Dear colleagues –

below our weekly COVID-19 update for the ECA region and US, including on vaccines. Interesting to note that by Extending the interval between first and second doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine from 6 weeks to 3 months, you can boost efficacy from 55% to 81%, says a Lancet meta-analysis.

Dear colleagues –

below our weekly COVID-19 update for the ECA region and US, including on vaccines.

Dear colleagues –                                                                                                   

Please find attached our weekly World Bank COVID-19 update, with information specific to the Europe and Central Asia region, as well as globally.  Note also the update on vaccination efforts. 

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

• Only four European countries are now measuring below a crucial level of Covid-19 cases, as the continent struggles to contain fresh outbreaks. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's (ECDC) coronavirus alarm threshold is 2 cases per 10,000 people on a seven-day average. Only Germany, Finland, Cyprus, and Norway fall below this case threshold, ECDC data showed on Monday. Czech Republic (16.8), Netherlands (14), and France (12) have some of the highest cases per capita on the continent.
• Confirmed cases in France, Spain, and the UK are now higher on an average day than at the peak of this spring’s emergency, although the trend also reflects better detection of the virus. Infections also have accelerated in Italy and Germany in recent days.
• France:  health authorities reported that the number of patients being treated in intensive care units (ICUs) for Covid-19 has gone beyond the 1,400 threshold for the first time since 28 May.  Paris bars have also been ordered to close from Tuesday.
• Spain became the first western European nation to surpass 800,000 total coronavirus cases after registering 23,480 new infections over the weekend.
• Russia on Monday recorded a rise in coronavirus cases close to the maximum level in May but it has stopped short of re-imposing strict lockdown measures. With the fourth-highest number of cases in the global pandemic, Russia confirmed 10,888 new cases, approaching the 11 May highest recorded level of 11,656.
• The UK, which has the biggest death toll on the continent, reported 12,872 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, more than double the country's most recent seven-day rolling average, according to official figures.
• UK: More than 50,000 potentially infectious people may have been missed by contact tracers and not told to self-isolate because of a data error that meant nearly 16,000 coronavirus cases went unreported in England.

US

• The US President has left hospital, three days after being admitted with Covid-19.
• Nine U.S. states have reported record increases in COVID-19 cases over the last seven days, mostly in the upper Midwest and West where chilly weather is forcing more activities indoors.
• New York is one of only 18 states where cases have not risen greatly over the past two weeks. However, New York City Mayor said on Sunday he is moving to shut non-essential businesses as well as schools in nine neighborhoods, starting on Wednesday. The lockdown would require the governor’s approval.
• The CDC acknowledged Monday that people can sometimes become infected with the coronavirus through airborne transmission, especially in enclosed spaces with inadequate ventilation.

Vaccine

• European Medicines Agency (EMA) starts first rolling review of a COVID-19 vaccine in the EU. The accelerated review of AstraZeneca’s and Oxford University’s candidate vaccine will be based on preliminary results and doesn’t mean ‘that a conclusion can be reached yet on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.’
• The GAVI vaccine alliance’s board has approved up to $150 million to help 92 low- and middle-income countries prepare for the delivery of future COVID-19 vaccines, including technical assistance and cold chain equipment, it said. 

Dear colleagues – our weekend update.

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA  

• Daily case numbers in the European Union and United Kingdom this week reached record highs of more than 45,000 on a 14-day notification rate, according to the ECDC, and new restrictions are being imposed in places that were well into reopening. Leaders have raised fears over the pressure that hospitals could face in coming months and the looming prospect of new national lockdowns.
• Europe's death rate has been stable for 72 days, according to the ECDC, although Bulgaria, Croatia, Malta, Romania and Spain are seeing death rate increases.
• European countries are likely to impose more restrictions on public life in the coming days, analysts said.

France

• France reported 13,498 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday over the previous 24 hours, setting another record in daily additional infections since the start of the epidemic.
• The new cases pushed the cumulative total to 442,194 as the seven-day moving average of daily new infections rose to more than 9,700, compared with a low of 272 at the end of May, two weeks after the lockdown was lifted.
• A faster circulation of the virus and a six-fold increase in testing since the government made it free are the two main reasons for the scale of the increase, epidemiologists have said.
• The number of people in France who have died from COVID-19 was up by 26 on Saturday at 31,274, a growth significantly lower than registered the previous day.
• Health authorities reported a sudden jump in the country’s daily death toll from COVID-19 on Friday because of unreported cases in one hospital near Paris.

Russia

• Russia reported 6,148 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the second straight day when the daily number of cases exceeded 6,000, taking the national tally of infections to 1,103,399.
• Russia has approved R-Pharm’s Coronavir treatment for outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infections and the antiviral drug could be rolled out to pharmacies in the country as soon as next week, the company said on Friday.
• Russia has struck preliminary agreements to sell its Covid-19 vaccine to more than 10 countries in Asia, South America and the Middle East, a development that could give Moscow valuable economic and political leverage internationally.

Spain

• Protesters in some poorer areas of Madrid that are facing lockdown to stem a soaring COVID-19 infection rate took to the streets on Sunday to call for better health provisions, complaining of discrimination by the authorities.
• Madrid’s regional government on Friday ordered a lockdown from Monday in some of the poorer areas of the city and its outskirts that are home to about 850,000 people after a surge in coronavirus cases there.
• The lockdown measures predominantly apply to areas of lower income and with higher immigrant populations. Peaceful protests were held in 12 of the 37 districts affected on Sunday.
• About 600 people demonstrated in the southern district of Vallecas, which has one of the highest infection rates in the Spanish capital - about six times higher than that of Chamberi, a wealthy area in the north of the city, according to regional government figures.

Turkey

• Resurgent coronavirus cases in Turkey are fueling tensions between doctors who say the official figures underplay the scale of the outbreak and politicians who accuse the country’s medical association of undermining efforts to contain it.
• Many doctors question the official COVID-19 numbers, saying that although they don’t have their own independent nationwide data, the scale of cases they see at a local level does not tally with the bigger picture presented by the government.
• More than 1,600 new cases and 60 deaths from COVID-19 are now reported daily, well off peak levels in April but rising steadily, with average numbers of deaths now three times the rates recorded between June and August.

UK

• The United Kingdom is likely to reintroduce national lockdown measures sooner rather than later, a leading epidemiologist has said, as new coronavirus cases rose to their highest level since early May.
• The UK already had the highest official COVID-19 death toll in Europe - and the fifth-largest in the world.
• New COVID-19 cases have been rising by at least 6,000 a day in the UK, according to week-old data, hospital admissions are doubling every eight days, and the testing system is buckling.
• The government's chief medical officer, and chief scientific adviser, cautioned that if left unrestricted, the epidemic would reach 50,000 new cases a day by mid-October in the UK

NORTH AMERICA

US

• As fall arrives in the Northern Hemisphere and chilly air forces more people indoors, the US needs to brace for a COVID-19 winter surge. Already, cases are on the rise in 20 out of 50 states—including New Jersey and New York, where cases had been trending downwards for months.
• Although new cases are down overall about 50% from the peak in July, the US still reports ~40,000 new infections a day. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says the US needs to get that number down below 10,000 before flu seasons starts.
• US is nearing 200,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in the world.
• The US performed a record one million tests on Saturday – but experts say the country needs to be hitting targets of between six and ten million a day to get the outbreak under control.

VACCINES, DIAGNOSTICS, AND THERAPEUTICS

• Vaccines. Rich nations have already bought more than half of world's vaccine doses, Oxfam finds. A new Oxfam report finds that rich countries, representing around 13% of the world's population - have bought 51% of the future supply, or around 2.7 billion doses. Earlier this week, a report found that this exact scenario could lead to almost twice as many people dying of Covid-19, according to modelling from Northeastern University. According to the official Oxfam statement, the estimated cost of providing a vaccine for everyone on Earth is less than 1 percent of the projected cost of COVID-19 to the global economy. “The economic case for requiring pharmaceutical companies to share their vaccine knowledge free of patents so that production can be scaled up as fast as possible could not be clearer”, the agency said. 
• Vaccines. 64 higher income economies have joined the COVAX Facility, with a further 38 economies expected to sign in the coming days. 92 lower income economies are eligible for financial support through the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment. A total of 156 economies, representing nearly two-thirds of the global population, are now committed to or eligible to receive vaccines through the Facility.
• Vaccines. Sanofi and GSK will provide up to 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the European Union.  Sanofi and GSK finalized and signed today an advanced purchase agreement with the European Commission for the supply of up to 300 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, once the vaccine is approved. The contract will allow the purchase of a vaccine against COVID-19 for all Member States of the EU, which may donate reserved doses to LMICs. 
• Vaccines. AstraZeneca Releases Blueprints for Virus Vaccine Trial Amid Safety Scrutiny. The blueprint states that its goal is to develop a vaccine with 50 per cent effectiveness against the SARS-CoV-2, the same threshold set by the US FDA guidelines. The benchmarks set by the WHO are more stringent calling for +70% efficacy and a duration of protection of one year.
• Diagnostics. U.S. plans for hundreds of millions of cheap, fast COVID-19 tests.  U.S. manufacturers are sharply increasing production of cheap, fast - but less accurate - COVID-19 tests, aiming for 100 million per month by year end that will enable schools and workplaces to significantly expand testing.

Dear colleagues –

please find below and attached our weekly WB update on COVID-19.  Please note in particular the progress report on vaccines below. 

