Dr Anthony Fauci, the US federal Government's top infectious disease expert, says Labour Day weekend will be key in determining whether the US gets a "running start" at containing the coronavirus this northern autumn.
Fauci said today that he has a "great deal of faith in the American people" to wash their hands, practice social distancing, wear masks, avoid crowds, and congregate outside during this weekend celebrations. He said it's important to avoid a surge in coronavirus cases like those seen after the Memorial Day and July 4th holidays.
He made the comments on a White House conference call with governors. Vice-President Mike Pence said he shared Fauci's confidence in the American people to celebrate the holiday responsibly.
The head of the World Health Organisation warns that opening up societies too quickly amid the coronavirus pandemic is a "recipe for disaster."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insists that countries that are serious about opening up must also be serious about suppressing transmission. He says that's not "an impossible balance".
Tedros cited four key points that countries, communities and individuals should focus on: preventing "amplifying events" â as the virus thrives on clusters; protecting vulnerable groups; people taking steps individually to protect themselves; and finding, isolating, testing and caring for cases, while tracing and quarantining their contacts.
Italy registered nearly 1000 more coronavirus cases, far fewer than recent daily new caseloads â but far fewer swab tests had been done.
Italy now counts 269,214 confirmed infections. Many of those testing positive in recent weeks have been travellers returning from holidays or their close contacts.
Sardinia, which had relatively few cases for weeks, registered 79 new infections, with clusters of infections linked to crowded discos or holiday-goers' parties on the Mediterranean island.
The regions with the most daily new cases were Campania, which includes Naples, and Lazio, which includes Rome.
The European Union is joining the Covid-19 vaccine alliance COVAX with the aim of helping to provide access to any future vaccine for people in countries that might not be able to afford it.
The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, announced that it was contributing 400 million euros to support the scheme.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the aim is to work together "in purchasing future vaccines to the benefit of low and middle income countries."
But the commission refused to say whether it wants to use COVAX as another means to secure access for relatively-wealthy Europe to any future vaccine.
Activists warn that without stronger attempts to hold political, pharmaceutical and health leaders accountable, any vaccines could be hoarded by rich countries in a race to inoculate their populations first.
A Swedish health official said that a Covid-19 vaccine "alone cannot stop the pandemic," adding "important preventive measures must remain in place for the foreseeable future."
Johan Carlson, head of the Public Health Agency in Sweden that opted for a much debated Covid-19 approach of keeping large parts of the society open, said a future vaccine "will probably be an important tool" but "not the tool that ultimately solves the problem."
Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren says the vaccine should be administered in priority to people over age 70, people in risk groups, and care and nursing staff.
The UN health agency says 90 per cent of countries that responded in a new survey reported fallout from Covid-19 on the provision of other health care services.
The World Health Organisation says 105 countries responded to the survey aimed at assessing the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on strained health systems, notably in low- and middle-income countries.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the survey, covering five regions between March and June, exposed the need for better preparation for health emergencies like the current pandemic.
The survey found that routine immunisation and outreach services were among the most affected, with 70 per cent of countries reporting disruptions, followed closely by the diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Nearly a quarter of countries that responded reported disruptions to emergency services.
WHO cautioned about some limitations about the study, including differences in the phases of the outbreak that countries were experiencing.
Prime Minister Pedro SĂĄnchez says the Spanish Government is working on a post-pandemic recovery plan that aims to bring sustained annual economic growth higher than 2 per cent.
Spain was allocated 140 billion euros from the European Union's coronavirus recovery fund, roughly divided in half between grants and repayable loans.
Using that aid, the plan outlined Monday by SĂĄnchez will aim to address inequality deepened by the virus, which has claimed at least 29,000 victims in Spain.
It has become western Europe's hardest-hit country by a new surging wave of fresh outbreaks.
British authorities say 16 coronavirus cases have been linked to a flight that brought UK tourists back from Greece, and everyone aboard has been told to isolate for two weeks.
Public Health Wales says it's contacting almost 200 people who were aboard the Tui flight from the Greek island of Zante to Cardiff, Wales.
Gwen Lowe of Public Health Wales says 30 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed among people who returned from Zante on several flights, and the number is expected to rise.
The UK requires people arriving from overseas to quarantine for two weeks, unless they are coming from a considered at low risk from the coronavirus. Greece is on the exemption list.
