Coronavirus updates, May 28: Latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic from Pakistan and around the world
Nationwide confirmed cases cross 62,500, death toll climbs to 1,283; global death toll tops 350,000
Updated Thursday May 28 2020
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 62,700 on Wednesday after new infections were confirmed in the country.
The province-wise break up of the total number of cases as of 9:42pm, May 28, is as follows:
Total confirmed cases: 62,700
• Sindh: 25,309
• Punjab: 22,037
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 8,842
• Balochistan: 3,616
• Islamabad Capital Territory: 2,015
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 658
• AJK: 223
Deaths: 1,283
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 432
• Sindh: 396
• Punjab: 381
• Balochistan: 41
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 9
• Islamabad Capital Territory: 19
• AJK: 5
Officials have recorded more than 5.7 million cases and over 355,000 deaths since the virus emerged in China in December, according to a Reuters tally.
Read on for the latest updates from Pakistan and around the world.
Disclaimer: There may be some discrepancy in the number of confirmed cases reported at the country level due to differences in figures quoted by federal and provincial authorities.
Geo News is constantly gathering fresh information from concerned authorities and striving to keep our readers up to date with the most accurate information available.
Orange: General updates coming in from Pakistan
Red: Reports on new cases in Pakistan
Maroon: Reports on new deaths in Pakistan
Green: Reports on recovered patients in Pakistan
END OF LIVE UPDATES FOR MAY 28
Live updates for May 29 to begin here.
11:59pm — Ankara, Turkey — 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 Tayyip Erdogan said, Reuters reported.
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.
The virus has killed nearly 4,500 people in Turkey, with more than 160,000 infections.
“Under the new normal order, let us not neglect masks, distancing and hygiene,” Erdogan said in a televised address.
11:55pm — Urgent action needed to accelerate access to sustainable and modern energy solutions
11:50pm — Argentina does not plan to lift travel ban before September 1, says industry group
Argentina plans to maintain its flight ban until September 1 to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, worldwide airline industry group IATA, which has been lobbying to lift restrictions faster, said.
Argentina’s travel ban is one of the toughest in the world. Peter Cerda, IATA’s Vice President for the Americas, said they are in constant communication with the Argentine government but that its position has not changed.
11:45pm — Dubai, UAE — Dubai hits the ski slope as coronavirus restrictions lift
Adnan Mayasi’s first move after Dubai lifted coronavirus restrictions on leisure activities was to hit the emirate’s indoor ski slope - with the added protection of surgical mask and plastic gloves, Reuters reported.
“The fear might be there,” said Mayasi, but added that the safety procedures made him feel “very comfortable.”
Skiers said the face masks got wet as breath condensed in the cold air, but that it was great to be doing sport again.
Dubai implemented a month-long 24-hour curfew in April and has gradually eased restrictions since then, including allowing malls and restaurants to open at limited capacities.
11:40pm — London, UK — England launches coronavirus test and trace system
In a bid to halt the coronavirus's spread in one of the worst affected countries in the world, England on Thursday launched the latest weapon deployed in the battle, a "test and trace" system.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was people's "civic duty" to comply with the new rules which will seek to track down people at risk from the disease.
"It's incredibly important for anybody who gets symptoms... immediately to isolate at home and to get a test and not to leave the house," he told BBC radio.
Under the system, a team of 25,000 tracers — supported by 20,000 testers and up to 7,000 clinicians — will text, email or call people who test positive for the virus and ask who they have been in close contact with.
Anybody thought to be at risk of infection will have to self-isolate, even if they have no symptoms.
For those who test positive, a clinician will immediately ask them whom they have been in "close contact" with — who will also be asked to self-isolate.
Read complete story here.
11:35pm — Doctors in Indian occupied Kashmir face harassment, detention amid pandemic
Doctors dispensing their professional duties in Indian occupied Kashmir have decried harassment and manhandling by the regional police despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis, according a Brut India report.
Senior doctor and cardiologist Syed Maqbool spoke to the publication and said that he was harassed, beaten and kept in police custody without any reason.
“If this is the situation, this is the status of doctors, who are fighting COVID [sic] this time, what will be happening to our juniors? What will be happening to our paramedical staff?” he said.
The doctor said that he was detained on his way to Government Medical College, one of Srinagar’s biggest hospitals.
Dr Maqbool said that despite telling the policeman that he was going on duty, he was not allowed to take the route.
The doctor said when he stepped out of the car to talk to the SHO, he was "hit in the belly" by the policeman with a baton.