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

France

• The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in France rose again compared with the previous day, as did the death toll, as the country battles to contain a likely second wave of the virus.
• France has the seventh-highest COVID-19 death toll in the world, and authorities are scrutinizing the data to see what further measures might be needed to help the country cope with an expected second wave of the virus this winter.
• The French health ministry added that 537 patients were in intensive care units (ICU), of which the majority were in urban areas such as the Paris/Ile de France region, and the areas around Marseille and Nice.

Greece

• Nearly one in two Greeks (44%) would skip a vaccine for the novel coronavirus if it was approved and freely available, according to a poll published Sunday, with nearly 20 percent opposing masks as well. The poll of 1,000 respondents was carried out by Greek firm Metron Analysis.

Italy

• Italy reported 1,695 new cases on Saturday, less than 40 fewer than a four-month high recorded Friday. While numbers have been inching up all week amid record testing, they’re well below the daily peak of 6,557 infections on March 21 and recent spikes in European countries such as France and Spain.
• The Italian government plans to extend measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus through the end of September, including requiring people to wear masks and maintain social-distancing.
• Protesters gathered in the Italian capital, Rome, to protest against the use of masks to help contain the spread of coronavirus.
• Former Italian Prime minister Silvio  Berlusconi is hospitalized for COVID-19 but responding optimally to treatment.

Russia

• Russian authorities have singled out teachers -- as well as doctors -- as key workers who will get access to the vaccine first, even before crucial phase 3 human trials have finished.
• A Russian teachers' union, "Uchitel," however, started an online petition calling on members to reject the vaccine outright on safety grounds, and expressing concern that vaccination -- currently voluntary -- should not be made mandatory unless clinical trials are complete.
• Russia will complete early-stage trials on a second potential COVID-19 vaccine produced by the Vector Institute on Sept. 30, the RIA news agency cited Russia’s consumer health safety watchdog on Monday.

Spain

• Spain has become the first western European country to record more than half a million Covid-19 cases.
• Like its European neighbors, Spain is reopening schools this month despite the rapid spread of the virus, with the country counting the highest number of new infections on the continent.
• For weeks now, there have been a growing number of protests and petitions across Spain to demand better health and safety measures in schools.
• An international Ipsos poll in July found most Spanish parents would back limiting the number of days children are in school, with one in four preferring to wait four to six months before sending them back.

UK

• The United Kingdom reported its highest daily total of new coronavirus cases on Sunday since late May, officials said.
• There have been 2,988 cases confirmed in the past 24 hours, according to Health Secretary, who noted that this figure was over 1,000 more than the prior day's tally of new cases.
• The previous high figure was on May 22.
• The new figures raise the prospect that the UK could face a similar situation to France and Spain, where young people being infected with the virus caused a rise in hospital admissions among older and more vulnerable people a few weeks later.

NORTH AMERICA

US

• Cases are rising in 22 states in less-populated parts of the Midwest and South. Many state officials have issued precautionary measures for residents, but thousands across the US, including the state of California, congregated in public areas without observing proper distancing and protective rules as the country celebrated the end-of-summer Labor Day weekend.
• As a percentage, South Dakota has seen the biggest rise over the past two weeks with an increase of 126% - over 3,700 new cases. However, the increases across different states have been offset by a falling number of new infections in the most populous states of California, Florida and Texas.
• The US continues to average around 1,000 new fatalities each day, as the total death toll approaches 190,000 - the highest total globally.
• As more U.S. universities and colleges try to reopen with in-person instruction, outbreaks, student parties and pushback from instructors and students are threatening their plans.
• More than 51,000 cases have been reported at more than 1,000 campuses.
• States should be prepared to distribute a coronavirus vaccine by Nov. 1 "just in case" one is ready, the US Surgeon General said.

VACCINES, DIAGNOSTICS, AND THERAPEUTICS

• Vaccine.    Vaccine group says 76 rich countries now committed to 'COVAX' access plan. Seth Berkley, chief executive of the GAVI vaccines alliance, said the COVAX Facility now has Japan, Germany, Norway and more than 70 other nations signed up, agreeing in principle to procure COVID-19 vaccines through the facility for their populations. An agreement with China has not been signed yet, but Beijing has given “a positive signal.”
• Vaccine.   The WHO does not expect widespread vaccinations against COVID-19 until the middle of next year, stressing the importance of rigorous checks on their effectiveness and safety. None of the candidate vaccines in advanced clinical trials so far has demonstrated a "clear signal" of efficacy at the level of at least 50% sought by the WHO.
• Vaccine.    Johnson & Johnson has published pre-clinical results of its potential coronavirus vaccine in Nature, which show that the vaccine prevents severe illness in hamsters. The promising results in hamsters do not necessarily mean the vaccine will provide the same level of protection in humans. Clinical trials of the vaccine are ongoing.
• Vaccine.   The WHO is working with China on requirements for international approval of any Chinese COVID-19 vaccine.
• Vaccine.   Russia’s “Sputnik-V” COVID-19 vaccine produced an antibody response in all participants in early-stage trials, according to results published by The Lancet. The results of the two trials, conducted in June-July this year and involving 76 participants, showed 100% of participants developing antibodies to the new coronavirus and no serious side effects.
• Treatment.  Novo is exploring whether a new class of medicines that helps people lose weight and control diabetes also has potential in fighting Covid-19.
• Treatment.  Treating critically ill COVID-19 patients with corticosteroid drugs (hydrocortisone, dexamethasone and methylprednisolone) reduces the risk of death by 20%, an analysis of seven international trials found. “This is equivalent to around 68% of [the sickest Covid-19] patients surviving after treatment with corticosteroids, compared to around 60% surviving in the absence of corticosteroids,” the researchers said.
• Treatment.  The WHO revised its guidance and endorsed the use of corticosteroids for the treatment of patients with severe and critical COVID-19.
• Diagnostics.  The National Institutes of Health has picked nine additional test manufacturers to advance through its “Shark Tank”-like COVID-19 diagnostics competition—alongside $129.3 million in new funding to help scale up the production of both point-of-care screening tests and high-throughput laboratory assays.
• Diagnostics.  Roche receives FDA Emergency Use Authorization for the cobas SARS-CoV-2 & Influenza A/B Test for use on the cobas 6800/8800 Systems. It will be the first commercial test for fully automated high throughput systems to detect and differentiate SARS-CoV-2, influenza A virus and/or influenza B virus with a single sample.
• Diagnostics.  HK study finds COVID-19 stool tests may be more effective for infants since they carry a higher viral load in their stool than adults.

Dear colleague –

For your weekend reading pleasure, please find below ECA-specific information from the WB’s weekly COVID-19 update.  Please also find attached the weekly ECA COVID-19 Monitoring presentation with key indicators across the region.

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

Belgium

• More than 200 people have demonstrated in Brussels against coronavirus restrictions after the regional government mandated face masks in public.
• Belgium has reported a total of 78,534 cases and 9,944 deaths so far with 211 new cases and 5 new deaths in last 24 hours.
• Wearing a mask became compulsory on Wednesday for 1.2 million people living in the Brussels region, as Belgium battles one of the most serious coronavirus outbreaks in Europe. The call to demonstrate was launched on social media by a group of citizens under the slogan "Viruswaanzin", or "viral madness" in Dutch, a movement that first appeared in the Netherlands.

France

• France is expected to announce quarantine requirements for people coming from the UK in a tit-for-tat move as COVID-19 cases surge across Europe.
• French authorities warned last week that the country would "apply reciprocal measures" following the announcement by Britain that anyone travelling from France would have to submit to a 14-day self-isolation requirement upon arrival. The UK measure came into force on August 15.
• More than 3,000 new cases were reported in France on both Saturday and Sunday, according to the Health Ministry. The country, which has so far recorded more than 218,500 COVID-19 cases and 30,410 deaths, is also investigating 236 clusters.
• It was the second day in a row that new infections surpassed the 3,000 mark.
• There were 4,860 people in hospital with Covid-19, including 376 in intensive care units.

Germany

• The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 561 to 224,014, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday.
• The reported death toll rose by one to 9,232, the tally showed.
• Germany's health minister believes there will "certainly" be a widely-available coronavirus vaccine in the next year and is "optimistic" that one will be developed in the coming months.

Russia

• Russia’s Petrovax has started a late-stage trial of a COVID-19 candidate vaccine from CanSino Biologics Inc in the country, records show, as the Chinese drug firm steps up testing abroad to close in on regulatory approval. The Ad5-nCoV vaccine already has approval for use by China’s military after early and mid-stage trials, and further late-stage trials are being lined up for Mexico and Saudi Arabia. CanSino last month said it was in talks for opportunities to launch late-stage - or Phase 3 - trials in Saudi Arabia, Russia, Brazil and Chile.
• Russia’s energy minister has tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
• The world-famous Mariinsky ballet company has called off performances after some 30 members, mostly dancers, contracted the coronavirus, St Petersburg health authorities said on Monday.
• The company has won a patent approval from Beijing for the vaccine, Chinese state media reported on Sunday, citing documents from the country’s intellectual property regulator.
• This is the first trial of a potential vaccine developed by a foreign company to take place in Russia, while the country prepares to start mass production of its domestic shot developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute.

Spain

• Spanish health authorities continue to lose ground to COVID-19, with the Health Ministry reporting 16,269 new infections and more than 1,000 active outbreaks on Monday.
• The number of new infections spans three days, from Friday to Monday, as the Spanish government no longer publishes COVID-19 data on the weekends.
• In the last two weeks, nearly 60,000 new cases have been confirmed -- almost one-sixth of all COVID-19 infections detected in Spain since the beginning of the pandemic, specifically 359,082.
• In the last week, over 1,000 people have been hospitalized for the infectious disease and 54 have died, according to the Health Ministry. Hundreds of people have gathered in Madrid to demonstrate against the mandatory wearing of face masks and other measures put in place by the Spanish government to stop the spread of Covid-19.

