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images)

The Central Asian countryhad been cautiously lifting a countrywide lockdown that had been in place in April and May. However, after a decline in COVID-19 cases between mid-April and mid-May, it has once again seen a steady rise.

The new restrictions will see residents of "red" and "yellow" areas deemed at higher risk barred from leaving their homes between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. local time except for medical emergencies, the government said on Tuesday.

With files from Reuters

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