- Officials in Texas are warning that hospitals in the United States state could soon be overwhelmed if coronavirus cases continue to surge.
- The border between the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales will be closed at midnight on Tuesday for the first time in a century.
- More than 11.4 million people around the world have been diagnosed with the coronavirus and 533,781 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 6.2 million have recovered from the disease.
Here are the latest updates:
Monday, July 6
03:15 GMT – Mexico’s President rejects comparisons with European death tolls
Mexico’s president Andres Manuel Lopex Obrador refused to compare Mexico with European countries on Sunday as the country’s coronavirus death toll mounted.
Mexico now has 30,639 deaths, the fifth highest in the world, overtaking France.
“The population of Spain and France is smaller than that of Mexico,” Lopez Obrador said in a video message posted to YouTube. “For every one who has died in our country, three have died in Spain. We cannot compare this.”
Mexico has a population of 127 million, compared with 67 million in France and 47 million in Spain.
The five countries with the highest death tolls:
- US – 129,946
- Brazil – 64,867
- UK – 44,305
- Italy – 34,861
- Mexico – 30,639
Source: Johns Hopkins University
03:00 GMT – The Louvre to reopen on Monday
After four months of closure, the Louvre in the heart of Paris is due to reopen at 9am local time (07:00 GMT).
All visitors are required to book a time slot and wear a mask inside the buildings, while efforts have been made to avoid overcrowding.
The Salle des Etats where the Mona Lisa is displayed and which is usually jam-packed, will have separate entry and exit points.
J-1 avant la réouverture ! ⏳
La Joconde est prête à vous accueillir de nouveau… 😊Préparez votre visite 👉 https://t.co/S6vMEFSL46 pic.twitter.com/wO5ZEo6DrB
— Musée du Louvre (@MuseeLouvre) July 5, 2020
Translation: One day until we reopen. The Mona Lisa is ready to welcome you once again.
02:20 GMT – Saudi Arabia announces new domestic controls for COVID-19
Saudi Arabia has announced new health protocols for this year’s haj, which will be open only to domestic pilgrims.
Touching the Kaaba will be banned and a social distancing space of one and a half metres enforced during mass prayers and while circling the Kaaba.
Access to haj sites at Mona, Muzadalifah and Arafat will also be limited to those with haj permits from July 19 until August 2, according to the state news agency.
Strict social distancing will be enforced during this year’s haj when pilgrims circle the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca [File: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Reuters]
01:45 GMT – Bolivia’s health minister diagnosed with coronavirus
Bolivia’s health minister Eidy Roca has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, the third member of the country’s cabinet to be confirmed with the disease in four days.
Roca is in a stable condition and “strictly complying with the safety protocol that inlcudes isolation, medication and care,” according to a statement from her office.
00:50 GMT – Victoria/NSW border closure confirmed
Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed the border with New South Wales (NSW) will be closed at midnight on Tuesday in Australia.
Victoria, which has sealed off a number of Melbourne suburbs and imposed a draconian lockdown on nine public housing blocks, said it had 127 new cases of the coronavirus. It now has 645 active cases.
Premier @DanielAndrewsMP confirms From 11.59pm tomorrow night the border with Vic and NSW will be closed. He says “all of us” agreed ( @GladysB @ScottMorrisonMP )
Says the border enforcement will be on NSW side. @10NewsFirstMelb #springst @10NewsFirstSyd pic.twitter.com/CP8hGSviAk
— Simon Love (@SimoLove) July 6, 2020
00:20 GMT – Australia’s New South Wales to close border with Victoria
The Australian state of New South Wales is to close its border with neighbouring Victoria after a surge in locally-transmitted coronavirus cases in Melbourne.
The closure will take effect on Tuesday, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
BREAKING:
The ABC understands the Victoria/NSW border will be closed from tomorrow night.
— Joe O’Brien (@JoeABCNews) July 6, 2020
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Melbourne: Thousands in public housing towers asked to lock down
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23:00 GMT – Hospitals in some parts of US pushed to brink
Hospitals in some parts of the United States are in danger of being overwhelmed.
All beds are occupied in parts of Texas – one of the states worst hit by the resurgent virus.
“Our hospitals here in Harris County, Houston and 33 other cities … they’re into surge capacities,” Lina Hidalgo, the county’s chief executive, told ABC television in the US. Her comments were echoed by Houston mayor Sylvester Turner, who said the system could be “overwhelmed” if the outbreak was not brought under control.
Steve Adler, the mayor of Austin, has also expressed concern that hospitals could soon reach breaking point.
“If we don’t change our trajectory, then I am within two weeks of having our hospitals overrun. And in our ICUs, I could be 10 days away from that,” the mayor told CNN.
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Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Kate Mayberry in Kuala Lumpur.
Read all the updates from yesterday here.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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