UK

• The United Kingdom recorded 713 new daily confirmed cases of COVID-19, official data showed on Monday, the first time it has dropped below 1,000 in six days.
• Three more people have died within 28 days of testing positive for the coronavirus.
• Britain on Monday urged elderly people and volunteers from Black and Asian minority groups to sign up to a COVID-19 vaccine trial registry to boost efforts to find a working vaccine against the disease that offers protection for higher risk groups.
• Britain’s health secretary will announce this week that Public Health England (PHE) will be scrapped and replaced by a new body.
• More than 70 staff at a Nottinghamshire dessert factory have now tested positive for Covid-19.

NORTH AMERICA

US

• The United States surpassed 170,000 coronavirus deaths as health officials express concerns over Covid-19 complicating the fall flu season.
• U.S. death toll from COVID-19 rose 2% to about 7,400 people last week, while new cases declined for a fourth week in a row. The US has at least 5.4 million confirmed coronavirus cases in total, the highest in the world and likely an undercount as the country still has not ramped up testing to the recommended levels.
• Cases are falling in most states except for Hawaii, South Dakota and Illinois.
• Nationally, the share of all tests that came back positive for the new virus was 7%, down from 8% the prior week. Mississippi, Nevada, Florida and Idaho had the highest positive rates at over 16%. Only 16 states and Washington D.C. reported a positivity rate under 5%, which is the threshold that the World Health Organization considers concerning because it suggests there are more cases in the community that have not yet been uncovered.
• The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is anticipating an uptick in Covid-19 cases in the coming months, resulting in around 300,000 total deaths by December, and a nearly 75% increase in hospitalizations.
• Los Angeles Unified has announced plans to test its roughly 600,000 students and 75,000 employees as the nation’s second-largest school district prepares for the eventual return to in-person instruction. The testing program is set to kick off Monday, with additional services to roll out as the school year continues.
• The governor of the US state of Georgia, who has opposed local mask mandates previously, has signed a new executive order that allows local governments to enact mask requirements.
• In the US an Arizona public school district was forced to cancel its plans to reopen on Monday after more than 100 teachers and other staff members called in sick.
• The US Food and Drug Administration on Saturday granted emergency use authorization for Yale School of Public Health’s saliva test to detect Covid-19, after a trial on National Basketball Association players and staff.

Dear colleagues –

Am glad to be back in country following my summer vacation and look forward to seeing you soon. 

Here is the latest WB COVID-19 update for the Europe and Central Asia region.  Please also find attached the weekly ECA COVID-19 Monitoring presentation with key indicators across the region.

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

Greece

• Greece is “formally” in the midst of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, one of the country’s top infectious disease experts said
• Greece has confirmed at least 126 new coronavirus infections, pushing the country's total to 5,749 with at least 213 deaths.
• According to the government, 17 of the new cases involved migrants in Lesbos, who arrived from Turkey.
• Meanwhile, the country's culture ministry announced that for the next two weeks, the Museum of the Ancient Agora in Athens will be closed for disinfection, after one of its workers was tested positive of the disease, also known as COVID-19.

Russia

• Russian authorities confirmed 5,118 new coronavirus cases and 70 new deaths in the last 24 hours.
• Russia has the fourth highest tally of COVID-19 cases worldwide.

Denmark

• Denmark has seen a new spread of COVID-19 infections in the past week with the reproduction rate rising to 1.4.
• In the past week, infections have been confirmed in 67 out of Denmark's 98 municipalities. The country's second-largest city, Aarhus, had the biggest number of new infections.
• Meat giant Danish Crown announced Saturday it had closed a large slaughterhouse in Denmark after nearly 150 employees tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The abattoir in Ringsted, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the capital Copenhagen, employs nearly 900 people and slaughters tens of thousands of pigs every week.
• Denmark has reported a total of 14, 815 cases and 620 deaths so far.

UK

• The UK government said 46,526 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK, as of 5pm on Sunday.
• Britain's Heathrow Airport renewed its call for COVID-19 testing at airports as it reported an 88 percent plunge in July passenger numbers due to ongoing restrictions on travel which it said were strangling the UK economy.
• The British government is laying off 6,000 coronavirus contact tracers and deploying the rest to work in local teams, in an acknowledgment that the centralized track-and-trace system is not working well.
• The British prime minister said reopening schools in September was a social, economic and moral imperative and insisted schools would be able to operate safely despite the coronavirus pandemic.

NORTH AMERICA

US

• The total number of United States coronavirus deaths surged past 160,000 with more than 5 million confirmed infections across the country.
• The US government is considering a measure to block US citizens and permanent residents from returning home if they are suspected of being infected with SARS-CoV-2. The draft regulation would give the government authorization to block individuals who could "reasonably" be believed to have contracted COVID-19 or other diseases.
• The number of new COVID-19 cases among children in the US rose 40 percent in the last two weeks of July, according to a report just weeks before tens of millions of American students are scheduled to begin the new school year. The new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association found that more than 338,000 children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the US epidemic, with 97,078 new cases reported in the July 16-30 period.
• United States Health Secretary said that any US vaccine or treatment for COVID-19 would be shared fairly with the rest of the world, once the US's needs have been satisfied.
• Nearly 600 children have been admitted to US hospitals with a rare inflammatory syndrome associated with the novel coronavirus over four months during the peak of the pandemic, the CDC said in a report. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare but severe condition that shares symptoms with toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease, including fever, rashes, swollen glands and, in severe cases, heart inflammation.
• New cases in Arizona fell by more than 48% in the last week, and on 9 August the state reported fewer than 1,000 cases for the first time since 29 June.
• The rate of community spread in Florida, California and Tennessee remained high, but they all reported fewer cases than in the previous week.
• Nationally, the positivity rate for Covid-19 held steady at 8%. Mississippi and Texas had the highest positivity rates in the country at 21%. Only 15 states reported a positive rate under 5%, which is the threshold that the WHO considers concerning because it suggests there are more cases in the community that have not yet been uncovered.

Dear colleagues –

Please find below the latest COVID-19 related updates/ responses and attached the weekly ECA COVID-19 Monitoring presentation with key indicators across the region, kindly prepared by the World Bank’s Human Development Practice Group.

Please also note that two attached slides that offer a landscape overview of vaccines.  As you will know, there is increased optimism that a vaccine may soon pass phase 3 (October is the current estimate) and so I would be happy to start discussions on how best for the government to pre-order should there be interest from the government’s side. 

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

France

• France has reported 3,376 new confirmed COVID-19 cases over the last three days, the country’s health department said on Monday, while the number of people being treated in ICUs for the disease is creeping higher.
• The seven-day moving average for new cases has held above the 1,000 threshold for the fifth day in a row, meaning the country is experiencing levels not seen since a two-month lockdown. France’s total number of cases now stands at 191,295.
• Travelers entering France from 16 countries where the coronavirus is circulating widely now must undergo virus tests upon arrival at French airports and ports.
• French Prime Minister announced last month that the tests would be required starting Aug. 1 for passengers France is allowing in from a list of approved countries unless they present proof of a negative test done within 72 hours of their departure.
• Those who test positive in France as of Saturday must quarantine for 14 days.

Italy

• Antibody testing in Italy indicates that nearly 1.5 million people, or about 2.5% of the population, have had the coronavirus. But officials said Monday that huge geographic variations in the results confirmed a nationwide lockdown was “absolutely crucial” to preventing the country's south from getting slammed as badly as its north.
• The Health Ministry and the national statistics agency based their assessment on tests performed May 25-July 15 on a sample of nearly 65,000 Italians selected for their location, age and type of work. The government carried out the testing to understand how widely the virus circulated in the first country in the West to be overwhelmed by COVID-19, given that the bulk of confirmed cases and deaths occurred in northern Italy.

Russia

• Russia is preparing to start a mass vaccination campaign against the coronavirus in October, the country’s government has claimed.
• Health Minister said clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine candidate from the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute were complete and showed immune response in all subjects, with no side effects or complications.

Spain

• The spread of COVID-19 continues to accelerate in post-lockdown Spain, with the Health Ministry detecting 8,532 new cases over the weekend.
• The data, published on Monday, does not include complete updates from Madrid, Catalonia, and Navarra, some of the worst-hit areas, suggesting that the true number of people who tested positive over the weekend might be significantly higher.
• Outbreaks among farm workers and young people desperate to resume socializing after being under lockdown, have led to a  spread across northern Spain, spawning a potential “second wave" of infections.

Turkey

• Turkey's number of serious ill COVID-19 patients seems to be under control, Turkish health minister said on Sunday.
• The COVID-19 cases increased by 987 in Turkey, raising the total diagnosed cases to 232,856.
• Over the weekend, many Turkish citizens visited family members and popular tourism destinations amid festivities for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. Health officials are now closely monitoring COVID-19 cases, which they expect to rise after the nationwide holiday travel and are calling for the enforcement of new precautions to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

NORTH AMERICA

US

• The United States reported a record 1.87 million cases in July, more than twice the figure for the previous record month, April, when 860,000 new cases were reported.
• U.S. deaths from COVID-19 rose for a fourth week in a row to more than 8,500 people in the seven days ended Aug. 2, while the number of new cases fell for a second straight week.
• California, Florida and Texas collectively accounted for nearly 180,000 of the new cases, though new infections were lower in all three states compared to the previous week.
• The United States is in a new phase of the coronavirus outbreak with infections “extraordinarily widespread” in rural areas as well as cities, White House coronavirus experts said on Sunday.
• The governor of California has said that rates of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions were all trending down in the state.
• The positivity rate of testing in the US is 8.2% - higher than the 5% level that the WHO considers concerning because it suggests there are more cases in the community that have not yet been uncovered.
• U.S. President on Monday signed an executive order expanding access to telehealth services for 57 million Americans in under-served rural areas and elsewhere, after virtual visits soared during the coronavirus pandemic.
• At least 14 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate - seven Republicans and seven Democrats - have tested positive or are presumed to have had COVID-19 since the novel coronavirus pandemic began earlier this year.
• Teachers and support staff at more than 35 school districts across the US are protesting against the reopening of schools while COVID-19 is surging in many parts of the country.
• The US Treasury Department plans to borrow $947 billion to cover coronavirus impact. Congress has already allocated about $3 trillion for coronavirus-related economic aid so far.

