Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'I'm A Lot Better': After Testing Positive, Brazil's President Predicts Hydroxychloroquine Will Cure Him
The New York Times: President Bolsonaro Of Brazil Tests Positive For Coronavirus
President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, who has railed against social distancing measures and repeatedly downplayed the threat of the coronavirus as the epidemic in his country became the second-worst in the world, said Tuesday that he, too, had been infected. Critics at home and abroad have called Mr. Bolsonaro’s handling of the pandemic cavalier and reckless, allowing the virus to surge across Brazil, Latin America’s largest nation. At one point he dismissed it as “a measly cold,” and when asked in late April about the rising death toll, he replied: “So what? Sorry, but what do you want me to do?” (Londono, Adnreoni and Casado, 7/7)
AP: Brazil's President Says Hydroxychloroquine To Cure His Virus
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he is confident that he will swiftly recover from the new coronavirus thanks to treatment with hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug that has not been proven effective against COVID-19. Bolsonaro said he tested positive for the new coronavirus on Tuesday after months of downplaying its severity while deaths mounted rapidly inside the country. (De Sousa and Biller, 7/8)
AP: Wedding Season Brings New Virus Outbreak In West Bank
By the end of May, the Palestinian Authority appeared to have quashed a coronavirus outbreak in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with only around 400 confirmed cases and just two fatalities in the territory, following a nearly three-month lockdown. Then the wedding invitations went out. Over the last few weeks, infections have skyrocketed across the West Bank, with more than 4,000 new cases and an additional 15 deaths. Authorities blame the surge on widespread neglect of social distancing and mask-wearing — and on the summer wedding season. (Daraghmeh, 7/8)
AP: Africa's Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Now Above A Half-Million
Africa now has more than a half-million confirmed coronavirus cases.The continent-wide total is over 508,000, according to figures released Wednesday by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after South Africa recorded another day of more than 10,000 confirmed cases as a new global hot spot. (Anna, 7/8)
AP: Australia Isolates Virus-Prone State, Serbs Oppose Lockdown
Australia isolated the state of Victoria on Wednesday in a bid to contain the worsening spread of the coronavirus as the city of Melbourne prepared for its second lockdown, an example of a resurgent disease in places that initially succeeded in taming it. Melbourne’s failure to curb the virus in the past three weeks is a starkly different pandemic experience to other parts of the country that have been reporting single-digit daily counts of infections if any. (McGuirk, 7/8)
Reuters: Masks, Disinfectant, Social Distancing: Japan Responds To Disaster Amid Coronavirus
Boxes of surgical masks, bottles of disinfectant and a sign saying “Please wear a mask” mark the entrance to a public gym in Yatsushiro city, a shelter for residents fleeing devastating floods in southwestern Japan this week. (Murakami, 7/7)
Reuters: Hundreds Of Drones Light Up Seoul Night Sky With Coronavirus Advice
Three hundred drones took to the evening sky over the Han River in South Korea to dispense coronavirus prevention advice through a synchronised light display featuring images of hand-washing and social distancing. A horde of pin-point lights lifted into the air in military-like formation on Saturday before rearranging themselves to form the image of a white face mask, with red circles symbolising the new virus which has led to almost 300 deaths in the country. (Park, 7/8)
