A sign advising passengers to wear a face mask is seen at Clapham Junction railway station in London, May 18, 2020. (YUI MOK / PA VIA AP)
MEXICO CITY / MANAUS / RIO DE JANEIRO / CAPE TOWN / PARIS / MADRID / LONDON / WASHINGTON / ROME / ABUJA / PRAGUE / CAIRO / MOSCOW / DAR ES SALAAM / NAIROBI / WARSAW / KIEV / STOCKHOLM - The number of deaths linked to coronavirus in the UK surged past 40,000, making it the first country in Europe to reach that threshold.
Almost 43,000 fatalities mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate through May 16, according to the latest data registered with national statistics offices. Mortalities are leveling off in the countries, with England and Wales reporting a decrease in the number of deaths involving the virus on the previous week.
Almost 43,000 fatalities mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate through May 16, according to the latest data registered with national statistics offices
The death toll in care homes across the United Kingdom surpassed 10,000 as of May 8, Tuesday's data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
England has reported the lowest level of deaths in nursing homes as a share of total COVID-19 fatalities compared to other European nations, a document from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) showed on Tuesday.
The EU report compared figures made available by national authorities in European countries. It did not explain why the number of deaths in facilities for elderly largely varied across Europe but stressed under-reporting of COVID-19 cases in care homes “has been a common feature” throughout the pandemic.
Britain must step up its testing and tracking to help tackle the coronavirus crisis, lawmakers said on Tuesday, criticizing the government for dropping a program to check for COVID-19 in March and not moving fast enough to build it up.
In a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Greg Clark, chairman of the parliamentary science and technology committee, listed some of their findings, suggesting there was a lack of transparency over scientific advice and decisions on testing.
Work and Pensions Minister Thérèse Coffey said testing capacity was limited at the start of the outbreak, but this had been rapidly expanded "from a standing start" since.
Meanwhile, separate data from the ONS showed that the number of Britons seeking jobless benefits spiked the most on record last month as the lockdown sent shock waves through the UK economy.
Jobless claims rose 856,500 to more than 2 million in April, the ONS said. The claimant count rate climbed to 5.8 percent, the highest in more than two decades.
In Northern Ireland, the British-run region gently eased its coronavirus restrictions Monday, allowing small groups to meet outside and churchgoers to pray alone, broadly keeping pace with Ireland where a partial lifting of the lockdown began.
The number of confirmed cases in Northern Ireland rose by 16 to 4,401 on Monday, with related deaths up by six to 482.
This combo photo shows South Sudan's Vice-President Riek Machar and his wife Angelina Teny, who serves as defense minister. (PHOTOS / AFP)
South Sudan
South Sudan's Vice-President Riek Machar and his wife Angelina Teny, who serves as defense minister, have tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said on Monday.
It said that "a number of his office staff and bodyguards" had also tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Machar said on state television that he would be in self-isolation for 14 days in his residence.
So far, South Sudan has recorded 347 cases of coronavirus and six deaths.
Last week, authorities reported two COVID-19 cases in a camp outside the capital Juba, raising concerns among humanitarians that the infection could devastate the crowded settlement.
ALSO READ: WHO to review its pandemic handling, vows transparency
Brazil
Brazil recorded 674 additional coronavirus deaths on Monday, the health ministry said, and announced a total of 254,220 confirmed cases, overtaking Britain to become the country with the third-highest number of infections behind the United States and Russia.
There are now 16,792 people in Brazil who have died from the outbreak, the ministry said.
General Eduardo Pazuello is the interim health chief and President Jair Bolsonaro is in no hurry to choose his replacement, sources say.
Last week, Health Minister Nelson Teich resigned, becoming the second top health official to leave the post since the pandemic began.
According to data from the health ministry, São Paulo remains the worst hit by the outbreak, with 63,066 cases and 4,823 deaths. Rio de Janeiro is in second place, with 26,665 infections and 2,852 deaths.
The coronavirus is spreading so fast among the indigenous people in the furthest parts of Brazil's Amazon rainforest that doctors are now evacuating critical COVID-19 patients by plane to the only intensive care units in the vast region.
