Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 3.5 million on Monday (May 4), with deaths nearing a quarter of a million, although the rate of fatalities and new cases has slowed from peaks reached last month, a Reuters tally shows.
North America and European countries accounted for most of the new cases reported in recent days, but numbers were rising from smaller bases in Latin America, Africa and Russia.
Globally, there were 84,004 new cases over the past 24 hours, according to the Reuters tally that is based on official government data, taking total cases to just over 3.5 million.
That compares with around 3 million to 5 million cases of severe illness caused annually by seasonal influenza, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The daily rate of new cases worldwide has been sitting in a 2-3 per cent range over the past week, versus a peak of around 13 per cent in mid-March, prompting many countries to begin easing lockdown measures that have upended businesses and crippled the global economy.
Spain records 164 more deaths from COVID-19, lowest daily rise since March 18, taking the total to 25,264.7 hours ago
- Spain’s death toll rose by 164 to 25,264 on Sunday, the health ministry said, the lowest one-day increase since March 18. Confirmed cases of the virus rose to 217,466 from 216,582, the ministry said.
- Afghanistan’s health ministry raised the alarm over the spread of the new coronavirus after a small study with random tests in Kabul suggested that about a third of the capital’s residents could be infected.
- Russia and India both recorded their highest daily rise of coronavirus infections.
- Worldwide, the number of confirmed infections stands above 3.49 million with more than 246,000 deaths and about 1.1 million recoveries.
Here are the latest updates:
Sunday, May 3
20:59 GMT – Brazil coronavirus cases rise above 100,000
There were 4,588 new cases in Brazil and 275 deaths over the last 24 hours, the health ministry said, bringing total confirmed cases in the country over 100,000.
The South American country has now registered 101,147 confirmed cases of the virus and 7,025 deaths.
23:35 GMT – US says ‘significant evidence’ virus from China lab
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said “enormous evidence” showed the new coronavirus originated in a lab in China, further fuelling tensions with Beijing over its handling of the outbreak.
“I think the whole world can see now, remember, China has a history of infecting the world and running substandard laboratories.”
Pompeo said early Chinese efforts to downplay the coronavirus amounted to “a classic Communist disinformation effort. That created enormous risk”.
“President Trump is very clear: we’ll hold those responsible accountable.
20:20 GMT – Tanzania president questions coronavirus kits
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has dismissed imported coronavirus testing kits as faulty, saying they returned positive results on samples taken from a goat and a pawpaw.
Magufuli made the remarks during an event in Chato in northwestern Tanzania on Sunday. He said there were “technical errors” with the tests.
18:20 GMT – COVID-19 claims 135 lives in France
France recorded 135 new coronavirus fatalities in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 24,895, the country’s public health ministry said.
The number of people treated in hospital for coronavirus and the number of people in intensive care units continued to decline, the ministry said.
The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 fell on Sunday to 25,815 from 25,827 on Saturday, and the number of people in intensive care fell to 3,819 from 3,827, the ministry added.
17:20 GMT – Latest tally in Qatar
Qatar, the GCC’s second worst-hit country after Saudi Arabia, reported 679 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking the total confirmed cases to 15,551.
As of Sunday, 12 people have died from the virus in the Middle Eastern country.
16:45 GMT – Turkey death toll rises by 61
The number of people who have died from COVID-19 in Turkey has risen by 61 in the last 24 hours to 3,397, according to data from the country’s health ministry.
The overall number of cases rose by 1,670 to 126,045, the data showed, the highest total outside Western Europe, the United States and Russia.
A total of 63,151 people have so far recovered from the new coronavirus, the ministry added.
Turkey has the highest number of cases outside Western Europe, the United States and Russia [Umit Bektas/Reuters]
16:40 GMT – UK records 315 more coronavirus deaths
The United Kingdom’s death toll from COVID-19 rose to 28,446, an increase of 315, according to figures announced on Sunday.
That figure includes coronavirus deaths in hospitals, care homes and the community.
16:30 GMT – Jordan lifts all restrictions on economic activity
Meanwhile in Jordan, all restrictions on economic activity have been lifted, the latest easing of coronavirus lockdown rules to help jump-start the cash-strapped economy.
Jordan has in the last two weeks been lifting restrictions to allow businesses back to work, but with lower levels of staff and strict social distancing and hygiene guidelines.
16:15 GMT – Italy reports lowest daily death toll since start of lockdown
Deaths from COVID-19 in Italy climbed by 174 on Sunday, against 474 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, posting the smallest daily toll of fatalities since March 10.
