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Friday, May 15, 2020, 22:46
Spain imposes quarantine on incoming overseas travelers
By Agencies
Friday, May 15, 2020, 22:46 By Agencies

A member of the Madrid Emergency Medical Service in full protective gear disinfects a colleague coming back from a mission at the SAMUR Civil Protection headquarters in Madrid on May 15, 2020.(PHOTO / AFP)

NEW YORK / CAPE TOWN / NAIROBI / BRASILIA / MEXICO CITY / PARIS / ROME / LONDON / CHICAGO / SARAJEVO / CAIRO / JUBA / ACCRA / NAIROBI / SOFIA /  LJUBLJANA  /MOSCOW / TORONTO / VIENNA / MADRID - Spain started imposing a quarantine on incoming overseas travellers on Friday and added new restrictions to international traffic to prevent the spread of the coronavirus as the country’s daily death toll drops.

From Friday, people arriving from abroad must spend two weeks self-quarantined at home. Additionally, the authorities extended existing restrictions to entry into Spain until June 15 and limited the access to five airports and eight sea ports.

The few dozen passengers coming from abroad in the different Spanish airports were tested for fever and received a sheet of paper with instructions they must follow.

“We cannot leave our homes for 14 days, only to go to the doctor or supermarket, that we keep the security distance, always wear the mask when we go out, and that’s about it.” said Rosalie Gallego, a passenger who landed on Friday in Madrid on a flight from Havana.

The new restrictions imposed on travellers come as the numbers of new fatalities was down to 138 on Friday from more than 200 the day before. The daily number has been steadily falling since reaching 950 in early April.

Authorities have said the strict lockdown imposed in the country and the travel restrictions from abroad have contributed to curbing the contagion.

The number of diagnosed cases rose on Friday to 230,183, although the antibody testing of a sample of 60,000 people across Spain had pointed to as many as 2.3 million people have had the disease.

A couple wearing face masks walks through an empty terminal of an airport in Frankfurt, Germany, May 9, 2020. (MICHAEL PROBST / AP)

Germany 

Germany will loosen coronavirus quarantine rules for travelers arriving from the European Union (EU), the Schengen passport-free zone and Britain, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said on Friday.

Authorities will only recommend travellers go into quarantine if they arrive from countries with elevated numbers of infections, he said at a regular news conference.

A mandatory two-week quarantine still applies for travelers from countries outside the EU, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said

A mandatory two-week quarantine still applies for travelers from countries outside the EU, the spokesman said.

The announcement came as Germany's confirmed cases increased by 913, compared to 933 from the previous day, to 173,152, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday.

The reported death toll rose by 101 to 7,824, the tally showed.

Germany's reproduction rate for the coronavirus remained below the key threshold of 1 according to both the conventional calculation method and a new, less volatile measure, the RKI said Thursday.

The daily measure that it has been using - the so-called 'R' number - was 0.75, down from 0.81 reported on Wednesday.

The institute for the first time published a new 7-day figure of 0.88, calculated using a method which it says is a more accurate reflection of the trend.

Members of the COVID-19 government response team walk on a street during a door-to-door COVID-19 screening in Westdene, Johannesburg, on May 14, 2020, to identify people that could be referred for further testing at the Helen Joseph Hospital. (LUCA SOLA / AFP)

Africa's infections

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday predicted a lower level of COVID-19 infections in Africa and forecast a slower peak in most countries following growing success of anti-infection measures.

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said the revision was based on the success of some of the measures that governments are implementing, such as partial lockdowns, social distancing and the promotion of washing of hands.

... we have seen that African governments have put in place measures that have slowed infections. Infections in rural areas are also lower. So, there will be a slower peak and a lower level of infections than initially projected in our modeling.

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa

She said an earlier modeling developed by the WHO had shown that COVID-19 cases in Africa were to peak in five weeks after the first case was detected in a country and that on average, 26 percent of the entire population in the continent would have been infected.

ALSO READ: Lesotho becomes last country in Africa to record COVID-19 case

"This modeling was based on projected community infections including especially in the rural areas. But we have seen that African governments have put in place measures that have slowed infections," she said during her weekly online update to journalists.

"Infections in rural areas are also lower. So, there will be a slower peak and a lower level of infections than initially projected in our modeling," Moeti said.

She said the WHO was working with Tanzania, which has not released infection data since April 29, to do so in order to plan the appropriate response.

