(Reuters) – Latin America has recorded around 8.7 million coronavirus cases and over 322,000 deaths – both figures the highest of any region, according to a Reuters tally. Despite widespread compliance and aggressive lockdown measures in many countries, experts suggest that rampant poverty and large informal economies have made containment difficult.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.
* For a U.S.-focused tracker with a state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.
* Eikon users, see MacroVitals cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news.
EUROPE
* Britain’s prime minister told people to work from home where possible and ordered bars and restaurants to close early to tackle a fast-spreading second wave with restrictions lasting probably six months.
* Sweden, which so far has decided against lockdowns, is seeing early signs that cases are rising again and could impose new measures in Stockholm.
* Organisers run a huge risk by allowing 20,000 fans to attend Thursday’s UEFA Super Cup football final in Budapest, a leading epidemiologist said.
* All wine industry workers in Spain’s Rioja-producing Alava region must undergo a coronavirus test before working.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* South Korea approved a supplementary budget of $6.72 billion to aid households and small businesses facing mass closures amid tight restrictions.
* India reported its lowest daily cases tally in almost a month as it prepares for clinical trials of a potential Russian vaccine in the coming weeks.
AMERICAS
* U.S. President Donald Trump will tell the United Nations General Assembly it “must hold China accountable for their actions” related to the pandemic.
* Brazil’s President Bolsonaro defended his handling of the world’s second most deadly outbreak after the United States, lamenting the deaths that have passed 137,200.
* Mexico will finalize this week a deal to join COVAX, its foreign minister said, a day after confirmed cases surpassed 700,000 – though senior health authorities said the real number is significantly higher.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* The number of recorded cases in the six Gulf Arab states has doubled in three months to over 800,000, according to a Reuters tally.
* Iran reported 3,712 new coronavirus infections in the previous 24 hours, the highest daily tally recorded since February, pushing its cumulative total to 429,193.
* Israel has approved an extra $3 billion aid package to help businesses and self-employed workers cope during a new nationwide lockdown, while new cases reached daily highs of more than 5,000.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* More countries will sign up to a global vaccination plan and some of the delays were due to procedural issues rather than doubts about the scheme, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said.
* Vaccine makers will be indemnified in Europe if their COVID-19 shots cause unexpected side-effects, an industry official said, urging European regulators to set up more predictable schemes to compensate possible victims.
* Russia is so confident in its vaccine that it will shoulder some of the legal liability should anything go wrong, rather than requiring buyers to take on the full risk, the head of the state fund bankrolling the project said.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Europe’s stock markets clawed back some ground on Tuesday, a day after rising second waves caused the region’s biggest wipeout since June, driving investors back to government bonds. [MKTS/GLOB]
* Argentina’s economy likely contracted around 20% year-on-year in the second quarter, hit by the pandemic and a nationwide lockdown imposed in March.
* Global airlines called for pre-departure COVID-19 testing for all international passengers to replace the quarantines they blame for exacerbating the travel slump.
(Compiled by Sarah Morland; Edited by)
