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Coronavirus pandemic - World News

More on Germany's announcements

More now on the announcements by German Chancellor Angela Merkel after her discussions with the heads of the country's 16 states:

Large shops will be able to reopen, those in residential care homes will be allowed to have visitors, and two households will be able to meet together in public

German's Bundesliga football league will also be allowed to return later this month

The states will decide how to reopen things like cinemas, restaurants and theatres

Social distancing rules will stay in place until 5 June, such as maintaining a distance of 1.5m (5ft)

The chancellor stressed that if infections begin to rise, restrictions will be brought back swiftly. But she was optimistic, and thanked the German people for listening to the rules - in particular the public health authority.

"The first phase of the pandemic is behind us," she said, but added that Germany is "still very much in the early phases of the pandemic and will be in it for the long haul."
 
Belgium will become the latest country to allow shops to reopen from Monday as lockdown restrictions are eased, Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes has said.

Businesses that do not have contact with the public have already re-started work, however schools, restaurants and bars will remain closed.

The country has one of the highest mortality rates from Covid-19 in the world.
 
Brazil announces 6,935 new cases

Brazil's health ministry said on There have been 6,935 new cases of coronavirus in Brazil since Monday evening and 600 new deaths, bringing the total to 114,715 confirmed cases of the virus and 7,921 deaths, the ministry said.

New cases increased roughly 6.4 percent from Monday evening, while deaths increased roughly 8.2 percent.
 
Canada's coronavirus deaths rise 5pc from a day earlier to 4,111

The total number of people killed by the coronavirus in Canada rose by about 5 per cent to 4,111 on Wednesday from a day earlier, Reuters reports.

The figure for those diagnosed with the coronavirus in Canada rose to 62,458, according to Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam.
 
The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has been outlining how the Netherlands plans to slowly unlock the partial lockdown.

From 11 May schools and day cares will reopen (this had been previously announced) and hairdressers, beauticians and other contact professions can start operating again next week, along with libraries opening. People should try to keep their distance but Rutte has acknowledged this will not always be possible but face masks won’t be required.

From 1 June everyone on public transport must wear a face mask, although Rutte, speaking during a press conference this evening, urged people to make their own masks, saying “medical masks are for medical staff”.

Rutte has recommended face masks in situations where it’s not possible to keep a distance of 1.5 metres - not because they stop you contracting but to stop people infecting others.

Also from 1 June Dutch bars can reopen their terraces - reservations and limited numbers with 1.5 metre spacing. Restaurants, bars, cinemas, theatres and museums can start operating again, under strict conditions: only with reservations, but again people must maintain a distance of 1.5 metres.

As of 1 July, camp sites and churches can open doors again.
 
The UK will review its lockdown measures on Thursday, with ministers keen to restart the economy

About 400,000 PPE kits the UK bought from Turkey did not meet British safety standards, the government confirms

The United Nations appeals for a further $4.7bn (£3.8bn) in funding to protect poorer countries

UN official Mark Lowcock warns the "spectre of multiple famines looms"

US President Donald Trump describes the coronavirus pandemic as the "worst attack" ever on the US

The US records more than 2,000 Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours

A repatriation of around 15,000 Indians on 64 flights is due to get under way

Brazil reports 615 deaths - the highest one-day tally ever in the southern hemisphere
 
The chief of staff to German chancellor Angela Merkel has said the coronavirus pandemic will last for at least the rest of the year.

“We are not living after the pandemic now - rather we are living in the middle of a pandemic, one that will be with us for a while - at least for this year and that’s being very optimistic,” Helge Braun told Deutschlandfunk radio on Thursday.

Yesterday, Merkel announced steps to ease the coronavirus lockdown in Germany but simultaneously launched an “emergency brake” mechanism allowing for restrictions to be renewed if Covid-19 infections rise again.
 
More than 3.76 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 262,458 have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 0503 GMT on Thursday.

EUROPE
* Total cases in Germany increased by 1,284 to 166,091 and fatalities rose by 123 to 7,119.

* Deaths in Italy climbed by 369 on Wednesday, while the daily tally of new infections also rose by 1,444.

* Spain has extended the state of emergency for two more weeks from Sunday.

* The United Kingdom has drawn up a three-stage plan to ease its lockdown, The Times newspaper said.

* Number of new cases in Russia rose by more than 10,000 for the fourth consecutive day.

AMERICAS

* More than 1.23 million people have been infected in the United States and 73,792 have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 0505 GMT on Thursday.

* U.S. President Donald Trump said his coronavirus task force would shift its primary focus to reviving business and social life, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed China for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and demanded again it share information about the outbreak.

* Death toll in Canada rose by about 5% to 4,111 on Wednesday.

* Colombia declared a second state of emergency to support sectors of the economy that will remain shut down for an extended period.

* Brazil registered a record 10,503 new cases in the last 24 hours and 615 deaths. Its President Jair Bolsonaro’s spokesman, Otavio do Rego Barros, has tested positive and is currently quarantined in his home.

* Mexico reported 1,609 new cases and 197 additional fatalities. At least 47 residents and three workers have been infected at a retirement home in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.

* El Salvador will from Thursday temporarily suspend public transport and the measure would remain in place for 15 days.

* Total cases in Panama reached 7,731 on Wednesday, a rise of 208 from the previous day, and deaths climbed by eight to 218.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* China reported two new cases for May 6, unchanged from the same number of increases the day before, with the total tally touching 82,885 and deaths at 4,633.

* India’s national tally rose to 52,952, up by 3,561 over the previous day, and the death toll rose by 89 to 1,783. The spurt in cases has come from the densely packed metropolises of Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad.

* Thailand reported three new cases, bringing its total to 2,992.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Turkey said it has brought the outbreak under control, and will set out new social guidelines and business practices to prevent any resurgence.

* Shops and industrial enterprises in Bahrain can open from Thursday, while restaurants will stay closed to in-house diners.

* The World Bank will grant $7 million to Zimbabwe to help it fight the pandemic.

* To help fight the economic impact of the pandemic, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board approved $739 million in emergency financing to help Kenya, while Uganda will receive an emergency loan worth $491.5 million from the IMF too.

* Asian shares pared early losses after Chinese exports proved far stronger than even bulls had imagined, while U.S. bond investors were still daunted by the staggering amount of new debt set to be sold in coming weeks. [MKTS/GLOB]

* Lockdowns are pummelling gas demand in the world’s biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), pushing Asia’s spot prices to record lows.

* Italy’s public debt is set to rise to nearly 160% of gross domestic product this year as the economy shrinks due to the crisis, the EU executive estimated.

* The Philippines’ economic growth unexpectedly shrank in the first quarter. GDP contracted 0.2% in January to March from the same period last year, the first decline since the fourth quarter of 1998.
 
Russia's capital Moscow has been the epicentre of the country's coronavirus outbreak. Official figures report 92,676 confirmed cases in the city, out of Russia's total 177,160 recorded infections.

But Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, has said the number of cases is far higher. According to Tass news agency, Sobyanin said there were actually around 300,000 in the city alone.

