The fresh daily situation report estimates the number of people who have recovered globally at 2,870,596.
Americas continue to lead in the number of overall coronavirus cases, with 3 million infections. The region accounts for 168,553 related deaths, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Europe has the world's highest death toll, at 182,308, with 2.2 million cases confirmed.
Africa brings up the rear with 115,639 cases and 2,858 virus-related deaths.
BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) – Argentina has confirmed 840 new cases of the coronavirus across the country within the past 24 hours, with the total number of people infected with COVID-19 having reached 21,037, the national Ministry of Health said.
"Today, 840 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, bringing the total number of [COVID-19] positive tests in the country to 21,037," the ministry said in a daily bulletin on late Friday.
The death toll has increased by 17 to 632 people within the same period of time.
A day earlier, the Latin American nation recorded 929 new COVID-19 cases and record 27 fatalities.
The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March. To date, some 6.7 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 394,000 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated the overall number of coronavirus cases globally at 6,535,354, with over 387,000 having died from the disease.
The UN health agency said in the situation report published on Friday that 118,526 new cases had been recorded in the past day, while further 4,288 patients had died.
Americas continue to lead the count with 3.08 million cases, followed by Europe with 2.23 million.
The WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it has $5.2 billion on stand-by to help Egypt address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“The Egyptian authorities and the IMF team have reached staff-level agreement on economic policies that could be supported by a 12-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA),” the fund said in a statement on Friday. “The SBA, with requested access of SDR 3.8 billion (equivalent to around US$5.2 billion), supports the authorities’ efforts to maintain macroeconomic stability amid the COVID-19 shock while continuing to advance key structural reforms.”
The IMF said the stand-by funding was subject to approval by its executive board, which will consider Egypt’s request in the coming weeks.
Egypt has reported more than 31,000 cases of COVID-19 and nearly 1,200 deaths from the pandemic.
MADRID (Sputnik) - Lockdown measures imposed in the Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona to curb the spread of COVID-19 will be eased to phase two from Monday as the daily number of new cases continues to decline, the country’s Ministry of Health said on Friday.
"The region of Barcelona and the entire Community of Madrid are moving into the second phase,” Health Minister Salvador Illa said at a press conference.
Many regions that were already in the second phase of the lockdown easing will be moved to the third and final stage, Illa stated, adding that 52 percent of the country’s population will, from Monday, be living in areas with the weakest social distancing measures.
In the second phase of Spain’s lockdown easing, bars and restaurants are allowed to serve customers indoors and beaches can reopen to recreational uses. Kindergartens and swimming pools can also reopen. In phase three, greater numbers of people may patronize an establishment.
On Friday, the Spanish Ministry of Health confirmed 177 new cases of COVID-19 over the preceding 24 hours, down from the 195 new positive tests reported the day before. Spain's case total now stands at 240,978 and 27,134 people who have tested positive for the disease have died.
MOSCOW, June 5 (Sputnik) - COVID-19 may spread at a higher rate in Afghanistan in the next few weeks due to growing community transmission, Zoe Paxton, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), said on Friday.
"Cases are expected to increase rapidly over the weeks ahead as community transmission escalates. The outbreak coincides with the spring flood season and at a time of increased conflict and political uncertainty. At this turbulent time, it is critical that people come together to fight the virus as one," Paxton told Sputnik.
Afghanistan has so far confirmed over 18,000 COVID-19 cases and 309 coronavirus-related deaths. On Friday, the country reported another record of 915 new cases in an apparent upward trend — the country is registering some 600-800 new cases on average in late May and early June, up from approximately 50-80 cases a day in April.
MOSCOW, June 5 (Sputnik) - The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) could investigate 91 reports concerning deaths to healthcare and social care workers, Sky News TV channel said on Friday, as the country continues to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Twenty-six of those deaths have taken place in local authority social care settings, according to the broadcaster.
"We are committed to getting the most accurate picture possible of all deaths that should be reported to us and are in contact with NHS Trusts," an HSE spokesperson told Sky News.
Last year, the HSE investigated 147 workplace deaths in total.
The United Kingdom has confirmed a total of 283,311 coronavirus cases, with the death toll of 40,261.
TORONTO, June 5 (Sputnik) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday a $10.42 billion package to help the country’s provinces and territories restart their economies safely and carefully.
“The federal government is ready to contribute $14 billion [US$10.42 billion] more for the things that all Canadians need,” Trudeau said during a daily press briefing on the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Trudeau said the package, dubbed Safe Restart Agreement, would provide Canada’s provinces and territories with funding for the next six to eight months for more personal protective equipment (PPE), expanded childcare benefits and for assuming the tab for the government’s new ten paid sick days program.
Trudeau also announced that his government will provide disabled Canadians with a one-time payment of up to $446.72 to help offset the added costs of living amid the pandemic.
The prime minister’s announcement follows a deal with Canada’s New Democrat Party on the ten paid sick days program, which allows the Trudeau’s Liberal government to continue governing without the resumption of parliament.