Dear colleagues - please find attached the latest COVID-19 related news for the Europe and Central Asia region.  I also attach the latest education sector brief and so copy Mikheil in for info. 

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

Russia

• Russia has reported 6,248 new cases of the novel coronavirus, pushing its confirmed national tally to 739,947, the fourth largest in the world.
• Officials said 175 people had died in the last 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 11,614.
• A Russian institute developing one of the country’s potential coronavirus vaccines hopes to start its final stage testing in a small section of the general public in mid-August.

France

• Coronavirus hospitalizations are declining in France. The Health ministry said the number of people in hospital with COVID-19, fell to 6,983 from 7,062 as of July 10, continuing a weeks-long downtrend. The number of people in intensive care units was down to 492 from 496.

UK

• Britain must start “intense preparations” for a second wave of coronavirus that has the potential to kill as many as 120,000 hospital patients in a worst case scenario, experts have warned.
• Face masks will become mandatory in shops across England, ministers are to announce on Tuesday, following mixed messages, a cabinet split and mounting pressure on the country’s prime minister Boris Johnson to change public advice.

Kazakhstan

• Kazakhstan will extend its second coronavirus lockdown by two weeks until the end of July and again offer financial aid to those who have lost their source of income.
• Kazakhstan has reported a major resurgence in COVID-19 and pneumonia cases after lifting restrictions in May. The country has nearly 60,000 cases of COVID-19 with 375 deaths and reported shortages of hospital beds and popular medicines. There are also reports of an outbreak of pneumonia, which the WHO says is on their "radar". The number of daily new cases fell to 1,646 on Monday from 1,798 on Sunday.
• Kazakhstan held a national day of mourning for COVID-19 victims on Monday, flying flags at half-mast and cancelling entertainment programming on local media.
• Neighbors Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have also reported new spikes in COVID-19 cases after reopening at about the same time. Uzbekistan has also started a second lockdown while Kyrgyzstan imposed more moderate control measures.

NORTH AMERICA

US

• In response to sky rocketing cases, California shut down businesses, and schools as the coronavirus outbreak grows.
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday reported 3,296,599 cases of the coronavirus, an increase of 60,469 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 312 to 134,884. A total of 22 states and New York City have reported more than 40,000 total cases, unchanged from Friday. States with some of the highest case counts include California with over 300,000 cases, Florida and Texas each with over 250,000, and New Jersey, New York City, New York State, and Illinois with at least 150,000 cases.
• The US has reported approximately 60,000 new cases a day for almost a week.
• Over the weekend, Florida broke a US state record of daily new cases, with over 15,200 new cases in a day, making it the single-largest increase in daily case counts reported by any state.

Dear colleagues –

for your weekend reading pleasure 😉, please find attached a summary of a WB paper that concludes that lockdowns are associated with an ~10% drop in GDP, but that even without lockdowns economies suffer by a similar extent – and so in sum there is no trade-off between savings lives and livelihoods!  Also, on average, countries that implemented lockdowns in the early stages of the pandemic are found to have better short-term economic outcomes and lower cumulative mortality.

https://voxeu.org/article/early-lockdowns-save-more-lives-and-livelihoods

Dear colleagues –

please find attached and below this week’s WB update on country responses to the COVID-19 crisis. 

For real time* updates:  https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

 *Please note there may be a lag in reporting.

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

United Kingdom

• Britain will today unveil a mini-budget to kickstart the UK economy, hoping infrastructure investment will help build its way out of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Finance minister Rishi Sunak is due to deliver his spending plans at 1130 GMT, having already flagged £3 billion (US$3.7 billion, €3.3bn) of green investment.
• Scientists warn of a potential wave of COVID-19 related brain damage. A study by researchers at University College London (UCL) described 43 cases of patients with COVID-19 who suffered either temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage or other serious brain effects. The study found nine of the patients were diagnosed with a rare condition called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), which is usually seen in children and can be triggered by viral infections.

Serbia

• A group of opposition supporters stormed the Serbian parliament on Tuesday night in a protest against plans to impose a lockdown on the capital.

Germany

• The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 397 in the last 24 hours and the death toll has risen by 12.
• Although the Gütersloh lockdown has been lifted after German court ruling, the n slaughterhouse and meat packing plant at the centre of COVID-19 outbreak won’t be allowed to reopen until authorities are satisfied with its hygiene procedures.

Dear colleagues - please find below our weekly update on COVID-19 policy responses across the Europe and Central Asia region. 

All countries and territories affected (cases/deaths):*  Albania (2,535/62); Andorra (855/52); Armenia (25,542/443); Austria (17,766/705); Azerbaijan (17,524/213); Belarus (62,118/392); Belgium (61,427/9,747); Bosnia and Herzegovina (4,453/186); Bulgaria (4,831/223); Croatia (2,777/107); Cyprus (998/19); Czech Republic (11,895/349); Denmark (12,968/605); Estonia (1,989/69); Faroe Islands (187/0); Finland (7,214/328); France (202,063/29,846); Georgia (928/15); Germany (195,418/8,990); Gibraltar (177/0); Greece (3,409/192); Greenland (13/0); Holy See (12/0); Hungary (4,155/585); Iceland (1,842/10); Ireland (25,473/1,736); Isle of Man (336/24); Italy (240,578/34,767); Jersey (319/31); Kazakhstan (21,819/188); Kosovo (2,799/49); Kyrgyzstan (5,296/57); Latvia (1,118/30); Liechtenstein (83/1); Lithuania (1,817/78); Luxembourg (4,299/110); Malta (670/9); Moldova (16,613/545); Monaco (103/5); Montenegro (548/12); Netherlands (50,483/6,132); North Macedonia (6,334/302); Norway (8,879/250); Poland (34,393/1,463); Portugal (42,141/1,576); Romania (26,970/1,651); Russia (647,849/9,320); San Marino (713/42); Serbia (14,564/277); Slovakia (1,667/28); Slovenia (1,600/111); Spain (249,271/28,355); Sweden (68,451/5,333); Switzerland (31,714/1,963); Tajikistan (5,900/52); Turkey (199,906/5,131); Ukraine (45,254/1,173); United Kingdom (314,159/43,815); United States (2,620,250/127,272); Uzbekistan (8,385/26)

For real time* updates:  https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

*Please note there may be a lag in reporting.

Country Response

Germany

• The state of Bavaria approved plans on Tuesday for universal testing for COVID-19, prompting debate elsewhere in Germany about whether to follow suit or stick with the current targeted approach to prevent a possible second wave of infections

Italy    

• A study of coronavirus infections that covered almost everyone in the quarantined north Italian town of Vò found that 40% of cases showed no symptoms - suggesting that asymptomatic cases are important in the spread of the pandemic; the study, led by a scientist at Italy’s Padua University and Imperial College London, also produced evidence that mass testing combined with case isolation and community lockdowns can stop local outbreaks swiftly

Russia

• Russia on Tuesday reported 6,693 new cases of the novel coronavirus, taking its nationwide tally to 647,849; 154 more people had died, bringing the official death toll to 9,320

Spain

• Spain will only open its borders with Morocco if there is a reciprocal agreement to let people travelling via Spain enter the Morocco, Spanish government said on Tuesday
• Thousands of taxi drivers took to the streets of Madrid on Tuesday, honking their horns and clogging up the roads around city hall to demand a limit on the number of vehicles allowed to operate amid a post-lockdown slump in demand
• Health workers in scrubs and face masks gathered in central Madrid’s Puerta del Sol Square on Monday, demanding better terms for work in a system that was overwhelmed by one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the coronavirus
• Spanish official statistics show that the country's gross domestic product contracted 5.2 percent during the first three months of the year compared to the previous quarter, the biggest drop in at least half a century

United Kingdom

• Britain has imposed a stringent lockdown on the English city of Leicester following a local flare-up of the novel coronavirus, overshadowing the government’s attempts to nudge the country back to normality
• PM promised to shake Britain’s economy out of its coronavirus-induced crisis on Tuesday by fast-tracking infrastructure investment and slashing property planning rules; he also unveiled new planning rules on Tuesday to boost the number of homes and allow commercial premises to be repurposed more easily, part of a package to spur the coronavirus-hit economy

Uzbekistan

• Uzbekistan has imposed an overnight curfew in some parts of the country, including the capital Tashkent, as it seeks to curb a fresh rise in COVID-19 infections following the gradual lifting of a two-month lockdown; the new restrictions will see residents of “red” and “yellow” areas deemed at higher risk barred from leaving their homes between 11 PM and 7 AM except for medical emergencies, the government said on Tuesday; large shopping malls and markets will also be closed on weekends across the country

