Summary for Thursday, 2nd July
Hello and welcome to today’s coverage of the global pandemic. The world has reached more than 10.5 million cases of Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes the disease Covid-19. More than half a million lives have been lost and the economic impact has been unprecedented.
Many countries are still struggling to get their outbreak under control, while others have won the battle but now have to decide when they can open up their borders again to the wider world.
Throughout the day we’ll bring you all the latest news and developments, as well as analysis from our colleagues and other experts. We’ll also be looking for the positive stories of recovery, scientific breakthroughs and people helping each other out.
It says the total US cases now reach 2,682,270. There have been 128,028 deaths, that's more than twice the number of deaths recorded in Brazil, which comes second.
Infections are not slowing down in the US - earlier this week, the top US health official Dr Anthony Fauci warned the country could soon see 100,000 cases a day.
The continuing outbreak is causing some states to roll back their plans to reopen after lockdowns, despite the severe economic damage.
But recent weeks have seen a series of breaches of quarantine protocol which risked its virus-free status. In one case, two people were allowed to leave isolation early to visit a dying parent without being tested for the virus. They were later confirmed to have Covid-19.
Most countries would not be alarmed by two cases but in New Zealand those two sparked a media outcry.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed on Thursday that she had accepted the resignation of health minister David Clark.
In a statement, he said he took "full responsibility for decisions made and taken during my time as Minister of Health".
Clark had already been demoted after breaking rules to take his family to the beach.
The situation has prompted a worried federal government to urge states to ramp up antigen testing, reported local media.
India went into lockdown in March, when cases were still in the hundreds and eased out of lockdown in early June, when infections had started to gallop. For example, last month was the worst in the outbreak so far - around 70% of infections were added in June.
Experts had earlier warned that the monsoon season - between July and September - would bring the peak, but it seems like this might already be under way. The rising numbers have prompted some states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand to go back into lockdown while a few other states like Telangana continue to mull it over.
Early on they were seen as not being as helpful as basic hygiene, and the concern was that they could encourage people to be complacent about things like handwashing and should be left for medical staff or the most vulnerable people. The WHO now says they are a good simple tool to stop the person wearing one from passing infection on.
But in the US there has been significant oppostion to the idea of wearing masks, with people saying doing so is a violation of their freedoms or even dangerous.
President Trump has long resisted wearing a mask, but in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday said: "I'm all for masks."
He said he would "absolutely" wear one "if I were in a tight situation with people".
It's unclear whether this will trigger a sea change among Trump supporters about the idea of wearing a mask.
Here's the BBC Reality Check team's debunking of some of the health concerns about masks.
The order applies to 10 postcodes which have seen the majority of the 370 active cases in the state of Victoria. Of those, 77 were confirmed today.
Police have set up roadblocks in those hotspots and warned residents of fines for disobeying the rules.
Adding to concerns, New South Wales and the Northern Territory have each reported a person testing positive after travelling there from Victoria.
Australia has had very few community transmissions outside of Victoria in the past couple of months. The country has recorded about 8,000 cases in total and 104 deaths.
Informal providers outnumber qualified doctors in India's villages
When a group of villagers in India's West Bengal state recently insisted that they would hold prayers in their local mosque - in violation of social distancing rules - Mohammed Nizamuddin sprung into action.
It helped that locals trusted Nizamuddin. They called their wiry 54-year-old neighbour "doctor" and visited him for treatment and medicines whenever they fell sick.
Except Nizamuddin is not a qualified doctor.
He is one of the state's estimated 100,000 informal rural health care providers who provide the first line of healthcare in tens of thousands of Indian villages.
"I explained why it was wrong for public health. They listened and finally decided to hold smaller congregations in a number of open places," he told the BBC's Soutik Biswas.
- In the US, 52,982 people tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday - a new one-day record
- States are rolling back plans to open up - New York has paused plans to allow indoor dining
- President Donald Trump changes tack and says he would wear a mask "in a tight situation"
- In the UK, around 75 countries are expected to be exempt from travel quarantine rules
- Plans for all students in England to return to school in September will be announced later
- A report says there is no obvious source for a recent virus surge in the English city of Leicester
- New Zealand's health minister resigns after a series of quarantine breaches by travellers
- Globally there are 10.6 million coronavirus cases and more than 515,500 deaths
Hello and welcome to today’s coverage of the global pandemic. The world has reached more than 10.5 million cases of Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes the disease Covid-19. More than half a million lives have been lost and the economic impact has been unprecedented.