The Brazilian government's indigenous health service Sesai reported on Monday at least 23 indigenous people have died from COVID-19. The victims were in remote tribal territories, 11 of them in the upper reaches of the Amazon river bordering Colombia and Peru.
Global tally
Confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide topped 4.8 million and the death toll has surpassed 318,000, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
The United States is the hardest-hit country, with more than 1.5 million confirmed cases and a death toll of more than 90,000, according to the CSSE. Countries with over 200,000 cases also include Russia, Britain, Brazil, Spain and Italy, according to the data.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across Africa rose to 84,634 and the death toll surged to 2,766 as of Monday afternoon, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
It said that some 32,494 people had recovered from COVID-19 across the continent as of Monday afternoon.
US
The phased reopening of US business and social life gained traction on Monday with more Americans emerging from coronavirus lockdowns. In the Midwest, the US auto industry slowly returned to life from a two-month lockdown as the Detroit Three carmakers and their suppliers began restarting assembly lines in a sector that employs nearly 1 million people.
The auto industry is widely watched as a test case for whether workers across a range of US industries can safely return to factory floors.
In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said the western region will become the sixth region to start reopening on Tuesday after hiring enough people to trace contacts of people who test positive for the novel coronavirus.
In Hawaii, Governor David Ige unveiled a four-phase reopening plan as the US Pacific state reported no new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the third time in less than two weeks. Hawaii has completed the first phase of "saving lives and flattening the curve" in the community, and has reopened low-risk businesses in the last few weeks. It will start to gradually reopen medium-risk businesses and operations beginning in June in the second stage, according to the plan.
Financial markets were boosted by promising early results from the first US vaccine trial in humans, but the news of a possible vaccine breakthrough was somewhat overshadowed by President Donald Trump's surprise announcement hours later that he is taking hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 preventive treatment, contrary to medical warnings about such use of the anti-malaria drug.
The White House said Trump has received regular testing for COVID-19, with results "all negative to date".
Earlier in the day came word that a COVID-19 vaccine under development by Massachusetts-based biotech firm Moderna Inc had produced protective antibodies in a small group of healthy volunteers during a safety trial launched in March.
Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is planning a nationwide study of up to 325,000 people to track how the new coronavirus is spreading across the country into next year and beyond, a CDC spokeswoman and researchers conducting the effort told Reuters.
The CDC study, expected to launch in June or July, will test samples from blood donors in 25 metropolitan areas for antibodies created when the immune system fights the coronavirus, said Dr. Michael Busch, director of the nonprofit Vitalant Research Institute.
Antibody studies, also known as seroprevalence research, are considered critical to understanding where an outbreak is spreading and can help guide decisions on restrictions needed to contain it.
People wearing face masks walk on Condotti Street in Rome, Italy, May 18, 2020. (CHENG TINGTING / XINHUA)
Reopening of European borders
Foreign ministers from 11 European countries agreed on Monday the terms for the reopening of borders and restoring the freedom of movement of European citizens, according to a joint declaration released by the Portuguese Diplomatic portal.
Gathered in a videoconference, representatives from Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Spain, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Slovenia concerted to restore "freedom of movement and circulation in the European Union," according to the declaration.
The reopening would be done in stages, coordinated between EU member states, to "avoid the risk that a rise in infections will get out of control," according to the declaration.
Countries had combined to work on a "common understanding of health standards and procedures in a progressive manner," according to the declaration.
READ MORE: As COVID-19 ebbs, EU seeks to unlock borders for summer
Italy
Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 99 on Monday, against 145 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said.
It was the first time Italy registered a daily toll of less than 100 since March 9.
New cases increased by just 451 against 675 on Sunday, the lowest daily figure since March 2.
The decline in the daily number of deaths on Monday bucked a long-running trend which had seen fatalities fall on Sundays only to rise again the following day.
The total death toll now stands at 32,007, the agency said, the third highest in the world after those of the United States and Britain.
The number of confirmed cases since the start of the outbreak amounts to 225,886, the sixth highest global tally behind those of the United States, Russia, Spain, Britain and Brazil.
