Global cases of the novel coronavirus reached over 8 million, as infections surge in Latin America and the US and China grapple with fresh outbreaks.

The US still leads with the highest number of infections, about 2 million or 25 per cent of all reported cases. However, the outbreak is growing fastest in Latin America, which now accounts for 21 per cent of all cases.

Brazil’s COVID-19 cases and deaths have surged to make it the No.2 hot spot in the world.

The first case was reported in China in early January and it took until early May to reach 4 million cases. It has taken just five weeks to double to 8 million cases. Global deaths stand at over 434,000 and have doubled in seven weeks.

EU nations reopen borders

A raft of EU nations reopened their borders to fellow Europeans, but a new coronavirus outbreak in China and surging death tolls in the Americas underlined the bleak struggles still ahead in the pandemic.

Caseloads have declined recently across many parts of Europe, and governments are keen to ease lockdowns that have saved lives but devastated economies and taken a psychological and emotional toll.

Belgium, France, Germany and Greece were among the countries that lifted border restrictions on June 15. In Spain, a planeload of German tourists flew to the Balearic islands in an experimental pilot project.

The European Union launched an app, ‘Re-open EU’ — available in 24 languages — to help travellers find out which EU countries they can enter.

But fears of a “second wave” remain — fueled by news from China, which has locked down parts of Beijing to battle a new outbreak.

FDA revokes emergency use of HCQ

The US food and drug regulatory body withdrew the emergency use authorisation of anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19 patients after concluding that they may not be effective to cure the virus infections and lead to greater risks than any potential benefits.

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision came weeks after President Donald Trump called hydroxychloroquine a “game-changer” drug in the fight against the COVID-19 in America, the world’s worst-hit nation by the pandemic.

The FDA said its decision is based on new information, including clinical trial data results, that have led it to conclude that the drugs may not be effective to treat COVID-19 and that its potential benefits for such use do not outweigh its known and potential risks.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store