The daily number of new cases also declined sharply to 1,389 from 1,900 on Saturday.
Italy’s total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 now stands at 28,884, the Civil Protection Agency said, the second-highest in the world after the United States.
The number of confirmed cases amounts to 210,717, the third-highest global tally behind the US and Spain.
16:00 GMT – UK to test new COVID-19 tracing system
Britain will trial a new coronavirus tracing programme next week on the Isle of Wight, just off the south coast of England, cabinet minister Michael Gove said on Sunday.
“This week we will be piloting new test, track and trace procedures on the Isle of Wight with a view to having that in place more widely later this month,” he told a news conference.
The UK is one of the worst-hit countries in Europe [Reuters]
15:50 GMT – Canada death toll jumps by 4 percent
According to data from the public health agency, 160 people died in Canada from coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 3,606.
The agency confirmed 1,576 new cases of the virus, bringing the total to 57,148.
15:00 GMT – Where are we with a coronavirus vaccine?
As government lockdowns focus on limiting the spread of the coronavirus, scientists around the world are working on treating and protecting us.
They have their work cut out. Vaccine and drug development is laborious, full of experimentation and repeated testing. Knowing how the virus works is key.
But what other challenges do they face? And how long will it take before we can defeat this virus with a pill or an injection?
14:51 GMT – Iran death toll rises by 47
Meanwhile in Iran, the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose by 47 over the past 24 hours to 6,203, Kianush Jahanpur, the health ministry spokesman, said on state TV on Sunday.
Iran, one of the countries in the Middle East hardest hit by the outbreak, has a total of 97,424 cases, he said.
14:00 GMT – Pompeo says ‘enormous evidence’ COVID-19 came from Wuhan lab
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that there was “enormous evidence” that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
“There is enormous evidence that this is where it began,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”
12:55 GMT – Latest figures from the Netherlands
The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the Netherlands increased by 335 to 40,471, according to health authorities.
The National Institute for Public Health reported 69 new deaths, taking the total number of COVID-19 fatalities to 5,056. Authorities believe the actual number of infections is likely higher because not all suspected COVID-19 patients are being tested.
Customers wait outside on social distancing markings at a prototype location of fast-food giant McDonald’s for restaurants in Arnhem, Netherlands [Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters]
12:43 GMT – Vienna Airport to offer tests to avoid quarantine
On-site coronavirus testing will become available on Monday at the airport in Austria’s capital, Vienna, in a move aimed at enabling inbound passengers to avoid having to be quarantined for 14 days.
Passengers arriving at the airport have so far been required to present a health certificate showing a negative COVID-19 result which is no older than four days, or go into quarantine.
The test at the airport would cost 190 euros ($209) and results would be ready in two to three hours.
12:20 GMT – NY Governor Cuomo thanks Qatar for aid
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo thanked Qatar for helping send critical supplies and aid to the worst-hit state in the US.
“Thank you to the government and people of Qatar from the people of New York. We are grateful for your assistance in helping send critical supplies and for the donation of aid,” he wrote on Twitter.
11:35 GMT – First case in Vietnam after 9 days
Vietnam reported its first new coronavirus infection in nine days, a British oil expert who was quarantined on arrival, the health ministry said.
The Southeast Asian country has registered a total of 271 coronavirus cases and has reported no deaths.
More than 30,500 people have been quarantined and 261,000 tests have been carried out.
10:56 GMT – Palestinian stock exchange resumes
After 40 days of inactivity, the Palestinian stock exchange resumed trading as authorities started easing restrictions from a full lockdown.
Ahmad Aweidah, chief executive of Palestine Exchange, said investors would be able to trade remotely, in line with health guidelines.
Forty-eight companies are listed on the exchange and the market has a total market capitalisation of about $3.8bn.
10:47 GMT – Despite rising cases, Armenia reopens bars and shops
Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan said shops, restaurants and bars will resume activities, even as the number of confirmed infections keeps rising.
The move comes as the government is trying to cushion the impact of the pandemic on its economy which is expected to shrink by 2 percent this year.
To date, Armenia has reported 2,386 coronavirus cases and 35 deaths, with the number of infections rising from an average of 50 a day in mid-April to more than 100 in recent days, including 134 registered on Wednesday.
Armenia’s shops, restaurants and bars will resume activities, even as the number of confirmed infections keeps rising [Karen Minasyan/AFP]
10:35 GMT – Flights expected to resume this year: Wizz Air
Wizz Air’s Abu Dhabi-based joint venture is expected to start flying again this year, the Hungarian low-cost airline said in a statement.