United States

• The United States saw a 46% increase in new cases of COVID-19 in the week ended June 28 compared to the previous seven days, with 21 states reporting positivity test rates above the level that the WHO has flagged as concerning; nationally, 7% of diagnostic tests came back positive last week, up from 5% the prior week, according to an analysis from Reuters
• People arriving in New York from an additional eight states must quarantine themselves for 14 days amid the coronavirus pandemic, New York Governor ordered on Tuesday; the eight additional states are California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee, all of which are contending with growing caseloads
• Los Angeles is to close its beaches for the July 4 holiday weekend after reporting a record one-day rise in cases
• The governor of the state of Arizona has told bars, cinemas, gyms, water parks and nightclubs they have to close again; he says the closures are necessary after coronavirus cases and hospitalizations reached new highs over the weekend, and he expects the numbers to get worse
• U.S. Treasury Secretary on Tuesday said up to $140 billion in possible small business loans could be refocused to support restaurants, hotels and other industries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic; the remaining funds authorized for the Paycheck Protection Program are due to expire on Tuesday, when the Small Business Administration stops taking applications for the forgivable loans
• An asylum seeker has tested positive for coronavirus in a sprawling encampment steps from the U.S. border in Matamoros, Mexico, underscoring the challenges migrants face in protecting themselves from the pandemic
• Scammers are posing as COVID-19 contact tracers as a way to steal personal information, three major U.S. government agencies have said, describing "rapidly evolving" fraud related to the pandemic; the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services and Federal Trade Commission warned that fake contact tracers were asking for money and trying to collect social security numbers, bank and credit card information from individuals

WHO

• The toll from COVID-19 could rise to 438,000 deaths in Latin America by October if prevention measures are not kept up, the WHO’s regional director for the Americas said on Tuesday

European Union

• The European Union has excluded the United States from its initial “safe list” of countries from which the bloc will allow non-essential travel from Wednesday; the 27-member bloc gave approval on Tuesday to leisure or business travel from 14 countries beyond its borders, the Council of the EU said in a statement; the “safe” countries are Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay; in addition, China would be included if it reciprocated by allowing in EU travelers
• The European Central Bank can adjust its COVID-19 crisis measures depending on how financial markets adapt to what is likely to be a slow economic recovery from the pandemic, one of the bank’s top policymakers said on Tuesday

UN

• The coronavirus pandemic is reversing progress on ending child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM), jeopardizing the futures of millions of girls, a senior UN official has said
• A UN agency agreed on Tuesday to change a landmark aviation emissions scheme, in a boost for airlines who said they could face billions of dollars in higher offsetting costs under the current deal when air travel recovers from the coronavirus

Dear colleagues - please find attached and below this week’s World Bank COVID-19 update.  I also attach a document with three short articles I believe could be of interest as they can help inform policy moving forward.   Just out of curiosity: could you advise on what the R0 factor is in Georgia today?  Also, is there any news on entry policies into Georgia for tourists and diplomatic corps members as of July 1?  Many thanks and best regards, Sebastian

Steroid drug hailed as 'breakthrough' for seriously ill COVID-19 patients
Reuters
A cheap and widely used steroid called dexamethasone has become the first drug shown to be able to save the lives of COVID-19 patients in what scientists said is a “major breakthrough” in the coronavirus pandemic.

How Exactly Do You Catch Covid-19? There Is a Growing Consensus
The Wall Street Journal
Six months into the coronavirus crisis, there's a growing consensus about a central question: How do people become infected? It's not common to contract Covid-19 from a contaminated surface, scientists say. And fleeting encounters with people outdoors are unlikely to spread the coronavirus. Instead, the major culprit is close-up, person-to-person interactions for extended periods.

Comment: How Covid-19 will change the world
Financial Times by Martin Wolf
In less than six months, Covid-19 has transformed the world. But what might its impact ultimately be? Our ignorance on this is quite comprehensive. But it is far from absolute. So let us take stock

WB COVID-19 country update:

All countries and territories affected (cases/deaths):*  Albania (1,722/38); Andorra (854/52); Armenia (18,033/302); Austria (17,203/687); Azerbaijan (10,991/133); Belarus (56,032/324); Belgium (60,244/9,675); Bosnia and Herzegovina (3,141/168); Bulgaria (3,542/184); Croatia (2,258/107); Czech Republic (10,154/333); Denmark (12,494/598); Estonia (1,977/69; Finland (7,117/326); France (194,805/29,578); Georgia (888/14); Germany (188,604/8,851); Greece (3,203/187); Greenland (13/0); Holy See (12/0); Hungary (4,078/567); Iceland (1,815/10); Ireland (25,341/1,710); Isle of Man (336/24); Italy (237,828/34,448); Jersey (316/30); Kazakhstan (15,542/97); Kosovo (1,713/33); Kyrgyzstan (2,562/30); Latvia (1,104/30); Liechtenstein (83/1); Lithuania (1,778/76); Luxembourg (4,085/110); Malta (662/9); Moldova (12,732/433); Monaco (99/5); Montenegro (333/9); Netherlands (49,412/6,093); North Macedonia (4,482/210); Norway (8,680/243); Poland (30,701/1,286); Portugal (37,672/1,523); Romania (22,760/1,451); Russia (553,301/7,478); San Marino (696/42); Serbia (12,522/257); Slovakia (1,561/28); Slovenia (1,509/109); Spain (244,683/29,858); Sweden (54,562/5,041); Switzerland (31,183/1,956); Tajikistan (5,221/51); Turkey (182,727/4,861); Ukraine (33,986/953); United Kingdom (300,717/42,238); United States (2,157,768/117,622); Uzbekistan (5,682/19)

For real time* updates:  https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

*Please note there may be a lag in reporting.

Country Response

Czech Republic

•             Members of Prague City Council are self-isolating after one of the deputy mayors tested positive for Covid-19; the council had been holding virtual meetings, but it voted to return to in-person meetings; now all 11 members will have to quarantine following Monday’s seven-hour council session, and several City Assembly members are also being tested

Denmark

•             Mink at a farm in Denmark were found to be infected with the new coronavirus and the whole stock would now be culled; the outbreak among minks is the first in Denmark but comes shortly after 10 mink farms in the Netherlands were ordered culled after some animals tested positive for the disease

France

•             France hopes to reach an agreement with the 26 other members of the European Union on a proposed €750bn recovery fund in July, a presidential adviser has said ahead of videoconference between EU leaders on Friday

Germany

•             More than 300 households in the Berlin district of Neukoelln have been placed into quarantine, after 57 new infections were recorded

•             A large German meat processing plant has been hit by an outbreak of coronavirus; 400 new infections of employees at Toennies meat production in the nearby Rheda-Wiedenbrueck plant have been registered

•             Germany is to extend the ban on big gatherings, such as festivals and fairs, to avoid another wave of Covid-19 infections

•             Berlin is planning for schools to return to normal operations after the summer holidays, although recommendations for social distancing and mask-wearing in shops and on public transport will stay

•             Germany's smartphone app to help trace coronavirus infections has been downloaded 6.5 million times in the first 24 hours since its launch

•             Germany’s health ministry announced that there is no reason to stockpile the generic steroid drug dexamethasone

Italy

•             Italy’s nursing homes, where the COVID-19 epidemic is believed to have killed thousands of people, did not have the equipment needed to protect staff or residents, a survey by the country’s top health body shows

•             After three months of empty squares and alleys, and gondoliers stranded on dry land, Venice is welcoming tourists back to the city

Norway

•             Chinese and Norwegian authorities have concluded that Norwegian salmon was likely not the source of the novel coronavirus that was found at cutting boards in a Beijing food market

Portugal

•             Portugal's parliament approved in the first reading a supplementary budget that increases spending by 4.3 billion euros ($4.8 billion) to help the coronavirus-battered economy

Kazakhstan

•             The speaker of the lower house of Kazakhstan's parliament is the latest politician to test positive for coronavirus; he met the country's healthcare minister last week before the minister was diagnosed with COVID-19 and admitted to hospital with pneumonia

•             Over the past week authorities have once again tightened restrictions such as the working hours of shops and public transport in most of the provinces, citing accelerating spread rates of the virus

Russia

•             Russia says that new coronavirus cases are at their lowest since April 30

•             Russia already uses dexamethasone to treat patients with the novel coronavirus, but does not view it as a panacea against COVID-19

•             A group of Azeris clashed with Russian riot police after learning that not all of them would be allowed to return to Azerbaijan; according to Russian investigators around 400 people "used violence" against police and border guards, trying to block a major highway and throwing stones at the security forces; at least nine police officers were lightly injured

Serbia

•             More than 2,200 residents of Loznica, in western Serbia, were forced to spend nearly a month in self-isolation after they crossed the border to buy petrol in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina; since March, Serbia has required all residents re-entering to undergo 14 or 28 days of self-isolation

Spain

•             Spanish Prime Minister has announced a state ceremony will be held on July 16 to honor more than 27,000 people who have died in the pandemic

Sweden

•             Deaths in Sweden from COVID-19 passed 5,000, the Public Health Agency said, far more than in neighboring Nordic countries; Sweden has taken a softer approach to fighting the coronavirus, leaving most schools, shops and restaurants open and relying on voluntary measures focused on social distancing and good hygiene

•             Deaths in Sweden has been far higher relative to the size of the population than in Denmark, Norway and Finland, where authorities have taken a stricter approach; but they have been lower than in Britain, Italy and Spain, where there have also been lockdowns

•             Sweden will lift its advice against non-essential travel to 10 European countries from 30 June; the countries are Greece, Croatia, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, France, Iceland, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg; for other European countries – including the UK as well as neighboring Denmark, Norway and Finland – the advice against non-essential travel will still apply

