Coronavirus pandemic: Updates from around the world

An aerial view of Dubai.

Dubai will allow tourists entry starting July 7, while those who hold residency visas will be able to enter on June 22, the Dubai Media Office said today. 

Dubai citizens and residents will be allowed to travel abroad starting June 23.

Travelers are expected to take a Covid-19 test at the airport and will be required to quarantine for 14 days if they test positive. Tourists can bypass the test if they show they have tested negative in the past 96 hours.

Arizona health officials reported 2,592 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the statewide total to 52,390, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services website.  

Arizona’s coronavirus cases have nearly doubled in 14 days. On June 7, the state reported 26,989 total cases, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally.  

There have been 1,339 coronavirus related deaths in the state since the start of the pandemic, Arizona’s health website said.  

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the Trump administration is preparing for the possibility that a second wave of Covid-19 could hit the US in the fall. 

Navarro told CNN that the administration is “filling the stockpile in anticipation of a possible problem in the fall. We are doing everything we can beneath the surface, working as hard as we possibly can.”

The state of Connecticut has reported 40 additional Covid-19 cases and nine new deaths related to the virus, according to a statement from Gov. Ned Lamont’s office. 

Connecticut has a total of 45,755 Covid-19 cases and 4,260 deaths, the governor’s office said.

Italy has recorded its lowest daily increase in deaths amongst coronavirus patients since March 2, the country’s Civil Protection Agency confirmed Sunday, with 24 additional deaths registered in the last 24 hours.

According to the latest data, the national coronavirus death toll now stands at 34,634, while the total number of active cases has fallen by 240 since Saturday, now totaling 20,972.  

A restaurant serves drinks to customers outside on Saturday, June 20, as New York City prepares for phase two of reopening.

New York City is on track to enter phase two of Covid-19 reopening on Monday, according to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and spokesperson Freddi Goldstein.

The state continues to be “on the right path toward defeating the virus,” the governor said in a news release, noting that the state saw less than 1% positivity rate for the virus in the tests conducted Saturday.

New York state added 664 coronavirus cases, had 1,142 hospitalizations and 15 deaths across the state on June 21.

Tulsa County, Oklahoma, reported a new record for daily coronavirus infections on Sunday, according to the county’s health website. 

There were 143 new coronavirus cases reported in Tulsa County in the past 24 hours, the website said. 

This is the fifth day in a row the county has reported a new daily high for coronavirus cases in the county.

On Saturday, Tulsa County reported 136 new cases in a 24-hour period.

There are now 875 current active cases and 2,349 total cases in Tulsa County, the county’s health website said. 

Oklahoma State Department of Health reported 478 new coronavirus cases in the state on Sunday. The total number of the positive cases now stands at 10,515, according to the state health website.  

Trump campaign rally: President Trump held his first rally since the coronavirus pandemic began on Saturday in the Oklahoma city where the 1921 Tulsa race massacre left up to 300 Black residents dead and the Black Greenwood District in ruins.

Thousands of people, many wearing MAGA hats and waving American flags, arrived at Tulsa’s Bank of Oklahoma Center arena, while a group of protesters chanted “Black lives matter” near one of the site’s entrances.

Six staffers working on the Tulsa event have tested positive for the virus, the Trump campaign said Saturday.

People attending the rally on Saturday were not required to wear masks and agreed to a disclaimer that states they acknowledge the “inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present.”

Chicken manufactured by Tyson Foods is seen at a supermarket in Shanghai in 2019.

China halted poultry imports from top meat processor Tyson Foods on Sunday after hundreds of Tyson workers in the US tested positive for coronavirus.

On Friday, Tyson released a statement saying a total of 693 workers in the US were tested positive in coronavirus.

China’s General Administration of Customs said imports of frozen chicken from Tyson Foods have been “temporarily suspended.” Products from the firm that have already arrived in China will be confiscated.

Authorities in China are moving swiftly to contain the second wave of coronavirus outbreak.

As of Sunday, Beijing has confirmed 227 coronavirus cases that have been traced to the city’s Xinfadi market.

The Florida Department of Health has reported 3,494 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, bringing the state total to 97,291, according to new data. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said cases are “shifting in a radical direction” toward populations in their 20s and 30s.

On Saturday, one day prior, reported cases were the highest for a single day in the state with 4,049, according to to the Florida Department of Health. 

Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, says that President Trump’s comments on slowing down Covid-19 testing is very consistent with the White House’s policy in managing the virus, despite the administration’s claims the comments were a “joke.”

