Coronavirus

Hong Kong reports biggest one-day rise in cases

At a Sunday press conference, Ms Lam said there had been more than 100 new infections, and announced new restrictions to contain the spread.

She described the situation as "really critical" and said there was "no sign" it was coming under control.

Non-essential civil servants must work from home and testing will increase.

The chief executive promised that authorities would carry out 10,000 tests a day, and also made wearing face masks compulsory in indoor public spaces. Face coverings were already mandatory on public transport.

Jacinda Ardern explains why there's no Pacific travel bubble yet

Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna told Newshub earlier this month that without any cases of the disease, the Cook Islands poses no threat to New Zealand - and vice versa. Samoa, Kiribati, Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and Tuvalu also haven't reported any cases.

New Zealand's last confirmed case was more than three weeks ago, and it's been four weeks since the last patient known to be infected via community transmission left self-isolation.

Iran fears second wave after surge in cases

The health ministry said 3,574 new Covid-19 infections were recorded on Wednesday - the third consecutive day the figure has exceeded 3,000.

Another 59 people with the disease died, raising the toll to 8,071.

The president has said restrictions may be re-imposed if people do not follow social distancing and hygiene rules.

Before Wednesday's new infections were reported, bringing the overall total to 164,270, the previous high was 3,186 on 30 March. The number of cases then declined steadily until 2 May, when 802 were recorded.

 

     

First evidence jab can train immune system to fight against COVID-19

Moderna said neutralising antibodies were found in the first eight people who took part in their safety trials.

It also said the immune response was similar to that in people infected with the actual virus.

Larger trials to see whether the jab protects against infection are expected to start in July.

Work on a coronavirus vaccine has been taking place at unprecedented speed, with around 80 groups around the world working on them.

Moderna was the first to test an experimental vaccine, called mRNA-1273, in people.

Number of global coronavirus cases rises above four million

The global death toll has also risen to above 277,000.

The US remains the worst-hit country, accounting for over a quarter of confirmed cases and a third of deaths.

Experts warn the true number of infections is likely to be far higher, with low testing rates in many countries skewing the data.

Daily death tolls are continuing to drop in some nations, including Spain, but there is concern that easing lockdown restrictions could lead to a "second wave" of infections.

Italy death toll tops 30,000, highest in EU

It reported 243 new fatalities on Friday - down from 274 the day before - taking the total to 30,201.

The daily number of confirmed new cases fell slightly to 1,327, bringing the total number of infections to 217,185.

Restrictions have begun to ease around the county, but one doctor described the city of Milan as a time "bomb," according to local media.

Italy has the third highest number of officially recorded coronavirus deaths in the world, after the United States and the UK - which is no longer a member of the EU.

Russia's cases rise by 10,000 in one-day record

The increase brings Russia's total number of coronavirus cases to 134,686, the seventh highest tally in the world.

But Russia's mortality rate remains low relative to other countries, such as the US, Italy and Spain.

On Sunday, a further 58 coronavirus-related deaths were announced, bringing the total to 1,280 in Russia.

Moscow has been hit particularly hard by the virus, leaving its healthcare system struggling to cope.

Australian PM discusses NRL return

The NRL is moving ahead with plans to restart its season next month amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It had been reported the Warriors would be granted an exemption to enter Australia.

But Morrison said that decision was yet to be made and a May 28 resumption for the NRL was not yet locked in.

"That still hasn't been determined. The commonwealth has made no decision about the access by the Warriors into Australia, that hasn't happened," he told a news conference on Wednesday.

SAVE the Children PNG COVID-19 response

Target provinces include Central Province, Western Province, Morobe, Eastern Highlands, East Sepik, and Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

Since the COVID19’s emergence this year, Save the Children has been participating in the awareness and educational programs reaching out to children, parents and the general community in collaboration with the provincial emergency coordination units.  

New Zealand eases lockdown

The country says it has stopped community transmission of Covid-19, effectively eliminating the virus.

Lowering its alert level from four to three means that some non-essential business, healthcare and schools were able to resume this morning.

Around 400,000 people headed back to work, some schools and childcare facilities are open, and people are allowed to get takeout food again.

New Zealand, partly thanks to its isolation and easily-closed borders, managed to contain the virus early on.