Coronavirus latest: Donald Trump committed to July 4 celebrations

• Trump said that he is committed to hold Fourth of July celebrations despite concerns from some members of the Congress 
• WHO says that Latin America is outpacing Europe and the US in the number of daily infections
• Mexico has reported its largest single-day rise in deaths 
• Peru has recorded its highest surge in cases in 24 hours
• The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has surpassed 350,000, with more than 5.5 million confirmed cases

All times in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC/GMT). 

04:05 South Korea has reported its biggest daily jump in coronavirus cases in almost 50 days, raising concerns at a time when the country is starting to reopen its schools.

Health authorities reported 40 new infections in the last 24 hours, almost all of them in Seoul, bringing the national tally to 11,265, including 269 deaths. South Korea has been conducting extensive testing and tracing to keep a lid on the outbreak, after a rapid surge in infections early on in the pandemic. Meanwhile, a 27-year-old South Korean man was handed a four-month jail term on Tuesday for violating quarantine rules, a first for the country.

03:58 The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, said that he is taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive healthcare measure, despite his country having removed it from its list of potential coronavirus treatments.

“I use it as a prophylaxis, President Trump uses it as a prophylaxis, most of the world’s leaders use it as a prophylaxis,” said Bukele.

El Salvador has been under a nationwide lockdown since March 21, with Bukele’s approach meeting domestic resistance. Last week, the country’s Congress passed a law to accelerate the reopening of the economy before the June 6 target set by Bukele.

The US ambassador to El Salvador, Ronald Johnson, said that he approved of Bukele’s handling of the pandemic: “In crisis situations, oftentimes people must give up a little bit of their freedoms in order to favor the rights and freedoms of the majority and of the whole,” Johnson said.

Read more:  WHO stops clinical test for malaria drug hydroxychloroquine

03:45 The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has risen by 362 to 179,364 in the last 24 hours, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The national death toll climbed to 8,349 after 47 new deaths were reported.

Here are the German figures from the past several days:
Tuesday, May 26: 432 new cases; 45 new deaths
Monday, May 25: 289 new cases; 10 new deaths
Sunday, May 24: 431 new cases; 31 new deaths
Saturday, May 23: 638 new cases; 42 new deaths
Friday, May 22: 460 new cases; 57 new deaths
Thursday, May 21: 745 new cases; 27 new deaths
Wednesday, May 20: 797 new cases; 83 new deaths
Tuesday, May 19: 513 new cases; 72 new deaths

02:52 Bus companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic are planning to stage rallies across Germany on Wednesday to demand support from the government. A total of 800 vehicles are expected to converge on the capital, Berlin, with three convoys of 300 coaches to roll through the central government district at around midday. Similar actions are expected in the cities of Düsseldorf, Kiel, Mainz, Wiesbaden and Stuttgart. Passenger numbers on transport services have dropped dramatically since coronavirus restrictions were implemented in mid-March, bringing some businesses close to collapse. The Federal Association of German Bus Operators called for state subsidies and for the resumption of bus travel nationwide.

The protest comes after the federal government said it planned to inject at least €5.5 billion ($6 billion) into struggling partly state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn, which has seen passenger numbers on its long-distance services drop to 10-15% of normal levels.

02:30 The coronavirus has now killed more than 350,000 people worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University, which updates figures in real-time. The United States has the highest death toll, with almost 100,000 fatalities, followed by the UK, Italy, France, Spain and Brazil.

01:45 The number of coronavirus cases in Colombia has risen above 23,000, after health authorities reported 1,022 new infections on Tuesday. A further 26 people died, bringing the death toll to 776. It’s only the second time since the pandemic began that more than 1,000 cases have been registered in a 24-hour period. Most of the country’s confirmed cases have been in the capital, Bogota.

Argentina’s Health Ministry says the coronavirus death toll has climbed by 19 to 490, while the number of cases rose by 600 to 13,338. Social distancing measures imposed on March 20 are expected to remain in place until June 7. Authorities say they are carrying out virus tests in poorer neighborhoods in and around Buenos Aires, where most of the new cases are concentrated.

Read more: Coronavirus pushes Latam Airlines into bankruptcy

01:35 The US recorded 657 deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking its total death toll up to 98,875. This is the third consecutive day that the death toll is below 700. The country has 1.68 million active cases of the virus.

01:15 US President Donald Trump is committed to hold celebrations on Fourth of July, the White House has confirmed. White House spokesman said that the independence day celebration will “have a different look than 2019 to ensure the health and safety of those attending.” The announcement after some members of the Congress raised concerns about holding the celebrations during the coronavirus pandemic.

00:42 Mainland China reported 1 new case of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, according to China’s National Health Commission. The commission said that the case was imported into the region. The mainland currently has 82,993 cases.

00:40 Peru recorded its highest surge in COVID-19 cases in 24 hours. The country recorded 5,800 cases on May 26, taking its total tally up to about 130,000, according to the country’s health ministry. About 3,780 people have died from the virus in Peru.

00:21 Mexico reported its largest single-day rise in deaths till date from COVID-19 on May 26. The country recorded 501 deaths, taking its death toll to 8,134. Mexico has 74,560 active cases of COVID-19.

00:01 Carissa Etienne, WHO director for the Americas and head of the Pan American Health Organization said that the Americas were now considered to be the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, advising countries in the region not to ease restrictions. Etienne said that that Latin America was currently outpacing Europe and the United States in the number of daily infections. She added that Brazil’s daily COVID-19 death toll was expected to peak at around 1,020 by the third week of June.

Read more:  Americas are the new coronavirus ‘epicenter’ – WHO

00:00 Brazil now has 391,222 cases of Sars-Cov-2 (COVID-19 coronavirus), as 16,324 new cases were added to the tally. The second-highest infected country in the world reported 1,039 new deaths over 24 hours, taking the total tally to 24,512, according to Brazil’s health ministry.

00:00 You can catch up on our rolling updates from May 26 here. 

am, nm/msh (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

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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