WHO urges vigilance as world tiptoes out of virus lockdown

The coronavirus pandemic continues to take a toll on people around the world, while countries gradually dial down measures to contain their outbreaks, potentially risking more infections and deaths.

The latest data by Johns Hopkins University show that as of Tuesday afternoon, 4,193, 302 people are infected with the new coronavirus in the world, and the overall death toll from all countries keeping count has now reached 286,513.

Here is the latest about the pandemic from individual countries:

A note of warning from WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned there is a need for “extreme vigilance” as many world countries are introducing measures for a phased easing of their strict coronavirus lockdowns.

Mike Ryan, head of the organization’s emergencies program told an online news briefing that “extreme vigilance is required” in countries exiting the lockdowns, because there is always the risk of the virus “taking off again” if clusters are not investigated.

“It’s really important that we hold up examples of countries who are willing to open their eyes and willing to keep their eyes open,” Ryan said, warning that certain countries were “trying to drive through this blindly”.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the same briefing that easing the restrictions was “complex and difficult” and called for a “slow and steady” lifting of lockdowns.

Germany now has 170,508 cases

Germany reported 933 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking its overall toll to 170,508, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases.

The death toll also increased by 116 to 7,533.

Fire kills coronavirus patients in Russia

At least five people infected with the new coronavirus were killed in a fire that apparently started by an overloaded ventilator in an intensive care unit in a hospital in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Tuesday.

Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed the incident but did not specify the number of victims.

“Ventilators are at their limit. According to preliminary data, there was an overload and the machine ignited, which caused the fire,” the Interfax news agency quoted one source as saying.

Some 150 people were evacuated from the hospital after the fire, according to the ministry.

Another fire had erupted at a Moscow hospital treating coronavirus patients on Saturday, leaving one person dead.

Russia has so far recorded 232,243 coronavirus cases, the third-highest total worldwide.

The country’s coronavirus response center said on Tuesday that the death toll from the virus had increased by 107 to 2,116.

Russia attributes the continued daily rise in cases to widespread testing.

Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia register new cases

The number of coronavirus cases in Thailand increased to 3,017 after two new infections were reported on Tuesday.

The death toll from the virus in Thailand stands at 56, as no new deaths were reported on Tuesday.

Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said the majority of new infections in the past two weeks had been from southern Thailand, including a cluster at an immigration detention center in Songkhla Province.

In Singapore, the Health Ministry confirmed 884 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infections to 24,671.

Meanwhile, the Philippines’ Health Ministry on Tuesday reported that the number of infections had risen by 264 to 11,350, while 25 new deaths brought the tally to 751.

President Rodrigo Duterte has extended lockdown measures in the capital, Manila, until June.

Malaysia reported no deaths on Tuesday, but 16 new infections were registered, bringing the cumulative total to 6,742.

Japan to approve first coronavirus antigen test kits

A Japanese Health Ministry official says Japan plans to approve its first coronavirus antigen testing kits, made by Fujirebio — a subsidiary of Japanese diagnostics and laboratory testing service provider Miraca Holdings — on Wednesday in order to boost the number of diagnostic tests available to fight the pandemic.

Japan has about 16,680 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 670 deaths, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Spain orders quarantine for all travelers arriving from overseas

Spain, one of the countries the worst hit by the coronavirus, ordered a two-week quarantine for all travelers coming to the country from overseas from May 15.

According to an official order published on Tuesday, those travelers will have to remain locked in and will only be allowed to exit for grocery shopping, visits to health centers, and “situations of need.”

Spain has recorded over 26,000 fatalities and more than 220,000 cases.

Italy to give regions powers to ease coronavirus restrictions

The Italian government decided on Monday to give administrative regions the power to ease restrictions introduced to curb the coronavirus.

“We have always said that if the contagion data were encouraging, we would have brought forward the reopening,” Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio tweeted, adding that the regions would shortly receive guidelines to open restaurants, hairdressers’, and beauty clinics from May 18.

Senegal to ease restrictions despite surge in cases

Senegalese President Macky Sall declared the re-opening of mosques and churches and the relaxing of other coronavirus restrictions even though the country reported a record daily rise in cases on Monday.

“In the best of cases, COVID-19 will continue to circulate in the country until the month of August, or even September,” Sall said in an address to the nation on Monday. “In this new phase that will last not a few weeks but three or four months, we need to learn to live in the presence of the virus.”

Senegal has 1,886 coronavirus cases and 19 deaths.

Qatar to reopen money exchange services

Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry decided to allow money exchange service offices — which have been closed since March 26 as part of measures taken to curb the spread of the outbreak — to reopen as of May 12, according to state news agency QNA.

Brazil virus cases top 168K

Brazil’s Health Ministry said 5,632 new coronavirus cases had been recorded on Monday, with 396 deaths.

The country has now a total of 168,331 confirmed cases and 11,519 deaths.

Coronavirus ‘to push millions of Mexicans into poverty’

The number of coronavirus cases in Mexico rose by 1,305 to 36,327 on Monday, the Health Ministry reported, adding that 108 additional deaths brought the total to 3,573.

A government study released on Monday said the economic fallout from the pandemic could add nine million people to Mexico’s poor as thousands of jobs have been lost amid the closure of businesses as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

CONEVAL, the autonomous public agency that measures poverty, called for aid-like pensions and insurance in the country to help the vulnerable.

UNICEF appeals for $1.6bln to help children hit by pandemic

The United Nations (UN)’s children’s agency, UNICEF, more than doubled its funding appeal to help children already suffering through humanitarian crises and now hit with the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNICEF on Monday appealed for 1.6 billion dollars, saying it had so far received 215 million dollars since late March.

“We have seen what the pandemic is doing to countries with developed health systems and we are concerned about what it would do to countries with weaker systems and fewer available resources,” UNICEF’s Executive Director Henrietta Fore said.

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