WASHINGTON, June 5 (Sputnik) - The number of deaths from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York State fell to a record low of 42 on Thursday and so did the number of people hospitalized for the disease, Governor Andrew Cuomo told a press conference on Friday.
"We have the lowest number of deaths from coronavirus that we have had since this started: 42 deaths. The lowest number since we started. Eight weeks ago we had 800. ... Amazing. I did nothing. The people of the state radically changed how they behaved. Lowest number of hospitalizations to date," Cuomo said.
The governor also said the total number of hospitalizations on Thursday stood at 2,849.
However, Cuomo warned that the combination of the continuing pandemic and the wave of riots in New York State and across the country following the death of African-American George Floyd in police custody was dangerous.
"It was another long and ugly night in the United States. This is a dangerous combination ... colliding crises compounding each other," Cuomo said.
However Cuomo noted that rioting and looting in New York City had declined and the situation there was "much better."
MOSCOW, June 5 (Sputnik) - The World Health Organization (WHO) is aware of the preliminary findings of tests conducted in the UK, which found that hydroxychloroquine does not reduce mortality rates among COVID-19 patients, the WHO’s chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said on Friday, adding that the organization will continue to use the drug in trials until the final results of the study are published.
Earlier on Friday, scientists at the University of Oxford, who are conducting the so-called Recovery trial to find effective treatments for COVID-19, said that the anti-malaria treatment hydroxychloroquine did not save the lives of people who had tested positive for the coronavirus disease.
“Indeed we are aware of the release of a statement from the chief investigators of the Recovery trial in the UK … They have come to the conclusion that there is no benefit of hydroxychloroquine use on mortality in hospitalized COVID patients,” Swaminathan said at the WHO’s daily press briefing.
The WHO’s chief scientist said that the organization will continue to use the treatment in its own so-called Solidarity trial, which is also looking to find effective drugs to treat the coronavirus disease.
“We await to see the final data analysis and the publication that’s going to come out of it, and certainly, we will be considering these results as we go on. However, there are two distinct trials with their own protocols, their own oversight committees and, therefore, we will continue for now and our committee will consider the data as it becomes available,” Swaminathan remarked.
Hydroxychloroquine was touted by US President Donald Trump as a potential treatment for COVID-19, but a study published in The Lancet journal in late May said that it was ineffective, prompting the WHO to suspend trials of the drug.
This study has since been retracted after concerns were raised over the viability of the data used in the study, which was collected by the firm Surgisphere.
On Wednesday, Director-General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the organization will resume trials of the drug.
TORONTO, June 5 (Sputnik) - The number of Canadians who have contracted the novel coronavirus increased to 94,070, while the virus-related death toll rose to 7,652, Public Health Agency data revealed on Friday.
The province of Quebec remains the epicenter of the outbreak in Canada, accounting for more than half of all confirmed cases - 52,143 - and 4,885 deaths.
The province of Ontario trails with 29,747 confirmed cases and 2,372 fatalities.
Ontario and Quebec account for more than 86 percent of all novel coronavirus infections and 94 percent of the virus-related deaths in Canada.
According to projections released by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the number of confirmed infections will range between 97,990 and 107,454, while the number of deaths is expected to fall in the 7,700-9,400 range by June 15.
The World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11. As of Friday, more than 6.67 million people have been infected with the virus worldwide and more than 391,000 have died, according data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
MOSCOW, June 5 (Sputnik) - Ireland is set to lift more coronavirus-related restrictions, as the country is going to enter phase two of lifting the lockdown on Monday, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Friday.
Phase one started in mid-May, with garden centers, car repair shops, laundry service centers and hardware stores, among other businesses, allowed to reopen.
"Today, I can confirm that it is safe to move to phase two of the plan to reopen our country starting on Monday," Varadkar told reporters.
Phase two allows all offices and workplaces to bring back staff, but employees should respect social distancing rules. Under the Irish plan to lift the lockdown, shopping centers will reopen in mid-June, and pubs will be allowed to return to business on June 29.
Ireland has so far confirmed 25,142 COVID-19 cases and 1,664 coronavirus-related deaths.
The United States gained 2.5 million jobs in May despite continued business shutdowns forced by the novel coronavirus crisis and the nation’s unemployment rate now stands at 13.3 percent, compared with the historic 14.7 percent just a month ago, the Labor Department said in its monthly employment report on Friday.
“Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 2.5 million in May, and the unemployment rate declined to 13.3 percent,” said the Labor Department, which reported 20.5 million job losses in April. “These improvements in the labor market reflected a limited resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it.”
The Algerian government has developed a two-phased plan of action to gradually lift the lockdown measures introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19 beginning on 7 June, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad said on Thursday.
"A roadmap to resume commercial, trade and service activities will be implemented in two phases. The first stage will start on Sunday, 7 June, and the second one on 14 June," Djerad said in an official statement.
