The World Health Organization was alerted to the coronavirus crisis by its own office in China, and not by local authorities, according to reports, as worldwide cases of Covid-19 passed 11 million and infections in the US increased by another 53,000.
The UN health agency has been accused by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, of not providing the necessary information to stop the pandemic and of being complacent with Beijing, charges that he denies.
Partly in response to that criticism, he published an initial schedule of his communications on April 9, stating that the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission had reported cases of pneumonia on the last day of 2019. However, the health agency The UN did not specify who had notified it
But in a new timeline released this week by the Geneva-based institution, it indicates that the WHO office in China notified its regional contact point on December 31 of a case of “viral pneumonia” after finding a statement. for the media on a website of the Wuhan Health Commission on the subject.
According to the France-Presse agency, the WHO epidemic information service collected another news report the same day broadcast by the international epidemiological surveillance network, based in the United States, on the same group of cases of pneumonia from unknown causes in Wuhan.
The WHO then asked the Chinese authorities twice, on January 1 and January 2, for information on these cases. This information was provided on January 3.
Trump has announced that his country, the main financial contributor to the WHO, will sever ties with the WHO, which he accuses of being too close to China and of having mishandled the pandemic. The WHO denies any complacency towards China.
According to Johns Hopkins University, there are now 11 million confirmed cases of coronaviruses worldwide. More than 524,000 people have been killed.
the U.S ushered in the weekend of July 4 with another large increase in coronavirus cases.
Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee set one-day records for new cases on Friday, according to Reuters. The daily count in the US stood at 53,483 on Friday night, below the previous day’s record of 55,405. The country has registered almost 2.8 million cases.
Brazil reported 1,290 more deaths and recorded 42,223 new cases on Friday. It remains the second worst in terms of case numbers in the world with more than 1.5 million, behind the US.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr, tested positive for the virus, US media reported. The former Fox News presenter is a key fundraiser for the president’s reelection campaign and is the last person in Trump’s circle to become infected. He was reportedly asymptomatic.
Hairdressing salons and wedding venues open for business in England the minute the government deadline expired at midnight on Friday.
Salaon has been closed for months, but was allowed to open since Saturday. Pubs and restaurants in England will be able to open from 6 am local time, with Boris Johnson, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, warning people to behave and “don’t screw it up.”
Sandra Jacobs cut her hair in a salon in Camden, North London, and told reporters that it was “a relief, I can’t tell you … My hair was everywhere. I was wearing hats to hide it.”
Portugal The government has expressed anger at being left off the list of countries designated as safe for English tourists to travel when so-called “air bridges” open in Europe next week.
The outbreak in the state of Victoria has divided Australia. After days when the number of new cases did not increase much, the state posted its highest daily total since March 28 with 108 new infections.
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