(Reuters) – New U.S. COVID-19 cases rose by more than 47,000 on Tuesday according to a Reuters tally, the biggest one-day spike since the start of the pandemic, as the government’s top infectious disease expert warned that number could soon double.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.
* For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.
* Eikon users, see MacroVitals (cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098) for a case tracker and a summary of developments.
AMERICAS
* Three asylum seekers have tested positive for coronavirus in a sprawling encampment steps from the U.S. border in Matamoros, Mexico, marking the first cases in a settlement that advocates have long viewed as vulnerable amid the pandemic.
* Canada is extending a global travel ban and mandatory quarantine measures that require most travelers to Canada, including citizens returning home, to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival.
* U.S. senators called for a government analysis of foreign influence in the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* South Korea has started distributing stocks of the COVID-19 treatment remdesivir which have been donated by Gilead Sciences Inc and plans to begin talks to purchase more supplies in August, its disease control agency said.
* Authorities will lock down around 300,000 people in suburbs north of Melbourne for a month from late on Wednesday.
EUROPE
* 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.
* China has halted almost all imports of pork from the Netherlands, apparently motivated by COVID-19 outbreaks at some of the largest Dutch slaughterhouses.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* The United Nations raised $7.7 billion in humanitarian aid for Syria.
* Nigeria will allow travel between its states outside curfew hours from July 1.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* An experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc showed promise and was found to be safe in an early-stage human trial, the company said.
* The U.S. FDA released guidance on its conditions for approving a vaccine for the coronavirus, saying a vaccine has to prevent or decrease disease severity in at least 50% of people who are vaccinated.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Global M&A activity tumbled to its lowest level in more than a decade in the second quarter, according to data provider Refinitiv.
* China’s factory activity grew at a faster clip in June after the government lifted lockdown measures and ramped up support steps, but the health crisis continues to pressure exports and jobs, a private business survey showed.
* Japanese manufacturers’ confidence sank in the second quarter to levels not seen since the 2009 global financial crisis.
* Up to $140 billion in loans for small business could be refocused to support restaurants, hotels and other industries hit hardest by the pandemic, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
(Compiled by Aditya Soni and Devika Syamnath; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta and Sriraj Kalluvila)
