Latest On Coronavirus

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st July, 2020) The work on the vaccine continues, without a guarantee but with cautious optimism, while some of the countries are tentatively easing the restrictions, including the on international travel.

The total global case count is still climbing. According to the statistics collected by the Johns Hopkins University, it now stands at 10,368,165, against the 10,199,798 reported on Monday.

The United States retains the largest cumulative case count in the world, with 2,581,229, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This marks an increase of 33,664 cases, compared to a day earlier.

Brazil has recorded 1,368,195 cases, which means an increase of 24,052 compared to a day before.

Russia has registered 647 849 cases so far, according to the official response team's statistics issued earlier on Tuesday. This means 6,693 new cases have been recorded in the last 24 hours.

The European Union published a list of countries whose residents will be able to travel to the bloc starting on July 1.

The EU lifted the coronavirus-related travel restrictions for residents of the following countries: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay, China (subject to confirmation of reciprocity). The United States, Brazil and Russia are not on the list.

The council of the EU said its recommendations were not legally binding. EU member states are responsible for the implementation.

While the European Union is lifting some restrictions, Thailand is extending the state of emergency. Thailand's cabinet of ministers on Tuesday formally approved extending the coronavirus state of emergency until July 31, Bangkok Times reported. The decision was made despite lack of local transmission in more than a month.

Government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat explained that the emergency powers granted to the government were needed to restrict international travel and to track and quarantine people with suspected infections, the newspaper reported.

Canada's world-famous Cirque du Soleil has become the latest victim of the coronavirus. It filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday and explained that as part of financial restructuring efforts it would have to let go the 3,480 employees laid off in March.

Cirque du Soleil is not alone in fearing the worst. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is unable to say with certainty how will the global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic look like but the current rebound across the world is weaker than desired, IMF Research Director Gita Gopinath said.

Russia's State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology Vector plans to start clinical trials of a vaccine against coronavirus on July 15, and volunteers have already been selected, Vector Director General Rinat Maksyutov told Sputnik in an interview.

Japan's AnGes biopharmaceutical company, which is developing a DNA vaccine against the novel coronavirus, has begun clinical trials in two groups of 30 volunteers, Ryuichi Morishita, the company's founder and a professor of clinical gene therapy at Osaka University, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

Spain is successfully working on vaccines against COVID-19, and human clinical trials of one of them might start in a few months, Minister of Science and Innovation Pedro Duque said on Tuesday. According to the minister, there are about 180 projects on COVID-19 vaccine development worldwide, while Spanish scientists are working on 12 of them, which are all funded from the state budget.

There is no guarantee of a safe and effective vaccine, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday, adding, however, that "we are cautiously optimistic."