Health News at Your Fingertips

California on Tuesday became the second US state after New York to report more than 400,000 Covid-19 cases, according to a Reuters tally of county data.

Reuters reports that most populous US state has a total of 400,166 Covid-19 cases, putting it on the verge of surpassing New York – the original epicentre of the nation’s outbreak – for the highest number of infections.

If California were a country, and it overtakes New York, it would rank fifth in the world for total Covid-19 cases behind only the United States, Brazil, India and Russia. New York currently has over 412,800 total cases and is adding on average 700 new cases a day in July. In California there is an average of 8,300 new cases a day.

The rapid increase of cases has made it difficult to trace the pathogen’s path through the community through contact tracing, a process of interviewing people who test positive for the virus to find out how they were exposed, and whom they in turn might have exposed, said California Secretary of Health and Human Services Mark Ghaly.

“No one anticipated building a program to contact trace the number of cases we’re seeing here,” Dr. Ghaly said at a news conference, referring to Los Angeles and other counties struggling to trace cases of the disease.

A Chinese-made vaccine against the new coronavirus entered the final stage of testing Tuesday in Brazil, where volunteers received the first doses of what officials hope will be a game-changer in the global pandemic, AFP reports.

The vaccine, developed by private Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech, became the third in the world to enter Phase 3 clinical trials, or large-scale testing on humans – the last step before regulatory approval.

Around 9,000 health workers across six Brazilian states will receive the vaccine, known as CoronaVac, in two doses over the next three months under the study. Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria said Monday initial results were expected within 90 days.

Sinovac is partnering with a Brazilian public health research center, the Butantan Institute, on the trials. If the vaccine proves safe and effective, the institute will have the right to produce 120 million doses under the deal, according to officials.

Brazil is also helping carry out Phase 3 testing of another experimental vaccine, developed by Oxford University and pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca. It has a similar deal to produce that vaccine domestically if it is successful in tests, which are also being carried out in Britain and South Africa.

You can keep up with the coronavirus vaccine race with our tracker here:

At a White House press briefing on coronavirus held without public health experts in attendance, US President Donald Trump noted a “concerning rise” in coronavirus cases in parts of the southern United States and endorsed the wearing of masks, saying, the government is “asking Americans to use masks, socially distance and employ vigorous hygiene – wash your hands every chance you get”.

He also asked younger people to “avoid packed bars and other crowded indoor gatherings”.

Trump, who has downplayed the importance of masks, saying in a Fox news interview on Sunday that they could “cause problems” and who has himself refused to wear masks a number of times, asked Americans to wear face coverings “whether you like the mask or not”.

He said, “We’re asking everybody that when you are not able to socially distance wear a mask. Get a mask whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact they have an effect and we need everything we can get.”

The president was first seen wearing a mask publicly earlier this month.

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest news from around the world for the next few hours.

As always, it would be good to hear from you – send tips, suggestions, questions and recommend the 2005 film Earthlings starring Joaquin Phoenix to me on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.

After repeatedly downplaying the importance of masks, US President Donald Trump today in a coronavirus press briefing – held without health experts in attendance – asked Americans to face masks wear masks ‘whether they like it or not’.

Meanwhile, a third coronavirus vaccine has started the final testing phase. Developed by private Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech, the vaccine entered the final stage of testing Tuesday in Brazil, where volunteers received the first doses of what officials hope will be a game-changer in the global pandemic.

Here are the key developments from the last few hours:

• There are 14.8m coronavirus cases worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, and 613,232 known deaths.
• The US president Donald Trump has asked Americans to wear masks “whether you like the mask or not”, despite refusing to wear one himself on many occasions. The president was first seen wearing a mask publicly earlier this month.
• Brazil has confirmed 41,008 more cases in the past 24 hours, as well as 1,367 related deaths, the country’s health ministry has said. Brazil has registered nearly 2.2m cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 81,487, according to ministry data.
• The euro hit an 18-month high and stock markets gained ground after the EU agreed a €750bn pandemic recovery fund, in a deal struck hot on the heels of reports that a coronavirus vaccine could be ready within months.After more than four days of tortuous negotiation, the EU’s 27 leaders resolved to issue debt jointly, with the proceeds to be disbursed to countries wrestling with an economic downturn not seen since the Great Depression.
• The United States is failing to report vital information on Covid-19. The data would help authorities track the spread of the disease and prevent the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans, according to the first comprehensive review of the nation’s coronavirus data.
• Covid-19 is showing no signs of “slowing down” in the Americas. Carissa Etienne, the Pan American Health Organization director, said there were surges in Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. Etienne also said some central American nations were seeing their highest weekly increase of cases since the pandemic began.
• UK records 110 new coronavirus-related deaths. A further 110 people have died in the UK after testing positive for Covid-19 across all settings – including hospitals and the wider community. The total number of recorded coronavirus deaths in the country now stands at 45,422, according to government figures.
• Spain will send €1.7 billion in aid to developing countries to help them deal with coronavirus outbreak. Spain will send €1.7bn in aid to developing countries to help them deal with coronavirus pandemic, foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said on Tuesday. Spain hopes to save lives and strengthen public health systems.
• Iran announces record daily deaths. The health ministry said 229 people have died of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, a new high as the country struggles to contain the virus.
• Italy to receive €210bn from new EU fund. Some EU member states have been setting out how much financial support they are likely to receive following the €750bn deal struck at the end of a marathon negotiating session on Tuesday morning.