Many countries are still struggling to get their outbreak under control, while others have won the battle but now have to decide when they can open up their borders again to the wider world.
Throughout the day we’ll bring you all the latest news and developments, as well as analysis from our colleagues and other experts. We’ll also be looking for the positive stories of recovery, scientific breakthroughs and people helping each other out.
US cases reach new one-day high
We start today with the news that the US has reached a new record for the number of new cases in one day - 52,982. That's according to Johns Hopkins University in the US, the institution that has been widely relied on to track global virus data.It says the total US cases now reach 2,682,270. There have been 128,028 deaths, that's more than twice the number of deaths recorded in Brazil, which comes second.
Infections are not slowing down in the US - earlier this week, the top US health official Dr Anthony Fauci warned the country could soon see 100,000 cases a day.
The continuing outbreak is causing some states to roll back their plans to reopen after lockdowns, despite the severe economic damage.
NZ health minister resigns over quarantine blunders
New Zealand aimed to "eliminate" the virus on its soil, by closing its borders early and bringing in a very stringent quarantine and lockdown. It achieved that goal in early June.But recent weeks have seen a series of breaches of quarantine protocol which risked its virus-free status. In one case, two people were allowed to leave isolation early to visit a dying parent without being tested for the virus. They were later confirmed to have Covid-19.
Most countries would not be alarmed by two cases but in New Zealand those two sparked a media outcry.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed on Thursday that she had accepted the resignation of health minister David Clark.
In a statement, he said he took "full responsibility for decisions made and taken during my time as Minister of Health".
Clark had already been demoted after breaking rules to take his family to the beach.
India added nearly 200,000 cases in 12 days
Infections are continuing to rise at an alarming rate in India. The country has confirmed 585,492 cases, including 17,400 deaths, according to the health ministry.The situation has prompted a worried federal government to urge states to ramp up antigen testing, reported local media.
India went into lockdown in March, when cases were still in the hundreds and eased out of lockdown in early June, when infections had started to gallop. For example, last month was the worst in the outbreak so far - around 70% of infections were added in June.
Experts had earlier warned that the monsoon season - between July and September - would bring the peak, but it seems like this might already be under way. The rising numbers have prompted some states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand to go back into lockdown while a few other states like Telangana continue to mull it over.
Trump says he's 'all for masks'
The advice about face masks as a virus prevention tactic has changed through the pandemic.Early on they were seen as not being as helpful as basic hygiene, and the concern was that they could encourage people to be complacent about things like handwashing and should be left for medical staff or the most vulnerable people. The WHO now says they are a good simple tool to stop the person wearing one from passing infection on.
But in the US there has been significant oppostion to the idea of wearing masks, with people saying doing so is a violation of their freedoms or even dangerous.
President Trump has long resisted wearing a mask, but in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday said: "I'm all for masks."
He said he would "absolutely" wear one "if I were in a tight situation with people".
It's unclear whether this will trigger a sea change among Trump supporters about the idea of wearing a mask.
Here's the BBC Reality Check team's debunking of some of the health concerns about masks.
Melbourne lockdown begins as outbreak continues
More than 300,000 Melburnians have re-entered lockdown today as infections rise in Australia's second biggest city.The order applies to 10 postcodes which have seen the majority of the 370 active cases in the state of Victoria. Of those, 77 were confirmed today.
Police have set up roadblocks in those hotspots and warned residents of fines for disobeying the rules.
Adding to concerns, New South Wales and the Northern Territory have each reported a person testing positive after travelling there from Victoria.
Australia has had very few community transmissions outside of Victoria in the past couple of months. The country has recorded about 8,000 cases in total and 104 deaths.
'Quacks' guarding Indian villages against Covid-19
Soutik Biswas - India CorrespondentInformal providers outnumber qualified doctors in India's villages
When a group of villagers in India's West Bengal state recently insisted that they would hold prayers in their local mosque - in violation of social distancing rules - Mohammed Nizamuddin sprung into action.
It helped that locals trusted Nizamuddin. They called their wiry 54-year-old neighbour "doctor" and visited him for treatment and medicines whenever they fell sick.
Except Nizamuddin is not a qualified doctor.
He is one of the state's estimated 100,000 informal rural health care providers who provide the first line of healthcare in tens of thousands of Indian villages.
"I explained why it was wrong for public health. They listened and finally decided to hold smaller congregations in a number of open places," he told the BBC's Soutik Biswas.