Coronavirus world round-up: Australia's second largest city returns to lockdown as Beijing reports no new deaths
Lockdown measures were reimposed in Australia's second biggest city on Tuesday, confining Melbourne residents to their homes unless undertaking essential business for six weeks, as officials scramble to to contain a coronavirus outbreak.
The decision, which affects around 4.9 million people, was announced just hours before the busy border between Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, and New South Wales is scheduled to close for the first time in a century.
From midnight on Wednesday, everyone in Melbourne will be required to stay home unless travelling to work, studying, shopping for food or attending medical appointments. Restaurants, cafes and bars will be able to provide takeaway service only, gyms and hair salons closed, household gatherings limited to two people and the current school vacation extended.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said the restrictions were onerous but necessary.
"I would, with the greatest of respect, put it to you getting this virus and dying from it is very onerous too," he said during a televised media conference.
Beijing reports no news cases as 11 million students begin exams
Beijing on Tuesday reported zero new coronavirus cases for the first time since the emergence of a cluster in the Chinese capital in June that prompted fears of a domestic second wave.
A total of 335 people have been infected since a cluster emerged at the city's massive Xinfadi wholesale market in early June.
Beijing's health commission said on Tuesday it detected only one asymptomatic case the previous day, which China does not include in its confirmed cases counts.
The Beijing government has tested more than 11 million people for Covid-19 since June 11 - roughly half the city's population, officials said at a press conference on Monday.
The news came as almost 11 million students began taking China's university entrance exam on Tuesday after a delay as the country worked to bring down coronavirus infections.
The exam is believed to be the first mass gathering event since the virus outbreak and administrators are enforcing strict rules to prevent infections, including proof of wellness, social distancing and the wearing of masks.
South Korean Covid patient recovering after double lung transplant
After a record 112 days on a specialised life-support system, a South Korean Covid-19 patient is recovering from double lung transplant surgery, doctors say, in only the ninth such procedure worldwide since the outbreak began.
The 50-year-old woman was diagnosed with the disease and hospitalised in late February and then spent 16 weeks on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support, which involves circulating a patient's blood through a machine that adds oxygen to red blood cells.
That is the longest that any Covid-19 patient in the world has spent on ECMO support, her doctors said.
Various drugs failed to stop her pulmonary fibrosis - scarring in the lungs - from worsening, said Dr Park Sung-hoon, professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital.
That left few options other than a lung transplant.
Atlanta mayor has no symptoms but tests positive
Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced on Monday that she had tested positive for Covid-19.
The 50-year-old Democrat is among the women named as a potential vice-presidential running mate for presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden.
"Covid-19 has literally hit home. I have had NO symptoms and have tested positive," Ms Bottoms tweeted.
COVID-19 has literally hit home. I have had NO symptoms and have tested positive.
— Keisha Lance Bottoms (@KeishaBottoms) July 6, 2020
She told MSNBC that she decided her family members should get tested again because her husband "literally has been sleeping since Thursday". She said she the only other symptoms she and her husband have been experienced are those similar to allergies they have.
"It leaves me for a loss for words because I think it really speaks to how contagious this virus is," Ms Bottoms told MSNBC. "We've taken all of the precautions that you can possibly take. We wear masks, we're very thoughtful about washing our hands, I have no idea when and where we were exposed."
Mexican health official warns pandemic could last until April
The coronavirus pandemic could last in Mexico until next April, with infections expected to rise during the October flu season and through winter, a top health official said on Monday, further pushing back the potential resolution of the crisis.
Mexico has recorded 261,750 total cases and 31,119 overall deaths, putting it in fifth place worldwide for most fatalities according to a Reuters tally.
Mexican Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell has continually walked back forecasts about when the crisis would peak, and has said the death toll and infection tally are likely higher than reported figures.
In an interview he warned that coronavirus infections may persist in significant numbers into the winter, carrying the pandemic into spring.
"Flu season begins in October and there are some reasonable assumptions that we could also have a spike in Covid-19 along with the flu throughout the fall-to-winter season," he said.
When asked about the length of the pandemic in Mexico, Mr Lopez-Gatell said it could last "until March to April of next year".
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The World Health Organisation is reviewing a report urging it to update guidance after more than 200 scientists, in a letter to the health agency, outlined evidence the virus can spread in tiny airborne particles.
Arizona reopened “way too early” after its coronavirus lockdown, the mayor of Phoenix has said as the US state and scores of others continue to see Covid-19 cases surging.
The final round of a major Spanish study has shown that just 5.2 per cent of people have developed antibodies to Covid-19, far below the numbers needed for herd immunity.
India has surpassed Russia to become the country with the world's third-highest number of infections, as scientists questioned whether a promised August vaccine deadline could be met.
The border between the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales will be closed Tuesday night for the first time in over 100 years as Victoria struggles to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases.
The world famous Louvre in Paris reopened on Monday after being shut for almost four months due to coronavirus – a closure the museum estimates cost it €40million (£36m) in lost revenue.
France is creating three beefed-up ministries to spearhead its recovery from coronavirus turmoil as Emmanuel Macron attempts to recast his presidency less than two years before a possible re-election bid.
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who has long minimised the risks posed by the coronavirus, said on Monday he had been tested after showing symptoms including a fever.
