AP: Who hasn’t heard of COVID-19 by now? More than you think
“A half-year into the most momentous pandemic in decades, it’s hard to imagine that anyone, anywhere has not heard of the coronavirus. But scores of migrants arriving in Somalia tell United Nations workers every day that they are unaware of COVID-19. Monitors for the International Organization for Migration, the U.N. migration agency, interview people at the border in Somalia, a crossroads on one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes: across the Red Sea with traffickers, through war-ravaged Yemen and into rich Gulf countries. The questions for migrants are simple. Origin? Destination? Why are you going? But after the first infections were confirmed in Somalia, a new one was added: How many people in your group are aware of the coronavirus? In the week ending June 20, just over half — 51% — of the 3,471 people tracked said they had never heard of COVID-19…” (Anna, 6/25).

CNN: WHO Special Envoy to U.S.: Please take this virus very seriously
“CNN’s Hala Gorani speaks with World Health Organization Special Envoy Dr. David Nabarro, who warns that as countries prepare to ease lockdowns they need to do so carefully and take the virus seriously…” (Gorani, 6/24).

New York Times: From China to Germany, the World Learns to Live With the Coronavirus
“…Around the world, governments that had appeared to tame the coronavirus are adjusting to the reality that the disease is here to stay. But in a shift away from damaging nationwide lockdowns, they are looking for targeted ways to find and stop outbreaks before they become third or fourth waves.While the details differ, the strategies call for giving governments flexibility to tighten or ease as needed. They require some mix of intensive testing and monitoring, lightning-fast response times by the authorities, tight border management, and constant reminders to their citizens of the dangers of frequent human contact…” (Wee et al., 6/24).

U.S. News & World Report: WHO Predicts 10% Spike in New Coronavirus Cases Within the Next Week
“The World Health Organization is predicting that the number of global coronavirus cases recorded since the pandemic began will surge nearly 10% from where it stood early Wednesday over the next week alone, surpassing 10 million infections with the virus yet to peak in parts of the Americas. ‘In the first month of this outbreak, less than 10,000 cases were reported to WHO,’ Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the general director of the organization, said in a press briefing on Friday. ‘In the last month, almost 4 million cases have been reported’…” (Smith-Schoenwalder, 6/24).

Additional coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic’s spread and response efforts is available from CNN, FRANCE 24, The Guardian, U.N. News, and VOA News.