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Coronavirus world round-up: quarantine wars begin as countries attempt to restart tourism

Passengers arriving in Armenia are sprayed down with disinfectant at the airport  - AFP / KAREN MINASYAN
Passengers arriving in Armenia are sprayed down with disinfectant at the airport - AFP / KAREN MINASYAN
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter ..
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter ..

Britain faces a quarantine backlash as France, Germany, Greece and Spain say they will restrict UK residents entering their nations as they reopen after lockdown unless the UK drops its quarantine or reduces its coronavirus infection rates.

France’s tourism minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne confirmed it would impose 14-day quarantine on British visitors coming to the UK if Britain went ahead with its plans on Monday - even though he said the country planned to open its borders to other EU nations on June 15.

While Spain has ruled out any “tit-for-tat” imposition of quarantine but its foreign ministry said the right of entry would partly depend on a country’s “epidemiological situation.”

The moves will fuel the growing backbench and industry backlash over the Government’s quarantine which, from Monday, will require all international arrivals, including returning Britons, to self-isolate for 14 days. Anyone who fails to abide by the quarantine rules faces fines of up to £1,000.

Odd one out: Britain faces quarantine backlash as European countries seek to restart their tourism industries in time for the summer holidays

Coronavirus podcast newest episode
Coronavirus podcast newest episode

Elsewhere treading the line between release and restriction is proving tricky for many other countries.

At least 11 have now reimposed some, or all, lockdown restrictions to prevent a deadly second wave after virus cases began to rise when measures were relaxed.

Japan, China, South Korea, Lebanon, Germany, Iran, Saudi Arabia, El Salvador, Iraq, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have all been forced to bring back localised quarantines or widespread shutdowns.

Dr Hans Kluge, the director for the World Health Organisation (WHO) European region, has warned European countries to brace themselves for a deadly second wave of virus infections, saying now is the "time for preparation, not celebration".

Brazil surpasses Italy's death toll

Brazil's death toll from the novel coronavirus has surged past 34,000 to become the third-highest in the world, surpassing Italy's, according to official figures released on Thursday.

The South American country reported a new record of 1,473 deaths in 24 hours, bringing its overall toll to 34,021, behind only the United States and Britain.

Brazil has now confirmed 614,941 infections, the health ministry said - the second-largest caseload in the world, behind the US.

Experts say under-testing in Brazil means the real numbers are probably much higher.

The latest figures underlined the grim toll the virus is taking in Latin America, the latest epicenter in the pandemic.

Brazil, a country of 210 million people, has been the hardest-hit in the region.

President Jair Bolsonaro has fiercely criticised coronavirus stay-at-home measures, even as the number of infections and deaths continues to soar.

The far-right leader has urged businesses to wage "war" on state governors who order business closures, arguing they are needlessly hurting Latin America's biggest economy.

Gravediggers wearing protective suits bury a man who died from the coronavirus at Sao Luiz cemetery, in Sao Paulo, Brazil - Reuters
Gravediggers wearing protective suits bury a man who died from the coronavirus at Sao Luiz cemetery, in Sao Paulo, Brazil - Reuters

Call for calm as Mexico's fatalities escalate

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador urged the country to remain calm on Thursday as Mexico registered the second straight day of escalating death numbers that rivaled those coming out of Brazil or the US.

The Health Department announced 816 more confirmed deaths, one day after officials reported a toll of 1,092 deaths, which was more than double the highest previous toll reported in a single day. Officials said an additional 1,033 suspected deaths were awaiting confirmation, suggesting daily tolls would remain high.

Newly confirmed coronavirus cases also continued to rise by record amounts, with 4,442 reported on Thursday.

Assistant Health Secretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell sought to allay fears over the new numbers, saying that daily deaths had peaked May 17. He said many of the Covid-19 deaths reported this week actually occurred in May but were not tallied until now because of backlogs in reporting or testing.

But with total deaths standing at 12,545, he acknowledged the pandemic could wind up costing as many as 35,000 lives in Mexico, local media reported. The country has recorded 105,680 cases so far.

Workers bury an alleged victim of Covid-19 at the Municipal Pantheon of Valle de Chalco, State of Mexico - AFP
Workers bury an alleged victim of Covid-19 at the Municipal Pantheon of Valle de Chalco, State of Mexico - AFP

Argentina extends lockdown in Buenos Aires

Argentina extended until June 28 a mandatory lockdown in capital Buenos Aires and other areas with high cases of coronavirus, President Alberto Fernandez announced, after the country surpassed 20,000 confirmed cases earlier in the day.

Argentina's lockdown, which was due to expire on June 7, has been in place since March 20, though officials relaxed restrictions in some areas of the country.

A worker disinfects the houses in Buenos Aires, Argentina - Getty
A worker disinfects the houses in Buenos Aires, Argentina - Getty

Authors retract hydroxychloroquine study

The authors of a study that cast doubt on the controversial malaria treatment hydroxychloroquine have retracted their research paper over the “veracity” of the data they presented.

The retraction concerns a paper published in the Lancet at the end of May which concluded that the treatment had no benefit and may even put patients at risk of dying.

The findings led the World Health Organization to suspend its trial into the drug - although it said on Wednesday it would resume the study after concerns over the paper were first raised.

What you might have missed

  • The pandemic has killed at least 388,710 people worldwide since it surfaced in China late last year, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

  • The European Central Bank dramatically boosts aid for eurozone economies, adding 600 billion euros (£539.77 billion) to its emergency bond-buying scheme, which now totals some 1.35 trillion euros.

  • Britain faces a quarantine backlash as France, Germany, Greece and Spain say they will restrict UK residents entering as they reopen after lockdown unless the UK drops its quarantine or reduces infection rates.

  • United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres backs the development of "a people's vaccine" that is available to everyone.

  • Scientists in Japan have launched a study to determine whether race plays a part in the onset of severe symptoms of coronavirus and death rates.