BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
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BEIJING -- More than 10.41 million residents in Beijing had received nucleic acid tests as of Thursday since the resurgence of domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases, local authorities said on Friday.
Test results from about 10.06 million people had come back, Zhang Qiang, deputy head of the Organization Department of Beijing Municipal Party Committee, said at a press conference.
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LONDON -- Britain's service sector bounced back to a four-month high in June after a steep downturn between April and May caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a report jointly published by IHS MARKIT/CIPS said Friday.
The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the service sector rose to 47.1 in June, up from 29.0 in May and record-low of 13.4 in April, albeit still under the neutral 50.0 threshold, showed the data.
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KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwait on Friday reported 813 new COVID-19 cases and one more death, raising the tally of infections to 48,672 and the death toll to 360, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
Currently, 9,036 patients are receiving treatment, including 144 in ICU, the statement added.
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NEW DELHI -- Commercial international flights to and from India shall remain suspended until July 31, the country's civil aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced Friday.
"In partial modification of circular dated 26-06-2020, the competent authority has extended the validity of circular issued on the subject - Travel and Visa restrictions related to COVID-19 - regarding scheduled international commercial passenger services to and from India till 31, July 2020," the order issued by DGCA said.
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BEIJING -- Nucleic acid test certificates will no longer be required for people traveling out of Beijing from the capital city's low-risk areas, though strict prevention and control measures remain in medium- and high-risk areas, authorities said.
The relaxation in the rule will be effective starting from Saturday, Pan Xuhong, deputy head and spokesperson of the municipal public security bureau, told a press conference on Friday.
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TOKYO -- Japan's health ministry on Friday resumed its coronavirus contact-tracing app service after it was forced to be shut down due to glitches just days after it was launched.
The resumption of the free smartphone app, which was launched on June 19 only to be shut down four days later, comes as the number of COVID-19 cases in Tokyo reached a fresh two-month high at 124, topping the 100-mark for a second straight day and remaining above 50 for an eighth straight day.
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BANGKOK -- Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Friday that Thailand has yet to open its door to foreign patients seeking medical treatment in Thailand due to the fear of COVID-19 spread.
Anutin said that he will discuss this issue with the government's Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), with the latter earlier hinting that foreign patients are allowed entry into Thailand. Enditem
