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Hard Numbers: Trump's low COVID trust, Facebook blocks Thai critics, Africa beats polio, tourism loses big

Hard Numbers: Trump's low COVID trust, Facebook blocks Thai critics, Africa beats polio, tourism loses big

31: Only 31 percent of Americans say they trust President Trump on the coronavirus pandemic, compared to 46 percent for his opponent Joe Biden, according to a new poll. Trump has been under fire for playing down the importance of COVID-19, touting the benefits of untested drugs to combat the disease, and claiming that the US is doing a good job on the pandemic despite leading global cases and deaths.


500,000: More than half a million new users have joined a new Facebook group created by a Thai activist who openly criticizes the monarchy, until recently a taboo subject in Thailand. The group was set up by another dissident just hours after the social media giant complied with a government order to block access to a similar Facebook group with over a million members.

0: African health authorities have declared the continent free from the wild poliovirus. However, Africa has not yet completely eradicated the so-called vaccine-derived polio virus, a rare mutated form of the disease that is in fact caused by the vaccine against the wild poliovirus.

320 billion: The global tourism industry lost about $320 billion in the first five months of 2020, as tourist arrivals have more than halved around the world and more than 120 million tourism-related jobs are still in jeopardy. "Tourism has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.

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