The pandemic recently surpassed 6,000,000 infected globally, with the highest number of confirmed cases in the United States, where 1,790,000 have been infected and over 104,000 fatalities reported, according to Johns Hopkins University. Brazil has now moved into second place in terms of infections, with more than 500,000 cases, while the UK is still in second place in terms of deaths, with at least 38,571 fatalities.
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ANKARA (Sputnik) - Cafes, restaurants, food courts in shopping malls, parks, gyms and museums opened after a two-month break amid the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Turkey, but there are still few visitors, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
The lockdown restrictions imposed in Turkey in connection with the coronavirus pandemic have been seriously eased since Monday, and the ban on long-distance travel has been lifted.
Turkey on Monday recorded 827 new coronavirus cases, the lowest daily rise seen since 25 March. The number of confirmed cases stands at 164,769, and the death toll totals 4,563. The number of those recovered amounts to 128,947.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus a pandemic on 11 March.
According to the global health body, the coronavirus death toll worldwide has surpassed 371,000 people, with the number of cases worldwide exceeding 6,057,000.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The number of novel coronavirus cases in the United States has exceeded 1.8 million, the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center revealed.
The number of cases reached 1,804,206 with 104,799 deaths related to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the data showed on Monday evening.
RIGA (Sputnik) - The majority of countries in Europe will be able to reopen their borders by 15 June, allowing international travelers to arrive without needing to spend 14 days in self-isolation as most nations have passed the peak of their COVID-19 outbreaks, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said Monday.
"By June 15, it is likely that it will be possible to move freely through the borders of most of Europe without observing a 14-day self-isolation period," Rinkevics said during an appearance on Latvia’s TV3 broadcaster.
In mid-June, the European Union is expected to take a joint decision over the reopening of the bloc’s borders. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary have already removed the majority of their border controls and other countries, such as Germany and Italy, are planning similar measures.
According to Rinkevics, the key criteria that countries must meet in order to allow international travel without the need for quarantine measures will be having no more than 15 active cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents.
No new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Latvia on Monday by the country’s Health Ministry. Since the start of the outbreak, 1,066 people in the Baltic state have tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in the deaths of 24 people.
TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israel has confirmed 98 new cases of the coronavirus as the authorities already lifted domestic restrictions, which brings the country's tally to 17,169, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
According to the authorities, since Israel is past the peak, the last restrictions have been lifted last week with food services and swimming pools having resumed operations.
As of now, the number of active cases amounts to 2,006, while 32 patients are in intensive care units with 29 of them receiving lung ventilation treatment.
Among those infected is one of the employees of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Office, the office's press service told Sputnik on Monday.
The death toll stands at 285 with no fatalities being reported over the past day, the ministry added.
Amid increasing cases of the disease per day, on Saturday, mobile checkpoints for detecting COVID-19 were reopened. Despite the fact that restrictions were lifted, citizens are still required to maintain social distance and wear masks while in public places.
RABAT (Sputnik) - Morocco has registered a record 434 recoveries from the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, which is the highest figure since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
According to the health authorities, the number of those infected has increased by 26, down from 27 the day before, to 7,833. Meanwhile, 5,893 COVID-19 patients have recovered.
No fatalities have been reported over the past day with the death toll standing at 205, the ministry added.
In May, the Moroccan authorities announced that the nationwide state of sanitary emergency and quarantine regime was extended until 10 June.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the number of coronavirus cases worldwide has exceeded 6 million, according to a situation report out Monday.
There were 122,917 new cases confirmed globally in the past day, with the death toll rising by 4,000 over the same period to a total of 371,166.
Americas continue to lead in the number of overall coronavirus cases, with 2.8 million people contracting the respiratory disease and more than 160,000 dying from it.
Europe has the world's highest death toll of more than 180,000, with 2.1 million cases confirmed. Africa brings up the rear with 104,242 cases and 2,638 virus-related deaths.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow has registered 71 deaths of patients infected with COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the Russian capital's death toll to 2,624, the city's coronavirus response center said in a statement on Monday.
"Another 71 patients, who were diagnosed with pneumonia and tested positive for the coronavirus infection, died in Moscow," it said.
In the previous day, 76 people infected with the coronavirus died in the city.
MADRID (Sputnik) - Public health officials in Spain have recorded no deaths resulting from COVID-19 in a 24-hour period for the first time since March, the Spanish Health Ministry confirmed on Monday.
