The United States still has the highest coronavirus case count in the world, with over 1,36 million infected. This includes 232,733 recoveries and 80,682 fatalities.
Russia has registered 11,656 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, with the total count now reaching 221,344, the national coronavirus response centre said.
The WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Brazil has reached 177,589 - a rise by 9,258, or 5.5 percent - over the past 24 hours from 168,331, the country's Health Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said Brazil's coronavirus death count stood at 12,400, which is an increase by 881 people, or 7.6 percent, from the previous day's figure of 11,519.
A total of 72,597 people have recovered from COVID-19, it said.
UPDATE: We have 898 new positive #COVID19 cases, bringing our total to 140,743.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 12, 2020
• Atlantic: 1,558
• Bergen: 17,091
• Burlington: 3,697
• Camden: 5,043
• Cape May: 471
• Cumberland: 1,427
• Essex: 15,658
• Gloucester: 1,710
• Hudson: 16,975
• Hunterdon: 729 pic.twitter.com/PrfbZzyDGv
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The global death toll from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has surpassed 283,000 people, rising by 4,261 over the past 24 hours, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in its daily coronavirus situation report.
The WHO said the number of cases worldwide had reached 4,088,848 - an increase by 82,591 over the past day, whereas the number of deaths now amounted to 283,153.
Most cases are reported in Europe, where their number currently stands at 1,755,790 - a rise by 24,184, with 157,880 deaths (up 1,277).
PARIS (Sputnik) - A total of 348 people have died in France due to complications from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, the largest single-day increase to the death toll since 29 April amid the country's easing of lockdown measures enforced to curb the spread of the disease, the country's Health Ministry said Tuesday.
The corresponding daily rise in the death toll reported on Monday was 263.
According to the ministry, the total death toll now stands at 26,991, comprising 17,003 people who lost their lives in hospitals and 9,988 people who died in care homes.
The ministry stated that 21,595 people remain in hospital undergoing treatment for the coronavirus disease. A total of 670 people were admitted over the preceding 24 hours, although the total number of people in both general and intensive care has decreased since Monday, the ministry said.
TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Another 127 coronavirus patients have recovered in Israel since Tuesday morning, taking the total number of recoveries to over 12,000, which is nearly three times more than the number of active cases, the Health Ministry's data shows.
As many as 12,083 patients have recovered since the onset of the epidemic. The tally of active cases totals 4,186, with three new cases recorded since Tuesday morning.
The number of cumulative cases stands at 16,529.
The death toll has risen by two to 260.
As of now, 66 patients are in serious condition. Fifty-five are in need of lung ventilation treatment.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow has registered 53 deaths of patients with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours, bringing the Russian capital's death toll to 1,232, the city's coronavirus response center said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Another 53 patients, who were diagnosed with pneumonia and tested positive for the coronavirus infection, died in Moscow", it said.
The figure is slightly lower than 58, 56, and 55 deaths registered on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, respectively.
HELSINKI (Sputnik) - Finland registered 19 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, the smallest daily rise since mid-March, and the total case count reached 6,003, the Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) said on Tuesday.
"Tested samples in total: more than 126,500 (+ 3,200*). Reported cases in total: 6,003 (+19*)", the THL said.
At the same time, four coronavirus-related fatalities were confirmed in the preceding 24 hours, and the overall death toll reached 275. The median age of those who died from coronavirus-related complications is 84. Unlike in most countries, in Finland, more women — 51 percent — died from coronavirus-related complications than men.
Yeni vaka sayısındaki artış öngörülebilir sınırlarda. TOPLAM VAKALARIN %70’İ İYİLEŞMİŞ DURUMDA. Yoğun bakım hasta sayımız azalmaya devam ediyor. Maske + sosyal mesafe: Virüse karşı gücümüz bu! Risk kalabalık ortamlarda. Uzak duralım. https://t.co/RVlhe7786O pic.twitter.com/0naqY0mszC
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) May 12, 2020
HELSINKI (Sputnik) - Ireland's Ryanair, the largest low-cost airline in Europe, said on Tuesday that it would resume 40 percent of flights that were suspended due to the spread of the coronavirus starting July 1.
"Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, today (Tues 12th May) announced plans to return to 40% of normal flight schedules from Wed 1 July 2020, subject to Government restrictions on intra-EU flights being lifted, and effective public health measures being put in place at airports. Ryanair will operate a daily flight schedule of almost 1,000 flights, restoring 90% of its pre-Covid-19 route network", the company said in a press release.
The company added that starting from July it would restart flying from most of its 80 bases across Europe.
The company also released a special video encouraging passengers to observe effective health measures to curb COVID-19. In particular it recommends them to travel with fewer bags, check in online, download boarding passes to a smart phone, as well as undergo temperature checks at airport entry and wear face masks.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Central Bank (ECB) expects the coronavirus pandemic, which has rattled the manufacturing and service industry, to maintain its influence on the economy, the ECB said in a report issued Tuesday.
"Economic activity in the euro area fell sharply in March 2020, as a result of the spread of the virus and measures implemented to contain it. Many countries around the world have introduced measures since March 2020, and the economic outlook will continue to be affected by the evolution of the pandemic, the associated containment measures and the policy response. At the current juncture, therefore, the economic outlook remains highly uncertain," the analysis, prepared by Roberto A. De Santis, read.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the economic activity both globally and in the euro area, the ECB said in its bulletin.
"Economic growth in the euro area will be severely undermined in the short term," the report said.
The growth in the region has been negatively impacted by several factors since the early 2018: the weaker global trade driven in part by international tensions and Brexit uncertainty; the decline in car output caused mainly by lower foreign demand; and, finally, the coronavirus.
NEW YORK (Sputnik) - At least 52 children in New York City have already been diagnosed with a potentially deadly inflammatory syndrome that could be connected to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
"As of the latest information, we have 52 confirmed cases," de Blasio told reporters.
The mayor pointed out that ten more cases of the so-called pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome are currently under investigation.
De Blasio said 25 children of the 52 confirmed cases have tested positive for COVID-19 and 22 have developed antibodies to the virus.
"We are talking about characteristics that have been seen before, but now are being experienced through the prism of this pandemic, that is what causing particular concern," de Blasio added.
De Blasio encouraged parents to immediately contact doctors if their children experience fever, rash, abdominal pain and vomiting and said the medical community has emphasized that early detection and early action "makes all the difference."
New York City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot has said earlier that the COVID-19-related illness is similar to Kawasaki inflammatory disease and causes heart and kidney failure.
A five-year-old boy passed away from the illness in New York City last week.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States will be able to perform up to 50 million novel coronavirus (COVID-19) tests per month by September, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary of Health Brett Girgoir said during a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
"By September, taking all aspects of development, authorization, manufacturing, we project that our nation will be capable performing at least 40 to 50 million tests per month, if needed at that time," Girgoir told the US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Girgoir called on the US government to authorize new technologies that will allow an increase in the number of available tests in the United States.
As of Monday morning, there were 9 million available tests and the number is increasing by 300,000 per day.
In an effort to further ramp up testing, US President Donald Trump announced the allocation of $11 billion to every US state, territory and tribe.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Kuwait is seeing a sharp rise in the COVID-19 case count, which reached 10,277 as the Health Ministry confirmed 991 new cases on Tuesday despite the ongoing 24-hour curfew.
"The Health Ministry reports 991 new confirmed cases, 194 new recoveries and 10 new fatalities. The total number of new coronavirus cases reached 10,277," the ministry said.
The overall number of recoveries has increased to 3,101, and the number of related deaths has reached 75.
Kuwait imposed a full nation-wide lockdown and a continuation of the curfew on 10 May in order to combat the spread of COVID-19. The measures are to last until 30 May.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The number of people diagnosed with the novel coronavirus infection in the Netherlands is at least 43,000 and most certainly higher, since not all patients get tested, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) said on Tuesday.
"Hospital admissions for 35 patients due to COVID-19 were reported today (current or previous). 54 deaths were reported," RIVM said in a daily update.
According to the latest figures, the cumulative number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Netherlands has increased by 196 to a total of 42,984, including 5,510 fatalities and 11,378 patients admitted to hospitals.
"The figures are in line with the impression that the measures are working. Since not all COVID-19 patients are tested, the actual numbers in the Netherlands are higher than the numbers stated here," the institute said.