Jha said that the US death toll of more than 100,000 is largely due to the lack of Covid-19 testing infrastructure.

On Saturday: Trump, speaking at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said that when you increase testing for Covid-19, you find more cases.

After Trump made the comment, an administration official told CNN that the president was “obviously kidding” when he said that he asked for a slowdown in coronavirus testing.

Trump’s comments, Jha pointed out, come as many parts of the country are experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases.

“We have to remember, we are [in the] early days of this pandemic. Not only is it not fading out — this will be with us for at least another 12 months, and that’s the most optimistic scenario for having a vaccine,” Jha said. 

Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician and associate professor of emergency medicine at Brown University, said there are concerns that President Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday could be a “super spreader event.”

Ranney pointed to the six Trump campaign staffers who reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 prior to the rally, and said that it is likely we will see new cases arise from attendees.

“If there were even a couple of cases in the arena last night, we’re most likely going to see a spread among folks that attended. And then they’re going to go back to their states and it’s going to spread further,” Ranney warned.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been conducting a scientific review about the public health benefits of masks, and will soon make an updated recommendation, a senior CDC official told CNN.

The reviews are happening even though the CDC has already published guidance on its website.

A senior official with knowledge of the review said science is being studied as to whether masks are not only “good for source control — and keeping you from giving it to others — but we’re also seeing if masks are going to protect you from getting [Covid-19] yourself.”

The CDC website has two separate pages of guidance on face coverings. One recommends people wear masks when they leave their home. The other recommends people wear a mask if they cannot properly social distance.

An official at the agency says recommendations from a final scientific review by its incident management “will happen soon.”

A medical team cares for a coronavirus patient at the Military Hospital in Santiago, Chile, on June 18.

Chilean health officials announced 5,355 new cases of coronavirus in Chile and 202 new deaths over the last 24 hours.

This brings the total number of coronavirus cases to 236,748 and the death toll to 4,295, the officials said during a news conference Sunday.

Chile is currently the third country in Latin America with the highest number of cases after Brazil and Peru, and ranks ninth globally, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.

The country’s chief epidemiologist Rafael Araos said there are other people who might have also died from the virus.

“In relation to those who died due to Covid without laboratory confirmation, that is, deaths in which Covid is a possible or probable cause, the number rises by 3,069,” he said.

This number of “probable” deaths from coronavirus is not included in the country’s death toll.

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 8.8 million people worldwide and killed more than 464,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University. Here’s what you need to know about coronavirus:

Trump says he wanted Covid-19 testing slowed: In a shocking admission during his Tulsa, Oklahoma, rally on Saturday, President Donald Trump said he had told officials to slow down coronavirus testing because of the rising number of cases in America.

Six Trump campaign staff test positive for Covid-19 in Tulsa: The Trump campaign confirmed that the staffers had contracted the disease. The group were working on the US President’s Tulsa rally on Saturday night.

India’s Modi says yoga can help the world beat the virus: “Yoga helps us boost our strength and build the immunity and metabolism to defeat the pandemic,” the Indian Prime Minister said.

China records 26 new cases: 22 of the cases were detected in the capital Beijing, according to the National Health Commission. All cases were considered local transmission, except for one person in Fujian who is reported to be an imported case.

UK on track to further ease lockdown: Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the British government would soon outline plans to relax restrictions.

South Korea limits visas to Pakistani and Bangladeshi citizens: The country’s health minister said arrivals from the two countries accounted for a high percentage of confirmed coronavirus cases.

South Korea will limit visas issued to Pakistani and Bangladeshi citizens from June 23 as the countries’ citizens account for a high percentage of arrivals with confirmed coronavirus cases, Health Minister Park Neunghoo announced Sunday.

Some exceptions, including those for diplomats and essential business personnel, will be made.

All arrivals in South Korea are required to be tested and quarantine for two weeks, but Park said an increased number of confirmed cases in arrivals had become excessively burdensome to the country’s national health system.

The minister announced several other steps to help mitigate the issue, including a stricter waiver system, stronger visa management for arrivals, and a reduced number of flights operating to countries with high numbers of Covid-19 cases.

South Korea reported 48 new cases from Saturday, of which 40 were locally transmitted, bringing the total confirmed cases to 12,421.

The United Kingdom is “on track” to further ease its nationwide lockdown, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday, adding that the government would soon outline a more detailed plan to lift the restrictions.

On Friday, Britain’s Chief Medical Officers announced that the coronavirus alert level had been lowered from level four, which indicates that the level of transmission is high or rising, to level three, indicating that Covid-19 remains in general circulation.