Read complete story here.
11:15pm — London, UK — PM Johnson says groups of six people can meet outside from Monday
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 as he confirmed that tests had been met to ease the coronavirus lockdown further, Reuters reported.
“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 re-open to more pupils and outdoor retailers and car showrooms would also be able to open from Monday.
11:06pm — Kuwait Airways to lay off 1,500 foreign employees
State-owned Kuwait Airways said it will lay off 1,500 expatriate employees due to "significant difficulties" caused by the coronavirus pandemic, AFP reported.
The loss-making national carrier, which has a total of some 6,925 employees, has struggled amid the regional and worldwide downturn in air travel.
"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.
11:02pm — Banbury, UK — British care home opens drive through for residents and visitors
10:54pm — English Premier League to restart on June 17: reports
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. Top-flight clubs voted unanimously in favour of a return to contact training on Wednesday and were meeting again on Thursday to discuss issues such as the restart date.
The BBC reported that the first two matches would be Aston Villa v Sheffield United and Manchester City v Arsenal.
The matches are the two games in hand. A full fixture list would then be played on the weekend of June 19-21.
Out-of-hospital heart attacks double during Paris virus peak: study
Out-of-hospital heart attacks almost doubled during the height of the coronavirus in Paris, according to a new study that raised concerns over the indirect impacts of the pandemic and contagion fears, AFP reported.
Research published this week in the journal Lancet Public Health by experts form France's Inserm research institute found that heart attacks surged and then decreased in tandem with the growth and subsequent fall in hospital admissions for COVID-19 in the city.
Survival rates also fell, which the authors said could be down to a reluctance to resuscitate a potentially infected person by witnesses and emergency responders -- given rules issued by some hospitals banning the procedure without proper protective equipment.
The study found that people with confirmed or suspected infection with the virus, which can affect the heart, only accounted for approximately a third of the increase during the six-week period.
For those without the virus, the authors said the rise could be caused by a number of factors linked to the pandemic.
"With lockdown and movement restrictions, patients have more difficulty in seeking medical advice. They might also be reluctant to present to emergency departments or doctors' offices because of fears of COVID-19 infection, or long waiting times," they said.
10:42pm — Warsaw, Poland — Interest rate cut to record low 0.1%
Poland's central bank lowered its key interest rate by 0.4 percentage points, taking it down to a record low 0.1%, as the country seeks to limit the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, AFP reported.
It was the NBP's third cut since March 17, with the central bank having previously held the rate steady for two years as the country continued its uninterrupted streak of annual growth since shucking a communist planned economy 30 years ago.
However Poland may now be heading for recession as its economy contracted by 0.5% in the first quarter compared with the final quarter of last year.
A recession is often defined as two consecutive quarters of a quarter-on-quarter contraction.
10:21pm — Gilgit, Pakistan — Trend and situation of cases in GB
10:12pm — Amazon to offer permanent roles to 70% of 175,000 new US hires
Amazon.com plans to offer permanent jobs to about 70% of the US workforce it has hired temporarily to meet consumer demand during the coronavirus pandemic, the company told Reuters.
The world’s largest online retailer will begin telling 125,000 warehouse employees in June that they can keep their roles longer-term. The remaining 50,000 workers it has brought on will stay on seasonal contracts that last up to 11 months, a company spokeswoman said.
The decision is a sign that Amazon’s sales have increased sufficiently to justify an expanded workforce for order fulfillment, even as government lockdowns ease and rivals open their retail stores for pickup.
Amazon started the hiring spree in March with a blog post appealing to workers laid off by restaurants and other shuttered businesses, promising employment “until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back.”
Seattle-based Amazon did not disclose how much it was spending to make the positions permanent and whether that cost would be in addition to the $4 billion it has forecast for virus-related expenses.
The permanent roles come with benefits that seasonal workers lack, such as employer-offered health insurance and retirement plans.
9:55pm — Paris, France — We want money not medals, say protesting French health workers
Hundreds of healthcare workers demonstrated outside a hospital in Paris on Thursday to demand better pay and more resources for a public health sector on the frontline of the COVID-19 epidemic, Reuters reported.
Doctors and nurses wearing face masks, clanging bells and banging pans gathered in front of the Robert Debre Hospital, in the north of the city, some carrying banners reading: “no medals, no tear gas but beds and money!”
The rally was taking place as the government is working on a new support plan for healthcare workers who have been at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
“The difficulties of public hospitals started quite long ago,” said intensive care pediatrician Stephane Dauger.