The airline will also start flights from European cities to Abu Dhabi from June, which it said would supplement the launch of the joint venture.
10:20 GMT – Virus may be spreading faster than expected in Afghanistan: Health ministry
Afghanistan’s public health ministry said 500 random coronavirus tests in Kabul revealed more than 150 positive results, sparking concerns that COVID-19 may be spreading faster than originally thought.
Ministry spokesman Wahid Mayar called the results from the capital “concerning” and said people must remain in their homes to slow the spread.
Afghanistan has so far taken close to 12,000 samples, of which more than 2,700 have been positive, and 85 people have died.
Kabul and most other cities are in lockdown.
Men wait to receive free food donated by the Afghan government, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Jalalabad, Afghanistan [Parwiz/Reuters]
09:24 GMT – Some Israeli pupils return to school after almost two months
First, second and third graders in Israel and illegal settlements built in the occupied West Bank went back to schools for the first time since they were shuttered 50 days ago to curb the spread of the pandemic.
Pupils in the last two grades of high school also returned to classes, allowing them to prepare for final exams, a government statement said.
After introducing sweeping restrictions in mid-March, Israel has in recent days been gradually relaxing its lockdown.
As of Sunday, Israel has registered 16,194 infections and 230 deaths.
Students sit in a classroom as it reopens following the ease of restrictions preventing the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in one of Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank [Ammar Awad/Reuters]
08:44 GMT – Malaysia, Indonesia report new cases
Health authorities in Malaysia reported an additional 122 coronavirus infections, bringing the country’s total to 6,298 infections. The death toll rose to 105 due to two new fatalities in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile in Indonesia, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto reported 349 new cases, taking the total number of infections to 11,192.
Yurianto said 14 new coronavirus-related deaths were confirmed, bringing the total to 845.
08:15 GMT – Iran to reopen some mosques as lockdown eases: Rouhani
Mosques across 132 Iranian counties will reopen on Monday after being shuttered since early March, President Hassan Rouhani said during a televised coronavirus task force meeting.
Maintaining “social distancing is more important than collective prayer”, he added, arguing that Islam considers safety obligatory while praying in mosques is only recommended.
Iran, one of the Middle Eastern countries hardest hit by the pandemic with 6,156 deaths amid 96,448 cases, will be divided up into white, yellow and red regions based on the number of infections and deaths, Rouhani said last week.
07:40 GMT – Latest tally in Singapore, Russia
Singapore’s health ministry on Sunday confirmed 657 new coronavirus infections, taking the city-state’s total to 18,205. Most of the new cases are among migrant workers living in dormitories, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Russia reported 10,633 cases in the past 24 hours, an increase compared with the 9,623 new cases reported the previous day.
Medical personnel as they check COVID-19 patients upon arrival at a community isolation facility at the Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore [EPA]
07:15 GMT – More UAE shopping centres, restaurants reopen
Three Abu Dhabi shopping centres reopened at 30 percent customer capacity after adopting safety measures, including installing thermal inspection devices, as the United Arab Emirates continued easing lockdown measures imposed more than a month ago.
Malls, dine-in restaurants and cafes in Dubai, the UAE’s business and tourism hub, had earlier resumed operations with limited capacity. Shoppers must wear face masks and gloves and keep their distance from others.
06:50 GMT – India records highest daily increase
India has reported 2,644 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, its highest daily number to date, bringing its total to more than 39,000 confirmed infections. The country also reported 83 additional deaths for a total of total 1,301.
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force conducted flypasts and showered flower petals on hospitals across different cities including the national capital of New Delhi as part of the armed forces’ efforts to thank doctors, nurses and police personnel who have been at the forefront of the country’s battle against the pandemic.
People wearing protective face masks wait to be tested at a mobile testing centre during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease in New Delhi, India [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]
06:35 GMT – S Korea to further ease physical distancing rules
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said the country will further relax physical distancing rules starting on May 6.
The government “will allow businesses to resume at facilities in phases that had remained closed up until now, and also allow gatherings and events to take place assuming they follow disinfection guidelines”, he told a televised meeting of government officials.
06:10 GMT – Philippines temporarily bars incoming flights
Incoming passenger flights are barred from entering the Philippines for one week to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“This decision is meant to decongest our quarantine facilities to protect our people by preventing the further spread of COVID-19 and also ensure that our overseas Filipino workers are well taken care of when they arrive from abroad”, officials said in a statement.
Some 20,000 repatriated Filipinos are undergoing mandatory quarantine in the capital, Manila, officials said. Entry to the country is closed to all except repatriated Filipinos.