As part of the first stage, the tourism sector, as well as a number of trade facilities, service enterprises and real estate agencies, will be permitted to resume work according to recommendations issued by the country’s health officials. The government will also allow the construction sector, and household and sporting goods stores to reopen.
"[A gradual exit from the quarantine] will start on 14 June in the form of its partial lifting or in the form of altering [a curfew] time," Djerad said, adding that the roadmap would take into consideration the epidemiological situation in provinces that are badly affected by the coronavirus.
In the second phase of lifting restrictions, the Algerian public authorities will determine other economic and commercial activities that will be allowed to resume operations according to the latest COVID-19 developments, Djerad noted.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 168,464, and at least 4,700 people have died, statistics from the World Health Organization's (WHO) office for the African Region showed on Friday.
"Over 168,464 confirmed #COVID19 cases on the African continent - with more than 73,000 recoveries & 4,700 deaths," the office wrote on Twitter.
Most cases in the region were detected in South Africa with 40,792, Egypt with 28,615 and Nigeria with 11,516. Egypt, South Africa and Algeria account for the highest number of related fatalities with 1,088, 848 and 681 deaths, respectively.
In May, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that Africa was the least affected region in the world in terms of COVID-19 cases and deaths, noting that the continent had 1.5 percent of the world's reported infections and less than 0.1 percent of the global deaths from the infection.
Russia has registered 8,726 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours (8,831 yesterday), bringing the total count to 449,834, the national coronavirus response centre said on Friday.
"Over the past 24 hours, Russia has confirmed 8,726 COVID-19 cases in 85 regions, of which 3,235 (37.1 percent) have been detected actively, with people showing no clinical symptoms," the response center said in a statement.
Russia has so far recorded 449,834 COVID-19 cases in 85 regions (+2 percent), the centre added.
Of all the new cases, 1,855 have been registered in Moscow, 762 in the Moscow region and 378 in St. Petersburg (compared to yesterday's 1,998, 767 and 375, respectively). Moscow's daily increase is below 2,000 for already three days in a row.
The country's COVID-19 death toll has grown by 144 (169 yesterday) to 5,528.
As many as 8,057 COVID-19 patients have recovered across the country (8,666 yesterday), bringing the total number of cured people to 212,680.
Over 12 million tests to detect COVID-19 have been conducted in the country since the beginning of the outbreak, and 317,000 suspected virus carriers across Russia remain under medical monitoring, Russian public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said.
India has registered record 9,889 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, with the total count reaching 226,770, the data of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare showed on Friday.
On Thursday, the ministry reported daily growth of 9,304 cases, and on Wednesday the increment was over 8,900.
The death toll has risen by 273 to 6,348. Recoveries have gone up by 5,355 to 109,461 in the past 24 hours, according to the ministry.
India's central state of Maharashtra with confirmed 77,793 COVID-19 cases remains the most affected region. It is followed by the southern state of Tamil Nadu, with 27,256 cases, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, with 25,004 cases.
In May, India extended the COVID-19 lockdown, introduced on 25 March, until 30 June. The country is now divided into red, orange and green zones depending on the epidemiological situation. In green and orange zones, where the infection rate is relatively low, public transport and certain businesses have been allowed to operate, albeit with some restrictions.
Domestic passenger flights resumed in the majority of Indian states on 25 May after a two-month hiatus, with stringent hygiene measures in place.
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Korea has risen by 39 to 11,668 over the past day, the Health Ministry's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Friday, as the country is still struggling to stamp out new clusters of the coronavirus.
According to KCDC, 34 of the new cases are cases of local transmission, while five others are imported. As many as 31 of new cases were registered the country's central part with 15 of them in Seoul, 13 in the province of Gyeonggi and six in the city of Incheon.
Over the past day, seven patients have been discharged bringing total toll of recoveries to 10,506, which amounts to 90 percent of those infected. Meanwhile, the death toll stands at 273.
So far, according to the health authorities, South Korea has conducted over 950,000 coronavirus tests since the start of the outbreak.
The last three patients who have recovered from COVID-19 were discharged from a hospital in China's Wuhan, the city health committee said in a statement on Friday.
According to the statement, on June 3, the patients retested negative for COVID-19, their temperature was normal with no symptoms observed. On June 4, doctors assessed the patients' condition as satisfactory for discharge.
"Thus, there are no patients with coronavirus infection in Wuhan hospitals," the statement said.
As of June 1, Wuhan's Dongxihu district, which was previously recognized as a COVID-19 medium-risk zone, has not registered cases of infection over the past two weeks. From June 2, the level of epidemiological threat there was lowered from medium to low.
All districts in Wuhan are now assessed to be low risk for COVID-19.
Germany has confirmed 475 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, with the total count reaching 183,271, the Robert Koch Institute said on Friday.
The death toll has grown by 30 to 8,613 people within the same period of time.
A day earlier, the country confirmed 394 new cases and 30 fatalities.
More than 168,500 COVID-19 patients have recovered in Germany since the beginning of the outbreak.
