China continues to see newly confirmed coronavirus cases in its northwestern region of Xinjiang, with 18 reported on Thursday. More than 50 people have been infected in China’s latest outbreak focused on Xinjiang’s regional capital and largest city of Urumqi.
Three out of four Americans, including a majority of Republicans, favor requiring people to wear face coverings while outside their homes, a new poll finds, reflecting fresh alarm over spiking coronavirus cases and a growing embrace of government advice intended to safeguard public health.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Wednesday downplayed the importance of wearing face masks during the pandemic, calling his treasury secretary’s assertion that using them would be a factor in reactivating the economy “disproportionate.” López Obrador had never been seen publicly wearing a mask until he flew to Washington earlier this month to meet with President Donald Trump.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed that the United Kingdom’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has shown the country’s “sheer might” as he sought during a trip to Scotland on Thursday to underline the bonds that tie the nations of the UK together. Johnson’s visit does not include a meeting with Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon, who countered his upbeat tone with a frosty tweet saying the prime minister’s presence “highlights” the arguments for Scottish independence.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte didn’t win many friends with his tough negotiating over the course of a marathon four-day European Union summit in Brussels. That didn’t bother the three-term leader who is a veteran of plenty of past EU negotiations. “We are not here because we are going to be visitors at each other’s birthday party later,” he told reporters during a brief lull in the grueling series of meetings.