World Coronavirus Dispatch: WHO stops trials of HCQ, HIV cocktail

Glaxo, Sanofi near $624 mn vaccine deal, Mexico deaths top 30,000, uneven recovery for Arab world and other pandemic-related news across the globe

The WHO has discontinued trials of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and combination HIV drug lopinavir/ritonavir in hospitalised patients with Covid-19 after they failed to reduce mortality. So far, trial cover five branches of possible treatment approaches to Covid-19: standard care; remdesivir; hydroxychloroquine; lopinavir/ritonavir; and lopanivir/ritonavir combined with interferon. Read more here

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total Confirmed Cases: 11,272,342

Change Over Yesterday: 191,813

Total Deaths: 530,898

Total Recovered: 6,065,541

Nations hit with most cases: US (2,839,542), Brazil (1,577,004), Russia (666,941), India (648,315) and Peru (295,599)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

At least 15 states broke their single-day coronavirus infection records this week: The number of coronavirus cases increased in the vast majority of states over the last week, and decreased in only two states, a according to state health department data reviewed by Axios. Read more here

Denmark, Finland and Norway have opened their borders to each other: Sweden has taken a uniquely laid-back approach, keeping schools and restaurants open. Its infection and death rates are now far above its neighbours’. As a result, when Denmark, Norway and Finland opened their borders to each others’ tourists, they kept them closed to Swedes. Read more here

Glaxo, Sanofi near $624 million deal for vaccine: Glaxo Smith Kline and Sanofi are close to reaching a $624 million deal for 60 million doses of coronavirus vaccine. Money would be paid in stages as the vaccine progresses, with final payment made on delivery. The deal is expected to be announced in coming days. Read more here

Mexico's death toll passes 30,000: The country now has the world's fifth-highest Covid-19 toll, passing France, where more than 29,000 have died. A daily record of 6,914 new infections was recorded in Mexico, bringing the total to 252,165. Mexico has Latin America's second-highest death toll after Brazil, which has recorded 64,000 fatalities. Read more here

Uneven Recovery for Arab World: Business conditions in the United Arab Emirates returned to growth but deteriorated in Saudi Arabia, a sign of an uneven recovery in the Gulf. Non-oil private sector activity in the UAE improved in June for the first time in six months. By contrast, Purchasing Managers’ Index for Saudi Arabia remained below the threshold of 50 that separates growth from contraction. Read more here

Microsoft, LinkedIn to retrain unemployed workers for in-demand jobs: To combat unemployment, Microsoft and LinkedIn will offer free skills training for 10 popular jobs like software developer and customer service specialist. Microsoft said its calculations show global unemployment may reach a quarter of a billion people this year. Read more here

After resuming practice, US baseball players catch Covid-19: 31 Major League Baseball players and seven staff members from 19 of the 30 teams tested positive for the coronavirus just as teams resumed workouts for the first time since March. Opening day for matches is set for July 23. Read more here

Specials

Scientists accuse WHO of ignoring virus transmission risk in air

Six months into a pandemic that has killed more than half a million people, more than 200 scientists from around the world are challenging the official view of how the coronavirus spreads. The WHO and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention maintain that you have to worry about only two types of transmission: inhaling respiratory droplets from an infected person or – less common – touching a contaminated surface and then your eyes, nose or mouth. But other experts contend that the guidance ignores growing evidence that a third pathway also plays a significant role in contagion. Read more here

Long-read

Why contact tracing tech failed to deliver

As Covid-19 spread, sending almost every country into some form of lockdown, governments began to wonder how best to keep track of the deadly virus. Contact-tracing apps seemed a sensible solution. But everywhere you look, tech has failed to deliver. In France, less than 3 percent population has downloaded StopCovid. The UK missed an initial rollout deadline and has chosen to start over using another platform. Tracing apps in the US have been caught in a social media war about whether virus news is real or fake, while Australia’s COVIDSafe hasn’t detected a single case despite 6 million downloads. Singapore’s TraceTogether was an early entrant, but even its government began distributing portable tokens this week to complement the app. Read more here

Tech

Japan is figuring out how to deliver goods untouched by humans:

Tsubakimoto Chain Co is seeing more demand for its sorting and conveyor systems as companies seek ways to move things around, while start-up Hacobu sees an opportunity to boost use of its online platform for trucks. Now that transition is being spurred on by the pandemic, which has boosted online buying and raised concerns among shoppers about being infected by items delivered to their doors. And a bunch of start-ups are coming forward that stitch together various autonomous logistics and transportation systems, with as little human interaction as possible. Read more here