Key points
Deaths from the Covid-19 epidemic in Italy have climbed by 111, against 87 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases fell to 416 from 516 on Friday.
The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 now stands at 33,340, the agency said, the third-highest in the world after those of the United States and Britain.
The number of confirmed cases amounts to 232,664, the sixth-highest global tally behind those of the US, Russia, Spain, Britain and Brazil.
106 new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Balochistan, taking the provincial tally to 4,193, according to the Balochistan health department.
The province also recorded four "probable deaths" during the last 24 hours. Its number of confirmed deaths stands at 46.
A spike in harassment of Asian-Americans since the coronavirus pandemic began has led community activists in the United States to fight back — forming street patrols, rallying on social media, and supporting each other online.
Nine out of 10 victims have been targeted because of their race, with 37 per cent of incidents taking place in public areas, according to Reuters.
Verbal harassment and shunning occurred in over 90pc of the cases. Victims were physically assaulted, or coughed or spat on, in some 15pc of cases.
In some Chinatowns, volunteer patrols are forming to protect residents and confront harassers. The Guardian Angels, with patrols in over 130 cities worldwide, are recruiting in US Asian communities for the first time in 41 years.
Hashtags like #RacismIsAVirus and #UnapologeticallyAsian are being shared and printed on T-shirts.
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Sri Lankan authorities fear a fresh outbreak of coronavirus infections after thousands of mourners paid their respects to the body of a respected union leader today, defying a curfew and social distancing rules.
Large crowds were seen jostling to bid farewell to Arumugam Thondaman, the leader of a tea plantation union and a government minister.
The 55-year-old died of a heart attack on Tuesday and is due to be cremated Sunday at Nuwara Eliya, in the country's tea-growing highlands.
“Crowd control has been difficult. Distraught supporters have tried to push down police barriers to get into a building and pay their respects,” a police officer in the area said.
Parisians flocked to parks and gardens as they reopened in the sunny French capital for the first time after almost 11 weeks of coronavirus lockdown, Reuters reports.
With public impatience mounting and temperatures up to 28 degrees Celsius forecast over the weekend, authorities brought forward the parks’ reopening, initially scheduled for June 2.
“At last we’re free,” said Anne, a Parisienne standing near the gates of the 400-year-old Luxembourg Gardens on the city’s Left Bank soon after they reopened.
“This feels like being released from a kind of prison," she added.
India has announced a major relaxation of the world's biggest coronavirus lockdown from early June, except for so-called “containment zones” with high numbers of infections.
A home ministry order said that places of religious worship, hotels, restaurants and shopping malls “will be allowed” to operate from June 8, while educational establishments will be opened “after consultations” with Indian state authorities.
The announcement came even after the world's second-most populous country announced another record daily rise in infections, taking the total to more than 173,000 cases with almost 5,000 deaths.
473 new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, taking the provincial tally to 9,540, according to the KP health department.
Eight more people lost their lives to the virus — four in Peshawar and one each in Charsadda, Swat, Buner and Abbottabad. The province's death toll currently stands at 453.
Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab has said that private hospitals across the province can now set up isolation wards to treat novel coronavirus patients.
He clarified that private hospitals would need to follow all the medical recommendations for Covid-19 patients' isolation outlined by Sindh Healthcare Commission before setting these wards up.
"The policy of Sindh government regarding this is in the wider interest of the public," Wahab said, advising private hospitals to contact the commission for further guidance.
A Chinese-made coronavirus vaccine could be ready for market as early as the end of this year, China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said in a social media post.
In trials, more than 2,000 people have received vaccines developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, Reuters reports.
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India has reported a record daily jump of 7,964 new Covid-19 infections, with a recent surge in cases as lockdown restrictions start to be relaxed raising the possibility that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could extend curbs beyond May 31.
In an open letter marking one year into his second term, Modi appealed to the country’s population of 1.3 billion to follow all lockdown rules to stop the spread of the pandemic, Reuters reports.