Consequently, the total COVID-19 death toll in Spain remains at 27,127, the same as it was on Sunday after public health officials reported two new fatalities.
On Monday, the ministry also confirmed 71 new cases of the disease, down from the 96 new positive tests reported on Sunday.
The country’s case total currently stands at 239,638, according to the Health Ministry.
"I will not speak about any particular event, but what we can say ... is that with increasing social mixing and people coming together, particularly if the virus is not under control, this close contact between people can pose a risk", Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 technical lead at the World Health Organization (WHO), told on Monday a virtual briefing, when asked about the mass protests in the US.
According to the WHO guidance on mass gatherings, whether these are mass gatherings for sports or for religious events or for any other reason, those who plan such events should undertake a very serious rigorous risk assessment, taking into account the local context, the transmission intensity in that area, what is known about the virus, where it is circulating and the potential activity that would take place during that event, as people need to maintain social distance, the expert said.
"Physical distancing remains a very important aspect to control and suppression of transmission of COVID-19. This is not over yet", the expert added.
"There are 1,570 cases confirmed as of yesterday. This is the lowest number since March 25. In total, 276,000 [276,332] cases have been confirmed, but this number of 1,570 shows that we’ve seen continued downward progress in the number of new confirmed cases", Health Secretary Matt Hancock said at the government’s daily COVID-19 press briefing at Downing Street.
The health secretary also confirmed that the COVID-19 death toll increased by 111 over the preceding 24 hours to 39,045.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked his US counterpart, Donald Trump, for the delivery of artificial lung ventilators to Russia amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kremlin said in a statement on Monday.
"They have exchanged opinions on the coronavirus response measures, implemented in both countries. Vladimir Putin has expressed gratitude for the US artificial lung ventilators delivered to Russia," the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Kremlin praised the talks, held at the US side's initiative, as constructive.
The Russian Orthodox Church's parishes in Moscow, which were closed due to the coronavirus epidemic, will reopen from June 6, the the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia's working group to coordinate the activities of church institutions amid COVID-19 said in a statement on Monday.
"On Saturday, June 6, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, churches of the city of Moscow will be opened for parishioners. Access to the churches will be subject to all necessary sanitary and epidemiological requirements of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, including social distance between believers in services (1 person per 4 square meters)," the statement in the group's Telegram channel says.
However, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Epiphany Cathedral at Yelokhovo will reopen for parishioners on June 2, it says.
The decision was preceded by a discussion of the sanitary and epidemiological situation with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and chief public health official Anna Popova, it says.
Nearly six in 10 Britons believe that their lives will be significantly different once the globe has overcome the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, with major changes expected in work habits and shopping, the Sky News broadcaster said on Monday after publishing the results of a fresh poll.
According to the broadcaster, 59 percent of those surveyed said that they expect their lives to be significantly different once the pandemic has passed. At the same time, 57 percent of respondents stated that they would greet any changes with enthusiasm.
Almost half of Britons believe that they will continue to work from home after the pandemic, potentially signaling an end to the large-scale commuting seen prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease.
Additionally, 49 percent of respondents said that they do not expect to do their shopping in malls, preferring to use online outlets instead.
On the topic of vacations, 49 percent of Britons believe that they will return to overseas locations, while 37 percent said that they will stop taking vacations abroad.
Despite the significant changes expected, only 15 percent of respondents believe that the world’s most pressing issue is to prevent future pandemics. One-third of the respondents said that combating climate change is the largest danger threatening the planet.
At the same time, 11 percent of Britons believe that the rise of China is the world’s most pressing issue.
The UK government has begun easing lockdown measures that were put into force on March 23 to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease. A new test and trace program has launched in Scotland and England this past week, which many government ministers have said will be a crucial tool in allowing the country to further ease the social distancing measures and resume economic activity.
The number of Canadians who have contracted the novel coronavirus grew by nearly 2,500 over the weekend to 91,351, Public Health Agency data revealed on Monday.
The virus-related death toll grew by nearly 6 percent to 7,305 over the same period, the data also showed.
The province of Quebec remains the epicenter of the outbreak in Canada, accounting for more than half of all confirmed cases - 51,059 - and 4,641 deaths.
The province of Ontario trails with 28,263 confirmed cases and 2,276 COVID-19-related fatalities.
Combined, Ontario and Quebec account for more than 86 percent of all infections and 94 percent of deaths in Canada.
South Korea faces another COVID-19 cluster linked to churches in the greater Seoul area, Yonhap news agency reported on Monday.
