Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• Coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) situation report - 148 WHO 16 Jun 2020
• Cheap Steroid Can Help Seriously Ill COVID-19 Patients, Study Shows VOA 16 Jun 2020 -- A cheap and widely available steroid drug has shown it can save the lives of the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients, British researchers said Tuesday.
• New study shows 1 in 5 people worldwide at risk of severe COVID-19 disease Press TV 16 Jun 2020 -- About 22 percent of the world population with underlying health conditions are at risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms if they are infected by the novel coronavirus, a new study finds.
• Coronavirus update: Global caseload passes 8mn as fears of 2nd wave grip Chinese capital Press TV 16 Jun 2020 -- The novel coronavirus has now infected more than eight million people and killed over 436,000 across the world, with alarms being sounded in China over the detection of more than 100 new cases in the capital Beijing in the course of a few days.
• Global cases of COVID-19 surpass 8mln as infections surge in Latin America Press TV 16 Jun 2020 -- Global cases of the novel coronavirus reached over 8 million on Monday, as infections surge in Latin America and the United States and China grapple with fresh outbreaks.

United States

• State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts California Department of Public Health 16 Jun 2020
• Operation Warp Speed Accelerates COVID-19 Vaccine Development DoD News 16 Jun 2020 -- The national effort to accelerate the development, manufacturing and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, called "Operation Warp Speed," will hasten the delivery of that vaccine by conducting steps concurrently that normally would be conducted sequentially, senior administration officials said.
• COVID-19 Vaccine to Be Free in US, Official Says VOA 16 Jun 2020 -- The Trump administration says it will make an eventual COVID-19 vaccine available for free to virtually anyone in the United States who wants it.

