People wearing face masks walk on the street in Tokyo, Japan, on July 2, 2020. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
- Tokyo sees highest new infections in 2 months
- Belgrade declares COVID-19 emergency
- The Philippines reports record high of 1,531 new cases
- Iraq: plasma for COVID-19 treatment traded on the black market
- Cambodia: casinos can re-open if they meet requirements for COVID-19 prevention
BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
TOKYO -- The Tokyo metropolitan government confirmed 124 new COVID-19 infections on Friday in the capital, marking the highest daily increase in two months and the second straight day the figure has topped 100.
The latest figure, the highest since May 2, follows 107 new cases confirmed a day earlier and also marks the highest number of new daily infections since the state of emergency declared over the pandemic was officially lifted on May 25.
An empty street is seen in downtown Belgrade, Serbia on April 12, 2020. (Photo by Nemanja Cabric/Xinhua)
BELGRADE -- The Serbian capital of Belgrade declared a COVID-19 emergency on Friday in order to suppress a resurgence of COVID-19 outbreaks, while the municipal government adopted prevention measures, including fines for not wearing masks and ban of gatherings.
Belgrade Mayor Zoran Radojicic made the decision to declare an emergency because more than 82.5 percent of newly-infected cases in Serbia come from that city, while the government issued temporary measures that will stay valid until July 18.
A woman boards a jeepney in Manila, the Philippines on July 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
MANILA -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines soared to 40,336 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,531 new cases on Friday, the country's biggest single-day jump so far.
The DOH said in its bulletin that the number of recoveries further rose to 11,073 after 400 more patients have survived the disease.
The death toll also increased to 1,280 after six more patients have succumbed to the viral disease, the DOH said, adding that 32 overseas Filipino workers repatriated by the government have also tested positive for the virus.
A patient recovered from COVID-19 donates plasma at the National Blood Transfusion Center in Baghdad, Iraq, June 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
BAGHDAD -- Plasma treatment to cure COVID-19 patients has emerged as a lucrative trade in the black market in Iraq, as the conflict-ridden country's health systems teeter on the brink of collapse after registering a total of 53,708 confirmed cases on Thursday.
Iraq records the third-highest daily increase of COVID-19 cases in the Middle East for weeks, lower than the epicenter of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Concerns are mounting as hospitals fill with patients. The crippled health systems lack the ability to treat a staggering 2,000 new cases daily, but plasma may be one answer.
The Iraqi Health Ministry said it has achieved positive results in treating people with COVID-19 by using plasma. Families of patients have flocked to seek plasma treatment "at any price."
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen attends the 36th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit via video conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on June 26, 2020. (Photo by Sovannara/Xinhua)
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Friday that casinos across the kingdom will be allowed to resume operations if they meet requirements for COVID-19 prevention at their facilities, a spokesman and an official said.
Hun Sen made the decision during a weekly Cabinet meeting after the situation of the COVID-19 had stabilized, government spokesman Phay Siphan wrote on his Facebook page.
The prime minister said all casino operators must ask for permission from the Ministry of Health by attaching with some required conditions for COVID-19 preventive measures, according to Siphan.
All casinos are located in border areas, except the NagaWorld casino, which is situated in Phnom Penh.■