As of Sunday, the country has reported 9,223 infections and 607 deaths.
05:30 GMT – Thailand reports lowest number of cases, as some restrictions ease
Marking its lowest number since early March, Thailand reported three new coronavirus cases and no new deaths as it started easing restrictions on some business and aspects of life.
The country allowed businesses such as restaurants, hair salons and outdoor markets to reopen as long as physical distancing was maintained and temperature checks carried out.
So far, there have been a total of 2,966 infections and 54 deaths.
Hairdressers wear face shields and masks as they tend to customers at a barber shop in Bangkok after it reopened due to an easing of measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 [Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP]
04:51 GMT – World ‘needs a robust airline system for COVID-19 recovery’
Geoffrey Thomas, editor-in-chief of Airline Ratings, has said more needs to be done to assist airlines with their recovery.
“Across the globe, we’ve all got to make concessions. This is all costing us money. At the same time, whether we are supporting our local airline or our favourite local restaurant with takeaways – everybody needs help, and the airlines are no different. Because the airlines are losing half of their revenue for 2020, and some of the bailouts are absolutely massive,” he told Al Jazeera.
“In certain jurisdictions, it has been enough. For instance in the Middle East – some of the countries there have stepped up significantly, like Qatar. In other jurisdictions, they haven’t. In Australia, the federal government hasn’t supported its two airlines. So coming out of COVID-19, you’re going to get some airlines that are very well looked after and other ones that are not.”
He added: “A lot more needs to be done because aviation is the fabric of the economy of the world and we need a robust airline system to help with this recovery … Certainly, we want to preserve as many of these airlines as we possibly can for the highly competitive market that we want post-COVID-19.”
03:56 GMT – UK made contingency plan for Johnson’s death as he battled COVID-19
Boris Johnson, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, has said the British government made contingency plans for his death as his condition deteriorated while he battled COVID-19 last month in intensive care.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper on Sunday, Johnson said he was given “litres and litres of oxygen” to keep him alive.
“They had a strategy to deal with a ‘death of Stalin’-type scenario,” Johnson told The Sun. “It was a tough old moment, I won’t deny it.”
03:05 GMT – Roche gets US FDA approval for antibody test
Roche Holding AG said received emergency use approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an antibody test to help determine if people have ever been infected with the coronavirus.
The Swiss drugmaker said its antibody test, Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2, has a specificity greater than 99.8 percent and can help assess patients’ immune response to the new coronavirus, officially known as SARS-Cov-2.
02:36 GMT – South Korea reports 13 new cases
Health authorities in South Korea reported 13 new coronavirus cases, of which 10 were imported.
The country reported fewer than 15 cases for more than two weeks, and authorities say they plan to loosen social distancing rules this week. Details of the so-called “everyday life quarantine” are expected later today, according to the official Yonhap news agency.
02:17 GMT – Rise in virus cases in crowded Indian jails prompts concerns
The spread of the coronavirus in India’s notoriously crowded prisons prompted authorities to impose jail lockdowns and release thousands of pretrial detainees on parole, as health experts worry the cramped facilities are serving as breeding grounds for the disease.
“It is a terrifying situation. If measures aren’t taken soon, then things can become extremely difficult,” Madhurima Dhanuka, head of the Prison Reforms Program for the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, told the Associated Press news agency.
Although there are no official numbers on how many inmates have been infected by the virus, India’s correction facilities are slowly recording more infections and have temporarily banned visitors.
On Thursday, authorities locked down Nagpur Central Jail in coastal Maharashtra, among the Indian states worst hit by the pandemic. It was the eighth prison in Maharashtra to be locked down. The move came after 19 inmates in Indore Central Jail in central Madhya Pradesh state tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.
Indian prisons are highly overcrowded. According to the latest data by the National Crimes Records Bureau in 2018, India has some 450,000 prisoners, exceeding the country’s official prison capacity by about 17 percent.
Prisons in New Delhi and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state have the highest occupancy rates, at more than 50 percent above capacity.
Making matters worse, “the health facilities in prisons are not up to the mark,” said Dhanuka.
02:06 GMT – China reports two new coronavirus cases
China reported two new coronavirus cases for May 2, up from one the day before, according to data from the National Health Commission.
One case was imported and the other is local. This compared with one imported case and no domestic transmissions on May 1. The NHC also reported 12 asymptomatic cases for May 2, down from 20 the day before.
The number of confirmed cases in China has reached 82,877. With no new deaths reported, the death toll remains at 4,633.