The WHO, she said, was working closely with governments across Africa to increase and sustain community education on matters like social distancing and the washing of hands in order to check infections that now average 1,500 per day in Africa.

One of the challenges the WHO had identified is the growing challenge of access to food in some countries which is causing undernourishment and therefore compromising the immunity of those affected.

Moeti said it would be important for essential services to continue and make sure food suppliers are not disrupted and those who have no access to food are able to get food aid.

READ MORE: Africa can learn from others on reopening economies

Moeti said the WHO was ready to collaborate with the herbal medicine industry in Africa to undertake clinical trials of herbal medicines to find their efficacy against COVID-19.

She added that the WHO was working with a coalition in charge of COVID-19 vaccine and that the agency was working with all the partners to ensure that once the vaccine is found, it would be affordable to all people.

READ MORE: France defends equal access to vaccine as US eyes its own plans

Global tally

Global COVID-19 deaths surpassed 300,000 on Thursday, reaching 300,074 as of 1:38 pm (1738 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, total COVID-19 cases around the world rose to 4,405,688, according to the CSSE.

The United States reported the most COVID-19 cases and deaths, with a tally of 1,400,500 and a death toll of 85,066. Other countries with over 20,000 fatalities included Britain, Italy, Spain, and France. 

Russia, Britain, Spain and Italy have all reported over 200,000 cases, the CSSE data showed. 

According to an online dashboard maintained by the WHO European Region, 1,803,789 confirmed COVID-19 cases had been reported in 54 countries in the region, with 163,458 deaths as of 10:00 am CET (0800 GMT) on Thursday.

The Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest situation update that the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Africa reached 73,176 and the death toll hit 2,496 on Thursday evening.

A man sails a small motor boat across a canal in Venice, Italy, on May 13, 2020. (VINCENZO PINTO / AFP)

Italy

Italy is set to allow free travel across the country from June 3, according to a draft decree seen by Reuters on Friday, as the government moves to unwind the coronavirus lockdown and revive the battered economy.

Rigid restrictions were imposed on Italy in March in an effort to halt the disease and with the death rate now falling, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is rolling back the curbs.

According to the draft decree, which could still be modified before it is approved, all travel within separate Italian regions would be allowed from May 18.

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 262 on Thursday, against 195 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases rose to 992 from 888 on Wednesday. It was the largest number of deaths in one day since May 7. 

The total death toll now stands at 31,368, the agency said, the third highest in the world. The number of confirmed cases amounts to 223,096, the fifth highest global tally.

People registered as currently carrying the illness fell to 76,440 from 78,457 the day before.

There were 855 people in intensive care on Thursday, down from 893 on Wednesday, maintaining a long-running decline. 

France

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire pledged government-support measures for the car and aviation industries by the end of June, including incentives to buy electric vehicles.

The aid would come after the government promised 18 billion euros (US$19.4 billion) on Thursday to back the tourism sector, which Le Maire said was desperately needed because restaurants and hotels were among the hardest-hit businesses by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We will do it for other sectors that have been hit hard, such as the auto industry and aeronautics,” he said in an interview Thursday evening on BFM TV. “Air France was at risk of disappearing, and parts of the car industry are also threatened with disappearing.”

Le Maire said he would meet with carmakers and industry representatives on Friday to discuss ways to support demand for low-emission and electric vehicles. The incentives would be for households and managers of public and private fleets.

France's daily deaths increased by 351 to 27,425 on Thursday. The cumulative number of deaths in nursing homes rose above 10,000 for the first time.

The number of confirmed infections increased by 622 to 141,356 on Thursday, up 0.4 percent and the eighth consecutive day that the case tally rose by about half a percentage point or less.

The health ministry also reported that the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 infection fell by 608 to 20,463 on Thursday and the number of people in intensive care fell by 129 to 2,299.

Both numbers - key indicators for the French health system's ability to cope with the epidemic - have been on a downtrend for four to five weeks and peaked at over 32,000 and over 7,000 respectively in early to mid-April.

A worker disinfects seats at a train station in Lille, northern France, May 14, 2020. (SEBASTIEN COURDJI / XINHUA)

UK

Britain has given the green light to Abbott Laboratories to produce a COVID-19 antibody test, shortly after it gave the same approval to Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding, health officials said on Friday.

The UK's Department of Health and Social Care said Thursday that another 428 COVID-19 deaths were reported in Britain by Wednesday afternoon, pushing the death toll to 33,614.

