Turkey to reopen many facilities on June 1 – latest updates

The global coronavirus pandemic has affected more than 5.8 million people, with over 359,000 deaths. Here are coronavirus-related updates for May 28:

People wearing face masks walk at Bagdat Street as the country prepares to reopen after passing the peak of the coronavirus outbreak in Istanbul, Turkey on May 28, 2020.
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People wearing face masks walk at Bagdat Street as the country prepares to reopen after passing the peak of the coronavirus outbreak in Istanbul, Turkey on May 28, 2020.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Erdogan says many facilities to reopen on June 1

Turkey will lift restrictions on intercity travel and allow restaurants, cafes, parks and sports facilities to reopen from June 1 as it eases restrictions imposed to curb the coronavirus outbreak, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Museums and beaches will also open from June 1, Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting. He said restrictions would remain in place on the movements of those aged over 65 and under 18.

Daycare centres and kindergartens will also reopen starting June 1, he said.

Turkey began operating intercity trains on Thursday after a two-month gap and mosques will begin allowing mass prayers on May 29.

Death toll in Turkey from Covid-19 rose to 4,461 as 30 more people died in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said. 

On Monday, Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, one of the world's largest markets, will reopen its doors for the first time in two months. 

Italy records 70 new deaths, 593 new cases

Deaths from the Covid-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 70, against 117 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases edged up to 593 from 584 on Wednesday.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb 21 now stands at 33,142, the agency said, the third highest in the world after those of the United States and Britain.

Spain's Covid-19 deaths edge up to 27,119

Spain's Health Ministry said recorded deaths from the coronavirus reached 27,119 on Thursday, rising by just one for the second day in a row as authorities fine-tune a new methodology for logging cases and deaths.

Just 38 deaths were reported over the last seven days, while a total of 237,906 diagnosed cases have been detected since the beginning of the outbreak, the ministry's figures showed.
The government has warned the data may fluctuate in the coming days as it adjusts to the new methodology.

English Premier League to restart on June 17

The Premier League season is set to restart on June 17, three months after it was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, British media reported.

No matches have been played since Leicester's 4-0 win over Aston Villa on March 9.

Groups of six people can meet outside in UK

Groups of up to 6 people will be able to meet outside in England from Monday if they maintain social distancing, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday as he confirmed that tests had been met to ease the coronavirus lockdown further.

These changes mean that friends and family can start to meet their loved ones, perhaps seeing both parents at once or grandparents at once," Johnson told reporters, adding that schools would reopen to more pupils and outdoor retailers and car showrooms would also be able to open from Monday. 

France to reopen cafes, end domestic travel limit from June 2

France will allow cafes, bars and restaurants to reopen with restrictions from next week and will also end limits on travel within the country as the coronavirus crisis eases, the prime minister said on Thursday.

The Paris region remains an area of concern and eating and drinking establishments in the city will only be allowed to serve on terraces, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said as he announced the programme for easing measures from June 2.

Meanwhile, people in France will no longer need to stay within 100 km of their homes, he added. 

Kuwait Airways to lay off 1,500 foreign employees
State-owned Kuwait Airways said on Thursday it will lay off 1,500 expatriate employees due to "significant difficulties" caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
"In dealing with the coronavirus crisis and its negative impact on commercial operations ... Kuwait Airways announces the termination of around 1,500 non-Kuwaiti employees," the airline said on Twitter.

At least 200,000 New Yorkers to return to work

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio outlined what the first phase of a gradual reopening will look like in the most populous US city, and said he expected between 200,000 and 400,000 people to head back to work during that phase.

De Blasio said he expected the first phase of reopening to be announced in the first or second week of June and it would include four business sectors: construction, manufacturing, wholesale suppliers and non-essential retail.

Next week the city will launch a series of initiatives to help businesses navigate reopening, including industry guides and a "business restart hotline," the mayor said.

Russia's death toll passes 4,000

Russia reported 174 deaths from the new coronavirus in the previous 24 hours, matching its record daily rise for fatalities and taking the overall death toll to 4,142.

The country's coronavirus crisis response centre said the overall number of infections had risen by 8,371 to 379,051.

Indonesia reports 687 new cases, 23 deaths

Indonesia reported 687 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections in the Southeast Asian country to 24,538, a health ministry official said.

Indonesia also confirmed 23 new deaths from the virus, bringing the total fatalities to 1,496, the official, Achmad Yurianto, told reporters.

