US sets another virus record

Americans debated mask mandates and the reopening of schools during the coronavirus pandemic on Friday as state and local officials imposed conflicting orders and cases rose by more than 77,000 across the nation for the third day in a row.

Seven states reported record increases in cases: Alaska, Georgia, Louisiana, Montana, Ohio, Utah and Wisconsin.

In the state of Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp sued Atlanta's mayor to prevent her from mandating masks.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a plan to offer both in-person and remote instruction at the nation's third-largest school district, over the objection of the teachers' union, which wants remote learning only.

Americans have become divided along political lines over mask orders, with conservatives more likely than liberals to call the rules a violation of their Constitutional rights.

With school set to resume in a few weeks, local officials across the country have announced a variety of plans to resume teaching.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, who until now has allowed school districts in the nation's most populous state to set their own policies, said on Friday schools could reopen only in counties that for 14 days have stayed off a worsening trends watch list.

As of Friday, 30 of the state's 58 counties were on the list and schools there must remain closed. Among them are Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego counties, accounting for nearly 40% of the state's population.

President Donald Trump has urged a return to normal, stressing the importance of reigniting the economy. The Trump administration and some health experts argue children are better off in classrooms for their development, and also to allow parents to return to work.

Trump told Fox News on Friday he did not believe in implementing a national mask mandate.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease specialist, urged political leaders to "be as forceful as possible in getting your citizenry to wear masks."

MASS TESTING IN XINJIANG

On the other side of the Pacific, China yesterday launched mass health screenings in Xinjiang after a spike in cases raised fears of a fresh outbreak in the far western province.

The new cases illustrate the continuing difficulty China faces in stamping out the contagion.

The new testing regime comes a day after authorities curtailed most flights into regional capital Urumqi and shut down local subway and public transport services. The city had recorded 17 new infections as of yesterday.

The virus has killed more than 597,000 people and infected more than 14 million around the world since first being detected in Wuhan late last year.

The World Health Organization said Friday the outbreak in hard-hit Brazil has plateaued, urging the country to seize the opportunity to drive down transmission.

"The rise in Brazil is no longer exponential, it has plateaued," WHO health emergencies chief Michael Ryan told a virtual news conference.

Brazil is the second worst virus affected country in the world after the United States, counting nearly 77,000 deaths and more than two million cases.

Figures published by the country's health ministry Thursday showed there were more than 45,000 new cases over the previous 24 hours, and an extra 1,300 deaths.

But Ryan said the rate of infection had now "stabilised". He pointed out that the reproduction rate (R0) for the virus, which indicates how quickly it is spreading, had been "quite high" in April and May, standing at 1.5 and in many places over 2.0.

But now the number had dropped to between 0.5 and 1.5, he said, hailing that "the virus is not in a sense doubling itself in the community as quickly as it was before."

Despite continued high infection rates, Argentina's government announced Friday it will relax containment measures in the capital. From Monday, non-essential businesses, industry and certain professional activities can restart, and citizens will be allowed to go outside for sport and to visit places of worship.

Iran has been battling a resurgence of Covid-19, with figures showing a rise in both new infections and deaths since a two-month low in May.

President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday that 35 million Iranians may contract the coronavirus, as the country still did not have herd immunity although a quarter of the population may have already been infected.

Meanwhile, EU leaders wrangled over the size and rules of their huge post-coronavirus economic recovery plan yesterday, seeking to overcome fierce resistance from the Netherlands and its "frugal" friends in a second day of intense debate.

Greece yesterday announced another extension of a coronavirus lockdown on its packed migrant camps as infections in the country increase and protective measures for the general public return.

The lockdown on camps began on March 21 and is now extended till August 2 "for the prevention of the dispersion of the coronavirus cases", the migration ministry said.