Coronavirus Global Updates, 21 June: Spain opens border to tourists; Trump wants less testing

Cases continue to rise in the worst-hit countries like United States, Brazil, India as well as South Africa. Other countries including Spain, Britain and France are relaxing restrictions and reopening their economies.

Brazil inches closer to 50,000 fatalities as the global death toll stands at 464,465 according to John Hopkins University tally.

Here are the top global developments 

Spain opens border to tourists

Spain has ended its lockdown after 14-weeks, DW reported. With a death toll of more than 28,000 and more than 245,000 infections Spain was one of the worst affected countries. Spaniards will be free to travel around the country now.

Spain reopened its borders to European tourists Sunday in a bid to kickstart its economy while Brazil and South Africa struggled with rising coronavirus infections.

Tourists from Schengen countries can enter the Spain again, with travellers from everywhere else allowed back from July 1.

Some restrictions remain such as wearing a mask in shops, airports and on public transport will reamain. Schools remain shut till September.

Read| Egypt tries to restart tourism during coronavirus pandemic

Serbia conducts Europe’s first coronavirus elections post lockdown

Serbians go to polls today to elect a new parliament in Europe’s first national election since coronavirus lockdowns took effect some 3 months back.

Out of the country’s 5.5 million voters, many are expected to skip voting – partly due to fears of becoming infected.(AP Photo)

As precautionary measures, polling stations will be equipped with facemasks and hand sanitisers. Serbia, which has a population of 7.2 million, has so far reported 12,803 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 260 deaths. It was among the first European countries to start opening its borders on May 22 and all lockdown curbs have since been lifted.

Brazil COVID-19 death toll near 50,000

COVID-19 patients lie on beds in a field hospital built inside a gym in Santo Andre, on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday, June 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Brazil records nearly 50,000 coronavirus deaths so far as the crisis deepened in the Latin American country. The country reported 1,022 fatalities in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Saturday. A total of 49,976 people have officially died from COVID-19 in Brazil, according to the ministry, with a total of 1,067,579 confirmed cases. The actual toll is believed to be much higher.

Trump calls for slowdown in COVID-19 testing

U.S. President Donald Trump Saturday said he had asked US officials to slow down testing for the novel coronavirus, calling it a “double-edged sword” that led to more cases being discovered.

The US has now tested 25 million people, far more than other countries Trump emphasised. “When you do testing to that extent, you’re gonna find more people you’re gonna find more cases. So I said to my people slow the testing down, please,” Trump told a campaign rally in Tulsa.

Meanwhile, a White House official said Trump was obviously joking about his call for a slowdown in testing.

Tulsa hosts thousands for Trump rally amid virus fears

Thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump showed up in an indoor arena Saturday night for a rally that many fear could help fuel the number of coronavirus cases in some places concerns that were increased after six staffers helping to set up the event tested positive for the virus.

State and city health department officials were already bracing for a possible surge in fresh cases from large outdoor demonstrations against police brutality held across the country.

Australia’s victoria extends state of emergency

Emergency in Victoria is now extended till 19 July. (AP)

Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state on Sunday extended its emergency for another four more weeks as the number of coronavirus cases continue to surge. The emergency, now till 19 July will come after the state announced it would reimpose restrictions limiting visitors to households to five people and outdoor gatherings to 10, starting Monday.

Lockdown in Palestin’s West Bank extended

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has renewed a coronavirus lockdown in Palestine ruled areas of West Bank for another month, AFP reported.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas

The state of emergency in place since March 22 will now last until at least June 5, the president announced.

Johnson to announce “one meter plus” social distancing rule as UK reopens

A man views a mural depicting a nurse wearing scrubs and face mask in the Shoreditch area of east London. (Dominic Lipinski / PA via AP)

British Prime minister Boris Johnson will announce a new “one meter plus” rule for social distancing as the country is set to reopen, reuters reported. The announcement is to be made on Tuesday and will be applied to all venues,offices, schools and pubs. The rule is set to be implemented by 4 July.

China, South Korea report new infections

China and South Korea, two countries that managed to flatten their curve have started reporting fresh rounds of cases in the last one week. Chinese authorities reported 25 new confirmed cases ,22 in Beijing and have tested 23 million in the capital till now. The Beijing health commission gave no details of where the latest cases might have originated.

Workers disinfect a subway train in Gimpo, South Korea, Feb. 2020. (Bloomberg)

South Korean authorities reported 48 new cases out of which half were in the capital Seoul, 10 were in the central city of Daejong suggesting the virus was spreading more widely as relaxations happened.

German slaughterhouse virus cases exceed 1,000

A peta activist protests with a poster “reading slaughterhouse – deadly for animals and workers” in front of the Toennies meatpacking plant, Europe’s biggest slaughterhouse, where the German Bundeswehr army helps to build up a test center for coronavirus in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck, Germany, Friday, June 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

The number of workers infected in the coronavirus outbreak at a slaughterhouse in Germany has risen to 1,029 from 803 cases a day earlier but there is still no evidence of a significant spread into the community.

The regional government has quarantined all 6,5000 workers at the meat processing facility. Over 3,000 workers have been tested so far.