MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2020) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 358,000, over 5.76 million cases of infection were detected, and almost 2.39 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 Thursday, the number of people infected globally is 5,763,122, of them 358,235 died.
The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 1,715,811, including 101,337 fatalities and 391,508 recoveries.
The World Health Organization (WHO) called on governments and citizens in Europe to be responsible and cautious, as lockdowns are being lifted in many countries in the region, and beaches and other areas are being reopened.
The regime of self-preservation and sanitary restrictions will continue until a vaccine against the coronavirus is received, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced lifting of a number of restrictions imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic starting from June 1, stating that people will be allowed to move between cities, while restaurants, pools, beaches and gyms will also be reopened.
Croatia is reopening borders to nationals of 10 EU countries after pushing the daily COVID-19 increase to nearly zero, the Interior Ministry said.
The coronavirus-related restrictions in Manila and surrounding areas, officially known as the National Capital Region (NCR), will be relaxed starting from next week, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said.
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo said that he would sign an executive order allowing businesses not to let in clients without face masks or coverings in order to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Austrian Airlines said it would resume regular flights to 27 European cities starting June 15, after them having been suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday, following the Israeli authorities' recent easing of the country's lockdown restrictions introduced to combat COVID-19, Jews began to celebrate the Shavuot holiday, also knows as the Feast of Weeks, which is dedicated to the anniversary of when they believe God gave the Torah to the nation of Israel at Egypt's Mount Sinai.
Abkhazia will extend the borders closure and the restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus through June 15, Health Minister Tamaz Tsakhnakia told Sputnik.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that 60 million people worldwide had been pushed into extreme poverty due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and urged mobilizing immediate financial support to address the problem.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) now expects the global economy to contract by more than the previously projected 3 percent, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said.
The number of Yemeni children facing acute malnutrition might considerably increase from an already high figure of over two million in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a spokesperson of the United Nations World food Programme (WFP) told Sputnik.
Russia's economy shrunk 12 percent year-on-year in April and 1.9 percent in the first four months 2020, according to the Economic Development Ministry's report.
Some 2.1 million more Americans filed for first-time unemployment claims last week, the Labor Department said on Thursday, bringing the total number of US job losses from the COVID-19 pandemic to around 41 million.
The Italian National Institute of Statistics, Istat, said that up to 400,000 Italians could lose their jobs by the end of 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences.
France's unemployment increased to a total of 4.5 million people in April due to the coronavirus-related lockdown introduced in mid-March, the French Labor Ministry said.
Japanese carmaker Nissan reported an annual net loss of $6.2 billion, the company's worst financial result in 20 years, amid the ongoing disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and the lingering effects of a scandal involving former CEO Carlos Ghosn.
Russia's public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, and the French Health Ministry are elaborating proposals related to joint COVID-19 fight, and Moscow hopes that cooperation will soon start, Foreign Ministry's First European Department Director Aleksey Paramonov told Sputnik.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has launched a revised appeal for 3.1 billion Swiss francs ($3.19 billion) in emergency humanitarian assistance to people caught by the coronavirus in war zones and other vulnerable contexts.
Tajikistan received on Thursday 4.6 tonnes of medicines to fight the coronavirus pandemic, which were sent at the initiative of the Indian government on a special Air India flight, the Indian embassy in Dushanbe said.
Russia has offered the World Health Organization (WHO) eight candidate vaccines against COVID-19, WHO spokeswoman in Russia, Melita Vujnovic, said, adding that over 120 candidate vaccines have been registered globally.
The Russian Health Ministry's guidelines for providing medical care to pregnant women and women in labor who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 say that all newborn babies should be tested for coronavirus at birth.
The Russian Health Ministry said it was constantly monitoring the efficiency and safety of using hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus patients.
The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) has doubted the reliability of a study published in The Lancet medical journal that suggested a link between the use of hydroxychloroquine and increased death risks among coronavirus patients, saying that it will continue clinical trials and experimental use of the anti--malaria drug.
Scientists in Australia doubt the reliability of a study published in The Lancet medical journal that prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to shelve ongoing research into the effectiveness of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, the Guardian Australia portal reported.
Thailand is planning to mass test vulnerable population groups who are at higher risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus, namely health workers, inmates and essential workers who must interact with many people, Taweesin Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said.
Doctors from the Policlinico of Milan, one of the oldest Italian hospitals, have conducted a double-lung transplant on an 18-year-old recovered coronavirus patient, whose lungs were virtually destroyed by the disease, the country's popular science magazine Focus reported. According to the magazine, the transplant was performed 10 days ago, and the patient's condition is now not life-threatening.
The Kremlin knows that ambassadors of some countries in European capitals are asking these states to reject Russia's help in coronavirus response and finds it regrettable, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russia urges members of the World Health Organization to avoid the politicization of the coronavirus inquiry, Gennady Gatilov, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, said.
