A view of an empty Red Square during the 75th anniversary of the Nazi defeat in World War II in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2020. (PAVEL GOLOVKIN / AP)

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Russia will end its COVID-19-related restrictions nationwide from Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin said Monday.

Russia's coronavirus cases overtook Italian and British infections on Monday to become the third highest in the world after a record daily rise hours before President Vladimir Putin was due to review the country's lockdown regime.

The official tally surged to 221,344, meaning Russia now has more registered cases than Italy or Britain and only trails Spain and the United States, as the number of new cases jumped by 11,656 in the past 24 hours.

More than half of all cases and deaths are in Moscow, the epicentre of Russia's outbreak. On Monday, it reported an overnight increase of 6,169 new cases, bringing its official total to 115,909.

The country's coronavirus response centre also reported 94 more deaths, taking the overall death toll to 2,009 people. The  official death toll remains far lower than in many countries, something Kremlin critics have queried.

Russian officials attribute the rising and large number of cases to a massive testing programme which they say has seen over 5.6 million tests conducted.

Putin is due to hold a meeting later on Monday, a public holiday in Russia, to decide whether to modify the country's lockdown regime which entered into force at the end of March.

Putin told the government and the State Council group to submit their recommendations for regions to phase out restrictions, Interfax reported. Putin has also ordered the health ministry and the public health agency Rospotrebnadzor to revise measures for fighting the spread, RIA Novosti reported.

Global toll

Global COVID-19 deaths surpassed 280,000 on Sunday, reaching 280,507 as of 12:32 pm (1632 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

More than 4 million cases have been reported from over 180 countries and regions across the world, according to the CSSE.

The United States reported the most COVID-19 deaths at 78,932 among 1,314,799 cases. Other countries with over 20,000 fatalities included Spain, Italy, Britain and France, according to the CSSE. 

In this image grab taken from video issued by Downing Street on May 10, 2020, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers an address on lifting the country's lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. (PHOTO / DOWNING STREET VIA AP)

UK

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a BBC radio interview Monday that the government aims to have rules in place by the end of the month covering people traveling to the UK. 

Raab said that “subject to a series of exemptions,” anybody arriving in the country would be subject to 14-day quarantine. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will flesh out his plan for lifting the UK lockdown in Parliament later Monday as he seeks to get more people back to work. The government will publish 50 pages of detailed guidance at 1300 GMT, Raab said.

Johnson said on Sunday evening his government has a plan to ease the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, but "it is a conditional plan".

Since "our priority is to protect the public and save lives, we cannot move forward unless we satisfy the five tests," Johnson said in a televised address.

The five tests previously set out by the government are: to protect the NHS (National Health Service), see sustained falls in the death rate, see sustained and considerable falls in the rate of infection, sort out the challenges in getting enough PPE (personal protective equipment) to the people who need it, make sure that any measures the government takes do not force the reproduction rate of the disease, or the R, back up over one.

From Wednesday, people will be allowed to take unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise, Johson said, adding that at the earliest by June 1, the government may be able to begin the phased reopening of shops and get some younger pupils back into schools

While his directions were for England, the government wants the United Kingdom's other nations to take the same approach. But the leaders of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland said they were sticking with the existing "stay-at-home" message.

Another 210 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Sunday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 32,065, the Department of Health and Social Care said Monday.

Johnson also said people should continue to work from home if they could. From Wednesday, people will be allowed to take unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise, Johson said, and can sit in the sun in their local park, drive to other destinations, and play sports with members of their own household. 

ALSO READ: Britons urged to cycle, walk to work when virus lockdown eased

At the earliest by June 1, the government may be able to begin the phased reopening of shops and get some younger pupils back into schools, Johnson said, adding by July at the earliest, there could be an opening of some of the hospitality industry and other public places if they enforce social distancing.

Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer said Johnson had raised more questions than he had answered with different parts of UK pulling in different directions.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the only modification she was making to lockdown measures was to allow people to exercise more.

