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Shanghai, Jun 13: Authorities in Beijing have temporarily shut a major wholesale agricultural market following a rise in locally transmitted novel coronavirus infections in China's capital city over the past two days.

The closure of the Xinfadi wholesale market at 3 a.m. local time on Saturday (1900 GMT on Friday), came after two men working at a meat research centre who had recently visited the market were reported on Friday as having been infected by the novel coronavirus. It was not immediately clear how the men had been infected.

Concern is growing of a second wave of the new virus, even in many countries that seemed to have curbed its spread. It was first reported at a seafood market in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei province, in December.

Beijing authorities had earlier halted beef and mutton trading at the Xinfadi market, alongside closures at other wholesale markets around the city.

Reflecting concerns over the risk of further spread of the virus, major supermarkets in Beijing removed salmon from their shelves overnight after the virus causing COVID-19 was discovered on chopping boards used for imported salmon at the market, the state-owned Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Beijing authorities said more than 10,000 people at the market will take nucleic acid tests to detect coronavirus infections. The city government also said it had dropped plans to reopen schools on Monday for students in grades one through three because of the new cases.

Health authorities visited the home of a Reuters reporter in Beijing's Dongcheng district on Saturday to ask whether she had visited the Xinfadi market, which is 15 km (9 miles) away. They said the visit was part of patrols Dongcheng was conducting.

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China reported 11 new COVID-19 cases and seven asymptomatic cases for Friday, the national health authority said on Saturday. And all six locally transmitted cases were confirmed in Beijing.

Brasilia, Jul 14: Brazil has reported new 20,286 coronavirus cases in last 24 hours taking the country's total to 1.8 million, Sputnik reported citing the health ministry.

The country's death toll has increased by 733 in the same period of time. The death toll from the infection has touched 72,833.

Over 1.1 million people have recovered from COVID-19 in Brazil since the start of the epidemic in the country, according to the health ministry.

Brazil has the second-highest coronavirus death toll, it is surpassed only by the United States.

Jul 11: UK’s Prince Charles, at the ongoing India Global week 2020, has praised India’s sustainable way of life, as he emphasised on sustainable development amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Addressing the summit through a video link from London, Prince Charles said, “The country’s (India’s) diversity and resilience is a personal inspiration for him and much to teach all,” reported the All India Radio.

The three-day summit is getting held on a virtual platform from July 9 to July 11 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Around 75 sessions on subjects such as geopolitics, business, emerging technologies, banking, finance, pharmaceuticals, defence and security, and arts and culture are getting held. The summit is expected to bring together over 250 speakers and more than 5,000 participants for incisive discussion and lively debate over the three days.

During his address, Prince Charles said India’s philosophies and values have emphasised a sustainable way of life and a harmonious relationship between humanity and nature, the AIR report said.

He also informed that he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the importance of sustainable living.

In his address, he also spoke about the ancient yogic concept of ‘Aparigraha’. “It’s the time when the world learnt this ancient wisdom from India as it seeks revival amid the pandemic, he said as reported by the AIR news.

As the countries across the globe are reeling under the corornavirus pandemic, he emphasised on sustainable development to overcome the crisis. He said, “We have an unparalleled opportunity to put people and planet at the heart of global value creation and move to sustainable markets for long-term value, balancing natural, social, and physical capital.”