The latest official data shows Russia now has the fifth highest number of infections worldwide. In the last 24 hours case numbers grew by 11,231 - the fifth consecutive day that figure has been over 10,000.

The reported death toll is 1,625 - far lower than in many other countries, including those with smaller confirmed case totals.
 
The Afghan health minister, Ferozuddin Feroz, has tested positive for Covid-19, the ministry’s spokesman said, as the number of transmissions continued to surge in the war-torn country.

Wahidullah Mayar said Feroz is in a stable condition and has isolated himself at home.

The country has so far recorded 3,563 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 106 deaths.

Fighting coronavirus is challenging in Afghanistan as despite government-authorised lockdowns, cities are crowded and war has intensified in recent days.
 
The number of people who have died from COVID-19 in Turkey has risen by 57 in the last 24 hours to 3,641, according to health ministry data.

The overall number of cases rose by 1,977 to 133,721, the data showed, the highest total outside Western Europe, the United States and Russia. The number of daily deaths and new cases has fallen sharply from peaks recorded last month.
 
Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy have climbed by 274, against 369 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new infections declined marginally to 1,401 from 1,444 on Wednesday.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 now stands at 29,958, the agency said, the third highest in the world after the US and Britain.

The number of confirmed cases amounts to 215,858, the third highest global tally behind the United States and Spain.
 
Norway has announced the easing of its lockdown measures with groups of up to 20 people allowed to gather privately from today, Thursday, provided they stay one metre apart.

Similarly, events in public places with up to 50 people are allowed if they stick to the same social-distancing.

Norway has been in strict lockdown since 12 March.

From Monday all schools will reopen and from 1 June bars and amusement parks can reopen with social distancing measures.

Top-level football will be allowed again from 16 June.
 
More than a third of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Afghan capital have been among doctors and other healthcare staff, two senior health officials said, in a sign that the war-torn country is struggling to deal with the pandemic.

The officials on Thursday cited a lack of protective equipment for medics as well as a lack of awareness among some medical staff of the precautions needed to avoid infection.

The high rate of infection among healthcare workers has sparked alarm among medics, and some doctors have closed their clinics.

However, it is not clear whether the apparently disproportionate rate of infection might be at least in part because medical staff members are more likely to be tested for the illness.

Few people with the classic COVID-19 symptoms of high fever and respiratory problems are being tested in Afghanistan, because of a shortage of testing kits.

The total of 925 confirmed cases in Kabul has included some 346 medical staff, said a government health official and an Afghan doctor who is on the board of a government-led pandemic taskforce.

As of Thursday, 3,563 people have tested positive and 106 people have died from COVID-19 in Afghanistan, according to official figures.

The two officials, who asked not to be named as they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly, said at least 13 doctors had died in different parts of the country last month and in the first week of May.

At least nine of those doctors had been attached to public, private or military hospitals in Kabul, two other health officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The government has said it is providing the best available facilities to deal with the health crisis, which it calls a big challenge.

The rate in Kabul compares with a global rate of infection for medical staff issued on Wednesday by the International Council of Nurses, which said six percent of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 were among healthcare workers, based on data from 30 countries.

Some doctors have closed their clinics, putting a strain on the limited health resources in Afghanistan.

"I have decided to suspend my practice for two months, many doctors will not open their clinics and private nursing homes ... pregnant women are being told to find midwives instead of coming to hospitals," said a cardiologist in Kabul.

With a population of more than 37 million, Afghanistan has roughly 172 hospitals, and four doctors per 10,000 people, according to a 2019 government report.

The healthcare system is dependent on millions of dollars in foreign donor aid for support.

At least six doctors who Reuters news agency spoke to say the government has not made accurate data about COVID-19 cases public, and many hospitals are teetering on the verge of collapse.

"The situation is so bad that it's best for doctors to sit at home," said a foreign doctor who has been working in Kabul for six years.

The health ministry said it is collecting data on confirmed cases, but in some cases, infections are not reported to the ministry.

There are parts of the country that are under the control of the Taliban group and where it is hard for the government to access data.

The government also says while it is doing its best to protect people, a large part of the response to the pandemic is dependent on foreign aid.

Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz has tested positive for the illness, the minister said on Thursday.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...irus-cases-afghan-medics-200507165515729.html
 
France has reported 178 new coronavirus deaths, down from 278 on Wednesday, meaning 25,987 people have died with the virus in hospitals and nursing homes. The figures come as the prime minister announced lockdown measures would remain in Paris and the north east, but ease elsewhere.

Fatalities in Italy also fell compared with Wednesday - 274 people died. The number of new infections also fell, but only by 43, to 1,401. The country's death toll stands at 29,958, the third highest in the world after the United States and the UK.

In Spain, 213 people died, down from 244 the previous day. Spain's parliament voted on Wednesday night to extend a state of emergency to control people's movements for two more weeks. More than 26,000 people have died.

And in Poland, which has one of the lowest death rates in the EU, 324 new infections were recorded and 22 virus-related deaths, taking the total number of victims to 755.
 
Australian PM Scott Morrison announces three-stage plan to reopen the country

Step one allows 10-person gatherings, rising to 20 people, then 100

Europe marks 75th anniversary of VE Day under lockdown

Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes warns of economic collapse if lockdowns continue

India's operation to bring home 200,000 people home on special flights is under way

The UK is considering some "modest" easing of lockdown measures

France will start to relax its lockdown on Monday except in Paris and several north-eastern regions

Global confirmed cases of Covid-19 stand at 3.8m with 268,000 deaths
 
Virus cases edge towards 3.9m

So far 3,846,861 million people around the world are confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus, numbers from Johns Hopkins University show.

And 268,584 people have now died with Covid-19.

The US currently has the most deaths in the world at 75,670 - more than twice that of the UK, which comes second.

The UK has 30,689 deaths of people with Covid-19

Followed by Italy at 29,958
Spain at 26,070
France at 25,990

Comparatively, the official reported number of deaths in China - where the outbreak first emerged last December - stands at 4,637, though critics say the real figure is likely to be far higher.
 
Summary

Global death toll nears 270,000. The total number of coronavirus deaths across the world has reached at least 268,999, according to Johns Hopkins University, which has tracked the spread of the virus. There are 3,846,949 confirmed cases.

White House blocks release of CDC guidance on reopening businesses. A report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was abruptly shelved by the White House, according to Associated Press. The document includes step-by-step guidance on how and when local authorities should allow businesses to reopen and life to resume as normal. US unemployment claims hit 33.3 million, and the death toll passed 75,000.

Trump revives theory that virus originated in a lab. “Something happened,” Trump told US reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the theory that the coronavirus was released from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. “Probably it was incompetence. Somebody was stupid,” the US president added during a meeting with the Texas governor. It comes after Mike Pompeo claimed he had seen “enormous evidence” that the virus had originated at the lab. No evidence has been produced. China has denied the claims. Trump meanwhile tested negative for coronavirus, after his personal valet was confirmed to be infected.

The Australian government has pushed back at US claims the coronavirus may have originated in a Wuhan lab and has determined that a “dossier” giving weight to the theory is not a Five Eyes intelligence document.