The country has confirmed a total of 11,503 cases, including 35 new ones, with the death toll at 271.
According to the outlet, 23 cases in the Seoul metropolitan area have been traced to 13 small churches in the city of Incheon, to the west of the capital, and the Gyeonggi-do province that surrounds Seoul.
The Afghan Ministry of Public Health on Monday has reported 545 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, a fall of 135 compared to the corresponding rise reported a day before, the Tolo News broadcaster reports.
The ministry announced that it had registered 545 positive tests out of the 1,168 conducted over the past 24 hours, the broadcaster stated.
The bulk of the new cases were reported in the Herat and Paktia provinces, which reported 117 and 92 new positive tests, respectively.
A total of 66 new cases were reported in Kabul on Monday; the first decline observed in the Afghan capital for more than two weeks, the broadcaster stated. Health officials reported 371 new positive tests in Kabul on Sunday.
The daily rise in Afghanistan’s COVID-19 case total has decreased over the past two days. On Saturday, a record 866 new cases were reported in a single day, although a sharp decline was confirmed on Sunday when 680 new positive tests were registered.
Afghanistan’s coronavirus disease case total now stands at 15,750. The country’s death toll rose by eight on Monday to 265, the broadcaster stated.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promised his Afghan counterpart, Ashraf Ghani, on Monday that his country would continue providing free medical care to Afghan refugees amid the outbreak.
"Providing health services to Afghan brothers in fighting coronavirus will continue with the same process," Rouhani was quoted as saying in a statement on his official website.
During the phone call, Rouhani congratulated Ghani on his reelection and the recent power-sharing deal he reached with his long-time rival, Abdullah Abdullah. The Iranian president said he hoped this would help bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.
Ghani wished the Iranian government success in fighting the virus and praised its assistance to Afghan refugees. The UN refugee agency estimates that there are close to a million Afghans living in Iran, most of them outside of refugee camps.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Belarus has increased by 847 within the last 24 hours to 43,403, a downward trend compared to the previous day, while the number of fatalities has climbed to 240, the country's Health Ministry said on Monday.
"We have registered 43,403 people with positive COVID-19 test results. We have performed 553,377 tests in total," the ministry said in a statement.
As of Monday, 18,776 COVID-19 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.
The total count of coronavirus cases in Syria has risen to 123 after one more patient has tested positive for COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
At least one more individual has contracted the disease in Syria’s southwestern city of As Suwayda, the ministry said, adding that the patient had been quarantined.
According to the ministry, 46 people have fully recovered from the coronavirus and the death toll stands at five.
On Sunday, the government announced said that it had reduced precautionary measures that were in place to tackle the spread of COVID-19 and permitted the public sector, as well as cultural and tourism agencies, to resume activities.
In late April, the Syrian authorities eased some anti-coronavirus measures, lifting a ban on domestic travel and allowing shops and markets to reopen.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Singapore has increased by 408 to 35,292, a downward trend compared to the previous day, the Health Ministry said on Monday, as the country prepares to start lifting its lockdown.
"As of 1 June 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has preliminarily confirmed an additional 408 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, all of whom are Work Pass holders residing in foreign worker dormitories. Based on our investigations so far, there are no cases in the community," the ministry said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Singapore will begin the first phase of lifting its shutdown, which will be followed by the next one after a review by the government in mid-June.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has increased to 144,702, with the death toll of 4,149, the World Health Organization said on Monday.
On Sunday, the number of cases confirmed stood at 139,272, with 3,995 deaths.
More than 61,100 people have recovered from the disease.
The country with the largest number of deaths is Egypt, with 913, followed by South Africa and Algeria with 683 and 653 fatalities, respectively.
Iran has reported its largest daily increase in the COVID-19 case total since April after 2,979 positive tests were reported over the preceding 24 hours, up from 2,516 the day before, spokesman for the Iranian Health Ministry, Kianush Jahanpur, said Monday.
"We have a relative increase in coronavirus disease cases. Over the past day, we managed to record 2,979 new cases. The total has reached 154,445 and 121,004 people have recovered," Jahanpur said during an appearance on the state-run IRINN broadcaster.
According to the spokesperson, the COVID-19 death toll in Iran has risen by 81 over the preceding 24 hours, up from 63 on Sunday. The total number of people in Iran who have died as a result of complications from COVID-19 currently stands at 7,878.
Monday’s increase to the coronavirus disease case total is the largest reported in Iran since April 1, when 2,988 new positive tests were reported.
