Coronavirus live news: Australian state of Victoria reports 216 new cases as France exceeds 30,000 deaths




9.28pm EDT21:28




9.19pm EDT21:19

216 Covid-19 cases in Victoria, Australia

Updated
at 9.19pm EDT




9.08pm EDT21:08

Updated
at 9.12pm EDT




8.43pm EDT20:43




8.40pm EDT20:40

US welcomes the World Health Organization’s probe into the origins of virus




8.33pm EDT20:33




8.27pm EDT20:27

Former NZ prime minister says vaccine may be 2.5 years away

Updated
at 8.27pm EDT




8.18pm EDT20:18




8.04pm EDT20:04

Texas governor Greg Abbott has warned residents of the US state that “the worst is yet to come” after a week that saw new coronavirus diagnoses exceed 10,000 new cases per day on Tuesday and total people in hospital with the virus surpass 10,000 on Friday.

The governor who oversaw one of the US’s fastest attempts to reopen is now urging residents to wear masks and warning that he might impose a new lockdown.

“Things will get worse,” Abbott told a local television station. “The worst is yet to come as we work our way through that massive increase in people testing positive.”




7.55pm EDT19:55

Updated
at 8.00pm EDT




7.46pm EDT19:46

Remdesivir provisionally approved in Australia for hospital use




7.08pm EDT19:08

Coronavirus cases are rising across the US, some regional hospitals are filling up and some of America’s most populous places are seeing record deaths as the pandemic surges.

At the same time, as some states reverse reopening plans, public health interventions such as encouraging people to wear public face coverings and closing schools have become increasingly politicised and divisive.

Sunbelt states such as Arizona, Florida and Texas have been especially hard-hit after pushing to reopen their economies earlier in the pandemic. Cases a day have nearly doubled in Florida, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 40 hospitals across the state maxed out their intensive care unit capacity, NBC News reported.

“We’re putting ourselves at risk and other people aren’t willing to do anything and in fact go the other way and be aggressive to promote the disease,” Dr Andrew Pastewski, said.




7.03pm EDT19:03

Two Covid-19 cases in New South Wales, Australia, linked to the same pub




6.59pm EDT18:59

Hello and welcome

Updated
at 7.36pm EDT