France
France reported a small dip in the daily tally of new coronavirus deaths on Monday, though it also saw a slight uptick in confirmed cases, a week after authorities started easing lockdown restrictions.
France's death toll is the fourth highest worldwide, after the United States, Britain and Italy.
The health ministry reported 131 further fatalities over the past 24 hours from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 28,239.
The number of new confirmed cases of the virus rose by 492, the ministry said, as fears of a second wave of infections linger in France, where junior high schools are now reopening their doors in some regions. On Sunday it had seen only 120 new cases.
Patrons sit apart at a beer garden in Munich, southern Germany, on May 18, 2020 as beer gardens in Bavaria were allowed to resume operations. (CHIRSTOF STACHE / AFP)
Germany
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose by 513 to 175,210, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday, with new infections accelerating after decelerating the previous four days.
The reported death toll rose by 72 to 8,007, the tally showed.
Spain
Spain’s daily coronavirus death toll rose on Tuesday to 83 from 59 in the previous 24-hour period, the health ministry said.
The overall number of fatalities was now 27,778, the ministry said, while the number of diagnosed cases rose to 232,037 cases.
Spain lifted on Tuesday a ban on direct flights and ships from Italy imposed since March 11 to curb the coronavirus, but tourism restrictions and a 14-day quarantine for inbound travellers remained in place.
A much-reduced death rate from COVID-19 has encouraged Spain to begin easing one of Europe's strictest lockdowns, but the tourism-dependent economy is likely to have to wait until late June to welcome holidaymakers back.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is preparing to ask parliament to extend until late June a state of emergency which has helped limit infections but also brought unprecedented restrictions on borders and movement, causing huge economic damage.
Cadena Ser radio reported that cabinet would use a meeting on Tuesday to discuss an extension until June 27. A government spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
People queue up outside a homeware store in Dublin, Ireland, May 18, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Ireland
Ireland on Monday entered into what it called the phase-one stage of the easing of restrictions, whereby more businesses are allowed to be reopened in the country, including hardware stores, homeware shops, garden centers, farmers' markets, repair shops for cars, motorbikes and bicycles, and optical shops.
Previously, only essential retail outlets in the country, such as supermarkets and pharmacies, were allowed to operate.
Starting from Monday, a phased return of work is also allowed for people who are involved in outdoor work, while some outdoor public amenities such as beaches and parks are reopened to the public.
Earlier in the day, the Irish Department of Health reported another 88 newly confirmed cases four COVID-19-related deaths in the country. It was the second day in a row where the number of cases fell below 100, and the four related deaths were the lowest number of daily reported fatalities since March 27, the day Ireland announced its lockdown.
To date, a total of 24,200 confirmed cases have been reported, including 1,547 deaths.
If the number of new cases remained at the current low level by the middle to end of next week, Ireland's Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan said he would be increasingly confident that Ireland could enter phase two of its reopening plan as scheduled on June 8.
ALSO READ: Irish minister: Politicization of COVID-19 not allowed
Austria
Austria’s so-called reproduction factor has risen above 1 again after an outbreak clustered around a temporary work agency in and around capital Vienna.
The reproduction factor, calculated on the basis of 13 days of new infections, had been below 1 since April 4 and rose to 1.07 as of May 15, according to health Agency AGES, which publishes the factor in varying intervals.
A rate above one indicates every infected person is statistically passing it to more than one other person.
Austria was among the first European countries to ease the coronavirus lockdown from April 14 after containing infections early and quickly. A surge of infections in Vienna and the province surrounding it this month have driven up the 7-day average of daily new infections to 55, the highest since May 2.
Russia
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is back at work after being diagnosed with the coronavirus, the Kremlin said Tuesday.
The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed a decree cancelling a temporary transfer of Mishustin's duties to First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov, who had been Russia's acting prime minister since April 30.
Russia's new confirmed infections rose by 9,263 on Tuesday, taking the total to 299,941. That compares with 8,926 new cases reported on Monday, which was the smallest increase since May 1. Tuesday’s 3.2 percent increase is below the five-day average of about 3.6 percent.
