California coronavirus cases top 400,000: Live updates

• California became the second United States state after New York to report more than 400,000 COVID-19 cases, according to a Reuters tally of county data.

• The World Health Organization said it will bring together scientists from several fields to fight growing misinformation about COVID-19 that is endangering lives.

• European Union leaders have reached a pre-dawn agreement on a massive post-pandemic economic recovery plan.

• Scientists at the University of Oxford say their experimental coronavirus vaccine prompted a protective immune response in an early trial involving hundreds of people.

• More than 14.7 million people around the world have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. More than 8.3 million have recovered while nearly 611,300 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The US has recorded at least 141,100 deaths, the most in the world.

Here are the latest updates.

Tuesday, July 21 

20:40 GMT – Zimbabwe president announces curfew to curb coronavirus

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Tuesday that security forces would enforce a dusk-to-dawn curfew from Wednesday to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

Critics and the opposition say authorities want to stop anti-government protests planned for next week by activists who say government corruption has worsened economic hardships.

19:45 GMT – Brazil seeking COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna, AstraZeneca

Brazil is in talks with United States biotech firm Moderna to possibly get priority in purchasing a potential COVID-19 vaccine that the company is developing, the country’s interim Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said.

Pazuello said that Brazil also has an understanding with AstraZeneca for the firm to deliver 30 million doses of its potential vaccine.

19:15 GMT – California coronavirus cases top 400,000

California became the second US state after New York to report more than 400,000 COVID-19 cases, according to a Reuters tally of county data.

The most populous US state has tallied a total 400,166 COVID-19 cases, putting it on the verge of surpassing New York – the original epicentre of the outbreak in the United States – for the highest number of infections in the country since the novel coronavirus was first detected in California in January.

At that point, if California were a country, it would rank fifth in the world for total COVID-19 cases behind only the US, Brazil, India and Russia. New York currently has over 412,800 total cases and is adding on average 700 new cases a day in July while California is rising by an average of 8,300 cases a day.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has forecast that the death toll could reach 157,000 by August 8.

19:00 GMT – Canada authorities expected coronavirus spike

An increase in coronavirus cases was expected as the Canadian economy reopens, a senior medical official said, while expressing concern about how many young people were contracting the virus.

Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Howard Njoo told a briefing that the success of efforts to combat the outbreak was fragile and could be undermined by people becoming complacent.

The daily case count across Canada is now around 460 compared with 300 earlier in the month. Authorities in the 10 provinces are gradually lifting social and economic restrictions imposed in March, when the outbreak started.

“Provinces [are] … trying to reopen at I think a very prudent pace, slowly opening up bars and restaurants. But everyone recognises we would expect to get clusters of cases,” Njoo said.

18:10 GMT – Coronavirus pandemic ‘showing no signs of slowing down’ in Americas: PAHO

The novel coronavirus pandemic is showing “no signs of slowing down” in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) director said, with the virus landing in Guiana Shield countries on South America’s northeastern coast and with surges in Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru.

Carissa Etienne told a virtual briefing from PAHO’s Washington base that some Central American nations were seeing their highest weekly increase of cases since the virus landed, and that because of the high burden of infectious diseases and chronic conditions in the Americas, three out of ten people – 325 million – were at “increased risk” of developing complications from COVID-19.

17:15 GMT – WHO to fight ‘dangerous’ coronavirus fake news

The World Health Organization says it will bring together scientists from several fields to fight growing misinformation about COVID-19 that is endangering lives.

Researchers from disciplines ranging from mathematics to IT, sociology, psychology, health and communication are to be part of the WHO project. The collaboration will focus on a growing field of research called “infodemiology”.

Unclear and misleading information could “jeopardize trust” in health authorities, the UN agency said.

“The most damaging aspect of the infodemic has been false and misleading information from non-health actors. This has led to dangerous and unproven claims being shared.”

16:30 GMT – Major airlines ask EU, White House to adopt new COVID-19 testing programme

Major United States and European Union airlines asked the EU and White House Tuesday to consider adopting a joint US-EU COVID-19 testing programme as a way to again allow people to travel between the US and Europe.

In a letter to Vice President Mike Pence and Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, the chief executives of American Airlines, United Airlines, Lufthansa and International Airlines Group requested “the safe and swift restoration of air travel between the United States and Europe.”

Nearly all Europeans are currently barred from travelling to the US and similar restrictions are in place for Americans seeking to travel to most of the EU.

15:50 GMT – US accuses Chinese hackers in targeting of COVID-19 research

The United States Department of Justice accused two Chinese hackers of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars of trade secrets from companies across the world and more recently targeting firms developing a vaccine for the coronavirus.

