Coronavirus: What's happening around the world on July 29

The latest:

• Toronto, Peel region moving to Stage 3 of COVID-19 recovery plan.
• B.C. students to return to school in September.
• Vietnam says every city, province now at risk ofinfection.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin says coronavirus'may worsen.'
• Russian vaccine could soon be approved for local use, sources say.
• Bosnian minister dies after testing positive.
• Spike of cases in Hong Kong introduces risk of large-scale outbreak.
• Doubts emerge about U.S. dollar's place as a reserve currency as pandemic batters economy.
• U.S. Democrats, Republicans to resume discussions around coronavirus aid bill.
• Republican lawmaker tests positive at the White House.
• Confirmed COVID-19 deaths in U.S. reach 150,600.
• U.S. officials say Russian intelligence officers are spreading COVID-19 disinformation.
• California, Florida and Texas reportrecord increases in deaths for second day in a row
• Pilgrims begin gathering in Mecca for a physically distanced hajj.
• European Commission acquires enough remdesivir for 30,000 patients.

With reopening efforts taking place around the world, coronavirusinfections continue to rise along with them prompting the possibility of renewed lockdowns and travel restrictions.

Hong Kong reported 118 newcoronavirus cases on Wednesday, including 113 that were locallytransmitted, as strict new measures took effect, including a restriction limitinggatherings to two people and a ban on restaurant dining.

The measures, which are the toughest introduced since theoutbreak, are to last for at least one week as leader Carrie Lamwarned the regionis on the brink of a large-scale outbreak.

Meanwhile, European UnionHealth CommissionerStella Kyriakides says there's concern over an upswing of new coronavirus infections in several European countries caused primarily by "complacency and laxity" among the public that isn't strictly adhering to personal hygiene rules.

Kyriakidesalsosaid every countrybelonging to the European Unionhassubmitted requests forthe drug remdesivir. Shortly after,theEuropean Commission said it signed a 63 million euro ($97.9 million Cdn) deal to secure thousands of doses, enough to treat about 30,000 patients. The drug isthe only licensed experimental drug to treat people with severe COVID-19.

WATCH | Respirologist on rapidly changing concerns around COVID-19:

Respirologist on rapidly changing concerns around COVID-19

4 years ago

Duration 6:39

Dr. Samir Gupta says the drug remdesivir can be helpful for patients who are very sick but not so sick that they need a ventilator.

Health Canada recently authorized the drug for patients with severe COVID-19, though supply is limited.

In the United States, government officials who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that Russian intelligence officers are spreading disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic through English-language websites, trying to exploit a crisis that America is struggling to contain before the presidential election in November.

Between late May and early July, one of the officials said, the websites published about 150 articles about the pandemic response, including coverage aimed either at propping up Russia or denigrating the U.S.

Russian officials on Wednesday rejected the accusations as "conspiracy theories" and a "persistent phobia." One of the sites singled out by the U.S. posted a response denouncing as "categorically false" the American assertions that it was linked to the Russian military intelligence service or was involved in propaganda.

Later Wednesday, top members of theTrumpadministration and Democratic congressional leaders tried to narrow stark differences over a coronavirus aid bill.

Senate Republican leaders are pushing for around $1 trillion US in new aid, on top of more than $3 trillion enacted since earlythis year. Democrats see a far greater need as they back $3trillion in new spending, while President Trumpsaid he was in no hurry.

"We're so far apart we don't care. We really don't care," Trump told reporters, blaming Democrats as he departed the White House for a tripto Texas.

An hour-long meeting broke up late on Tuesdayafternoon withno sign of progress.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief ofstaff Mark Meadows were expected to resume negotiations with thetwo senior Democrats in Congress House of RepresentativesSpeaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

One of the key points Democrats are looking for is to extenda $600 weekly unemployment benefit,set to expire on Friday.Republicans, arguing that it discourages some workers in lower-paying jobs from seeking employment, have proposedtemporarily reducing the federal payment to $200 a week, on topof state unemployment benefits.

Sen. John Thune, the second highest-ranking Republican in the upper house, saidlawmakers might have a better idea by the end of this week onwhether there is even a chance for a deal so "that we couldactually get to a package by the end of next week."

Republican CongressmanLouie Gohmert confirmed he had tested positive for thecoronavirus when he visited the White House earlier onWednesday.

