In this April 2, 2020 file photo, a man walks past a closed restaurant following Italy's lockdown measure to contain the spread of COVID-19, in Milan, Italy. (LUCA BRUNO)

LONDON/ROME/MADRID/PARIS – Italy reported the most new coronavirus cases in a week and the UK recorded more than 900 deaths for a second straight day, keeping key European countries focused on maintaining lockdowns.

Even as the US passed Italy as the country with the most virus-linked deaths, Saturday’s data offered little encouragement for Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte as he seeks a tentative restart of Italian commercial and public life. Deaths slowed in Spain, Germany and France, suggesting that restrictions are having an effect.

The COVID-19 death toll in Africa surpassed 700 as the number of confirmed positive cases rose to 13,145 across the continent as of Saturday, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, a specialized agency of the 55-member African Union (AU) Commission, in its latest situation update on Saturday also revealed that the number of confirmed positive cases across the continent rose from 12,492 on Friday to 13,145 as of late Saturday, eventually registering some 653 new confirmed cases across the African continent during the past 24 hours period.

UK

With the UK’s death toll approaching 10,000, government officials said the country is in the early stages of stemming the outbreak. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still recovering from his infection, and Home Secretary Priti Patel declined to speculate on when restrictions might be eased.

“I don’t think we can emphasize enough is that we’re still in Round One here,” National Health Service England Medical Director Stephen Powis said at a news conference. “We’re still fighting the virus very early on.”

Italy

Italy, with the most deaths in Europe, has stepped up screening for the coronavirus in recent days. Confirmed cases increased by 4,694 in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total to 152,271, Italian officials said Saturday. Deaths increased to 19,468 as the pace of fatalities accelerated from the previous day.

Conte on Friday extended Italy’s lockdown measures until May 3, while announcing waivers for a small range of businesses and shops. 

Italy’s restrictions, which include a ban on all non-essential business, have battered the country’s already weak economy, which UniCredit SpA estimates is poised to shrink by 15 percent this year.

Spain

In Spain and across Europe, political and business leaders are increasingly talking about a “new normal” that will follow the lifting of lockdowns. 

Spain reported the fewest deaths since March 23 on Saturday, with the toll rising by 510 to 16,353. 

US

The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States topped 20,000 Saturday afternoon, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

READ MORE: In grim milestone, US logs world's highest virus death toll

A total of 20,071 people have died of the disease among 519,453 confirmed cases in the country as of 4 p.m. local time (2000 GMT), the CSSE said.

Father Bruno Lefevre Pontalis stands on the rooftop of Saint Francois Xavier church to bless the city of Paris on April 11, 2020. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

France

With 353 deaths in hospital and 290 deaths in nursing homes in the last 24 hours, the total death toll from the virus-caused COVID-19 in France has reached 13,832, Director General of Health Jerome Salomon announced on Saturday.

According to Salomon, 2,044 new patients were hospitalized in the last 24 hours, bringing the country's total hospitalized COVID-19 patients to 31,320, including 6,883 in intensive care units (ICUs).

While French intensive-care cases declined to the lowest in a week, a public health official said it’s too early to relent.

“Now is not the time to end confinement,” Jerome Salomon, France’s Director General for Health, said at a briefing. “The pressure on hospitals remains very high.”

The Defense Ministry in Paris said France’s only aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, is returning from operations earlier than planned after several dozen sailors fell ill with the virus.

Germany

Germany on Sunday morning reported a total of 120,479 confirmed COVID-19 cases, up by 2,821 over the past 24 hours, according to the Robert Koch Institute, the country's disease control agency.

The total deaths rose by 129 to 2,673, and a total of 60,200 people had recovered, up by 2,700 from the previous day, according to the agency.

Russia

Russia tallied another daily record of 2,186 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 15,770 across the country as of Sunday, official data showed.

The death toll climbed to 130 from 106 a day ago, while 1,291 people have recovered, including 246 in the last 24 hours, Russia's coronavirus response center said in a statement.

Canada

The Canadian Parliament passed on Saturday what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the country's most significant economic program since the World War II.

ALSO READ: Canada passes historic wage bill to stem wave of job losses

Senegal

Senegalese President Macky Sall launched Saturday a food delivery operation in the regions at the Dakar Autonomous Port as part of assistance to households affected by COVID-19.

Sall initiated the emergency food aid program with a budget of 69 billion Francs CFA (about US$114 million), which is drawn from the response and solidarity fund against the effects of COVID-19 for the purchase of 146,000 tonnes of food to distribute to targeted households across the country.

Portugal

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said the time has not yet come to ease the state of emergency, because there is a risk of losing everything they have achieved so far, Lusa News Agency reported on Saturday.

In an interview with Lusa, the prime minister said that the focus of his government is entirely on "controlling the health pandemic crisis," which has required everyone's effort.