Rolling updates on the latest developments and headlines from around the world on the Covid-19 pandemic.
By Gina Lee and Peter Nurse
(10:14 AM ET) Australia’s COVID-19 containment measures to cost $2.6 million weekly
Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg said that Australian measures to contain COVID-19 could cost the country’s economy $2.6 million weekly, as he prepares to speak at the National Press Club of Australia later in the day.
(10:04 AM ET) WHO says there is no proof for U.S. COVID-19 origin claims
The World Health Organization jumped into the fray as the U.S. and China dispute the origin of the COVID-19 virus.
“We have not received any data or specific evidence from the United States government relating to the purported origin of the virus – so from our perspective, this remains speculative,” WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said during a virtual briefing. This referred to claims from U.S. President Donald Trump and some other top U.S. officials claiming evidence that the virus originated in a Wuhan lab.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) estimated 134,475 deaths in the U.S. through the beginning of August as some states loosened lockdown measures on Monday.