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Even the bastions of good health and sound management were being breached this week, as there seemed to be nowhere on earth that the coronavirus was not spreading, whether creeping or rushing full steam ahead. The United States, Brazil, India, and South Africa continued to drive a global surge in cases, but COVID-19<\/strong> was also on the rise across the most scrupulous parts of Asia Pacific. Latin America remained the hottest of hotspots, as Brazil surpassed 1.5 million infections<\/a> and 60,000 fatalities<\/a> during the course of the week, still not enough to deter residents of\u00a0S\u00e3o Paulo<\/a> and Rio de Janeiro<\/a> from newly reopened bars and restaurants<\/a>. Cases climbed in Argentina<\/a> and across Colombia’s Caribbean coast<\/a>, Chile laboured under one of the world’s worst per capita caseloads<\/a>, while Peru looked to reboot the economy in spite of a staggering toll<\/a>. By the end of the week, the United States had smashed Brazil’s record for new cases, reporting more than 55,000 infections in the span of one day<\/a>. The major states of Florida<\/a>, Texas<\/a>, and California<\/a> were setting new records at breakneck speeds, but from the Carolinas<\/a> to Arizona<\/a>, coronavirus was cutting a swathe across the south.<\/p>\n India strived to unlock more of the economy<\/a> even as cases swept past 600,000<\/a>, becoming by Sunday the third worst-hit country in the world<\/a>. Climbing cases in Bangladesh<\/a> and Pakistan<\/a> completed the bleak picture for Southeast Asia, while mounting infections and fatalities in Iran<\/a>, Qatar<\/a>, and Saudi Arabia<\/a> saddled the Middle East. If there was a silver lining, at least spiking cases in Israel<\/a> and Palestine<\/a> plus the threat of impending restrictions<\/a> paused plans for the illegal annexation of the West Bank<\/a>. South Africa suffered successive days<\/a> of record cases<\/a>, and infections remained high in Egypt<\/a> while Morocco emerged as the latest North African hotspot<\/a>. Across the Mediterranean, cases jumped in Spain<\/a> as the country reopened its border with Portugal<\/a>. While Asturias at the start of the week had become the first region to attain the status of virus-free<\/a>, by the weekend residents of Lleida in Catalonia were back under lockdown<\/a> as cases bumped. Turkey maintained a high case tally<\/a> and infections climbed precariously in the Eastern European states of Serbia<\/a> and Ukraine<\/a>, while a safe list of external countries<\/a> gave Greek tourism a boost<\/a>.<\/p>\n A resurgent virus in the Australian state of Victoria put ten Melbourne postcodes back into lockdown this week<\/a>, impacting more than 300,000 people. In New Zealand, the health minister David Clark stepped down amid criticism over recent border mishaps and his own previous lockdown breach<\/a>. Indonesia endured its deadliest week<\/a>, still the hardest-hit country in Southeast Asia, while the Philippines also reported record infections<\/a>. Cases in Tokyo climbed to their highest in months<\/a>, with the virus hastening its spread among young people<\/a>, while South Korea continued to battle outbreaks now stretching beyond the Seoul metropolitan area<\/a>. Low cases in China and Hong Kong were overshadowed by the authoritarian tendencies of the mainland, as Beijing imposed a new security law tough on dissent, carrying maximum penalties of lifetime imprisonment<\/a>. The swift passage of the law<\/a> brought protests<\/a> and international condemnation<\/a>, sanctions<\/a> and offers of citizenship<\/a>, while back on the coronavirus beat China looked at live poultry sales<\/a> and Hong Kong lost its three-week streak without community infection<\/a>.<\/p>\n Political strife was also the order of the day in Russia<\/a>, where cases topped 650,000<\/a> as Russians headed to the polls to overwhelmingly back Vladimir Putin’s constitutional amendments<\/a>. French prime minister \u00c9douard Philippe resigned as Emmanuel Macron prepared to reshuffle his cabinet<\/a>, general election campaigning was in full swing in Singapore<\/a>, while coronavirus in the United Arab Emirates prompted a restructured government<\/a>. As the World Health Organization sent a team to China<\/a> to investigate the origins of the pandemic<\/a>, China authorised military use of an experimental vaccine<\/a>. Soaring cases in Brazil made the country fertile ground for vaccine trials<\/a>, the WHO discontinued trials of hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir\/ritonavir<\/a>, while the antiviral treatment remdesivir was priced<\/a> and stockpiled<\/a> by America. Mexico now possessed the world’s fifth-worst death tally<\/a>, but this week saw the first reported case at a refugee camp along the Mexico-United States border<\/a>. Coronavirus was continuing to disproportionately affect Black and Latino people<\/a>, while contributing towards an increase in domestic abuse<\/a> and ravaging indigenous communities<\/a> along the Amazon River<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whether it was mandatory face masks<\/a>, nighttime curfews<\/a>, the closure of parks<\/a> and beaches<\/a>, or the cancellation of fireworks displays<\/a>, the United States celebrated Fourth of July<\/a> with plenty of trepidation<\/a>. Only the northeast of the country was spared, as while New York City delayed indoor dining<\/a>, Massachusetts prepared to move to the next phase<\/a> and New Jersey opened casinos and amusement parks in time for the holiday<\/a>. In the meantime Donald Trump squatted below Mount Rushmore to deliver a typically divisive message, recasting Independence Day as a battle against the left<\/a>.\u00a0In fact earlier in the week Trump had declared a preference for face masks<\/a>, which if not quite de rigueur were becoming de jure from Jacksonville<\/a> and Salem<\/a> to\u00a0Toronto<\/a> and Tehran<\/a>,\u00a0although denizens of Prague ditched the coverings<\/a> as they gathered on Charles Bridge for a farewell dinner<\/a>. Job losses beset Italy<\/a> and Spain<\/a>, but record gains for the month of June<\/a> saw the White House touting an economic recovery<\/a>. Broadway dimmed its lights for the rest of the year<\/a>, and positive tests cast doubt on the Major League Baseball season<\/a>, so for entertainment to Amsterdam, with clean sheets but no kissing<\/a>.<\/p>\n