Wednesday,  July 8th, 2020

The United States officially declares its intent to withdraw from the World Health Organization in 2021. (The Guardian)

Sinovac Biotech is starting Phase III trials of its potential COVID-19 vaccine following a fast-track approval for the trials by Brazilian regulators last week. The study, done in partnership with Brazilian vaccine producer Instituto Butantan, will recruit nearly 9,000 healthcare professionals working in COVID-19-specialized facilities and start this month. (Al Jazeera)

President Jair Bolsonaro tests positive for COVID-19. (The Guardian)

Chile surpasses 300,000 cases of COVID-19. (Cooperativa)

Connecticut reports zero deaths for the first time in four months. (The Hill)

Texas surpasses 200,000 cases of COVID-19. (USA Today)

The United States has averaged just under 50,000 new cases daily over the last week, twice as high as a month ago. (CNN)

Contact tracing is no longer possible across the Southern United States due to rapid COVID-19 surges in the region. (Fox8)

Iran reports a record high death toll of 200 in the last 24 hours. (AFP via Al Arabiya)

 

The End