COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 18 June
Beijing reports 21 new cases. Image: REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
- This daily round-up brings you a selection of the latest news updates on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as tips and tools to help you stay informed and protected.
- Top stories: More cases in Beijing, financial fears and confirmed cases in Brazil approach 1 million.
1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe
- Confirmed coronavirus cases have now surpassed 8.3 million worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 448,000 people have died from the virus, while over 4 million are known to have recovered.
- Beijing reported 21 new cases as of 17 June, reports Reuters, down from 31 a day earlier. Total cases are now at 158 as part of a new outbreak. The city has upgraded its emergency response from Level 3 to Level 2, reports Xinhua.
- Global stocks and oil prices have fallen as a result of fears about a second wave, as cases spike in some US states and China. President Trump said on Wednesday that the US would not close businesses again.
- Confirmed cases in Brazil are nearing 1 million, with more than 46,500 deaths - both the second highest in the world after the United States.
- After a positive trial in the UK, the WHO warns that dexamethasone should only be used in the most serious cases.
2. New Zealand records third new case
New Zealand has recorded a third new case of COVID-19, after being among the first countries to declare itself free of the virus.
The newest case is a man who arrived from Pakistan - via Doha and Melbourne - on 11 June and is now in quarantine.
This latest case comes after two women, who'd arrived from Britain and were allowed to leave quarantine early on compassionate grounds, also tested positive.
The country's borders remain closed, except to returning citizens and some exceptions for business and compassionate reasons. The government, in response to the case of the two women, has suspended all exemptions to quarantine rules.
What is the World Economic Forum doing to manage emerging risks from COVID-19?
3. A warning on museum closures
UNESCO data suggests around 90% of the world's 95,000 museums closed their doors during the pandemic, writes Sabrina Sholts, Curator of Biological Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.
Estimates suggests that a third of museums could downsize after the pandemic - with 13% not reopening at all.
The greatest risk of permanent closure is in African, Arab and Pacific countries, with the associated losses to culture, history and science. Their value is hard to capture, explains Sholts. But "by seeing the ways that museums are tackling the greatest global challenges of this moment, their unique and vital role in society becomes clearer, and their potential decimation becomes darker".
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