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The World Health Organization reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases, with a total increase of 237,743 in 24 hours.
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The number of coronavirus cases in India exceeded one million, with the United States and Brazil the only other nations with more infections.
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More than 14 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while more than 7.8 million have recovered and more than 600,000 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Here are the latest updates.
Saturday, July 18
02:22 GMT – United States establishes another virus registry with 77,638 new cases
The United States marked a record number of coronavirus cases on Friday for the third day in a row, registering 77,638 new infections in 24 hours, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.
The country also recorded 927 deaths in that period, according to a count at 8:30 pm (00:30 GMT on Saturday). Figures bring the death toll in the United States to 139,128 and its caseload to 3.64 million confirmed cases.
02:02 GMT – The United States economy ‘will fall 6.6 percent in 2020’
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the US economy would shrink 6.6 percent this year, hit by the coronavirus and blockades aimed at containing it.
The forecast is actually an improvement from one the IMF made last month when it forecast the US economy to contract 8 percent in 2020. But the lending organization warned that the US economy faces downside risks due to a resurgence. in the cases of COVID-19.
01:44 GMT – Azerbaijan extends restrictions until August 31
Azerbaijan has extended restrictions on coronavirus blockade, including the closure of its borders, until August 31 after a further increase in the number of infections.
The government said that people in large cities, including the capital Baku, will be allowed to leave their homes only with a special permit from July 20 to August 5.
The shopping malls, cinemas, restaurants, cafes and museums in those cities remained closed, while the beauty salons will be reopened.
01:04 GMT – Trump will not consider a national mask mandate
United States President Donald Trump has scrapped a national mandate requiring people to wear face masks despite the record increase in new coronavirus infections in the United States.
In an interview with Fox News that will air on Sunday, Trump said: “No, I want people to have a certain freedom and I don’t believe in that. No, and I do not agree with the statement that if everyone wears a mask , everything, suddenly everything disappears. “
He added: “Everybody was saying not to wear a mask and suddenly everyone should wear a mask and as you know masks also cause problems. That being said, I believe in masks, I think masks are good.”
00:33 GMT – EU leaders stalled by COVID recovery plan
EU leaders failed to advance negotiations on a massive stimulus plan to bring the economies devastated by the coronavirus pandemic to life, returning to their hotels in Brussels shortly before midnight to rest and try again in the morning.
Many of the 27 bosses declared on arrival at their first face-to-face summit in five months that a deal was crucial to rescue free-falling economies and underpin faith in the European Union.
But authorities said an economic camp of wealthy northern states led by the Netherlands remained steadfast in access to the recovery fund, facing opposition from Germany, France, the southern nations, Italy and Spain, and the states of Eastern Europe.
Proposed amounts under discussion include the EU budget for 2021-27 of more than one trillion euros ($ 1.14 trillion) and the recovery fund worth 750 billion euros ($ 85.7 billion) to be spent primarily to the countries on the Mediterranean coast most affected by the pandemic.
Diplomats said the 27 remained at odds over the overall size of the package, the divide between grants and repayable loans in the recovery fund and the attached rule of law chains.
When the leaders parted ways for the day, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki tweeted that they were divided over a set of problems and said it was “highly likely” that they could not reach an agreement on Saturday or even Sunday if the summit it continues after its two scheduled days.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was also cautious about the possibilities of a deal, foreseeing “very, very difficult negotiations.”
Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continued coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I am Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives.
You can find all the key developments from yesterday, July 17, here.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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