01:46 GMT – Hundreds in US state of Oregon protest against stay-at-home order
Hundreds opposed to Oregon’s stay-at-home order demonstrated in the city of Salem as health officials announced five additional deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.
Most of the protesters did not wear face masks, but they waved American flags and Trump campaign signs in the rain. Other signs read, “Reopen Oregon” and “Let me earn a living”.
A group of healthcare workers demonstrated at the top of the Capitol steps, urging a phased plan to ease the state’s social distancing requirements. Most of the other protesters ignored them.
A woman holds a sign saying Open Oregon on the steps of the state capitol at the Reopen Oregon Rally on May 2, 2020, in Salem, Oregon [Terray Sylvester/Getty Images/AFP]
01:04 GMT – Pelosi, McConnell decline coronavirus tests for US Congress
The top Republican and Democrat in Congress said they are respectfully declining an offer of quick COVID-19 tests offered by the Trump administration.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, normally fierce political rivals, say Congress is “grateful” for the offer, but “wants to keep directing resources to the front-line facilities where they can do the most good the most quickly”.
The US’s 100 senators, many of whom are advanced in age, will return to Washington, DC on Monday following a recess that was prolonged due to the pandemic.
00:54 GMT – Yemen’s Houthi rebels call for more test kits
Taha al-Mutawakel, the Houthi public health minister, urged the United Nations to increase the number of testing kits for COVID-19.
“We are sending this appeal given the global situation of coronavirus, the ongoing assault against our country, the embargo on our country, and because the amount of the PCR tests which the World Health Organization has sent to us is very little and is about to run out,” he told reporters in Sanaa on Saturday.
00:26 GMT – UN calls for probe into Venezuela prison riot that left 46 dead
The UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for an investigation into a prison riot in western Venezuela that left 46 people dead and 75 injured.
The OHCHR said on Twitter it is “gravely concerned” about the incident on Friday at the Los Llanos penitentiary in Portuguesa state. The South American country’s prisons are infamous for extreme levels of violence and poor conditions.
“We urge the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation, tackle overcrowding, and guarantee basic rights,” the office said.
The riot came shortly after prison officials barred inmates’ family members from bringing them food, a measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus within prisons.
00:12 GMT – Guards freed after prison riot at Brazil’s Manaus
Prison authorities in Brazil said 10 guards and five inmates suffered non-critical injuries following an uprising at a prison in Manaus, a state capital in the Amazon rainforest.
The inmates held seven guards hostage for more than five hours, but the situation was brought under control, according to the state’s public security secretariat.
Relatives of inmates said the prisoners at Puraquequara prison were protesting against the suspension of all family visits and poor conditions at the lockup amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Saturday, May 2
20:48 GMT – New York’s Andrew Cuomo warns against reopening states
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has pushed back against what he called premature demands to reopen the state, saying he knows people were struggling without jobs but more understanding of the coronavirus was needed.
Cuomo said he needed much more information on what the pandemic is doing in his hardest-hit state before he loosens restrictions.
19:22 GMT – United States death toll passes 65,000
As several US states start reopening their economies over the weekend, the number of known infections in the US has climbed to more than 1.1 million, including 65,645 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Overall in the United States, there were 34,000 new cases reported on Friday, the highest daily total since April 24.
More than 164,000 people have recovered from the virus. The US has conducted 6.5 million tests so far.
18:40 GMT – Yemen reports three new cases
Yemen has reported three new coronavirus cases, two in Aden and one in Taiz province, the national emergency coronavirus committee said, raising the number of diagnosed infections in the war-town country to 10 with two deaths.
The United Nations says it fears the new coronavirus could be spreading undetected among an acutely malnourished population with inadequate testing capabilities.
18:35 GMT – France COVID-19 death toll approaches 25,000
The number of people who have died from coronavirus infections in France rose by 166 to 24,760, while hospitalisations for the disease and people in ICU units continued to decline, the French health ministry said.
18:10 GMT – France to extend coronavirus emergency for two months
France will extend a health emergency imposed to fight the new coronavirus pandemic for another two months until July 24, Minister of Health Olivier Veran has said.
“We are going to have to perform a long-distance run,” Veran said,, adding he was aware that the French people had already been asked for “colossal efforts” in the fight against the virus.
18:02 GMT – Saudi to take ‘strict, painful’ measures to deal with coronavirus impact
Saudi Arabia will take strict and painful measures to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said in an interview with Al Arabiya TV.
“We must reduce budget expenditures sharply”, Jadaan said in comments published ahead of the interview’s broadcast. No details of possible measures were given.
