Coronavirus updates: Covid-19 death toll passes 500,000 worldwide

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Today was meant to be the first day of Wimbledon – one of tennis’ highlights for the year . But due to the coronavirus pandemic, thechampionships has been cancelled for the first time since World War Two.

The tournament’s chief executive, Richard Lewis, said the finances of British tennis “won’t be severely impacted” by the cancellation.

And concerns for strawberries – often associated with the event – also appear to have been misplaced. There has been a surge in demand for eating strawberries at home, meaning sales have leapt by one-fifth this year.

The southern Indian state of Karnataka is ordering electronic tags for those under strict home quarantine, local media reported.

This comes after its capital, Bangalore, saw more than 1,000 new cases and seven deaths over the weekend. The latest rise in numbers has worried officials in the state, which has so far managed to keep numbers low in comparison to others like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

A state official told the Bangalore Mirror newspaper that around 13,000 people violated their home quarantine last week. Officials are reportedly speaking to a firm to develop the tags, which will be worn around the wrist. Authorities will be notified if the person wearing the tag violates quarantine protocol.

Karnataka has confirmed more than 13,000 cases so far. India, which has the fourth highest number of cases worldwide, has reported more than 530,000 infections and 16,475 deaths.

There have been more than 311,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK and more than 43,000 people have died, government figures show.

However, these numbers only include people who have been tested, and the total number of deaths relating to coronavirus is likely to be higher.

The below graph shows how the downward trend in daily deaths has been slowing in the UK.

And the next chart shows how the range of Covid-19 reproduction – the so-called R number – varies by region.

This is where you can search for how many cases there are in your area.

Pubs and bars that serve food, restaurants, cafes, hairdressers and barbers are reopening in the Republic of Ireland.

But they must observe social distancing as the country continues to relax its Covid-19 lockdown.

The move is part of phase three of a four-stage reopening plan.

Shops with on-street access and some workplaces such as factories are reopening in Scotland today following an easing of its lockdown.

Small weddings and civil partnerships can now be held outdoors and zoos and safari parks will be able to reopen, but only to visitors who live nearby.

The easing of restrictions is the first time many stores will have had customers since the Scottish government’s lockdown came into effect on 23 March.

It forms part of phase two of the Scottish government’s “route map” out of lockdown. Further restrictions are due to be lifted later this week.

Read more here.

As these charts show, the number of confirmed cases is increasing in most continents, apart from Europe.

For more analysis and charts like this, click here.

Pupils are starting to return to schools in Wales for the first time since March.

Limited numbers will be allowed back over the next three or four weeks to “check in, catch up and prepare” ahead of what has been called a “new normal” from September.

Online learning will continue but all pupils are being offered a (socially-distanced) experience of school before the summer holidays.

The aim is to ease children in gently, get them used to school again, and give them a chance to see their friends and teachers.

Read more here.

More than half of Tokyo’s residents do not think the postponed Olympic Games should be held next year, a poll suggests.

The poll, which was conducted by two Japanese news organisations between 26-28 June, found that 51.7% of people hoped the Games in 2021 were postponed or cancelled again.

Among those opposed to the Games being held in 2021, 27.7% wanted them cancelled altogether, while the rest preferred a second postponement.

Of those who wanted a 2021 games, 31.1% said the event should be scaled-back, including without spectators, while 15.2% said they wanted to see a full-blown Olympics.

The poll received 1,030 replies. The Games, originally meant to be held in July, are now scheduled for July 2021.

South Korea recorded 42 new cases on Monday – mostly tied to churches – as the country deals with its self-described “second wave”.

Of these, 30 were locally-transmitted infections – 21 from the capital Seoul and its surrounding areas.

At least 27 recent cases have been tied to a major church in Seoul, according to Yonhap News.

Health officials said earlier this month that the country was in the grip of a second wave, though its numbers have remained relatively low.

Thomas Naadi

BBC News, Accra

Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has announced a three-month extension of the incentive package for health workers.

They will continue to enjoy a 50% increase in their
basic salaries and will not pay income tax for the months of July, August and September.

