People walk on a street in Barcelona on May 25, 2020. (EMILIO MORENATTI / AP)

GENEVA / WASHINGTON / SAO PAULO / PARIS / MADRID / LONDON / COPENHAGEN / LUANDA / CAPE TOWN / ABUJA / PODGORICA / MAPUTO / BERLIN - The Spanish government declared a 10-day official mourning period from Wednesday to honour the nearly 30,000 people who died from the coronavirus pandemic in one of the world’s worst-hit countries, government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero said.

During the mourning period, flags will fly at half-mast all over the country’s public buildings and navy ships, she told a news briefing after a cabinet meeting.

The period will end with an official ceremony led by the head of state in remembrance of the 27,119 fatalities recorded in the country. Spain has reported a total of 235,400 confirmed cases of the disease.

Spain on Tuesday urged its European Union (EU) partners to set up common rules to open borders and reestablish the freedom of travel in the Schengen Area as different national coronavirus lockdowns are phased out.

On Monday, the health ministry revised the country's coronavirus death toll down by nearly 2,000 to 26,834 after checking data provided by regions.

The total number of cases recorded since the outbreak began has also been revised down, and is now 236,259 - 372 fewer than on Sunday, it said.

About 80 African migrants packed aboard two fishing boats landed on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria on Tuesday, adding to the hundreds of new arrivals now stuck there while the coronavirus lockdown prevents transfers to the mainland.

The first boat docked at the port of Arguineguin with about 50 people aboard, 23 of whom are believed to be children.

A second vessel carrying 30 men, a woman and four children, landed on the rocky coast of San Bartolome de Tirajana, where medics took temperatures and handed out blankets and masks.

Both groups will be tested for coronavirus and will undergo a two-week quarantine, a government spokeswoman said.

EU

The European Union (EU) removed controls on the export of personal protective equipment for fighting the coronavirus. The export restrictions on spectacles and visors, mouth-nose equipment and garments such as gowns lapsed on Tuesday after being introduced in mid-March for six weeks and then prolonged for 30 days to help ensure sufficient supplies within the EU.

The trade limits - in the form of a requirement for an authorization to sell the gear outside the 27-nation bloc - initially also applied to face shields and gloves, which were excluded when the measures were prolonged in late April.

Meanwhile, the head of the European Commission said that a global campaign to fund the development of vaccines and therapies against COVID-19 has so far raised 9.5 billion euros (US$10.4 billion).

The pledging campaign, which the United States shunned, raised US$8 billion from global leaders and other institutions on May 4, when it was launched.

Global tally

Confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has surpassed 5.5 million while the death toll topped 346,000, 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 1.6 million confirmed cases and over 98,000 deaths, according to the CSSE. Besides the US, 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 surpassed 111,348 and the death toll surged to 3,348 as of Monday afternoon, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.

READ MORE: Dutch govt: 2nd case of mink transmitting virus to human

Albania

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases across Albania has exceeded 1,000, health authorities reported on Monday.

Speaking at a daily briefing, Eugena Tomini, an expert from Public Health Institute, said that six new cases were registered in Albania over the last 24 hours, raising the total tally to 1,004.

As of Monday, Albania has reported 32 deaths from coronavirus. 

Angola

Angola on Monday replaced the state of emergency with the state of calamity, in a move that set the ground for gradual resumption of regular life disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, according to a document from the Council of Ministers.

According to the final communique of the council, the move will take effect on May 26, and will last until June 9, with specific regulations for various public and private activities.

The government cannot neglect the serious economic consequences that have resulted from the halt of the social life and how it affected fundamental rights of the citizens, according to the document.

Luanda, capital of Angola, the only city reported with positive cases of COVID-19, remains under sanitary cordon during the state of calamity.

So far, Angola has reported 70 cases, with four deaths and 18 recoveries.

Belarus

Belarus reported 946 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking its total tally to 37,144.

Out of all the country's confirmed cases, 14,449 people have recovered so far, while 204 people with chronic diseases have died from the epidemic, according to the health ministry.

As of Monday, over 463,000 tests for the novel coronavirus had been conducted across the country, the ministry said.  

