Coronavirus live news: WHO says states can't 'pretend pandemic is over', French cases rise 50% in August

Hong Kong to launch mass testing; India’s economy shrinks nearly 24%; Spain cases jump 23,000 since Friday. Follow the latest

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1.14am BST

India’s economy growth suffered a historic 23.9% contraction in the April-June quarter, as the strict coronavirus lockdown hit businesses.

It was the biggest fall since the country started publishing quarterly statistics 1996. On Monday the government warned the figures could be revised further since the pandemic had also affected the ability to collect accurate data on economic activity.

1.05am BST

France’s new Covid-19 infections surged by almost 50% in August, hitting 281,025 cases, versus 187,919 at the end of July.

New cases in August increased on average by a record 3,003 every day, a figure four times higher than July’s average increase of 746 per day.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2EQWTsi