LONDON — The British government has announced a big pot of money to help the country’s renowned arts and cultural institutions recover from the coronavirus pandemic, after some theaters and music venues warned that without support they might never open again.
The 1.57 million pound ($1.96 billion) package for museums, galleries, theaters, cinemas, heritage sites and music venues includes almost 900 million pounds in grants and more than 200 million pounds in loans.
Details of how the money will be distributed have not been released, but leaders of arts organizations breathed a sigh of relief. Tamara Roja, artistic director of the English National Ballet, said “this package gives our sector a fighting chance of survival.”
Some U.K. arts institutions are starting to open their doors after more than three months of lockdown, starting with the National Gallery in London, which reopens Wednesday.
But theaters and concert venues have not been told when they can admit audiences, and several have already announced they will close permanently.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— Egypt arrests doctors, silences critics over government's handling of virus outbreak
— Trump’s bluster doesn’t beat a virus, calm a restive nation
— Coronavirus pandemic and Floyd's death merge in brutal blow to Black well-being
— Amid pandemic, fewer students seek federal aid for college
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Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
BERLIN — Calls to drop rules in Germany requiring people to wear masks in shops are being rejected by the country’s health minister and other senior politicians.
German states, which are responsible for setting and lifting lockdown rules, made masks on public transport and in shops compulsory in late April. On Sunday, the state economy minister in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania — the state least affected by the coronavirus pandemic — said he sees no need to keep the rule in shops if infections remain so low.
Health Minister Jens Spahn told Deutschlandfunk radio on Monday that it’s important “not to be too careless.”
He added: “I totally understand the wish to return to everyday life as it was before, I understand the impatience -- wearing masks isn’t always pleasant. But we see that in enclosed spaces in particular, and where a minimum distance isn’t always ensured, everyday masks can make a difference.”
The co-leader of the Social Democrats, the junior partner in the national coalition government, said he and Chancellor Angela Merkel agree that the mask-wearing rule should stay. Norbert Walter-Borjans told the Bild daily that “we should exercise caution here.”
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NEW DELHI — India has overtaken Russia to become the third worst-affected nation by the coronavirus after reporting 24,248 new cases Monday.
India has now confirmed 697,413 cases, including 19,693 deaths. Russia has 680,283 cases.
The U.S. has had the most cases, with nearly 2.9 million. Brazil is second, with over 1.6 million.
Indian authorities late Sunday withdrew a planned reopening of the famed Taj Mahal monument after new cases were detected in the area. India’s Culture Ministry had decided to reopen all monuments across the country on Monday after more than three months with a cap on the number of visitors and mandatory wearing of face masks.
After a strict nationwide lockdown, India has eased restrictions in most of the country except for the highest-risk areas.
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SYDNEY, Australia — The leader of Australia’s most populous state says her government’s decision to close its border with hard-hit Victoria state marks a new phase in the country’s coronavirus pandemic.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has long been a critic of states that close their borders to her state when its capital Sydney had Australia’s largest numbers of COVID-19 cases.
But she had changed her stance on keeping Australia’s internal borders open because the situation in the Victorian capital Melbourne was unprecedented.
The overwhelming majority of news cases detected in Melbourne in recent weeks were from community transmission. Everywhere else in Australia, the vast majority of cases were infected overseas or had been infected by a returned traveler, Berejiklian said.
“What is occurring in Victoria has not yet occurred anywhere else in Australia,” she said. “It’s a new part of the pandemic and, as such, it requires a new type of response.”
New South Wales police will close the Victorian border from late Tuesday. Some flights and trains services would continue for travelers who are given permits and exemptions, Berejiklian said.
Victoria announced on Monday that two men died of COVID-19 in the state within 24 hours, bringing the national death toll 106. They died in hospitals and were aged in their 90s and 60s.
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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has reported its biggest spike in coronavirus infections in recent days, raising the possibility its crowded capital may be placed back under a strict lockdown.
The Department of Health reported 2,434 cases in recent days, most of them in metropolitan Manila, raising the number of cases nationwide to more than 44,250, including 1,297 deaths. The infections and deaths are among the highest in Southeast Asia.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said there’s a possibility the capital area may revert to a lockdown if the uptick continues and hospitals get filled again.
At least one major Manila hospital, the Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center, said its COVID-19 ward was running at full capacity and appealed that new patients be taken elsewhere.
President Rodrigo Duterte eased the lockdown in metropolitan Manila, an epicenter of infections, on June 1 to bolster an economy on the brink of recession. One major commercial and tourism region, central Cebu city, was placed back under a strict lockdown in mid-June due to alarming infection spikes.
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LOS ANGELES -- Californians mostly heeded warnings to stay away from beaches and other public spaces during the long weekend.
State officials urged social distancing amid a spike in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations.
Many communities canceled July 4 fireworks shows and other annual festivities — changes that appeared to successfully keep crowds at bay. However big waves at Southern California beaches proved irresistible to some surfers.
California reported 6,500 additional confirmed cases of the virus on Saturday. The actual number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick. ———
PHOENIX -- Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego is pointing to a “crisis” involving coronavirus testing shortages in her city due to surging cases in Arizona, which leads the U.S. in new coronavirus cases per capita.
Gallego, a Democrat, said some residents over the weekend had to line up for eight hours by car to get tested.
Gallego told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that Arizona went from “zero to 60” by being one of the first states to reopen after it was among the last to implement stay-at-home orders.
Arizona health officials reported 3,536 additional coronavirus cases Sunday and four more known deaths. That brings the state’s documented totals to 98,089 confirmed cases of COVID-19 cases and 1,809 known deaths.
