World Coronavirus Dispatch: Britain to roll out millions of 90-minute tests

Latin America cases near 5 million, another clothing chain in US files for bankruptcy, Singapore may allow foreign banks to create digital-only units and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Scientists worry about political influence over vaccine project: The coronavirus vaccine initiative in the US, called Operation Warp Speed, has moved along at a rapid clip.

But scientists fear that White House pressure to deliver by the election may compromise safety and effectiveness. Read about it here

Let’s look at the global statistics:


Total Confirmed Cases: 18,017,556


Change Over Yesterday: 167,703


Total Deaths: 688,351


Total Recovered: 10,649,108

Nations hit with most cases: US (4,667,930), Brazil (2,733,677), India (1,750,723), Russia (849,277) and South Africa (511,485)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Latin America sees coronavirus records tumble as cases near 5 million: Argentina broke past 200,000 Covid-19 cases on Sunday and Colombia set a daily record, pushing region’s tally to five million cases. Latin America, which has some 8 per cent of the world’s population, accounts for close to 30 per cent of global cases and fatalities. Read more here

Britain to roll out millions of 90-minute coronavirus tests: Millions of Covid-19 tests able to detect the virus within 90 minutes will be rolled out to British hospitals, care homes and laboratories in the coming months, the country’s health minister. They will comprise 5.8 million tests using DNA and 450,000 swab tests. Read more here

Another clothing chain in US files for bankruptcy: Tailored Brands Inc., the owner of Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, filed for bankruptcy protection after the coronavirus lockdown kept America’s office workers at home, putting a damper on demand for new suits. The company traces its roots to 1973, when George Zimmer started Men’s Wearhouse in the Houston area. Read more here

Singapore may allow foreign banks to create digital-only units: Under the enhanced framework, the Monetary Authority of Singapore will consider granting an additional full banking license to foreign lenders which substantially exceed its Significantly Rooted Foreign Bank criteria. Last year, the MAS announced plans to award as many as five new digital banking licenses to non-banks. Read more here

Philippines recorded more than 4,800 new coronavirus infections on August 2: Metro Manila and nearby provinces will return to stricter lockdown measures from August 4 to 18, amid rising infections in the Philippines, which now total more than 103,000, the second-highest in Southeast Asia. Read more here

Specials

For NYC’s legion of runners, virtual racing is taking off 

With all in-person events cancelled for the foreseeable future, virtual racing is booming. Organizers big and small, piggybacking on the upswing in running as a way to cope with the stresses of lockdown, have seen participation soar. The New York City Marathon, one of the biggest road races in the world, cancelled its 50th anniversary edition because of Covid-19. It now expects record numbers to sign up for its virtual event. Read about how its done and other virtual challenges here

Account balances are swelling, but there's one problem: Now isn’t a great time to hold onto money: The last few months have, in some respects, been a boon for account balances. Lockdowns enacted to slow the spread of Covid-19 have cut consumer spending, and stimulus checks arrived for millions of Americans. The personal savings rate in the US fell to 19 per cent in June — still at historically high levels — after rising to a record 32.2 per cent in April. There’s one problem: Now isn’t a great time to hold onto money. In contrast, Bitcoin is up about 55 per cent in 2020, while gold has risen 29 per cent, smashing the record price set in 2011, as investors flock to the precious metal as a hedge against inflation. Read more here

Facing fierce new waves, virus hunters turn to sewage and drones: Wastewater surveillance -- which Dutch scientists showed in March can identify evidence of the pathogen earlier than testing patients -- is one of a handful of strategies around the world being developed to pinpoint emerging hotspots and flare-ups before cases spiral out of control. With countries from Australia to Spain struggling to arrest fresh waves of the contagion, scientists and public health officials are looking to additional tools, including sniffer dogs and drones, to hunt down the insidious virus. Read more here