China

• Beijing Under Partial Lockdown As Virus Cases Keep Rising Radio Free Asia 16 Jun 2020 -- Authorities in the Chinese capital on Tuesday imposed travel restrictions on people considered high-risk amid a fresh outbreak of coronavirus cases centered on a now-shuttered wholesale produce market.
• Beijing Returns to Lockdown After 106 COVID-19 Cases Reported in Recent Days VOA 16 Jun 2020 -- Beijing is reintroducing strict lockdown measures and conducting mass testing of residents after a fresh cluster of COVID-19 cases emerged in one of its largest wholesale food markets.
• Beijing's 'wholesale aircraft carrier' Xinfadi market, under the microscope for COVID-19 risks Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- After four consecutive days of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 being reported among staff and visitors to the Xinfadi food market in Beijing, the so called "wholesale aircraft carrier" has caused widespread public concern over the high risk the distribution center poses to the city and even the country due to its high volume of traffic, mobility of people and connections to other places in China.
• Nearly 40 pct of flights to and from Beijing canceled after emergency response level upgrade Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- Hundreds of flights to and from Beijing have or are likely to be canceled on Wednesday after Beijing raised its emergency response to Level II, under which Beijing residents who want to leave the city are required to show they have had a negative nucleic acid test within seven days of departure.
• 100 medical workers rushed to help treat Beijing COVID-19 patients Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- A hundred medical workers from 19 local hospitals have been deployed since Monday to aid the designated hospital for centralized treatment of COVID-19 patients from Beijing's new outbreak, which has led to 106 registered confirmed cases as of press time.
• Chinese-developed inactivated COVID19 vaccine becomes first worldwide to report positive immune response Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- A Chinese-developed inactivated vaccine for COVID-19 has presented positive preliminary results in phase one and two clinical trials, becoming the first vaccine candidate in the world to show favorable immunogenicity and safety.
• Beijing raises COVID-19 emergency response level to II from III Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- Beijing raised its COVID-19 emergency response to Level 2 from Level 3, reinstating closed managements on communities, requiring people to have temperatures taken, register, and check health codes before entry. Communities, sub-districts, streets in high/middle risk areas would ban outsiders and cars from entering; and communities of high risk sub-districts would have closed-off management, allowing no one to leave.
• Beijing will not be 2nd Wuhan; lockdown unlikely: expert Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- Since the latest outbreak of COVID-19 was first uncovered in Beijing's largest wholesale food market on Thursday, Beijing reported a total of 106 confirmed cases as of Tuesday.
• Beijing beefs up measures to curb coronavirus spread Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- Since the latest outbreak of COVID-19 was first uncovered in Beijing's largest wholesale food market on Thursday, Beijing reported a total of 106 confirmed cases as of Tuesday. In just five days, the capital city has been beefing up its prevention measures to curb the spread of the virus by locking down 29 residential communities, putting four large districts into "wartime mode," disinfecting 276 food markets, shutting down 11 underground and semi-underground markets, screening over 200,000 people within 72 hours and postponing classes in schools and closing entertainment venues.
• Beijing's Chaoyang district calls for promotion of facial recognition to strengthen COVID-19 prevention and control Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- Beijing's Chaoyang district has called for the promotion of facial recognition technology, automatic temperature checking facilities and other hi-tech measures to strengthen local COVID-19 prevention and control, as the capital faced a grim situation after 106 confirmed cases have been reported since June 11.
• Shanghai requires 14-day quarantine for travelers from COVID-19 high-risk regions in China Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- Travelers making their way from coronavirus high-level risk regions in China will be subject to undergo a 14-day centralized quarantine before entering Shanghai, and will also be required to undergo nucleic acid testing twice during their mandated quarantine period, health authorities in Shanghai announced on Tuesday, with Beijing recently putting 29 of its local communities into "lockdown" as the city's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rises to 106 as of Tuesday.
• China, WHO collaborate closely to control COVID-19 pandemic Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that given the recent resurgence of the coronavirus cases in Beijing, the organization is collaborating closely with China to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Wuhan declares zero COVID-19 asymptomatic carriers and close contacts Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, declared zero COVID-19 silent carriers and close contacts on Tuesday as the last three asymptomatic patients were officially released from isolation after being tested negative twice for coronavirus, according to the Wuhan Health Commission.
• Beijing raises its emergency response to Level II Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- Since the latest outbreak of COVID-19 was first uncovered in Beijing's largest wholesale food market on Thursday, Beijing reported a total of 106 confirmed cases as of Tuesday. In just five days, the capital city has been beefing up its prevention measures to curb the spread of the virus and decided to raise the emergency response from Level III to Level II on Tuesday night.
• Beijing conducts mass testing People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- Beijing tightened measures to cope with the new cluster of local COVID-19 infections as the number of confirmed cases in the city rose to 79 from Thursday to Sunday and up to 100,000 social workers joined communities' epidemic control work.
• Beijing disinfects 276 farm produce markets amid COVID-19 fears People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- Beijing has disinfected 276 farm produce markets and closed 11 such underground and semi-underground markets as of 6 a.m. Tuesday to better curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, Chen Yankai, deputy director of the municipal market supervision bureau, told a press conference on Tuesday.
• Wuhan clears all asymptomatic cases of novel coronavirus People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- The last three asymptomatic cases in Wuhan, once hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic, were released from medical observation on Monday after they turned negative in nucleic acid tests.
• North China's Hebei reports 4 new confirmed COVID-19 cases People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- North China's Hebei Province reported four new confirmed domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases and one new imported asymptomatic case on Monday, the provincial health commission said Tuesday.
• China's Hubei reports no new COVID-19 cases People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- No new confirmed, asymptomatic, or suspected COVID-19 cases were reported in central China's Hubei Province on Monday, the provincial health commission said Tuesday.
• Chinese mainland reports 40 new confirmed COVID-19 cases People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- Chinese health authority said Tuesday that it received reports of 40 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Monday, of which 32 were domestically transmitted and eight were imported.
• Shanghai reports 3 new imported COVID-19 cases People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- Shanghai reported three new imported COVID-19 cases and no increase in locally transmitted cases on Monday, the municipal health commission said Tuesday.
• China's Chongqing reports 2 new imported COVID-19 cases People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality reported two new imported COVID-19 cases and four new imported asymptomatic cases on Sunday, the municipal health commission said Monday.
• China's Hubei reports no new confirmed COVID-19 cases People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- No new confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases were reported in central China's Hubei Province on Monday, the provincial health commission said Tuesday.
• Beijing strengthens community prevention, control as COVID-19 cases reappear People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- Beijing has strengthened community-level disease prevention and control in response to the resurgence of domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases.
• Chinese mainland reports 40 new confirmed COVID-19 cases People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- Chinese health authority said Tuesday that it received reports of 40 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Monday, of which 32 were domestically transmitted and eight were imported.
• Beijing reports 27 new confirmed COVID-19 cases People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- Beijing reported 27 new confirmed domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases on Monday, the National Health Commission said Tuesday.
• China starts COVID-19 tests on seafood markets Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- Major seafood markets in China have launched massive nucleic acid tests for their working staff and environmental samples as a quick response to the new COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing which was uncovered at the city's largest wholesale food market last week. Although there's no proof that salmon was the source of the sudden spike in Beijing, the latest research shows that the virus "came from Europe," and virologists believe the epidemic was most likely caused by contaminated food.
• Next three days are critical to curbing Beijing's COVID-19 outbreak: CDC expert Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- The Beijing's COVID-19 outbreak likely began around the end of May and the next three days will be critical and decisive for China's capital to curb the epidemic, a top expert from China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
• Beijing identifies 22 subdistricts as mid-risk Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- The Beijing Municipality government identified 12 new subdistricts as COVID-19 middle-risk areas, bringing the total number to 22. Huaxiang subdistrict in Fengtai, where the Xinfadi wholesale market is located, is the only area of high-risk in China.
• Chinese PLA provides epidemic prevention supplies for militaries of 6 countries PLA Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- Approved by China's Central Military Commission (CMC), the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on June 13 delivered COVID-19 prevention and control supplies including protective clothing and surgical masks by rail and sea transportation to the armed forces of six countries at the request of armed forces from these countries.

