Europe agrees Covid-19 recovery plan. European council president Charles Michel said the agreement was a “pivotal moment” as heads of state finally thrashed out a deal on day five of their summit. It set out a €750bn pandemic recovery fund and long-term spending plans.
WHO warns over Covid-19’s spread in Africa. The group warned that South Africa’s growing numbers could be a “precursor” for outbreaks elsewhere on the continent. South Africa has 373,000 cases – around half the continent’s cases. “South Africa may unfortunately be a precursor, it may be a warning for what will happen in the rest of Africa,” said the WHO emergencies chief, Michael Ryan. While South Africa’s numbers were by far the largest, they had “only” increased by 30% in the past week, Ryan said. By comparison, numbers in Kenya had increased by 31%, in Madagascar by 50%, in Zambia by 57% and in Namibia by 69%, he pointed out.
Donald Trump hails masks as “patriotic” and vows to restart daily briefings. The US president tweeted a picture of himself in a mask saying: “Many people say it is patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance”. He publicly wore a mask for the first time during the pandemic on a visit about 10 days ago to the Walter Reed military hospital outside Washington. The president also said he planned to restart daily coronavirus briefings from Tuesday.
Brazil’s health ministry has reported the country’s death toll has passed 80,000 and the number of cases is now 2.1m. It comes as two more Brazilian government ministers said on Monday they had tested positive for Covid-19.
The hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia will begin on 29 July. The drastically scaled back event will include only around 1,000 Muslim pilgrims due to the pandemic.
Mexico’s health ministry on Monday reported 5,172 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 301 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 349,396 cases and 39,485 deaths.
Australia’s southern state of Victoria reported 374 new coronavirus cases. The state has introduced mandatory face coverings from 11.59pm on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, extended Covid-19 job support payments, but reduced the size of the payments.
New Zealand reported one new case of Covid-19 in a returned traveller. The woman in her 30s arrived in the country on 16 July from London via Doha and Sydney. She has been transferred to an Auckland quarantine facility.