As of Thursday morning, 233,151 have tested positive for the virus in Britain, said the department.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), around 148,000 people in England were infected with the virus over the past two weeks.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Britain's coronavirus test-and-trace app has been downloaded by 72,300 residents of the Isle of Wight, where it is being trialled.

Russia

Russia on Friday reported 10,598 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, up by 4.2 percent, pushing its nationwide case tally to 262,843.

While this is the first increase in daily new infections since May 11, it’s in line with Thursday’s 4.1 percent rise and below the five-day average of about 4.7 percent.

Russia's coronavirus taskforce said 113 people had died over the last 24 hours, bringing the official death toll from the virus to 2,418.

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Valery Falkov, minister of science and higher education, had caught the coronavirus, making him at least the sixth senior official to be swept up in the pandemic.

US

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday issued guidelines to help schools and workplaces determine whether they are ready to open for business.

It provided six "decision trees" that cover yes-or-no scenarios to help assess readiness for opening workplaces, restaurants and bars, mass transit, childcare, camps and schools.

READ MORE: US faces the great divide on reopening

The tools stress working with state and local health officials. They are intended to help business owners develop policies for their employees.

For example, in deciding whether a restaurant or bar should open, the guideline asks if reopening will be consistent with state and local orders, and whether the business is ready to protect employees at higher risk for severe illness. If the answer is no, restaurants and bars are advised not to open.

In many cases, businesses are encouraged to require employees to wear masks.

In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said that a central area of his state was now ready to open, bringing to five the number of regions that can take the first steps to reopen some businesses when a statewide stay-at-home order lapses on Friday. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said anyone with COVID-19 symptoms in the city would be eligible for a test.

In Wisconsin, some beer-loving Wisconsinites rushed to bars for their first taste of freedom in nearly two months, after the state supreme court struck down the governor's sweeping stay-at-home order.

Meanwhile, a clinical trial has begun to evaluate if the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given together with antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent COVID-19 hospitalization and death, according to a release published by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Separately, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that Abbott Laboratories’ speedy coronavirus test, which can deliver results within minutes and is used at the White House, could potentially be inaccurate but can still be used to test patients. The FDA said it was reviewing data on the test's accuracy and working with Abbott to find other ways to study the test.

This May 14, 2020 shows patrons at Jonesy's Local Bar on the first day of the bar reopening in Hudson, Wisconsin. (JERRY HOLT / STAR TRIBUNE VIA AP)

Austria

The coronavirus pandemic claimed its first political scalp in Austria as the junior minister for culture quit under pressure from theatre directors and performers over a lack of urgency in reopening cultural venues even as a lockdown has been eased.

The junior minister, Ulrike Lunacek of the left-wing Greens, came under fire as she seemed at times to treat the challenge of safely reopening theatres as an abstract intellectual exercise rather than an urgent requirement to save livelihoods.

"I have decided to step down from the office of secretary of state. I am making way for another person who will hopefully achieve more in this crisis situation than I could," Lunacek said at a news conference convened at two hours' notice.

Junior ministers in Austria are called secretaries of state.

The conservative-led government has said large events will be banned until at least Aug 31 to minimize the risk of coronavirus contagion. It is still working on plans for theatre to resume while respecting social distancing rules - a particular challenge for events where bottlenecks can occur in the entrances of often historic buildings.

Brazil

Brazil registered a daily record 13,944 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, as President Jair Bolsonaro urged business leaders to push for lifting lockdown orders in financial center Sao Paulo to help the economy.

Brazil is the hardest hit country in Latin America with a tally of 202,918 confirmed cases of the virus and 13,933 deaths, according to health ministry data.

In a videoconference Thursday, Bolsonaro told a gathering of business leaders to "play tough" with Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria, who has issued social distancing orders and said he would not comply with Bolsonaro's latest decree to reopen gyms and beauty salons.

Bolsonaro said it was still possible to reverse course and avoid what he called economic chaos in months to come.

Bolsonaro also issued a provisional decree that seeks to limit public-sector liability for things that go wrong in the fight against the pandemic. The decree takes effect immediately. 

According to the Government Gazette, the decree states that civil servants and government employees or officials can only be held accountable for mishaps or oversights "if they intentionally committed the serious error in direct or indirect relation to" the measures being taken to combat the outbreak.

The decree defines a serious error as grave negligence, malpractice or recklessness. 

Mexico

Mexico on Thursday pushed back by two weeks the reopening of automotive plants and the mining sector, creating confusion among companies about how soon they can reconnect supply chains tied to US manufacturing.