Health personnel of a medical emergency response service wheel a stretcher with a person infected with the new coronavirus to an ambulance boat from the community of Portel to a hospital in Breves, on Marajo island, Para state, Brazil, on May 25, 2020. (TARSO SARRAF / AFP)

Brazil

Norway’s Equinor ASA and Anglo-French firm Perenco are among at least five oil producers that have registered coronavirus cases among employees or contractors at facilities off the coast of Brazil, according to industry and regulatory sources.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Brazil’s Enauta Participacoes have registered one case each, and hundreds of cases have been recorded at oilfields operated by state-run Petrobras.

The infections illustrate the threat the virus poses to workers toiling in cramped quarters miles offshore and have raised questions about the effectiveness of extensive testing efforts to contain the pandemic’s spread on platforms.

Oil regulator ANP had registered 544 active coronavirus cases as of Thursday among workers who had accessed offshore facilities. 

Equinor has registered approximately 60 cases as of last week, largely at its Peregrino field, according to a source with direct knowledge of data collected by regulators and a source with knowledge of the company’s operations.

Perenco has registered approximately 40 at its Pargo field, according to the government source and a source with knowledge of the company’s operations.

Brazil coronavirus deaths reported over the last 24 hours were higher than fatalities in the United States for the first time on Monday, according to the country's health ministry.

Brazil registered 807 deaths over the last 24 hours, whereas 620 died in the United States.

Brazil has the second worst outbreak in the world, with 374,898 cases, behind the US with 1.637 million cases. Total deaths in the US has reached 97,971, according to Reuters tally, compared with Brazil at 23,473.

ALSO READ: Brazil jumps to world number 2 in coronavirus cases, behind US

Chile

A total of 73,997 COVID-19 cases, including 761 deaths, has so far been reported in Chile, the health ministry said on Monday.

In the past 24 hours, the country reported 4,895 new cases, the biggest single-day jump in new infections, and 43 deaths, the ministry said.

President Sebastian Pinera unveiled on Monday a so-called national agreement to strengthen five key factors identified as central to successfully emerging from the epidemic, such as health, welfare, household earnings, economic recovery and a fiscal framework.

The plan stresses economic recovery - with an emphasis on creating jobs, raising wages and increasing investment and productivity - within a fiscal framework to tackle "the urgent needs of the present and the demands of the future with social sensibility and fiscal responsibility," according to the president's office. 

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic on Monday lifted more restrictions, including those on hotels, swimming pools, castles and chateaus, and the indoor sections of restaurants, in a bid to further reopen the economy.

Elementary school children are now allowed to return to school in small groups.

Meanwhile, a mandatory requirement for covering the nose and mouth in public has been lifted. 

On Tuesday, the country will begin reopening its borders to neighboring Germany and Austria and resume international flights at major airports. Crossing borders in non-designated areas will still be prohibited until June 13, and the external borders of the Schengen area will be closed until at least June 15. 

The Karvina region of the country will still undergo restrictive measures for at least another 14 days following a large outbreak of COVID-19 amongst workers in the Darkov Mine, according to Health Minister Adam Vojtech. A blanket test revealed that 212 miners and their close contacts tested positive for the disease.

Denmark

Denmark eased its border controls with other Nordic countries and Germany on Monday, allowing cross-border couples separated by the coronavirus lockdown to meet again if they can prove they have been in a relationship for at least six months.

The government said that within a couple of days, partners of residents of Denmark living across one of its borders would be asked to produce a written declaration to be granted entry.

For now, though, couples will need to show shared text messages, private photos or personal information about their partner, Danish police said earlier in the day.

That had sparked an outcry on Monday from lawmakers over privacy, leading to the hasty change being pushed through by the government.

READ MORE: Greece reopens cafes, restaurants as summer season nears

Egypt

The Egyptian government on Monday announced 702 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the North African country to 17,967.

Another 19 deaths were recorded, taking the death toll to 783, while 93 more patients have fully recovered and were discharged from hospitals in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 4,900, Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

Teachers wearing protective face shields conduct a lesson at a school in Prague, Czech Republic, on May 25, 2020, as elementary school children were allowed to return to school in small groups. (DANA KESNEROVA / XINHUA)

El Salvador

Three dozen inmates in Salvadoran prisons have tested positive for coronavirus, health authorities said Monday, adding that strict health and isolation protocols would be implemented to halt the virus's spread in the facilities.

Twenty-five inmate cases were diagnosed in a prison holding more than 1,200 inmates in the department of San Vicente, Osiris Luna, director of the country's prison system, said at a news conference Monday. The Quezaltepeque prison near the capital, which holds 1,980 prisoners, registered 11 cases, he added.

