Activists from the Brazilian NGO Rio de Paz (Peace Rio), stand next to 100 mock graves on Copacabana beach symbolizing deaths from the COVID-19 coronavirus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 11, 2020. (CARL DE SOUZA / AFP)

BRASILIA / NEW YORK / LONDON /  BERLIN / CARIO - Brazil surpassed the UK on Friday in the number of COVID-19 deaths, becoming the second deadliest epicenter in the world after the US. Data from the states showed 909 new deaths, bringing the total count to 41,828. The UK tally is 41,566. The number of infections rose by 25,982.

Latin America’s largest nation and economy trails only the US in number of cases. The University of Washington’s Institution for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which the Trump administration has relied on, projects Brazil will overtake the US in per-capita deaths by mid-July.

“The system as such from the data we see is not overwhelmed,” the WHO’s top emergencies expert Dr. Mike Ryan said, with few areas of Brazil using more than 80% of their hospitals’ intensive care bed capacity.

A new study suggests infections in Brazil may be far more widespread than official data suggest. Researchers at the University of Pelotas in southern Brazil estimate six unreported cases for every one confirmed diagnosis across 120 cities studied The conclusion is based on tests and interviews with more than 31,000 people conducted June 4-7.

WHO

The Americas are bearing the brunt of the global coronavirus pandemic at present, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, with North and South America currently having four of the 10 worst hit countries in the world.

“The virus is actually starting and will wreak more havoc,” said Tedros. Most countries are in the throes of the first wave, and the risk of a second wave is present for any country exiting lockdowns, said Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s health emergencies program.

Ryan said he’s concerned by the “upswing” in the Southern Hemisphere, and Tedros said the pandemic is accelerating in low- and middle-income countries. Ryan said there’s no guarantee any vaccine will arrive in time.

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Russia

Russia recorded 8,706 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking its total to 520,129, the country's coronavirus response center said in a statement Saturday.

The death toll grew by 114 to 6,829, while 274,641 people have recovered, including 5,271 over the last 24 hours, according to the statement.

As of Friday, 322,498 people were under medical observation, while over 14.5 million COVID-19 tests have been conducted nationwide, Russia's consumer rights and human well-being watchdog said in a statement Saturday.

US

US cases increased by 20,574 from the same time Thursday to 2.03 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The 1% increase was lower than the average daily increase of 1.1% the past seven days.

Up to 898 deaths related to novel coronavirus were reported in the United States over the last 24 hours, bringing the country's total fatalities to 114,672, according to Johns Hopkins University's latest tally on Friday.

US Federal Reserve said Friday that COVID-19 and the measures taken to protect public health have induced a sharp decline in US economic activity and the severe economic repercussions have been "especially visible" in the labor market.

States and cities might have to resume lockdowns if cases surge dramatically, top officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at their first press briefing in months.

Separately, the CDC said that forecasts suggest the US death toll could top 124,000 or be as high as 140,000 by July 4.

Mexico

The mayor of Mexico City said on Friday the Mexican capital will next week lift restrictions on car traffic and public transport, and allow 340,000 factory works to get back to work, even though new cases of coronavirus are still rising.

Mexico City and the adjacent urban sprawl are home to more than 21 million people, and the region accounts for more than 40% of the confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country. 

Mexico has reported 5,222 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 504 additional deaths over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 139,196 cases and 16,448 deaths, the Health Ministry said Friday.

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France

France is reopening its borders to visitors from the European zone known as Schengen, starting Monday, lifting restrictions in place since March. The government statement mentions some exceptions with countries like Spain and the UK that have restrictions still in place. Starting July 1, France will gradually reopen to other countries.

France reported on Friday that the number of people who died from coronavirus infection over the past 24 hours increased by just 28 to 29,374, the third day the toll remained under 30 and the lowest three-day toll since lockdown started in mid-March.

German

The German government approved a cut in value-added tax from 19 to 16 percent for six months starting in July to counter the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Finance announced on Friday.

A lower value-added tax that applies to most food products and everyday consumer goods would be reduced from 7 to 5 percent. The ministry stressed that in general, the application of the new rules would be made "as flexible and practical as possible" for companies.

