Bedugul Coffee: Thursday Morning Briefing: New Zealand scrambles to contain coronavirus resurgence

What you need to know about the coronavirus today

New Zealand scrambles to contain resurgence
New Zealand was scrambling to trace the source of its first coronavirus outbreak in more than three months, reporting 13 new community infections on Thursday, after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had sought to eradicate the virus with a hard lockdown.

The resurgence of COVID-19 comes just weeks before a scheduled general election, increasing pressure on Ardern to get the outbreak under control amid growing criticism.

Ardern swiftly reimposed tight movement restrictions in Auckland and social distancing measures across the rest of the country after the discovery this week of four infected family members in the city.

“Once again we are reminded of how tricky this virus is and how easily it can spread,” she said during a televised news conference on Thursday. “Going hard and early is still the best course of action.”

Chinese cities find virus in Brazilian chicken wings
Two cities in China have found traces of the new coronavirus in imported frozen food and on food packaging, local authorities said on Thursday, raising fears that contaminated food shipments might cause new outbreaks.

A sample taken from the surface of frozen chicken wings imported into the southern city of Shenzhen from Brazil, as well as samples of outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp sold in the northwestern Xi’An city, have tested positive for the virus, local authorities said on Thursday.

The discoveries came a day after traces of the coronavirus were found on the packaging of frozen shrimp from Ecuador in a city in eastern Anhui province. China has been stepping up screenings at ports amid the concerns over food imports.

Millions in England may have had COVID-19
Nearly 6% of people in England were likely infected with COVID-19 during the peak of the pandemic, researchers studying the prevalence of infections said on Thursday, millions more people than have tested positive for the disease.

A total of 313,798 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Britain, 270,971 of which have been in England, or just 0.5% of the English population.

However, a study which tested more than 100,000 people across England for antibodies to the coronavirus showed that nearly 6% of people had them, suggesting that 3.4 million people had previously contracted COVID-19 by the end of the June.

Track the spread with our U.S.-focused and global live graphics.

Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Chinese credit ratings, Aegon.
Read concise views on the pandemic’s financial fallout from Breakingviews columnists across the globe.

Reuters reporters and editors around the world are investigating the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Top News

Kamala Harris made her campaign-trail debut as Joe Biden’s Democratic running mate on Wednesday, delivering a strong rebuke of President Donald Trump’s leadership and highlighting the historic significance of her new role. Harris said Biden, the former vice president under President Barack Obama, had recognized the critical moment being faced by the country by picking her to be the first Black woman and Asian American on a major-party U.S. presidential ticket.

A sharp escalation in tensions with the United States has stoked fears in China of a deepening financial war that could result in it being shut out of the global dollar system - a devastating prospect once considered far-fetched but now not impossible. Chinese officials and economists have in recent months been unusually public in discussing worst-case scenarios under which China is blocked from dollar settlements, or Washington freezes or confiscates a portion of China’s huge U.S. debt holdings.

President Donald Trump has privately discussed with advisers the possibility of replacing Defense Secretary Mark Esper after the November election following a growing number of differences between them, a source familiar with the internal debate said. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two men were “not in a good place” but that Trump did not intend to move on Esper until voters have rendered their judgment on a second Trump term on Nov. 3.

SPECIAL REPORT

A feud over money in Syria’s ruling clan shows a threat to Bashar al-Assad’s authority may ultimately come, not from the battlefield, but from once loyal allies and Syria’s crumbling economy.

COVID Science

Neuromuscular disease may be triggered by COVID-19
Researchers have added the muscle-weakening disease myasthenia gravis to the list of neurological problems linked to severe COVID-19. Tremors, seizures, impaired consciousness and other nervous system issues already have been tied to severe COVID-19. In some instances, the virus appears to trick the body into attacking the brain by triggering the immune system to produce so-called autoantibodies, which mistakenly target a person's own tissues or organs.