Coronavirus live updates: Moscow to reopen schools and colleges next week; Hong Kong grapples with new cluster

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Stocks open higher as jobless claims better than expected

Stocks opened slightly higher after data showed a larger-than-expected fall in weekly jobless claims. The S&P 500 gained 0.2% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded just above the flatline. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 0.7% to a fresh record high. —Melodie Warner

Walgreens to cut more than 4,000 jobs in the U.K.

Walgreens Boots Alliance will cut over 4,000 jobs in its Boots UK business and shutter 48 of its optician centers in the United Kingdom, as the pandemic hurt sales and increased expenses.

The global drugstore chain reported its fiscal third quarter took a hit as it filled fewer prescriptions, spent more on staff and sanitizing and saw a drop in foot traffic. Its international business, in particular, dragged down its sales.

That steep drop means the company needs to cut costs through layoffs and other measures, company leaders said. Walgreens, which was already in the middle of a cost-cutting effort, has raised its goal to more than $2 billion in annual savings by 2022. —Melissa Repko

Weekly jobless claims total 1.314 million, less than expected

Weekly jobless claims were lower than expected last week as employees slowly returned to work in the wake of rising coronavirus cases, reports CNBC’s Jeff Cox.

Initial jobless claims hit 1.314 million last week, compared to a Dow Jones estimate of 1.39 million. The number marked a small decline from the previous week’s total of 1.43 million, but weekly claims have stayed above 1 million for 15 consecutive weeks. —Yun Li

Moscow schools and colleges reopen next week

A school student has her body temperature measured before a Unified State Exam (EGE) in the Russian language at high school No 1534.

Anton Novoderezhkin | TASS | Getty Images

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced schools and universities will reopen next week as he looks to ease restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.

Sobyanin announced schools, universities, cultural centers and summer camps as the next group of spaces to reopen in the city. Residents will also no longer be required to wear masks outside, but will still be required in stores, medical facilities and on public transportation, Sobyanin said.

Theaters, concert halls and sporting venues can open next month as long as they remain at half capacity, according to Reuters.

Russia reported 6,509 new coronavirus cases Thursday, bringing to total to 707,301, the fourth largest in the world, according to Reuter’s tally. Their tally also reports 10,843 coronavirus deaths in the country since the pandemic began. —Alex Harring

Africa CDC says countries across the region must prioritize testing

Health care workers holding signs, protest over the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus disease (COVID19) outbreak, outside a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, June 19, 2020.

Mike Hutchings | Reuters

A prominent disease control body in Africa has urged countries across the continent to ramp up testing for the coronavirus, Reuters reported, shortly after the number of regional cases surpassed 500,000.

“The pandemic is gaining momentum,” John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said during a virtual news briefing. 

He urged countries to encourage citizens to wear face masks and carry out testing and tracing measures. 

To date, more than 522,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Africa, with 12,206 related deaths, according to data compiled by Africa CDC. —Sam Meredith.

Hong Kong fights a new cluster

People wearing face masks, amid concerns of the COVID-19 coronavirus, commute on a train in Hong Kong on April 4, 2020.

Dale De La Rey | AFP | Getty Images

Hong Kong, hailed for its early and aggressive coronavirus response, is now grappling with rising cases for the second day in a row as the city reported 42 new cases on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The city has reported just 1,366 cases and seven deaths since the virus first spread to Hong Kong, according to Reuters. Officials quickly stamped out the outbreak without having to shut down the city by testing aggressively, conducting detailed contact tracing and isolating anyone who might have been exposed to the virus. 

In light of the cluster of new cases, authorities said they will cap the number of people at each table in a restaurant to eight, and no more than four people will be allowed to sit at a bar together, beginning midnight on Friday, Reuters reported. —Will Feuer

Read CNBC’s previous coronavirus live coverage here: California ramps up hospital capacity as cases surge

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Walgreens swings to a quarterly loss as coronavirus drives up costs, lowers doctor visits

A customer views merchandise for sale at a Walgreens store in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Christopher Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images Walgreens Boots Alliance said Thursday that the pandemic hurt its fiscal third-quarter results as fewer people went to the doctor and got prescriptions and the company spent […]