The institute also said that the number of new nursing homes with COVID-19 patients was stabilising, as new locations were still being added every day, but not as many as in March and the first half of April.
A special economic package is being announced- for an Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan with nearly 10% of a GDP (approx Rs 20 lakh) getting committed. MSMEs and the honest middle class help build a #selfreliant India, says @PMOIndia @narendramodi
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) May 12, 2020
MOSCOW, May 12 (Sputnik) - The number of coronavirus-related fatalities in Indonesia has risen by 16 to 1,007 over the past 24 hours, the country's Health Ministry said on Tuesday amid authorities' plans to further ease social restrictions.
On May 9, Indonesia saw an increase of 533 new COVID-19 cases — the highest daily growth in the country since the beginning of the outbreak. On May 10, the daily rate decreased and amounted to 387, taking the total toll to 14,032. On Monday, the health authorities reported a further decrease in the number of new cases. Then, 233 new cases were registered with a total tally of 14,265 and 991 related deaths.
According to the ministry, a total of 14,749 people contracted the disease in Indonesia after 484 new cases were registered over the past 24 hours. The number of recoveries amounts to 3,063.
In late March, Indonesian President Joko Widodo declared a health emergency to halt the spread of COVID-19, which was extended in April until May 29. At the same time, the Indonesian authorities have recently begun the gradual relaxation of the lockdown measures.
The government eased some travel restrictions for several categories of employees and officials last week and plans to gradually lift social restrictions in June. Moreover, Indonesia's COVID-19 task force head Doni Monardo said on Monday that people under 45 would be allowed to work outside their homes to prevent large-scale job cuts.
CAIRO, May 12 (Sputnik) – Algeria has decided to extend the nationwide lockdown for 15 more days beginning on May 15 as part of the government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad said on Tuesday.
"[The government decided to extend] the sanitary lockdown for 15 more days, as part of the fight against the spread of COVID-19 pandemic," Djerad said, as quoted by the state-run Algerian Press Service (APS).
These measures will come into force on May 15, the minister noted while speaking on the regional radio station during his official visit to Algeria’s Oran province, the APS reported.
On April 29, the Algerian government prolonged the lockdown across the country until May 14. Algiers had previously imposed a partial lockdown until April 28.
As of Tuesday, the Algerian Health Ministry has registered 5,891 COVID-19 cases, with 507 coronavirus-related deaths and 2,841 recoveries, according to Johns Hopkins University.
BERLIN, May 12 (Sputnik) - Germany can avoid a second wave of the new coronavirus if people comply with the necessary hygiene rules, Lars Schaade, the vice president of the Robert Koch Institute of the Health Ministry, said on Tuesday.
"A second wave [of the disease] can be avoided if we avoid chain infection," Schaade told reporters, adding that it is possible if people "behave wisely."
According to the institute's head, citizens should avoid being in contact with other people, respect social distancing and wear protective masks while in public, as well as wash their hands frequently.
Schaade added that people could return to normal life, as it was last December, only after a vaccine against COVID-19 is developed. Meanwhile, they should do everything possible to keep a low number of cases.
The vice president also said that Germany was approaching the COVID-19 plateau, which was not quite typical of a virus, the spread of which, as a rule, had a "wave-like development" associated with the emergence of persistent immunity among people.
On Tuesday, Germany confirmed 933 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total count to 170,508. Among those infected, 7,533 people have died and over 147,000 others have recovered.
MOSCOW, May 12 (Sputnik) - The World Health Organization's (WHO) technical lead on COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, said on Tuesday that there is still no evidence of possible serious mutations in the genetic makeup of the coronavirus, and all existing changes in the virus are "within expected range."
"So far, this virus is relatively stable there are changes in the virus, which are expected in RNA viruses, but these changes are within the expected range and there are not any differences in the viruses that have been found in different countries that suggest that it behaves differently in terms of its ability to transmit or its ability to cause severe diseases," Van Kerkhove stated.
According to Van Kerkhove, it still has not been proven that an individual, who developed an antibody response, is necessarily immune to the virus, as existing studies on the issue are insufficient to draw definite conclusions.
