Norway's cruise ship spread, Belgium's spike: COVID-19 daily bulletin

TOP HEADLINES

• At least 36 crew members on a Norwegian cruise ship have tested positive for COVID-19 . The entire 160-person crew have been quarantined on the ship currently docked in Tromso, North Norway, whilst all of its 177 passengers, who had already embarked, have been contacted and told to self-isolate.

-The president of Germany's region of Bavaria, Markus Soeder says he believes that **Germany's football fans shouldn't be allowed to return to stadiums **when the German league season restarts next month, because of a surge in COVID-19 cases across the nation.

• Spain's labour minister Yolanda Diaz has suggested the **government will extend its job retention scheme, **which is due to end in September, for three more months. "It would not make any sense to drop a protection system as important as the one designed by the government," She added.

• The number of new infections in Belgium has doubled in the last week , with an average of 448 people testing positive each day in the last week of July.

• Russia's new infections rose by 5,427 in the past 24 hours, brining the nationwide tally to 850,870. Fatalities also rose by 70 to 14,128.

• Ireland's chief medical officer Ronan Glynn has said the recent surge that has seen new infections double in the recent days as "concerning.”

-** Turkey's airline Turkish Airlines has restarted international flights to Russia after more than four months of suspension.**

• Madrid Open tennis organisers have been urged to cancel its tournament scheduled to take place next month as cases surge in the Spanish capital.

• Police officers in Germany's capital, Berlin, broke up thousands of people who took to the streets to demonstrate against the government's latest measures to slow the spread of COVID-19.

At least 36 crew members have tested positive on the Roald Amundsen cruise ship currently docked in Tromsoe, North Norway. /Reuters

Over the last five days we have seen an average of 44 cases a day. This trend is clearly concerning

• Ronan Glynn, Ireland's Chief Medical Officer

ACROSS EUROPE

Nawied Jabarkhyl in London

One of the UK's largest teaching unions has called for "greater clarity" from the government on when schools can reopen. Pupils in England are set to return to classrooms in September, but a recent rise in cases in the country has caused concern for some parents and teachers.

The NASUWT union says teachers need clearer guidance if children are to go back safely. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have powers to make their own decisions over education and plan on reopening some schools this month.

In Scotland, a cluster of 13 cases of COVID-19 is being investigated by local health authorities. The outbreak is linked to a pub in Aberdeen in the northeast of the country.

Norway

At least 36 crew members on a Norwegian cruise ship were diagnosed with COVID-19 after it arrived at Tromso in North Norway.

All 160 crew members on the Roald Amundsen have been quarantined on the ship, whilst the 177 passengers who were on the ship but had already disembarked, were contacted by the cruise company and told to self-isolate.

The cruise company has said that during the cruise, all passengers were instructed to socially distance to stop any potential spread of the disease.

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