El Salvador reported a total of 35 deaths and 1,983 cases of the coronavirus on Monday.

A nurse puts on protective gear prior to entering a room with a patient infected with the novel coronavirus, at the intensive care service of the Nantes CHU hospital in Nantes, western France, on May 19, 2020. (LOIC VENANCE / AFP)

France

President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that support for the French car sector, hard hit by the coronavirus lockdown, will be "massively amplified".

Macron is set to announce later in the day measures to support the auto industry before other European governments, highlighting the crucial role the industry plays in the economy and how hard it has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

France again ranked fourth in coronavirus deaths after the United States, Britain and Italy, as Spain revised its tally down by nearly 2,000 on Monday.

The French health ministry reported on its website that the cumulative death toll rose by 65 to 28,432. But on a separate ministry website it said the toll went up by 90 to 28,457.

The ministry could not be reached for comment about the discrepancy, but both numbers put the French toll at about 1,600 higher than Spain's 26,834 and well below Italy's nearly 33,000.

France's death toll was slightly higher than Spain's between May 12 and May 21, but at the end of last week it dipped below Spain's again for three days.

France also reported on Monday that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 358, or 0.2 percent, to 145,279.

This file photo taken on March 27, 2020 shows a deserted main hall of Tegel airport in Berlin amid the new coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. (JOHN MACDOUGALL / AFP)

Germany

Germany plans to ease social distancing steps from June 29, a week earlier than previously planned, and aims to lift a travel warning for 31 European countries from mid-June, German media reported.

The reports come as the 16 state premiers will discuss with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday how to further ease lockdown restrictions introduced in March to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. 

Citing a draft document still to be approved by the regions, the Bild daily said Merkel, under pressure from state premiers, had agreed to bring forward the date that social distancing should be relaxed to June 29 from July 5.

A government spokesman declined to comment, saying he did not want to prejudge the outcome of talks.

ALSO READ: Germany's infection rate dips below critical threshold

Bild said meetings in public places would be limited to a maximum of 10 people or members of two households. While there would be no limit on the number of visitors allowed to visit people in their homes, there would have to be space for everyone to keep their distance and have enough fresh air, it said.

The dpa news agency said Germany would lift a travel warning for 31 European states from June 15, provided the coronavirus situation allows. Citing a document that cabinet may agree on Wednesday, it said this would include Britain, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein as well as Germany's 26 EU partners.

Germany's confirmed cases climbed by 272 to 180,600 Tuesday morning, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Fatalities increased by 26 to 8,309. 

Data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed Germany's tally rose by 432 to 179,002, and the death toll increased by 45 to 8,302.

The reproduction factor of the virus, known as R-naught, dropped to 0.83 on Monday from 0.94 the day before, according to the latest estimate from RKI.

Italy

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 92 on Monday, against 50 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases dropped to just 300 from 531 on Sunday.

Sunday's daily death toll did not include fatalities from the worst-affected Lombardy region, due to technical problems. It was not immediately clear if Lombardy's deaths from Sunday had been added on Monday, when the region reported 34 new fatalities.

Italy's total death toll now stands at 32,877, the agency said, while the number of confirmed cases now amounts to 230,158.

Italy started serological screening tests at the national level on Monday on 150,000 people to better understand how much the virus has spread across the population and to ramp up the fight against the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Italy's Regional Affairs Minister Francesco Boccia warned that the easing of restrictions on interregional movement - planned for June 3 - might be postponed if Italians were not to behave prudently in their social life. The warning came after gatherings of people - in several cases not respecting social distancing rules and not wearing face masks - were seen in nightlife areas in some cities on Saturday and Sunday.

READ MORE: Trial of hydroxychloroquine in virus patients halted by WHO

Kenya

Kenya's Ministry of Health on Monday confirmed 72 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 1,286.

Mercy Mwangangi, chief administrative secretary in the Ministry of Health, said nine more patients were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 392.

Mwangangi also said that another death was reported, raising the death toll to 52.

Malawi

The cumulative confirmed figure of COVID-19 cases in Malawi rose from 83 to 101 after 18 new cases were confirmed on Monday, announced Minister of Health and Population Service Jappie Mhango.

A total of four deaths and 37 recoveries had been recorded since the first cases were confirmed on April 2, while the number of active cases of the pandemic now stands at 60.