"And what we are finding is that individuals, who develop an antibody response, develop it about a week or two after infection. And we are trying to better understand what that antibodies' response means. Right now, there are no studies that evaluate the antibody response as it relates to immunity. So, we cannot say that antibody response means that someone is immune. Having said that, there are a number of studies underway and this is a very active area of research," she added.
According to Johns Hopkins University's count, more than 4.1 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide including 283,000 related deaths.
The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the Indian manufacturing. India's factory output for March, when the pandemic gripped the country, has tanked into negative. Factory output for the month fell to 17 percent against 4.5 percent growth in February this year.
The number of coronavirus cases across the African continent has reached 66,119, with 2,331 related deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa said on Tuesday.
According to the organization's statistics, COVID-19 has reached all 54 African countries and only nine nations have yet to register any fatalities from the disease.
South Africa has the highest tally with 10,652 cases and 205 fatalities, while Egypt follows with 9,746 cases and 533 deaths, according to the WHO’s numbers.
The spread of the disease appears to be on a steep trajectory, as only 15,000 cases had been recorded on the continent in mid-April.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, himself an Ethiopian national, last month expressed concern about the ability of health care systems in developing nations to cope with a sharp increase in patients should the coronavirus take hold on the continent.
Many nations have taken a variety of mitigation measures and many have issued stay-at-home orders.
Japanese Ambassador to Russia Toyohisa Kozuki has listed several national customs in an interview to Sputnik that he believes helped his country to stem the spread of the coronavirus at early stages.
"I believe, [we] managed to contain the rapid spread of the infection including thanks to the fact that it is customary in Japan to take off shoes before entering a house; it is not customary to shake hands and hug each other when meeting; and also high sanitary standards are common, for example, while feeling sick, it is customary to wear a mask," the diplomat said.
As of Tuesday, the country updated its COVID-19 tally by 72 cases to 16,752. This includes 712 infected passengers of Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was quarantined off the Japanese coast in February. Over 9,500 patents have recovered, and 682 have died.
Spain's oldest woman, Maria Branyas, has survived the coronavirus disease at the age of 113 and the good news was shared on her Twitter account, ran by family members.
For the past twenty years, Branyas has been living in a nursing home in the northeastern Catalonian city of Girona. In April, the woman showed mild coronavirus symptoms and in early May, doctors confirmed that she had recovered.
Branyas remained isolated in her room for the duration of her illness, being constantly in touch with relatives.
Several other tenants of the same nursing home have died from coronavirus complications.
A further 264 cases of COVID-19 have been registered in the Philippines over the past 24 hours on Tuesday by the country’s Department of Health, the majority of which were reported in the National Capital Region around Manila on the same day as the government extended lockdown measures in three urban areas.
The latest daily increase to the case total is slightly below the 292 new cases announced by public health officials on Monday. However, the day-on-day increase in the death toll went from seven on Monday to 25.
According to the Department of Health, 165 of the new cases were reported in the National Capital Region, and 74 were reported in Region 7, an area of territory that includes the city of Cebu.
Romania registered less than 200 new coronavirus cases for the first time since 2 May, and the total tally reached 15,778, media reported on Tuesday, citing the government's COVID-19 strategic contact group.
The coronavirus-related death toll increased from 972 to 991 over the given period, according to the Digi 24 broadcaster.
At the same time, the number of recoveries reached 7,685, meaning that the number of cured people is more than the number of COVID-19 carriers (7,102) in the Eastern European country.
The northern Suceava county, with more than 3,200 COVID-19 cases, and the capital Bucharest, with 1,528 cases, are the most affected.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo on Tuesday called for the reopening of parks and gardens only if residents wear protective masks there and in the streets of the French capital, in general.
“Given the needs of Parisians, because Paris is a very dense city, I renew my request to open the parks and gardens for walking with the obligatory wearing of the mask, which should also be the case in all the streets of our city,” Hidalgo wrote on Twitter.
Notably, according to the government's instructions on easing the lockdown, schools, non-alimentary shops, beauty salons and construction sites may reopen in regions included in the “green zone,” or less affected by the pandemic. Cafes, bars, restaurants and cinemas, however, are to remain closed until the authorities decide otherwise.
