• The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases, with the total rising by 284,196 in the past 24 hours.

• Some 15.7 million people around the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while more than 638,000 have died, according to a tally by the Johns Hopkins University. More than 8.98 million people have recovered.

• France advised its citizens not to travel to the Spanish region of Catalonia in order to help contain the spread of COVID-19. 

• India reported more than 49,000 fresh cases of the coronavirus with 740 new deaths, marking the biggest daily surge in infections.

Here are the latest updates:

Saturday, July 25

04:20 GMT – Vietnam bans wildlife imports, markets

Vietnam announced that it was banning wildlife imports and would close wildlife markets in response to renewed concerns about the threat from diseases that can jump from animals to humans.

An order signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc bans all imports of wildlife dead or alive and includes eggs and larvae. It also merits tougher penalties for crimes involving the trade in wildlife.

Steve Galster, the director of Freeland, a group working on ending the wildlife trade, said “COVID-19 elevated the issue of wildlife trade, so Vietnamese lawmakers got involved with the issue in the past few months and helped push the directive forward”.

03:09 GMT – Beijing partly reopens movie theaters

China’s capital, Beijing, reopened movie theaters in parts of the city deemed at low risk of cross-infection.

Under new rules, tickets must be booked in advance, attendance is capped at 30 percent of capacity and no eating or drinking is allowed during the show.

A temperature check and online travel record are required for entry.

People wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus watch the film ‘Dolittle’ at a movie theater in Beijing [Mark Schiefelbein/ AP Photo]

02:33 GMT – S Korea reports biggest one-day jump since March

South Korea reported 113 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours – its first daily jump above 100 in nearly four months.

But the rise was expected as health authorities had forecast a temporary spike driven by imported infections found among cargo-ship crews and hundreds of South Korean construction workers flown out of virus-ravaged Iraq.

(LEAD) New virus cases spike to over 110 on cases coming in from Iraq, Russia https://t.co/XuzRX3AOun

— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) July 25, 2020

02:07 GMT – US records 1,000 deaths for fourth day

The US recorded more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19 for the fourth straight day on Friday but a top White House advisor on the pandemic said she saw signs that the worst could be past in hard-hit southern and western states.

At least 1,019 fatalities due to COVID-19 were confirmed nationwide on Friday, following 1,140 on Thursday, 1,135 on Wednesday and 1,141 on Tuesday. Total cases across the US rose by at least 70,000 to over 4.1 million, according to a tally by the Johns Hopkins University.

The numbers have been driven in large part by a surge in infections in Arizona, California, Florida, Texas and California.

“We’re already starting to see some plateauing in these critically four states that have really suffered under the last four weeks, so Texas, California, Arizona and Florida, those major metros and throughout their counties,” Dr Deborah Birx told NBC news in an interview.

01:46 GMT – Chile’s Pinera signs pensions withdrawal into law

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera signed into law a plan to allow citizens to withdraw 10 percent of their pensions savings.

The legislation, approved by two-thirds of the parliament, was created to give quick cash to millions of Chileans who lost jobs because of the economic shutdown aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

Opinion polls indicate nearly nine out of every 10 Chilean planned to tap their funds. Most said they would use the money to pay for basic goods and services, but others said they planned to invest the money elsewhere.

01:38 GMT – US court turns down church challenge to Nevada rules

The US Supreme Court declined to lift a 50-person limit on religious services adopted by the state of Nevada in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

By a 5-4 vote, the justices denied a request by Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley in rural Nevada for an interim order that would have allowed it to host services for about 90 congregants.

The majority did not explain its reasoning.

01:07 GMT – New foreign students cannot enter US if courses are online

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced new guidelines that will block new foreign students from entering the country if they plan to take their classes entirely online in the coming school term.

In a memo to college officials, ICE said new students who were not already enrolled as of March 9 will “likely not be able to obtain” visas if they intend to take courses online.

The policy strikes a blow to colleges a week after hundreds united to repel a Trump administration policy that threatened to deport thousands of foreign students.

That rule sought to bar all international students in the US from taking classes entirely online in the new school year, even if their universities were forced to switch to fully online instruction amid an outbreak.

Read more here

00:17 GMT – US health agency urges schools to reopen

The top health agency in the United States issued new guidelines on reopening schools, stressing the need for children to get back into the classroom despite fears about safety as coronavirus cases surge across the country. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added the documents, titled, The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools this Fall, after President Donald Trump called earlier recommendations too tough, impractical and expensive.

Trump sees reopening of schools as important to boost the economy as he seeks re-election in November.

Dr Robert Redfield, CDC director, said the additional documents were “all put out with the intent to help facilitate … the full reopening of schools for face-to-face learning”.

The guideline includes recommendations such as keeping desks six feet apart, keeping students in small cohorts and using outdoor spaces. 

It urged school leaders to work with local officials to make decisions about the new school year, taking into account the virus’s rate of transmission in the area. If there is minimal or moderate spread, it recommends social distancing, masks and increased sanitation. 

But in areas with substantive and uncontrolled spread, it said school closure is an “important consideration” adding that “plans for virtual learning should be in place in the event of a school closure”.

Read more here.

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives. 

You can find all the key developments from yesterday, July 24, here.