Spanish judge blocks Catalonia from confining 156,000 people in Covid-19 outbreak area

A Spanish judge has blocked the Catalan regional government’s order to require home confinement as a way to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the provincial capital of Lleida and 7 nearby towns.

The ruling, which came late Sunday, explained that the confinement was part of the state's jurisdiction, and not the regional government's. It added that the president of Catalonia "could ask the (Spanish) Government to declare a state of alarm."

The judge, an investigating magistrate in Lleida, noted that the state prosecutor had opposed the implementation of the Catalan government’s stay-at-home order.

The measure would have confined 156,000 people to their homes, with few exceptions, after Segría county -- including Lleida city -- tallied 1,438 new cases of Covid-19. The cases have all been recorded since June 21, when Spain's state of emergency ended following three months of nationwide confinement.

A week ago, Catalonia ordered Segría's 200,000 residents to stay inside the county, which is a two-hour drive from Barcelona. But as the outbreak kept spreading, authorities issued a home confinement order for the majority of people.

Lleida's Mayor, Miquel Pueyo, warned in a statement that home confinement would have "a huge economic and emotional impact on the territory," and asked the Catalan government to "guarantee the salaries of the workers from outside Lleida who for 15 days wouldn't be able to come to work in Lleida" because of the confinement order.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported the highest daily number of Covid-19 cases globally on Sunday, with 230,370 new infections. 

In the US, where the virus is raging across parts of the country, nearly one out of every 100 Americans have tested positive for Covid-19.

The US has recorded more than 3.3 million coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University, and at least 135,205 Americans have died.

In Florida, where there's no statewide mask mandate, health officials on Sunday reported a staggering record of new cases in a single day: 15,300 -- the highest number of new cases reported in a single day by any US state since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Across the world, 12.9 million people have tested positive for the virus, according to figures from Johns Hopkins.

Here's the latest on the pandemic:

South Africa suspends alcohol sales, enforces curfew as it faces a surge in Covid-19 cases: South Africa will resume a ban on alcohol sales and reinstate a daily curfew from 9pm until 4am, to free up hospital capacity as the country’s Covid-19 cases continue to rise.

US military bases in Okinawa hit by Covid-19 as outbreak worsens: United States military personnel on the Japanese island of Okinawa are on virtual lockdown after almost 100 coronavirus cases emerged on several US Marine Corps bases there.The order, which was issued Saturday morning, bans almost all off-base movement by the tens of thousands of US military personnel there, unless approved by an officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel or above.

US service members test positive: Eleven service members of US Forces Korea (USFK) tested positive for coronavirus upon their arrival in South Korea from the United States, USFK said in a statement. Two service members arrived at Osan Air Base on a US government chartered flight on July 7, and nine service members have arrived at Incheon International Airport on four separate commercial flights since July 8. 

Bollywood stars test positive: Coronavirus has hit one of Bollywood's leading families with superstar Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek Bachchan and daughter-in-law, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan all being admitted to hospital. Authorities in Mumbai have declared Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan's Jalsa residence in the city a containment zone, after the actor and other family members tested positive for coronavirus. 

South Africa will resume a ban on alcohol sales and reinstate a daily curfew from 9pm-4am to free up hospital capacity as the country’s Covid-19 cases continue to rise.

"The storm is upon us. More than a quarter of a million South Africans have been infected by the coronavirus," said President Cyril Ramaphosa in a televised address to the nation on Sunday evening. 

Cases surge: Gauteng Province, home to the commercial hub of Johannesburg and the country’s capital, Pretoria, is leading the surge, with confirmed case numbers fast approaching 100,000. 

South Africa is recording more than 12,000 new Covid-19 infections every day -- the equivalent of 500 new cases each hour. A quarter of South Africa’s more than 4,000 coronavirus deaths have occurred in the last week. 

Ramaphosa said it was projected that 40,000-50,00 South Africans could die of the virus within the year. "We must make it our single most important task to prove these projections wrong," he said.

The President highlighted the success of treatment interventions and a stringent lockdown for keeping South Africa’s 1.5% case fatality rate among the lowest in the world. 

