Keep up to date with the latest coronavirus developments here.
A summary of the latest developments
More than 100,000 new cases have been reported to WHO for each of the last five days
UK govt top scientific adviser disappointed with latest figures
Belgium to reopen restaurants and bars from 8 June, borders on 15 June
World Bicycle Day: Will cycling be the big winner after lockdown is lifted?
Is hard-hit Sweden being snubbed by its Scandinavian neighbours?
Coronavirus statistics: Latest numbers on COVID-19 cases and deaths
Which European countries have opened their borders ahead of the summer holiday season?
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German government announces €130 stimulus package
More than 100,000 new cases reported daily for fifth day in a row: WHO
Spain extends state of emergency by two weeks
French death toll passes 29,000
WHO recommends resumption of hydroxychloroquine trials
After suspending the hydroxychloroquine arm of a clinical trial of experimental COVID-19 drugs, the director-general of the World Health Organization said experts had reviewed the safety data and were now recommending the trial continue as planned.
The recommendation means doctors will soon be able to resume giving the drug to patients enrolled in the U.N. health agency’s study.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that the WHO’s safety monitoring committee for the global trial had now examined all available mortality data about hydroxychloroquine. Some studies had suggested that people who were taking the drug for COVID-19 had a higher chance of dying than those who were not.
President Trump has said he is taking hydroxychloroquine even though he has not tested positive for the coronavirus; there are no studies that have proven the drug is effective against COVID-19.
Spain extends emergency for two final weeks
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says Spain has “overcome the worst of the pandemic” and declared that he won’t seek further extensions beyond the end date of the special powers at midnight on June 21.
The extension was passed Wednesday with 177 votes in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies. There were 155 votes against it, while 18 lawmakers abstained.
Sánchez also said that a new government decree next week will set out procedures to handle any resurgence of the outbreak after most of the restrictions, first imposed on March 14, are lifted.
There were no deaths reported in the country from COVID-19 on Monday or Tuesday. Spain has recorded 27,128 COVID-19 deaths and just over 240,000 confirmed infections.
Sending children back to school is 'very complicated balancing act': UK expert
Hard-hit Sweden admits it could have battled COVID-19 better
The architect of Sweden's coronavirus strategy today admitted there was "potential for improvement" over the country's handling of the crisis.
Unlike most of its European neighbours and many other countries around the world, Sweden did not impose a strict lockdown. Social distancing was promoted and large gatherings banned. But the country kept its bars and restaurants open throughout.
Sweden has the fifth-highest per capita COVID-19 death rates in the world if you microstates like San Marino and Andorra.
“I think there is potential for improvement in what we have done in Sweden, quite clearly,” Anders Tegnell, Sweden's leading epidemiologist, said on Wednesday.
UK infection rate 'not coming down as fast as we'd like'
Italian death toll increases to 33,601
EU to make €11.5 billion available for crisis repair and recovery this year
Sweden passes France for deaths per capita
UK death toll rises by 359
World Health Organization gives latest on COVID-19| LIVE
Belgium to reopen cafés, bars on 8 June and border on 15 June
US Defense minister says he is opposed to military deployment against protests
Concerns mount about two studies on drugs for coronavirus
Concerns are mounting about studies in two influential medical journals on drugs used in people with coronavirus, including one that led multiple countries to stop testing a malaria pill.
The New England Journal of Medicine issued an “expression of concern” on Tuesday about a study it published on 1 May that suggested widely used blood pressure medicines were not raising the risk of death for people with COVID-19.
The study relied on a database with health records from hundreds of hospitals around the world. “Substantive concerns” have been raised about the quality of the information, and the journal has asked the authors to provide evidence it’s reliable, the editors wrote.
The same database was used in an observational study of nearly 100,000 patients published in The Lancet that tied the malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to a higher risk of death in hospitalised patients with the virus. The Lancet issued a similar expression of concern about its study on Tuesday, saying it was aware “important scientific questions” had been raised.
Although it wasn’t a rigorous experiment that could give definitive answers, the Lancet study had wide influence because of its size. The World Health Organization said it would temporarily stop a study of hydroxychloroquine and France stopped allowing its use in hospitals.
The drug has been mired in controversy since President Donald Trump repeatedly promoted it and even took it himself without clear evidence that it’s safe or effective for preventing or treating coronavirus infection.
Is coronavirus pushing us towards a cashless society?
UN criticises censure in China and other Asian countries amid coronavirus crisis
Sweden's chief epidemiologist admits response could have been better
Boris Johnson “proud of government’s record”
Austria to open its borders with neighbours from Thursday - except with Italy
Eurozone unemployment rate rise to 7.3% in April, EU's at 6.6%
Unemployment has risen in both the Eurozone and the EU in April, a new report from Eurostat has found.
"In April 2020, the second month after COVID-19 containment measures were implemented by most Member States, the euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 7.3%, up from 7.1% in March 2020," Eurostat reported.
The European Union's unemployment rate also rose from 6.4% in March 2020 to 6.6% in April.
The Eurostat report estimates that "14.079 million men and women in the EU, of whom 11.919 million in the euro area, were unemployed in April 2020".
Between March and April, the report adds, the number of unemployed people "increased by 397 000 in the EU and by 211 000 in the euro area".
Germany to lift its warning on Europe travel from 15 June
Spain expected to extend state of emergency
Italy reopens borders for European holidaymakers
Will cycling be the big winner after lockdown is lifted?
French protesters defy lockdown rules in George Floyd protest