The prime minister said there was a “long battle” ahead against the novel coronavirus.
“Our country [is] besieged with problems amidst a vast population and limited resources,” Modi said, adding that labourers and migrant workers had “undergone tremendous suffering” due to restrictions.
Saudi Arabia has announced that Masjid-i-Nabawi or the Prophet's Mosque in Madina will gradually open to the public starting from Sunday (May 31), Arab News reported, as part of the kingdom's phased plan to ease coronavirus restrictions.
Worshippers will be able to enter the mosque for congregational prayers, with a limit of 40 per cent capacity, starting from Fajr prayers on Sunday, state-run Saudia TV reported.
The government has implemented several precautionary measures for the safety of worshippers, who will be required to follow guidelines such as wearing masks and practicing social distancing during group prayers, according to Al Arabiya.
The England and Wales Cricket Board is in talks with the International Cricket Council (ICC) about allowing coronavirus player substitutions in its upcoming planned Test series against West Indies and Pakistan, an ECB official said.
ECB director of events Steve Elworthy was quoted in British media on Friday saying he hoped an agreement would be reached in time for those Test matches, which the ECB plans to hold in “bio-secure” venues in July.
The ICC currently only allows a player to be replaced during a match because of concussion. Under the proposed change, a late substitution would also be allowed on coronavirus grounds. Media reports did not specify how the procedure would work, including whether it would involve testing players.
Adviser to the premier Moeed Yusuf has clarified that the government has only allowed outbound international flight operations to resume.
He said that he saw some media reports that the government had allowed both inbound as well as outbound flight operations to resume, which he said were false.
"We analysed whether Covid will spread if we let outbound flights come in. The answer is no, because their crews won't come here. We also realised that the Civil Aviation Authority was suffering financially. It needs air traffic to sustain itself," he said while explaining why the government took the decision.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf has said that 2,000 Pakistanis will be repatriated daily from June 1 to 10.
He said, however, that the focus would remain on the Gulf states because a lot of Pakistanis worked there as labourers and they could not afford to stay there even one day after being laid off. "From June 1 to 10, 8,000 Pakistanis from UAE and 4,000 from Saudi Arabia will be repatriated. Our embassies and consulates there are facing a lot of pressure and the staff is trying their best."
He also said that a new policy would soon be announced for overseas Pakistanis.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has said that around 25 per cent of all hospital assets in the country are engaged as of now, clarifying that the overall situation in the country was under control.
"But I'm sure some hospitals are full in some cities. But that does not mean hospitals in the entire country are full," he said.
The PM's aide stressed the need for following standard operating procedures and adopting social distancing particularly outside homes.
Adviser to the premier on health Dr Zafar Mirza has listed the places where people "must" wear masks as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus. These are:
He further advised them to use their own "judgement" as well regarding wearing masks at home. "If you feel there are a lot of people, then you should wear a mask."
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has said that the country's local transmission rate for the coronavirus is 92 per cent.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said the infection rate was on the rise.
"Cases are increasing as the disease is spreading, so is the importance of following standard operating procedures (SOPs)."
He also said 78 deaths had been reported in the past 24 hours, which was the highest single-day tally for Pakistan since the outbreak.
Pakistan's coronavirus death toll has risen to 1,433 after Sindh reported another spike with 38 fatalities in the last 24 hours and Punjab reported 29 deaths for the second consecutive day.
The breakdown of deaths reported in the country is as follows:
England risks losing control of the coronavirus pandemic again because it is starting to lift its lockdown without a fully operational track and trace programme in place, three senior scientific advisers warned, according to Reuters.
John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a member of Britain’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said the government was taking a risk.
“Track and trace was only launched the day before yesterday, so we can’t be sure that that is working effectively yet and yet we’re going ahead and making these changes anyway,” he told Sky News. “I think that that is rather dangerous.”
Russia has reported 181 deaths from the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, down from the record 232 deaths registered the previous day, Reuters reports.