Spain

Spain's Minister for Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare, Salvador Illa, on Friday confirmed that several of the country's regions would be able to further relax the restrictions that have been in place since the imposition of a State of Alarm on March 14 to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

Also on Friday, Illa's ministry said that Spain had registered no new coronavirus deaths for the fifth consecutive day.

According to the Health Ministry, 27,136 people have died from COVID-19 in Spain, with 25 people losing their lives to the virus in the past seven days.

The ministry also reported 155 new COVID-19 cases (against 156 a day earlier), taking the total number to 243,209.

A man walks alone through the Westfield Santa Anita shopping mall on June 12, 2020 in Arcadia, California, as Phase 3 in Los Angeles County's battle with the coronavirus pandemic is underway with businesses reopening. (PHOTO / AFP)

Italy

Italy recorded another 56 COVID-19 victims in the past 24 hours, bringing the national death toll to 34,223, the Civil Protection Department said on Friday.

Total active infections stood at 28,997, a decrease of 1,640 from Thursday, while another 1,747 COVID-19 patients recovered, bringing the total to 173,085.

Italy registered a total of 236,305 coronavirus cases on Friday.

Slovenia

Slovenia will open its borders for citizens of Montenegro and neighbouring Italy on June 15, the government said in a statement on Friday.

It also said it will from Saturday introduce an obligatory 14-day quarantine for most people coming to Slovenia from 31 states where the epidemiologic situation has worsened over the past weeks, including Sweden, Britain, Russia, United States and Brasil.

Egypt

Egypt witnessed on Friday a record of 1,577 single-day new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections confirmed in the country since mid-February to 41,303, said spokesman with the Health Ministry.

Egypt also confirmed 45 new coronavirus-related deaths, taking the death toll from the disease to 1,422, said Khaled Megahed, the health ministry's spokesman, in a statement.

On Thursday, the government announced it will reduce the current nine-hour curfew to eight hours from June 14 to 30, amid a "coexistence plan" to maintain anti-coronavirus precautionary measures while resuming economic activities.

The country will also resume foreign tourism and aviation services in some coastal provinces with the least COVID-19 infections as of July 1, after they have been suspended since March 19 over coronavirus concerns.

Morocco 

A total of 73 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Morocco on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 8,610.

The number of people cured has increased to 7,618 with 35 new recoveries, Mouad Mrabet, coordinator of the Moroccan Center for Public Health, said at a press briefing.

Mrabet said that the country's COVID-19 death toll stood at 212, as one new fatality was recorded in the last 24 hours.

Dominica

The Dominican Republic extended its pandemic state of emergency by 17 days, as lawmakers brushed aside opposition complaints they are at a disadvantage in the July 5 presidential election. Candidates will have less than a week to hold rallies, banned by the emergency, ahead of the vote.

The government says the measures are necessary to curb the spread of the pandemic in the country, which is the Caribbean epicenter with 21,437 cases and 561 deaths, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

Botswana 

Botswana brought back a strict coronavirus lockdown in its capital city, Gaborone, and surrounding areas after the southern African country recorded 12 new cases of the virus, a senior health official said late on Friday.

Diamond-rich Botswana ended a 48-day national coronavirus lockdown late last month, allowing businesses and schools to reopen under controls, but its borders are still closed apart from for returning citizens and imports of essential goods.

Somalia

Somalia’s Islamist group al Shabaab said on Friday they had set up a COVID-19 treatment centre in the country, and said the disease posed a grave threat, citing international health authorities.

“Al Shabaab’s corona(virus) prevention and treatment committee has opened a COVID-19 centre,” the group said in a broadcast on their radio Andalus, adding the centre had been set up in Jilib, about 380 kilometres  south of the capital Mogadishu.

Kenya

Quick actions and cooperation among African countries helped in slowing down the spread of COVID-19 in the continent, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Friday.

Kenya's Ministry of Health on Friday confirmed 90 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total tally to 3,305.

Rashid Aman, Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Health said the latest infections are from 2,419 samples which were tested in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of samples tested so far to 108,666.

Mozambique 

The number of COVID-19 cases in Mozambique rose to 509 on Friday, as 20 new positive cases were registered in the last 24 hours, health authorities announced on Friday.