The world’s largest oil exporter is suffering from historically low oil prices.
Jadaan noted the country had introduced stimulus measures aimed at preserving jobs in the private sector and safeguarding the provision of basic services.
17:20 GMT – Italy’s daily coronavirus death toll jumps
Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy jumped by 474, against 269 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, posting the largest daily toll of fatalities since April 21.
The steep increase in deaths followed a long, gradual declining trend and was due largely to Lombardy, the country’s worst affected region, where there were 329 deaths in the last 24 hours compared with just 88 the day before.
The daily tally of new infections was broadly stable for a third day running at 1,900 against 1,965 on Friday.
The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 now stands at 28,710, the agency said, the second highest in the world after that of the United States.
There were 1,539 people in intensive care on Saturday, slightly down from 1,578 on Friday and maintaining a long-running decline. Of those originally infected, 79,914 were declared recovered against 78,249 a day earlier.
17:00 GMT – Russia reports almost 10,000 new coronavirus cases
Russia reported 9,623 new coronavirus cases – its highest daily rise since the start of the pandemic – bringing the total to 124,054, mostly in the capital Moscow.
The death toll nationwide rose to 1,222 after 57 people died in the last 24 hours, Russia’s coronavirus crisis response centre said.
Concern was growing in Moscow that hospitals might become overwhelmed after recording the new one-day high of infections, a 20 percent increase over Friday’s count, which itself was a new daily record.
16:20 GMT – Turkey lifts exports limits for medical equipment
The Turkish trade ministry lifted export restrictions and a requirement to obtain advance permission for private companies to export medical equipment needed in treating COVID-19.
The decision, published in the Official Gazette, rescinded restrictions on exporting ventilators, intubation tubes and ICU monitors, among other equipment.
The trade ministry lifted restrictions on the export of ethanol, cologne, disinfectants and hydrogen peroxide.
Turkey also announced a military plane delivered medical supplies, including locally produced ventilators, to Somalia. Ankara has so far shipped needed supplies to at least 55 countries, including to the United States.
Turkey, a country of 83 million, has more than 122,00 cases and more than 3,200 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
15:21 GMT – UK COVID-19 death toll rises, shadowing Italy
The United Kingdom’s COVID-19 death toll rose 621 to 28,131 as of May 1, just short of Italy which has had the deadliest novel coronavirus outbreak among European countries.
“Sadly of those tested positive for coronavirus… 28,131 have now died,” housing minister Robert Jenrick told reporters at a Downing Street briefing. “That’s an increase of 621 fatalities since yesterday.”
Italy reported a death toll of 28,236 on May 1.
14:45 GMT – Spain makes masks mandatory
Spain will make masks mandatory on public transport from Monday to prevent a new wave of coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.
The Madrid government, which had until now “highly recommended” the use of masks, will distribute six million across the country from Monday and supply another seven million to local authorities.
14:14 GMT – Prisoners take guards hostage in Brazil’s coronavirus-hit Manaus
Inmates at a prison in Manaus, a Brazilian city deep in the Amazon that has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, have taken seven prison guards hostage, the local prison authority told Reuters news agency.
The reason for the rebellion at the Puraquequara Penitentiary was not immediately clear, but local television stations cited a video allegedly recorded by an unidentified inmate, who complained of sweltering heat and a lack of electricity in the prison.
The rebellion comes as the coronavirus outbreak has overwhelmed public services in Manaus, with authorities burying victims in mass graves and warning residents of a shortage soon of coffins.
13:46 GMT – England’s COVID-19 hospitals death toll rises
The death toll from COVID-19 in English hospitals rose 370 to 20,853, the health service said.
Of the 370 who died, 25 had no underlying health condition, the National Health Service said.
The United Kingdom’s death toll is due to be published later.
12:33 GMT – Dutch coronavirus cases pass 40,000
The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the Netherlands has increased by 445 to 40,236, Dutch health authorities said.
The National Institute for Public Health reported 94 new deaths, taking total COVID-19 fatalities to 4,987.
11:30 GMT – Spain eases strict lockdown conditions
All Spaniards were allowed to go for walks or play sport after 48 days of home confinement to combat the coronavirus in one of the worst-hit countries.
Spain’s nearly 47 million people have since March 14 lived under one of the strictest virus lockdowns in the world, with adults authorised to leave home only to buy food, medicine or walk the dog.
10:19 GMT – Spain’s coronavirus death toll tops 25,000
Spain’s coronavirus death toll hit 25,100 after 276 people died overnight, the health ministry said.
