BFF-39, 40 Coronavirus: latest global developments

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HEALTH-VIRUS-WORLD FACTS

Coronavirus: latest global developments

PARIS, June 2, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Here are the latest developments in
the coronavirus crisis.

– More than 375,000 deaths –

The pandemic has killed at least 375,555 people worldwide since it
surfaced in China late last year, according to an AFP tally at 1100
GMT on Tuesday, based on official sources.

There have been 6,279,391 cases registered in 196 countries and territories.

The United States is the worst-hit country with 105,147 deaths,
followed by Britain with 39,045, Italy with 33,475, Brazil with 29,937
and France with 28,833.

– France’s cafes are back –

France marks a symbolic victory as its cafes, bars and restaurants
open, for outdoor service only in Paris, fully functional in most
other places. Beaches and weddings are also back in business, as are
museums and theatres.

– Crisis ‘not over’ –

Italian President Sergio Mattarella warns the country on its
national day that the crisis is not over, a day after a leading doctor
creates a furore by claiming the virus no longer “exists” in Italy.

– Russia to spend $70 bn on recovery plan –

Russia’s government announces plans to spend some $72 billion to
help restore the economy after the coronavirus shutdown.

It will boost jobs, incomes and economic growth over a two-year
period, says Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

– Revovery hampered by funding shortfall –

World Bank president David Malpass warns the global economy faces
“staggeringly large” losses from the pandemic, and tha developing
nations will be forced to rethink the structure of their economies.

MORE/MRU/2045hrs

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– Massive Mecca no-show –

Indonesia announces it is pulling out of the annual Islamic
pilgrimage to Mecca, removing the largest contingent of worshippers.
More than 220,000 people from the world’s biggest Muslim-majority
country had been set to take part.

– Yemen ‘race against time’ –

Aid workers face a “race against time” to prevent a catastrophe in
Yemen, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warns.

“Tackling COVID-19 on top of the existing humanitarian emergency
requires urgent action,” Guterres says.

– Masked Singapore –

Pupils wear face masks on their return to school in Singapore and
some workplaces re-open following a partial lockdown in early April
prompted by a spike in outbreaks in the city-state.

– G20 virus summit? –

A collective of more than 230 former world leaders, and top global
health experts and economists call on the G20 to convene an urgent
summit to tackle the pandemic and provide a “strongly coordinated
global response”.

– ‘Brutal’ economic hit –

The French economy is expected to shrink 11 percent this year, a
“brutal” shock and worse than the government’s previous forecast of an
eight percent contraction, says Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.

South Korea’s economic contraction will worsen in the current
quarter, the central bank forecasts. The Bank of Korea predicts the
economy will shrink at least 2.0 percent in the April-June period over
the previous three months.

– Senegal halts easing plan –

Senegal opts not to reopen its high schools just hours before it
had planned to do so, after a cluster of infections emerge among
teachers in the south of the country.

– Formula One back on track –

The curtailed Formula One season will start with two races behind
closed doors in Austria on July 5 and July 12 followed by six other
grands prix in Europe, the organisers say.

BSS/AFP/MRU/2045hrs