An ambulance worker spray disinfectant on his colleague after delivering a patient to the COVID-19 triage unit at Mexico General Hospital in Mexico City, May 25, 2020. (REBECCA BLACKWELL / AP)

Mexico

Mexican health officials on Monday reported 2,485 new cases of coronavirus and 239 deaths, bringing the country's totals to 71,105 and 7,633, respectively.

Mexico's capital registered 8,072 more deaths in the first five months this year than the average from the same period over the past four years, an analysis by independent researchers showed on Monday, suggesting a possible surge due to the coronavirus.

Economic consultant Laurianne Despeghel, one of the authors of the analysis, said the analysis was only a first step to measuring the virus' impact.

"While studying excess deaths allows us to identify a higher mortality rate during the COVID-19 crisis, it is not sufficient to attribute it directly or solely to the virus," she said.

Montenegro

Montenegro's prime minister on Monday declared the country coronavirus-free - a move vital for its Adriatic tourism industry coming 69 days after it reported its first case and after 20 without a new one.

Montenegro has reported 324 confirmed COVID-19 cases and nine deaths.

"The battle with such a vicious virus has been won and Montenegro now becomes the first coronavirus-free country in Europe," Prime Minister Dusko Markovic said at a news conference after meeting a body tasked with combating the disease.

Markovic said Montenegro would open its borders to travelers from countries reporting no more than 25 cases of infection per 100,000 people - including Croatia, Albania, Slovenia, Germany and Greece.

To curb virus from spreading, Montenegro also made public its lists with names and addresses of people in self-isolation, something that drew criticism from rights watchdogs and kept an entire municipality in lockdown for weeks.

Morocco

The Moroccan health ministry on Monday reported 99 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally in the country to 7,532.

The number of the recoveries rose to 4,774 after 71 new cases of recovery were added, Mohamed El Youbi, director of Epidemiology at the ministry, said at his daily briefing.

He also reported one additional fatality, bringing the death toll to 200.

Mozambique

Mozambique has registered its first COVID-19 death, the country's public health director Rosa Marlene said on Monday.

The victim was a 13-year-old teenager from Nampula province. 

Rosa Marlene said at a press conference that 15 new cases were recorded, bringing the number of people infected with the disease to 209.

Health authorities said that a total of 71 patients had recovered from the disease.

Nigeria

Nigeria confirmed 229 new COVID-19 cases late Monday, bringing the total tally to 8,068, including 233 deaths and 2,311 recoveries.

The new cases were recorded in 14 states and the Federal Capital Territory, according to a statement released by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control.

The country now has 5,524 active cases with a total of 45,683 samples tested so far.

Over the weekend, the Nigerian government said it will continue to scale up testing capacity for COVID-19 to limit transmission.

Poland

The number of deaths caused by the COVID-19 epidemic in Poland reached 1,007 by Monday evening.

With official infection numbers still increasing linearly, reaching 21,631, Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski declared that the peak of the epidemic in the country has passed. Szumowski said earlier that he expected a decision on lifting the compulsory mask-wearing in public spaces to be announced on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, schools have partly reopened to receive pupils up to the age of 9 for daycare, without scheduled classes. 

Romania

The Romanian government announced Monday its plan to grant funds to the tune of one billion euros (US$1.09 billion) to companies affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Ministry of Economy, Energy and the Business Environment, the funds would enter its budget from the Ministry of European Funds and will be distributed among companies in the hardest-hit areas.

Late March, the government announced to suspend the payment of rates as a first major measure to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic on households and companies.

Russia

Russia will hold its Second World War Victory Day military parade that was postponed over the new coronavirus on June 24, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

Putin was forced to postpone Russia’s May 9 Victory Day celebrations, including a huge military parade across Red Square to mark 75 years since the Soviet victory in World War Two, because of the deepening coronavirus crisis.

Russia said on Tuesday 174 people with the coronavirus had died in the past 24 hours, a record one-day amount that pushed the nationwide death toll to 3,807.

Officials reported 8,915 new cases on Tuesday, pushing its overall case tally to 362,342.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday was discharged from the hospital where he was treated for the COVID-19 infection, local media reported.

Interfax news agency reported that Peskov would have to stay at home in isolation for another two weeks.

Senegal

Senegal's Ministry of Health and Social Action on Monday reported 83 new confirmed COVID-19, bringing the tally in the country to 3,130.

