MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th May, 2020) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world reached 273,000, more than 3.91 million cases of infection were detected, and more than 1.3 million of those patients were cured, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from Federal and local authorities, media and other sources.
As of 21.00 GMT Friday, the number of people infected globally is 3,918,316, of them 273,034 died.
The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 1,279,546. This includes almost 200,000 recoveries and 76,706 fatalities.
Up to 85 percent of French schools will open after May 11, as France is preparing to gradually lift coronavirus-related restrictions, French education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said.
The authorities of Wales will relax restrictions against COVID-19 starting May 11, opening garden centers and softening exercise rules, First Minister Mark Drakeford said.
US car manufacturing giant Ford said it would begin a gradual resumption of production in North America on May 18, implementing robust safety and care measures.
The US state of Virginia may start re-opening its economy after the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown as early as May 15, Governor Ralph Northam told reporters.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Friday a three-stage plan for lifting restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus and returning Australians to normal life, adding that states and territories are set to progress through the plan at their own pace.
The Montenegrin authorities approved another round of softening of COVID-19 restrictions, beginning next Monday.
The Moldovan authorities will lift some coronavirus-related restrictions, reopening almost all markets starting next Monday and allowing outdoor religious services starting this Sunday, Prime Minister Ion Chicu said.
Georgia has become the first state in the world to reopen the tourism industry since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and will host the first post-coronavirus event of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in September, the head of Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA), Mariam Kvrivishvili, said.
The Egyptian authorities plan to begin lifting restrictions, introduced due to COVID-19, starting June 1 while making wearing masks mandatory, government spokesman Nader Saad said.
Europe celebrates the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War on Friday, however, given that European countries are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, ceremonies will be limited to putting some flowers at the Unknown soldier monuments and perpetual flame in the countries concerned, as well as the appearance of a few articles, radio and tv programs about WWII, the darkest hours in European history.
The United States lost a historic 20.5 million jobs in April as the novel coronavirus crisis bumped up the nation's unemployment rate by 10.3 percent to 14.7 percent, the highest ever, the Labor Department said.
The White House has no idea if the historic US job losses in April due to COVID-19 pandemic mark a low point for the country's unemployment, although it is optimistic of a rebound in the second half of the year, Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow said.
The Canadian economy shed nearly 2 million jobs in April pushing the unemployment rate to 13 percent amid the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Statistics Canada said in the Labor Force Survey report for April 2020.
The Italian tourism industry may lose up to 66 billion Euros ($72 billion) this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is unlikely to see any growth before 2023, Marina Lalli, vice-president of Federturismo Confindustria, the Italian travel and tourism federation, told Sputnik.
Countries across the globe need to begin construction on more new reactors to meet the world demand requirements for clean energy and to provide for a low-carbon future when economies start to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Jonathan Cobb, the senior communication manager for the World Nuclear Association, told Sputnik.
The coronavirus epidemic in the Netherlands is likely to last until the end of 2020, spokesman for the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment Coen Berends told Sputnik.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is lacking $1.3 billion for its coronavirus response in 2020, its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Multiple factors varying from population density to social norms could have contributed to differences in how the COVID-19 disease spread in different parts of the world and even different areas of one country, Executive Director of World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme Michael J. Ryan said.
The European Commission said on Friday that it would deliver 1.5 million medical masks out of 10 million purchased to 17 EU member states and the United Kingdom over the coming days to help protect health care workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
New York City has launched Test and Trace Corps to investigate and inform on cases of the novel coronavirus disease to suppress the spread of the virus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
The Canadian government's Emergency Wage Subsidy program implemented to help businesses deal with the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will be extended beyond June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced.
Iran has sent 40,000 coronavirus testing kits to Turkey, Germany and other countries, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said.
Djibouti will receive a $43.4 million emergency disbursement to support the nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.
Valencia will be the first city in Spain to check sewage for traces of COVID-19 allowing to detect hardest-hit neighborhoods as well as predict new outbreaks 15 days ahead of the emerging, El Mundo newspaper reported.
The WHO is looking forward to finding which drugs are safe and effective for treating the COVID-19 lungs disease in coming months, Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said.
The WHO believes that Russia's scaled-up coronavirus testing is reflected in the case count, the government has recently boosted its COVID-19 response, WHO's Ryan said.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to take part in a virtual Global Vaccine Summit in June, the prime minister's office said Friday.
Moscow will use a new method for coronavirus testing based on venous blood, Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova said.
The US government has approved a new at home saliva-based coronavirus test, a federal health agency said.
At least 73 children in the US state of New York have shown symptoms similar to the Kawasaki disease and the toxic shock-like syndrome that can be related to COVID-19, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would soon announce his final decision concerning US funding for the WHO after earlier vowing to hold the agency accountable for the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The coronavirus infection was a sudden outbreak, and China was the first country to encounter it, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in response to US President Donald Trump's claim that the pandemic started due to China's incompetence.
The US accusations regarding China's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic are not only politically, but also economically motivated, with Washington trying to sideline Beijing in the global market, Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov said.
