Latest update: 04/05/2020 07:54
More than 3.52 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 246,910 have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 0200 GMT on Monday.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, click here.
EUROPE
The British government had a contingency plan for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s death as he battled COVID-19 in intensive care last month, he said in an interview with The Sun newspaper.
Confirmed cases in Germany increased by 679 and deaths by 43. The national tally of cases stands at 163,175, with 6,692 fatalities.
Russia recorded its highest daily rise in confirmed cases with 10,633 new infections, bringing the total to 134,687.
Travellers arriving to France from a country in Europe’s Schengen open-border area or Britain will be exempt from a planned compulsory two-week quarantine.
Serbia will end its state of emergency next week.
AMERICAS
More than 1.16 million people have been infected in the United States and 67,821 have died, according to a Reuters tally, as of 0200 GMT on Monday.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was “a significant amount of evidence” that the new coronavirus emerged from a Chinese laboratory.
Canada’s daily death toll edged up by under 5% in another sign the outbreak has peaked.
Brazil reported 4,588 new cases and 275 deaths over the last 24 hours, while Mexico reported 1,383 new cases and 93 more deaths on Sunday.
ASIA-PACIFIC
China reported three new cases for May 3, up from two the day before. Total cases in China touched 82,880 and the death toll remained at 4,633.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to extend the country’s state of emergency until the end of May.
Australia reported 26 new cases, including a seven-year-old boy, across three states, the biggest daily jump in two weeks.
New Zealand recorded no new cases for the first time since March 16.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
Jordan said it had lifted all restrictions on economic activity.
Malls in the United Arab Emirates’ capital Abu Dhabi began reopening to a restricted number of customers.
Test kits used in Tanzania were dismissed as faulty by President John Magufuli as they had returned positive results on samples taken from a goat and a pawpaw.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
The dollar inched up, equities struggled for traction and oil fell as a U.S.-China spat over the origin of the new coronavirus put brakes on optimism about an economic re-start as countries around the world ease restrictions.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said he would not rule out any element in the next potential coronavirus relief bill, including more money for state and local governments and the small business program.
Greece expects its economy to contract by 4.7% to 8.9% this year under baseline and adverse scenarios.
Jordan’s cash-strapped economy is expected to contract around 3% in 2020.
Bad debts at Indian banks could double after the coronavirus crisis brought the economy to a sudden halt.
(Reuters)
Pictured: A commuter wears a protective glove inside a metro train, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Madrid, Spain, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Susana Vera
