ROME — Italy’s health minister says the government is examining a proposal to make masks mandatory outdoors as the country enters a difficult phase of living alongside COVID-19, with the number of infections growing steadily for the last nine weeks.
Roberto Speranza told the lower house of parliament on Tuesday that as infections spread, it is necessary to return to restrictions that were gradually loosened over the spring and summer months after Italy’s strict nearly three-month lockdown.
‘’We must raise our guard with the awareness that our county is better off than others,’’ Speranza said.
The government is expected to pass new measures by Wednesday making it necessary to wear masks outdoors and limit gatherings. The government also wants to extend the state of emergency put into place on Jan. 31, while the epidemic was still believed confined to China, until the end of January 2022, making it easier to enforce new measures on a national level.
Speranza said the recent uptick in cases has been primarily from gatherings of friends and acquaintances, making it even more pressing for people to wear masks in the presence of those not living in the same household. He noted that there are currently 58,900 cases of the virus in Italy, compared with 12,600 two months ago, an indication of how it is spreading even if it is well below the peaks of last March and April.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— Trump staged a dramatic return to the White House after leaving hospital where he received unprecedented level of care for COVID-19
— Trump’s return to the White House puts focus on people who could be further exposed if he doesn’t abide by isolation protocols
— Some survivors and kin of those who have died are angry over Trump’s advice not to fear COVID-19
— White House blocks FDA guidelines on bringing potential vaccines to market that would almost certainly prevent approval before election
— Ultra-Orthodox Jews account for over one-third of Israel’s virus patients as non-compliance tests gov’t and public health officials
— About 25 residents from Easter Island stranded 6 months in Tahiti will finally be able to return home this week on French military plane
— Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
LONDON — The European Medicines Agency has begun reviewing a second potential coronavirus vaccine in an expedited process that could grant approval earlier than normal if it proves safe and effective.
In a statement Tuesday, the EU regulator said it has started examining early laboratory data from a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by BioNTech and Pfizer.
“This does not mean that a conclusion can be reached yet on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, as much of the evidence is still to be submitted to the committee,” the EMA said. It added that the agency’s decision to start the expedited approval process was based on preliminary results from studies in adults which suggest the vaccine triggers the body’s immune system to fight COVID-19.
Advanced tests involving thousands of people getting the vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer are ongoing and results will likely become available in the coming months.
Last week, EMA announced it had begun a similar fast-track approval process for a coronavirus vaccine still being tested by Oxford University and AstraZeneca. The expedited process means an approval could be granted in weeks rather than months.
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TOKYO — Japan and South Korea have agreed to resume business travel between them starting Oct. 8, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. South Koreans will be able to enter Japan for business and conduct work but will be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine after entry, the ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
South Korea has reported slightly more than 400 deaths from the coronavirus, while Japan has confirmed about 1,600.
Japan has imposed an entry ban on people from many countries because of the pandemic. The ban has been gradually relaxed, including for travelers from Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam, although a 14-day quarantine is required.
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MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Airlines has called on its employees to apply for voluntary separation as part of a retrenchment plan that may affect up to 35% of its 7,000 workers.
PAL said it resorted to furloughs and flexible working arrangements at the height of the pandemic to preserve jobs. But it is operating only 15% of its normal flights and says collapsing demand and ongoing travel restrictions make retrenchment inevitable.
The retrenchments would involve voluntary and mandatory steps to be carried out in the remaining months of the year, PAL said. It assured employees of fair treatment.
PAL, one of Asia’s oldest commercial airlines, is among the largest Philippine companies reeling from COVID-19. The disease has infected nearly 325,000 Filipinos, the highest number in Southeast Asia, and caused 5,840 deaths.
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NEW DELHI — India has registered 61,267 new coronavirus cases, its lowest daily increase since Aug. 25.
The country with nearly 6.7 million reported infections has had the highest single-day increases in the world for nearly 45 days. The last three weeks, however, have seen a gradual decline.
The Health Ministry on Tuesday also reported 884 deaths in the past 24 hours. The death toll now stands at 103,569.
India has the second-highest number of reported infections and is on track to exceed the caseload in the United States within weeks.
India’s recovery rate is more than 84%, the highest in the world, and nearly 5.7 million people have recovered, according to the Health Ministry.
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka has confirmed that more than 300 garment factory workers have been infected with the coronavirus, after reporting its first community infection in two months.
The health ministry said 321 cases have been identified in the cluster as of Tuesday after the first patient was diagnosed at a hospital two days ago.
To contain the outbreak, the government imposed a curfew in two suburbs of the capital where the majority of patients live, closed schools and universities, and imposed restrictions on public transport.
For more than two months, Sri Lanka health officials have said they have prevented a community spread of the virus and that all diagnosed patients had belonged to two known clusters.
The country has reported 3,471 patients with 13 deaths. Of the total patients, 3,259 have recovered.