Sun 26 July 2020:
The number of coronavirus infections has now topped 16 million, according to the tally by the US-based Johns Hopkins University. Meanwhile, North Korea reported its first “suspected” case. Follow DW for the latest.
UK tourists in Spain ‘panicking’ over quarantine order
British tourists flying home on Sunday after a holiday in Spain angrily reacted to an abrupt decision by their government to make everyone arriving from the Mediterranean country spend 14 days in quarantine.
The UK’s decision late on Saturday to take Spain off a safe-travel list over a rise in coronavirus cases took effect from midnight (23:00 GMT on Saturday), leaving travellers with no time to dodge it, and with major concerns about their returns, tourists at Madrid’s Barajas airport said.
Germans are increasingly using credit cards and contactless payment methods for fear of getting infected with the coronavirus, the head of Germany central bank, Jens Weidmann, told the Funke Mediengruppe.
Weidmann described the change as a “creeping trend” in the EU country known for its love of cash
“The fear of infection has given a push to the contactless means of payments,” Weidmann said, but noted that he did not know of any cases of contagion via the circulating money. The banker also said that the central bank had no plans to follow China’s lead by putting bills in “quarantine” to reduce transmission risk.
“We do not think a special quarantine for cash is necessary,” Weidmann said.
France is making coronavirus tests free in a bid to fight rising infection numbers
“We wouldn’t describe this as a second wave, but what’s clear is that for several days now we have seen a noticeable increase in the number of confirmed cases, which had been in decline for 13 weeks,” Health Minister Olivier Veran said in an interview with the Le Parisien published on Sunday.
A new government order has now made PCR nasal swab tests available on demand without prescription.
France has seen over 217,800 infections and nearly 30,200 COVID-19 deaths, according to the latest data.
Italian city slaps $1,150 fines on mask rule violators
Failure to wear a mask inside stores in the southern city of Salerno has proven costly to many, the AP news agency reported.
Campania Govenor Vincenzo De Luca signed an ordinance on Friday, provisioning for fines of up to 1,000 euros for not wearing masks in closed public places. Similar fines were handed out on the tourist island of Ischia, in three cafes and in a restaurant, also in the Campania region.
Campania accounted for 21 of Italy’s 275 new virus cases on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Health. Five deaths were reported in the nation of 60 million since Friday, raising its COVID-19 death toll to 35,102.
Costa Rica registers record 931 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths
Costa Rica’s Health Ministry has reported a record 931 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths, both single-day highs for the small Central American nation where 72 percent of all its confirmed cases have been registered since the beginning of this month.
In total, Costa Rican authorities have reported 14,600 cases and 98 deaths in the country of 5 million people, according to Reuters news agency.
Despite the increase in cases, hotels are operational and the government has announced European, British, and Canadian tourists will be allowed to enter the country beginning August 1.
South Africa reports over 12,000 new cases
South Africa has announced more than 12,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases as the total in one of the world’s worst affected countries reaches 434,200 with 6,655 deaths.
South Africa makes up well over half the confirmed cases on the African continent, where experts say the virus could smoulder in areas poorly served by health services.
Africa now has more than 828,000 cases. The true number of cases on the continent of 1.3 billion people is unknown because of testing shortages and insufficient data.
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