Turkey

•             Turkey reportedly may need to adopt a harder line on social interactions following a jump in coronavirus infections; this month restaurants and cafes reopened, intercity flights and car travel resumed and weekend stay-at-home orders were lifted; however, new COVID-19 cases have roughly doubled to 1,600 a day since June 1

United Kingdom

•                 Britain has increased the amount of dexamethasone it has in stock and on order to 240,000 doses

•                 London's mayor has announced he will take a 10 percent pay cut due to a budget crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak, as he urged the government to help UK's stretched local authorities; the Mayor said the capital faces a budget shortfall of nearly £500m ($628m) over the next two years because of an "unprecedented" income loss from the crisis

•                 Annual inflation rate slid to 0.5 percent in May, remaining at a near four-year low as the country's coronavirus lockdown dampened prices

•                 The English Premier League is set to kick off behind closed doors and under strict restrictions exactly 100 days after its season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic

•                 A UK health official says the country's coronavirus contact tracing app will be now ready "before the winter"

Dear colleagues –

below (and attached) you will find an update of global social protection measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Indeed, a lot happened since v.10, including measures now reaching 4-digits across nearly the whole planet; in kind and cash-based social safety nets cover 1.6B people; 72% of social assistance is ongoing as we speak, with the rest being planned or ended; cash transfers tend to be short-term and generous in provision (+93% relative to pre-C19 levels)… and have been scaled by over 230%, with about 15% of the world’s population (but only 2% in Africa) receiving at least one Covid-related cash payment; 21 programs tackle urban vulnerabilities, while 70 measures are emerging in fragile states; social protection spending is nearly $600B, but only $1/person in low-income countries; and much, much more….

After nearly 3 months since version 1 of this paper was released, the number of countries and territories as well as social protection measures continue to climb. Since March 20, the number of countries quadrupled, while measures soared almost tenfold. Currently, 195 countries/territories have planned or introduced social protection measures in response to Covid-19. While this review’s version 11 will later provide a fresh look at which measures are planned, ongoing and ended, our repository of country actions now reached the four-digit milestone of 1024 measures.

Social assistance accounts for most of the social protection response. A total of 621 measures were recorded, accounting for 60% of the response. Nearly 50% of those safety net measures, and about 30% of global measures, are various forms of cash-based transfers. Besides 271 targeted cash transfer programs in 131 countries, interventions include 6 universal transfers, 5 of which one-off, and a robust number (25) of social pension schemes. In-kind transfers are also substantial, with 23% of the social assistance portfolio including the distribution of food commodities, vouchers and school feeding programs. Both in-kind transfers and cash have bene growing steadily over time. Finally, 14 public works programs are present in 11 countries.

Overall, social assistance continues to be adapted to the crisis in 3 ways. A total of 63 programs in 47 countries have adapted their administrative systems to make it easier for people to access programs, including advance payments waiving conditionalities, remote applications, etc. More generous transfers are provided for 75 programs in 54 countries, both in terms of higher transfer levels and extra payment cycles. Scale-up of program coverage is occurring in 167 countries and concerns 466 measures. Among them, existing programs are being scaled-up in 23 cases. A total of 179 cash transfer programs are new (58% of the total cash-based transfers), 75 of which are on-off measures (25% of the total).

The number of individuals that benefit from social assistance in various ways is staggering. Based on our analysis, 4 sets of numbers can be considered: if we consider the full set of ways in which programs are adapted (i.e., administration, adequacy and coverage), these have benefitted over 1.7 billion people (1,775,606,790). Using the same criteria, but restricting it only to cash-based measures, these have reached 1.2 billion individuals (1,297,710,250). If we examine the sole metric of coverage levels for cash transfers, then such scale-up covered 1.1 billion people (1,142,065,485). Such level would increase by about half a billion people if also in-kind transfers are included (1,672,407,675).

Cash transfer programs tend to be of short duration and relatively generous in size. Information on duration is available for 70 cash transfer measures ranging from 1 to 12 months, for an average of 3.1 months. In terms of generosity, data from 209 countries show that average transfers almost doubled (+93%). Increases more than doubled in five countries (Mongolia, Trinidad and Tobago, Egypt, South Korea and Brazil). Overall, transfers represent 30% of average monthly GDP per capita – a 5 points increase since last update in late May.

Where have cash transfers been scaled-up the most from their pre-Covid levels? Out of a sample of 18 countries, Myanmar and Nigeria present some stunning, four-digit rates because of their low initial levels of coverage. If we exclude those exceptional cases, the average rate of increase in cash transfers coverage is about 233%. Similarly, the Congo Republic and Madagascar have made remarkable scale-up efforts despite their very low initial coverage. Other countries like Indonesia and Bangladesh also present substantial scale up rates despite the relatively higher initial coverage levels. The coverage of cash and in-kind transfers varies by region. The coverage of cash transfers has increased over the past month, especially in East Asia and Pacific. On average, 15% of the world’s population is covered by cash transfers, ranging from 2% in Africa to 22% in North America and LAC. The global average increases to 22%, mostly because of large-scale in-kind schemes in India.

Importantly, how many of country measures are planned, ongoing or ended in practice? This is an important question to get a firmer sense of the action at country level. While reporting data is often limited, patchy and unavailable, we re-surveyed all the 621 social assistance measures with a view of understanding their ‘state in implementation’. Information was available for about 31% of the sample, or 195 measures. Out of these, 72% (141 measures) are ongoing, while the rest of the portfolio is either planned (13%) or completed (14%) at this time. A similar assessment is underway for social insurance and labor market programs.

Covid-19 has shed light on a range of vulnerabilities, including in urban areas. For this purpose, we re-examined the dataset to identify the number of programs that have been designed to address the particular needs emerging in urban settings. A total of 21 programs have such urban lens, with 1 (Kenya) specifically designed for slums. While the latter is a public works scheme, most programs (14) are cash or in-kind transfers, followed by public works (2), school feeding (2) and utility support (2).

There are important developments also in other key social protection components. For instance, 263 social insurance programs are present in 125 countries. Most programs include unemployment benefits (79 measures), followed by wavers, deferment or subsidization of social security contributions (61). Also paid sick leave is a significant intervention adopted for Covid-19 (59), and so are ways in which pensions were adapted (49). Supply-side, worker-related labor market programs are now featured in 140 programs and 85 countries. As in previous editions of this review, wage subsidies are the premier vehicle utilized for Covid response on the labor front. These now include 78 measures in 67 countries. Other measures include labor market regulation adjustments (27 cases), 23 activation initiatives, and shorter-time arrangements (12).

Regions present different combinations of social protection components. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest share of social assistance (83%), followed by South Asia (76%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (71%). Only in Europe and Central Asia safety net transfers are less than half of the regional portfolio. Social insurance is particularly extensive in North America (44%), while East Asia present the largest share of labor market measures (20%). The latter as just 5% in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

What about countries in conflict and fragile situations? New analysis for those countries shows 57 social assistance measures, complemented by 9 and 4 social insurance and labor market programs, respectively. Many of the most fragile countries globally have no measures put in place – including Central African Republic, Syria, Yemen, Burundi, and Eritrea, among others.

How much are countries spending on social protection responses? For a subset of countries for which data is available (64 in the case of social assistance, 20 for insurance, and 17 for labor markets), a total of $589 billion is being reported. This represents an increase of $48 billion since the last update in late May. This is about 0.4% of GDP, if we consider $142 trillion as the world’s GDP. Such level of investment is in line with overall social protection spending that occurred as part of the global response to the 2010 financial crisis. However, per capita spending is variable: this ranges from $123 in high-income countries to a mere $1 in low-income settings; similarly, South Asia only provides $3/capita.

Dear colleagues –

Please find below and attached our weekly COVID-19 update and monitoring report.

All countries and territories affected (cases/deaths):* Albania (1,341/34); Armenia (14,103/227); Austria (17,005/673); Azerbaijan (8,530/102); Belarus (51,066/288); Belgium (59,569/9,629); Bosnia and Herzegovina (2,775/161); Bulgaria (2,889/167); Croatia (2,249/106); Cyprus (972/23); Czech Republic (9,787/330); Denmark (12,216/593); Estonia (1,958/69); Finland (7,040/324); France (192,068/29,322); Georgia (827/13); Germany (186,522/8,752); Greece (3,068/183); Greenland (13/0); Holy See (12/0); Hungary (4,027/551); Iceland (1,807/10); Ireland (25,231/1,695); Isle of Man (336/24); Italy (235,763/34,114); Jersey (313/30); Kazakhstan (13,319/67); Kosovo (1,298/31); Kyrgyzstan (2,093/26); Laos (19/0); Latvia (1,092/26); Liechtenstein (83/1); Lithuania (1,733/74); Luxembourg (4,049/110); Malta (635/9); Moldova (10,321/371); Monaco (99/5); Montenegro (325/9); Netherlands (48,293/6,061); North Macedonia (3,364/164); Norway (8,588/239); Poland (27,842/1,206); Portugal (35,600/1,497); Romania (20,945/1,360); Russia (493,657/6,358); San Marino (695/42); Serbia (12,031/251); Slovakia (1,533/28); Slovenia (1,509/109); Spain (242,280/29,858); Sweden (46,814/4,795); Switzerland (31,011/1,936); Tajikistan (4,763/48); Turkey (173,036/4,746); Ukraine (29,015/841); United Kingdom (291,584/41,213); United States (1,994,834/112,647); Uzbekistan (4,623/19)

For real time* updates:  https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

*Please note there may be a lag in reporting.