Britain will soon also begin to quarantine people arriving into the country by air, Johnson said. However, Britain won't impose quarantine to travellers coming from France at this stage, France and Britain said on Sunday.

READ MORE: Times: Britain to quarantine incoming travelers for 14 days

In this May 8, 2020 photo, US Vice-President Mike Pence arrives to speak during a roundtable with agriculture and food supply leaders about steps being taken to ensure the food supply remains secure in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In West Des Moines, Iowa. (CHARLIE NEIBERGALL AP)

US

US Vice-President Mike Pence is not in quarantine and plans to be at the White House on Monday, a spokesman said on Sunday, despite media reports that Pence was self-isolating after a staffer tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

“Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine," spokesman Devin O’Malley said in a statement. "Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow,” the statement added.

The Trump administration has no plans to keep President Donald Trump and Pence apart, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday, as concerns rise about the spread of the coronavirus within the White House.

Trump told reporters on Friday that Pence's spokeswoman, Katie Miller, had tested positive for the virus, a day after news that Trump’s personal valet also had tested positive.

READ MORE: Coronavirus exposure: Top US health officials self quarantine

Meanwhile, US Senator Lamar Alexander, who was due to hold a videoconference hearing with the administration officials on Tuesday, has self quarantined after a member of his staff tested positive for the virus, his office said on Sunday.

Separately, General Joseph Lengyel, chief of the US National Guard who is at the forefront of the domestic military response to the coronavirus, was in limbo after testing both positive and negative in conflicting results this weekend, officials said on Sunday.

One of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that in addition to Lengyel, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday had come in contact with a family member who was coronavirus positive. Gilday tested negative for the coronavirus but would quarantine himself as a precaution for a week.

Elsewhere in the US, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he has ordered all nursing home staff to be tested at least twice a week for the virus and is barring hospitals from discharging any COVID-19 patient to a nursing facility until that individual tests negative for infection.

Michigan was due to allow its factories to resume production on Monday after more than six weeks of a coronavirus lockdown, removing a major obstacle to North American automakers seeking to bring thousands of idled employees back to work this month.

Commuters wearing face masks walk on a train platform at the Saint Lazare train station, in Paris, France, on May 11, 2020. (FRANCOIS MORI / AP)

France

France tiptoed out of one of Europe's strictest coronavirus lockdowns on Monday, reopening shops, factories and some schools to revive the economy but wary of the risks of a second wave of infections.

With the world's fifth highest official death toll, France is allowing a return to workplaces with social distancing measures and reopening schools in phases. The country's 67 million people can now leave home without government paperwork.

In central Paris early on Monday, traffic flowed along the Champs Elysees, a giant tricolore flag billowing under the Arc de Triomphe at the boulevard's summit, as workers cleaned the windows of shop fronts ahead of reopening. Commuter traffic on the capital's metro lines was lighter than normal. Passengers have to wear masks and stickers on seats marked out social distancing.

The government has urged caution, with some regions including the Paris area remaining "red zones", and subject to additional restrictions. People across the country are advised to work from home if they can.

Health Minister Olivier Veran warned that France could reverse the relaxation of its nationwide lockdown if there was a resurgence of the new coronavirus outbreak.

Commenting on the recent discovery of new clusters of infection in the country, Veran said: "I am not surprised. It shows we are going to have to live with the virus. The more vigilant we are collectively, the fewer clusters we will have."

Veran said France was ready to conduct 700,000 tests per week for COVID-19 to contain its spread. A "StopCovid" contact-tracing app, however, has not yet been rolled out.

The death toll from the pandemic in France rose by 70 to 26,380, the lowest daily toll in nearly two months, while the number of patients in intensive care continued to decline, the health ministry said on Sunday. The total number of confirmed cases reached 139,063 after a single-day increase of 209, down from 433 recorded on Saturday.

