Macron Rejects National Lockdown; Chinese Media Defends Wuhan ‘Pool Partiers’ In National Scandal: Live Updates

Summary:

• Macron rejects nationwide lockdown, prefers “localized” efforts
• Germany sees most new cases since April
• Chinese media defends Wuhan “pool partiers”
• Brazil says outbreak finally past its peak

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Coronavirus news out of Europe and Asia on Thursday further cemented the narrative that while outbreaks in the US, India and Brazil appear to have finally reached their peaks in terms of both infections, and deaths, the virus is making a comeback elsewhere. As the worst-hit countries finally see some relief, clusters reported across Europe and Asia have continued to fester, while more continue to be discovered.

On Thursday, Germany once again reported its largest single-day COVID-19 case total since the Spring, with 1,707 new cases in the past 24 hours.

According to the Robert Koch Institute data, Thursday’s numbers brought the total number of infections to 228,621.

While the uptick in cases seen since Germany started reopening schools and its economy have alarmed elected officials, cases remain well below daily records seen in early April, when Germany reported just over 6,000 cases in a day. Ten new deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 9,253.

Germany isn’t alone. Spain, France, the UK, Greece and a handful of other European states have seen a rise in cases recently. After France reported its highest single-day case tally in months, President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published by Paris Match last night that French people don’t need to fear another national lockdown, though he left the door open for local lockdowns, like those that have been re-imposed in Paris and Toulouse.

“We can not put the country at a standstill, because the collateral damage of confinement is considerable,” Macron said. “Zero risk never exists in a company. We must respond to this anxiety without falling into the doctrine of zero risk.”

However, a “targeted re-containment” of certain areas should not be ruled out “if the situation requires it,” Macron said, insisting that he would prefer “very localized strategies.”

Over in Latin America, Brazilian public health officials proclaimed on Thursday that the outbreak might finally be slowing, as data collected since the end of July shows that a peak in both deaths and cases occurred in late July, according to Brazil’s Health Ministry.

The number of cases confirmed last week declined to 304,684 compared with a peak of 319,653 in the week ending July 25.

The number of deaths reported on a weekly basis has also fallen to 6,755 from a peak of 7,677 reported during the last week in July.

What’s more, an analysis of the data by Imperial College London shows Brazil’s transmission rate has fallen below one, a definitive sign that the outbreak is in fact slowing, as each infected patient is now expected to pass the virus to less than one person.

Finally, in China, state media are coming to the defence of a theme park in Wuhan which hosted a massive music festival and pool party over the weekend, raising concerns about potential COVID-19 transmission as the photos zinged across the global internet.

Criticizing #Wuhan residents for having fun at water park music festival shows foreign sour grapes. People should reflect on why their countries’ epidemic control failed rather than smear Wuhan people and their hard-won victory over #coronavirus https://t.co/NJVBmxLiHk https://t.co/BRQBJvZtoe

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) August 19, 2020

While Beijing defends partiers, officials in the state of Connecticut are punishing several students who attended a “packed dorm party”, photos of which incensed the Internet, according to the Hartford Courant.