Virus exposes healthcare shortfalls: As the country’s pandemic stretches into its fourth month, healthcare shortfalls across South Africa are becoming clear, including the need for more than 12,000 health workers, mostly nurses. 

"Our greatest challenge still lies ahead," said Ramaphosa. "Health facilities in several provinces are already under tremendous strain."

Ramaphosa announced that ward capacity would be further freed up by delaying non-urgent care, and the construction of field hospitals throughout the country. Ramaphosa also said the country would divert a supply of oxygen from other purposes. 

The United States reported 59,017 new coronavirus cases and 428 new deaths on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

There are at least 3,304,942 Covid-19 infections and 135,205 people have died from the virus in the US, JHU reported. 

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other U.S. territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

CNN’s interactive map is tracking the US cases:

Eleven service members of US Forces Korea (USFK) tested positive for coronavirus upon their recent arrival to South Korea from the United States, USFK said in a statement.

Two service members arrived at Osan Air Base on a US government chartered flight on July 7, and nine service members have arrived at Incheon International Airport on four separate commercial flights since July 8. 

All eleven individuals tested positive on their first mandatory Covid-19 test prior to entering quarantine. They have since been transferred to an isolation facility designated for confirmed Covid cases at either Camp Humphreys or Osan Air Base.

The US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma has confirmed 32 additional Covid-19 cases today, according to the Okinawa prefecture government. 

Major Ken Kunze, Communications Strategy and Operations Officer for the US Marines in Okinawa, said the infection numbers provided to the Okinawa Governor are accurate.

There are now 94 cases on US military bases on the Japanese Island of Okinawa between July 7-13.

Marine Corps Air Station Futenma accounts for 72 of the cases. 

From Thailand to Uruguay, students are returning to school. But the classrooms, and even the students, look different.

In Thailand, temperature checks, hand sanitiser and makeshift cubicles made from old ballot boxes are some of the ways schools are welcoming back students. 

Meanwhile Hong Kong schools are closing again more than a month after they first reopened following a sudden rise in cases in the city. 

CNN's Will Ripley reports on how schools around the world are learning to adjust to the new reality.

Watch:

Civic authority workers spray sanitizer on the main door of the residence of Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan as he tested positive for Covid-19 in Mumbai on July 12. Sujit Jaiswal/AFP/Getty Images

Authorities in Mumbai have declared Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan's Jalsa residence in the city a containment zone after the actor and other family members tested positive for coronavirus. 

All staff members working at the residence have tested negative for Covid-19, said Vishwas Mote, an assistant commissioner at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Sound and Vision studio, a recording studio in Mumbai where Amitabh Bachchan's son, actor Abhishek Bachchan -- who also tested positive for the virus -- had been visiting was also sanitised, according to Mote.

"We have screened all employees at the studio, nobody there showed any symptoms, we have advised everyone to home quarantine," he said.

It comes after three generations of one India’s most famous families — considered Bollywood royalty -- tested positive for Covid-19.

Amitabh Bachchan was in a "stable" condition in the isolation unit at Nanavati Hospital, the facility said in a statement, after he and his son Abhishek Bachchan were both admitted following positive tests late Saturday evening.

And soon later Abhiskek Bachchan's wife, the heralded actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, also entered hospital. The couple's daughter tested positive for Covid-19 too.

On Sunday, Amitabh Bachchan tweeted his thanks to the many well-wishers. 

Read the full story.

Party-goers at the Torch Lake Sandbar on July 4. Michigan State Police

After revelers celebrated the Fourth of July at a Michigan lake, some started testing positive for Covid-19 -- prompting health officials to warn other party-goers that they might have been infected, too.

The Health Department of Northwest Michigan said other health officials in the state reported that several people have tested positive "after attending the festivities at the Torch Lake sandbar over the Fourth of July holiday," the department said Friday.

Those who tested positive weren't able to identify everyone they had contact with, "and therefore we want to make the public aware that those who attended could be at risk for exposure, and additional cases could be seen in the coming days," the health department said.