Total cases rose to 216,582 from 215,216 on Friday.
09:35 GMT – Nearly 10,000 inmates freed as virus hits Philippine jails
Nearly 10,000 prison inmates have been released in the Philippines as the country races to halt coronavirus infections in its overcrowded jails, a Supreme Court official said.
The move follows a directive to lower courts to release those awaiting trial in prison because they could not afford bail, Associate Supreme Court Justice Mario Victor Leonen told reporters.
“The court is very much aware of the congested situation in our prisons,” Leonen told reporters as he announced the release of 9,731 inmates.
09:10 GMT – Indonesia reports 292 new cases, 31 deaths
Indonesia recorded 292 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections to 10,843, said health ministry official, Achmad Yurianto.
Yurianto also reported 31 new deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 831. The number of people who have recovered from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, rose by 74 to 1,665, he said.
The country has tested more than 79,800 people for the virus, he said.
Construction workers are building the makeshift Pertamina hospital for coronavirus in Jakarta [Anton Raharjo/Anadolu]
09:05 GMT – Malaysia reports 105 new coronavirus cases
Malaysia reported 105 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 6,176.
The number of deaths remained at 103.
09:01 GMT – Russia’s daily case tally hits new high
Russia reported 9,623 new cases of the coronavirus, its highest daily rise, bringing the total to 124,054.
The nationwide death toll rose to 1,222 after 57 people died in the last 24 hours, Russia’s coronavirus crisis response centre said, after revising the previous day’s tally.
08:58 GMT – Philippines says coronavirus cases nearing 9,000
The Philippines said it has recorded 156 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 24 more deaths, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 8,928 and the fatalities to 603.
It also said that 40 more individuals had recovered from infections, bringing the recoveries to 1,124.
08:52 GMT – More than 40,000 cases confirmed across Africa
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has surpassed 40,000 across Africa, including nearly 1,700 deaths and more than 13,000 recoveries, accoding to Africa CDC.
At least 53 African nations have confirmed the new coronavirus infections.
#COVID19: Update as of 02/05/2020, 9:00 AM (East Africa Time)
53 African Union Member States reporting #COVID19 40.746 cases, 1.689 deaths, and 13.383 recoveries.
More information on @AfricaCDC dashboard via https://africacdc.org/covid-19/ #FactsNotFear #AfricaResponds
08:31 GMT – Singapore confirms 447 new cases
Singapore’s health ministry confirmed 447 new coronavirus infections, the smallest daily rise in two weeks, taking the city-state’s tally of cases to 17,548 with 16 virus-related deaths.
Most of the new cases are among migrant workers living in dormitories, the ministry said.
07:25 GMT – India extends lockdown for two more weeks
The Indian government said the world’s biggest coronavirus lockdown will be extended for two weeks beyond May 4, but with some easing of restrictions.
The home ministry said in a statement that in view of “significant gains in the COVID-19 situation”, areas with few or no cases would see “considerable relaxations”.
The stringent restrictions have been credited with keeping confirmed cases of coronavirus to about 37,000 cases, with 1,223 deaths.
07:13 GMT – Two percent of Moscow residents have coronavirus: Mayor
About two percent of Moscow residents – or more than 250,000 people – have the coronavirus, the mayor of the Russian capital said, citing test results.
Sergei Sobyanin wrote on his blog that Moscow has significantly ramped up testing capacity over the past few weeks, adding the city has managed to “contain the spread of the infection” due to the enforcement of stay-at-home rules and other measures.
But he reiterated that the city was not yet past the peak of the outbreak, saying “the threat is apparently on the rise”.
07:05 GMT
05:45 GMT – Australia reports coronavirus cases at meat factory
A small cluster has emerged at a meat factory in the Australian state of Victoria, health officials said on Saturday, as parts of the country started easing physical distancing restrictions after suppressing the infection rate to below 1 percent.
Three of the cases in Victoria were related to a meat-processing facility, said its health minister. A total of eight employees have tested positive.
In Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales (NSW) two out of five new cases were recorded at the Newmarch aged care facility in Sydney, where about 60 people have been infected, and 13 have died.
Local clusters of COVID-19 and cruise ship infections have accounted for a large percentage of Australia’s nearly 6,800 cases and 93 deaths.
05:30 GMT – Thailand reports six new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
Thailand reported six new coronavirus cases and no new deaths on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases to 2,966, according to Reuters news agency.
Three of the new cases were found on the southern resort island of Phuket, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman of the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
While more than half of Thailand’s nearly 3,000 cases were concentrated in Bangkok, Phuket has the highest rate of infection per population, Taweesin said. Since Thailand first detected the virus in January, 54 patients have died, 2,732 have recovered, and 180 are still hospitalised, according to official figures.
