Coronavirus: latest global developments

Jun 30, 2020

The European Union agrees to open its border to 15 countries from July 1, but the United States remains excluded.

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- EU reopens borders to 'safe' countries -

The European Union agrees to open its border to 15 countries from July 1, but the United States remains excluded.

China is on the list, which will be updated every two weeks, provided Beijing does the same for Europeans, according to a statement.

- More than 505,000 dead - 

The pandemic has killed 505,652 people worldwide since it surfaced in China late last year, according to an AFP tally at 1100 GMT on Tuesday based on official sources. 

More than 10.3 million people have been infected in 196 countries and territories.

The United States is the hardest-hit country with 126,141 deaths. It is followed by Brazil with 58,314, Britain with 43,575, Italy 34,744 and France with 29,813 fatalities.

- UK 'infrastructure revolution' -

Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledges to deliver an "infrastructure revolution" to help Britain build its way out of the economic devastation of the pandemic.

He promises £1 billion ($1.2 billion) for school repairs and a further £4 billion for projects from road maintenance to public transport.

- Changing under Western eyes -

The pandemic has led a growing number of Westerners to see China as a top power, with the lead of the United States slipping, says a study of French, German and US opinion released by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

The proportion of people who said China was the most influential global player has shot up from 13 to 28 percent in France between surveys in January to May, from 12 to 20 percent in Germany and from six to 14 percent in the US.

- Spreading without symptoms -

More than 40 percent of people diagnosed with COVID-19 in one Italian town showed no signs of being ill, according to research published in the journal Nature, indicating asymptomatic carriers may be significant spreaders of the virus.

- Bad times at Deutsche Bahn -

State-owned German rail operator Deutsche Bahn warns the pandemic has plunged it into its worst-ever financial crisis despite billions in government aid, sayings talks with worker representatives to find savings will begin this week.

- Another one -

Researchers in China have discovered a new type of swine flu that is capable of triggering a pandemic, according to a study in the US science journal PNAS.

Named G4, it is genetically descended from the H1N1 strain that caused a pandemic in 2009.

It possesses "all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans," say the authors of the study.

- Champions League in Lisbon?-

UEFA insists there is "no reason to prepare a Plan B" for the final eight of Europe's top football club competition the Champions League in Lisbon despite Portuguese authorities reintroducing restrictions.

A UEFA spokesperson makes the comments to AFP as 19 neighbourhoods on the northern edges of Lisbon prepare to go back into lockdown following fresh virus outbreaks.

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