DUBAI: The coronavirus pandemic focus has shifted to Latin America as governments elsewhere continue to relax on lockdown restrictions that were imposed weeks ago to contain the spread of the highly contagious disease.
From Australia to Egypt, economies are being opened up anew as countries bid a quick return to normalcy recoup a least some of the lost businesses and opportunities, and rekindle public confidence amid the new normal of social distancing.
May 6, Wednesday (GMT times)
18:30 - DonaldTrump says the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has hit the US harder than Pearl Harbor or 9/11. This is really the worst attack we've ever had," he told reporters at the White House.
18:15 - France reports 278 new deaths from COVID-19 but also announced a steep fall in the number of hospital patients. The health ministry said 25,809 people were now confirmed to have died from the virus in hospitals and nursing homes. France is due to emerge on May 11 from a lockdown.
17:30 - UAE announces 11 new deaths from coronavirus disease while recoveries increased to 3,359.
16:18 - The number of people who have died from COVID-19 in Turkey has risen by 64 in the last 24 hours to 3,584, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Wednesday.
16:11- Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 369 on Wednesday, against just 236 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new infections also rose, increasing by 1,444 against 1,075 on Tuesday.
16:07 - The UK's death toll from coronavirus rose to 30,076 on Wednesday.
15:57 - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday warned of the risks of returning to lockdown if countries emerging from pandemic restrictions do not manage transitions "extremely carefully and in a phased approach".
"The risk of returning to lockdown remains very real if countries do not manage the transition extremely carefully and in a phased approach," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a virtual briefing in Geneva.
13:30 - Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday nine deaths from COVID-19 and 1,687 new cases of the coronavirus disease on Wednesday.
13:00 - Belgium retailers closed by the coronavirus epidemic will reopen to shoppers from Monday under strict social distancing rules, Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes said.
With one of the highest per capita death rates in the world from the virus, Belgium began lifting a strict lockdown in stages this week.
Businesses whose staff are not in contact with the public have re-started work, but schools, restaurants and bars will remain closed a while longer.
08:05 – The Philippine health ministry reported 21 new coronavirus deaths, 320 more infections.
07:59 – Japan’s capital of Tokyo reported 38 cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, Jiji news agency said, marking a fifth straight day of declining numbers of new infections.
07:24 – Singapore’s health ministry confirmed 788 new coronavirus cases, taking the city-state’s tally to 20,198.
05:19 – Australia will have a COVID-19 safe economy up and running by July, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, as his government seeks to get one million unemployed people working again. READ THE STORY
04:54 – Thailand on Wednesday reported one new coronavirus case and one new death, a senior health official said.
03:22 – More than 15,000 people have been killed by the coronavirus in Latin America and the Caribbean as of 0230 GMT Wednesday, according to an AFP tally based on official reports.
03:17 – Egypt’s economy had just started to recover after years of political turmoil and militant attacks when the coronavirus crisis hit, impacting especially its vital tourism sector.
03:15 – The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 947 to 164,807, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday.
02:13 – New confirmed infections per day in the US exceed 20,000, and deaths per day are well over 1,000, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