Country Response

Austria

• Austria is lifting checks at its border with Italy and ending quarantine requirements for more than 20 European countries as of June 16, foreign minister said, added that since Spain has said it will keep its borders closed until the end of June, the two countries could mutually lift restrictions on July; restrictions on the other three will remain in place for the time being with health minister cited Britain and Sweden’s higher infection rates; checks at its border with Italy will be lifted

Bulgaria

• Bulgaria will extend an epidemic emergency until the end of June to fight the spread of the coronavirus after an increase in new registered cases, mainly in the south, PM said on Wednesday, added that the government did not plan to introduce new restrictions for the time being, but appealed to people to keep social distancing and weak protective masks

Denmark

• Denmark, the first country outside Asia to ease its coronavirus lockdown, said on Wednesday the spread of COVID-19 has not accelerated since it entered its second phase of reopening society last month; the number of coronavirus-related deaths has hovered between zero and four per day in the last three weeks, after a peak of 22 deaths on March 31 and the number of hospitalizations has fallen to fewer than 100 since the beginning of June

France

• France’s new death toll from COVID-19 on Wednesday was only one-third of the tally the day before but the total of new confirmed infections rose again, one month out of a strict lockdown; the health ministry said the death toll was up by only 23 to 29,319, and 87 COVID-19 deaths were reported
• France will end special government powers brought in to deal with the coronavirus pandemic on July 10 though it will retain the ability to curb gatherings and freedom of movement for four months, the prime minister’s office said; however, the cabinet will approve on Wednesday a new bill that will allow the government to restrict freedom of movement, make face masks compulsory on public transport, shut businesses and ban gatherings for another four months
• France raised its coronavirus response measures to nearly 136 billion euros ($154.6 billion) on Wednesday, bringing the cost to 5.6% of GDP in its third budget revision so far this year; the government had put the cost at 110 billion euros in April but has since had to make upward revisions to take account of falling tax revenue and extra spending, it said in its budget update
• Any inquiry into the French response to the coronavirus pandemic should be handled by parliament rather than a judicial panel, the justice minister said on Wednesday, amid growing scrutiny of the government’s COVID-19 measures; the minister was speaking after Paris prosecutors opened a preliminary inquiry into government actions to determine whether any criminal offences may have been committed

Germany

• Germany plans to extend a travel ban for non-European countries until August 31, government sources said, adding Berlin was also strongly advising against any cruises due to the special risks related to coronavirus; aware that many holidaymakers want to travel to destinations including Turkey, the United States, northern African and south-eastern Asia, official said the government would keep looking at the travel warning before September
• Germany will from next week lift entry restrictions for seasonal workers from European Union and Schengen countries, agriculture minister said
• Germany will continue to advise against travel to Britain even after it lifts travel bans to much of Europe on June 15 because of London’s requirement that new arrivals all enter two weeks of quarantine, a foreign ministry said

Hungary

• Hungary and Croatia will lift restrictions on cross-border travel from Friday as the novel coronavirus pandemic has subsided and remains under control in both countries, foreign minister said, added that previous border openings with Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic had not caused a spike in new cases

Italy    

• Italy’s PM said he will be questioned by prosecutors on Friday over the way the coronavirus outbreak was handled in the northern Italian city of Bergamo, one of the areas most badly affected by the epidemic
• A group representing relatives of people who died of COVID-19 in Bergamo, one of Italy’s hardest-hit cities, asked prosecutors on Wednesday to investigate possible criminal responsibility in the management of the pandemic; a lawyer for the group said around 40 requests were filed over the handling of the outbreak in Lombardy

Netherlands

• Workers at Tata Steel’s Dutch operations went on strike on Wednesday to protest against planned job cuts, the FNV union said; the Dutch unions say Tata is planning to cut 1,000 of 9,000 jobs in the Netherlands as part of a wider restructuring of its British-based European operations

Poland

• Poland will open its borders with fellow European Union countries on Saturday and allow international flights from next Tuesday, as the country unfreezes its economy despite an increase in coronavirus cases

Russia

• Russia on Wednesday reported 8,404 new cases of the coronavirus, taking the nationwide tally of infections to 493,657; 216 people had died from the virus, bringing the overall death toll to 6,358
• Russians are using Belarus as a springboard to travel abroad as their country’s international borders remain largely closed as part of efforts to curb the spread of the new coronavirus; transport sector sources said that dozens of car and mini-van drivers still advertise cross-border shuttle services for both Russian and Belarusian citizens despite Russia’s formal closure of its borders in March
• Moscow’s health department said 5,260 people died from the novel coronavirus in the city in May, a raise of 3,365, far higher than the 1,895 deaths reported by Russia’s coronavirus crisis response center over the course of that month; “COVID-19 as a main or an accompanying cause of death was registered in 5,260 cases,” the Moscow health department said in a statement on its website
• Russian factory is recalling a model of ventilator linked to two fatal hospital fires in May in order to carry out further safety tests, state healthcare regulator documents showed on Wednesday

Ukraine

• The International Monetary Fund’s executive board approved a $5 billion loan deal for Ukraine that Kiev says is needed to stave off default as the coronavirus pandemic plunges the country’s economy into recession; Ukraine will receive an immediate disbursement of about $2.1 billion from the 18-month Stand-By Arrangement, and the rest of the funds will be spread over four reviews during the program, which focuses more on stability than deep structural reforms, IMF said in a statement

United Kingdom

• Britain’s death toll from COVID-19 could have been halved if lockdown had been introduced a week earlier, a former member of the UK government’s scientific advisory group said; however, PM said the decision on the timing of the coronavirus lockdown was made on the basis of scientific evidence and it was too early to say whether restrictions were brought in too late
• English adults who live alone, as well as single parents, will be allowed to meet another household indoors from this weekend, and will not need to keep 2 meters apart, PM said
• More than 20 British business groups have asked the government to relax its coronavirus quarantine rules and restrictions and start opening up the economy to trade partners

United States

• The United States will soon resume operations at its consulate in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the U.S. Embassy said
• Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are spiking in parts of California and the U.S. Southwest, prompting Arizona to reactivate its emergency plan for medical facilities and California to place counties where half its population lives on a watch list; the uptick in cases, which could lead authorities to reimpose or tighten public health restrictions, complicates efforts to reopen the U.S. economy
• Arizona again told hospitals to activate the coronavirus emergency plans after cases spiked following reopening, turning it into a U.S. virus hotspot along with neighboring Southwest states; the state’s stay-at-home order ended on May 15, and its cases have increased 115 percent since then, leading a former state health chief to warn Arizona may need new social distancing measures or field hospitals
• U.S. authorities said they have charged the head of California medical technology firm Arrayit Corp and an investor in the company, alleging that they had roles in schemes related to COVID-19 claims
• U.S. Treasury Secretary said he would seriously consider more direct payments to individuals in the next phase of coronavirus rescue legislation, adding that funds should also be targeted to help sectors struggling to reopen, including hospitality and tourism
• U.S. consumer prices fell for a third straight month in May and underlying inflation was weak as demand for goods and services remained subdued amid a recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; the Labor Department said its consumer price index dipped 0.1% last month after plunging 0.8% in April, which was the largest decline since December 2008; prices were held down by a 3.5% drop in the cost of gasoline, which followed a 20.6% plunge in April
• The U.S. federal budget deficit in May nearly doubled to $399 billion from a year earlier amid continued strong spending on coronavirus relief programs and a 25% drop in receipts, the Treasury Department said; the May deficit brought the year-to-date fiscal deficit to $1.88 trillion, already eclipsing the previous full-year record of $1.4 trillion in 2009, with some analysts predicting a gap as high as $3.8 trillion for the fiscal year to September 30

Dear colleagues –

Please find below and attached our weekly COVID-19 update and monitoring, as well as country responses. 

All countries and territories affected (cases/deaths):* Albania (1,184/33); Andorra (851/51); Armenia (10,524/170); Austria (16,771/670); Azerbaijan (6,260/76); Belarus (45,116/248); Belgium (58,685/9,522); Bosnia and Herzegovina (2,551/157); Bulgaria (2,560/146); Croatia (2,246/103); Czech Republic (9,414/325); Denmark (11,971/580); Estonia (1,880/69); Faroe Islands (187/0); Finland (6,911/321); France (189,348/29,024); Georgia (800/13); Germany (184,121/8,602); Gibraltar (172/4); Greece (2,937/179); Greenland (13/0); Holy See (12/0); Hungary (3,931/534); Iceland (1,806/10); Ireland (25,111/1,659); Isle of Man (336/24); Italy (233,836/33,601); Jersey (308/30); Kazakhstan (11,796/48); Kosovo (1,142/30); Kyrgyzstan (1,871/20); Latvia (1,079/24); Liechtenstein (83/1); Lithuania (1,684/71); Luxembourg (4,024/110); Malta (622/9); Moldova (8,795/310); Monaco (99/5); Montenegro (325/9); Netherlands (46,938/5,996); North Macedonia (2,492/145); Norway (8,467/237); Poland (24,687/1,115); Portugal (33,261/1,447); Romania (19,669/1,296); Russia (432,277/5,215); San Marino (687/42); Serbia (11,523/245); Slovakia (1,525/28); Slovenia (1,509/109); Spain (240,326/29,858); Sweden (40,803/4,542); Switzerland (30,893/1,921); Tajikistan (4,191/48); Turkey (166,422/4,609); United Kingdom (281,264/39,811); United States (1,841,629/107,023); Uzbekistan (3,843/16)

For real time* updates:  https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

*Please note there may be a lag in reporting.