Australia outlines three-step plan for easing restrictions. Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison outlined the three steps the country will take to achieve a “Covid-safe economy in July of this year”. However, the final decisions on the easing of restrictions remains in the hands of state governments.

WHO study: 190,000 people in Africa could die from virus. Up to 190,000 people could die of Covid-19 during the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, according to a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) based on prediction modelling and analysing 47 countries in the region. The organisation also warned that the virus could ‘smoulder’ on the continent for years.

Record daily deaths in Mexico. Mexico’s health ministry on Thursday reported 1,982 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 257 additional fatalities, the most lethal day since the pandemic reached the Latin America’s second largest country. Infections in Pakistan have risen by 1,764 over the previous 24 hours, officials said on Friday, taking the total to 25,837. Deaths rose by 30 to 594.
 
What's the latest across Europe?

Coronavirus restrictions mean several countries are marking the end of World War Two in Europe with ceremonies but no crowds present. President Emmanuel Macron is at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will lay a wreath in Berlin, and there will be a two-minute silence at 11:00 BST (10GMT) in the UK. In other news:

Madrid's public health chief Yolanda Fuentes has resigned in protest against the Spanish capital's bid to start lifting its lockdown from Monday. Madrid has seen more Covid-19 fatalities than other areas of Spain but the rate of infection has declined

Russia has declared another 10,669 infections in the past 24 hours - the sixth consecutive day that the number has been above 10,000

Denmark's announced a roadmap for ending its lockdown. It started lifting restrictions back in April and has now said professional sport can resume behind closed doors and shopping centres can reopen from Monday

Serbia lifted its state of emergency on Thursday and last night police arrested over 100 people involved in a political protest outside the office of President Aleksandar Vucic

German exports plummeted 11.8% in March. The worst month-on-month fall since reunification in 1990 is being blamed on the pandemic.
 
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The death toll in Italy has reached 30,201, authorities say. The US and the UK are the only other countries that have lost more than 30,000 people to the coronavirus pandemic.
 
Over 82% of 4,167 people who died with Covid-19 in Canada have been elderly residents of long-term care homes, a report from Canada’s National Institute on Aging says.
The proportion is similar in other parts of the world, as the virus disproportionally affects the elderly and sick.
The US state of New Jersey plans to deploy National Guard troops to nursing homes over the weekend, after finding that residents make up half of the state’s death toll.
 
France reported another 243 coronavirus deaths, raising its total toll to 26,230, while the number of patients in intensive care continued to fall.

While the country has been one of the hardest hit in Europe, it has seen the daily death rate steadily drop and is due to start emerging from a strict lockdown on Monday.

France reported 93 fewer patients suffering from the coronavirus in intensive care, dropping the total to 2,868. The figure rose above 7,000 at the peak of the country's epidemic in Apri
 
Spain is beginning to open up after one of the tightest lockdowns in Europe, with the limited relaxation of the country's rules allowing some people to go back to work.

That includes the nation's footballers, who have returned to individual training ahead of a planned restart of Spanish top-flight La Liga next month.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi is among the stars to have reported back, with the players adhering to strict protocols in a four-stage process towards playing matches behind closed doors.

But not all the players are happy. Players from Basque club Eibar have expressed their fears about the possibility of contributing to a "new wave of the pandemic".
 
EU external borders to remain shut for another month

Restrictions on travel into the European Union will be kept in place until at least mid-June, the bloc announced on Friday.

While borders between EU nations may soon begin to reopen in some form or another, the European Commission, the bloc's executive branch, has backed keeping curbs on travel to the continent in place for another 30 days as part of extraordinary measures to limit the spread of coronavirus but which are also hurting trade and tourism.

The bloc decided in mid-March to close its external borders for any non-essential travel in a largely failed bid to prevent the 27 member states from closing frontiers inside Europe's control-free travel zone.

The EU's Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said this week Europe would have to "go back to the future" of open borders once the pandemic is under control.

But for the time being, at least 17 of the Schengen zone's 26 countries have various travel restrictions in place. The Schengen zone brings together most EU countries as well as Norway, Iceland and others.

"Restrictions on free movement and internal border controls will need to be lifted gradually before we can remove restrictions at the external borders and guarantee access to the EU for non-EU residents for non-essential travel," Johansson said in a statement on Friday.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/eu-external-borders-remain-shut-month-200508223837398.html
 
The head of the International Monetary Fund suggested that the already bleak global economic forecasts could be revised down, and warned the United States and China against rekindling a trade war that could weaken a recovery.

Meanwhile, the US accused China and Russia of cooperating to spread false narratives about the coronavirus, and tightened visa guidelines for Chinese journalists.

The leaders of US congressional foreign affairs committees have also written to more than 50 countries asking them to support Taiwan’s inclusion in the World Health Organization. Taiwan is excluded from the WHO due to diplomatic pressure from China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory.

Donald Trump has said that coronavirus is “going to go away without a vaccine”, but warned there could be “flare ups” next year. Mike Pence’s press secretary, who is married to one of Donald Trump’s senior advisers, has tested positive for coronavirus.

Roy Horn, of the double act Siegfried and Roy, died after contracting Covid-19, his publicist confirmed. He died in Las Vegas on Friday, aged 75.

Argentina said it will extend a quarantine covering its capital Buenos Aires but relax restrictions in the rest of the country.

Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday that he aims to present plans next week to reopen the economy, as key sectors like carmaking look to begin business again after over a month of quarantine measures
 
Singapore registered 753 new coronavirus infections, its health ministry said on Saturday, taking the city-state's total to 22,460 cases.
 
Japan has approved the antiviral drug remdesivir for coronavirus treatment in a fast-track review just four days after a United States company submitted an application.

Italy became the third country in the world to record 30,000 deaths from the coronavirus, reporting 243 new fatalities compared with a daily tally of 274 the day before.

Authorities in Moscow have extended a lockdown in the capital until the end of the month.

The administration of US President Donald Trump shelved a document with step-by-step advice to local authorities on how and when to reopen public places during the still-raging coronavirus outbreak, according to a report by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team obtained by the AP news agency.

More than 275,000 worldwide have died from the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus, with cases up around 4 million and more than 1.3 million recovered.
 
Russia has recorded 10,817 new cases in the past 24 hours, increasing the country’s total to 198,676.

The Russian coronavirus taskforce said 104 people died overnight, taking the national death toll to 1,827.

The number of infections in the country has been rising by more than 10,000 a day since Sunday. Russia now has the fifth-highest number of cases in the world.

It overtook France (176,202) and Germany (170,588) on Thursday and is closing on the UK total of 212,629 cases, according to figures collated by Johns Hopkins University.

The US has by far the largest number of cases, with over 1.2 million, while Spain (222,857) and Italy (217,185) have the highest number of cases in the EU.
 
Indonesia has reported its biggest daily increase in coronavirus infections, with 533 new confirmed cases taking the total number to 13,645.
 
