RationalWiki:What is going on with the coronavirus?/June 2020

June 2020
US buys up the world stock of remdesivir, a key Covid-19 drug, preventing all other countries from buying it for at least the next three months Police in Northern Ireland are investigating whether COVID rules over funerals were broken during the funeral of noted veteran republican Bobby Storey, which various senior republicans attended including deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill. Whilst cases seem to be falling across most of the country, Leicester will have its own local lockdown as cases in the city are still increasing rapidly. The Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to dismantle Obamacare Global coronavirus deaths top 500,000. Texas and Florida have closed bars statewide. In California, bars are being closed in 7 counties, and 9 counties are recommending that bars should close voluntarily. Spanish virologists have found traces of the novel coronavirus in a sample of Barcelona waste water collected in March 2019, nine months before the Covid19 disease was identified in China With a wave of new infections, numbering a total of 4,440, the Portuguese government implements new restrictions in Lisbon Research explores how conservative media misinformation may have intensified the severity of the pandemic The Eiffel Tower has re-opened to visitors. Strict safety measures are in place with the elevators out of bounds and face masks required for all visitors over 11. Amazon employees in Ontario accuse the company of forcing them to violate social distancing rules due to the work demands it puts on them. [https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/53148053 Novak Djokovic organizes a tennis competition with matches played in Serbia and Croatia. Social distancing does not seem to have been observed at all. Djokovic and three other players then test positive for the coronavirus.] [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53147684 Fear not! The world's fastest supercomputer is on the job.] This year's Hajj is only open to pilgrims already living in Saudi Arabia. President Jair Bolsonaro is ordered by a judge to wear a face mask when he appears in public in Brasilia and the surrounding federal district. Further easing of the UK's lockdown will take effect in the near future. From 4th July [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53152416 Pubs, restaurants, hotels and hairdressers in England will be allowed to re-open. People are told they no longer have to social distance by 2 m (6 ft) and that 1 m (3 ft) is OK.] 3 months for first million cases, 8 days for latest million - WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns leaders to not politicize responses. According to the head of Korea Centers for Disease Control, South Korea is in the grip of a second wave of the virus. [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-53129408 Weddings are allowed again in Wales. Travel restrictions don't apply to people going to them.] [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53131941 The 700 residents of an apartment building in Goettingen, Germany are placed under quarantine. 200 of them try to escape and clash with the police.] Confession: During his rally in Tulsa, Trump admits to instructing his people to "slow the testing down" because it was "going to find more cases". Grocery giants are called to testify before Parliament over ending employee wage increase for essential workers Spain fully reopens its borders to visitors from the EU, the Schengen-area and the UK. Restrictions on freedom of movement and increasing use of illegally obtained abortion pills due to COVID-19 have led to soul-searching in Malta on its laws regarding abortion. The country has got one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe; it is effectively banned in all circumstances. The UK government scraps its Covid-19 contact tracing app, blaming Apple for the app's short comings. Pubs that hold a restaurant licence in Ireland have been told that they can start to open to punters from the 29 June, provided that they serve a substantial meal that costs at least €9 (US$10.12), and the punters stay for less than two hours according to tourist agency Fáilte Ireland. New Zealand public, politicians and press furious that 2 people were let out of quarantine with COVID-19 without being tested. Officials failed to follow simple procedure to test anyone given a "compassionate" release from quarantine. The Chinese government implements new restrictions after an outbreak of Covid-19 in Beijing. Lagos City Coucil concerned with an active contagion because of an illegal party A cheap, widely available drug can help save the lives of those seriously ill with Covid, UK experts say. A mock election is held in Sri Lanka to see how the voting process can be made coronavirus-proof. After more than 3 weeks with no new Covid-19 cases, the Isle of Man becomes the first place in the British Isles to scrap social distancing rules. A man dies, a woman was raped and 3 people were stabbed at two illegal 'quarantine raves' in Manchester.

[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-53021248 Even though Brazil now has a death toll of 41,828 from Covid-19, the second highest in the world, president Jair Bolsonaro still refuses to accept that the coronavirus is any kind of problem at all. Apparently, he has decided that refusing to take any responsibility for the situation is his best chance of staying in power.] Telecom technicians are kept prisoner by villagers in Peru who wrongly believe that 5G technology causes the coronavirus. I'm sorry Mario -- but your doctor is in another caste [https://www.bbc.com/news/health-52637354 From June 13th in England, single people who live alone and single parents of children under 18 can form a "support bubble" with one other household. All members of the "support bubble" can then interact freely with each other without having to social distance. They can go inside each other's houses, even to spend the night.] And from June 15th, zoos and safari parks in England can reopen and drive-in movies will be permitted. Texas reports record-breaking Covid-19 related hospitalizations as the state reopens A conspiracy theorist who believed 5G technology caused the coronavirus has been jailed for three years for setting fire to a phone mast. After eight weeks with no new domestic Covid-19 cases, regulations on mass gatherings, social distancing and mask-wearing are eased in Taiwan, although the Minister of Health and Welfare warns that the crisis is not over. [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52883838 So far, Taiwan, which has not been under lockdown, has suffered remarkably little during the pandemic. On the island of 24 million people, there have been only seven deaths from Covid-19.] [https://www.bbc.com/news/health-52937153 Hydroxychloroquine is famous for being Donald Trump's anti-coronavirus drug of choice. Although an article in The Lancet saying it was no good at fighting the disease had to be retracted, researchers on the UK's Recovery trial, run by the University of Oxford, have concluded that it does not save lives from Covid-19.] New Zealand set to become the first country in the world to eliminate COVID-19 with no new cases in the last 16 days and no cases currently hospitalised. Update: It is official - New Zealand removes all internal restrictions as of midnight tonight (8 June) A CDC survey finds that 18 percent of surveyed participants admitted to applying cleaning agents to their skin while four percent admitted drinking or gargling bleach The World Health Organization, which had previously said only the sick need wear face masks, now says that in the light of new evidence, everybody should wear a face mask in public. [http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52930245 From June 15th, passengers on all forms of public transport on England will have to wear face coverings. The British Medical Association says that's not enough and face coverings should be worn in all places where social distancing is not possible.] UPDATE: [http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52946850 Also from June 15th in England, outpatients and visitors to hospitals will have to wear face coverings and all hospital staff will have to wear surgical masks. This news has come as a shock to the National Health Service trusts that run hospitals in England who say they weren't consulted about it.] Irish alt-right personalities Gemma O’Doherty and John Waters have been told not only that they lost their legal claim that the lockdown is unconstitutional, but they also have to pay the legal costs as well which has said amounts to five figures. [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52903717 Dr. Anders Tegnell, on whose advice there was no strict lockdown in Sweden, has admitted that was a mistake and too many people died. But he still won't say going into full lockdown would have been a good idea.] [http://www.bbc.com/news/health-52889106 A report by Public Health England confirms that members of ethnic minorities are much more likely to die of Covid-19 than white Britons. Why, however, remains unclear.] [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52874767 Two months ago, the sale of alcohol was banned in South Africa to help hospitals and the police focus on fighting Covid-19. The booze is now back.] Guernsey becomes the first place in the British Isles to reopen pubs. ''“Sex? I'd rather have a cup of tea.”'' The new contact laws in the UK are so vague, that effectively consensual sex between two adults in a private dwelling is in effect illegal in England from the 1st June. ICE using Covid-19 disinfectant spray that causes bleeding, burns and pain.