Public health officials in the country on Sunday reported 2,516 new cases, with this figure being an increase from the 2,282 new positive tests confirmed the day before.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has increased by 552 to 18,638 over the past 24 hours, a downward trend compared to the previous day, the country's Health Ministry said on Monday.
"As of 4PM today, June 1, 2020, the Department of Health reports the total number of COVID-19 cases at 18,638. In addition to the 119 fresh cases, 433 late cases were also reported today. These came from the ongoing aggressive data reconciliation of cases by the Epidemiology Bureau and daily reports that were submitted late. The number of recoveries is 3,506," the ministry said on Facebook.
The death toll has increased by three to 960.
"It's something we've said we're looking at and that remains the case," the spokesman said. "We've set out the reasons why we believe (quarantine) is a necessary step: its intention is to control the spread of the virus and protect the British public."
Russian companies will increase protective masks production by 33 percent to 12 million daily by August, Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov has said in an interview with Sputnik.
According to the minister, Russia currently produces 9 million protective masks per day amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"It is clear that micro-enterprises, which have quickly joined the effort, will start gradually reducing the production volume, but batch production of masks will exceed 12 million daily by the end of July," Manturov said.
The Uttar Pradesh administration has been tracking incoming migrant labourers for COVID-19 symptoms, Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters on Monday.
Thousands of migrant labourers are returning to their hometowns by themselves or using government support.
Clinical trials of the first COVID-19 vaccines developed by Russian pharmaceutical companies Biocad and Generium should start in June, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on Monday.
"In June, clinical trials of the first vaccines developed by our pharmaceutical companies Biocad and Generium, together with leading scientific organizations of the Health Ministry and Rospotrebnadzor [public health watchdog], should start," Manturov said at a meeting of the COVID-19 response coordinating council.
Turkey's domestic air traffic, which was suspended over the COVID-19 threat, has resumed, Transport Minister Adil Karaismailoglu said on Monday, as the country lifts its lockdown restrictions.
"Today, we are resuming domestic air traffic. The airports and planes have adopted heightened security and social distancing measures to prevent [the spread of] the coronavirus and minimize health risks for passengers and personnel," Karaismailoglu told journalists, adding that Turkey is negotiating an international air traffic renewal agreement with other countries.
The first flights are due to depart from Istanbul to Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, and Trabzon, according to the minister.
This is a part of the process of Turkey easing its lockdown measures, which also includes reopening many of the country's facilities, such as restaurants, cafes, swimming pools and museums, as of today.
Japan began on Monday COVID-19 antibody blood testing to measure the scale of infection in the country, including asymptomatic cases, which comes a week after lifting state of emergency, media reported.
According to Japanese Kyodo news agency, around 10,000 people aged over 20 will be tested in the prefectures of Tokyo, Osaka and Miyagi. Japanese authorities hope that the tests will allow doctors to find out how many people in the country will need a vaccination after it becomes available.
Japan has confirmed over 17,500 COVID-19 tests since the start of the outbreak and over 900 fatalities.
New Zealand has not registered any new COVID-19 cases for the 10th consecutive day and the current coronavirus case tally stands at 1,504, the Country's Health Ministry said on Monday.
"Once again, there are no new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand. This is the 10th consecutive day of no new cases. Our total number of confirmed cases remains at 1,154, which is the number we report to the World Health Organization. Our combined total of confirmed and probable cases remains at 1,504. The number of recovered cases is unchanged at 1,481. Only one case remains active," the Health Ministry said.
A total of 22 patients have died of the disease since the start of the outbreak.
On May 27, New Zealand's public health chief, Ashley Bloomfield, said that the last remaining hospital patient had been discharged following recovery.
Russia's infant mortality rate is currently one of the lowest in the country's history, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Monday.
"The Russian Federation's infant mortality rate is currently one of the lowest in history, this means that the attention paid to child health care and the resources invested there have been of some use," Murashko told reporters.
English schools reopen on Monday for the first time since they were shut 10 weeks ago because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Year one and year six can start returning to the classroom today, but half of the pupils are expected to stay home.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma on Monday said that the UK government is following scientific advice in its steps amid the pandemic, addressing criticism from some epidemiologists.
"Of course, scientific advice does differ but I think the key point is what is the overall view from SAGE?", Sharma told the BBC. "The overall view from SAGE - the scientific advisory group on emergencies which advises the government - their overall view is that we must do this cautiously and that is precisely what we are doing", he stressed.
