EU reaches agreement on coronavirus recovery: live updates | News

• EU leaders have reached a pre-dawn agreement on a massive post-pandemic economic recovery plan.

• The Australian state of Victoria reported 374 new cases of coronavirus and three deaths on Tuesday as it prepares to make the use of masks mandatory.

• Scientists at the University of Oxford say their experimental coronavirus vaccine elicited a protective immune response in an initial trial involving hundreds of people.

• More than 14.7 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. More than 7.5 million have recovered, while almost 610,000 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The United States has recorded nearly 141,000 deaths, the most in the world.

Here are the latest updates.

Tuesday July 21

07:10 GMT – Possible COVID-19 vaccine released this year: Oxford developer

The possible Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine could be rolled out by the end of the year, but there is no certainty that it will happen, the vaccine’s lead developer said.

The experimental vaccine, which has been licensed by AstraZeneca, produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed Monday, preserving hope that it could be in use by the end of the year.

“The year-end goal to get the vaccine rolled out is a possibility, but there is absolutely no certainty about that because we need three things to happen,” Sarah Gilbert told BBC Radio, saying that it needed to be shown to work. in late-stage trials, large quantities needed to be manufactured and regulators had to quickly agree on the license for emergency use.

06:30 GMT – China: Negative COVID-19 tests required for arriving air passengers

Passengers on flights arriving in China must provide negative COVID-19 test results before boarding, the aviation authority said.

The nucleic acid tests must be completed five days before embarking, the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration said in a statement on its website.

06:00 GMT – Coronavirus cases in Ukraine exceed 60,000

The total number of coronavirus cases in Ukraine reached 60,166 and 1,518 people died as of July 21, said Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week that Ukrainians were fed up with the coronavirus blockade and that the government should be careful in spreading it.

04:35 GMT – Tokyo Games organizers prepare for one-year countdown

Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics are preparing a day of celebrations to mark a year of the start of the Games, which will now be held in July 2021 after a one-year delay due to the coronavirus.

The postponement has raised concerns about cost, as well as the safety of athletes and spectators; A recent poll by Kyodo News found that less than one in four favored holding the Games as scheduled for next year.

A third believed that the Olympics should be postponed again and another third wanted the Games to be canceled entirely.

You can read more about the story here.

03:50 GMT – EU agreement at pre-dawn meeting follows marathon summit

The EU managed to reach an agreement to boost the bloc’s post-pandemic economies after Charles Michel, president of the European Council and president of the summit, offered commitments on a recovery fund of 750 billion euros ($ 860 billion).

Some countries, called the “frugal”, were concerned about the proportion of the fund’s grants. The non-reimbursable grants will total 390 billion euros compared to the 500 billion euros originally proposed. Disbursements will also be linked to governments that observe the rule of law.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the talks took “four long days and nights of negotiation … but it was worth it,” he said. “This is a sign that Europe can act. Before Europe was often accused of being too slow to act. In this case, it is quite the opposite.”

You can read more about that story here.

After four days of negotiations, we were able to achieve a good result for #EU and #Austria in #MFF and #RecoveryInstrument. Thanks to all the colleagues, especially the #frugals! pic.twitter.com/HJsfbQJa01

– Sebastian Kurz (@sebastiankurz) July 21, 2020

03:32 GMT – EU leaders agree on support package COVID-19

Charles Michel has tweeted that the leaders of the 27 countries that make up the EU have reached an agreement. No details yet, just a very enthusiastic tweet.

Agreement!

– Charles Michel (@eucopresident) July 21, 2020

03:15 GMT – EU leaders resume talks on recovery plan COVID-19

European Union leaders are resuming discussions on a proposed post-pandemic economic recovery plan.

The leaders appear to be close to a deal after four days of difficult negotiations.

02:25 GMT – Nursing home group increases coronavirus cases in South Korea

South Korea has reported 45 new cases of coronavirus.

The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say 20 of the cases were purchased locally, and nine of them came from a nursing home in western Seoul.

Imported cases have been growing in double digits for 26 days, according to Yonhap news agency. The latter were found mainly among workers returning from Iraq, as well as among sailors on Russian-flagged ships docked in Busan.

01:50 GMT – Brazil to start advanced tests of vaccine developed by China

Brazil will begin mass testing of a vaccine developed by Sinovac from China on medical workers from six states, starting at the Clinical Hospital of Sao Paulo.

Initial results are expected in 90 days.

Sinovac is working with the Butantan Institute, a public health research center, on the trials, and the institute will have the right to produce 120 million doses if the trial is successful.

01:15 GMT – Australian state of Victoria reports 374 new cases, three deaths

The coronavirus outbreak in the Australian state of Victoria continues to grow as state Prime Minister Daniel Andrews announced that there had been 374 new cases and three deaths.

He urged people to get tested, noting that there are 160 test sites across the state, and said that while the number of cases was higher than the previous day, measures to address the outbreak were having an impact.

Skins will be mandatory starting at midnight (14:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

Today’s # COVID19Vic number is bad news.

In the vicinity of 375. 3-7-5.

Wear a mask.

You can change a little official b4. Bounce cos because the nursing home numbers I think.

It means we still have an average of 300 in 7 days. It means we are still going up.

– Rafael Epstein (@Raf_Epstein) July 20, 2020

00:15 GMT – China offers free tests to all Urumqi residents

China is providing free tests for COVID-19 to residents of Urumqi in western Xinjiang region after a sudden spike in coronavirus cases there, according to state media.

The test is designed to “effectively reduce the risk of the virus spreading,” the Global Times reported, the city’s anti-epidemic group reported.

Urumqi has a population of approximately 3.5 million people, and the outbreak has been linked to group activity, according to the newspaper. The actual origin of the infection remains unknown, he added.

To better prevent the spread of # COVID19, # China #Xinjiang offers free nucleic acid tests to all #Urumqi residents and the project is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/DXENZU7fl5

– Global Times (@globaltimesnews) July 21, 2020

23:45 GMT (Monday) – The beginning of Christopher Nolan is delayed again when the coronavirus is unleashed

The release of Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic Tenet is being delayed again.

After being delayed twice, Tenet was scheduled to leave on August 12, but Warner Bros. told the AFP news agency that it had to reconsider because “the coronavirus continues to proliferate.”

Many cinemas in the United States and other parts of the world remain closed.

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Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continued coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. am Kate Mayberry in kuala lumpur

Read all the updates from yesterday (July 20) here.