“Everybody said that all went fine for the COVID (crisis) and that we have been extraordinary, which is a fact, since we’ve done more than we could have imagined ... but the difficulties have persisted,” he said.
9:42pm — Gilgit, Pakistan — GB reports seven more COVID-19 cases
AstraZeneca says it may consider exposing vaccine trial participants to virus
The chief executive of AstraZeneca, which is developing a leading coronavirus vaccine with Oxford University, said it is too early to deliberately expose trial participants to the pathogen, but it may become an option if ongoing tests hit a snag, Reuters reported.
A certain number of participants will have to become infected in the course of their normal lives to achieve a reliable reading from the study over the next few months.
“We are running against time. We are seeing already in Europe the disease is declining,” Soriot told an online press briefing. “Very soon the disease intensity will be low, and it will become difficult, so we have to move very quickly.”
“If the disease gets to a very low level, maybe challenge studies will have to be considered. But we felt it’s too early today to do that,” he added.
“We should see the results very soon,” Soriot said.
Oxford University has said that the read-out of the wider trials may take between two and six months, depending on how many participants still catch the virus in the face of public-health efforts to quell its spread.
9:20pm — Karachi, Pakistan — Sindh's cases at a glance
9:15pm — Peshawar, Pakistan — KMU lab starts coronavirus testing
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Health Reference Laboratory at the Khyber Medical University (KMU) has started testing for coronavirus, a notification said.
"The laboratory will share reports with relevant authorities," the notification added.
9:10pm — Shanghai, China — Alibaba extends its reach in China as coronavirus outbreak opens doors
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is emerging as one of China’s biggest corporate winners of the coronavirus crisis, gaining the opportunity to expand its businesses and solidify its status as a critical part of the country’s socio-economic engine, Reuters reported.
While many companies are hurting from disruption caused by the virus, Alibaba has seen traffic at its online marketplaces shoot higher and demand grow for services like food delivery. Local authorities have even turned to its cloud business to build health-tracking apps.
The company, which emerged as China’s leading e-commerce company after the 2003 SARS outbreak, is now positioning itself as a hirer and a lender too, advertising for over 100,000 jobs and offering billions of dollars in loans to small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) at a time when many others are retrenching.
Such moves have further embedded the firm in the lives of consumers, arguably more so than rivals like Tencent Holdings Ltd or JD.com Inc, which are trying similar initiatives but have narrower offerings.
Read complete story here.
9:02pm — Quetta, Pakistan — Second doctor dies of COVID-19 in Balochistan: YDA
Dr Zubair Ahmed became the second doctor to die of coronavirus, the Young Doctors Association said.
"Before him, Dr Naeem Agha died of coronavirus," the YDA said, adding: "More than 250 medical workers are infected with the virus."
8:56pm — Oslo, Norway — Norway eases Nordic business travel rules, including Sweden
Norway will allow entry to business travellers from all the other Nordic countries from June 1, in a further easing of coronavirus restrictions, the government said on Thursday, making no distinction for Sweden, Reuters reported.
A discussion had arisen in recent days of whether Norway should differentiate between the countries due to Sweden’s significantly higher rate of COVID-19 infections and deaths, but in the end opted for uniform rules.
The new rules mean business travellers arriving from Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden will no longer be subject to a mandatory 10-day quarantine, which is currently the case for almost all arrivals from abroad.
“This is about bringing back everyday work, slowly and controlled. Not every meeting, negotiation and deal can be done digitally,” Industry Minister Iselin Nyboe told a news conference.
8:50pm — Meet Dr Ali Raza COVID-19 health expert working at coronavirus helpline
8:45pm — Washington, US — IMF sees reversal in capital flows out of emerging markets
The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said it estimates that emerging market economies have raised some $77 billion in debt in April and May, partially reversing massive capital outflows of $100 billion seen after the coronavirus outbreak.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told a UN conference the Fund had provided $22 billion in emergency financing to 60 of the 103 countries that had asked for help, while offering grants to cover IMF debt service payments for 27 of its poorest members for six months.
African Union special envoy Tidjane Thiam told the conference a Group of 20 debt relief initiative for the poorest countries through the end of the year was a good start, but a longer debt standstill of two years was needed.
8:38pm — Washington, US — WB chief calls for longer-term debt relief for poorest countries
World Bank Group President David Malpass called for longer-term debt relief for the world’s 77 poorest countries, and said many would need a permanent and significant debt reduction to cope with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.
