The United States under siege as the pandemic accelerates; Britain facilitates quarantine

AFP – The United States recorded a record 53,000 new coronavirus cases as the deadly pandemic accelerated in America, but its slowdown in Europe prompted Britain to announce the first exemptions to its quarantine rules on Friday.

With Europe seeking to turn the page on the biggest public health crisis in modern history, travelers arriving in Britain from Germany, France, Spain and Italy will no longer have to isolate themselves as of July 10.

Affecting almost every country on Earth, the disease caused by the virus, COVID-19 has infected at least 10.7 million people and killed 516,000 worldwide, destroying previously buoyant economies and paralyzing life. public.

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However, while much of the planet sought a return to a semblance of normalcy, the United States topped 50,000 new infections on Thursday for the second time in two days, casting a sad feeling about upcoming Independence Day celebrations.

Now the epicenter of the pandemic, the country has recorded nearly 129,000 deaths from more than 2.7 million cases. He is expected to record his three millionth infection next week.

Florida, which now has more than 169,000 cases, is a key focus of public health experts worrying about a spike in the southern and western states of the United States.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis attributed the increase to “social interactions” among young people who gather at parties, beaches, bars, pools and other places, as well as a more “robust” testing program.

In Texas, where more than 2,500 people died, Governor Greg Abbott ordered people in counties with 20 or more cases to wear masks and banned gatherings of more than 10.

The move came after Texas reported nearly 8,000 new cases Thursday, amid a record increase in infections that prompted the governor to largely halt the reopening program that began in early May.

States that reopened their economies as soon as possible and as quickly as possible after the pandemic, and against the advice of federal health authorities, are now experiencing the highest number of cases.

Florida and other states called “Sun Belt” have been forced to re-close restaurants, bars, and beaches as the nation prepares for the July 4 weekend.

These include California, which has seen a 56 percent increase in hospitalizations in two weeks, Governor Gavin Newsom said.

But United States President Donald Trump, criticized for his handling of the crisis, highlighted positive job data that showed 4.8 million people returned to work in June.

“Today’s announcement shows that our economy is rebounding,” said Trump. “The crisis is being handled.”

The president’s characteristically optimistic outlook came a day after Arizona, with a population of 7.3 million, recorded more new cases and deaths than the entire European Union, which has 446 million citizens.

But with some US governors now imposing 14-day quarantines on visitors from the worst-hit states, the EU has begun reopening its borders. Residents of the US, Brazil, and Russia devastated by the virus are still denied entry.

The World Health Organization warned on Wednesday that the pandemic was accelerating, with more than half of the world’s infections in the past half year recorded in June alone.

And last week it has seen new highs, with cases exceeding “160,000 every day,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Cases have skyrocketed across Latin America. Brazil, the region’s largest economy, has nearly 1.5 million confirmed cases, second only to the United States.

However, the popular tourist city of Rio de Janeiro authorized the reopening of bars, restaurants and cafes at 50 percent of their capacity.

The country’s “R number”, the average number of people infected will transmit the virus, was estimated to be one a month ago, but has since risen to 1.5.

“That number will increase even more with the reopening, bringing health problems to our population,” Roberto Medronho, director of research at the Clementino Fraga Filho University Hospital in Rio, told AFP.

Brazil was approaching 61,000 deaths on Thursday. Colombia, the fourth largest economy in the region, passed 100,000 cases, while Peru exceeded 10,000 deaths.

The indigenous peoples of Latin America have been particularly affected due to weaker immune systems and centuries of state neglect.

The Pan American Health Organization estimates that at least 20,000 people are infected in the Amazon River basin, where some areas are only accessible by boat.

The organization also warned that the death toll in Latin America and the Caribbean could quadruple to more than 400,000 in October without stricter public health measures.

In Europe, countries are trying to safely revive a struggling tourism sector by opening borders to 15 countries, from Algeria to Uruguay.

Travelers from China, where the virus first emerged late last year, will be able to enter the EU if Beijing responds.

Outside the EU, the Western Balkan countries that have so far escaped the worst of the virus are now seeing a further increase in cases.

After holding national elections and sporting events in June, Serbia on Thursday announced new restrictions on gatherings of more than five people in its four most affected cities.

Meanwhile, the world’s number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic, announced that he and his wife tested negative for COVID-19 after contracting an infection at a controversial tournament he hosted in the region.

In the Middle East, deaths in Iran topped 11,000 on Thursday, as the country records an increase in deaths and cases after a low in early May.