Spain

About half of Spain's 47 million people progressed to the so-called Phase 1 of a four-step plan to relax one of Europe's strictest lockdowns on Monday after the government decided that the regions in which they live met the necessary criteria.

Still, cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, which have been particularly hard hit by the epidemic, have been left behind for now and cafes remained shuttered in the normally packed Puerta del Sol square in the capital.

Church services resumed with limited capacity and chairs, rather than pews, were spaced out inside for the faithful to preserve a 2-meter distance.

Under the lockdown relaxation, up to 10 people can gather together and people are allowed to move freely around their province.

In regions that qualify, including most of Andalusia - Spain's most populous - as well as the Canary and Balearic Islands, bars, restaurants, shops, museums, gyms and hotels were allowed to open, most at reduced capacity.

Fernando Simon, chief health emergency coordinator, called for caution to avoid a rebound of the outbreak.

Spain's daily coronavirus death toll fell on Monday to 123, the health ministry said, its lowest level in seven weeks, bringing the number of fatalities to 26,744.

The number of confirmed cases rose by 373 to 227,436 after the previous day’s gain of 621. 

Germany

New COVID-19 infections in Germany continued to fall as the number of confirmed cases rose by 357 within a day to 169,575, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Monday.

Last week, between 680 and 1,300 new daily cases were reported to the RKI. At the height of the pandemic in Germany, more than 6,000 new COVID-19 infections had been recorded by the RKI, the federal government agency for disease control and prevention, on a single day.

The reproduction rate of COVID-19 in Germany increased to 1.13, according to the daily situation report by the RKI for Sunday. In the past days, the reproduction rate had been between 0.65 and 0.71.

The increase in the reproduction rate "makes it necessary to observe the development very closely over the coming days," said the RKI. The RKI and Chancellor Angela Merkel have repeatedly said that restrictions could only be eased if the reproduction rate in Germany was well below one.

The death toll in Germany increased by 22 to 7,417 on Monday, according to the RKI.

Italy

Italy on Sunday recorded its lowest one-day COVID-19 deaths and the smallest number of new infections in more than two months, the Ministry of Health said.

The death toll rose by 165 on Sunday, against 194 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said as the daily tally of new cases fell to 802 from 1,083 on Saturday.

The total death toll now stands at 30,560 the agency said, the third highest in the world after those of the United States and Britain.

It was the lowest daily death toll since March 9, although in recent weeks of the epidemic the daily death count has tended to fall on Sundays only to rise again the following day.

For the first time since early March new cases were under 1,000 with the total number of confirmed cases amounting to 219,070, the third highest global tally behind those of the United States and Spain.

People registered as currently carrying the illness fell to 83,324 from 84,842 the day before.

Belarus 

Belarus reported 933 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing its total to 23,906.

The Health Ministry said that of all the confirmed cases, 6,531 people have recovered so far, while 135 people with chronic diseases have died.

As of Monday, over 274,000 tests for the novel coronavirus infection have been conducted across the country, including 10,517 tests performed from Sunday to Monday, the ministry said. 

Denmark

Denmark has cut in half the physical distance at which citizens can stand apart, as the country takes a key step toward ending restrictions on movement.

The social distancing requirement has been reset to 1 meter from 2 meters, according to a statement late on Sunday from the Danish Health Authority.

Denmark is now in the second phase of a return to something resembling pre-COVID life, with all shops opening on Monday. Restaurants and cafes will follow next week while cinemas, museums and amusement parks will open in June. 

Primary schools have been open since April, with older students set to resume in-class tuition next week.

Denmark’s borders will remain closed, with an update from the government due by June 1 at the latest.

South Africa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa warned that the coronavirus will be present in the country for at least a year and that infections will rise as lockdown restrictions are eased.

The government will step up efforts on screening, testing and case management to help contain the virus, Ramaphosa said in a statement on Monday. Contact tracing will be made more effective, while workplaces and public transport will be sanitized, he said.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa has reached 10,015 after 595 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Sunday.

