Almost 10 million children may never return to school, according to a damning report released by Save the Children. The poorest and the most marginalised are going to be hit the hardest, said the human rights group.
Only in the month of April, over 1.6 billion learners were out of school and “for the first time in human history an entire generation has their education disrupted,” read the report.
Even before the pandemic, 258 million children were out of school.
32 more coronavirus cases at US base in Okinawa
Another 32 cases were confirmed at the Futenma US military base on the Japanese southern island of Okinawa, according to local media.
The new cases are an addition to the 62 previously confirmed infections at three US bases on the island.
Spanish court suspends regional lockdown
A local court suspended a home confinement order imposed on over 200,000 people in the Spanish region of Catalonia after an upsurge in virus cases.
“The Lerida district court has decided not to ratify the measures of the 12 July resolution,” the Catalan supreme court said on its Twitter account.
The decision, which suspends the stay-at-home order, can be appealed.
India reports another surge
With the number of new infections rising to 28,701 in the past 24 hours, several Indian states imposed weekend curfews and locked down high-risk areas.
The total number of cases in the country is now close to 900,000 behind only the United States and Brazil.
The Health Ministry also reported another 500 deaths, taking the country’s death toll up to 23,174.
Hong Kong Book Fair postponed
Visitors will have to wait for their visit to the annual Hong Kong Book Fair as the event has been postponed due to a spike in locally transmitted coronavirus cases in the global financial hub.
The fair, which draws about one million visitors each year, was supposed to start on July 15 and has been rescheduled at a later, unspecified date, according to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
Three other July fairs and expos were postponed.
Honduras extends coronavirus curfew for another week
Honduras will extend its coronavirus curfew for another week to tame the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported quoting the country’s security ministry.
Honduras first imposed a curfew in March but the government has been talking about slowly reopening businesses to help the economy.
Mexico reports 4,482 new cases, 276 more deaths
Mexico’s Health Ministry has reported 4,482 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 276 more deaths, bringing the total in the country to 299,750 cases and 35,006 deaths.
The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases, Reuters reported on Sunday.
Argentina coronavirus cases hit 100,000
Argentina has exceeded 100,000 cases of novel coronavirus infections as it struggles to contain spiralling case rates despite a strict quarantine imposed on the capital Buenos Aires and its surroundings.
The health ministry said on Sunday 2,657 new cases were confirmed overnight, taking the total to 100,166.
The South American country imposed a strict quarantine in mid-March to stop the pandemic. It relaxed restrictions slightly in May but then reinstated them in late June for Buenos Aires and its surroundings due to a spike in cases.
The death toll in Argentina is 1,845, a far cry from the 71,469 deaths in Brazil until Sunday and 11,682 in Peru.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