The total number of deaths increased by 115 to 2,837.
Russia has taken measures to prevent "exponential growth" of the coronavirus epidemic and hopes to start clinical trials of a vaccine within weeks, its health minister said on Monday.
"We are already developing drugs to treat people throughout all stages of the disease and those are already being used. We are working very hard on developing a vaccine and hope to start clinical trials within a month or so," Acting Health Minister Mikhail Murashko told the World Health Organization (WHO) annual assembly being held online.
In this April 30, 2020 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) listens to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin during their meeting via teleconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia. (ALEXEI DRUZHININ / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL PHOTO VIA AP)
Poland
Poland could reopen its borders on June 15, before lifting all remaining coronavirus curbs on July 1, Deputy Prime Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz told the Puls Biznesu daily in an interview published on Tuesday.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic reported its biggest daily rise in new coronavirus cases in four weeks, climbing by 111 to an overall total to 8,594 as of Tuesday morning.
The health ministry also reported another two deaths, putting the toll from the virus at 299 in the central European country.
The rise is partly due to an outbreak reported by state-owned coal miner OKD at its Darkov mine near the eastern town of Karvina, close to the Polish border, Czech Radio reported. The radio said 53 cases had been confirmed among 860 miners tested by Monday evening.
OKD and national health officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Monday, senior government officials confirmed the country will begin relaxing border restrictions starting on May 26.
Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said on Twitter that checks at border crossings will be conducted at random, adding that a negative COVID-19 test must still be produced when entering the country.
The need to produce a negative test result for COVID-19 will be waived starting from June 8, when entering the country from a risk-free area, Health Minister Adam Vojtech told reporters after the government's meeting.
Vojtech said he had proposed that as of June 8, travel to and from a list of risky countries - to be determined but currently likely to include Spain, Italy or France - would be subject to the current requirements while others deemed safe - such as Austria, Slovakia or Croatia - would be exempt.
Separately, Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek said on Monday that borders with all neighboring states - Poland, Germany, Austria and Slovakia - could be open by mid-June, news agency CTK reported.
The foreign ministry also said Czech tourists may be allowed to travel to Greece from July.
Finland
Finland began on Monday field tests for a possible mobile phone application (app) to track and prevent COVID-19 infections.
The system, called "Ketju" (Chain), is being tested in the central hospital in Vaasa, west-central Finland.
The app should be operational by the end of the summer.
As of Monday, Finland had reported 6,380 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 300 deaths.
Sweden
Sweden, which has opted for a more open strategy in combating the virus than other European countries, has the highest number of deaths in Europe per capita from the COVID-19 disease over the last seven days, data showed.
Sweden has kept most schools, restaurant and businesses open during the pandemic. While deaths are on the decline Sweden had 6.25 deaths per million inhabitants per day in a rolling seven day average between May 12 and May 19, according to Ourworldinsata.org. That was the highest in Europe and just above the United Kingdom, which had 5.75 deaths per million.
Over the course of the pandemic Sweden still has fewer deaths per capita than the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Belgium and France, which have all opted for lockdowns, but much higher than Nordic neighbours Denmark, Norway and Finland.
Sweden’s strategy, mostly based on voluntary measures regarding social distancing and basic hygiene, has been criticised by some as a dangerous experiment with peoples lives but also been put forward as a future model by the WHO.
Sweden’s open strategy seems to have softened the blow on the economy, with growth shrinking much less than in Denmark and Norway in the first quarter.
Ukraine
A total of 18,876 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 548 deaths were reported in Ukraine on Tuesday, while 5,632 patients have recovered, the country's health ministry reported on its official website.
There are 1,348 children and 3,696 health workers diagnosed with COVID-19 since the beginning of the epidemic. 260 new patients tested positive for coronavirus in Ukraine over the past 24 hours.
A total of 5,978 coronavirus patients have been hospitalized since the beginning of the epidemic, including 671 health workers. Among them, 245 people were on ventilators, including one child and twenty-one medical workers.
