Euronews brings you all of the latest updates about the coronavirus pandemic.
Key developments
UK records 351 additional deaths due to coronavirus, bringing total to 36,393
International travellers to UK required to quarantine for two weeks
Russia records highest daily spike in deaths in single day
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Trump deems places of worship 'essential'
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, he said: "Today I’m identifying houses of worship — churches, synagogues and mosques — as essential places that provide essential services."
Health agencies have generally advised people to avoid large gatherings amid the pandemic, but Trump stressed the importance of places of worship in the community and compared them with other places that hadn't been shut down.
He added: "Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential” but not churches, he said [...] It’s not right. So I’m correcting this injustice and calling houses of worship essential."
More than 100,000 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Africa
Hospitalisations continue to go down in France
There have been a total of 144,566 cases of coronavirus in France and 28,289, with an increase of 75 deaths in 24 hours.
France 'regrets' UK decision on quarantine for international arrivals
France's interior minister said the country "regrets" the UK decision that international arrivals will have to enter a 14-day quarantine, AFP reports.
A joint statement between the UK and France had said on May 10 that "no quarantine measures would apply to travellers coming from France at this stage" adding that "any measures on either side would be taken in a concerted and reciprocal manner."
The UK later backtracked on this supposed exemption.
A further 130 people die in 24 hours in Italy
The country also recorded another 652 positive cases of the virus.
The number of people hospitalised continues to decrease in Italy with just 595 still in intensive care units.
There are 8,957 people in hospital with symptoms, a decrease of 312 patients compared to yesterday, Italian officials said.
There have been a total of 228,658 cases of coronavirus since the beginning of the outbreak.
International arrivals to the UK after June 8 will need to quarantine, home secretary says
People arriving to the UK from other countries after June 8 will need to self-isolate for 14 days, the country's home secretary has announced.
People breaking quarantine will have to pay a fixed fine of £1,000 (€1,118), or face a block from entering the country for overseas nationals.
Border force officials will be carrying out "spot-checks" at the UK border, and further checks from mid-June to ensure people are self-isolating for the full two weeks.
"We are taking [the measure] at a time it will be most effective," Home Secretary Priti Patel said as she announced the new restrictions on Friday.
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Africa could benefit from a younger population in coronavirus fight, WHO says
Dr Mike Ryan from the WHO emergencies programme said the concern is that there are many vulnerable groups in Africa including refugees.
WHO's Dr Maria Van Kerkhove warned however that deaths due to coronavirus are typically not reported for several weeks after cases emerge.
A further 351 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, bringing the country's total number of deaths to 36,393
South America has become a new epicentre for coronavirus, says WHO
The WHO noted that although Brazil has approved hydroxychloroquine, the current clinical evidence does not support the widespread use of the anti-malaria drug.
UNICEF executive director says COVID-19 is a child rights crisis
UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore said measles and polio campaigns have been suspended in several countries due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This has added to disruptions to routine immunisation services.
"We fear that COVID-19 is a health crisis that is quickly turning into a child rights' crisis," she said.
She said there were also problems in supply chains and transport for vaccination supplies.
There is a decline in commercial flights, Fore said, and it is difficult to get charters, which creates gaps in vaccine deliveries.
"We cannot exchange one deadly outbreak for another," said Fore. "We need joint concerted efforts to put vaccinations back on track."
At least 80 million children under the age of one are at risk of diseases such as diphtheria, measles and polio as COVID-19 disrupts routine vaccination efforts, warn Gavi, WHO and UNICEF
Routine vaccination efforts are being affected in 68 countries.
This is due in part to parents' fear about going to the doctor and disruptions to the healthcare system due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Immunisation is one of the most powerful and fundamental disease prevention tools in the history of public health,” said WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
"We cannot let our fight against one disease come at the expense of long-term progress in our fight against other diseases,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director in a statement.
"The figures are staggering," she added at the WHO press conference.
The World Health Organization will soon give a briefing on COVID-19, follow here for live updates
Little data on effectiveness of anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, Italy's pharmacological agency warns
The head of Italy’s pharmacological agency Dr Nicola Magrini briefed the public on trials during the coronavirus crisis, including for the drug hydroxychloroquine, AP reported.