Half of Spaniards will see lockdown eased from Monday as death toll falls

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s daily death toll from the coronavirus fell to its second lowest since mid-March on Saturday, as half the country prepared to move to the next phase of an exit from one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns.

Spain began to loosen its lockdown this week, but Phase 1 will include a considerable easing of measures that will allow people to move around their province as well as attend concerts and go to the theatre. Gatherings of up to 10 people will be allowed.

Spain’s daily death toll from the coronavirus fell to 179 on Saturday, down from 229 the previous day and a fraction of highs above 900 seen in early April.

The cumulative death total rose to 26,478 while the number of diagnosed cases rose to 223,578 from 222,857 the day before, the health ministry said.

Some 51% of the population will progress to Phase 1 of a four-step easing plan on Monday after the government decided the regions in which they lived met the necessary criteria.

In regions that made the cut, such as the Canary and Balearic Islands, bars, restaurants and shops will open at reduced capacity, and museums, gyms and hotels will open their doors for the first time in nearly two months.

The country’s two biggest cities - Madrid and Barcelona - do not currently meet the criteria for easing and will remain on Phase 0.

The government will still encourage homeworking where possible and companies will have to implement staggered start and finish times to ensure distancing measures.

In a positive step for Spain’s tourism industry, which contributes around 12% of economic output, hotels will be allowed to open all rooms and nature tourism will be allowed for groups of up to 10.

Scores of joggers and cyclists poured down Madrid’s six-lane Castellana Avenue on Saturday morning, one of several major transport arteries closed off to vehicles for the weekend.

“I think it’s really good, what they’ve done with the Castellana is fantastic,” said Madrid resident Carlos de la Torre, out for a morning jog.

Madrid’s city hall pedestrianized 29 roads over the weekend to prevent crowds from building up where runners and walkers are forced to share pavements and walkways.

Cyclist Maria Galeote welcomed the move.

“There’s so much space between people, I think it’s great,” she told Reuters. “The bike lanes are packed with runners, walkers, as well all the cyclists. This gives us some room to breathe.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...monday-as-death-toll-falls-idUSKBN22L0G8?il=0
 
More than 1,000 queue for food in rich Geneva amid virus shutdown

GENEVA (Reuters) - More than 1,000 people queued up on Saturday to get free food parcels in Geneva, underscoring the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the working poor and undocumented immigrants even in wealthy Switzerland.

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The line of people stretched for more than 1 km (half a mile) outside an ice rink where volunteers were handing out around 1,500 parcels to people who started queuing as early as 5 a.m.

“At the end of the month, my pockets are empty. We have to pay the bills, the insurance, everything,” said Ingrid Berala, a Geneva resident from Nicaragua who works part-time. “This is great, because there is food for a week, a week of relief...I don’t know for next week.”

In a nation of nearly 8.6 million, 660,000 people in Switzerland were poor in 2018, charity Caritas says, particularly single parents and those with a low level of education unable to find work after losing a job.

More than 1.1 million people were at risk of poverty, which means they have less than 60% of the median income, which was 6,538 Swiss francs ($6,736) for a full-time job in 2018.

Swiss bank UBS has calculated here(New%20York%20%3D%20100)&split=false that Geneva is the second-most expensive global city for a family of three to live in, behind only Zurich. While average incomes are also high, that helps little for people struggling to make ends meet.

“I think a lot people are aware of this, but it is different to see this with your own eyes,” said Silvana Matromatteo, head of the aid group Geneva Solidarity Caravan.

“We had people in tears who said ‘It is not possible that it is happening in my country’. But it is here and maybe the COVID-19 brought everything out and this is good, because we will be able to take measures to support all these workers, because they are workers above all.”

Patrick Wieland, chief of mission for the Doctors Without Borders group, said a survey last week showed just over half the food recipients interviewed were undocumented, while others had attained legal status, were Swiss or were seeking asylum.

Just over 3% had been tested positive for COVID-19, three times the overall rate in Geneva, which he attributed to poor and overcrowded housing.

“In Geneva, one of the richest cities in the world, there have always been people living precariously, especially all the people who work as housekeepers, in agriculture, on construction sites or in hotels, and they found themselves overnight without a job because of COVID-19,” he said.

One illegal immigrant who called himself Fernando said he lost his restaurant job during the crisis and had no pay.

“I’m very grateful to receive this help and if the situation changes for me, I am committing to do the same thing that they are doing for me,” he said. ($1 = 0.9706 Swiss francs)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...geneva-amid-virus-shutdown-idUSKBN22L0KQ?il=0
 
Spain’s PM urges caution before lockdown easing

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called on people to exercise “total caution” ahead of a partial relaxation of the country’s lockdown.

More than half of the country, about 23 million people, will start “phase one” of the strategy to ease nationwide social-distancing measures on Monday.

Restaurants and bars will be able to serve people outdoors, non-essential shops will be allowed to open and gatherings of up to 10 people will be permitted.

But, in places where the lockdown is loosened, people should “take precautions as if they were infected”, Sanchez said.

“The virus has not disappeared. It is still on the prowl,” Sanchez warned in a TV address on Saturday.

Spain’s number of coronavirus-related deaths jumped by 179 to 26,478 on Saturday, the lowest daily rise since mid-March.

The country has reported more than 220,000 coronavirus infections to date, the second-highest in the world after the US.
 
France has recorded its lowest daily number of coronavirus deaths for more than a month, with 80 deaths over the past 24 hours.

There has also been a drop in the number of patients admitted to intensive care.

The increase in deaths on Friday was 243, and 178 the day before that.

France is lifting several restrictions on Monday, with some schools reopening and people allowed to travel up to 100km (62 miles) from their homes without getting permission.

The country has had the fifth highest amount of coronavirus-related deaths in the world: more than 26,000.
 
There are now more than four million confirmed cases of Covid-19 around the world, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University in the US.

Experts warn the true number of infections is likely to be far higher, with low testing rates in many countries skewing the data.

The global figure includes 1.3 million confirmed cases in the United States alone.
 
More than four million confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported around the world, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University.

The global death toll has also risen to above 277,000.

The US remains the worst-hit country, accounting for over a quarter of confirmed cases and a third of deaths.

Experts warn the true number of infections is likely to be far higher, with low testing rates in many countries skewing the data.

Daily death tolls are continuing to drop in some nations, including Spain, but there is concern that easing lockdown restrictions could lead to a "second wave" of infections.

In addition, governments are bracing for economic fallout as the pandemic hits global markets and supply chains.

A senior Chinese official has told local media that the pandemic was a "big test" that had exposed weaknesses in the country's public health system. The rare admission, from the director of China's National Health Commission, Li Bin, comes after sustained criticism abroad of China's early response.