The indictment, which officials expected to discuss at a news conference, says the hackers in recent months had researched vulnerabilities in the computer networks of companies publicly known for their work in developing vaccines and treatments.

The indictment includes charges of trade secret theft and wire fraud conspiracy against the hackers, who federal prosecutors say stole information not only for themselves but also that they knew would be of interest and value to the Chinese government.

“China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cyber criminals in exchange for those criminals being ‘on call’ to work for the benefit of the state, here to feed the Chinese Communist party’s insatiable hunger for American and other non-Chinese companies’ hard-earned intellectual property, including COVID-19 research,” Assistant Attorney John Demers, the Justice Department’s top national security official, said in a statement.

15:05 GMT – Poland wants schools to reopen in September

Poland wants school students to be back in their classrooms when the academic year starts in September and is working on regulations to ensure this is safe amid the pandemic, the education ministry tweeted on Tuesday.

The ministry is also working on a legal framework to allow head teachers to react quickly if there is a sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the ministry said, citing Education Minister Dariusz Piontkowski.

Regular classes were suspended in Poland in mid-March and later that month, teachers were instructed to hold classes remotely.

In late June, several weeks before the end of the school year, schools were allowed to reopen for children between the ages of 7 and 9. However, local governments and individual head teachers were permitted to make the final decision on this themselves.

Most decided not to reopen their schools, and many of those who did said attendance was low.

14:30 GMT – Austria reintroducing face mask requirement in supermarkets, banks

Austria is reintroducing a requirement that face masks be worn in supermarkets, banks and post offices because of an increase in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday.

“There are areas of daily life where one cannot choose whether one goes or not – the supermarket, the bank, the post office,” Kurz told a news conference.

“We have therefore decided that we will make face masks compulsory again in supermarkets, in banks, in post offices.”

14:00 GMT – Top US Senate Democrat calls for details on Republican coronavirus bill

United States Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday called on Republicans to present a detailed plan for the next round of coronavirus legislation in Congress, when lawmakers and Trump administration officials meet later in the day.

“The Republicans don’t seem to have their own act together. It’s hard to negotiate when the president says one thing, Senate Republicans say another and many of them are divided,” Schumer told CNN.

“We hope they’re going to be unified and present something to us, present something to us in detail.”

13:35 GMT – Dutch coronavirus infections are increasing, health authorities warn

The number of coronavirus infections in the Netherlands is increasing, the country’s health authorities warned in an update on Tuesday.

The Netherlands Institute for Health said that 987 people had tested positive for the disease in the past week, up from 534 the week before.

13:10 GMT – 

Hello, this is Hamza Mohamed taking over from my colleague Umut Uras.

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I’ll be handing over this blog shortly to another colleague in Doha.  

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12:40 GMT – Spain to give 1.7 billion euros in coronavirus aid to developing countries

Spain will send 1.7 billion euros in aid to developing countries to help them deal with the coronavirus pandemic, Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said after a cabinet meeting.

Spain aims to help save lives and strengthen public health systems and also protect and restore rights and capacities, among other goals, Gonzalez Laya told a news conference.

12:00 GMT – Australia’s virus outbreak raises alarm over online child sex abuse

Australian police have warned “insidious” online predators have been targeting new child victims after a surge in coronavirus infections put the country’s second-largest city under partial lockdown.

Australian health authorities said it could take weeks to tame the COVID-19 outbreak after hundreds of new cases reported in the state of Victoria, whose capital Melbourne is in partial lockdown.

The measures prompted the Australian federal police to urge parents to ensure their children do not fall victim to “insidious online predators”, after abuse cases spiked during a national lockdown in March.

Traffic to websites hosting online child sexual abuse content skyrocketed during the earlier lockdown and such material posted to the dark web doubled, police said.

11:30 GMT – Russia, hit by coronavirus crisis, considers military spending cuts

Russia is considering cutting spending on the military as low oil prices and the coronavirus crisis have pummelled its economy, a document published by the finance ministry shows.

The ministry has proposed the government cut state spending on the military by 5 percent between 2021 and 2023. The proposal, published on Monday, also includes budget spending cuts of 10 percent for the court system, the servicing of Russia’s debt and wages for civil servants.

Russia, which flexed its military muscle with its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and intervention in the Syrian conflict, dropped out of the list of the top five biggest military spenders in 2018 after its spending fell 3.5 percent.

10:45 GMT – Iran hits record 229 deaths from coronavirus in past 24 hours 

Iran has seen a record 229 deaths from the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, health ministry figures showed.

Iran, the Middle Eastern country hardest hit by the pandemic, began relaxing its lockdown in mid-April.