"We are fairly certain about the possible harm and absence of security of using it in some limited sub-groups of patients," said Dr Magrini.
The anti-malaria drug has been used in Italy in some clinical trial settings but it's unclear whether or not it is effective.
US President Donald Trump recently said said he is taking hydroxychloroquine to protect against the coronavirus, even though his administration has warned it can have deadly side effects.
German politician calls for 'showing solidarity with Russia' over COVID-19
A German regional politician is reportedly suggesting taking in COVID-19 patients from Russia, which is seeing a spike in cases.
German weekly Der Spiegel reported Saxony’s governor, Michael Kretschmer, says it would be a “strong sign” if the European Union treated Russian patients, too. Germany has taken in scores of coronavirus patients from other EU countries, particularly France and Italy, in recent months.
Kretmscher told Spiegel that “we should also show solidarity with Russia.”
WHO is short $900m to fund coronavirus response
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it is missing $900 million to fund its response to the coronavirus during an executive board meeting on Friday.
In its first virtual meeting for the board, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO had worked "day and night" to coordinate a global response to the pandemic.
Tedros said the WHO published its first comprehensive package of guidance for COVID-19 on January 10, and said they have since issued "almost 100 technical documents".
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump sent a letter to Tedros threatening to end funding for the agency unless it committed to “substantive improvements” in the next 30 days.
France schedules second round of municipal elections for June 28
The first round took place just before France's lockdown on March 15th. The second round, scheduled for March 22 was cancelled.
The government has been heavily criticised for holding the first round prior to lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Oxford coronavirus vaccine enters next phases of trial
Researchers will be assessing the immune response to the vaccine in people of different ages, the university said in a statement.
The first phase of the trial began in April and included 1,000 immunisations in healthy adults.
Many public health experts have said that finding a vaccine is key to ending the coronavirus pandemic.
Higher proportion of young adults dying from coronavirus in Brazil
There is a much younger population in Brazil compared to many European countries, AFP reports.
In Brazil, 69% of people who have died from COVID-19 were over 60, compared to 95% in Spain or Italy, according to the latest official reports.
"As our population is younger, it is normal that the percentage of deaths is higher among those under 60, but it is also due to the fact that these young adults do not respect lockdown measures as much," Mauro Sanchez, an epidemiologist at the University of Brasilia, told AFP.
Brazil is the country with the third most cases with over 310,000 confirmed cases and more than 20,000 deaths.
Hotel occupancy 'nil' in Spain during lockdown
Hotel occupancy was "nil" in April, Spain’s National Statistics Institute said in a report published on Friday.
The institute published columns of zeros for overnight stays, average length of stays and occupancy rates, the AP reports.
Spain is Europe’s second most popular tourist destination, after France.
Russia records highest daily spike in deaths in single day
Russia has reported the highest daily spike in coronavirus deaths on Friday, as health officials registered 150 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the country’s toll to 3,249.
Russia’s comparatively low mortality rate has raised eyebrows in the West, with some suggesting that the country’s government may be underreporting virus-related deaths and manipulating the statistics. Russian officials vehemently deny the allegations and attribute the low numbers to the effectiveness of the measures taken to curb the spread of the outbreak.
Russia’s coronavirus caseload has exceeded 326,000 on Friday, with health officials reporting almost 9,000 new infections.
Denmark says up to 1.8% of population has had the virus
A Danish government agency that maps the spread of the coronavirus in Denmark said between 0.5% and 1.8% of the country’s 5.8 million people have had the COVID-19 infection, according to early results.
Statens Serum Institut, or SSI, said the figures, based on 2,600 people that were randomly chosen in Denmark’s five cities and who were given the anti-body tests, must be “interpreted with great caution.”
“Furthermore, whether the figures can be transmitted to the entire Danish population can also be influenced by whether groups with different patterns of infection choose or not choose to accept the offer to be tested,” said Steen Ethelberg who heads the project group behind the SSI study.
Greece has extended COVID-19 measures at migrant camps until June 7
The Greek Ministry of Migration announced on Friday the extension until June 7 of the containment measures in the asylum seekers' camps, implemented for more than two months to stem the pandemic of the new coronavirus, AFP reported.