Malpass also told a United Nations conference that commercial creditors should participate in the Group of 20 debt relief initiative on comparable terms, and “not exploit the debt relief of others.”
He rejected calls for the World Bank and other multilateral development banks to freeze debt payments by the poorest countries, saying that would harm their ability to continue to provide funding to client countries.
8:30pm — Karachi, Pakistan — NCC to discuss lockdown situation before May 31: Nasir Hussain Shah
Information Minister Sindh Nasir Hussain Shah said the timings of business will remain the same as per the Supreme Court's orders.
"The federal government decided to extend the lockdown till May 31 was done after consultations with provinces, he said, adding: "A meeting of the National Coordination Committee will be held to discuss the lockdown situation."
"Business activities will continue on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays as scheduled," Shah added.
8:25pm — Washington, US — Trump extends condolences to families of those who dies of COVID-19 as US reaches 100,000 'milestone'
8:18pm — No screaming: Japan amusement parks issue coronavirus guidelines
8:13pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — Mechanism needed for latest information on availability of beds to aid COVID-19 patients: Asad Umar
Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar stressed devising a mechanism of providing latest information about the availability of beds and ventilators in country's hospitals to facilitate COVID-19 patients.
Chairing a meeting at National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) he said that such information would facilitate the infected to get admission in hospitals as per their own preference and the availability of beds and ventilators, a statement from the Press Information Department read.
The forum also reviewed the progress on the implementation status of COVID-19 guidelines.
8:05pm — Three Pakistani media employees pass away due to coronavirus
Three media employees, including two at Radio Pakistan, have passed away due to the deadly coronavirus, reports published Thursday said.
Radio Pakistan senior broadcast engineer Muhammad Ashfaq and Urdu newscaster Huma Zafar died of the virus, the publication said in its report.
"Muhammad Ashfaq was a regular employee of Radio Pakistan and known for his competence and dedication to technical work. He was very humble and friendly personality," it wrote.
"Huma Zafar was a contractual newsreader and had been reading national bulletins in CNO PBC for the last two decades. She was well educated lady and did her Phd in Psychology from abroad.
"She was also attached with Waqar un Nisa Girls College Rawalpindi as a senior faculty member," it added.
Read complete story here.
Destroyed habitats create perfect conditions for zoonotic diseases like coronavirus to emerge
7:55pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — Deputy Commissioner orders to increase beds to accommodate COVID-19 patients
7:49pm — Karachi, Pakistan — Centre imposed lockdown till May 31: CM Shah
Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah said that the Centre had imposed a lockdown in the country till May 31, while speaking to a delegation of traders.
The traders requested the provincial chief to reopen the business, to which he said that he would present the business community's stance in the National Coordination Committee's meeting.
7:38pm — Bali, Indonesia — Zoo names new born baby giraffe 'corona' amid pandemic outbreak
A Bali zoo has named a baby giraffe 'Corona' in order to honour the birth of the animal during coronavirus.
The calf was born on April 9 to mother Sophie and father Matadi, joining two other siblings at Bali Safari Park on the Indonesian holiday island.
A video released by the zoo showed the calf being born in a small enclosure.
"She was born during the COVID-19 pandemic so the environment minister... named her Corona," said zoo spokesman Anak Agung Ngurah Alit Sujana.
Read complete story here.
7:32pm — Brasilia, Brazil — Unemployment rises to 12.6%, record 4.9 million people leave workforce
Brazil’s unemployment rate rose to its highest in just over a year due to the coronavirus crisis, official figures showed on Thursday, as a record number of people left the workforce, pushing labor force participation to an all-time low, Reuters reported.
Although the 12.6% unemployment rate was lower than economists had expected, other indicators such as the number of people leaving the workforce and the underemployment rate point to a weaker labor market than the headline figure suggests.
The 12.6% headline jobless rate in Latin America’s largest economy in the three months to April was the highest since early last year, but less than the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 13.3%.
The data comes a day after separate figures showed Brazil lost a record 860,503 formal jobs in April, the biggest monthly fall in employment since comparable records began in 1992.
7:25pm — Zurich, Switzerland — Roche mixes Actemra with Gilead's remdesivir in COVID-19 trial
Roche plans to test if mixing its anti-inflammation drug Actemra with Gilead Sciences Inc’s anti-viral treatment remdesivir works better against severe COVID-19 pneumonia than remdesivir alone, the Swiss drugmaker said, Reuters reported.
