World Coronavirus Dispatch: Air travel picks up on domestic flight recovery

US sets new one-day record with 60,500 cases, Russian deaths cross 11,000, bringing home seafarers stuck on ships and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Air travel is slowly picking up globally thanks to a recovery in domestic flights, with countries in the Asia-Pacific region accounting for half of the top 20 markets, according to travel data analytics provider Cirium. Vietnam, Indonesia and South Korea are the only countries in the world to show growth in domestic air travel in July, while China and the US dominate in the number of flights operated. Aircraft are being brought out of storage to meet the growing demand, with 59 percent of the global fleet back in service. Read more here 
 

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total Confirmed Cases: 12,043,922

Change Over Yesterday: 214,320


Total Deaths: 543,534


Total Recovered: 6,587,439

Nations hit with most cases: US (3,055,101), Brazil (1,713,160), India (767,296), Russia (699,749) and Peru (312,911)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

US sets new one-day record with 60,500 cases: The total represents a slight rise from Wednesday, when there were 60,000 new cases, and marks the largest one-day increase by any country since the pandemic emerged in China last year. Infections rose in 41 of the 50 states over the last two weeks. Read more here 
 

Australia restricts returning overseas citizens: Australia will halve the number of citizens allowed to return home from overseas each week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, as authorities struggle to contain the coronavirus spread. Since March, Australia has 357,000 permanent citizens to return back. Read more here 
 

Russia coronavirus death-toll passes 11,000: Russia’s death toll from the novel coronavirus edged past 11,000 on Friday, as the country reported 174 new deaths in the past 24 hours. Confirmed cases currently stand at 713,936, the world’s fourth highest caseload. Read more here 
 

Key countries agree to help bring home seafarers stuck on ships: More than a dozen countries with crucial global shipping hubs agree to ease restrictions to help more than 200,000 workers still stranded on vessels return home. Nations including the US, Singapore, Greece and the UAE said they would ease restrictions for seafarers and boost commercial flights to help facilitate crew swaps. Read more here 
 

Muji USA files for chapter 11: The US entity of Japanese retailer Muji, known for its minimalist home goods, filed for bankruptcy, adding to a growing list of industry companies reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic. Muji USA listed assets and liabilities in the range of $50 million to $100 million, and estimated the number of creditors at 200 to 999. Read more here 
 

Specials

Plastic surgeons says pandemic has boosted demand

A number of cosmetic surgery clinics around the world are reporting a rise in people getting treatment during the coronavirus outbreak as they can hide their treatment behind a mask or work from home. Despite the virus shutting businesses across the globe, a number of plastic surgery clinics have remained open, adopting stricter measures such as Covid-19 tests and more frequent cleaning. Clinics in the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia have all seen a rise in patients coming in for treatment including lip fillers, botox, face lifts and nose jobs. Read more here

WHO coronavirus inquiry aims to 'stop the world being blindsided again'
: A former prime minister of New Zealand has been appointed to investigate if the World Health Organization failed to adequately warn of the coronavirus pandemic. In global circles, Helen Clark became known as a “fighter” and has described the WHO investigation as “exceptionally challenging” and a “very tough gig”, given the review would be conducted in the midst of a pandemic. The independent investigation into the WHO was called for by the World Health Assembly in May, and backed by the US, Australia and European Union, amid allegations it failed to adequately warn the global community of coronavirus and went softly on China. Read more here

Teletherapy, Popular in the Pandemic, May Outlast It

As nations gingerly begins to reopen, many providers say that remote therapy is working so well and offers such convenience to their patients that they will continue with it even after the pandemic. In addition to the obvious benefits of convenience and flexibility, video sessions can give therapists a literal window into the patient’s home. Teletherapy can offer “a much deeper level of knowing the child, and understanding what their world might really be like,” says a therapist in the US. Read more here