As of Thursday, Indonesia has tested 201,311 people and6,240 patients have recovered.

Philippines reports 539 new cases, largest single-day increase

The Philippines' health ministry reported 17 more novel coronavirus deaths and 539 new infections, the largest number of cases reported in a single day since the virus was first detected in the country.

In a bulletin, the ministry said total infections have risen to 15,588 and deaths have reached 921. The number of recovered patients was 3,598.

An inter-agency panel on coronavirus has recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte the easing of strict lockdown measures in the capital, which accounts for most of the coronavirus cases and deaths, to restart economic activity.

South Korea re-imposes some social restrictions

South Korea re-imposed a series of coronavirus social distancing measures, as a series of clusters threatened to challenge its success in containing the epidemic.

Museums, parks and art galleries in the Seoul metropolitan area will all be closed again for two weeks from Friday, said health minister Park Neung-hoo, while companies were urged to re-adopt flexible working practices, among other measures. 

"We have decided to strengthen all quarantine measures in the metropolitan area for two weeks from tomorrow to June 14," he said.

Singapore's health ministry confirms 373 new coronavirus cases

Singapore's health ministry said on Thursday that it had confirmed 373 more coronavirus cases, taking the city-state's tally to 33,249.

India sees record rise in infections

India sees no respite from the coronavirus caseload seeing another record single-day jump of over 6,500 cases at a time when the two-month-old lockdown across the country is set to end on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is preparing a new set of guidelines to be issued this weekend, possibly extending the lockdown in worst-hit areas as it promotes economic activity.

The Health Ministry reported a total of 158,333 cases on Thursday, a jump of 6,566 cases in the past 24 hours, with 4,531 deaths, an increase of 194. 

South Korea cases jump to highest since early April

South Korea reported 79 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the most since April 5 and the third straight day of rising infections, raising the spectre of a second wave of disease in a country widely praised for containing the initial outbreak.

Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said at least 69 cases so far this week have been linked to a cluster of infections at a logistics facility operated by Coupang Corp, one of the country's largest online shopping firms, in Bucheon, west of Seoul.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the new cases brought the country's total as of midnight on Wednesday to 11,344 with 269 deaths. 

South Korea's robust programme of testing earlier this year was credited with helping the number of deaths comparatively low in a global pandemic that has now killed more than 350,00.

Germany's confirmed cases rise by 353 to 179,717

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 353 to 179,717, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed.

The reported death toll rose by 62 to 8,411, the tally showed. 

Luxembourg starts to test its entire population

Luxembourg started a coronavirus testing program to check each and every one of its roughly 600,000 people, as well as cross-border workers, over the next nine weeks.

Although formally a Grand Duchy, Luxembourg isn't all that big – the second-smallest country by area and population in the 27-nation EU. Shoehorned in between France Germany and Belgium, it’s also one of the richest in the world in terms of GDP per capita.

Still, the new coronavirus initiative is also testing its means.

The point of the program is to try and blunt a potential second wave before it develops, as many predict will happen after the European summer. 

So far, Luxembourg has 110 confirmed deaths and almost 4,000 people have been confirmed as having tested positive.

Thailand reports 11 new cases, no new deaths

Thailand reported 11 new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, bringing its total to 3,065 confirmed cases and 57 fatalities since the outbreak started in January.

The cases were Thai nationals in quarantine who recently returned from overseas, including four from Kuwait, six from Qatar, and one from India, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government's coronavirus task force.

There are 2,945 patients who have recovered since the outbreak started.

Ugandan official dies from coronavirus

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s undersecretary and ambassador Necva Abbas Kadeh ed-Dem has died from the novel coronavirus in Sudan, local sources said.

Dem succumbed to the virus at a hospital in the capital Khartoum, the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported.

Sudan has confirmed 4,146 cases and 184 deaths from the virus.

South Korea reports 79 new cases

South Korea reported 79 new cases, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, the largest one day increase since April 5.

The cases were as of midnight on Wednesday, and bring the country's total to 11,344 cases and 269 deaths.

At least 68 of the new cases were domestic infections, and come as health authorities battle a growing outbreak linked to an e-commerce firm's logistics facility.

Philippines' task force recommends easing of lockdown in capital

The Philippines' coronavirus task force has recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte easing lockdown measures in Manila from June 1, despite the country still reporting some of its highest daily numbers of cases and missing testing targets.

