Evening roundupThursday's key coronavirus news from Luxembourg and abroad

Starting with Luxembourg

• The latest figures from the Ministry of Health show that 83 new cases of coronavirus were found yesterday. This brings the total number of cases to 6,616. The death toll remains the same.

• The minister of health faced the press on Thursday afternoon, recapitulating the most recent corona-related developments in the Grand Duchy in her weekly update. We have a summary for you.

• [block type="summary”]STATEC have given insight into the geographic spread of Covid-19 infections between 6 and 26 July in Luxembourg. Most new cases are once more reported in the canton of Esch, with a total of 788 infections within 20 days, which translates to 43 people per 10,000 residents. Luxembourg City counts 312 infections, thus 25 cases per 10,000 residents.

  • Passengers from Luxembourg could be required to quarantine for 14 days on arrival in UK due to an increased number of cases of coronavirus, according to an update provided by Luxembourg’s foreign ministry.
  • And finally, The Independent, a British newspaper, has referred to Luxembourg as “Europe’s worst coronavirus hotspot” and questioned why travel restrictions are not in place.

  And around the world

  • Australia on Thursday reported a record number of new coronavirus infections and its deadliest day of the pandemic so far following a spike in cases at elderly care homes.
  • Brazil, which has been hit harder than any country except the United States in the pandemic, recorded 69,074 new cases and 1,595 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the figures to a total of more than 2.5 million infections and 90,134 people killed since the start of the pandemic, the health ministry said.
  • Several French cities on Thursday announced new face mask requirements and other measures to contain the coronavirus as the number of new cases continues to increase after a long lull, officials said.
  • After almost three months of gradual easing of measures taken to stem the spread of coronavirus, Iceland announced Thursday it was backtracking after a new surge in infections.
  • Anglo-Dutch energy major Royal Dutch Shell posted Thursday a colossal net loss of $18.1 billion (15.4 billion euros) for the second quarter, blaming massive asset writedowns on the coronavirus-hit oil market, and flagged that job cuts are on the way.
  • Hong Kong’s government on Thursday reversed a day-old ban on restaurants serving dine-in customers -- introduced to control the spread of coronavirus -- following widespread public anger.
  • Tokyo’s governor called Thursday for restaurants, bars and karaoke parlours to shut earlier to help contain the coronavirus as the Japanese capital reported a record new number of infections.
  • Sweden, whose controversial softer approach to curbing COVID-19 has received worldwide attention, said Thursday it would keep encouraging people to work from home when possible, as the country passed 80,000 recorded cases.

  • The Dutch cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam on Thursday ordered the wearing of face masks in busy places including the capital’s famed red light district in order to limit the spread of coronavirus.

  • United Airlines is now planning for even deeper furloughs of pilots following the latest weakening of air travel demand due to the coronavirus, a company official said Thursday. The big US carrier currently is planning for 3,900 pilots to be furloughed, up from 2,250 expected in early July before the latest spike in US coronavirus cases that has led to another deterioration in customer interest.