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The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in both Mexico and Peru has increased to 500,000, with Lima reporting the highest death rates in Latin America.
- The United Kingdom said all arrivals from France and the Netherlands would be subject to a 14-day career starting on Saturday, prompting Paris to warn of a “reciprocal measure”.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) said “people should not be afraid of food, or food packaging”, because there was “no evidence” of coronavirus spreading through food as the food chain.
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Worldwide cases of coronavirus have exceeded 20.7 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 12.9 million people have been recovered, and more than 752,000 have died.
Here are the latest updates:
Friday, August 14th
02:00 GMT – North Korea increases border protection at border city
North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has lifted a lockdown in a major city near the border with South Korea, where he has been quarantined for thousands of weeks over concerns about coronavirus, according to state media .
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim made the decision at a governing party meeting on Thursday. The North Korean leader said it was clear after three weeks that the virus situation in Kaesong was stable and expressed gratitude to residents for cooperating with the lockdown.
Kim also claims that the North will keep its borders closed and reject any outside help, as Pyongyang is conducting an aggressive anti-virus campaign and building thousands of houses, roads and bridges damaged in recent weeks by heavy rain and flooding .
01:45 GMT – Peru over 500,000 cases
Peru crossed half a million coronavirus cases on Thursday and now has the highest rate in Latin America, according to health ministry data.
The Andean country has 507,996 confirmed cases and 25,648 related deaths. Peru’s death rate stands at 78.6 per 100,000 people, according to a Reuters census, a number higher than severely affected regional neighbors Chile and Brazil.
President Martin Vizcarra accused the recent spike in infections on an uptick in social and sporting events and a lax attitude by the public.
“There has been too much trust on the part of the population,” Vizcarra said. “Let us learn from history, correct mistakes and now we are united despite the discrepancies in some of the decisions that are made.”
Vizcarra banned family gatherings on Wednesday, reopening a blanket Sunday and increasing lockdowns to five more regions of the country, as figures revealed a 75 percent increase in infections among children and adolescents.
Pictures of the 125 doctors who died during the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru will be displayed outside Peru’s Medical College (CMP) in Lima on August 13, 2020 [Ernesto Benavides/ AFP]
Funerary staff in protective suits prepared to lower the coffin into the ground during the burial of a COVID-19 victim at the local cemetery in the remote Aymara high village of Acora, near the border with Bolivia, on August 9, 2020 [Carlos Mamani/ AFP]
01:37 GMT – Mexico’s case-load tops 500,000
The Ministry of Health in Mexico reported 7,371 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus and 627 additional deaths, bringing the total in the country to 505,751 cases and 55,293 deaths.
The government has said the true number of infected people is likely to be higher than the confirmed cases.
01:10 GMT – Venezuela’s governor dies from COVID-19
Dario Vivas, the mayor of the capital Caracas district in Venezuela and strong ally of President Nicolas Maduro, died on Thursday at COVID-19 at the age of 70, officials said.
Vivas, a senior member of the ruling Socialist Party, had said on Twitter on July 19 that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and went into self-isolation.
“He died in the fight … and took care of his health and all of us in this difficult battle against the Covid-19 pandemic,” Vice President Delcy Rodriguez wrote on Twitter.
Vivas is the first Venezuelan government official to die from the virus, although several have tested positive.
Dario Viva (right) died on August 13, 2020, almost a month after testing positive for COVID-19, according to officials [Federico Parra/ AFP]
00:48 GMT – France warns of ‘reciprocal measure’ over UK quarantine movement
Clement Beaune, French Prime Minister for European Affairs, said the UK’s decision to impose a 14-day career on all arrivals from France was one that “we regret and that will lead to a reciprocal measure”.
France “hoped for a return to normalcy as soon as possible,” Beaune said on Twitter.
On Thursday, France registered 2,669 new coronavirus infections, its highest daily number since May.
00:32 GMT – France, Netherlands added to UK quarantine list
The United Kingdom will impose a 14-day career on all arrivals from France, the Netherlands, Malta and three other countries, Transport Minister Grant Shapps said.
“Data shows we need to remove France, the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks and Caicos and Aruba from our list of #coronavirus Travel Corridors to keep infection rates DOWN,” Shapps said on Twitter.
“If you arrive after 0400 on Saturday from these destinations to 0400, you will have to self-isolate for 14 days.”
Data shows we need to remove France, Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks & Caicos and Aruba from our list of #coronafirus Travel corridors to keep infection rates DOWN. If you arrive after 0400 on Saturday from these destinations after 0400, you will have to self-isolate for 14 days.
– Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) August 13, 2020
00:18 GMT – Trump strikes Biden on call for mask mandate
US President Donald Trump attacked his rival, Joe Biden, as he called on the authorities to mandate face-to-face coverage in public for the next three months.
“We do not have to reduce the full weight of the federal government to law-abiding Americans in order to achieve this goal. Americans must have their freedoms,” Trump said.
“I trust the American people and their rulers very much. I trust the American people. And the rulers want to do the right thing to make the wise decisions. And Joe does not.”
Earlier on Thursday, Biden, the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential candidate, called for a national mask mandate, citing health experts’ predictions that it could save 40,000 lives in the next three months.
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Meltdowns over masks amid coronavirus outbreak go viral (1:27) |
Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives.
Go here for all the major developments from yesterday 13th August.
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