The number of patients recovered from coronavirus exceeded or was equal to the number of new cases registered over the past 24 hours in 16 out of 24 regions of Ukraine, according to the website of the Coronavirus Epidemic Monitoring System of the National Security and Defense Council.
On May 4, the Ukrainian government extended its quarantine measures until May 22.
Malta
Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Monday the lifting of further measures from Friday which will see restaurants, hairdressers and beauticians opening their doors after a two-month hiatus.
Ablea said that non-contact sports will also be allowed to restart, with the number of people in groups revised to six from four.
He said the decision to ease measures was taken on the basis of the low rate of active cases, the hospital's increased bed capacity to deal with the pandemic.
As of Monday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Malta stands at 558, with 456 recoveries and six deaths.
Slovakia
Slovakia's prime minister said on Monday he hoped his compatriots would be able to "live freely again" in about two weeks as daily increases in new coronavirus cases have remained mostly in single digits since late April.
Igor Matovic said shopping malls, cinemas and theatres would reopen on Wednesday and public events with up to 100 people would be allowed under strict hygiene conditions.
Slovaks will be able to travel freely for up to 24 hours to eight other European states from Thursday without having to present a negative coronavirus test or facing a two-week quarantine upon return, Matovic said. The eight countries are Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Switzerland and Slovenia.
Wearing face masks outside will no longer be obligatory from Wednesday but people must remain five meters apart.
Slovakia will reopen kindergartens and the first five grades of primary school from June 1, with participation on a voluntary basis, Matovic said.
As of Sunday, it had reported 1,495 cases and 28 deaths, among the lowest per-capita figures in the EU. It recorded one new case on Sunday.
Denmark
The Danish Ministry of Health said that it will make COVID-19 tests available to all adults in the country from Monday. The move is part of Denmark's national testing strategy.
The tests are primarily aimed at adults without symptoms and will be conducted in white tents that TestCenter Danmark has already set up in 16 cities across the country.
Currently, the number of confirmed cases in Denmark stands at 10,968, with 548 deaths, out of 394,394 people who have been tested across the country, according to the latest count released by the Danish Statens Serum Institut on Monday.
Mexico
Mexico issued guidelines for restarting operations in the automotive, mining and construction sectors on Monday, pushing ahead with reopening the economy despite a growing national toll from the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about unsafe work sites.
Mexico's guidelines, published overnight, require companies to submit to authorities health protocols for exiting the coronavirus lockdown. Firms will then be told within 72 hours if they can resume operations.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said companies would have to answer an extensive questionnaire as part of efforts to protect workers.
The government said the guidelines will lead to a gradual reopening that follows a so-called traffic light system put in place by authorities.
Some 300 municipalities with no coronavirus cases and bordering others with no cases - called "municipalities of hope" - were also due to start lifting the lockdown on Monday, although Mexican media reported some states did not allow the relaxation.
Mexico registered 2,414 new cases of the coronavirus and 155 more deaths on Monday, the health ministry said, raising its overall tally to 51,633 and the death toll to 5,332.
El Salvador
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said on Monday that he will propose to Congress that the economy should be gradually re-opened beginning on June 6, after taking strict measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the small Central American nation.
Bukele said he would propose the economy reboot plan to Congress on Tuesday, on the condition that it would follow a strict two-week lockdown.
"It must be approved this Thursday by Congress so that we can have a strict and total quarantine for 15 days to lower the curve and defend the health of Salvadorans," he said at a news conference.
The country has so far reported 1,338 confirmed cases and 30 known coronavirus-related deaths.
READ MORE: El Salvador Supreme Court orders state of emergency suspended
Peru
Peru's tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases neared 100,000 and its death toll topped 2,700. As of Monday, Peru has reported a total of 94,933 confirmed cases and 2,789 deaths, after 141 more patients died in the past 24 hours.
The Peruvian government announced that an 85-member group of Cuban doctors and healthcare workers were set to arrive this week to help the nation fight the outbreak, especially in outlying regions.
Chile
Chile has reported 46,059 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 478 deaths from the disease as of Monday.
In the past 24 hours, 2,278 new cases of infection were detected and 28 more patients died, the highest number of fatalities from COVID-19 in a single day so far, the country's health ministry said.
