India’s infections surpass 600,000
India’s number of coronavirus cases passed 600,000 on Thursday with the nation’s infection curve rising and its testing capacity being increased.
The 19,148 new cases reported in the past 24 hours raised the national total to 604,641, with nearly 100,000 of them in the past four days.
A total of 17,834 people have died so far due to the virus, according to India’s Health Ministry.
More than 60% of the cases are in the worsthit Maharashtra state, Tamil Nadu state, and the capital territory of New Delhi.
FRANCE Suit over shortages of equipment
A collective of French health care workers said Thursday it is seeking a broad legal inquiry into France’s failure to protect its members and their colleagues by providing adequate masks, gloves and other protective equipment as the coronavirus swept across the country. Collectif Inter Urgences said it was filing a fourcount civil complaint alleging manslaughter, involuntary harm, voluntary failure to prevent damage and endangering the life of others. The complaint asks judicial authorities to determine who, across governments past and present, failed to renew personal protective equipment stocks and adequately supply hospitals to prevent such a crisis.
SOMALIA Death sentence for shooting civilians
A military court in Somalia sentenced a police officer to death on Thursday in the fatal shooting of two civilians while enforcing coronavirus restrictions in April. The shootings sparked protests in the capital, Mogadishu, for more than two days, with crowds of angry young men burning tires and demanding justice. Hassan Aden Hassan was convicted of the “deliberate” fatal shooting of Hassan Ali Adawe and Madino Abdullahi Abdi and was sentenced to death by firing squad. Somalia has one of the world’s weakest health systems. The Horn of Africa nation has more than 2,900 confirmed virus cases.
SOUTH AFRICA Tobacco ban enters third month
South Africa is three months into a ban on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products, an unusual tactic employed by a government to protect the health of its citizens during the coronavirus pandemic. The ban remains even after South Africa eased most of its strict lockdown restrictions, including another contentious outlawing of alcohol sales. Authorities reported Thursday 8,124 new cases, a new daily record. Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, has more than 45,000 confirmed cases. The country has the most cases in Africa with more than 159,000. The African continent has more than 405,000 confirmed cases overall.
BOLIVIA Election planned amid pandemic
Deserted during months of quarantine, the streets of Bolivia are roiling again with protests that have forced the government into an uncomfortable challenge: trying to resolve the country’s longterm political crisis with elections in the middle of a rising pandemic. If plans hold, Bolivia will conduct presidential elections in September, giving former President Evo Morales’ leftist party a chance to return to power after he resigned and fled the country at the end of 2019. The looming vote is increasing political tensions in Bolivia just as the novel coronavirus overwhelms the health system. Bolivia has had more than 32,000 diagnosed cases of the new coronavirus and more than 1,000 deaths, and the numbers are expected to peak around the time of the presidential election. Bolivia is one of several countries that put politics on hold to grapple with the new coronavirus, and it will be one of the first to attempt a return to some semblance of political normality.
SERBIA Spike to bring stricter measures
Serbia recorded the highest spike of coronavirus cases since midApril as authorities mull the reintroduction of a lockdown. Authorities announced 359 cases and six deaths in the past 24 hours, with 80% in the capital of Belgrade. There’s been more than 15,200 cases and nearly 290 deaths in the country. Serbia went from having strict lockdown measures to a neartotal lifting of the government’s emergency rules. Serbian autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic’s political opponents peg the move to his desire to hold the June 21 parliamentary election, which resulted in his party’s overwhelming victory. Mass gatherings have been allowed with thousands of people packing soccer stadiums, a tennis tournament and nightclubs.