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Football match during pandemic, ‘mask rage’ incidents in South Korea & other Covid news

As the Covid-19 pandemic shows no signs of letting up, ThePrint highlights the most important stories on the crisis from across the globe.

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New Delhi: The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate several countries across the world — the latest count is over 1 crore cases and more than 5.14 lakh deaths.

Asian factories show some sign of hope as growth picks up following increase in Chinese demand. Australia has substantially hiked its cyber defense spending following the post-virus threat from China and with summers in South Korea, several people are defying orders and not wearing masks, leading to incidents of ‘mask rage’ across the country.

ThePrint brings you the most important global stories on the coronavirus pandemic and why they matter.

Asian factories indicate the worst might be over

In a ray of hope, several key Asian economies saw their purchasing managers index (PMI) rise in the month of June following a pick up in demand from China, reports the Straits Times.

“PMIs for Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan — the region’s manufacturing powerhouses — improved slightly, but stayed below 50, the dividing line between contraction and expansion. Factory output in Vietnam and Malaysia grew for the first time since January and December, before the virus spread in the region. Indonesia’s index surged almost 11 points, the biggest increase since at least 2011, while remaining below 50,” states the report.


Also read: California state sues Cisco for caste-based discrimination against Indian-American employee


‘Bolsonaro follows Trump on coronavirus’

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took cues from US President Donald Trump on how to manage the coronavirus crisis, country’s former health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta told Al Jazeera in an interview.

Bolsonaro has come under severe public criticism for his government’s poor handling of the pandemic. During this health crisis, two health ministers have quit Bolsonaro’s government.

“They are very close. Bolsonaro follows Trump. When Trump says something he starts saying it as well. But neither of them think about what needs to be done,” remarked Mandetta.

“The number of cases being reported (in Brazil) are smaller than the actual number of cases, due to lack of enough testing,” he said when asked about the true number of cases in Brazil. The country has more than 14 lakh cases and over 59,600 deaths.

“Brazil is trying to do whatever it can, despite of Bolsonaro,” added Mandetta in the interview.

Australian cyber defence spending soars to $1 billion following post-virus China threat 

Following a spate of cyberattacks originating from China, the Australian government announced its decision to recruit at least 500 cyber spies and upgrade its existing capabilities, reports the New York Times.

In order to do so, Australia would be spending nearly $1 billion over the next decade in cyber defence — the largest expansion in the sector spending in the country’s history.

“It follows what Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described as a sharp increase in the frequency, scale and sophistication of online attacks — and, more broadly, a steady deterioration in relations between Australia and China,” notes the report.

The relations between Australia and China have been deteriorating since the former supported the idea of investigating China for its initial handling of the pandemic.


Also read: America risks 100,000 daily Covid cases if behaviours don’t change, Fauci says in warning


Global dealmaking falls dramatically

The pandemic has halted one of the longest waves of mergers and acquisitions in the global economy, as dealmaking fell to its lowest level in over a decade during the second quarter of 2020, reports the Financial Times.

“Dealmaking hit a rough patch in the second quarter as government-mandated shutdowns to halt the spread of coronavirus wreaked havoc on financial markets and caused liquidity to dry up. Against this backdrop companies were largely focused on shoring up their existing businesses and tapping back-up credit lines from their lenders, rather than seeking out new acquisitions,” notes the report.

“Companies have struck just $485bn worth of deals since the beginning of April, down more than 50 per cent from the same period last year when close to $1tn deals were agreed, according to the data provider Refinitiv,” it adds. 

South Korea, summer and mask rage

As summer begins in South Korea, the country is seeing a surge in “mask rage” incidents as people refuse to wear masks ignoring government rules, reports The Guardian.

“To avoid a second major outbreak, the government in June required masks to be worn on all buses and subways, and inside taxis, with drivers permitted to refuse passengers without face coverings,” notes the report. “But the country’s typically hot summer is making mask wearing increasingly uncomfortable, with temperatures regularly exceeding 30C last month.”

As a result more and more people are refusing to wear the mask or keep it below their chins.

“The practice, nicknamed “tuk sk” – tuk is Korean for chin – has sparked dozens of incidents of mask rage on public transport, according to South Korean media,” adds the report. There have been more than 840 mask related fights in South Korea in the month of June.


Also read: Modi govt’s app ban threatens China’s rise as a global tech power


Czechs hold party to bid ‘farewell’ to pandemic

Ignoring all warnings by the World Health Organization (WHO), a party was held in Czech Republic to mark  a “symbolic farewell” for the novel coronavirus, reports the BBC.

“Thousands of guests sat at a 500 metre-long (1640ft) table on the Charles Bridge in Prague on Tuesday sharing food and drinks they had brought from home. Guests were encouraged to share with their neighbours and there was no social distancing, something people in countries under lockdown will find hard to relate to,” the report says.

The country has less than 12,000 infections and nearly 350 deaths.

“We want to celebrate the end of the coronavirus crisis by letting people meet and show they are not afraid to meet, that they are not afraid to take a piece of a sandwich from their neighbour,” one of the organisers told AFP.

What it means to go for a Premier League football match now 

There are no crowds and no celebratory hugs at the English Premiere League football matches during the pandemic, reports the Financial Times whose reporter Murad Ahmed went for one the games.

“To ensure entry I need to complete a questionnaire on whether I am displaying Covid-19 symptoms and pass a temperature check on arrival,” writes Ahmed.

“Yet all these regulations pale in comparison to the most significant difference in football’s new reality — the absence of supporters at the stadium. Signs outside the ground read: ‘Support the team from home.’ But the messages are not required. The huge concourses are empty. It was the former Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby who once said: ‘Football is nothing without fans.’ I am about to find out if that is true,” he adds.

What else we are reading:

International travel in these strange times: Al Jazeera

Coronavirus: What’s behind alarming new US outbreaks?: BBC

After a Staggering Rally, What’s Next for Stocks?: The New York Times

Scenes from Biden’s first encounter with the media in months: Politico

Suntory taps new markets as coronavirus upends spirits business: Nikkei Asian Review

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