Malaysia to lift most curbs with Covid-19 ‘under control’

Malaysia to lift most curbs with outbreak ‘under control’

Malaysia will lift most coronavirus restrictions on businesses on Wednesday, including a ban on travel between its states,  after lockdown of nearly three months although its international borders will remain closed.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced in a televised address the novel coronavirus outbreak was under control and Malaysia would begin a new recovery phase until Aug 31.

Malaysia has reported 8,303 cases with 117 deaths, with the pace of infections slowing in recent days.

Pakistan’s virus deaths cross 2,000 mark

Pakistan passed another grim milestone as the number of deaths from Covid-19 crossed the 2,000 mark.

Pakistan is also pushing toward 100,000 confirmed infections as Prime Minister Imran Khan warned the country’s 220 million people in televised speeches that they are going to have to learn to live with the virus.

He said the country is too poor to go into a full lockdown, which he warned would devastate a failing economy, already dependent on billions of dollars in loans from international lending institutions.

Pakistan’s medical professionals have pleaded for more controls and greater enforcement of social distancing directives.

Russia reports 8,984 new cases, 134 deaths

Russia reported 8,984 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, pushing the total number of infections to 467,673.

Officials said 134 people had died during the same period, bringing the official nationwide death toll to 5,859.

Indonesia reports 672 new infections, 50 deaths

Indonesia reported 672 new coronavirus infections, taking the total to 31,186, said a health ministry official.

There were 50 new deaths, taking the total to 1,851, while10,498 people have recovered, the official, Achmad Yurianto, said.

India has another biggest one-day jump in cases

India reported 9,971 new coronavirus cases in another biggest single-day spike, a day before it prepares to reopen shopping malls, hotels and religious places after a 10-week lockdown.

India now has 246,628 confirmed cases and 6,929 fatalities.

New Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad are among the worst-hit cities in the country. Six of India’s 28 states account for 73 percent of total cases.

Thailand reports eight new cases, no new deaths

Thailand reported eight new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, taking its total to 3,112 infections and 58 deaths since the outbreak began in January.

The new cases had returned from overseas – five from the United Arab Emirates, two from Kuwait and one from India – and were in quarantine, where most of Thailand’s recent cases have been detected, said Panprapa Yongtrakul, an assistant spokeswoman for the government’s Covid-19 Administration Centre.

Thailand has recorded no new local virus transmissions for 13 days in a row, she said.

Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 301 to 183,979 – RKI

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 301 to 183,979, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.

The reported death toll rose by 22 to 8,668, the tally showed.

South Korea reports 57 more cases

South Korea has reported 57 additional cases of the coronavirus, marking a second day in a row that its daily jump is above 50 as authorities struggle to suppress a spike in fresh infections in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area.

The figures released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took the country’s total to 11,776 cases, with 273 deaths. The agency says 10,552 people have recovered while 951 remain in treatment.

South Korea’s caseload peaked in late February and early March but a later significant easing amid aggressive tracing, testing and treatment prompted authorities to loosen strict social distancing rules.

The country has since seen an increase in new infections, mostly in the Seoul region, where about half of its 51 million people live.

China has first non-imported infection in two weeks

China reported six new cases of the novel coronavirus, three more than the previous day.

Five of the new cases, recorded by late Saturday, involved travellers arriving from abroad, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on its website.

One locally transmitted case was found in the southern island province of Hainan.

The NHC also confirmed five new asymptomatic cases, or people who are infected with the virus but do not show symptoms, compared with two the previous day.

The total number of infections in China, where the virus first emerged late last year, stands at 83,036. With no new deaths reported, the death toll remained 4,634.

Brazil reports 904 new deaths in 24 hours -health ministry

Brazil reported an additional 904 virus deaths and 27,075 new cases over the last 24 hours, data released by the health ministry showed late on Saturday.

The Latin American nation has registered 35,930 total coronavirus deaths and 672,846 confirmed cases.

Mexico reports 3,593 new cases, 341 deaths

Mexico’s health ministry on Saturday reported 3,593 new confirmed cases of the virus infection and 341 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 113,619 cases and 13,511 deaths.

The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

UK’s Johnson eyes relaxation of lockdown, extra spending

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning to relax rules on outdoor dining and weddings, as well as speeding up government investment plans in a bid to limit the economic damage from the coronavirus, newspapers reported on Saturday.

The Sunday Times said Johnson wanted to relax planning restrictions that stop many pubs, cafes and restaurants from using outside areas, and also to make it legal to hold weddings outside – something currently limited to Jews and Quakers.

France reports 31 more deaths, total at 29,142

France’s coronavirus death toll, the fifth-highest in the world, rose more slowly on Saturday, while the number of people in intensive care continued to fall, government data showed.

The number of deaths from the Covid-19 disease increased by 31, or 0.1 percent, from the previous day to reach 29,142, according to data posted on the government’s website.

That compared with 46 deaths, or a 0.2 percent rise, reported on Friday.

The number of confirmed cases rose by 579 to 153,634, the government data showed.