Roche is hoping that by combining the two in a global study of 450 hospitalised patients worldwide, it will be able to offer doctors a one-two punch against the disease that has so far stricken 5.8 million people and killed nearly 360,000. The cocktail will be compared against remdesivir and a placebo.
“Based on our current understanding, we believe that combining an antiviral with an immune modulator could potentially be an effective approach to treating patients with severe disease,” Roche Chief Medical Officer Levi Garraway said in a statement.
At Lahore's Mayo Hospital, doctors treating COVID-19 patients face hostility and mistrust
On the morning of May 20, Dr Amara Khalid took to her Instagram to write the following words: “What happened last night was shocking. I still cannot come to terms with it.”
The 27-year-old, who works in the special ward for coronavirus patients at the Mayo Hospital in Lahore, was rattled after the previous night’s events. At 2:30am, Dr Khalid was still on duty, tending to the COVID-19 infected, when she heard some commotion in the corridors.
She peeked out and saw a large group of men – around 30- surround the security guard posted outside their building.
The enraged men slapped the guard, pushed him around and then barged into the building. If another guard had not quickly rushed forward to lock the room where the patients were, the mob would have made its way in.
The men shouting abuses and threatening doctors were relatives of two female patients who had tested positive for coronavirus. One of them had died on her way to the ward.
Read complete story here.
7:13pm — Quetta, Pakistan — Balochistan decides against reopening of OPDs
The provincial health department decided against opening OPDs in government hospitals.
Secretary Health while presiding over the meeting said that there he feared that the reopening of OPDs might lead to an increase in spread of coronavirus.
7:03pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — PM Imran participating in virtual moot on financing for development
6:49pm — Karachi, Pakistan — Two more members of Sindh Assembly test positive for COVID-19
Two more members of the Sindh Assembly tested positive for coronavirus, sources informed Geo News.
According to sources, Sadia Javed and Sajid Jhokio have self-isolated themselves at their homes.
6:43pm — Peshawar, Pakistan — Journalist Fakhruddin Syed passes away due to COVID-19
Senior journalist Fakhruddin Syed succumbed to COVID-19 at Peshawar's Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC), Dawn.com reported.
The hospital's spokesperson Toueed Zulfiqar, speaking to Dawn.com, said: "The journalist had been in home isolation after testing positive for the virus but was shifted to the hospital five days ago after his condition worsened."
6:38pm — Karachi, Pakistan — All members of Sindh Assembly to get tested before session
All members of Sindh Assembly will get tested before attending the session.
According to sources no members infected with coronavirus will be allowed to attend the session.
6:34pm — Beijing, China — Plane departs for Pakistan carrying coronavirus relief items
6:28pm — US jobless claims at 2.12 million last week as layoffs continue to slow
6:20pm — Peshawar, Pakistan — KP reports seven more deaths
6:12pm — WHO official: European deaths spike since March linked to COVID-19
About 159,000 more people in 24 European countries have died since early March than would have ordinarily been expected, a World Health Organization (WHO) official saidm with a “significant proportion” of the spike linked to COVID-19, Reuters reported.
So far, more than two million people in Europe have been sickened by the new coronavirus, up 15% over the past two weeks, with Russia, Turkey, Belarus and Britain leading the way in new infections, WHO European officials said on a call. More than 175,000 people have died.
While the figure for excess deaths takes into account all mortality causes, Katie Smallwood, a WHO emergency official, said its timing — recorded as thousands of people were dying in intensive care units in places like northern Italy, France, Spain and Britain — points to COVID-19’s deadly impact.
“What we have seen very clearly is that the peak in excess mortality corresponds in those countries to the peak of the transmission of COVID-19,” Smallwood told reporters. “This gives us a very good indication that a very significant proportion of this excess deaths is linked and due to COVID-19.”
Smallwood said countries like Germany, Switzerland and others that may ease restrictions including on bars, discos and other social hubs must have robust disease detection, testing and tracing systems in place first, to help keep at bay a potential “second wave” where the epidemic might re-emerge.
“Opening businesses, or clubs (and) bars, where people do come together will absolutely have to depend on a very strong ability of the health system to know how the virus is transmitting, where it is transmitting...and ensure that targeted interventions to prevent and break any transmission of the virus can be put in place,” Smallwood said.
6:05pm — Australia set dates for COVID-threatened India cricket tour
Australia announced dates for India's lucrative Test cricket tour as the centrepiece of a busy home season but admitted that plans remained in flux because of the coronavirus, AFP reported.
Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts said the picture was "evolving every day" as he unveiled men's fixtures against Zimbabwe, the West Indies and Afghanistan, as well as India.
Australia are also due to host the men's Twenty20 World Cup in October and November.
Australia's women, crowned T20 world champions in Melbourne in March — as the pandemic closed in on world sport — will host New Zealand and India.
"We know that circumstances or events beyond our control could mean that the final schedule potentially may look different to the one released today," Roberts said in a statement.
5:57pm — Tokyo, Japan — Post-virus era begins
5:50pm — Jakarta, Indonesia — Country to keep prescribing two malaria drugs for COVID-19 despite bans in Europe
Indonesia will continue to prescribe two anti-malaria drugs for coronavirus patients but monitor their use closely, a spokesman for Indonesia COVID-19 taskforce said, after some European nations banned the drug over safety concerns, Reuters reported.
The world’s fourth-most populous nation has since late March recommended that chloroquine and its derivative, hydroxychloroquine, be widely administered, including to coronavirus patients with moderate to severe symptoms, according to Food and Drug Monitoring Agency guidelines.
5:45pm — Peshawar, Pakistan — Recovery rate in KP higher than other provinces: Ajmal Wazir
Media is playing an important role in spreading awareness among the masses about coronavirus, Adviser to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on Information Ajmal Wazir said
"Recovery rate in KP is higher as compared to other provinces," he said, adding: "It stands at 31%."
"There are 200 isolation centres in the province [...] and 359 quarantine centres," he added.
5:35pm — Muzaffarabad, Pakistan — AJK reports four new cases
Azad Jammu and Kashmir reported four new COVID-19 cases taking the infections tally to 223, the health department confirmed.
5:30pm — Berlin, Germany — Economy likely to shrink 6.6% this year, Ifo says
The German economy is likely to shrink by 6.6% this year as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic before growing by 10.2% in 2021, the Ifo Institute said, Reuters reported.
On average, businesses expected operations to return to normal in nine months after lockdowns in the second quarter, Ifo said. In that case, the economy would shrink 12.4% in the second quarter of this year.
In Ifo’s worst case, in which a return to normal took 16 months, the economy would shrink 9.3% this year and grow 9.5% in 2021. In the best case, companies would recover in five months, the economy would shrink just 3.9% and expand 7.4% next year.
American Airlines says to cut management and support staff by 30%
American Airlines Group Inc must reduce its management and support staff by about 30% and may have to cut frontline employees as it downsizes due to the coronavirus outbreak, showed a letter to employees made public.
All major US airlines have said they will need to shrink in the fall, once US government payroll aid that bans involuntary job cuts expires on September 30.
Despite the bailout and other liquidity raises, American must “plan for operating a smaller airline for the foreseeable future,” Executive Vice President of People and Global Engagement Elise Eberwein said in the letter.
American, with over 100,000 employees, will offer voluntary options before implementing involuntary reductions if there is not enough take-up, she said.
5:06pm — Podgorica, Montenegro — Montenegro claims it is coronavirus-free
5:00pm — Jakarta, Indonesia — 687 new coronavirus cases, 23 deaths reported
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, Reuters reported.
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 and 6,240 patients have recovered.
Maintain distance while performing transactions at ATMs
4:52pm — Manila, Philippines — Task force backs easing one of world's toughest lockdowns
The Philippines saw its biggest spike in coronavirus cases on Thursday with 539 new infections recorded, just after a panel recommended the president ease one of the toughest and longest lockdowns in the world for residents in the capital Manila, Reuters reported.
President Rodrigo Duterte will announce a decision on Thursday whether to lift strict restrictions on commerce and movement to reduce damage to the economy, which is facing its deepest contraction in 34 years.
If approved, the more relaxed rules will be in place from June 1 to 15, and local officials can still place communities deemed as high risk under lockdown.
Under the recommendations, gatherings of up to 10 people will be allowed. Workplaces, shops and some public transportation will reopen and movement in and out of Manila will be permitted.
Schools, universities, tourist destinations and dine-in restaurants will stay closed, however, while stay-at-home orders will remain for the elderly and children.
4:47pm —Moscow, Russia — Siberia zoo sees animal baby boom during lockdown
A Siberian zoo that closed its doors to visitors for over two months due to the novel coronavirus says the lockdown has encouraged a baby boom among its animals, Reuters reported.
Among the zoo’s new arrivals are rare Egyptian goslings, reindeer calves, llama crias and a baby brown weeper capuchin monkey.
