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What you need to know about the coronavirus today

Indian cases near 5 million
At least 17 members of the Indian parliament have tested positive for the coronavirus, government officials said, underlining the widening spread of infections set to cross five million cases soon.

The lawmakers were screened ahead of the re-opening of parliament on Monday after six months. MPs cleared by the tests wore masks, occupied seats with glass enclosures and worked for truncated hours.

India, where cases have been rising faster than any other nation, lags only the United States in terms of its number of total infections.

South Korea to secure vaccines for 60% of its people
South Korea said it plans to spend $146 million to procure coronavirus vaccines, initially aiming to secure a supply for 30 million people, or 60% of its population, as it battles persistent outbreaks of new cases.

The population target is higher than a World Health Organization goal for the early purchase of supplies for 20% of the world’s most vulnerable people, and at least 40% agreed by European Union nations, Britain and EU partners for their populations.

South Korea has been one of the world’s coronavirus mitigation success stories, with an aggressive testing and tracing strategy.


Australia records first day without COVID-19 death in two months
Australia recorded its first day without a COVID-19 death in two months, as states began to lift restrictions amid growing confidence that a second wave of infections has been contained.

While officials said there were 50 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, a small increase from a day earlier, Australia reported no fresh fatalities for the first time since July 13.

Most of the new cases were in Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state, which has accounted for about 75% of the country’s COVID-19 infections.

Hong Kong to open bars, pools and theme parks
Hong Kong will reopen bars, swimming pools and theme parks from Friday as it relaxes coronavirus restrictions after the testing of nearly two million people in a program organized by the Chinese government found 42 cases.

The announcement comes days after the Chinese special administrative region reopened gyms and entertainment venues and increased the number of people allowed to gather to four.

The ban on gatherings of more than four people remains in place as does a ban on people visiting public beaches as authorities called for vigilance.

Hong Kong Disneyland closed on July 15 for a second time this year due to the virus, after having reopened in June.

Party next door in the UK? Call the police
British minister Priti Patel said she would call the police to report anyone who flouted a ban on gatherings of more than six people, suggesting that people who stopped for a chat on the street were breaking new coronavirus laws.

COVID-19 cases across the UK have risen sharply in recent weeks, prompting the government to bring in the new rules to restrict socializing, at the same time as health bosses have said there are problems with accessing tests.

The social clampdown comes amid concern that people are struggling to get tests for COVID-19, especially in areas where the infection rates are highest.

Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Retail, Gold, Economics of health. Read concise views on the pandemic’s financial fallout from Breakingviews columnists across the globe.

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U.S.

Joe Biden branded President Donald Trump a “climate arsonist” for refusing to acknowledge global warming’s role in deadly wildfires sweeping the western United States, while Trump blamed lax forestry and declared, “I don’t think science knows.” Dozens of conflagrations have raged with unprecedented scope across some 4.5 million acres (1.8 million hectares) in Oregon, California and Washington state since August, laying waste to several small towns, destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 36 people.

ByteDance founder and CEO Yiming Zhang's decision to drop his pursuit of a sale of TikTok's U.S. operations to Microsoft in favor of a partnership with Oracle was the culmination of pressure from the Beijing-based firm's investors as it searched for a deal to appease the United States and China, according to people familiar with the deliberations.

Hurricane Sally drew closer to the U.S. Gulf Coast, threatening historic floods along the coast, the National Hurricane Center said, with more than two feet (61 cms) of rain expected in some areas. The second strong storm in less than a month to threaten the region, Sally’s winds decreased to 85 miles per hour (140 kph), and early Tuesday was 60 miles (100 km) east of the mouth of the Mississippi River, the NHC said, moving at a glacial pace of two miles per hour.

COVID Science

Flu may be linked with coronavirus spread
Influenza outbreaks may be linked with the spread of COVID-19 infections, according to a European study.

The researchers created a mathematical model of transmission of the novel coronavirus in Belgium, Italy, Norway and Spain. It calculates that higher rates of influenza infections would be associated with increased coronavirus transmission in each of the countries, Matthieu Domenech de Cellès of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin told Reuters.

Rheumatoid arthritis drug found to aid COVID-19 recovery
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients being treated with Gilead Sciences Inc’s antiviral medication remdesivir recovered about a day sooner, on average, if they also received Eli Lilly and Co’s rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib, clinical trial investigators found.

The trial, sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, included more than 1,000 patients. The study also showed that compared to patients who did not receive the arthritis drug, those who did had better outcomes at 15 days after they enrolled in the trial.