France began gradually lifting the lockdown measures on Monday in an effort to restore the economy, hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. Paris, however, remains among the most highly-infected regions in the so-called “red zone” and thus is forbidden from reopening public places, including parks and gardens, unless otherwise specified by the local authorities.
Spain registers 176 coronavirus-related deaths over the past 24 hours, 53 more than the previous day’s death toll, the country’s Health Ministry said Tuesday.
The previous update, published Monday on the ministry’s website, showed 123 deaths in 24 hours which was the lowest daily toll since 18 March.
This brings the total to 26,920 fatalities, which is only less than the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy.
At the same time, 426 new cases were registered, taking the overall tally to just over 228,000 and 1,841 more people recovered, making up a total of nearly 140,000.
About half of Spain’s population saw the first phase of lifting restrictions take place on Monday with more regions soon to follow if the trend maintains its downward trajectory.
Sudan has registered 161 new coronavirus cases in a slight decrease compared to Monday’s toll, which was the highest since the start of the pandemic, the country's health ministry said, adding that the total number of patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 in the country has reached 1,526.
"The Health Ministry has recorded 161 more coronavirus cases and 4 new deaths, bringing the total of patients to 1,526 and the death toll to 74 fatalities, respectively," the Health Ministry said in a press release on Tuesday, adding that the tally of recoveries has risen by 12 to 161.
According to the ministry, the majority of COVID-19 patients – 1,249 – is in the capital of Khartoum, while the rest of the cases – 277 – are in Sudan’s other provinces.
On Friday, the Sudanese government extended a round-the-clock curfew in the Khartoum province for 10 more days, which came into force on 9 May, in a bid to curb the spread of the disease. As of now, the move between the capital and other Sudanese cities is banned.
The nationwide quarantine in Ukraine, introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic, is expected to be prolonged beyond 22 May, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, the Ukrainian government extended the quarantine until 22 May, while some restrictions, including bans on walks in parks and trade of non-food items, had been partially lifted on Monday.
"Officially, the quarantine is until 22 May, but this is not the final date. We will continue [extending]," Shmyhal said in a televised interview.
The prime minister added that the government was currently deciding on the time frame for each of the five stages of quarantine withdrawal.
"It is difficult to predict today... Now we are at the peak of the [COVID-19] infections rate... We have not had a day when the number of those who recovered exceeded or was equal to the number of active cases. This will be a very important turning point at which would be able to understand that we have passed the peak and can start moving down," Shmyhal added.
The nationwide quarantine to contain the coronavirus was declared in Ukraine on March 12 and has since been extended several times.
To date, the country has confirmed 16,023 COVID-19 cases. The death toll has reached 425, while the number of recovered patients has risen to 3,373, according to the Ukrainian Health Ministry.
Russia has registered 10,899 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours (11,656 yesterday), with the total count now reaching 232,243, the national coronavirus response center said on Tuesday.
"Over the past 24 hours, 10,899 COVID-19 cases have been registered in 83 regions. Of these, 4,704 (or 43.1 percent) have been detected actively, with people showing no clinical symptoms," the center said in a statement.
This brings the total tally to 232,243 (+4.9 percent) in 85 regions across Russia.
Of all the new cases, 5,392 have been registered in Moscow, 1,063 in Moscow region and 354 in Nizhny Novgorod region (compared to yesterday's 6,169, 1,079 an 291, respectively)
The country's COVID-19 death toll has increased by 107 (94 yesterday) to 2,116.
As many as 3,711 COVID-19 patients have recovered in Russia over the past 24 hours (5,495 yesterday), bringing the total number of cured people to 43,512.
People traveling to Spain will be required to self-isolate for a fourteen-day quarantine to ensure the well-being of others in times of the global coronavirus pandemic starting on 15 May for the entire duration of the high alert regime, the Spanish Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
"People arriving from abroad will have to be quarantined for 14 days from the next day of their arrival," the published decree read.
It added that the travelers would be permitted to go to grocery shops, pharmacies and medical facilities, only if wearing masks.
The health services may contact these people to monitor their conditions. In case of high fever, cough, shortness of breath, and other COVID-19 symptoms, they should contact the medical services by phone.
