Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Threat Of Resurgent COVID Shutters Most Schools In Seoul
Reuters: South Korea Closes Most Schools In Seoul Area To Battle Resurgent Coronavirus
South Korea on Tuesday ordered most schools in Seoul and surrounding areas to close and move classes back online, the latest in a series of precautionary measures aimed at heading off a resurgence in coronavirus cases. (8/24)
Politico: Germany Issues Travel Warning For Paris Area, French Riviera
Germany issued a travel warning for the region that includes Paris as well as for the French Riviera on Monday evening due to high numbers of coronavirus cases. A statement from the government’s Robert Koch Institute said the regions of Île-de-France and Provence-Alpes-Côte d‘Azur are now classified as “risk areas,” along with other places where there is an “increased risk of infection” of the virus. (Anderson, 8/24)
The Washington Post: Brazil Coronavirus: Retreat Of Covid-19 In Amazon's Manaus Raises Questions Of Herd Immunity
Hospitalizations of coronavirus patients plummeted in the Brazilian city of Manaus from a peak of more than 1,300 in May to fewer than 300 in August. Excess deaths in Manaus fell from around 120 per day to practically zero. The city closed its field hospital. In a country devastated by the novel coronavirus, where more than 3.6 million people have been infected and over 114,000 killed, the reversal has stunned front-line doctors. Manaus never imposed a lockdown or other strict containment measures employed successfully in Asia and Europe. And what policies did exist, many people ignored. (McCoy and Traiano, 8/24)
Reuters: Gaza In Lockdown To Try To Contain Its First COVID-19 Outbreak
A lockdown took hold in Gaza on Tuesday after confirmation of the first cases of COVID-19 in the general population of the Palestinian enclave, whose restricted borders have spared it from wide infection. Health authorities in the Hamas Islamist-run territory of two million people are concerned over the potentially disastrous combination of poverty, densely populated refugee camps and limited hospital facilities in dealing with an outbreak. (al-Mughrabi, 8/25)
Reuters: Pandemic Pace Slows Worldwide Except For Southeast Asia, Eastern Mediterranean: WHO
The COVID-19 pandemic is still expanding, but the rise in cases and deaths has slowed globally, except for southeast Asia and the eastern Mediterranean regions, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. In its latest epidemiological update, issued on Monday night, it said that the Americas remains the hardest-hit region, accounting for half of newly reported cases and 62% of the 39,240 deaths worldwide in the past week. (Nebehay, 8/25)
The Guardian: Xinjiang Residents Handcuffed To Their Homes In Covid Lockdown
Residents in the capital of Xinjiang are being forced to take traditional Chinese medicine, being handcuffed to buildings and ordered to stay inside for weeks as part of a harsh range of measures to tackle coronavirus, according to posts online. Urumqi, the capital of the semi-autonomous region known for its draconian security measures, has been in a “wartime state” of lockdown for more than a month after a cluster of cases emerged in July, when the outbreak had been mostly contained elsewhere in China. (Kuo, 8/25)
The Guardian: Spain Warned Of Dire Impact Of Second Coronavirus Lockdown
As officials across Spain wrestle with a surge in coronavirus cases, a chorus of voices is warning that another lockdown could have dire consequences for a country that just months ago emerged from one of Europe’s strictest confinements. While cases of the virus have climbed across Europe, Spain has led the pack in recent days. More than 78,000 cases have been detected in the past two weeks, pushing the 14-day infection rate to 166 per 100,000, compared with 67 in France and 22 in the UK. (Kassam, 8/25)
The Associated Press: Scotland's Handling Of Virus Boosts Support For Independence
There is wide agreement that Britain’s devastating coronavirus outbreak has been met by strong, effective political leadership. Just not from Prime Minister Boris Johnson. While Johnson has often seemed to flounder and flip-flop his way through the biggest national crisis in decades, Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon has won praise for her sober, straight-talking response. (Lawless, 8/25)
Reuters: Australia Reaches 25,000 Coronavirus Cases, Officials Urge More Testing
Australia surpassed 25,000 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, tipped over the milestone by the recent outbreak in Victoria state and prompting a warning from authorities about declining test numbers. Australia recorded 151 new infections over the past 24 hours, up from 121 a day earlier, with Victoria responsible for the bulk of the cases and New South Wales accounting for the remainder. (Packham, 8/24)
Reuters: Singapore Reports Fewest Daily COVID-19 Cases In Five Months
Singapore reported 31 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, its lowest daily count in more than five months. The city-state, which saw its COVID-19 cases jump sharply after mass outbreaks in migrant worker dormitories earlier in the year, has recently seen steady declines as those dormitories have been cleared of the coronavirus. (8/25)
