Coronavirus live news: Barack Obama attacks Trump virus response | World news
Mainland China recorded five new confirmed coronavirus cases on Saturday, down from eight the previous day, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).
Two of the five confirmed cases are linked to foreign travel, while three are locally transmitted in northeastern Jilin Province. The number of new asymptomatic cases of the coronavirus fell to 12 from 13, the NHC said.
The number of confirmed cases in the mainland stands at 82,947 and the death toll at 4,634
In Thailand, shopping malls will reopen today and a nighttime curfew will be shortened by one hour, to 2300 to 0400, from 2200 to 0400.
The country is beginning to relax restrictions after reporting single-digit increases of infections from the new coronavirus this month. Parks, hair salons, markets and restaurants have also been allowed to reopen over recent weeks, provided that measures such as temperature scanning and social distancing are in place.
On Saturday, the country extended a ban on international passenger flights until the end of June. Thailand has recorded a total of 3,025 cases and 56 deaths.
Brazil’s outbreak now fourth largest in the world
Brazil’s confirmed coronavirus cases rose on Saturday past those of Spain and Italy, outbreak the fourth largest in the world, Reuters reports.
Brazil’s health ministry registered 14,919 new confirmed cases in the prior 24 hours, taking the total to 233,142, behind the United States, Russia and the United Kingdom. Brazil has done just a fraction of the testing seen in those three countries.
The global distinction is likely to pile pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro, who lost his second health minister in a month on Friday as he defies public health experts and calls for widespread use of unproven drugs.
Bolsonaro has been fiercely critical of the orders by many of Brazil’s state governors for strict social isolation and quarantine to combat the spread of the virus, including the closure of schools, shops and restaurants. Bolsonaro argues that the toll on the economy is becoming unbearable and businesses must be allowed to reopen as soon as possible. The government now expects Brazil will post its biggest annual economic contraction this year since records began over a century ago.
Nationwide testing in Brazil still lags far behind European nations. Brazil had processed nearly 338,000 novel coronavirus tests in official labs by the beginning of the week, according to the health ministry. Another 145,000 tests were under analysis or waiting in line. By contrast, Italy and Spain have each run some 1.9 million official diagnostic tests for the virus.
Hello this is Rebecca Ratcliffe, bringing you the latest global coronavirus updates.
There are now 4,629,575 cases of Covid-19 recorded globally and 311,363 deaths according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
In the US where 1,466,682 infections have been reported, Barack Obama has attacked the Trump administration’s response to the crisis, stating that a lot of the federal leadership “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.” He also highlighted the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on communities of colour in the United States.
In other recent developments:
- The World Health Organization has warned countries ending lockdown that now should be a “time for preparation, not celebration”.
- Italy announced the easing of a series of restrictions, including the reopening of all shops, bars, restaurants and hairdressers, from 18 May, and free travel to Italy for people coming from EU countries from 3 June without having to undergo quarantine.
- The Spanish government has said it will seek to extend its state of emergency for the last time until late June, as the country’s daily death toll reached a near eight-week low.
- The Israeli government approved the resumption of school for all grades in areas that are not considered coronavirus hotspots, starting on Sunday. Beaches will officially open on Wednesday.
- Dozens of people were detained in the Polish capital, Warsaw, during a protest by business owners against coronavirus restrictions. Nineteen protesters were arrested in London and police dispersed rallies in several German cities.
- Turkey’s health ministry said 41 more people died from Covid-19 in the 24 hours to Saturday, bringing the death toll to 4,096. The daily death toll was the lowest registered since the end of March.
- Nepal reported its first coronavirus death late on Saturday, a 29-year-old woman who recently gave birth, as the total number of people infected in the country reached 281.
- Ireland recorded 92 more cases, the lowest daily number in nine weeks, with the total at 24,048.
If you think we have missed a story or want to draw our attention to something please do get in touch. My email is rebecca.ratcliffe@theguardian.com and I’m @rebeccarat on Twitter.
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