“Judging by the baby boom, the lockdown has clearly been good for us because there are a lot of interesting and beautiful baby animals now,” said Andrei Gorban, the director of Krasnoyarsk’s Royev Ruchey Zoo.
Gorban said that while the absence of visitors had encouraged mating among some residents, it had confused others and prompted changes in their behaviour.
“Many (of the animals) are anxious because they really don’t understand what’s going on. They have this sort of look of expectation in their eyes,” said Gorban.
The zoo’s herd of camels are among those who appear to be missing visitors; they now follow every zoo employee who walks past their enclosure.
4:41pm — Kuala lumpur, Malaysia — 10 new coronavirus cases reported
Malaysian health authorities reported 10 new coronavirus cases, raising the cumulative total to 7,629 cases, Reuters reported.
The health ministry reported no new deaths, keeping the total number of fatalities at 115.
4:36pm — Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — Africa hit by sustained community spread of coronavirus: disease centre
Cases of community transmission of the new coronavirus are growing in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, and a new strategy for testing is needed to prevent this, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said, Reuters reported.
“We are beginning to see sustained community transmission within Ethiopia and many other countries across Africa. That means we need to increase our public health measures like distancing, wearing of masks, washing of hands,” John Nkengasong told journalists.
He said countries should modify the way they test their population - instead of focusing on testing people arriving at airports, governments should switch to surveillance testing of those with flu-like symptoms.
Initially the virus multiplied more slowly in Africa than in Asia or Europe, but all 55 nations on the continent have now reported a total of 119,982 confirmed cases of the infection and 3,599 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.
4:30pm — Geneva, Switzerland — Siberia donates 1 million euros to WHO
4:15pm - London, UK — UK has highest coronavirus death rate: FT analysis
Britain has suffered the highest death rate from the novel coronavirus among the most-affected countries with comparable tracking data, according to Financial Times research published Thursday.
Official numbers from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released earlier this week show Britain has registered almost 60,000 more deaths than usual since the week ending March 20.
Subsequent analysis by the FT, which looked at data from 19 countries, indicate the virus has directly or indirectly killed 891 people per million in the UK, the highest comparable figure.
According to this measure, the UK death rate exceeds those in other countries also badly affected by the pandemic, including the US, Italy, Spain and Belgium.
4:00pm - Peshawar, Pakistan — Private school educators demands opening of schools under SOPs in KP
President of Private Education Saleem Khan has asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to issue orders to open up private schools under certain SOPs.
“If private schools are not being opened then a special grant should be given,” said Saleem Khan while talking to the media. He added that if the grant is not approved by June 15 then they will start protesting across the province.
3:45pm - Paris, France — Virus death toll in Europe tops 175,000: AFP tally
The coronavirus death toll in Europe crossed 1750,000 on Thursday, according to an AFP tally from official sources at 8:10am GMT.
With 175,011 dead from 2,084,058 cases, Europe has suffered more than other continents from COVID-19 infections.
Britain has registered 37,460 dead, Italy 33,072, France 28,596 and Spain 27,118.
The global number of fatalities has reached at least 355,548.
3:30pm - Paris, France — French jobless total surged 22.6% in April to record high
The number of people in France looking for jobs surged in April by 22.6% to a record high as a nationwide coronavirus lockdown shut down swathes of the economy, Labour Ministry data showed on Thursday.
The number of people registered as seeking work jumped by 843,000 from March to 4,575,500, the highest since records began in 1996, the Labour Ministry said.
The ministry said that the surge was due to a nearly 35% drop in the number of people getting new jobs while the number of people of joining the tally fell 19%.
The data do not include people who have been put on state-subsided furloughs during the crisis, which the ministry said on Wednesday numbered nearly 13 million.
3:00pm - London, UK — Nearly half shuttered UK firms don't know when they will reopen: ONS
Nearly half of businesses in Britain which have temporarily suspended their operations because of the coronavirus lockdown are unsure when they will restart trading, a survey by the country’s official statistics office showed on Thursday.
Britain’s government is gradually relaxing its restrictions on much of the economy. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week that shops which he ordered to close in March can reopen next month.
About one in five businesses in Britain went into hibernation because of the lockdown and the Office for National Statistics survey found that 14% of them expected to resume business in the next two weeks.
A further 10% were eyeing a reopening in two to four weeks’ time and 31% expected to restart in more than four weeks’ time.
46% said they were unsure when they would resume trading.
