Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:
China marks one month with no new coronavirus deaths announced
China has gone a month without announcing any new deaths from coronavirus. The National Health Commission reported four new cases of the virus on Friday, all local cross-infections in the north-eastern province of Jilin where a cluster of uncertain origin has been detected in recent days. The last time the commission reported a death was on 14 April.
Virus pushes Germany into recession
German output shrank by 2.2% in the first quarter of 2020, according to official data. The quarter-on-quarter contraction is “the worst since the financial crisis” in 2009, the federal statistics office Destatis said. The agency also revised its gross domestic product figure for the final quarter of 2019 from zero growth to a contraction of 0.1%, meaning Germany has now experienced two consecutive quarters of contraction – the technical definition of a recession.
Slovenia proclaims end to the outbreak
Slovenia has become the first European country to proclaim an end to the coronavirus epidemic at home. It said on Friday that the spread of Covid-19 was under control and there was no longer a need for extraordinary health measures.
Spain announces lowest daily death toll since Monday
Spain’s death toll from coronavirus registered its lowest increase since Monday with 138 new fatalities announced by the health ministry. The overall coronavirus death toll, in Europe’s fourth worst hit country, rose to 27,459 on Friday, while the number of diagnosed cases rose to 230,183 cases from 229,540.
Italy and Germany to ease more restrictions
Italy is set to allow free travel across the country from 3 June, according to a draft decree seen by Reuters. The draft decree, which could still be modified before it is approved, also said all travel within separate Italian regions would be allowed from 18 May. Germany will loosen quarantine rules for travellers arriving from the European Union and the UK, according to the interior ministry.
China responds diplomatically to Trump threat of cutting ties
China’s foreign ministry has responded diplomatically to Donald Trump’s threat of cutting ties with Beijing over the virus. The US president said the pandemic had cast a pall over his January trade deal with Beijing and that he had no interest in speaking to President Xi Jinping at the moment. China’s foreign ministry said on Friday that steady Sino-US bilateral relations served the interests of both countries.
Baltic states restore free movement
The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have opened their borders to each other to create a mini Schengen area. Free movement of people will be restored to all 6 million permanent residents of the Baltic states, but arrivals from outside the three countries will have to undergo a two-week quarantine period.
Mexico sees record one-day increase in cases
Mexico’s health ministry on Thursday confirmed 257 additional coronavirus 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.
Brazil’s confirmed cases pass 200,000
The number of cases in Brazil passed 200,000 on Thursday. The country now has 202,918 confirmed cases, with 13,944 added in last 24 hours, according to health ministry. The tally means it is the sixth-worst-affected country worldwide in terms of cases, according to Johns Hopkins data, while 844 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 13,993.
South Korea, China and Japan health ministers to hold video conference
The health ministers of South Korea, China and Japan will get together by video conference on Friday to discuss ways to work together in the global campaign against the coronavirus, South Korean officials said. The meeting is the first between top health officials of the East Asian neighbours since the outbreak emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
Covid-19 reaches refugee camps in Bangladesh
Aid groups have warned of a looming humanitarian disaster after coronavirus was detected for the first time in the sprawling camps that host about one million Rohingya refugees. The UN confirmed that an ethnic Rohingya refugee and another person had tested positive for Covid-19. “Both patients are in isolation and contact tracing is underway,” the UN’s refugee agency said in a statement.