The government on Wednesday had indicated the auto sector would resume operations on Monday and published advice to that effect in its official gazette. It later withdrew the page from the gazette and on Thursday published fresh instructions in the gazette indicating the industry would not reopen until June 1.

Some lawmakers in President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's ruling MORENA party had publicly expressed concern about a Monday restart in regions badly hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

Mexico's Mining Undersecretary Francisco Quiroga on Thursday said certain safety protocols have to be carried out with the ministries of health and labour after May 18, which would take time, before the mining sector reopened.

Mexico's health ministry on Thursday confirmed 257 additional COVID-19 deaths and 2,409 new infections, the biggest one-day rise in cases since the pandemic began.

The new infections brought confirmed coronavirus cases to 42,595 and 4,477 deaths in total, according to the official tally.

Peru

Peru's health ministry on Thursday said 4,298 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the country's total tally to 80,604, with 2,267 deaths.

Currently, 6,941 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, with 842 of those in intensive care units and on ventilators, the ministry said in a statement.

"Lima continues to be the region with the highest number of COVID-19 cases, with 52,545," the ministry said. 

South Africa

The South African government on Thursday lifted a ban on all e-commerce trade except for alcohol and tobacco products.

E-commerce can be a critical enabler to opening the economy through contactless transactions, which can reduce the movement of consumers, and the density of shoppers in retail spaces, said Ebrahim Patel, minister of Trade, Industry and Competition.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa has reached 12,739, up by 665 in the past 24 hours, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Thursday.

"Regrettably we report a further 19 COVID-19 related deaths and this brings the total national deaths to 238," Mkhize said in his daily update.

The total number of recoveries nationwide was 5,676 as of Thursday, Mkhize said.

South Africa will assign levels of lockdown restrictions for each of the country's roughly 50 districts, depending on the number of active coronavirus infections there, Mkhize said.

Hungary

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he will decide on Saturday whether to ease restrictions for Budapest after the coronavirus’s first wave appeared to plateau earlier this month.

The basis for easing in Budapest are there but authorities must proceed carefully because a wrong decision is difficult to correct in a big city, Orban told state radio on Friday. The government has approved lifting further restrictions in the countryside, including for the operation of hotels and restaurants but is urging everyone to respect social distancing and wear masks indoors.

“The responsible behavior is no longer to stay at home but social distancing and the wearing of protective gear,” Orban said.

Hungary may return to its pre-pandemic economic growth track from June after what’s projected to be “horrible” April industrial data and somewhat better statistics in May, Orban said.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria will allow shopping malls to reopen on Monday as part of its push to ease restrictions imposed two months ago to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Friday.

The decision comes a day after Bulgaria's biggest business organization, the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) employers, expressed concerns that no date has been set for reopening of the shopping malls.

Nearly 300,000 people work in the retail sector, according to BIA, which said that many of them could go bankrupt if the malls remain closed.

The government introduced a state of emergency on March 14 that imposed travel bans, closed schools, restaurants and shopping malls, and prompted many businesses to limit or halt operations due to restrictions and reduced demand.

Bulgaria started easing the partial lockdown in late April but continued to enforce strict social measures on many of its citizens and businesses, helping prevent widespread community spread of the virus.

As of Friday, Bulgaria has 2,138 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 102 deaths.

Slovenia

The Slovenian government late on Thursday called an official end to its coronavirus epidemic, becoming the first European country to do so, after authorities confirmed less than seven new coronavirus cases each day for the past two weeks.

People now arriving in Slovenia from other European Union states will no longer be obliged to go into a quarantine for at least seven days as was the case from early April, the government said in a statement. 

A quarantine of at least 14 days will remain in place for people from non-EU states, except for some exemptions including diplomats and people transporting cargo.

The country of 2 million people has so far reported 1,464 coronavirus cases and 103 deaths. It declared an epidemic on March 12.

The end of epidemic means some measures, including financial aid to citizens and firms hit by the coronavirus, will expire at the end of May. 

The government said foreign citizens who show signs of coronavirus infection will still not be allowed to enter the country. 

Romania

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday that the end of the state of emergency does not mean the end of the epidemic and he would not hesitate to declare a state of emergency again if the epidemic situation gets worse.

Thursday was the last day of Romania's two-month-long state of emergency and the country will begin on Friday a state of alert, a level lower than the current one.

