United Arab Emirates partnering with Israel
Israel announced a new partnership with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday to cooperate in the fight against the coronavirus, the latest advance in the Jewish state’s efforts to build stronger ties with Arab states.
The partnership, announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an air force base near Tel Aviv, would represent a significant step toward normalization between two key U.S. allies in the Middle East.
INDIA 29 million will be surveyed
India says it will carry out a huge survey for the coronavirus virus targeting the entire population in New Delhi of 29 million. Officials will go to each household to record every resident’s health details, and administer a virus test to those who show or report symptoms.
The survey will be completed by July 6, according to the government of New Delhi, the worsthit city in the country with 70,390 confirmed cases. Surveillance cameras or drone monitoring also will be used.
INDONESIA Nation exceeds 50,000 cases
The number of coronavirus cases in Indonesia surpassed 50,000 on Thursday, an increase that is worrying experts at a time when the government is allowing businesses to reopen amid increasing economic pressure.
The surging cases in the world’s fourthmost populous country align with its increasing testing capacity, which has averaged close to the government’s daily target of 20,000 over the past week, health officials said. The task force said the virus has infected 50,187 people and killed at least 2,620, the highest number of cases and fatalities in Southeast Asia.
FRANCE Eiffel Tower open to visitors
Marking another milestone in France’s recovery from coronavirus shutdown, the Eiffel Tower reopened to visitors Thursday after its longest closure in peace time: 104 days. Tourists who are trickling back to Paris were delighted to find the landmark open when some other attractions in the French capital remain closed. The Louvre Museum isn’t reopening until July 6. The tower lost $30 million from the lockdown that started in March, according to its director general.
AFRICA Cases surging through region
Africa’s coronavirus cases have surged to more than 336,000, an increase of nearly 10,000 infections from Wednesday evening, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The jump is largely because of South Africa’s largest daily number of new cases: 5,688. The Africa CDC chief says the pandemic on the 54nation continent “is picking up speed very quickly” while shortages of testing materials and medical equipment remain severe.
More than 4 million tests have been conducted on the continent of 1.3 billion people.
Chronicle News Services