Officials said 8,952 new infections had been confirmed, bringing the national tally to 396,575, the third highest reported total in the world after the United States and Brazil.
Sindh has reported its highest-single day jump as a record 1,247 new coronavirus cases were confirmed during the last 24 hours, according to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
The province has also reported the highest single-day death toll of any province so far after 38 people died of the virus. The total number of fatalities has risen to 465.
The chief minister said that 310 people are in critical condition while 522 more people have recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours.
Adviser to the chief minister on information Ajmal Wazir has said there is no shortage of beds or ventilators for coronavirus patients in major hospitals of the province.
Addressing a press conference in Peshawar, he gave a breakdown of the number of beds and ventilators reserved for virus patients and their occupancy which is as follows:
He added, however, that the pandemic was spreading and appealed to people to follow the standard operating procedures issued by the government and take precautionary measures.
Could exposure to the coronaviruses that cause the common cold help protect against Covid-19? Is herd immunity closer than previously thought?
As nations lift lockdowns and experts worry about a potential second peak in cases, our ability to ward off infection is one of the hottest topics of scientific debate.
Earlier this month, an American study in the journal Cell suggested between 40 and 60 per cent of the population could be immunised against Covid-19 without ever being exposed to it.
Researchers put this down to the action of protective cells, known as T lymphocytes, that had been activated by other coronaviruses responsible for colds.
Read more here.
Government employees have gone back to work in Iran and President Hassan Rouhani said mosques are to resume daily prayers throughout the country, even though some areas are seeing high levels of coronavirus infections.
According to Reuters, Rouhani also said on state television that the hours of shopping malls, which had been allowed to open only until 6 pm, will be extended, a further step in the government’s plans to ease coronavirus restrictions.
“Doors to mosques across the country will open to public for daily prayers,” Rouhani said, adding that social distancing and other health protocols should be observed. He did not say when they are due to reopen.
Brazil has reached 27,878 coronavirus deaths, official figures showed, surpassing the toll of hard-hit Spain and making it the country with the fifth-highest number of fatalities.
The epicentre of the South American coronavirus outbreak, Brazil saw 1,124 deaths in 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said.
According to AFP, it also had a record number of new cases — 26,928 in one day — bringing the total number of infections to 465,166.
The United States, Britain, Italy and France lead the world in coronavirus deaths.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has lifted a ban on prayers and congregations in non-Muslim places of worships.
However, worshippers will have to follow safety guidelines in churches, temples and gurdwaras to prevent virus.
The relief rehabilitation and settlement department said a committee would be formed for every non-Muslim worship area to ensure the implementation of SOPs to stem the spread of Covid-19.
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China recorded four new cases of coronavirus for May 29, up from none the day before, data from the country’s health authority showed.
All of the cases were imported, the National Health Commission (NHC) reported on its website.
The NHC also confirmed four new asymptomatic cases, compared to five the day before.
Punjab's Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department has reported 1,140 new coronavirus cases, taking the provincial tally to 24,104.
It has also reported 29 additional deaths for the second consecutive day. The total fatalities from the virus have risen to 439.
According to the department, 6,057 people have recovered while 228,415 tests have been conducted so far.
Handling of bodies of patients who purportedly die from coronavirus is becoming increasingly difficult at Liaquat University Hospital as bereaved relatives often refuse to submit to the government’s SOPs for Covid-19 patients’ bodies and have angry confrontations with doctors and other hospital staff.
An unpleasant incident took place outside Covid-19 isolation ward in LUH late on Thursday night when a 50-year-old woman was declared a coronavirus patient after her death.
“Over two dozen persons present in the hospital got furious and tried to scuffle with us and hospital staff after we told them that the patient had coronavirus infection. We had to seek police help as a last resort,” said LUH’s focal person for Covid-19 Dr Aftab Hussain Phull.
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The national database for coronavirus has reported a total increase of 101 cases in the federal territories as well as two new deaths.
