COVID-19: What you need to know about coronavirus on 25 June

1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of coronavirus around the globe have surpassed 9.4 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 482,000 people are known to have died from the virus, while over 4.7 million are known to have recovered.

The IMF has lowered its global growth forecast, now predicting a decline of 4.9% for 2020. In April it forecast a decline of 3%.

The UK is starting human trials on a new COVID-19 vaccine, at Imperial College London, with around 300 volunteers taking part in the coming weeks.

Melbourne is starting door-to-door testing to reach 100,000 people over the next 10 days, after a rise in infections.

China has reported 19 news cases in the past 24 hours, up from 12 a day earlier.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the country would not open to international tourists yet, over fears of a second wave of infections. There have been no deaths in the country and just over 350 confirmed cases.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris is reopening, but visitors will have to climb the stairs.

2. US governors order quarantine from hotspot states

The governors of north-east states New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have ordered visitors from eight US states to be quarantined on arrival, reports Reuters, as the country recorded its second highest daily increase since March.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said the tri-state quarantine mandate was “the smart thing to do”.

“We have taken our people, the three of us from these three states, through hell and back, and the last thing we need to do right now is subject our folks to another round,” he said.

The states whose visitors need to quarantine for 14 days are determined by a formula based on the number of new cases. Currently quarantine applies to visitors from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Utah, as well as tri-state residents returning from those areas.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said those caught defying the quarantine rule would face $1,000 fines for a first offense and $5,000 for repeat offenses.

There have been more than 2.3 million confirmed cases in the US to date, with more than 121,000 deaths.

3. WHO warns of oxygen shortages

Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of a shortage of oxygen concentrators to treat those with severe COVID-19.

At the World Health Organization's media briefing on 24 June, he said the WHO estimates that at the current rate of about 1 million new cases a week, the world needs about 620,000 cubic meters of oxygen a day, which is about 88,000 large cylinders.

But many countries are now experiencing difficulties in obtaining oxygen concentrators,
as demand is outstripping supply.

Dr Tedros said: "WHO and our UN partners are working with manufacturers across the world through a variety of private sector networks to buy oxygen concentrators for countries that need them most."

He added the WHO expects the total number of coronavirus cases to reach 10 million within the next week.

In the first month of the outbreak, less than 10,000 cases were reported, compared to almost 4 million cases in the past month.