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(Reuters) – A cheap steroid that can help save the lives of patients with severe COVID-19 should be reserved for serious cases in which it has been shown to provide benefits, the World Health Organization said.
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DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
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* More than 8.21 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 443,448\\xe2\\x80\\x8b have died, a Reuters tally showed as of 1600 GMT on Wednesday.
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* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.
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* For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.
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* Eikon users, see MacroVitals (cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098) for a case tracker and a summary of developments.
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EUROPE
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* Italy\’s nursing homes did not have the equipment needed to protect staff or residents, a survey by the country\’s top health body showed.
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* Sweden will lift its advice against non-essential travel to 10 European countries from June 30, the foreign ministry said.
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* Germany\’s smartphone app to help trace coronavirus infections has been downloaded 6.5 million times in the first 24 hours since its launch, the CEO of software company SAP said.
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AMERICAS
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* Just days before U.S. President Donald Trump\’s campaign rally in Tulsa, new coronavirus cases are surging in Oklahoma, Arizona and other states.
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* Unionized copper mine workers in Chile asked to be included in a dialogue between companies and the government to address the exploding coronavirus crisis in the country.
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* An intense season of fires in the Amazon rainforest this year could overwhelm health systems and lead to unnecessary deaths, including of coronavirus, public health experts said.
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ASIA-PACIFIC
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* Scores of flights to and from Beijing were cancelled, schools shut and some neighbourhoods blocked off as officials ramped up efforts to contain an outbreak that has fanned fears of wider contagion.
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* Japanese researchers confirmed the presence of the coronavirus in wastewater plants, a finding that could serve as a signal for future outbreaks.
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* The speaker of Kazakhstan\’s lower house of parliament has self-isolated after contracting the coronavirus, authorities said as they raised the alarm about a fresh surge in cases in the capital.
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MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
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* South Africa\’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said casinos, cinemas, personal care services and certain forms of accommodation will be allowed to operate as the country further eases restrictions.
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* Israeli researchers say they have invented a reusable face mask that can kill the coronavirus with heat by drawing power from a mobile phone charger.
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MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
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* Drugmaker Gilead Sciences said it will soon begin enrollment of pediatric patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 in a late-stage study testing its experimental drug, remdesivir.
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* Israel has signed an agreement with Moderna Inc for the future purchase of its potential COVID-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
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* The WHO said that testing of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine in its large multi-country trial of treatments for COVID-19 patients had been halted after results from other trials showed no benefit.
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ECONOMIC FALLOUT
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* The Chilean central bank said the country\’s economy would contract between 5.5% and 7.5% in 2020, taking it to the lowest levels since the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s.
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* Worries about the deepening impact of the coronavirus kept Japanese business confidence depressed in June, the Reuters Tankan survey showed.
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* China\’s meat importers fear clearing delays and a hit to demand after one of the country\’s major ports started requiring COVID-19 tests for all meat and seafood containers.
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(Compiled by Anna Rzhevkina and Devika Syamnath; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Maju Samuel)
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