While Italy registered 845 new cases on Thursday, its highest daily tally since May, France reported 4,700 fresh infections — a massive increase on the previous day. Africa provided a brighter perspective on Thursday, registering a significant drop in the number of infections last week. The number of Americans filing claims for joblessness each week topped 1 million again, US officials said on Thursday, an increase on the previous week’s figures. With many nations creeping back towards restrictive measures, the WHO said European health authorities are now better prepared and should not need to resort to the complete closures endured particularly by the Spanish and Italians. China reacted swiftly when the virus emerged last year and has kept deaths and infections relatively low compared with most other regions.

Source: Manila Times August 21, 2020 16:18 UTC