Gohmert, in a video posted to Twitter, added he isasymptomatic and said he had worn a face mask frequently in thepast week or two, including at a House judiciary committeehearing on Tuesday.

The Texas lawmaker, who had previously refused to wear amask amid the pandemic, said he tested positive ina quick test at the executive mansion, and in a follow-upswab test.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also said members and staff will now be required to wear masks in the House of Representatives during the pandemic.

Members will be allowed to remove their masks to speak inthe House when addressing the chamber, Pelosi said on the Housefloor.

At least 13 members of the House and Senate seven Republicans and six Democrats have tested positive or are presumed to have had COVID-19 since the pandemic began earlier this year.

U.S. deaths from thecoronavirussurpassed 150,600 on Wednesday,by the far the highest in the world, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The increase of 10,000 COVID-19 deaths in 11 days is thefastest in the United States since early June.

Deaths have risen there for three weeks in a row.California, Florida and Texas all reporting record increases in COVID-19 deaths for a second day in a row on Wednesday.

What's happening with coronavirus in Canada

As of 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Canada had 115,470confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 100,465of the cases as recovered or resolved. ACBC News tallybased on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting indicates that 8,954Canadians have died.

Most students from kindergarten to Grade 12 are to return to British Columbia schools full time in September.

Education MinisterRob Fleming says enhanced safety measures and additional resources to prevent the spread of COVID-19 will allow the province to move its education restart plan ahead.

Fleming says the classroom is an essential part of a child's social, academic and mental development, and that's why the province is working hard to ensure children can spend the school year with their teachers and classmates.

He says, on the advice of the provincial health officer, students will be organized into learning groups to reduce the number of people they come in contact with, cutting the risk of transmitting the virus.

The government is putting up $45.6 million to ensure safety measures, including increased cleaning of high-contact surfaces, an increased number of hand-hygiene stations and the availability of masks.

Staff and students, or their parents, will be expected to assess themselves daily for symptoms of COVID-19.

In Ontario,pediatric hospitals have updated their recommendations for a safe return to school full-time, offering guidelines on the logistical challenges facing educators this fall.

WATCH | Ford confirms Toronto, Peel moving to Stage 3:

Ford confirms Toronto, Peel moving to Stage 3

4 years ago

Duration 1:49

Calling it a 'massive step forward,' Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Toronto and Peel Region will move to Stage 3 reopening on Friday, but said Windsor-Essex will need to remain in Stage 2 a bit longer.

Among the key recommendations from doctors at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and other health officials from across the province is that high school and middle-school students wear masks when distance can't be maintained, however younger children aren't expected to wear them.

Toronto and Peel Region will move into Stage 3 of Ontario's coronavirusrecovery plan this Friday, the provincial government said this morning.

Toronto and Peel, Ontario's two most populous areas, have both seen steady declines in new daily cases over the last week. In the Ministry of Health's COVID-19 update yesterday morning,the two public health units had just six and seven new cases, respectively.

• Regardless of COVID-19, the outlook for the oilsands gets dimmer year after year
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• Ottawa teeters on 'knife edge' as COVID-19 cases mount, says epidemiologist

What's happening in the rest of the world

Authorities in the Spanishcapital Madrid backtracked on Wednesday over a highly criticizedplan to give an "immunity card" to people testing positive forcoronavirus so they can enjoy higher-risk areas like gyms, barsand museums.

Politicians, rights groups and epidemiologists condemned theproject, announced by regional leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso, aspotentially discriminatory and medically unsound.

After a weekly cabinet meeting of the Madrid authority,her deputy, Ignacio Aguado, told a news conference that thecontroversial cards would not in fact be issued.

Spain has seen a surge in new infections, including 1,153 in the last 24 hours, prompting regions to reintroduce curbs, andBritain to impose a quarantine on returnees.

WATCH | U.K. orders travellers from Spain to quarantine amidCOVID-19 spike:

U.K. orders travellers from Spain to quarantine amid European COVID-19 spike

4 years ago

Duration 2:01

The United Kingdom has ordered travellers returning from Spain to quarantine for 14 days as coronavirus cases begin to surge across Europe putting the summer tourist season in limbo.

