Live Coronavirus Updates: U.S. Leaders Change Course

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As U.S. infections reach another record, leaders seek new answers and itineraries.

As the United States headed into the Fourth of July weekend, officials were telling people to hold the partying until next year. The coronavirus has exploded in large parts of the nation: On Thursday, the U.S. set a single-day case record for the sixth time in nine days, with more than 50,000 new cases reported for the first time, according to a New York Times database. The figure topped 55,000 by the end of the day.

Thursday’s daily new case total represented an increase of more than 85 percent since two weeks ago, when states were reopening after extensive lockdowns tempered the outbreak, particularly in the hard-hit Northeast. Until last week, the country had not surpassed a record daily total for two months, since 36,738 new cases were reported on April 24.

In a reversal, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, one of the worst-hit states in the past week, on Thursday ordered residents in counties with more than 20 virus cases to wear masks in public.

Mr. Abbott, a Republican, had previously opposed attempts by Democratic mayors and other local officials to require everyone in their cities to wear masks in public. But as the number of cases increased in recent weeks, he cleared the way for local authorities to require masks in businesses, before imposing the more aggressive statewide requirement.

Britain has reported the world’s third-highest pandemic death toll, with triple-digit death counts still coming most days.

“Let’s not blow it now, folks,” Mr. Johnson told LBC radio on Friday, weeks after he announced that the country’s “long hibernation” was over and that the virus was under control. Restaurant industry workers have said in British news outlets that they were afraid of going back to work, and concerns are high that pub customers could flout basic rules and trigger new waves of infections.

On Wednesday, the Treasury tweeted that people should “grab a drink and raise a glass” when pubs reopen. The tweet was later deleted. A pub in south London has promised “endless supply” of drinks to “fuel your shenanigans,” after more than three months of closure, which was a first in the history of the country’s pubs.

Pubs — like restaurants, hair salons and other businesses welcoming visitors again on Saturday — will have to maintain a 21-day record of their customers, the government has said, to trace contacts in case of new outbreaks.

In Leicester, 100 miles north of London, pubs and other nonessential businesses will remain closed because of a regional outbreak of virus cases.

The British authorities also announced on Friday that, starting July 10, travelers from countries in Europe including France, Italy and Spain, will no longer have to self-quarantine for 14 days. The change will currently only apply to England, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland expected to set up their own rules.

In other news around Europe:

  • Residents in nursing homes in Britain will be tested for the coronavirus monthly, while staff members will receive tests weekly, officials announced. According to a survey published on Friday by the Office for National Statistics, 56 percent of the country’s nursing homes have had at least one case since March, with 20 percent of residents in such facilities known to have been infected. Out of the nearly 44,000 reported deaths in Britain, at least 15,500 people have died in nursing homes.

  • Seeking to give his government a fresh start after the pandemic battered the nation, President Emmanuel Macron of France shuffled prime ministers on Friday, trading in the popular incumbent, Édouard Philippe, for a relatively unknown functionary who helped guide the country out of the health emergency, Jean Castex.

  • Austria recorded more than 100 new cases of the coronavirus on a single day this week, its highest such total in more than two months. Many of the confirmed infections are connected to a religious community in Linz, a city in the northern part of the country, and officials closed schools and day care centers in the area for a week. Austria’s health ministry has registered 17,959 cases of coronavirus infection and 705 deaths.

The virus most likely originated in bats, but the path of transmission is still unknown. Experts say establishing that will be a crucial step in preventing future outbreaks.

The hunt for information has focused on Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus is believed to have first emerged, and specifically the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which was said to have sold wildlife and had links to many of the country’s first reported cases.

Mike Ryan, head of the W.H.O.’s emergencies program, said on Wednesday that the agency would be sending two experts from Geneva to join its China team on next week’s trip. He said one would likely be an epidemiologist and the other an expert in animal health.

Dr. Ryan did not reveal which cities the team was planning to visit. He described it as a “scoping mission.”

Getting answers on the origins of the virus has become more difficult as the issue has become increasingly politicized. China has been on the defensive for months in response to growing criticism from the United States and other countries for its initial mishandling of the outbreak. Officials from both the United States and China have, without providing evidence, accused each other of intentionally releasing the virus.

But at a news briefing this week, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman sounded a less-aggressive note.

“China has always believed that virus tracing is a scientific issue, and relevant research should be carried out by scientists and medical experts,” said Zhao Lijian, the spokesman, who in March promoted a theory that the U.S. Army purposely introduced the virus to China.

“China continues to support scientists from all over the world in conducting global scientific research on the source and spread of viruses,” he added.

How to have some socially distanced fun this weekend.

Leaders in many states are urging people to stay at home this holiday weekend. Here are some safe ideas for enjoying the Fourth of July holiday.

Reporting was contributed by Aurelien Breeden, Benedict Carey, Nate Cohn, Richard Fausset, J. David Goodman, Anemona Hartocollis, Annie Karni, Adam Liptak, David Montgomery, Adam Nossiter, Elian Peltier, Amy Qin, Christopher F. Schuetze, Mitch Smith and Sabrina Tavernise.

Author: ApnayOnline

ApnayOnline.com is an oline news portal which aims to provide latest trendy news around the Asia

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