Division of cases and deaths is as following:
The total number of coronavirus cases in the country stands at 65,317, while a total of 1,366 deaths have been reported in the country.
The national database for coronavirus shows that a total of 1,826 people have recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours. The total number of recoveries in the country stands at 24,131.
At least 364,000 people have died of the coronavirus around the world according to a John Hopkins University tally.
Over 2,493,000 people have recovered from the disease that has affected at least 5,924,000 people so far.
President Donald Trump says he is breaking off US ties with the World Health Organisation, which he says failed to do enough to combat the initial spread of the novel coronavirus.
Trump had already suspended funding to the UN agency, accusing it of being a “puppet” of China as the global health crisis erupted.
“Because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms, we will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organisation,” Trump told reporters.
The Republican leader said the US would be “redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs”.
Sanofi has temporarily stopped recruiting new Covid-19 patients for two clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine and will no longer supply the anti-malaria drug to treat Covid-19 until concerns about safety are cleared up, Reuters quoted the company as saying on Friday.
The moves come after the World Health Organisation paused its large trial of hydroxychloroquine, prompting several European governments to ban the use of the drug, also used in rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Sanofi has been conducting two randomised, controlled clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19.
The first was expected to test 210 patients in United States, France, Belgium and the Netherlands who were not in hospital and suffering from the early stage of the disease while the second focused on hospitalised patients with moderate to severe Covid-19 in Europe. It was planned to include around 300 patients.
France on Friday reported 52 coronavirus deaths over the last 24 hours and saw no sign of a resurgence as it prepared to further ease restrictive measures next week, AFP reports.
The latest deaths, which followed low figures over the last days, brought the total toll in France in the epidemic to 28,714, the health ministry said.
The number of people with coronavirus in intensive care — which at the peak of the epidemic soared to over 7,000 — fell by another 68 to 1,361.
France will on Tuesday remove significant restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the virus, with cafes and restaurants opening across the country.
Portugal gave the green light on Friday to the third phase of its lockdown exit, but some restrictions will remain in Lisbon due to localised outbreaks in industrial hubs and outskirts, Reuters reports.
From June 1, shopping malls, childcare centres, gyms, cinemas, theatres and other cultural venues can reopen across most of the country but with capacity restrictions.
But in Greater Lisbon, where most recently reported cases were located, gatherings remain limited to ten people, and shopping malls stay closed until at least Thursday.
“Unfortunately, the evolution in Lisbon is significantly different from the rest of the country,” Prime Minister Antonio Costa said. “But as I said at the beginning, I have no shame in taking a step back if necessary.”
The prime minister promised widespread testing of construction workers and those on temporary contracts in Azambuja, an industrial hub where 340 workers tested positive for the virus at two warehouses in recent weeks.
France's coronavirus death toll has risen by less than a 100 for the ninth day running, as the country is gearing up for a new easing of lockdown measures.
The French health ministry said that the number of fatalities had risen by 52, or 0.2 per cent, to 28,714, the fourth-highest tally in the world, according to Reuters.
New York City is 'on track' to enter phase one of reopening on June 8, New York Governor Cuomo said, as he announced that five upstate regions will now transition to phase two which includes businesses like barber shops and hair salons.
The most populous US city, which has become the epicentre of the country's coronavirus pandemic, was on track to meet all the metrics the state has set for a safe phased reopening, Cuomo said.
“We are on track to open on June 8,” Cuomo told a daily briefing but warned that “reopening does not mean we're going back to the way things were.”
Balochistan has reported 471 new coronavirus cases and five more deaths during the past 48 hours, according to data from the provincial health department.
With the new cases, Balochistan's tally has crossed 4,000 while the total death toll is 46. In today's situation report, the provincial health department said it was revising its policies to detect underreported deaths.
"Due to an increase in local transmission and a [lax attitude] in following prevention protocols, the mortality [rate is] increasing. Total deaths are 76 including confirmed (46) and probable (30)," the report said.