Flávio Dino of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), was elected governor of the state of Maranhão with more than 63 per cent popular vote. Amidst the overall failure of the Brazilian State under the leadership of right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro to control the Covid pandemic, Maranhao stands as an exception. Led by the PCdoB coalition, the state earned plaudits for its efforts to control the pandemic and emerge as a beacon of hope in the entire country.

Cuba is preparing to enter the first stage of recovery, with a view toward maintaining control of the COVID-19 epidemic within the country, achieved as a result of “the work of all institutions and our people’s participation as an active element in the battle,” noted President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, presiding an extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers, June 10, led by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, where the plan of measures to be implemented in the three phases of the first stage of the country's recovery was presented.

IN Minneapolis, US, after an unarmed and unresisting George Floyd, a 46 year old Afro-American, was killed by a white cop after being arrested for the non-violent, alleged crime of trying to pass a fake $20 note, anti-racist protests erupted. Minneapolis cops, with a reputation for violence, responded to the initial protest with tear gas, rubber bullets and use of force. Enraged by their reaction, the protests became more determined, leading to the torching of a police station, damage to stores and other businesses, and the blockading of streets and bridges.

As information about coronavirus emerged, the Chinese government and Chinese society began to organise an immense campaign against its spread.

ALTHOUGH there is no preventive vaccine or specific treatment at this time for the new coronavirus SARS COV-2, which causes COVID-19, the Cuban pharmaceutical industry is guaranteeing production of proven, high efficacy treatment medications, including recombinant human interferon alpha 2b, in addition to another group of drugs that are included in protocols for treating patients with this disease and the complications that may arise.