Brazil became the world No. 2 hotspot for
coronavirus cases on Friday, second only to the United States,
after it confirmed that 330 890 people had been infected by the
virus, the Health Ministry said.
It registered 1,001 daily coronavirus deaths on Friday,
taking total deaths to 21,048. President Jair Bolsonaro has been
widely criticized for his handling of the outbreak and is at the
center of a deepening political crisis.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* More than 5.21 million people were reported to have been
infected globally with the virus and nearly 337,000 have died,
according to a Reuters tally.
EUROPE
* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resisted calls on
Saturday from opposition parties to sack adviser Dominic
Cummings after he travelled 400 km while his wife showed
Covid-19 symptoms to ensure their son could be looked after by
his family.
* Russia said 9,434 new cases of the coronavirus had been
reported in the last 24 hours, pushing its nationwide tally to
335,882. It also reported 139 new fatalities after a record of
150 deaths the day before, bringing the death toll to 3,388.
* Lockdowns will be eased in Spain's capital Madrid and
second city Barcelona from Monday to allow outdoor dining and
gatherings of up to 10 people.
* Britain will introduce a Covid-19 quarantine for
travellers arriving from abroad from June 8, interior minister
Priti Patel said, a measure that airlines have warned will
devastate their industry. All international arrivals, including
returning Britons, will have to self-isolate for 14 days.
AMERICAS
* Mexico on Friday registered a record for coronavirus
deaths on a single day, posting 479 more deaths along with 2,960
new infections, according to health ministry data. Authorities
have now reported 62,527 total cases of the coronavirus and
6,989 deaths since detecting the first cases in Mexico in late
February.
* The Trump administration weighed in on a lawsuit brought
against Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's coronavirus
stay-at-home orders, with a rare federal court filing in support
of the legal challenge he faces over his emergency powers.
The US Justice Department's filing in Illinois marked
another escalation by the administration in confronting state
governors it sees as going too far with restrictions meant to
quell the coronavirus pandemic.
* As the United States into the long Memorial Day holiday
weekend, Americans are back on the road after more than two
months of coronavirus lockdowns that kept them homebound, with
beach-area traffic tripling since the low point in mid-April.
* Canada will ramp up Covid-19 testing and contact tracing
as it gradually lifts restrictions and is working closely with
Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google on a
mobile phone app to help, the prime minister said.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* China recorded no new confirmed Covid-19 cases on the
mainland for May 22, the first time it had seen no daily rise in
the number of cases since the pandemic began in the central city
of Wuhan late last year.
* Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, said on
Saturday it recorded just three new cases of the coronavirus the
previous day and urged younger people to get tested as it
prepared to further loosen restrictions on pubs and restaurants.
* Coronavirus cases in Singapore topped 30 000 as the
city-state reported hundreds of new infections in cramped
migrant worker dormitories every day.
* Indonesia confirmed 949 new coronavirus infections, taking
its total to 21 745, the health ministry said. There were 25 new
deaths, taking the total to 1,351.
* Japan's central bank created its own version of the US Federal Reserve's "Main Street" lending programme to channel
more money to small businesses.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Iran moved to open businesses, religious and cultural
sites as it eases restrictions imposed to contain the
coronavirus pandemic. Museums and historical sites are to reopen
on Sunday to coincide with the Eid el-Fitr celebrations that end
the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, President Hassan
Rouhani said. Holy shrines will reopen on Monday.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Car rental firm Hertz Global Holdings Inc HTZ.N filed for
bankruptcy protection on Friday after its business was decimated
during the coronavirus pandemic and talks with creditors failed
to result in much needed relief.
The firm, whose largest shareholder is billionaire investor
Carl Icahn with a nearly 39% ownership stake, is reeling from
government orders restricting travel and requiring citizens to
remain home.
* Oil prices tumbled and global equity markets wavered on
Friday as China's move to impose a new security law on Hong Kong
further strained U.S.-Sino relations and clouded economic
recovery prospects.
* Unemployment rates rose and total employment fell in all
50 US states and the District of Columbia in April due to
lockdowns, the Labor Department said.
* China dropped its annual growth target for the first time
and pledged more government spending as the Covid-19 pandemic
hammers its economy.