04:51 GMT – NASA, SpaceX urge spectators to skip launch
NASA and SpaceX have urged spectators to stay home for the first home launch of astronauts in nearly a decade because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Top officials warned the public against travelling to the US state of Florida for the May 27 launch of two NASA astronauts on board a SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station, the Associated Press news agency reported.
It will be the first launch of astronauts from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in nine years – the last space shuttle flight was in 2011. It also will be the first attempt by a private company to fly astronauts into orbit.
04:13 GMT – Singapore to ease restrictions starting on May 12
Singapore announced on Saturday that it will ease some restrictions in the country, allowing some businesses to operate starting May 12, according to Reuters news agency.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that as the number of cases in the broader community drop, more restrictions will be lifted in the weeks to come.
The government also said it will allow some students to return to school beginning on May 19.
03:35 GMT – Malaysia: Raid of migrants carried out to contain coronavirus
Police officers wearing protective suits pick up a migrant worker from an apartment under enhanced lockdown in Kuala Lumpur on Friday [Lim Huey Teng/Reuters]
Malaysian authorities rounded up undocumented migrants as part of efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, the country’s police chief said.
Over 700 migrants were taken into custody, including young children and Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, during Friday’s raid in a downtown area where thousands of migrants and asylum-seekers live, rights groups had said.
“We cannot allow them to move freely… as it will be difficult for us to track them down if they leave identified locations,” Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador told state news agency Bernama.
Those detained would be placed at a single location for monitoring until the movement curbs are lifted, he said, according to state news agency Bernama.
02:55 GMT – Germany’s coronavirus death toll hits 6,575
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose by 945 to 161,703, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Saturday.
The death toll rose by 94 to 6,575.
02:15 GMT – IMF approves $643m in pandemic aid for Ecuador
The International Monetary Fund has approved a request from Ecuador for emergency financing to fight the coronavirus pandemic, granting a $643m loan, the Andean country’s economy ministry has announced.
Ecuador has been among the hardest-hit countries in Latin America, with 24,675 confirmed cases and 883 deaths, plus a further 1,357 deaths that were likely caused by the coronavirus.
“This financing will allow us to have the necessary liquidity to support the reactivation of the economy, and protect jobs,” the ministry said in a statement.
01:40 GMT – Japan to review sumo tournament schedule
The Japan Sumo Association has announced it will reconsider its schedule for the summer grand tournament starting on May 24 if the government extends the state of emergency, Japan’s NHK news reported.
The nationwide measures are currently due to expire on Wednesday, May 6.
The opening of the event had already been postponed for two weeks to May 24.
Organisers are also considering holding the tournament without spectators, or cancelling it, the report said.
01:20 GMT – South Korea reports single-digit infections for fourth day
South Korea reported six more cases of the new coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the nation’s total infections to 10,780, according to Yonhap news agency.
It marked the fourth day in a row for the new daily infections to stay in the single digits.
The nation’s death toll from the virus rose by two to 250, while 9,123 people have recovered, up 51 from a day earlier.
At least 9,123 of the 10,780 infected people recovered from the coronavirus in South Korea as of Saturday [Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters]
01:12 GMT – US coronavirus stimulus went to some healthcare providers facing criminal inquiries
An investigation conducted by the Reuters news agency has revealed that taxpayer money has gone to some companies and people facing civil or criminal fraud investigations in the US.
The disclosures prompted outrage among some congressional Democrats, who say they highlight the problems with how stimulus funds have been distributed.
The funds came from the $2.3 trillion CARES Act passed by Congress to blunt the economic toll of the pandemic, which has killed more than 64,000 Americans and thrown at least 30 million people out of work.
00:05 GMT – US emergency approval broadens use of COVID-19 drug remdesivir
Gilead Science Inc’s antiviral drug remdesivir was granted emergency use authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for COVID-19, clearing the way for broader use of the drug around the US.
During a meeting at the White House with US President Donald Trump, Gilead Chief Executive Daniel O’Day called the move an important first step and said the company was donating 1.5 million vials of the drug to help patients.
The donation is expected to be enough for at least 140,000 patients, depending on the number of days they need to be treated.
Gilead said on Wednesday that the drug, which is given intravenously, had helped improve outcomes for patients with COVID-19 and provided data suggesting it worked better when given earlier in the course of infection.
Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a national viral genomics consortium to better sequence the transmission of COVID-19.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES