World coronavirus dispatch: Nations hailed earlier are seeing virus return

From Tesla defying official orders, to Boeing CEO predicting a US airline would fold up soon, and fire in Russia killing five Covid-19 patients - read these and more in today's world dispatch

New clusters seem to be emerging in countries that had earlier been praised for their successful fight against coronavirus, confirming the belief that the virus could return in phases if caution is not exercised. Here’s how things look at present in these countries:

• Singapore, once a model for its speed and efficiency in tracing infected people, has seen its cases ballooning to more than 23,000, with the virus spreading in foreign workers’ dormitories.
• South Korea, a pioneer in using technology, has seen more than 100 new cases emerging after an infected man visited bars and clubs in a Seoul nightlife district.
• The United States has yet to curb its outbreak, but scientists are already warning that the feared “second wave” could consist of a series of smaller waves.
• China’s original epicentre of Wuhan has seen new cases emerging after a month of lull.

Read more here.

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total confirmed cases: 4,194,326

Change over previous day: 70,950

Total deaths: 286,615

Total recovered: 1,464,326

Nations hit with most cases: The US (1,347,936), Russia (232,243), Spain (227,436), the UK (224,332) and Italy (219,814).

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Boeing CEO says a US airline will ‘most likely’ fold this year: Dave Calhoun, chief executive of aircraft maker Boeing, commented in a TV interview that an American airline would likely fold up this year, but he did not specify which airline he was referring to. “Something will happen when September comes around,” he said. Carriers worldwide are facing a dire collapse, while Boeing is shrinking its business as the company’s airline customers delay orders and rethink their fleets. Read more here.

US government to vote on another stimulus on Friday: The centerpiece of the Democrats’ virus relief plan in the US is almost $1 trillion in to aid state and local governments. It’s also likely to include another round of cash payments to individuals following up on the $1,200 most people received from a March stimulus Bill. Also under discussion are expanded unemployment benefits, money for Covid-19 testing, food stamp funding, rental assistance and student loan forgiveness. Read more here.

UK wage subsidy programme extended till October: The UK scheme to pay wages of workers on leave because of coronavirus will be extended to October. The UK confirmed that employees would continue to receive 80 per cent of their monthly wages up to 2,500 pounds. But companies will be asked to "start sharing" the cost of the scheme from August onwards. Some 7.5 million workers are now covered by the scheme. Read more here.

Fire in Russia kills five coronavirus patients: A fire at St George Hospital in St Petersburg has killed five coronavirus patients. Russian emergency officials said all five had been put on ventilators. Russia has so far reported more than 220,000 confirmed cases, and 2,009 deaths — but international health experts say those numbers undercount the country's outbreak. Read more here.

Tesla restarts production in defiance of local officials: Tesla had resumed production at its Fremont plant in California against county orders, CEO Elon Musk tweeted Monday. The escalation of the conflict follows a weekend dispute in which Musk sued Alameda County, where the electric carmaker employs more than 10,000 people, and threatened to relocate operations to Texas or Nevada. Read more here.

Specials

Iranian medical workers suffered as government ignored virus alarm: While it's no secret that Iran has been one of the worst-hit nations in the coronavirus pandemic, some doctors and nurses say the government leaders are at fault in the crisis. In this AP exclusive, interviews with more than 30 medical professionals and a review of documents reveal Iran's disjointed response as the virus spread. The report says the government delayed telling the public about the virus for weeks, even as hospitals filled up with people suffering from symptoms.

Video

‘US weeks away from return to office’: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has said he hopes the US is "weeks away" from a return to office work. He cited South Korea as a model moving forward, saying it is "way ahead of us in terms of the testing infrastructure”. Watch his interview here.