Melbourne lockdown extended
Australian officials extend a strict lockdown of the country’s second-biggest city by two weeks, saying new cases have not dropped enough to prevent another spike.
Melbourne residents had been due to exit a harsh six-week lockdown next weekend but they now face continued restrictions, with Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews saying the lockdown will remain in place until 28 September.
More than 880 000
The pandemic has killed at least 880 396 people worldwide since surfacing in China late last year.
More than 26.9 million cases have been registered worldwide.
France’s high alert spreads
French authorities placed seven more departments covering major cities such as Lille, Strasbourg and Dijon on high alert as infections accelerate. Of France’s 101 mainland and overseas departments, 28 are now considered “red zones”.
Berlusconi ‘responding well’
Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is responding well to treatment after he was taken to hospital with coronavirus, his doctor says, but warns the 83-year-old’s condition is “delicate”.
Transparent masks
The French government says pre-school teachers as well as those with deaf students will soon be given transparent masks to facilitate comprehension at a key education stage for children.
“More than 100,000 of these masks will be produced by the end of this month,” the state secretary in charge of people with disabilities, Sophie Cluzel, tells the Journal du Dimanche.
Live football for Wuhan
Chinese Super League football fans of Wuhan Zall, the team from ground zero of the pandemic, travel to Suzhou, near Shanghai, to attend their first match since lockdown.
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