Another 59 patients have recovered from the disease, bring the total number of recoveries to 1,515.

The death toll remains at 35 across the country.

Somalia

Somalia's health ministry on Monday confirmed 95 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total tally of infections to 1,689.

Health Minister Fawziya Abikar said another 31 patients have recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 235.

Abikar also said another five deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 66.

South Africa

South Africa on Monday recorded another 52 deaths from COVID-19, the highest daily increase since the outbreak in early March, raising the national death toll to 481.

The country also reported 1,032 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, brining the national tally to 23,615, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in his daily update.

The total number of recoveries nationwide stood at 11,917 as of Monday, Mkhize said, adding that a total of 596,777 tests have been conducted, with 12,992 tests done in the last past 24-hour testing cycle.

Despite the rapid spread of the pandemic, the country is preparing to ease the lockdown from level four to level three, starting from June 1.

Sweden

Sweden's COVID-19 death toll reached 4,029 as of Monday and a total of 33,843 cases have been reported so far.

Over the past few days, there had been a decline in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, with 31 new cases registered between Sunday and Monday. However, Monday also marked the end of a long weekend, which means there is a lag in reporting, Sweden's state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said at a Monday press conference.

Tegnell said that when the epidemic was at its peak, there were 400 COVID-19 infections recorded per week in Sweden. Now, there were between 60 and 70 new cases per week. In addition, the number of fatalities at nursing homes has decreased. At one point there were well over 100 deaths reported per week but now the figure is down to 30, Tegnell said at the briefing.

A woman sits in 'More London', during what would normally be the busy lunch period, amid the coronavirus outbreak, in London, ,May 21, 2020. (VICTORIA JONES /PA VIA AP)

UK

The United Kingdom’s COVID-19 death toll surpassed 47,000 on Tuesday, a dire human cost that could define the premiership of Boris Johnson.

The Office for National Statistics said 42,173 people had died in England and Wales with suspected COVID-19 as of May 15, bringing the UK total to 47,343 - which includes earlier data from Scotland, Northern Ireland, plus recent hospital deaths in England.

Unlike the daily death toll published by the government, Tuesday’s figures include suspected cases and confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The health ministry said Tuesday that Britain will provide anti-viral drug remdesivir to certain COVID-19 patients that it is most likely to benefit as part of a collaboration with manufacturer Gilead Sciences.

Also on Tuesday, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said that opening up pubs, restaurants and bars after the coronavirus lockdown is difficult and so there will be no standing at the bar in pubs for a long time.

ALSO READ: Under fire over lockdown trip, close aide to UK's Johnson toughs it out

Separately, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said the government has awarded more than 32 billion pounds (US$39 billion) in loans and guarantees to businesses to see them through the coronavirus pandemic.

The ministers' remarks came a day after Johnson said that Britain will reopen thousands of high street shops, department stores and shopping centers next month, setting out a timetable for businesses as part of moves to ease the coronavirus lockdown.

Johnson said that from June 1, outdoor markets and car showrooms could be reopened as soon as they are able to meet the COVID-19 secure guidelines, and all other non-essential retail from June 15 if the government's tests are met.

Ukraine

Ukraine recorded 339 new COVID-19 patients in the past 24 hours, bringing the total tally to 21,584 cases, including 644 deaths and 7,575 recoveries, as of Tuesday, the country's health ministry said.

Since the epidemic started in Ukraine, 1,581 children and 4,183 health workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The number of recoveries from coronavirus exceeded the number of new cases registered in the past 24 hours in 14 out of 24 regions of Ukraine, according to the data published on the website of the Coronavirus Epidemic Monitoring System of the National Security and Defense Council.

US

The Trump administration said sufficient quantities of Abbott Laboratories’ ID NOW COVID-19 test and Quidel Corp’s Sofia 2 instruments exist to support 200 million US tests per month.

The Department of Health and Human Services, in a report to Congress, said 18,000 ID NOW devices and 20,000 Quidel instruments are available to states. The US also is buying 100 million swabs and 100 million tubes of viral transport media to help states meet testing goals.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday reported 1,637,456 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 15,342 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 620 to 97,669.

The California Department of Public Health said that businesses and churches, synagogues, and mosques can reopen at 25 percent occupancy capacity, but the number of attendees for church services is capped at just 100. The move comes three days after Trump announced places of worship as essential.