Pigeons sit atop a Christ the Redeemer statue, made from sand, with a protective mask on, at Copacabana beach, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 9, 2020. (Reuters)
The new coronavirus has now infected 4,101,641 people and killed 280,435 others globally, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
The United States remains the worst-hit nation, with more than 1,340,000 cases of infection and over 80,000 deaths.
Some of the worst-affected countries after the US are Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
The following is the latest on the coronavirus pandemic.
South Korea warns of second wave of outbreak
South Korea on Sunday warned about a second wave of the epidemic, after health officials in the country reported 34 additional cases of infection over the past 24 hours.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a tentative assessment showed 26 of the 34 new patients were locally-transmitted cases, while the rest had been imported.
President Moon Jae-in called on people not to let their guards down, but said there was no reason to panic.
"Its not over until its over. While keeping enhanced alertness till the end, we must never lower our guard regarding epidemic prevention," the president said.
China sees double-digit rise in cases
China also reported a double-digit rise in new confirmed cases for the first time in 10 days.
Chinas National Health Commission reported 14 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, 12 of which were domestically-transmitted infections.
The figure was the highest since April 28 and up from only one case a day earlier.
No new deaths were reported.
Mainland China has reported a total of 82,901 cases, and 4,633 deaths, as of Sunday.
Australias biggest state to ease lockdown
Australias worst-hit state, New South Wales, is set to reopen on Friday, according to the states premier.
New South Wales will allow cafés, restaurants, playgrounds, and outdoor pools to reopen, as officials said the spread of the virus had slowed sharply in the state.
The state, where Sydney is located, has had about 45 percent of the countrys confirmed cases and deaths. It, however, registered only two new cases on Saturday out of the nearly 10,000 people tested.
"Just because were easing restrictions doesnt mean the virus is less deadly or less of a threat. All it means is we have done well to date," said Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Australia has so far reported 15,833 known cases and 615 deaths, nationwide.
New Zealand reports two new cases
Meanwhile, New Zealands health authorities reported two new cases of infection, one of which was a traveler coming from overseas.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has decided to further ease physical distancing restrictions.
New Zealand has reported a total number of 1,494 cases and 21 deaths.
Japan considers lifting emergency state in some areas
Japan is considering easing the state of emergency in "many of [the] 34 prefectures" that are on lockdown before the nationwide deadline of May 31.
Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said a declining trend in the weekly numbers of new infections on a per capita basis will be among the evaluation criteria for the lifting.
Out of Japans 47 prefectures, 13 prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka, are being "under specific cautions" due to the quick spread of the disease.
Japan extended the nationwide state of emergency last week to the end of May.
A total number of 15,777 known cases and 624 deaths have been registered in Japan as of Sunday.
Singapore reports 876 new cases
Singapores Health Ministry recorded 876 new cases on Sunday, taking the city-states total to 23,336 cases.
It said the vast majority of the newly infected people were refugee workers living in dormitories.
Singapore has reported 20 deaths to date.
Malaysia extends virus curbs for 4 weeks
In neighboring Malaysia, the government extended the timeframe for movement and business curbs by another four weeks to June 9.
Earlier this week, it allowed some businesses to resume work under strict health guidelines.
The country has so far reported 6,589 cases and 108 deaths.
Indonesia cases top 14,000
Indonesia reported 387 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total number to 14,032, according to Health Ministry official Achmad Yurianto.
He also reported 14 more deaths, bringing the nations tally to 973.
Philippines cases hit 10,790
The Philippines Health Ministry said 184 new cases of coronavirus had been detected on Sunday, taking the countrys total to 10,794.
Fifteen more deaths related to the disease were also recorded, bringing the toll to 719.
Germany reports 667 new cases
The number of known COVID-19 cases in Germany increased by 667 to 169,218 on Sunday, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.
The death toll also rose by 13 to 7,395, the tally showed.
Spains daily death toll falls again
Spains Health Ministry on Sunday reported the lowest daily death toll from the coronavirus since mid-March.
It said 143 COVID-19 patients had died, down from 179 the previous day.
Spain, the second worst-hit nation after the US, has recorded 26,621 deaths and 262,783 infections.
Russia reports over 11,000 new cases
Russias health authorities said Sunday they had registered 11,012 new cases of COVID-19 in just the last 24 hours.
The figure brings the nationwide tally to 209,688.
Some 88 people also died in the past day, taking the national death toll to 1,915.
Russia has now become the fifth-worst-hit nation in the world.
Canada ‘not in recovery phase
In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned provinces against the premature reopening of their economies, saying it could send the nation back to home confinement.
"We are still in the emergency phase... The vast majority of Canadians continue to need to be very careful," Trudeau said in a daily briefing on Saturday.
He said any reopening should be gradual, warning that Canada was "not in the recovery phase yet."
Health officials, however, said he virus curve was flattening in many provinces.
Almost 60 percent of the countrys fatalities have occurred in Quebec.
Canada has reported 67,702 known cases of the viral infection and 4,693 deaths.
More than 80 percent of the fatalities have been residents of nursing homes, according to Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Howard Njoo, who has described the matter as a "national tragedy."
Mexico hospitals filling up quickly
Hospitals in the Mexican capital are filling up with patients with COVID-19, as the number of new infections are on the rise.
Authorities were turning away patients for whom there was no room in both private and public health facilities on Saturday.
Of the 64 public hospitals designated to receive coronavirus patients, 26 are completely full, according to city government data.
The government has said this weekend could mark the peak of infections in and around Mexico City. Citing modeling data from a few weeks ago, authorities predicted more than 104,000 cases of coronavirus.
The densely-populated capital, home to more than 20 million people, has had the most cases of the virus.
The country has confirmed at least 31,522 infections and 3,160 deaths to date.
The true number, however, is expected to be much higher, as the government has conducted very limited testing.
Brazils death toll passes 10,000 mark
Meanwhile, the death toll in Brazil has hit 10,627, with the number of infections surpassing 155,930, according to the countrys Ministry of Health.
Citing the governments inability to carry out widespread testing, scientist say the real toll could be 15 or even 20 times worse.
SOURCE: PRESS TV
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/17226
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