A woman wearing a face mask sits at the rocks of Arpoador beach in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, on June 2, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

PARIS / LISBON / SAO PAULO / BERLIN –Brazil removed from public view months of data on its COVID-19 epidemic on Saturday, as President Jair Bolsonaro defended delays and changes to official record-keeping of the world’s second-largest coronavirus outbreak.

Brazil’s Health Ministry removed the data from a website that had documented the epidemic over time and by state and municipality. The ministry also stopped giving a total count of confirmed cases, which have shot past 672,000 – more than anywhere outside the United States – or a total death toll, which passed Italy this week, nearing 36,000 by Saturday.

“The cumulative data ... does not reflect the moment the country is in,” Bolsonaro said on Twitter, citing a note from the ministry. “Other actions are underway to improve the reporting of cases and confirmation of diagnoses.”

Late on Saturday, the ministry reported 27,075 new confirmed infections and 904 related deaths since its Friday update.

The government drew criticism this week for pushing back the release of its daily tally, previously available around 5 pm but released in recent days near 10 pm.

Germany

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 301 to 183,979, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.

The reported death toll rose by 22 to 8,668, the tally showed.

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France

France saw its overall death toll of the coronavirus pandemic rise to 29,142 on Saturday after it recorded 31 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the Health Ministry.

The updated tally only includes hospital daily fatalities as those occurring in nursing homes and medico-social establishments will be updated next Tuesday.

The number of people in hospital with coronavirus infection fell to 12,479, including 1,059 in intensive care.

Italy

Italy kept registering a decreasing number of COVID-19 new infections on Saturday, as a public health monitoring report showed no region in the country had a reproduction rate higher than one as of late May.

Active coronavirus infections stood at 35,877 with a decrease of 1,099 cases against Friday, according to the fresh data by the country's Civil Protection Department.

Patients in intensive care units dropped to 293, the department highlighted in its bulletin, after a decrease of 23 patients compared to the previous day.

Another 5,002 patients are hospitalized with symptoms, down by 299, and the remaining 30,582 -- or 85 percent of all those actively infected -- are isolated at home with mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.

Some 72 new fatalities were registered on a daily basis, bringing the country's coronavirus death toll to 33,846, said the Civil Protection Department.

Some 1,297 new recoveries were also recorded, which brought to 165,078 the total number of people cured since the pandemic officially broke out in the northern regions on Feb. 24.

Overall, Italy registered 234,801 assessed cases as of Saturday, including new infections, fatalities, and recoveries.

US

US coronavirus cases increased 1.3 percent from the same time Friday to 1.91 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The national increase was higher than the average daily increase of 1.2 percent over the past week. Deaths rose 0.7 percent to 109,497.

New York cases rose 0.3 percent, in line with the past week’s average, for a total to 377,316. New deaths fell to 35, lowest since a peak in April. Total deaths were 24,212, the health department said.

UK

Another 204 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Friday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 40,465, the British Department of Health and Social Care said Saturday.

The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

As of Saturday morning, 284,868 people have tested positive, a daily increase of 1,557, said the department.

The UK government is considering easing lockdown measures for pubs, restaurants and weddings -- earlier than originally envisaged -- in an attempt to avert a potential summer jobs crisis in the hospitality industry, The Sunday Times reported.

The measures, to be unveiled next week, would let pubs, cafes and restaurants use outside areas and permit indoor weddings and funerals of up to 10 people from early July. Hairdressers could reopen before July 4, the Times said.

Portugal

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Saturday asked Portuguese to "go out safely" and enjoy the swimming season, despite this week's COVID-19 outbreaks in Greater Lisbon, local media reported.

"We cannot facilitate it, but we cannot fall into the opposite alarmism. There is a balance here that needs to be maintained," Rebelo de Sousa commented on the situation in Greater Lisbon, when he went to take bathing at the opening of the swimming season, according to Portuguese private broadcaster CMTV.

As of Saturday, Portugal has recorded 1,474 deaths related to COVID-19 and 34,351 cases of infection, health authorities said.

South Africa

The Western Cape province, South Africa's epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, said on Saturday that it is advertizing for 5,272 health workers amid a spike in confirmed cases.

The province must address its medical staff shortage before the pandemic reaches its peak, Western Cape Premier Allan Winde said in a statement.

The province is also working hard to prepare additional beds in the hospital system to ensure the capacity before the peak of the outbreak comes, Winde said.

The country has reported 45,973 COVID-19 cases and 952 deaths, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.

Egypt

Egypt registered on Saturday 1,497 daily new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 32,612, said the health ministry.

This is the 10th consecutive day for Egypt's COVID-19 daily infections to exceed 1,000.

Death toll from the disease rose to 1,198 after 32 fatalities were added, health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

The spokesman said that 380 patients left hospitals in the past 24 hours after fully cured, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 8,538.

Ukraine

A total of 1,903 children and 5,016 health workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ukraine since the beginning of the epidemic, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said on Saturday.

"A total of 26,514 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ukraine during the pandemic, including 1,903 children and 5,016 health workers. A total of 11,812 patients have recovered and 777 died," Stepanov said at a briefing.

In the past 24 hours, 550 new patients tested positive for coronavirus in the country.

Algeria

The Algerian health authorities on Saturday reported 115 new COVID-19 cases on the eve of the government's decision to ease lockdown measures to permit some businesses to resume service.

Head of COVID-19 Detection and Follow up Commission Djamel Fourar told a press conference that the total number of infections in the country increased to 10,050.

He pointed that eight new death cases were registered, bringing the total death toll to 698.

Morocco

Morocco on Saturday reported 80 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections in the country to 8,151.

The number of recoveries increased to 7,315 with 47 new recoveries, said Mouad Mrabet, coordinator of the Moroccan Centre for Public Health, at a press briefing.

The country's COVID-19 death toll now stood at 208, as no new fatality was recorded in the last 24 hours, the official said.

Ghana

The number of COVID-19 cases in Ghana increased to 9,462, with 294 more cases confirmed as of Saturday afternoon, data from the Ghana Health Service showed.

The number of recoveries also increased to 3,547, as 90 more infected cases under treatment had recovered.

Two more confirmed cases under treatment died, bringing the number of COVID-19 deaths to 44.

The government has announced a partial easing of restrictions on religious gatherings, urging churches to observe strict social distancing and the hygiene protocols, to prevent the spread of the virus among worshippers.

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Somalia

Somali health ministry on Saturday confirmed 85 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 2,089.

Fawziya Abikar, the health minister, said 13 patients recovered from the respiratory disease in the last 48 hours, bringing the total number of people who have been discharged from hospitals to 431.

The minister said three people succumbed to the disease, bringing the total number of fatalities to 82.

Peru

Peru reported 4,358 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours on Saturday to reach 191,758, surpassing France to become the eighth-highest in the world.

Meanwhile the death toll hit 5,301, the Ministry of Health said.

Peru also has the second largest caseload in Latin America after Brazil.

According to the health ministry, 1,173,003 tests for the disease have been carried out since the disease was first detected in the country.

The ministry also reported that 9,500 patients have been hospitalized, and 1,062 of them have been admitted to intensive care units and placed on ventilators.

Russia 

Russia has confirmed 8,984 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking its total to 467,673, the country's coronavirus response center said in a statement Sunday.

The death toll grew by 134 to 5,859, while 226,731 people have recovered, including 5,343 over the last 24 hours, according to the statement.

Moscow, the country's worst-hit region, reported 1,956 newly confirmed cases, taking its tally of infections to 195,017.