Under the new state of alert, residents will be allowed to travel locally, but mask-wearing is mandatory in enclosed public spaces and on public transport. Parks will be reopened and shops with access directly to the street, barbers, beauty salons, dentists and museums will resume their activities. 

According to Iohannis, the country's total tally stands at 16,247, of which 9,053 patients have recovered.

People line up at a COVID-19 testing clinic in Montreal, in the Canadian province of Quebec. (RYAN REMIORZ / THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP)

Canada

Ontario will allow some retail stores as well as vehicle dealerships and construction sites to reopen next Tuesday, its premier said on Thursday.

Only retailers with a street-front entrance can reopen, officials said, with indoor malls to remain closed. Some leisure activities and horse racing will also be allowed as of Tuesday.

Golf courses and marinas will reopen on Saturday, and some leisure activities - including tennis and gymnastics – can resume on Tuesday, the officials added.

Ontario reported an increase of 258 cases and 33 deaths on Thursday, the lowest since late March, according to provincial data. Overall, Canada's coronavirus death toll edged up by 2.5 percent to 5,337 from Wednesday, one of the smallest daily increases.

In Quebec, which has been Canada's coronavirus epicenter with 60 percent of the country's deaths, its premier said a planned reopening of the province on May 25 could only take place if case numbers continue to fall.

Egypt

The Egyptian government on Thursday began inspecting hotels in resort cities to check their implementation of anti-COVID-19 measures and readiness to partially reopen for local tourists, an official told Xinhua.

The move came amid the government's "coexistence" plan to resume economic activities while fighting the novel coronavirus. 

"Only those hotels that meet the anti-COVID-19 precautionary measures will be allowed to receive local guests with a limit of a 25-percent occupancy," Abdel-Fattah al-Aasy, assistant minister of tourism and antiquities for monitoring tourism and hotel facilities said.

As of Thursday, Egypt has confirmed a total of 10,829 COVID-19 cases, including 571 deaths and 2,626 recoveries.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Two months after COVID-19 outbreak, both entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Republika Srpska (RS) and Federation of BiH (FBiH), have eased more restrictive measures against COVID-19 recently.

According to the government of FBiH, the ban on the movement of minors and senior citizens aged over 65 will be removed from Friday throughout BiH.

Sport facilities, gyms, recreation centers, cinemas, libraries, museums, galleries and concert halls will also be allowed to reopen in FBiH, under the condition of one person in 10 square meters in all indoor spaces. Public transport is also scheduled to restart in FBiH on Friday, four days after it has been reopened in RS.   

So far, BiH has reported 2,210 COVID-19 cases and 122 deaths.

Greece

Two asylum seekers who recently arrived on Greece's Lesbos island, the site of the country's biggest migrant camp, have tested positive for the coronavirus, migration ministry sources said on Friday.

The cases, doubling the island's COVID-19 infection tally on to four, were among 70 arrivals there so far during May.

Since March 1, all migrants who reach Lesbos have been quarantined away from the island's camps. Those include the overcrowded Moria facility, hosting more than 17,500 asylum seekers by the latest official count on May 13. There have been no documented coronavirus cases there, however.

Greece has so far largely kept its its COVID-19 outbreak contained, with 2,770 cases and 156 deaths reported by Thursday evening. Authorities have since May 4 been gradually easing the lockdown they imposed in mid-March.

Algeria

Algerian health authorities on Thursday reported 189 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, bringing the country's tally to 6,442, head of the COVID-19 Detection and Follow-up Commission Djamel Foutar said at a daily press briefing.

Foutar said seven more deaths were reported, bringing the death toll to 529, while the number of recoveries jumped to 3,158 after 100 more patients were discharged from hospitals during the last 24 hours. 

South Sudan

South Sudan's Ministry of Health on Thursday confirmed its first COVID-19 death case as 28 new cases were reported, pushing the total number of infections to 231.

Makur Matur Koriom, undersecretary in the Ministry of Health, said the deceased was a 51-year-old South Sudanese government official who died at Juba Military Hospital due to respiratory failure.

Koriom also confirmed that one patient had been discharged from hospital, bringing the total number of recoveries to three.

Ghana

Ghana's health minister said Thursday the country could not keep restrictions in place forever as they were affecting the economy and social life.

"The new coronavirus has come to live with us. It will have nowhere to go, and we have to learn to live with it," Kwaku Agyemang-Manu said at a bi-weekly media briefing, adding that there are certain things to do to protect people.

