Latest COVID-19 updates: U.S. Texas governor warns of another shutdown due to COVID-19 spike

People with face masks visit Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas, the United States, June 20, 2020. (Photo by Lie Ma/Xinhua)

- US: Texas governor warns of another economic shutdown due to COVID-19 spike

- EU: lawmakers adopt regulation to allow COVID-19 vaccines developed more quickly

- Syria: 1st case confirmed among displaced in NW Syria

- Chile: total cases reach 309,274, with 6,781 deaths

BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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HOUSTON -- U.S. Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned Friday of another economic shutdown if the fast spread of COVID-19 is not contained.

"The worst is yet to come as we work our way through that massive increase in people testing positive," Abbott told local TV station KLBK.

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BRUSSELS -- Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Friday adopted a new regulation that will allow European vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 to be developed more quickly, said the European Parliament (EP).

The regulation that allows temporary derogation from certain rules for clinical trials was approved by 505 votes in favor, 67 against and 109 abstentions, following an urgent debate last week, said an EP press release.

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The marble lion "Fortitude" is seen with a face mask in front of the New York Pubulic Library on the Fifth Avenue in New York, the United States, July 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

WASHINGTON -- Two-thirds of American adults, or 67 percent, said they disapprove of President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus, the highest level of dissatisfaction with his response to COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to a poll released on Friday.

Only 33 percent said that they approved of Trump's performance, the latest ABC-Ipsos poll found.

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People wearing face masks talk at a gold shop in Doha, capital of Qatar, on July 1, 2020. (Photo by Nikku/Xinhua)

DOHA -- Qatar's Health Ministry on Friday announced 520 new infections of COVID-19, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 102,630.

"Some 961 people recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 98,233, while four others died, raising the fatalities to 146," the official Qatar News Agency reported, quoting a statement by the ministry.

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A Syrian boy eats canned food in a refugee camp in the countryside of Hasakah City, Syria, Nov. 21, 2019.  (Str/Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS -- The first case of a COVID-19 patient has been confirmed in northwest Syria, a UN spokesman said on Friday of the war-weary area crowded with 2.7 million displaced persons.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported the patient was confirmed with the disease on Monday, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

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SANTIAGO -- Chile reported on Friday that the number of cases of the novel coronavirus in the country has reached 309,274, with 6,781 deaths.

According to the Ministry of Health, 3,058 new cases and 99 more deaths from the virus were reported in the last 24 hours.

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Primary school students comply with safety and hygiene measures by wearing masks and keeping social distancing in Windhoek, Namibia on July 7, 2020. (Photo by Ndalimpinga Iita/Xinhua)

WINDHOEK -- Namibia on Friday recorded the first COVID-19 death after 116 days without any recorded deaths.

Namibia's Health Minister, Kalumbi Shangula, on Friday announced that the victim is a 45-year-old male from the coastal town of Walvis Bay.

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BEIJING -- The Chinese mainland reported two new imported COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total number of imported cases to 1,964, the National Health Commission said Saturday.

Of the two imported cases, Liaoning Province and Guangdong Province each saw one imported case, the commission said.■