In other recent developments:

The UK government will proceed with "extreme caution" while exiting lockdown restrictions, according to the country's transport secretary.
China's president has expressed concern about the threat of the coronavirus to North Korea and offered help.
Former US President Barack Obama has strongly criticised Donald Trump over his response to the coronavirus crisis, calling it "an absolute chaotic disaster".
Billionaire Tesla boss Elon Musk has said he will move the electric carmaker's headquarters out of California because of local coronavirus restrictions.
Two cabinet-level officials in the US are self-isolating after coming into contact with White House staff who tested positive for coronavirus - Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Stephen Hahn, head of the Food and Drug Administration
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been criticised for riding a jetski on a lake as the national Congress announced three days of official mourning for victims of the pandemic
Health officials in Ghana say more than 500 workers at an industrial facility have tested positive for coronavirus, while the total number of daily cases in the country has jumped by nearly 30% - just a day after authorities said infections had reached its peak.
This week, some lockdown measures have begun easing in Italy, once the global epicentre of the pandemic. Italians have been able to exercise outdoors and visit family members in their region.

France has recorded its lowest daily number of coronavirus deaths for more than a month, with 80 deaths over the past 24 hours. Authorities are preparing to ease restrictions from Monday, as is the government in neighbouring Spain.

Meanwhile lockdowns are continuing in countries like South Africa, despite calls from opposition parties for it to end.

In South Korea, renewed restrictions are being imposed on bars and clubs after a series of transmissions linked to Seoul's leisure district.

Russia also cancelled a military parade in Moscow, planned as part of the country's Victory Day celebrations. Instead, President Vladimir Putin hosted a subdued event on Saturday, laying roses at the Eternal Flame war memorial.

But despite scientific evidence, leaders of several countries have continued to express scepticism about the virus and the need for lockdowns.

In Belarus, thousands of soldiers marched to celebrate Victory Day, as President Alexander Lukashenko rejected calls for tougher measures.

British medical journal The Lancet has written a scathing editorial about Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, calling him the biggest threat to his country's ability to contain the spread of coronavirus. Brazil is currently reporting the highest number of cases in Latin America - over 10,000 more on Saturday, bringing the national total to nearly 156,000. But despite the outbreak, President Bolsonaro continues to dismiss the virus' severity and has clashed with governors over lockdown measures.

Frustrations about the outbreak turned violent in Afghanistan, and at least six people died during clashes between protesters and security forces. The violence started after demonstrators gathered in Firozkoh, the capital of Ghor province, to complain about the government's perceived failure to help the poor during the pandemic.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52603017
 
Australia's biggest state to ease lockdown from May 15

Australia's most populous state, home to Sydney, will allow restaurants, playgrounds and outdoor pools to reopen on Friday as extensive testing has shown the spread of the coronavirus has slowed sharply, New South Wales state's premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

The state has been worst hit by the coronavirus in Australia, with about 45 percent of the country's confirmed cases and deaths.

However, it recorded just two new cases on Saturday out of nearly 10,000 people tested, clearing the way for a cautious loosening of lockdown measures.
 
A cluster of new coronavirus cases in South Korea has forced the closure of bars and clubs across its capital city, amid fears of a second wave of infections as the country cautiously emerges from lockdown.

South Korea reported 34 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, the biggest daily rise in a month, bringing the total number of infections to 10,874.

The country had acted swiftly to bring its initial outbreak under control, and was widely regarded as a success story because of its aggressive containment strategy.

But on Saturday, just days after restrictions were relaxed, the mayor of Seoul ordered all bars and clubs in the city to be shut, citing fears of an “explosion of infections”.

The new spike in cases are linked to a 29-year-old man who went on a night out in Seoul's popular Itaewon district last weekend.

Now health authorities are scrambling to trace and test an estimated 1,510 people who visited the same venues as the man.

On Sunday, President Moon Jae-in said the new cluster of infections had "raised awareness that even during the stabilisation phase, similar situations can arise again anytime".

In a speech, the president said the country must not lower its guard to the virus, adding: “It’s not over until it’s over”.
 
Russia has recorded 11,012 new cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing its total number of infections to 209,688.

A further 88 coronavirus-related deaths were reported in the country on Sunday, taking the total to 1,915, health authorities said.

Cases in Russia have been rising by more than 10,000 a day over the past week. Officials have partly attributed the increase to mass testing.

Russia has the fifth-highest number of cases in the world after the UK (216,525), Italy (218, 268), Spain (223,578) and the US (1,309,541), according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University.

The country's reported mortality rate, however, remains relatively low.
 
Malaysia extends curbs on movement, businesses to June 9

Malaysia's government extended the time frame for movement and business curbs by another four weeks to June 9, amid a gradual reopening of economic activity stunted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this week, businesses were allowed to resume business as usual, albeit under strict health guidelines, after having to close shop for two months as health authorities worked to contain the pandemic.

Existing rules under a conditional movement control order remain in place until the new expiry date in June, which include practicing strict hygiene and social distancing, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address on Sunday.
 
Spain has reported its lowest daily death toll in two months, as it emerges from strict lockdown restrictions.

The health ministry says 143 people died over a 24-hour period, taking Spain's total number of deaths to 26,621.

It is the lowest daily figure since 18 March, two days into the lockdown. The peak was reached on 2 April, with 950 deaths.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday that large parts of country, covering 51% of the population, would begin "phase one" of a four-step lockdown transition on Monday.

Restaurants and bars will be able to serve customers outside and shops selling non-essential items can open. Private gatherings of 10 people or fewer can also be held.

Madrid, Barcelona and the other badly-affected regions do not currently meet the criteria for similar measures, so will have to wait at least another week to move to "phase one".
 
Belgium allows ‘social bubbles’ as lockdown eases

Belgium is allowing every household to invite up to four guests to their home from Sunday, as part of the country’s strategy to ease coronavirus restrictions.

Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès announced the plan to allow “social bubbles” last week, noting that separation from friends and family had become “unbearable” for some.

But Belgian police have said plan will be impossible to enforce.

On Friday, government’s Covid-19 spokesman Steven Van Gucht urged people to “think very carefully about which household you want to meet”.

“Preferably, choose one family or one household you meet, and stay within that fixed bubble,” Van Gucht said.

Other countries, including the UK, are reportedly considering similar moves to allow people to expand their social groups.
 
Germany infection rate rises as lockdown eases

Coronavirus infections are rising in Germany, official data shows, just days after the country eased its lockdown restrictions.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's reproduction rate - the number of people each confirmed patient infects - is now above 1.

This means the number of infections is now rising in the country.

The report came as thousands of Germans gathered on Saturday calling for a total end to the lockdown.

Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a broad relaxation of national restrictions on Wednesday after talks with the leaders of Germany's 16 states.

All shops are allowed to reopen, pupils will gradually return to class and the Bundesliga - Germany's top football league - will restart as soon as next weekend.

But there were protests across the country on Saturday, as some called for measures to be lifted even quicker.

Germany has the seventh-highest number of confirmed cases in the world, with latest RKI data on Sunday showing the reported infected tally at 169,218 and a reported death toll of 7,395.

What did the report say?
The report from the public health agency released on Saturday said the reproduction rate was estimated at 1.1.

While this estimate involves "a degree of uncertainty", the rise in the number requires "a close monitoring of the situation in the coming days".

Germany has won praise for its response to the outbreak. Mass testing and effective lockdown restrictions have helped keep the death toll far lower than in other European countries.