10:20 GMT – Two South African ministers hospitalised with coronavirus

Two South African cabinet ministers have been hospitalised with coronavirus, the government announced.

Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi, 61, and Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, 65, were separately admitted to hospital on Monday.

Cabinet spokeswoman Phumla Williams said in a statement that they were hospitalised on the advice of their doctors for “better medical attention” and monitoring.

They both tested positive for coronavirus around a week ago and had been in self-quarantine at home.

10:00 GMT – Oman to implement night curfew, travel bans for Eid period 

Oman will ban travel between all provinces from July 25 to August 8 to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, according to state news agency ONA.

The Gulf state will also implement a daily 7pm to 6am curfew during that same period, which includes the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. Shops and public spaces will be closed during the curfew hours.

09:30 GMT – Philippines reports two new coronavirus deaths, 1,951 infections

The Philippines’ health ministry has reported two more novel coronavirus deaths and 1,951 additional infections.

In a bulletin, the ministry said total deaths had increased to 1,837, while confirmed cases had reached 70,764.

President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to arrest anyone not wearing a face mask or breaching social distancing guidelines amid a sharp rise in infections and deaths since a lockdown was eased in June.

09:00 GMT – Serbia’s Vojvodina region reports repidly increasing number of cases 

Vojvodina region in Serbia is becoming the new hotbed of coronavirus in the country, authorities say.

The Serbian government warned of a possible collapse if the situation does not improve over the next few days, saying it will likely face Italy’s scenario.

Close to 300 patients are currently being treated at the Clinical Center of Vojvodina in Novi Sad, and the city administration is appealing to citizens to adhere to the prescribed measures.

08:40 GMT – Pakistan reports more than 1,000 new cases 

In Pakistan, at least 1,013 new cases of the virus were registered on Monday, taking the countrywide tally to 266,096, according to government data.

Active cases of the virus, however, continued to fall, with 1,128 fewer active cases on Monday compared to the day before. At least 52,337 active cases of the virus remain in the country, according to official data.

Testing levels have also continued to drop, with Monday seeing 17,783 tests conducted, the lowest in a single day since June 2. The positive test rate was 5.7 percent. Pakistani authorities say testing is dropping because fewer patients are seeking treatment or a diagnosis at hospitals.

08:15 GMT – Nepal to resume international flights after long halt due to coronavirus

Nepal will allow regular international airline flights from August 17, a minister said, nearly four months after suspending them to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Wedged between China and India, Nepal enforced a nationwide lockdown, halting scheduled flights, in March, when reported its first confirmed cases of COVID-19. So far, Nepal has reported 17,844 infections with 40 deaths from the disease. 

Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains including Mount Everest, is dependent on tourism including mountain climbing.

07:45 GMT – Russia reports fewer than 6,000 new coronavirus cases

Russia reported 5,842 new cases of the novel coronavirus, pushing its total infection tally to 783,328, the fourth largest in the world. 

The country’s coronavirus response centre said 153 people had died in the past 24 hours, bringing Russia’s overall death toll from the virus to 12,580.

07:10 GMT – Possible COVID-19 vaccine rolled out this year: Oxford developer

The University of Oxford’s possible COVID-19 vaccine could be rolled out by the end of the year but there is no certainty that will happen, the lead developer of the vaccine said.

The experimental vaccine, which has been licensed to AstraZeneca, produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed on Monday, preserving hopes it could be in use by the end of the year.

“The end of the year target for getting vaccine rollout, it’s a possibility but there’s absolutely no certainty about that because we need three things to happen,” Sarah Gilbert told BBC Radio, saying it needed to be shown to work in late stage trials, there needed to be large quantities manufactured and regulators had to agree quickly to license it for emergency use. 

06:30 GMT – China: negative COVID-19 tests required for arriving air passengers

Passengers on flights arriving in China must provide negative COVID-19 test results before they board, the aviation authority said.

The nucleic acid tests must be completed five days before embarking, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a statement on its website. 

06:00 GMT – Ukraine coronavirus cases exceed 60,000

The total number of coronavirus cases in Ukraine has reached 60,166 and 1,518 people died as of July 21, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week Ukrainians were fed up with the coronavirus lockdown and the government should be cautious about extending it. 

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Hello, this is Umut Uras in Doha taking over from my colleague Kate Mayberry.

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04:35 GMT – Tokyo Games organisers prepare for one-year countdown

The organisers of the Tokyo Olympic Games are preparing a day of celebrations to mark a year to the start of the Games, which are now due to be held in July 2021 after a year-long delay because of the coronavirus. 

The postponement has raised concerns about cost, as well as the safety of athletes and spectators; a recent poll conducted by Kyodo News found that fewer than one in four favoured holding the Games as scheduled next year.