Hancock said the government would soon set out the details of its plans to further ease the lockdown, including new protective measures such as wearing face masks in public spaces. 

“We will of course be setting out more details of that plan and in the plan, it states that on around July 4, we will take further measures if it is safe to do so,” he said. 

“The plan does refer to hospitality and some of the other things that are closed that so many people want to see open.”

The UK government has come under sharp criticism from opposition figures and health experts over its reopening strategy. Earlier this week officials abandoned plans to develop a coronavirus tracing app from scratch and decided to instead build a new app based on a system created by Google and Apple.

The government began easing lockdown restrictions in England from 1 June but the new guidelines have left some confused. Relatives still can’t spend time inside others’ homes, but people can visit outdoor attractions, retail stores and places of worship.

Britain has recorded 304,580 cases of the disease and 42,674 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at a ceremony in Moscow on June 12.

Next Wednesday marks a major event for Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin will preside over a rescheduled Victory Day parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.

And Moscow is reopening just in time for the festivities. The last set of lockdown restrictions on gyms and restaurants will be lifted Monday, a week earlier than originally planned by the mayor and just in time for the big military parade in Red Square. The festivities are all part of the run-up to another big event for Putin: a nationwide vote on amendments to the country’s constitution, scheduled for July 1.

It’s a return to normality for Russians exhausted by lockdown and economic uncertainty. But coronavirus has left a cloud of uncertainty over the festivities, which were postponed amid pandemic fears.

By tradition, World War II veterans occupy the viewing stand next to Putin as thousands of soldiers march across Red Square. But this year, those veterans are quarantined at a health resort outside of Moscow. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has asked residents to watch the event on TV, saying attendance will be limited.

And while Moscow is still going ahead with the parade, other cities have curbed their enthusiasm for the celebration amid coronavirus fears.

Read more here.

A former Iraqi soccer player has died from coronavirus in Baghdad.

Ahmed Radhi, 56, was one of Iraq’s most famous soccer stars in the 1980s. He became the first Iraqi football player to score a goal in the World Cup in 1986 and was voted the Asian Footballer of the Year in 1988.

Radhi was admitted to a hospital in Baghdad on June 13 and died Sunday after testing positive for Covid-19, according to a statement from Iraq’s Ministry of Youth and Sports media office.

On Saturday Iraq recorded 1,870 new coronavirus cases and 88 deaths, the highest daily tally recorded in the country since the pandemic began, according to the country’s health ministry.

This brings the nationwide total cases to 29,222, and total deaths to 1,013.

The ministry said Friday that new alternative Covid-19 quarantine centers in Baghdad will be opened soon to handle the unprecedented daily spike in cases.

Actor, comedian and former CNN anchor D.L. Hughley has tested positive for coronavirus after collapsing on stage during a performance in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday night.

Hughley announced his diagnosis in an Instagram video post published Saturday night.

“When I came I was being treated for extreme exhaustion and dehydration, which I was very dehydrated. But it turns out they ran a battery of tests, and I also tested positive for Covid-19 which blew me away. I was what they call asymptomatic,” Hughley said in his post.

“I didn’t have any symptoms … other classic symptoms I didn’t have, flu like symptoms I didn’t have, shortness of breath, I didn’t have difficulty breathing, I didn’t have a cough, I didn’t have a low grade fever, I still don’t have a fever. I didn’t have a loss of smell or taste, apparently I just lost consciousness. So in addition to all the other stuff you have to look out for, if your ass pass[es] out in the middle of a show on stage, you probably need to get tested.”

Hughley was taken to Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville after collapsing. He said he was going back to his hotel room to quarantine for 14 days after leaving hospital. 

He ended the video by thanking everyone for their prayers saying, “well thank you for your prayers and your well wishes and a few more of them wouldn’t hurt, so hopefully I won’t develop symptoms maybe this is as bad as it gets. And I’ll just pass out over and over, or not. But thank you, I appreciate your thoughts and your prayers and they did not go unnoticed, or unfelt. Thank you.”

Dozens of players from the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers football team have been placed in quarantine.

The measure was taken as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus after some members either tested positive for Covid-19 or came into contact with someone who did, according to reports from Sports Illustrated and ESPN, who both cite multiple sources.

Sports Illustrated, who was first to report this story, said at least 30 of the squad’s 115 players were placed in quarantine this week.

LSU’s senior associate athletic trainer Shelly Mullenix spoke with Sports Illustrated.

LSU has not responded to CNN’s request for comment on this story.