Country Response

Austria

•             Austria is lifting coronavirus-related border restrictions including quarantines for all neighboring countries except Italy as of Thursday, foreign minister said; Austria borders eight countries and had agreed with Switzerland, Germany and Liechtenstein that they would reopen their shared borders from June 15 and it is now accelerating that move on its side and lifting checks for other neighbors

Azerbaijan

•             Azerbaijan’s government plans to reimpose some restrictions this weekend to stop the spread of the coronavirus after the number of infections in the country rose, the government said on Wednesday; official said the government planned to introduce a curfew, restrict the movement of people in the streets and on public and private transport, and close down all shops from Friday night until Sunday morning

Belgium

•             Belgium will allow almost all businesses except night clubs to reopen on June 8, including cafes and bars, PM said on Wednesday, although social distancing measures will remain; Belgium will also reopen its borders to all fellow European Union states on June 15

•             Cultural activities would continue without spectators until July 1, when cinemas and other cultural spaces can open with a maximum of 200 people; gyms can reopen from Monday, but with no access to changing rooms; PM recommended not greeting friends with kisses or hugs and gatherings should be no larger than 50 people; Belgians should meet a maximum of 10 friends a week, a so-called personal bubble, although honoring that rule would depend on citizens showing responsibility rather than enforcement by authorities

Czech Republic

•             Czech Republic and Slovakia will fully restore free movement between borders from midnight, the two countries’ prime ministers said on Wednesday

France

•             France’s coronavirus death toll rose by 81 on Wednesday, or 0.3%, to reach 29,021, the fifth-highest death toll in the world, and the number of confirmed cases rose again after they went down Tuesday due to an adjustment in reporting; the rate of increase has decreased compared to a day earlier, when fatalities were up 0.4%, but it is still higher than the 0.2% daily average seen over the last seven days

Germany

•             German Chancellor’s coalition resumed negotiations on a massive stimulus package on Wednesday after party leaders deadlocked over cash incentives to buy new cars and extra relief for highly indebted municipalities

•             Germany will lift a travel ban for EU member states plus Britain, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland from June 15 as long as there are no entry bans or large-scale lockdowns in those countries, the foreign minister said

•             Germany is talking to Ankara about reviewing travel restrictions with Turkey but is waiting for a European Union recommendation before taking any decisions, a foreign ministry said

•             The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to another rise in unemployment in Germany in May with some 169,000 people were added to the jobless list between April and May, with the total number of unemployed now at 2.8 million, according to official figures

Greece

•             Hundreds of Greeks danced and sang from their cars at a drive-in music concert, the first such event since the country banned mass gatherings

Italy   

•             Italy has reopened to travelers from Europe, three months after the country went into coronavirus lockdown, with all hopes pinned on reviving the key tourism industry as the summer season begins

•             Italians were allowed to travel to other regions of the country on Wednesday for the first time in nearly three months, in a further relaxation of lockdown restrictions; travelers boarding trains in Milan, capital of Lombardy in northern Italy, were excited at the prospect of finally being able to visit family and friends elsewhere in the country

•             PM has said Italy would receive some 20 billion euros ($22.47bn) from a new European scheme to mitigate the impact on jobs caused by the epidemic; he added that Italy would also benefit from funds made available by the European Investment Bank, as part of a wider EU package designed to boost the bloc's economic recovery

Kyrgyzstan

•             Kyrgyzstan will resume domestic flights and bus circulation between its provinces and allow charter flights from China this month to bring in staff for numerous Chinese investment projects; Kyrgyzstan will also resume domestic flights and public transit between its provinces from June 5; employees of Chinese companies will be tested for novel coronavirus before and after the flights, Deputy PM said

Netherlands

•             An elementary school in the Netherlands closed in the city of The Hague on Wednesday after two teachers tested positive for coronavirus and seven students developed gastrointestinal symptoms, an official said

•             The Dutch government intends to cull the mink at farms where animals have been infected with the coronavirus, news media reported

•             A study of Dutch blood donors has found that about 5.5 percent of them have developed antibodies against the new coronavirus, blood donation firm Sanquin revealed; the study, conducted among 7,000 donors between May 10 and 20, gives an indication of what percentage of the Dutch population may have already had the disease and a similar study in April showed antibodies in 3 percent of Dutch blood donors

Poland

•             Poland picked June 28 on Wednesday as a new date for a presidential election that was canceled last month amid the coronavirus pandemic

Russia

•             Russian President does not plan to take part in an online summit on a possible coronavirus vaccine being organized by the British government this week, Kremlin spokesman said

•             The Kremlin defended plans to hold a nationwide vote next month on constitutional reforms, saying the coronavirus epidemic was expected to ease before it is held

•             Russia has reported 8,536 new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing its nationwide tally to 432,277, the third-highest in the world; the death toll reached 5,215 after another 178 deaths registered

•             Residents of Moscow can leave their homes to take a stroll for the first time in nine weeks next Monday under a partial easing of a tough lockdown regime following a fall in novel coronavirus cases; shops in Moscow that were ordered to close in late March including car dealerships, dry cleaners, shoe repair stores, book shops and launderettes, are set to open; residents will be allowed out for walks three times a week on designated days that are determined by the address they live at; people can also jog or do outdoor sports, but only between 5 AM and 9 PM; shopping centers and most parks will also open next Monday, though children’s playgrounds inside them and sports facilities will stay shut

•             The Russian city of St. Petersburg, which has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus, recorded 1,552 more deaths in May than in the same month last year, official data shows

•             One person was killed after a fire broke out at a St Petersburg hospital treating patients with infectious diseases

Spain

•             The Spanish government on Wednesday secured parliament’s backing for a final extension to the state of emergency imposed to tackle the coronavirus epidemic and which will now last until June 21

•             New official data in Spain show that many more people have died than usual this year than the recorded number of coronavirus fatalities and revealed a shocking 155% spike in mortality at the epidemic’s peak in early April; experts believe the additional deaths include cases where the cause is hard to establish due to underlying conditions, and fatalities among people who avoided hospital treatment for other problems due to the fear of contracting COVID-19

•             Spain is working on plans to gradually open its borders to tourists from countries deemed more secure in the fight against the coronavirus, possibly starting from June 22, the tourism ministry said on Wednesday.

•             Foreign minister said Germany would lift a recommendation to avoid travelling to Spain as soon as Spain lifts restrictions on visitors from abroad; officials have said Spain is keen for travel protocols to be agreed on at the European level

Sweden

•             Sweden’s chief epidemiologist said on Wednesday the country should have done more to combat the coronavirus but backed the broad strategy, which avoided the strict lockdowns seen in many other countries

•             Sweden’s government has been ready to introduce further measures to try and halt the spread of the new coronavirus if recommended by the Public Health Agency, health minister said on Wednesday

Turkey

•             Turkey will open its Gurbulak border gate with Iran and the Habur border gate with Iraq this week in order to help boost trade as coronavirus containment measures are eased, trade minister said on Wednesday, added a Customs Union agreement with the European Union must also be updated soon in order to help improve trade between the two sides

•             Turkey’s health minister said on Wednesday his team would not recommend extending a weekend stay-at-home order nearly two months after it was imposed as the government continues to ease coronavirus containment measures; however, the lockdown rule, due to expire on June 6, could be reimposed in certain provinces depending on the infection rate, which has eased significantly in recent weeks

United Kingdom

•             British business minister Alok Sharma has been tested for coronavirus and is self-isolating after feeling unwell in parliament

•             Workers from the European Union who left Britain while the coronavirus lockdown shut much of the economy should come back, but must quarantine like other travelers, government said

•             Quarantine measures Britain plans to introduce for almost all international travelers from June 8 are vital to ensure the country’s rate of COVID-19 infection does not increase again, PM said

•             The results of almost all tests for the coronavirus should be available within 24 hours by the end of this month, PM said; Britain’s COVID-19 test and trace program’s data on the numbers of people tested and contacts traced within 24 hours would be available from next week once it had been validated

•             Prices in shops in Britain fell at the fastest pace since at least 2006 last month as retailers sought to find a way to win over shoppers hit by the coronavirus lockdown, an industry survey showed on Wednesday; the survey indicates that shop prices fell by 2.4% in annual terms, following a 1.7% drop in April

United States

•             The administration has identified five companies – Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Merck – as the most likely candidates to produce a vaccine for the novel coronavirus; the selected companies will get access to additional government funds, help in running clinical trials, and financial and logistical support, New York Times reported

•             Confusion, complaints of missing mail-in ballots and long lines at some polling centers marred primary elections on Tuesday in eight states and the District of Columbia, the biggest test yet of voting during the coronavirus outbreak

•             New York will allow outdoor dining during phase two of reopening, Governor announced on Wednesday, with restaurants in seven of 10 regions given the green light beginning on Thursday

•             California Governor signed an executive order today requiring mail-in ballots be sent to all registered voters in the state for the upcoming general election in November

•             Emergency department visits fell 42% across the United States during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic compared to the same period last year, according to a study by the CDC; the steepest declines in ER visits, from the start of 2020 through May 30, were seen in children younger than 14 and women, and in the northeast region that includes New York and New Jersey, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak

•             U.S. state tax revenue, which plunged due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, could start to slowly recover this summer as long as the outbreak does not undergo a resurgence, analysts said

•             The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it will allow governors of U.S. states to designate transit agencies, airports, utilities and other institutions to borrow under its municipal liquidity program as the central bank tries to mitigate economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic

European Union

•             The European Commission classified the new coronavirus as a mid-level threat to workers, drawing criticism from socialist lawmakers because the move will allow less stringent workplace safety measures than if the virus was deemed a high risk; the decision has wide economic and health implications as it could affect companies’ costs in restarting business activity and have an impact on workers’ safety