Coronavirus: Latest on COVID-19 from around the world - Sunday, June 28

The number of people confirmed infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, has topped 10 million.

It's likely to only be a fraction of the true number, with research suggesting as few as one in 10 cases are being picked up. 

The confirmed death toll is 499,000.

Here's the latest from around the world overnight.

Europe

United Kingdom

London police made seven arrests and seized a firearm and a "Rambo-style" knife at illegal street parties that violated social distancing rules in the early hours of Saturday, a police statement said.

Large gatherings are not permitted in Britain due to social distancing measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, but a spell of hot weather and a planned easing of restrictions on July 4 have led some people to flout the rules.

The night of Friday to Saturday was the third in a row in which police officers seeking to disperse gatherings in London were attacked by participants.

Football side Liverpool have condemned the behaviour of fans who gathered in Liverpool city centre for a second night on Friday to celebrate their team's Premier League title win and urged them to stay at home due to fears of a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Britain will ditch a 14-day quarantine period for people arriving from countries it deems to be lower risk for COVID-19. Official travel advice against all but essential travel outside Britain will also be eased for some countries and regions. An expert panel will put nations into three categories: green, amber and red. Passengers arriving from green and amber countries will no longer have to quarantine themselves for 14 days after their arrival. The categories are due to be announced next week.

Britain's death toll from confirmed cases of the new coronavirus has risen to 43,514, an increase of 100 from a day earlier, government figures showed on Saturday. 

Ireland

A growing number of COVID-19 infections among people under 35 years of age is a "worrying trend," Ireland's chief medical officer Tony Holohan said on Saturday as the country reported the highest number of new infections for two weeks.

On Saturday, Ireland reported 23 new infections, the highest number of new cases for two weeks, with six deaths. That brought the total death toll in the country of 4.9 million since the start of the pandemic to 1734.

Americas

United States

Florida and Arizona recorded daily highs for cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, highlighting the worsening spread of the virus in several southern and western states, some of which are taking steps to roll back their reopening plans.

Florida on Saturday morning reported 9585 new infections in the last 24 hours, a record for a second day, while Arizona recorded 3591 new cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, matching its prior record on June 23.

The United States recorded more than 45,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the largest single-day increase of the pandemic. More than 2.5 million Americans now have tested positive.

The surge in cases has been most pronounced in southern and western states like Florida and Texas, which are now taking steps to reinstate restrictions on businesses, threatening a hoped-for economic recovery and jobs.

Florida reopened its economy relatively quickly, but has now told bar owners to immediately stop serving alcohol on their premises. Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday ordered bars across the state to close and required restaurants to limit indoor seating capacity to 50 percent.

Officials in Florida's Palm Beach were faced with a barrage of complaints as they considered a regulation to make face-masks compulsory in public places as a measure to combat coronavirus.

At the hearing of the Palm Beach County commissioners' workshop on Tuesday, the officials were told by one woman they were imposing "devil's laws" and that masks were "literally killing people". One woman railing against the masks told the commission: "I don't wear a mask for the same reason I don't wear underwear. Things got to breathe."

Peru

Peru will lift lockdown measures in most areas of the country, including the capital Lima, at the start of July, while keeping its borders closed, after the daily rate of cases slowed in recent days, the government said late on Friday.

Asia-Pacific

India

India reported over 17,000 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, pushing the country's total above 500,000, federal health ministry data showed on Saturday, with infections surging in major cities including the capital New Delhi.

Australia

Australia's state of Victoria recorded 41 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Saturday, double the daily rate seen a week ago, struggling to gain control over the pandemic while the rest of the country continues easing restrictions.

Indonesia

Indonesia reported its biggest daily increase in coronavirus infections with 1385 new cases, taking the total to 52,812, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said.

Economic fallout

Delta Air Lines said late on Friday it will soon send warning notices to about 2500 pilots regarding possible furloughs at the airline, as the industry takes a huge blow after the pandemic slashed air travel demand.

Walt Disney Co postponed the debut of live-action movie Mulan until August 21, the company said in a statement on Friday, a blow to theater operators who want blockbuster movies to draw audiences from their homes.

Comcast's Osaka-based theme park Universal Studios Japan is pushing back the opening of a Nintendo themed area from this summer, and possibly into next year, due to the coronavirus outbreak, Kyodo reported on Saturday.

Medical developments

A global fundraising meeting on Saturday raised €6.15 billion from the United States, the European Commission and numerous countries to fight COVID-19, with many participants stressing that an eventual vaccine should be available to anyone who needs it.

Reuters / Newshub.

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