The Western Cape province leads with 5,168 cases, followed by Gauteng province with 1,952, KwaZulu-Natal province with 1,353 and the Eastern Cape province with 1,218.

Mkhize said eight more deaths were also reported, bringing the death toll to 194.

Ghana

Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced a 21-day extension of the ban on public gatherings in the country as efforts to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus infections in the country.

The president announced late Sunday that conferences, workshops, parties, night clubs, drinking spots, beaches, festivals, political rallies, religious activities, marriage and funeral ceremonies, and sporting events remained banned till the end of May.

A worker at a fish-processing factory in Ghana's Atlantic seafront city of Tema infected 533 other workers at the facility with the coronavirus, Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo said in a broadcast late on Sunday.

Ghana's health authorities reported the outbreak at the industrial facility late on Friday, but did not provide details.

Akufo-Addo said that the 533 positive cases, which represents around 11.3 percent of Ghana's total infections, were part of a backlog of about 921 cases going back as far as April 26 that are only recently being reported.

The new cases pushed Ghana's tally to 4,700 as of Sunday night, the highest number of infections in West Africa. The president said 22 people have died of coronavirus-related causes, while 494 have recovered.

Mexico

Mexico's health ministry confirmed 1,562 new cases of coronavirus infection on Sunday, along with 112 additional deaths, as government models projected that infections could peak this weekend.

Since Saturday, 3,500 new infections were logged, according to the official tally.

Reported coronavirus cases in the country total 35,022, with 3,465 deaths attributed to COVID-19. But the true number for both figures is almost certainly significantly higher due to the low level of testing nationwide.

Brazil

Brazil, the hardest-hit country in Latin America, registered 496 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking its death toll to 11,123, said its health ministry.

A total of 162,699 people have tested positive for the virus, registering a 6.8-percent mortality rate, the ministry said.

Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populated state where the nation's outbreak began, continues to be most affected by the virus, with 3,709 deaths and 45,444 infections, followed by Rio de Janeiro with 1,714 deaths and 17,062 infections.

Peru

Peru's health ministry reported Sunday that the country has so far seen a total of 67,307 confirmed cases and 1,889 fatalities.

The capital Lima continues to lead the country with 43,284 cases, the ministry said.

Chile

Chilean health authorities on Sunday reported 1,647 new cases and eight deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 28,866 and the death toll to 312.

Chile had previously planned to issue a type of discharge card to patients who have recovered from COVID-19, enabling them to return to work. However, the government has decided to postpone the measure to avoid discriminating against people still affected by the disease, Health Minister Jaime Manalich told reporters at a press conference.

The government has predicted that the epidemic will reach its peak sometime this month, and has therefore extended lockdown measures by at least another week in more regions of the capital Santiago and its metropolitan area, where 70 percent of cases are concentrated.

Ecuador

Ecuador on Sunday reported 2,127 deaths from COVID-19 as the number of infections reached 29,559.

The death toll saw a spike from the 1,717 fatalities reported in the previous 24 hours.

The substantial one-day increase in deaths was due to "a reclassification of deceased persons," according to the Ministry of Public Health.

Ecuador's southwestern province of Guayas, the national epicenter of the outbreak, reported a total death toll of 1,059 and 11,705 cases of infections.

The second hardest-hit province is the neighboring Manabi, where 252 people have died from the disease and 1,299 people have so far tested positive.

Dominican Republic

Authorities in the Dominican Republic on Sunday reported 465 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths in the past 24 hours, pushing the country's tally to 10,347 infections and the death toll to 388.

Panama

Confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in Panama reached 8,448 on Sunday, a rise of 166 from the previous day, and deaths climbed by seven to 244, the health ministry said. 

Morocco

Morocco's Ministry of Health on Sunday reported 153 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of cases to 6,063.    

The number of recovered cases increased to 2,554 with 93 new recoveries, Director of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Health Mohamed El Youbi said at his daily briefing.

He also reported two additional fatalities, bringing the death toll to 188.