But some have criticised Mrs Merkel's decision to relax those measures after speaking with the heads of the 16 states on Wednesday.

The chancellor imposed an "emergency brake", requiring local authorities to reimpose restrictions if cases rise above a threshold of 50 per 100,000 people.

Outbreaks at meat processing plants in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein have already reportedly breached that line, and forced district officials to act.

And one district in the state of Thuringia reportedly recorded more than 80 infections per 100,000 people, thought to be due to outbreaks at care facilities.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52604676
 
Brazil’s provocateur president has continued to brush off the coronavirus, taking a spin on a jet-ski to a floating barbecue and attacking Covid-19 “neurosis” as his country’s death toll rose to more than 10,000, Tom Phillips reports.

Jair Bolsonaro has faced domestic and international condemnation for his dismissive attitude toward the pandemic. The rightwing populist continues to play down the disease despite the growing evidence of its deadly impact on Brazil.
 
France's death toll from the coronavirus rose by 70 to 26,380, the health ministry said, a smaller increase than the previous day as the country prepared to emerge from lockdown on Monday.

The ministry said the number of people in intensive care units fell by 36 to 2,776, down from a peak of 7,148 seen on April 8.

==

The death toll from the coronavirus in Canada rose by just 2.2 percent to 4,728 on Sunday, one of the lowest daily increases since the pandemic started, official public health data agency showed.
 
Some European nations are waking up to more freedoms as lockdowns are slowly eased

Across most of France, people will be able to walk outside for the first time in weeks without filling in a permit

Spaniards outside of Madrid and Barcelona will be able to meet in bars and restaurants with outside spaces

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a cautious easing of lockdown conditions in England to begin this week

UK split over the new "stay alert" messaging, which replaces "stay at home"

But China reported 17 new virus cases on Monday, its second consecutive double-digit increase

Five of the new cases were reported in Wuhan, where the virus first emerged, and there is concern over an outbreak in the north
New Zealand also announced a further loosening of restrictions
 
Saudi Arabia will impose though austerity measures tripling its Value Added Tax and halting monthly handout payments to citizens to cope with record low oil prices and a coronavirus-led economic downturn.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a cautious easing of the country's lockdown, encouraging those who cannot work from home to go back to their workplaces and allowing people tp go out for unlimited exercise.

China and South Korea are battling renewed spikes in coronavirus cases - with South Korea moving to track down and test thousands who might have been exposed to the virus at a number of Seoul nightclubs and bars.

Globally, more than four million cases of the coronavirus have now been confirmed, and 1.4 million people have recovered, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. More than 282,500 people have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
 
Russia overtakes Italy and Britain after record rise in coronavirus cases

Russia's coronavirus cases overtook Italian and British infections on Monday to become the third highest in the world after a record daily rise hours before President Vladimir Putin was due to review the country's lockdown regime.
 
Philippines coronavirus infections breach 11,000 mark

Confirmed coronavirus infections in the Philippines have broken past the 11,000 mark, the health ministry said.

In a bulletin, the health ministry reported 292 additional cases, bringing the total to 11,086. It recorded seven more deaths, increasing the total to 726 while 75 more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,999.
 
Russia now has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, overtaking the UK and Italy.

There were 11,656 new cases reported in the past 24 hours in the country, taking the overall total to 221,344.

Only the US and Spain have reported a higher number of coronavirus cases. We should point out though that comparisons between countries are not always accurate because of different factors such as the extent of their testing.

Russia has reported a further 94 deaths, taking the total death toll to 2,009, which is far lower than the numbers reported in many other countries.

President Vladamir Putin was already due to address the country after reviewing the nation's lockdown measures later on Monday. As it stands, Russia's lockdown is set to end on Tuesday.
 
BREAKING: Russia announces end of 'non-working days period'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the end of the nationwide "non-working days period" from Tuesday.

However, it was not immediately clear whether this meant Russians would return to work.

In a televised address, President Putin stressed that the fight against the coronavirus outbreak "goes on".

Russia now has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world - 221,344 - though comparisons between countries are not always accurate because of different factors such as the extent of their testing.

Russia has confirmed 2,009 deaths in total.
 
Italy daily new cases fall, death toll edges up

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy have risen by 179, against 165 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, as the daily tally of new cases fell to 744 from 802 on Sunday.

It was the lowest number of new cases announced on any given day since March 4.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 now stands at 30,739 the agency said, the third highest in the world after those of the US and Britain.

The total number of confirmed cases amounted to 219,814, the fifth highest global tally behind those of the US, Spain, Britain and Russia.
 
The Afghan capital, Kabul, recorded its worst day for infections, as 161 new cases were reported and the health ministry warned transmission will continue to surge across the country. The total number of confirmed cases in the city, Afghanistan’s worst-affected area, reached 1,257, with about half of the 325 tests carried out coming back positive on Monday.
 
Covid-19 patients die in Russia hospital fire

Five Covid-19 patients have died in a fire at a hospital in St Petersburg after a short-circuit in a ventilator, according to Russian news agencies. We'll bring you more as we get it.
 
South Korea says there are now 101 new cases of coronavirus linked to a nightclub district in Seoul

Wuhan draws up plans to test all 11 million residents, Chinese state media report, amid new cluster fear

Five Russian Covid-19 hospital patients killed in fire linked to ventilator short-circuit

UK government publishes further guidance on reopening workplaces, public transport and schools

White House staff have been ordered to wear masks in the West Wing after two aides tested positive

President Trump stalks out of press briefing as US deaths surpass 80,000

Iran is reopening all mosques for three days to commemorate specific nights during Ramadan

Singapore is allowing some businesses - such as hairdressers and cake shops - to reopen from Tuesday
 
Germany's declining infection rate

906d6102-8fc3-43e0-bb12-81d882bff975.png


Here's a graph of Germany's cases from the country's official institute for infectious diseases.

The yellow bars show the number of reported cases, the blue ones only the onset of symptoms. The occasional sudden drops are usually on a Monday because of delayed weekend data.

The easing of the lockdown began on 20 April, when the country allowed small shops to reopen.

In the following weeks, some schools began allowing some pupils to return to class. Since then, the country's different states have eased measures further - with some even allowing restaurants and bars to open.

While numbers of new infections have fallen below 1,000, and remain way down on their peak, worries remain that easing restrictions will drive infections up again.

The latest figures from Germany, not on the chart, show a daily rise of 933 cases.
 
(Reuters) - More than 4.19 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 285,119 have died, according to a Reuters tally, as of 0503 GMT on Tuesday.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.

* For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.

EUROPE
* Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out a cautious plan on Monday to get Britain back to work, including advice on wearing home-made face coverings.

* Around 136,000 people in England are currently infected with COVID-19, according to early results from the first large-scale study in Britain into the spread of the disease.

* Total cases in Germany rose by 933 to 170,508 and the death toll rose by 116 to 7,533.

* Deaths in France on Monday were almost four times higher than Sunday and new confirmed cases more than doubled over 24 hours, as the country started unwinding an almost two-month national lockdown.

