Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Global Updates: New Zealand Goes 100 Days Without A Local Transmission
Reuters: New Zealand Records 100 Days Without Domestic Virus Case But Warns Against Complacency
New Zealand marked 100 days without a domestic transmission of the coronavirus on Sunday, but warned against complacency as countries like Vietnam and Australia which once had the virus under control now battle a resurgence in infections. New Zealand’s successful fight against COVID-19 has made the Pacific island nation of 5 million one of the safest places in the world right now. (8/9)
Reuters: Australia Says COVID-19 Outbreak Shows Signs Of Peaking
Australia recorded its biggest one-day rise in COVID-19 deaths on Monday although a slowdown in new cases gave hope that a second wave of new infections in the state of Victoria may have peaked. Nineteen people had died from the virus, all in Victoria, in the past 24 hours, a national daily record. However only 337 people had been diagnosed with COVID-19 across the country, the lowest one-day rise since July 29, officials said. (Packham, 8/9)
AP: Asia Today: Sources Of Many Cases In Victoria Untraceable
The premier of Australia’s Victoria state says more than 2,700 active cases have no known source and remain the primary concern of health authorities. Victoria on Sunday saw a welcome drop in its new COVID-19 cases with 394 but a record 17 deaths, including two people in their 50s. It took the hard-hit state’s toll to 210 and the Australian total of deaths to 295. (8/9)
Reuters: UK Prime Minister Says Schools Must Open In September
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said reopening schools in September was a social, economic and moral imperative and insisted schools would be able to operate safely despite the coronavirus pandemic. His comments follow a study earlier this month which warned that Britain risks a second wave of COVID-19 in the winter twice as large as the initial outbreak if schools open without an improved test-and-trace system. (8/9)
Reuters: UK COVID-19 Daily Death Count Could Be Scrapped: Telegraph
The UK’s official COVID-19 daily death count could be scrapped following an investigation into Public Health England’s method of counting the toll, The Telegraph newspaper reported. The conclusions of the investigation, which was ordered by Health Secretary Matt Hancock after it emerged officials were “exaggerating” virus deaths, are expected this week, the newspaper said. (8/9)
AP: Big Jump In Italy's Daily New Cases Driven By Travel
The number of daily new coronavirus infections in Italy jumped 38% higher Friday, with 552 confirmed cases registered compared to the previous day. Italy hadn’t seen a such a high daily new caseload since late May. Barely two weeks ago, Italy had been registering roughly 200 new cases a day. (D'Emilio, 8/7)
AP: Spanish Police Hit The Discos To Enforce Virus Health Rules
Facing a new surge of coronavirus infections, one Spanish town is deploying special police units to nightclubs to enforce health regulations to stop the virus from spreading. The small beach town of Fuengirola near Málaga on Spain’s southern coast has sent police to its nightclubs — which are a magnet for young people seeking summer fun — to keep them from becoming virus breeding grounds. (Rodrigo, 8/8)
AP: Brazil Makes Grim Milestone -- 100,000 Deaths From COVID-19
Brazil surpassed a grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday night, and five months after the first reported case the country has not shown signs of crushing the disease. The nation of 210 million people has been reporting an average of more than 1,000 daily deaths from the pandemic since late May and reported 905 for the latest 24-hour period. (De Sousa, 8/8)
Reuters: Red Cross Trains Thousands Of North Koreans To Help Cope With Coronavirus, Floods
The Red Cross has trained 43,000 North Korean volunteers to help communities, including the locked-down city of Kaesong, fight the novel coronavirus and provide flood assistance, an official with the relief organisation said on Monday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared an emergency last month and imposed a lockdown on Kaesong, near the inter-Korean border, after a man who defected to the South in 2017 returned to the city showing coronavirus symptoms. (Shin, 8/9)
In other global news —
AP: Italy Approves Outpatient Use For Abortion Pill
Women in Italy can now use the abortion pill on an outpatient basis rather than be hospitalized to terminate a pregnancy. Italy’s health minister, Roberto Speranza, announced the change in guidelines in a tweet Saturday. He said it was based on scientific evidence and was “an important step forward” in line with Italy’s 1978 law legalizing abortion. (8/8)
