Indian firm Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to start human trial

Google has turned off automatic back up for photos & videos from messaging apps. This is primarily to ’save internet resources’ due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. While Google has not given details of the list of apps that will experience this change, it does mention apps like WhatsApp, Messages, and Kik. This change is already in effect and the Photos app will give users a message on the same.

According to an announcement made by Matt Hancock in the parliament on Monday night, the lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic is set to extend in Leicester beyond the 4th of July. Leicester has an infection rate of 135 per 100,000 people, which is three times higher than the next highest local area.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader has recently come out in support of wearing masks and has urged everyone, including his fellow Republicans, to wear one in order to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Mr. McConnell also addressed the stigma around wearing masks, and said that such stigma must not exist.

New Superintendent David Brown ordered 1,200 additional police officers deployed to Chicago streets for this 4th of July weekend. The order came after criticism of the cities leadership after a string of violent crime which killed 11 people including a young child. Brown took over as superintendent during the coronavirus pandemic.

New Jersey restaurants won’t be allowed to resume indoor dining on Thursday as originally planned as the Covid-19 spikes across the country, Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Monday. The plan was to open indoor dining with strict social distancing from July 2 as part of ’stage two’ of New Jersey’s reopening, along with outdoor amusement parks, bowling alleys, museums, libraries, and other businesses.

The WHO is sending a team to China next week to investigate the origins of the Covid-19, six months after it was first informed of the outbreak in Wuhan.’We can fight the virus better when we know everything about the virus, including how it started, ’ WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing Monday, without specifying the make-up of the team, or its mission.

The city of Jacksonville said Monday that it would adopt a face mask requirement for public and indoor locations amid a surge in coronavirus cases, less than 2 months before Trump is set to accept the Republican nomination in the city. The resurgence of the virus in Florida, where the number of new cases has been rising, has added uncertainty around the convention, slated for Aug 24-27.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, the chairman of the select committee overseeing the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, vowed to no longer recognize members of the panel who do not cover their faces. In a letter to Rep. Steve Scalise, Clyburn emphasized that Republicans’ refusal to wear the facial coverings during a hearing Friday ’undermined the safety of everyone’ in the vicinity.

A federal judge blocked New York state on Friday from enforcing coronavirus restrictions as per which indoor religious gatherings have been limited to 25 percent capacity while other kinds of gatherings are limited to 50 percent. Two Catholic priests from upstate NY and 3 Orthodox Jewish congregants had argued that the restrictions violated their First Amendment rights to practice their religion.

Las Vegas gamblers could soon bet with their cellphones instead of cash as casinos try to come out from the Covid-19 crisis. According to the WSJ, Nevada gaming regulators approved rules last week allowing casinos to expand the use of cashless betting amid concerns about the COVID-19 virus spreading on gambling floors. This could help casinos cut down on the number of interactions with cashiers.

The head of the WHO is concerned about the current spread of the virus causing COVID-19 and went so far as to criticize countries who have failed to actively implement effective contact tracing. He states that the current lack of unity and willingness of individuals to practice safe habits is a worst case scenario for the spread of the virus.

Gilead Sciences has priced its COVID-19 drug candidate remdesivir at $2,340 for a five-day treatment in the US and some other developed countries. The price for a single vial has been set at $390. The price for US private insurance companies will be $520 per vial. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has secured more than 500,000 treatment courses of the drug for American hospitals.

Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Charles Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader have urged Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader to start negotiations on the next coronavirus relief package. The appeal by the two leaders has come amid a rise in cases of the novel coronavirus in many parts of the country.

Dr. Fauci said Sunday that he’s ’cautiously optimistic’ that a COVID-19 vaccine will be available by the start of 2021. He warned that the US would likely not reach herd immunity if a substantial portion of the population refused to take the vaccine. ’There is a general anti-science, anti-authority, anti-vaccine feeling among some people in this country’, Fauci said explaining.

Online used-car seller Shift Tech. announced its plans to go public later this year through a reverse merger, as US capital markets rebound after the Covid-19 crisis. Shift’s listing also highlights the strong appetite for new stock offerings by companies with an online focused business. Rival Vroom Inc has listed its shares earlier this month, with its stock price more than doubling on its debut.

Bahrain’s government has said it would pay 50% of salaries for private company workers in sectors that were hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new payments would start in July. The government would extend its assistance to Bahraini citizens by also paying electricity and water bills.

37 protesters who ignored a court ban have been detained according to the police in The Hague. The protesters held a demonstration against the social distancing rules that had been enforced by the authorities in order to control the spread of the novel coronavirus disease.

Former U.S. Senator and doctor Ron Paul authored a column saying that the media have fueled panic that has lead to authoritarian state orders. He notes that while cases are rising again, fatalities are declining and attributes the cases to increases in tests.

The Chinese army has received the green light to use a COVID-19 vaccine developed by its research unit and a biotech company. The Central Military Commission approved the use of the Ad5-nCoV vaccine candidate for a period of one year. It was developed jointly by CanSino and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences.

China has put the Anxin county of Hebei province under lockdown after a new surge of COVID-19 cases was reported in Beijing. The cases have been said to have exploded from a wet market in the city. The disease had been brought under control by the authorities but this second surge had led to a lockdown being imposed near the capital city.

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin has pushed through a referendum that will result in a nationwide vote to be held on various constitutional amendments. One of them would allow Putin to stay President till the year 2036. The vote is being held as Putin has declared a victory over the coronavirus pandemic even though an increase in cases all over Russia is being witnessed.

Gov. Newsom ordered bars to close in 7 California counties, including LA, on Sunday because of escalating coronavirus rates, and recommended closures in 8 others. The order shuts down any bar, brewery or pub that sells alcoholic drinks without serving food at the same time. Those that sell food will either be subject to the stricter dine-in rules or asked to focus on takeout and patio service.

The labor union Verdi working at Amazon’s warehouses in Germany has announced that staff at six sites will strike for a minimum of two days over a claimed lack of transparency regarding infections. There had been ’at least 30 to 40’ workers infected, Verdi representative said. Amazon denied claims that it didn’t prioritize safety and pointed to $4B in safety measures for employees and customers.

California Gov. Newsom on Sunday announced the closure of bars in seven counties, including LA. Newsom recommended closure in another eight amid spikes in COVID-19 cases. Officials said the counties were selected based on their daily reports on the spread of the virus, singling out those that had been on the state watch list between 3 and 14 days for closing recommendations.