Europe

• Finland Lifts State of Emergency, Eases COVID-19 Restrictions Sputnik 16 Jun 2020 -- While both Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Justice Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson said that Finland has succeeded in its coronavirus strategy, its economy is nonetheless expected to take a major hit, with a fall in GDP between 7 and 11 percent in 2020.
• Central Europe Bracing for Economic Turbulence VOA 16 Jun 2020 -- Central European governments were among the first to impose lockdowns and have been in the forefront of nations easing coronavirus restrictions, but even though they appear to have escaped high death tolls from the pandemic, they're likely to be hit harder than many of their neighbors by the economic repercussions, warn economists.
• UK COVID-19 deaths rise to 41,736 as another 38 patients die People's Daily 16 Jun 2020 -- Another 38 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Sunday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 41,736, the British Department of Health and Social Care said Monday.

India

• Updates on Covid-19 India PIB 16 Jun 2020
• COVID-19 Updates India PIB 16 Jun 2020

Iran

• COVID-19 kills 115 more Iranians over past 24 hours IRNA 16 Jun 2020 -- Iran's Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Tuesday that some 115 more Iranians have died of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours bringing the total deaths to 9,065.
• Intensity Of Pandemic Unabated In Iran, Along With Economic Crisis Radio Farda 16 Jun 2020 -- The situation of COVID-19 pandemic in Iran appears to be deteriorating with 115 deaths and 2,563 new cases during the past day, amid concerns about the start of a new wave of infections and rumors about the possible resignation of Health Minister Saeed Namaki.

Brazil

• Brazil reports 627 more COVID-19 deaths, 20,647 new cases Global Times 16 Jun 2020 -- Brazil reported Monday that its COVID-19 death toll has climbed to 43,959, as 888,271 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus nationwide.

Saudi Arabia

• Spokesperson of Health Ministry: 4,267 New COVID-19 Cases Reported in Saudi Arabia SPA 16 Jun 2020 -- Assistant Minister of Health and Spokesperson of the Health Ministry Dr. Mohammed Al-Abdulaali said today that 4,267 new confirmed cases of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 136,315 cases, including 45,723 active cases receiving necessary medical care. Of these, there are 1,910 critical cases, while the health condition of the rest is stable.

Other Countries

• Coronavirus response: Poland delivers medical aid to Iraq NATO 16 Jun 2020 -- Today (16 June 2020), the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland donated 50,000 protective face masks to Iraq's health authorities, following Iraq's request for support in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
• COVID-19: 'Virus-Free' Turkmenistan Reportedly Locks Down Two Major Hospitals RFE/RL 16 Jun 2020 -- The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 435,000, with more than 8 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness.
• COVID-19: UN agencies warn against rising hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean UN News 16 Jun 2020 -- The number of people in Latin America and the Caribbean living in extreme poverty could surpass 83 million this year due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a significant rise in hunger, according to a UN report released on Tuesday.
• COVID-19 Increases Economic Hardship for Syrian Refugees, UN Says VOA 16 Jun 2020 -- The U.N. refugee agency reports hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries of asylum are in dire straits because of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Mozambique Begins Closing Markets for Cleaning and Reorganization to Prevent COVID-19 Outbreak VOA 16 Jun 2020 -- The largest market in Mozambique's capital, Maputo city, remains closed Tuesday, the second day of a three-day sanitizing and reorganization to fight the spread of the coronavirus.
• Sharp Spike in COVID-19 Cases Reported in Gulf, Iran, Egypt VOA 16 Jun 2020 -- Arab media is reporting a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across the Gulf, Iran and Egypt, as countries begin lifting curfews and other restrictions that were imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
• Syrian refugees resort to ever more desperate measures to resist pandemic impact UN News 16 Jun 2020 -- The COVID-19 crisis has caused a dramatic spike in the number of Syrian refugees in need of emergency assistance in the last three months, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, in an appeal for funding to confront new challenges posed by the health emergency.
• WHO Representative Criticized For Hike After Calling On Azerbaijanis To Stay Home For Coronavirus RFE/RL 16 Jun 2020 -- The World Health Organization's (WHO) representative in Azerbaijan has been harshly criticized on social media after she traveled to a picturesque mountain region despite calling on Azerbaijanis to stay home to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
• Striking Doctors in Nigeria Demand COVID-19 PPE, Hazard Pay VOA 16 Jun 2020 -- A Nigerian doctors union is demanding that the government provide members with more personal protective equipment and hazard pay in treating patients infected with COVID-19, or they will escalate a strike that began Monday, its leader said.