Russia's first potential coronavirusvaccine will win local regulatory approval in the firsthalf of August and be administered to front-line health workerssoon afterward, a development source close to the matter toldReuters.

A state research facility in Moscow the Gamaleya Institute completed early human trials of the adenovirus-based vaccinethis month and expects to begin large-scale trials in August.

The press service of the Russian Direct Investment Fund(RDIF), which is co-ordinating and funding Russia's vaccinedevelopment efforts, declined to comment, but its head, KirillDmitriev, has denied that Russia's vaccine push is compromisingsafety.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered the government to prepare for a possible uptick in coronavirus cases, saying that the situation "remains difficult" and "may worsen."

Russia has reported more than 828,000 coronavirus cases and 13,673 confirmed deaths. The number of daily new infections has been decreasing since mid-May. But they remain relatively high, with health officials reporting more than 5,000 new cases every day.

Brazil saw arecord number ofconfirmed cases and related deaths. Data from the country's Health Ministry showedthere were 69,074 new cases and 1,595fatalities, on Wednesday.

Since the pandemic began Brazil has registered more than 2.5 million confirmedcases of the virus and 90,134 deaths.

Despite the climbing numbers, Brazilreopened international air travel to foreign tourists, which hadbeen banned since March.

Tourists from all countries may travel to Brazil as long asthey have health insurance for the duration of their trip, thegovernment said in a decree which did not explain the rationalefor the decision.

Brazil is reopening its air borders faster than othercountries in the region with less severe outbreaks, such asColombia, Argentina, Panama and Peru which remain closed to internationalcommercial flights.

Brazil's outbreak, the world's worst outside theUnited States, has made it global testing ground for potentialvaccines.

The Chinese drug companySinopharm and Parana state have agreed to launch thefourth major COVID-19 vaccine trial in Brazil and will seekregulatory approval in the next two weeks.

The British government has signed a deal with GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur for 60 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine that could start to be rolled out in the first half of next year.

Britain's GSK and France's Sanofi have the largest vaccine manufacturing capability in the world. The government said that if the vaccine proves successful, then priority groups, such as health- and social-care workers, could be given the first doses.

WATCH | Pilgrims gather in Mecca for physically distanced hajj:

Pilgrims gather in Mecca for physically distanced hajj

4 years ago

Duration 0:56

Due to the coronavirus, this year's hajj in Mecca has been limited to about 1,000 pilgrims from within Saudi Arabia.

Muslim pilgrims, donning face masks and moving in small groups after days in isolation, began arriving at Islam's holiest site in Meccain Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for the start of a historically unique and scaled-down hajj experience reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic.

The hajj is one of Islam's most important requirements, performed once in a lifetime. It follows a route the Prophet Muhammad walked nearly 1,400 years ago and is believed to ultimately trace the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael as they are named in the Bible.

Rather than standing and praying shoulder-to-shoulder in a sea of people from different walks of life, pilgrims this year are physical distancing standing apart and moving in small groups of 20 to limit exposure and the potential transmission of the coronavirus.

The minister for veteran affairs in the government of one of Bosnia's two highly independent regions has died at the age of 53, a week after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Salko Bukvarevic died Wednesday in a COVID-19 hospital in Sarajevo, where he was admitted last week with pneumonia and breathing problems.

Nearly 80 per centof the country's10,700 cases were registered since mid-May, when a strict, nearly two-month-long coronavirus lockdown was lifted.

Vietnam, virus-free for months,was bracing for another wave of coronavirusinfections on Wednesdayafter state media reported new cases in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh Cityand the Central Highlands linked to a recent outbreak in thecentral city of Danang.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the current wave ofinfections was different fromthe second wave Vietnam fought inMarch, and every province and city in the Southeast Asian countrywas at risk, state broadcaster Vietnam Television reported.

Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, ordered bars and pubs to shut and banned large gatherings beginning at midnight, after registering its first case linked to the Danang outbreak on Wednesday.

The Dutch government onWednesday said it will not advise the public to wear masks toslow the spread of coronavirus, asserting that scientificevidence of their effectiveness is mixed.

The decision was announced by Minister for Medical CareTamara van Ark after a review by the country's NationalInstitute for Health. The government will instead seekmore adherence to social distancing rules after a surge incoronavirus cases in the country this week, Van Ark said at a newsconference in The Hague.