The new measure does not affect health care personnel and workers living along border areas.
Travel agencies, tour operators and transport companies should inform their customers about the new measures when selling tickets to Spain. Passengers will need to fill out special health forms, which they must submit on arrival.
Spain ranks first in Europe in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, having so far recorded over 227,000. The death toll stands at almost 26,750.
The Spanish government declared a state of high alert on 14 March and extended it until 24 May earlier this month.
More than 5.8 million tests to detect COVID-19 have been conducted in Russia since the beginning of the outbreak, and 251,000 people across the country remain under medical supervision as suspected virus carriers, the national public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said on Tuesday.
"Over 5.8 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in Russia. A total of 251,000 people remain under medical monitoring," Rospotrebnadzor said in a statement.
As many as 168,000 tests have been conducted over the past 24 hours, the watchdog noted.
Russia has so far confirmed 221,344 COVID-19 cases, 2,009 fatalities and 39,801 recoveries.
India has registered a daily increase of 3,600 new COVID-19 cases, with the total count growing to 70,756, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
The death toll has increased by 87 to 2,293, and the number of recoveries has reached 22,454 after growing by 1,538 in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.
As many as 46,008 COVID-19 patients in India are currently receiving treatment, according to the health authorities.
India's central state of Maharashtra remains the most affected one, with 23,401 cases, followed by the western state of Gujarat with 8,541 cases, and the southern state of Tamil Nadu with 8,002 cases.
The country's Interior Ministry has extended the lockdown, imposed to contain the coronavirus, until 17 May, with several relaxations introduced in some areas across the country that are not so badly affected.
Thailand registered just two new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, taking the national total to 3,018 infections while no new deaths leaves the total at 56, the Thai health ministry said Tuesday.
“Two new cases of coronavirus infections were registered today. No deaths have been registered over the past day,” Thaweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said.
Visanuyothin added that 2,798 people have so far recovered from the infection.
Thailand was one of the first countries outside China to confirm coronavirus infections within its borders but has managed to keep the infections under control.
The country began a first phase of reopening businesses on 3 May and plans to fully open the country for tourism in the near future.
Germany has confirmed 933 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours (357 yesterday), bringing the total count to 170,508, the Robert Koch Institute said on Tuesday.
The death toll has grown by 116 (22 yesterday) over the same period of time, with the number of COVID-19-related fatalities recorded since the beginning of the outbreak reaching 7,533.
Over 147,000 COVID-19 patients have recovered in Germany.
Bavaria accounts for the highest number of Germany's coronavirus cases (44,593), followed by North Rhine-Westphalia (35,333) and Baden-Wurttemberg (33,359). The country's capital of Berlin has recorded 6,274 COVID-19 cases.
Germany went into COVID-19 lockdown in mid-March and has been easing restrictions since late April. At the same time, the country extended social distancing until 5 June to preserve the progress made during the first phase of lockdown easing.
The Robert Koch Institute said on Sunday that the coronavirus basic reproduction number in Germany reached 1.1, though it used to remain below 1 in the past few days. It means that on average, 100 infected people will infect 110 more people. The institute has repeatedly referred to the indicator as a key factor for decision-making in the fight against the epidemic. Experts see a decrease in the basic reproduction number below 1 as a condition for easing restrictions.
South Korea's number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has risen by 27 over the past 24 hours to 10,900, the Health Ministry's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.
The KCDC said the death toll had increased by two to 258.
The number of recoveries rose by 38 over the past day to 9,670, it said.
China has registered, over the past 24 hours, one new imported case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, 27 patients have recovered, no deaths have been recorded, the state health committee said in a statement.
There have also been 15 new asymptomatic cases, the committee said.
Overall, 1,691 imported cases of coronavirus infection have now been detected in China, 80 people are still sick, 1,611 people have recovered.
"The state health committee received from 31 provinces (areas, cities of central subordination) information on 82,919 confirmed cases of infection with the new type of coronavirus, including 115 people currently sick (10 people are in serious condition), 78,171 people were discharged from hospitals, 4,633 died," the center said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus a pandemic.
According to the latest WHO data, more than 4,006,250 cases of COVID-19 have been registered in the world, and over 278,800 people have died from the disease.