One-third believed the Olympics should be postponed again and another third wanted the Games cancelled outright.

You can read more on the story here.

03:50 GMT – EU deal at pre-dawn meeting follows marathon summit

The EU managed to reach a deal to boost the bloc’s post-pandemic economies after Charles Michel, president of the European Council and chair of the summit, offered compromises over a 750 billion-euro ($860 billion) recovery fund.

Some countries, dubbed the “frugals”, had been concerned about the proportion of grants under the fund. Non-repayable grants will total 390 billion euros compared with the 500 billion euros originally proposed. Disbursements will also be linked to governments observing the rule of law.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the talks took “four long days and nights of negotiation … but it was worth it,” she said. “This is a sign that Europe is able to act. Before Europe was often accused of being too slow to act. In this case, it is the opposite.” 

You can read more on that story here.

After four days of negotiations we were able to reach a good result for the #EU and #Austria on the #MFF and the #RecoveryInstrument. Thank you to all colleagues, especially to the #frugals! pic.twitter.com/HJsfbQJa01

— Sebastian Kurz (@sebastiankurz) July 21, 2020

03:32 GMT – EU leaders reach deal on COVID-19 support package

Charles Michel has tweeted that the leaders of the 27 countries making up the EU have reached a deal. No details yet, just a very enthusiastic tweet.

Deal!

— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) July 21, 2020

03:15 GMT – EU leaders resume talks on COVID-19 recovery plan

European Union leaders are resuming discussions on a proposed post-pandemic economic recovery plan.

Leaders seem close to a deal after four days of difficult negotiations.

02:25 GMT – Nursing home cluster boosts coronavirus cases in South Korea 

South Korea has reported 45 new cases of coronavirus.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 20 of the cases were locally acquired, and nine of them came from a nursing home in western Seoul.

Imported cases have been growing by the double digits for 26 days, according to Yonhap news agency. The latest were found mostly in workers returning from Iraq as well as among sailors on Russian-flagged ships docked in Busan. 

01:50 GMT – Brazil to start advance testing of vaccine being developed by China

Brazil is to start mass testing of a vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac on medical workers from six states, starting at the Clinical Hospital of Sao Paolo. 

Initial results are expected in 90 days.

Sinovac is working with the Butantan Institute, a public health research centre, on the trials and the institute will have the right to produce 120 million doses if the trial is a success.

01:15 GMT – Australian state of Victoria report 374 new cases, three deaths

The coronavirus outbreak in the Australian state of Victoria continues to grow as state Premier Daniel Andrews announced there had been 374 new cases and three deaths.

He urged people to get tested – noting there are 160 testing sites across the state – and said that while the number of cases was higher than the previous day, measures to address the outbreak were having an impact. 

Masks will be mandatory from midnight (14:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

Today’s #COVID19Vic number is bad news.

In the vicinity of 375. 3-7-5.

Wear a mask.

May shift a bit b4 official. Bounced up cos of nursing home numbers I think.

Means we are still averaging 300 over 7 days. Means we are still going up.

— Rafael Epstein (@Raf_Epstein) July 20, 2020

00:15 GMT – China offers free testing to all residents of Urumqi

China is providing free COVID-19 tests to residents of Urumqi in the far western region of Xinjiang after a sudden spike in coronavirus cases there, according to state media. 

The testing is designed to “effectively lower the risk of the virus spreading,” the Global Times reported the city’s anti-epidemic group as saying. 

Urumqi has a population of about 3.5 million people, and the outbreak has been linked to group activity, the paper said. The actual origin of the infection remains unknown, it added.

To better prevent the #COVID19 from spreading, #China's #Xinjiang offers free nucleic acid testing to all residents in #Urumqi and the project is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/DXENZU7fl5

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) July 21, 2020

23:45 GMT (Monday) – Christopher Nolan’s Tenet delayed again as coronavirus rages

The release of Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic Tenet is being delayed again.

After twice being delayed, Tenet was slated to come out on August 12, but Warner Bros told AFP news agency that it had to reconsider because “the coronavirus continues to proliferate”.

Many cinemas in the US and other parts of the world remain closed.

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Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Kate Mayberry in Kuala Lumpur.

Read all the updates from yesterday (July 20) here.

Two South African ministers hospitalised with coronavirusTwo South African cabinet ministers have been hospitalised with coronavirus, the government announced on Tuesday.Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi, 61, and Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, 65, were separately admitted to hospital on Monday.Cabinet spokeswoman Phumla Williams said in a statement that they were hospitalised on the advice of their doctors for “better medical attention” and monitoring.They both tested positive for coronavirus around a week ago and had been in self-quarantine at home.