The incentives were initially announced three months ago after the country recorded its first coronavirus case.

Ghana has so far confirmed about 17,000 cases and 112 deaths. It has conducted 294,867 tests – one of the highest in the continent.

The spread of infections has taken a “swift and very dangerous turn” in the US state of Texas, its governor has warned.

Governor Greg Abbott said the daily number of cases had gone from an average of about 2,000 to around 5,000.

And Abbott revealed that as many as 5,000 people a day were being admitted to hospital for treatment.

US Vice-President Mike Pence said the government would “make sure that Texas… [has] the resources, supplies, the personnel to meet this moment”.

He also urged Texans to wear masks, saying “we know from experience, it will slow the spread of the coronavirus”.

Several southern and western states have recorded a surge in cases after lockdown restrictions were eased.

It is 50 years since the first Gay Pride march in New York – and 51 since the Stonewall riots in the city which helped energise the fight for gay equality.

Most Pride events around the world were cancelled or moved online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But over the weekend, reduced numbers of people still took to the streets in cities including New York, Taipei and Berlin.

The US remains the country hardest-hit by the virus, with 125,803 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

Brazil comes second at 57,622 deaths, followed by the UK, Italy, and Spain. In fact, more than half of recorded deaths have occurred in those five countries – which is partly down to their testing and reporting methods.

And here are the ten most-affected countries, ranked by deaths per 1 million of the population:

1. San Marino – 1,235
2. Belgium – 839
3. Andorra – 675
4. UK – 639
5. Spain – 606
6. Italy – 574
7. Sweden – 522
8. France – 455
9. US – 377
10. Netherlands – 356

Singapore has started to hand out Bluetooth-enabled contact tracing devices as part of its measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The so-called TraceTogether tokens are an alternative to the government’s contact tracing smartphone app.

They are aimed at people that do not own – or prefer not to use – a mobile phone.

The announcement of the device was met with concerns in some quarters over privacy.

• Read our full story here

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Infections in the state of Victoria have risen in the past fortnight to become Australia’s biggest outbreak in almost three months.

Today’s 75 new cases – the most nationally since 11 April – follow a door-to-door testing blitz in 10 suburbs of
Melbourne.

Recent transmissions are “overwhelmingly concentrated” in those
areas, say health officials, who describe the state’s 288 active cases as “concerning”.

They have not ruled out re-imposing strict lockdown measures, but maintain the
outbreak doesn’t yet constitute a “second wave”. (You can read more about second waves globally here.)

“I
think it will get worse before it gets better,” said Victoria’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton.

Australia
has had more than 7,500 cases in total and 104 deaths.

Other states and territories have seen few or no cases in recent weeks.

China has reinstated a strict lockdown near Beijing, affecting around 400,000 people, after a small surge in cases.

The restrictions have come into force in Anxin country in Hebei province.

Only essential workers are allowed to leave their homes, while one member of a household is allowed to go out once a day to shop for necessities.

After the pandemic emerged in China at the end of last year, the country has managed to get new infections to a consistently low level.

To avoid a second wave, even small surges are taken very seriously by the country’s health authorities.

• Read our full story here

New York state has been the worst-hit part of the US – it has recorded more than 30,000 Covid-19 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data, more than twice as many as any other state.

But, after months of bad news, things are getting better.

On Sunday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said just five people with the virus had died, the lowest daily total since 15 March.

“As states across the country struggle with new outbreaks related to reopening, New York’s numbers continue to go down to record lows,” he said.

“Our progress is a direct result of New Yorkers’ discipline and hard work and an incremental, data-driven reopening.”

AFP / GettyCopyright: AFP / Getty

Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. The latest headlines:

• The number of people to die with Covid-19 since the outbreak began passes 500,000 worldwide
• Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases is now over 10 million
• In Texas, the governor says the outbreak has taken a “swift and dangerous turn”
• But New York state records its lowest death toll – five since 15 March
• More than 400,000 people are under a new lockdown in Hebei near Beijing