* Spain’s daily death toll fell on Monday to 123, its lowest level in seven weeks.

* Italy said it would give regions the power to roll back restrictions, in a move that is likely to see most remaining curbs lifted next week.

AMERICAS
* More than 1.35 million people have been infected in the United States and 80,606 have died, according to a Reuters tally, as of 0503 GMT on Tuesday.

* The White House directed all people entering the West Wing, where the daily operations of President Donald Trump’s administration are carried out, to wear masks.

* California, Oregon, Washington and other states involved in a western states pact to coordinate coronavirus response have asked the federal government for a combined $1 trillion in aid.

* Factory workers began returning to assembly lines in Michigan on Monday, paving the way to reopen the U.S. auto sector but stoking fears of a second wave.

* Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said she would follow a modified self-quarantine plan in case she was exposed to the new coronavirus during a visit to the White House last Wednesday or meetings in Iowa with Vice President Mike Pence on Friday.

* The chief of the U.S. National Guard tested negative, in his second negative test since receiving a positive result at a routine screening.

* Twitter Inc TWTR.N will add labels and warning messages on some tweets with disputed or misleading information about COVID-19.

* Brazil reported 5,632 new cases and 396 additional deaths, bringing the national tally at 168,331 and 11,519 deaths. President Jair Bolsonaro declared gyms and hair salons as essential services that can stay open.

* Mexico confirmed 1,305 new cases and 108 additional fatalities, while Chile has surpassed 30,000 cases.

* Panama announced plans to begin a phased reopening of its economy this week, including e-commerce, mechanical workshops and fishing.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* China reported just one new case for May 11, down from 17 a day earlier. The total case tally now stands at 82,919 and death toll remained unchanged at 4,633.

* The Bank of Japan will do “whatever it can” to mitigate the growing fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said.

* India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country would look to ease its nearly seven-week lockdown.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* The International Monetary Fund approved Egypt’s request for $2.77 billion in emergency financing.

* Senegal announced the re-opening of mosques and churches and easing of other restrictions, even as the largest one-day jump in cases was recorded on Monday.

ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Asian shares skidded on growing worries about a second wave of coronavirus infections after the Chinese city where the pandemic originated reported its first new cases since its lockdown was lifted.

* China’s factory prices fell at the sharpest rate in four years in April.
 
Australia coughing politician being tested for virus

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is being tested for Covid-19 after suffering a coughing fit during a lengthy address to parliament today.

As we reported earlier, the treasurer was giving an economic update which included projections of Australia's GDP falling over 10% by June.

Frydenberg was overcome by coughs halfway through his speech and jokingly wheezed out "too long a speech" as he tried to finish his sentences.

In a statement just released he said he was getting tested "out of an abundance of caution" and would isolate. His results are due tomorrow.
 
The Philippines’ health ministry on Tuesday reported 25 more coronavirus deaths and 264 additional infections.

In a bulletin, the ministry said total deaths had reached 751 while confirmed cases have risen to 11,350.

But 107 more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,106.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday announced an extension of lockdown measures in the capital to June, making it among the world’s longest community quarantines to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
 
Italy to reopen bars and restaurants from next week

Bars, restaurants, hairdressers and beauticians will reopen across Italy from 18 May.

Regional authorities have been given the power to lift restrictions on the businesses, which had originally been due to reopen from 1 June.

Retailers, museums and libraries are also due to reopen from 18 May.

The move, announced by the government late last night, came after pressure from regional leaders to be allowed to establish their own reopening plan.

Safety measures will need to be implemented before the establishments can open, with restaurants required to set distances of four metres between diners.

There were 744 new cases of coronavirus in Italy on Monday – the lowest daily rise since 4 March. Deaths rose by 179 to 30,739.
 
Spain orders two-week quarantine for all overseas travellers from 15 May

The Spanish government has ordered a two-week quarantine for all overseas travellers coming to the country from 15 May in a bid to curb the spreading of coronavirus in the country.

The incoming travellers will have to remain indoors and will only be allowed to exit for grocery shopping, to visit health centres and in case of a “situation of need”, an official order published on Tuesday said.

The quarantine has been enforced for all travellers incoming to Spain between 15 - 24 May, when the state of emergency is due to end.
 
Russia now has the second-highest number of confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide after the United States.

On Tuesday, it reported another 10,899 infections in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to more than 232,000.

The capital, Moscow, is the worst-affected area and has reported more than 5,000 new cases in 24 hours.
 
The number of newly diagnosed cases of coronavirus in Spain in one day fell to its lowest in more than two months, the health ministry reported.

Health authorities identified 594 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to 228,030. The number of fatalities related to the disease rose 176 on Tuesday to 26,920.
 
Denmark’s chief epidemiologist has said the country is “very unlikely” to be hit with a second wave of Covid-19, after the government laid out plans for increased testing and contact tracing, Reuters reports.

Denmark, which has had 533 coronavirus-related deaths so far, was the first in Europe to relax its lockdown almost a month ago. The infection rate and the number of deaths have continued to drop.

“No country has seen an actual second wave yet. Some countries have seen the spread go up and down,” state epidemiologist Kare Molbak said at a news briefing.

“But with the knowledge we have today, I find it very unlikely that we’ll see second wave,” he said.

Fears that a second wave of infections could thwart the reopening of the global economy were triggered on Monday after Germany, relatively successful in slowing the outbreak, reported that infections had accelerated again after the first tentative steps to ease its lockdown.

Denmark this week began a second phase of relaxing its lockdown which will include reopening of restaurants and shopping malls. Despite the reopening, the so-called reproduction rate, which shows the average number of infections one person with the virus causes, fell to 0.7 in the first week of May from 0.9.
 
Twitter has announced it is imposing new measures on its social network to “limit the spread of potentially harmful and misleading content” about the coronavirus outbreak.

The social messaging service will introduce new labels and warning messages on tweets that contain “disputed or misleading information related to Covid-19,” it said in a blog post published late on Monday.
 
Bars, restaurants, hairdressing and beauty salons will reopen across Italy from 18 May. Regional authorities have been given the power to lift restrictions on the businesses, which had originally been due to reopen from 1 June.

Russia has reported 10,899 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide total past that of Britain and Spain to 232,243, the second highest total worldwide according to Johns Hopkins university data. Russia puts the continued daily rise in cases down to widespread testing. It has carried out more than 5.8m tests.

The UK’s coronavirus death toll passed 40,000. The Office for National Statistics said that 35,044 deaths involving Covid-19 were registered in England and Wales up to 9 May. Together with the latest figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland and more up to date fatalities announced daily by the government, the total official UK death toll now stands at 40,011.

A fire in a Russian hospital killed coronavirus patients attached to ventilators. A source in Russia’s emergencies ministry source said five patients had died and 150 were evacuated after the blaze broke out early on Tuesday morning on the sixth floor of St George hospital in St Petersburg.

The Spanish government ordered the quarantine of all overseas travellers coming to the country from 15 May. Incoming travellers will have to remain indoors and will only be allowed to exit for grocery shopping, to visit health centres and in case of a “situation of need”.

