US cases top three million

But Trump pushes for schools to reopen amid virus resurgence

WASHINGTON: The United States topped three million confirmed coronavirus cases as President Donald Trump pushed for schools to reopen amid a Covid-19 resurgence in many southern hotspots.

The US remains by far the worst affected country, with over 132,000 deaths, while Brazil – whose virus-sceptic President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for the disease – is a distant second with close to 67,000 deaths from almost 1.7 million cases.

As infections rose by a further 55,000 to reach a total of 3,046,351 on Wednesday, Trump called for students to return to their schools in the fall and lashed the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention for issuing guidance that he said was too restrictive.

The agency’s head later said the guidelines were “not requirements” and that the CDC would soon update its advice.

Prestigious universities Harvard and MIT meanwhile sued the administration after it threatened to revoke the visas of foreign students whose entire courses have moved online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The virus has infected almost 12 million people worldwide and killed more than 500,000 since it emerged in China late last year.

Across the world, citizens chafed under renewed restrictions as countries experience fresh waves of the disease.

The Serbian capital Belgrade was hit by clashes for a second night as police skirmished with protesters outraged over the government’s handling of the pandemic.

Clouds of tear gas and smoke filled the city centre in chaotic scenes that mirrored violence the night before, when thousands came out to protest the return of a roundthe-clock weekend lockdown.

France, which had flattened its curve by imposing a strict lockdown earlier in the pandemic, said it was girding for a possible surge in cases.

But, mindful of potentially disastrous consequences of attempting to thrust millions back into their homes, France’s new prime minister aimed to soothe fears by promising no new full shutdown. — AFP