Donald Trump says he will pursue an executive order over the coming weeks requiring health insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions, Reuters reports. Trump has also repeated his claim that the US is showing more Covid-19 cases than other countries because it’s doing more testing. He said: We’re constantly showing cases, cases, cases, cases. We’re doing tremendous testing, and we’re especially doing big testing at nursing homes. This is not true – the US is seeing more cases because there are more cases. Hospitalisation and deaths are also increasing in some regions of the US – they’re not just catching more asymptomatic and mild cases. Donald Trump announces coronavirus relief package in New Jersey US president Donald Trump is announcing the details of another coronavirus relief package. It includes extending unemployment benefits to the end of the year and deferring student load payments. According to Reuters, Trump told reporters at the Bedminster press conference that he would suspend payroll tax until the end of 2020, backdated to 1 July. He said his administration “continues to work in good faith with democrats to extend unemployment benefits and prevent evictions,” then added that if the Democrats hold the relief package hostage, he will “act under his own authority”. US president Donald Trump has begun speaking at a press conference at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. A lot of people were standing less than six feet apart, mostly without face masks, awaiting his arrival earlier. From Reuters: Brazilian billionaire Jorge Lemann’s foundation and other business interests will fund the building of factory to produce the Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca PLC. The Lemann Foundation said in a statement on Friday that the 100 million reais ($18 million) factory will be donated to Brazil’s premier biomedical research and development lab, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, or Fiocruz. It said the factory will be ready to produce 30 million doses of the vaccine per month as of the beginning of 2021. Brazil is approaching 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak after the United States. The Brazilian government sees the British vaccine as the most promising of the vaccines that are being developed by researchers worldwide. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is being tested on Brazilian volunteers in a study led by the Federal University of São Paulo that is also funded by the Lemann Foundation. Other donors to the initiative to ensure Brazil can absorb the technology to produce the potential vaccine include Brazilian brewer Ambev SA, Itaú Unibanco, the Votorantim Institute and the Behring Family Foundation. Lemann said he hoped the initiative will help Brazil be “better positioned and prepared to face other challenges of this nature that may arise.” Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued a decree on Thursday setting aside 1.9 billion reais ($356 million) in funds to purchase an initial 100 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and to invest in its eventually production in Brazil. The health ministry reported on Friday 50,230 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 1,079 deaths from the disease caused by the virus in the past 24 hours. Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s how things stand: Brazil’s death toll is rapidly approaching 100,000. It now sits at 99,572, compared to 98,493 yesterday. It has now recorded almost 3 million cases. Italy has recorded a 38% jump in the number of infections, recording an increase of 552 cases. It’s the highest daily caseload in the country since May. Australia has topped 20,000 coronavirus cases, doubling from 10,000 in less than a month due to the outbreak in Melbourne. Norway has advised all its citizens to avoid travelling abroad and will make masks mandatory on public transport from next week. Japan has confirmed a record 1,580 new coronavirus infections on Friday. The European Union has removed Morocco from its safe list of countries from which the bloc allows non-essential travel. There are now just 10 countries on the list which are deemed to have the pandemic largely under control: Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and Uruguay. Schools in New York have been given the green light to open at the start of the school year. France recorded 40% more cases on Friday than it did the day before, raising concerns among UK travellers that France could be the next country added to the quarantine list. Hong Kong has announced free testing for all residents, amidst a third wave of infections. The Australian state of Queensland toughened its border restrictions overnight, banning travellers from New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. You can follow me on twitter at @callapilla or contact me via email at calla.wahlquist@theguardian.com.