Finland

Finland is prepared to slam the brakes again if the COVID-19 pandemic hit back after restrictions were eased, national broadcaster Yle reported on Sunday.

The Finnish government has allowed commuting between Finland and Estonia, and the reopening of school classrooms -- both of which will start on Thursday, Yle reported.

Liisa-Maria Voipio-Pulkki, the strategy director at the Finnish Ministry of Social Service and Health, said on Yle that even though the government emergency powers for closing schools nationally will expire this week, regional authorities could act using the legislation on infectious diseases.

A task force, chaired by Voipio-Pulkki, will monitor the infection rates and hospital capacities so that a possible backtrack policy could be arranged, Yle reported.

As of Sunday, Finland has reported 5,962 confirmed cases, with 267 deaths. 

Canada

The total number of people killed by the coronavirus in Canada rose by 2.2 percent to 4,728 on Sunday, one of the lowest daily increases since the outbreak started, official public health agency data showed.

The figure for those diagnosed with the coronavirus rose to 67,996. 

Ontario, the most populous of the 10 provinces, reported just 294 new cases on Sunday, the lowest day-on-day advance since March 31.

Greece

Greek authorities reported on Sunday six new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and zero deaths across the country over the past 24 hours.

The total number of confirmed nfections registered in Greece has now reached 2,716 while fatalities remained at 151, officials said at a regular health ministry press briefing.

Romania

One more Romanian infected with COVID-19 has died in the United Kingdom in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll of Romanian citizens abroad to 100.

As many as 2,758 Romanian citizens abroad have tested positive for COVID-19. More than half of them, or 1,698 of them, were in Italy, followed by 561 in Spain, 329 in Germany, 81 in the United Kingdom, 29 in France, 28 in the Netherlands, six in Japan, three in the US, and two in Indonesia.

A medical worker checks the temperature of a man returning from Kuwait in Giza, Egypt, on May 10, 2020. (AHMED GOMAA / XINHUA)

Egypt

Egypt reported on Sunday 436 new cases of COVID-19 and 11 more deaths, bringing the total infections registered in the country so far to 9,400, including 525 deaths.

A total of 73 patients were completely cured and discharged from hospitals on Sunday, raising the total recoveries to 2,075, said Egyptian health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed in a statement.

Sudan

Sudan's confirmed COVID-19 cases have increased by 201 to 1,365 over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry announced on Monday.

Meanwhile, six new deaths have also been recorded, taking the death toll to 70, the ministry said in a statement.

It further noted that 30 more patients have recovered, bringing the total recoveries nationwide to 145. 

South Sudan

South Sudan's Ministry of Health on Sunday confirmed 36 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 156.

Richard Laku, director-general for planning, budget and research in the ministry of health, said the latest cases of COVID-19 came from 282 samples tested in the last 48 hours.

Kenya

Kenya's Ministry of Health on Sunday confirmed 23 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 672.

Rashid Aman, chief administrative secretary for health, said 32 more patients have recovered, bringing the total number of those who have been discharged from hospitals to 239.

Aman also said that two more deaths were reported, raising the total number of fatalities to 32.

Also on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has facilitated the evacuations of 744 nationals who were stranded across the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ministry said Kenya has so far lost 23 Kenyans to COVID-19 abroad, including ten in the US, six in Britain, two in Italy, and one each in Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, France and Sweden.

Somalia

Somalia's health ministry on Sunday confirmed 57 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total infections to 1,054.

Health Minister Fawziya Abikar, health minister said three more deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 51.

Abikar said eight more people have recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 118.

Senegal

The Senegalese Ministry of Health and Social Action on Monday reported 177 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 1,886 in the country.

Of those 177 positive cases, 169 are follow-up contact cases and eight community-transmission ones, Director-General of Public Health Marie Khemesse Ngom Ndiaye told a daily briefing of the pandemic.

Over the previous 24 hours, Senegal conducted a total of 917 tests, she said.