The minister urged citizens to observe the preventive protocols, including the wearing of face masks, maintaining social distancing and washing of hands regularly under running water with soap.

Meanwhile, Minister for Tourism Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, who also addressed the press briefing, said that measures were being put in place to reopen hotels in a limited way.  

Ghana's number of confirmed cases increased to 5,530, with 674 recoveries, as of Wednesday morning.

Morocco

Morocco’s health ministry on Thursday announced 95 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 6,607.

The death toll rose to 190 after two more deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, Director of Epidemiology at the Moroccan Ministry of Health Mohamed El Youbi said at his daily briefing.

The number of recoveries increased to 3,310 after 179 new recoveries were reported, Youbi said.

Somalia

Somalia's health ministry on Thursday confirmed 65 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total tally to 1,284.

Health Minister Fawziya Abikar said one more death was reported, raising the total number of fatalities to 53.

Abikar also said five more patients have recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 135.

Kenya

Kenya's Ministry of Health on Thursday confirmed 21 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total tally to 758.

Mercy Mwangangi, chief administrative secretary in the ministry of health, said two more deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 42.

Mwangangi also said that three more patients were discharged from hospital, bringing the total number of recoveries to 284.

Mwangangi said eight truck drivers from Tanzania tested positive during the period at Namanga and Isebania borders respectively and were referred back to their country.

The official said that borders have become the latest high-risk areas in the transmission of the disease, adding that the border areas are now among the key area of focus.

Tunisia

Lobna Jribi, Tunisian minister in charge of major national projects, announced on Thursday new measures to partially lift the lockdown amid the COVID-19.

"Shopping malls, weekly markets and livestock markets will resume their activities, starting from Friday," Jribi said at a press briefing.

She also announced the lifting of restrictions for people over the age of 65, and children under the age of 15. 

The reopening of kindergartens will take place after May 24, and autism care centers and centers for the disabled will open from May 18.

Travel between governorates during the Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, will be prohibited, said Jribi.

As of Thursday, Tunisia has reported no new COVID-19 cases for four days in a row. The total number of confirmed cases remains 1,032.  

Uganda

Uganda reported 21 new COVID-19 cases late Thursday, the highest number confirmed in a single day since the outbreak was first announced in the country on March 21, the health ministry said in a statement.

Of the 1,593 samples collected from cross-border cargo truck drivers, 21 tested positive for COVID-19, taking the country's total number of infections to 160, according to the statement.

At least 63 patients have recovered out of the 160 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far, according to the ministry. 

Ukraine 

A total of 17,330 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 476 deaths were reported in Ukraine on Friday, while 4,473 patients have recovered, the country's health ministry said.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, 1,220 children and 3,420 health workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while 483 new cases were reported in Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

A total of 5,488 coronavirus patients have been hospitalized since the beginning of the epidemic, including 623 health workers. Among them, 225 people were on ventilators, including one child and 19 medical workers.

The Ukrainian government has extended quarantine measures until May 22.

Norway 

Norway will likely maintain current travel restrictions to and from the Nordic country until Aug.

20, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said on Friday.

The measures include official advice against travelling abroad unless necessary, a 10-day quarantine for all people returning from abroad and barring entry to most non-Norwegians who do not have the right to live and work in Norway.

Finland

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Friday that she hoped her country would be "well prepared" in case of a second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, so that very strict measures would not have to be used again.

In an effort to explain the government's coronavirus crisis strategy, Marin held a joint press conference alongside experts from the Health Ministry and the country's health authority THL on Friday morning, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported in an online story.

Citing mathematical models based on current infection rate figures, she said that Finland's health authorities are preparing for a slight decline in infections over the summer and anticipate a second wave in the autumn, Yle reported.

Taneli Puumalainen, the Chief Physician at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, said that the number of people who have recovered is now growing faster in Finland than the number of new infections. So far 6,200 persons have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Finland and some 5,000 have recovered. 

Senegal 

Senegal on Friday reported 121 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total in the country to 2,310.

Of the 121 cases, 119 are follow-up contact cases and two community-transmission ones, Marie Khemesse Ngom Ndiaye, director-general of health at the Ministry of Health and Social Action, told a daily briefing on the pandemic.

According to her, 48 more patients have recovered, while six patients remain in intensive care across the country.

Two deaths were registered in the previous 24 hours, bringing the toll to 25 in Senegal, which reported the first confirmed case on March 2.

So far, 890 COVID-19 patients have recovered in Senegal.

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