Coronavirus latest: Brazil cases top 500,000
– The global death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 371,000
– Brazil has recorded 16,409 new cases of the virus, taking the country’s total number of infections past half-a-million, with 29,314 deaths
– The World Bank warned that the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic will cause poverty to double in the occupied West Bank
All times in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC/GMT)
03:40 North Korea is set to reopen schools this month as coronavirus restrictions are eased across the world.
“New semesters will begin at elementary, middle and high schools nationwide from early June, and quarantine measures have been put in place for the reopening of nurseries and kindergartens,” Yonhap news agency reported, citing North Korean state radio.
“Education authorities have been asked to furnish thermometers and hand sanitisers at every gate of schools and classrooms and offices, while workers at schools and nurseries have been advised to stick to anti-virus principles,” the report added.
While there have been no official confirmed cases of coronavirus in North Korea, Pyongyang has imposed strict restrictions and placed thousands of people in isolation. However, analysts fear that there may be a large number of cases that weren’t reported and that North Korea’s health system may not be equipped to deal with a major outbreak.
03:17 Hong Kong has reported its first locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 in more than two weeks, according to the island’s Centre for Health Protection. The infections involve a 34-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man, neither of whom had a travel history during the virus’ incubation or infection period.
The new cases have raised concerns over coronavirus spreading in Hong Kong as its government eases lockdown restrictions. There have been 1,085 infections so far on the island, with four deaths.
Hong Kong last reported a locally transmitted case on May 14.
02:29 Germany has reported 333 new coronavirus infections, bringing the country’s total number of infections to 181,815, according to the latest figures from the Robert Koch Institute. There have been 8,511 COVID-19 deaths in Germany.
01:38 China has registered 16 new cases of the virus, the highest daily increase in close to three weeks. The country had reported only two cases a day earlier.
The jump in numbers has been linked to imported cases. Eleven of the 16 cases were reported in Sichuan province and linked to an incoming flight from Egypt. The flight also had six asymptomatic cases, which are not considered confirmed COVID-19 infections in China.
00:25 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro met crowds of supporters outside the government palace in the capital, Brasilia, even as the country registered over half a million cases of the virus.
Despite having the second-largest caseload of the virus in the world, Brazil has been deeply divided in terms of response. Supporters of the president chanted “myth! Myth! myth!” in Brasilia, in line with Bolsonaro’s dismissal of the pandemic.
At the same time, hundreds of demonstrators stepped out to protest the president’s inaction in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city. Local police said they used tear gas to disperse the crowds when groups for and against the president came close to clashing with each other.
The anti-Bolsonaro march was the largest demonstration against the president since Brazil became a virus hotspot. However, supporters of the president have been stepping out each week to back his demands for easing coronavirus-related restrictions in the country.
Bolsonaro met supporters on horseback in Brasilia on Sunday
00:00 You can catch up on Sunday’s updates here
see/dr (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)
In reporting on the coronavirus pandemic, unless otherwise specified, DW uses figures provided by the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Coronavirus Resource Center in the United States. JHU updates figures in real-time, collating data from world health organizations, state and national governments and other public official sources, all of whom have their own systems for compiling information.
Germany’s national statistics are compiled by its public health agency, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). These figures depend on data transmission from state and local levels and are updated around once a day, which can lead to deviation from JHU.
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