World Coronavirus Dispatch: US expels 8,800 unaccompanied migrant children

Japan to relax curbs for events, UK labs stressed as Johnson pledges millions of tests,watchmakers reboot to suit Chinese and other pandemic-related news across the globe

The United States has expelled about 8,800 unaccompanied migrant children intercepted at the US-Mexico border since March 20, under rules seeking to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus in that country, according to court documents filed Friday by the Justice Department. The Trump administration had implemented new border rules on March 21 that scrapped decades-old practices under laws meant to protect children from human trafficking and offer them a chance to seek asylum in a US immigration court.
 
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Let’s look at the global statistics:                                            

Total Confirmed Cases: 28,481,413

Change Over Yesterday: 310,304

Total Deaths: 915,356

Total Recovered: 19,215,800

 
Nations hit with most cases: US (6,445,288), India (4,659,984), Brazil (4,282,164), Russia (1,048,257) and Peru (716,670)
 
Source:Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html)
 
Japan moves to relax virus restrictions for events from September 19: For professional baseball games and soccer matches, Japan is considering eliminating the current restriction of no more than 5,000 attendees and replacing it with an up to 50 percent capacity rule. It is also considering adding Tokyo to a national tourism campaign from October 1 to promote travel. Read more here...
 
Canada reports zero Covid-19 deaths for first time since March: Canada’s death toll from the pandemic stood at 9,163 as of September 11, the same as the number of the deaths reported on September 10. With most provinces easing lockdown restrictions and as schools reopen for in-person classes, Canada’s infections have seen a mild pick-up in recent days. Read more here...

 
Johnson pledges millions of Covid tests but UK labs can’t cope: Now despite intense efforts to ramp up capacity, the UK’s testing program is back in crisis. The government says demand is simply outstripping availability — too many people are seeking tests even though they don’t have symptoms. Others blame poor management and staffing shortages. Read more here...
 
Major companies reject Trump’s payroll tax deferral: No major private employer has stepped forward with plans to forgo withholding the levy from workers’ paychecks -- as Trump’s action allowed from September 1 through year-end. Costco Wholesale, with 163,000 US employees at latest count, isn’t participating, and neither is United Parcel Service nor FedEx. Read more here...

 
Specials
 
Watchmakers reboot to suit Chinese tastes as the Asian nation rebounds while the rest of the world still reels
The watchmaker’s pivot is an example of how luxury good makers are retooling themselves to suit Chinese tastes. This process is being accelerated by the Asian nation’s rebound as the rest of the world still reels from the economic devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. “China, for the first time in the history of the brand, will become our No.1 country this year,” said Jean-Marc Pontroué, chief executive officer of Panerai, a unit of Swiss luxury group Richemont SA. “Now that we have a clear view of how big China is for the brand, how much even bigger it could be in the future, we know where to focus our investments.” Read more here...

Tracking the Global Outbreak: Which areas are now more susceptible to the virus and where is the outbreak under control? A New York Times article presents maps on the countries that the pandemic hit badly earlier on, but where it is now ebbing. This, in a scenario in which the overall number of new cases is growing faster than ever worldwide, with more than 200,000 reported each day on average. Click here to read
 
 
Info-graphic:Asia is the continent currently seeing the highest number of daily confirmed cases