"Following a decision by the Ministers for Citizen Protection, Health and Migration, measures against the spread of the Covid-19 virus are extended for residents of reception and identification centres across the country. country," according to a brief statement.
Italian winemakers want to convert unsold stock into hand sanitiser
Winemakers in Italy want to convert their unsold stock into hand sanitising gel, which is in high demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.
They have excess wine in their tanks after the country's long lockdown left restaurants and bars closed.
Now, with the new harvest season approaching, they are keen to free up space and help ease shortages of sanitiser.
"I've been a winemaker here in Scandiano, Reggio-Emilia, for 30 years," said Davide Frascari, the president of Lambrusco Wine Consortium.
Emirates to restart flights to nine destinations
June 1 'too early' to open British schools, says SAGE
Muslims prepare for Eid-al-Fitr under coronavirus lockdown
Muslims worldwide will celebrate one of their biggest holidays under the long shadow of the coronavirus, with millions confined to their homes and others gripped by economic concerns during what is usually a festive time of shopping and celebration.
The three-day Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan for the world's 1.8 billion Muslims. People usually celebrate by travelling, visiting family and gathering for lavish meals — all of which will be largely prohibited as authorities try to prevent new virus outbreaks.
The holiday will begin on Saturday or Sunday, depending on the sighting of the new moon, and the dawn-to-dusk fasting of Ramadan will come to an end.
UN chief renews calls for global coronavirus ceasefire
The United Nations secretary-general is again urging all parties to conflicts to respond to his call for a global cease-fire to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, pointing to the more than 20,000 civilians killed or injured in attacks in 10 countries last year and millions more forced from their homes.
Antonio Guterres said in a report to the U.N. Security Council released Thursday that the pandemic is “the greatest test the world has faced” since the world body was established 75 years ago.
And he said it has already had a severe impact on efforts to protect civilians, especially in conflict-affected countries where weak health care systems can be overwhelmed.
The UN chief said support for his March 23 cease-fire appeal from governments, regional organizations, armed groups, civil society and individuals throughout the world has been “encouraging.”
But he said in many instances “challenges in implementing the cease-fire still need to be overcome, in particular in areas where there are protracted conflicts, often involving multiple armed actors and complex interests at the local, national and international level.”
Face masks: Should we all be wearing them?
But they say "currently there is not enough evidence for or against the use of masks (medical or other) for healthy individuals in the wider community".
The main recommendation is to save them for those people who have coronavirus symptoms or are taking care of a suspected case.
Read all the arguments for and against here.
UK uses dogs to 'sniff out' coronavirus
The UK Government has awarded a specialist team of researchers almost €500,000 to find out if specially trained bio-detection dogs could be used as a new rapid testing measure for COVID-19.
Medical detection dogs have a successful history catching the presence of malaria and certain types of cancers in humans. Now they’ve been given a new mission – to see if they can detect the odour of coronavirus in patients, particularly those not showing any symptoms.
The programme is a partnership between the government, the Medical Detection Dogs charity and universities like London’s School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Its head of disease control, Professor James Logan, told Euronews there was a solid scientific basis for using dogs to sniff out the virus.
“When you have a disease, whether it’s a virus or a parasite, it changes the body odour so you actually smell differently. We’ve demonstrated this already with diseases like malaria for example,” he said.
China: Virus crisis 'is not over yet'
China’s top economic official on Friday promised higher spending to revive its pandemic-stricken economy and curb surging job losses but steered clear of launching a massive stimulus on the scale of the United States or Japan.
Premier Li Keqiang, in a speech to legislators, said Beijing would set no economic growth target, usually a closely watched feature of government plans, in order to focus on fighting the outbreak.
The battle against the virus “has not yet come to an end,” Li warned. He urged the country to “redouble our efforts” to revive the struggling economy.
U.S.: 39 million Americans have now lost their jobs
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the two months since the coronavirus took hold in the U.S. has swelled to nearly 39 million, the government reported Thursday, even as states from coast to coast gradually reopen their economies and let people go back to work.
More than 2.4 million people filed for unemployment last week in the latest wave of layoffs from the business shutdowns that have brought the economy to its knees, the Labor Department said.
That brings the running total to a staggering 38.6 million, a job-market collapse unprecedented in its speed.