French economic activity down 27% in April. Economic activity plunged 27% in April compared with its expected trajectory before the coronavirus pandemic but this was still a slight improvement on March, the Bank of France said.

South Korea investigators are combing digital data to trace a nightclub coronavirus cluster. Authorities have been looking through mobile phone data, credit card statements and CCTV footage to identify people who visited nightclubs at the centre of one of the capital’s biggest coronavirus clusters.

Ryanair aims to restart 40% of services in July. Under new rules laid out by the airline, passengers will have to ask permission to use the toilet, undergo temperature tests at the airport, wear face masks or other coverings and wash their hands and use hand sanitiser in terminals.
 
BREAKING: Total lockdown announced in Lebanon

The Lebanese cabinet has just declared the country will be in “total” shutdown from Wednesday at 19:00 (16:00 GMT) until Monday at 05:00. This is after a resurgence of cases reported on Monday and Sunday.

The country has 870 confirmed cases according to Johns Hopkins University, and 26 deaths due to the virus.
 
'I got sick,' admits Kremlin spokesman

Let's bring you more now on Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who has tested positive for coronavirus.

"Yes, I got sick. I'm being treated," he was quoted as saying by Russia's Interfax news agency.

Peskov, 52, didn't provide any details about how serious his condition was.

It was not immediately clear when Peskov was last in close proximity with President Putin, who has been in self-isolation since April at his residence near Moscow.

That precautionary measure was taken after he visited a Moscow hospital treating Covid-19 patients and met the chief doctor, who shortly afterwards tested positive for the disease.

However, Putin did break his self-isolation for a day on 9 May to celebrate Victory Day in Moscow.

In late April, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin went to hospital after he was diagnosed with coronavirus.
 
In the US, top health adviser Dr Anthony Fauci warns against re-opening the country too soonand says the death toll is probably higher than the official figure of 80,000

Indian PM Narendra Modi unveils a $266bn (£217bn) support package to help the country mitigate the damage caused by the outbreak

Russia now has the second-highest numbers of confirmed infections after the US, with President Vladimir Putin's spokesman testing positive

South Korea sees a spike in new cases linked to Seoul's nightclubs

In Spain, a 113-year-old woman - believed to be the country's oldest - has recovered from Covid-19
 
France has overtaken Spain in the number of coronavirus deaths it has officially recorded, making it the world's fourth worst-affected country (after the US, the UK and Italy).

The latest daily toll of 348 deaths takes the country's overall total to 26,991 - 17,003 of those have come in hospital and 9,988 in care homes.

However, the number of people in hospital and intensive care with the virus has fallen.

Experts warn that it is hard to make precise international comparisons between death tolls as countries do not record deaths in exactly the same way.
 
South Korea’s prime minister has told club-goers who may have been infected with Covid-19 in Seoul’s party district that they must come forward this week.

Some 119 cases have been confirmed in a cluster of infections from nightclubs in the country’s capital. More than 22,000 people have been tracked and tested so far.

There are now at least 10 bars and clubs in two districts of Seoul under investigation. One case dates back to late April, when nightclubs reopened.

Health officials are managing to trace thousands who may have been in the area using the GPS on mobile phones and credit card records.

But one man who was tracked could face criminal charges after lying to officials about his job and his movements.

The 25-year-old is an after-school teacher in Incheon and has infected eight people, including six students.

He was tracked using his mobile phone and did not disclose he was a teacher - which cost officials valuable time in tracking down others who were potentially infected.

Two of the people he infected went to church over the weekend and there are now more than 700 people in Incheon in quarantine.

South Korea’s infectious disease laws state the man could face up to two years in prison or a fine of 20 million KRW (£13,000; $16,000).

The LGBT community used many of the clubs at the centre of the outbreak - and there’s concern some people will not come forward due to fear of discrimination.

The prime minister said today that, even if someone tests positive for the virus, officials will delete all personal data.
 
Thailand has reported no new virus infections for the past 24 hours - the first time since 9 March the daily toll was zero.

There are 3,017 cases overall in Thailand with 56 deaths. Of the remaining cases, all but 163 have recovered.
 
Support for US President Donald Trump has dropped in the past month as the toll from the coronavirus has risen, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey. Trump now trails challenger Joe Biden by eight percentage points.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the US, has warned that the country does not yet have the disease under control and that easing lockdowns too soon risks unnecessary deaths.

The Chinese city of Jilin has imposed travel restrictions, closed off residential areas and banned gatherings after a number of coronavirus cases were confirmed in the northeastern city.

More than 4.26 million people around the world have been confirmed with the coronavirus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. More than 291,000 have died - 82,000 of them in the United States. Nearly 1.5 million people have recovered.
 
Russia reports more than 10,000 new cases

Russia reported 10,028 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, pushing its nationwide tally to 242,271.

Russia's coronavirus response centre said 96 people died overnight, bringing the official death toll to 2,212.
 
Brazil reports more cases than Germany; daily deaths reach record

Brazil's confirmed cases of coronavirus surpassed Germany on Tuesday as the country recorded 881 deaths in 24 hours - the highest since the outbreak began.

Brazil has confirmed 177,589 cases of coronavirus, compared with 170,508 in Germany.

The country's president, Jair Bolsonaro, has sought to downplay the disease and is now battling with state governors over a presidential decree he signed on Monday designating beauty salons and gyms as "essential" services that would allow them to open during lockdowns.

At least 10 governors have said they will not comply with Bolsonaro's decree.

"Bolsonaro is walking towards the precipice and wants to take all of us with him," Rio de Janeiro Governor Wilson Witzel wrote on Twitter.
 
Spain’s daily death toll from the coronavirus inched up on Wednesday to 184 fatalities from 176 on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

The overall death toll from the disease rose to 27,104, according to the health ministry’s daily report, while the overall number of diagnosed cases rose to 228,691 from 228,030 the prior day.

The latest figures came as two foreign ministry sources told Reuters that Spanish authorities are planning to keep borders closed to most travellers from abroad until July, in a move to try and avoid a second wave of epidemic.

Land borders with France and Portugal have been closed since a state of emergency was declared in mid-March to fight the pandemic, pushing the economy to a near stand-still and hitting its key tourism sector hard.

Spain has started easing the lockdown for its residents as the pandemic gets under control and decided in parallel to apply a two-week quarantine for foreign travellers, practically shutting the border to air and maritime travel to avoid importing new cases from other countries.

The quarantine measure is due to expire on 24 May when the state of emergency lapses, but both can be extended. In any case, restrictions on travel are likely to remain in place for much longer, no matter how crucial tourism is for the Spanish economy, the sources told Reuters.

“When we reach the new normal we can start opening borders with Schengen countries, we are talking about opening to these countries in early July,” one of the sources said.
 
Spain's daily death toll at 184

Spain's daily death toll from the coronavirus inched up to 184 fatalities from 176 on Tuesday, the country's health ministry said.

The overall death toll from the disease rose to 27,104, while the overall number of diagnosed cases rose to 228,691 from 228,030 the prior day.
 
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