South Africa
South Africa on Monday reported 918 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 22 more COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the total tally in the country to 16,433 and the death toll to 286.
The Western Cape province remains the epicenter of the epidemic in the country, with 10,035 cases and 166 deaths, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in his daily update.
The country's total number of recoveries to date stands at 7,298, Mkhize said.
Mkhize said that he country was preparing to ease lockdown restrictions although the coronavirus pandemic remains unabated.
Sudan
Sudan has extended a lockdown of the state of Khartoum by an additional two weeks from Tuesday to try to slow the spread of COVID-19, the state news agency reported late on Monday.
The country had as of Saturday registered 2,591 confirmed cases, including 105 deaths.
On Sunday, SUNA reported that Sudan would keep its airports closed for both internal and international commercial passenger flights until May 31.
Nigeria
Nigeria announced on Monday it would impose precisely targeted lockdown measures in areas that report rapid increases in cases of the coronavirus, while the phased reopening of the economy as a whole would go ahead more slowly than planned.
The government extended a full lockdown in Kano state, the northern economic hub where authorities are investigating a spate of mysterious deaths. Kano has the second highest number of confirmed cases in the country after Lagos.
The government said its phased reopening of strict lockdowns in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun states would go more slowly than initially planned, and the current phase of gradual reopening would last a further two weeks. Nigeria had planned to completely ease lockdowns in those states over a six-week period from May 4.
Nigeria confirmed 216 new cases of COVID-19 late Monday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 6,175, including 191 deaths and 1,644 recoveries.
This photo shows a busy street in Lagos, Nigeria, on May 12, 2020. (SUNDAY ALAMBA / AP)
Uganda
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday eased some of the country's COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, but tied the easing to the wearing of face masks which the government will soon distribute to all citizens for free.
Museveni said in a televised address that the easing follows the gains that the country has made since the first case was registered on March 21.
"We are going to move to opening up but this is tied to the masks which will be ready in two weeks," said Museveni.
"We believe that with the masks you do not infect others and you also do not get infected," he said.
Uganda on Monday recorded 12 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally in the country to 260, its health ministry said.
The ministry said that 32 foreign truck drivers who tested positive for COVID-19 were sent back to their respective countries.
Egypt
Egypt reported on Monday a record daily new coronavirus cases of 535, raising the total number of infections in the North African country to 12,764.
The death toll from the disease rose by 15 to 645, while 3,440 have fully recovered since the virus hit Egypt in mid-February, said Khaled Megahed, spokesman of the health ministry, in a statement.
Tanzania
Tanzania released a travel advisory on Monday, announcing that there will be no more 14-day mandatory quarantine for incoming travelers as previously required.
According to the travel advisory signed by Tanzanian Minister of Health Ummy Mwalimu, all travellers including foreigners or returning residents entering or leaving Tanzania will be subjected to enhanced screening for COVID-19 infection.
The announcement came as authorities announced the reopening of its skies for international passenger flights from Monday.
Morocco
The Moroccan government has decided to extend the country's state of emergency for three more weeks until June 10, announced Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani on Monday in a parliamentary hearing session.
El Othmani said the total closure of the country imposed on March 22 has prevented the infection of 300,000 to 500,000 people with COVID-19.
The situation remains stable and under control, but not entirely reassuring in view of the occasional occurrence of domestic and industrial outbreaks of the virus and a certain laxity observed in compliance with the containment provisions, El Othmani added.
Morocco on Monday reported 82 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally in the country to 6,952. The country's COVID-19 death toll remains at 192 as no additional deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, health authorities said.
Somalia
Somalia's health ministry on Monday confirmed 34 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally in the country to 1,455.
Health Minister Fawziya Abikar said one more death was recorded, bringing the total number of fatalities to 57.
She said 11 more patients had recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 163.
Kenya
Kenya's Ministry of Health on Monday confirmed 25 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections to 912.
Rashid Aman, the ministry's chief administrative secretary, said 22 patients were discharged from the hospitals in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 336.
Aman said no deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. The death toll remains at 50.