The restrictions, introduced in mid-March and eased slightly in mid-May to jump start the economy, are set to expire on May 31.

Duterte will address the nation about his decision on the containment measures.

Mexico registers 78,023 total cases 

Mexico registered 3,463 new cases and 463 deaths, bringing its totals to 78,023 cases and 8,597 fatalities, according to information provided by health authorities.

China reports two new imported cases 

China reported two new imported cases in the mainland on May 27, up from one a day earlier, the country's health authority said on Thursday.

Both of the cases were imported from abroad, the National Health Commission said in its daily bulletin.

China also confirmed 23 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases on May 27, compared to 28 the day before.

US deaths from virus surpass 100,000 mark

The US surpassed a jarring milestone with over 102,000 virus deaths, according to tracker, Worldometre.

That number is the best estimate and most assuredly an undercount. But it represents the stark reality that more Americans have died from the virus than from the Vietnam and Korea wars combined.

“It is a grim milestone,” said Josh Michaud, associate director of global health policy with the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington. “It’s a striking reminder of how dangerous this virus can be.”

The true death toll from the virus, which emerged in China late last year and was first reported in the US in January, is widely believed to be significantly higher, with experts saying many victims died without ever being tested for it.

At the end of March, the US eclipsed China with 3,500 deaths.

Now, the US has not only the highest death total, but the highest number of confirmed cases in the world, making up more than 30% of the global total.

Mexican beach resort town Acapulco upended by coronavirus

Intensive care units in the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco are close to capacity as the virus threatens to overwhelm hospitals and leaves local authorities scrambling to dig more graves.

Best known for its beaches, sunshine, and cliff divers, Acapulco is fast becoming a hotspot for Mexico's escalating outbreak.

Public hospital beds equipped to care for critically ill patients are nearly full, according to local authorities. They said only seven were available on Wednesday in the city of nearly one million people.

About 30 more beds are being equipped after Mexico's president singled out the city during a news conference on Wednesday.

"There's one place, the only place, Acapulco, where we need to pay very close attention and amplify the hospital capacity right away," said President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The sunkissed beach destination, already hobbled by gangland violence that has driven away international tourists in recent years, has 820 confirmed coronavirus cases and a death toll of 69, according to official data, up sharply in the last week.

SeaWorld and Walt Disney World to reopen in summer

SeaWorld and Walt Disney World will reopen in Orlando, Florida, in June and July after months of being closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to plans a city task force approved Wednesday.

The proposals will now be sent to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for final approval.

The plan calls for SeaWorld to open to the public on June 11. Disney plans a tiered reopening, with Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom opening on July 11, followed by Epcot and Hollywood Studios on July 15.

Last week, Universal Orlando presented its plan to reopen on June 5.

That plan also has been approved by the Orlando task force, which sent its recommendation to the governor.

Disney’s senior vice president of operations, Jim McPhee told the task force the parks would open with limited capacity, but he didn’t specify the number of guests who would be allowed in initially.

Disney World also plans smaller, soft openings prior to July 11, but no specifics were provided.

SeaWorld is planning an employee appreciation event on June 10 before opening to the public the next day, said Interim CEO Marc Swanson.

ICRC records virus-related attacks against medical workers

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross says the organisation has recorded 208 Covid-19-related attacks against health workers and installations in 13 countries since March.

Peter Maurer said that while there has been an outpouring of gratitude for health workers in many countries, in reality health workers are being abused and health systems are being targeted at a time when they are most needed.

He told reporters the ICRC compiled data from 13 countries in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Africa where it operates, and it’s “likely the actual numbers are much higher than what we calculated.”

Maurer told the UN Security Council and a briefing to reporters that the incidents range from verbal threats to burning down facilities reportedly housing patients.

He said 23 percent of incidents included physical assaults, 20 percent were discriminatory-related attacks on health workers, and the rest included the deliberate failure to provide or deny assistance, verbal assaults and threats, and a disregard for health personnel protective measures.

Brazil tops 25,000 virus deaths

Brazil's death toll surpassed 25,000 as the country emerged as the latest epicentre in the pandemic.

The health ministry said it had confirmed 1,086 new deaths in the past 24 hours, the fifth time the daily toll has exceeded 1,000 since the crisis accelerated in Brazil last week.

That pushed the nationwide death toll to 25,598.

The country of 210 million people now has 411,821 confirmed cases of the virus, second only to the United States. 

Experts say under-testing means the real figures are probably much higher.

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