Our weekly update of the Corona news worldwide 15 – 21 June 2020

 

Asia:

  1. After an unprecedented increase in cases at a wholesale food market, Beijing is attempting to crush any new cases by implementing more testing, security checkpoints, school closures, and temperature checks. – Reuters
  2. According to the director of China’s CDC, Beijing’s new COVID-19 outbreak may have begun a month earlier than initially thought, in part because of spread via asymptomatic or mild cases. – Global Times

 

Europe:

  1. In Berlin, Germany, hundreds of households have been placed under quarantine amid a new COVID-19 spike. – Euronews
  2. If coronavirus cases continue to decline in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson promises to relax some restrictions, including reducing the 2-metre social distancing rule. – Bloomberg

 

Americas:

  1. Chile’s health minister Jaime Manalich resigned as the country hit a record number of daily COVID-19 deaths. He pushed for limited lockdowns and backed a failed proposal to issue immunity cards to recovered coronavirus patients. He has been replaced by Enrique Paris, the former head of the Medical College. – Bloomberg
  2. According to Trump administration officials, a future COVID-19 vaccine will be free to Americans who cannot afford it and will reach vulnerable populations first. – The Hill
  3. Coronavirus is spiking in Brazil, Mexico, Peru and other Latin American countries. Health experts have called Latin America the new epicenter of the pandemic. In this podcast, Jason Gale speaks with the WHO’s top regional official to find out what makes some populations especially vulnerable to COVID-19. – Bloomberg Podcast
  4. Honduras’ president is hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19 as Latin America becomes the virus’s new epicenter. – NBC

 

Research & Technology:

  1. Researchers advise closing toilet lids before flushing after finding that aerosol droplets released by flushing may spread COVID-19 (toilet plumes). However, it remains unclear if droplets linger long enough to cause infection. – The Washington Post