Cases rise by over 230,000 worldwide in 24 hours; Florida cases increase by record total for a US state; Brazil cases near 2m. Follow the latest updates
- South Africa reimposes ban on alcohol sales
- WHO reports record rise in global infections
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In the US, the federal Bureau of Prisons said Sunday that a staff member involved in preparing for the first federal executions in nearly two decades has tested positive for coronavirus, AP reports.
The Justice Department said the development will not mean an additional delay in the governments timetable, already stalled by a federal court, because the worker had not been in the execution chamber and had not come into contact with anyone on the specialised team sent to the prison to handle the execution.
The agency made the disclosure in court filings in response to lawsuits that have sought to halt executions scheduled to resume Monday.
An attorney for the Bureau of Prisons said the staff member learned on Wednesday that the staffer had been in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19. The staff member immediately left work and notified the bureau Saturday about the positive test, according to the court filing.
The staff member did not wear a mask at all times during meetings with other Bureau of Prisons employees and other law enforcement officials in the days before learning of the exposure, the agency said. The bureau says the staff member did not enter the execution facility or the prisons command center and left the facility before the dozens of Bureau of Prisons employees who are part of the team handling the executions arrived at Terre Haute.
The Bureau of Prisons also started contact tracing to identify other staff members who may have had contact with the employee who tested positive, officials said.
In Canada, the Premier of Ontario province, Doug Ford, will announce details on Monday about the province’s third stage of reopening, his office said on Sunday, a step likely to end most restrictions introduced in March to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, Reuters reports.
Stage 3 will allow “most remaining workplaces and community spaces” to reopen, according to the province’s website, although “large public gatherings will continue to be restricted.”
Canada’s most-populous province and the country’s economic engine laid out a three-stage framework in April for reopening, allowing the whole province into the first stage on 19 May. Many regions in the province were able to move to Stage 2 on 12 June, which allowed for the reopening of restaurant patios and hair salons.
But harder-hit areas - including densely populated Toronto, and Windsor Essex, a region near the Ontario-Michigan border with clusters of cases among agricultural workers - were not able to graduate to the second stage until late June and early July.
Ontario, with a population of 14.6 million, reported 129 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths on Saturday, according to public health agency data. Ontario has the second-highest number of cases and deaths behind Quebec.
Canada has reported 107,347 cases since the pandemic began, including 8,773 deaths, according to the latest government data.
from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3fqlHVt