2:20pm — Karachi, Pakistan — Death toll from virus rises to 1,276
The death toll from the novel coronavirus rose to 1,276 on Thursday after Sindh reported new deaths.
According to Sindh CM, 16 new deaths were reported in the province in the last 24 hours to take the provincial tally to 396.
2:20pm — Karachi, Pakistan — Sindh reports 1,103 new cases
Confirmed cases in the county jumped past 62,000 on Thursday after new cases were detected in Sindh.
According to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, 1,103 new cases were reported in the province in the last 24 hours to take the provincial tally to 25,309.
He added there were 13,723 patients under treatment in the province at the moment.
91% of Pakistan’s coronavirus cases locally transmitted
Local coronavirus transmission in Pakistan has risen to 91%, a World Health Organisation (WHO) report finds, up from 81% a few weeks back.
As per the daily situation report by WHO, dated May 25, Pakistan has witnessed a sharp increase in locally transmitted cases of the deadly virus, while imported cases in the country have fallen to 9%.
Local or community transmission takes place when people within a household or an area are infected by those who have no travel history to a virus-hit country. While initially COVID-19 was imported into the country, largely brought in by the pilgrims returning from Iran, it is circulating faster locally.
Read more here.
2:00pm - Islamabad, Pakistan — PM to participate in virtual event on Financing for Development in era of COVID-19
Prime Minister Imran Khan will be participating in a virtual event on Financing for Development in Era of Covid-19 and Beyond, today, reported Radio Pakistan.
The event is being hosted by the prime ministers of Canada and Jamaica and the UN secretary general.
In his address, the PM will share his vision on possible ways to address the debt issue and the enormous financial challenges facing developing countries.
1:50pm - Dutch F1 Grand Prix postponed to 2021 due to pandemic
The Dutch Formula One Grand Prix at Zandvoort has been postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, organisers said on Thursday.
The race at the seaside circuit would have been the country's first since 1985.
"I had to look forward to it for 35 years, so I can wait another year," Dutch Grand Prix sports director Jan Lammers said on the race website
1:30pm - Manila, Philippines — Philippines confirms 539 new coronavirus cases, largest single-day increase
The Philippines’ health ministry on Thursday 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.
1:10pm - Moscow, Russia — Russia's coronavirus death toll passes 4,000
Russia on Thursday 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.
1:00pm - Peshawar, Pakistan — Tiger force volunteers distribute mask at Ehsaas centre
12:45pm - London, UK — UK employers should pay wages of those asked to isolate by COVID-19 trace system: minister
British employers should pay the wages of anyone told to stay at home by England’s COVID-19 test and trace system, British health minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday.
The service is aimed at allowing the loosening of lockdown measures for most of the population. From Thursday, contacts of those who test positive will be instructed to isolate for 14 days, even if they have no symptoms.
Asked during an interview on Sky News if employers were being asked to step in and pay people’s wages while they isolate, Hancock said: “Yes.”
“If you are instructed by the NHS, for public health reasons, to stay at home then that is the equivalent in employment law to being ill and it is very important that employers are flexible about this,” he said.
Hancock also said an accompanying tracing app, which is being trialled on the Isle of Wight and is key to finding anonymous contacts, is ready but is not being brought in yet.
12:30pm - Rome, Italy — Italy to spend EU money now, keep debt in check later: Gentiloni
Italy has to spend the money provided by the European Union to tackle the economic crisis caused by coronavirus, but in the medium term it needs to reduce its high public debt, EU Economics Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Thursday.
The European Union’s executive unveiled a 750 billion euro plan on Wednesday to prop up economies hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, with Italy set to receive the lion’s share of around 170 billion euros.
“Now Italy has to spend [the money] but in the medium to long term the country needs to return to a more manageable debt path because otherwise it risks ending up in difficulty in the next years,” Gentiloni told Radio Anch’io.
12:15pm - Islamabad, Pakistan — Chinese embassy collaborates with IWCCI to donate food packages to 'needy'
12:00pm - Singapore — Singaporean gets four months jail for COVID-19 Facebook post
Singapore jailed a taxi driver for four months on Wednesday over a Facebook post in which he falsely claimed food outlets would close and urged people to stock up due to impending COVID-19 restrictions.
Kenneth Lai Yong Hui, 40, deleted the message sent to a private Facebook group with around 7,500 members after 15 minutes, case records show, but the public prosecutor called for a sentence that would deter others.
Singapore, which has seen bouts of panic buying during a four-month battle with the virus, has imposed tough punishments on those who breach containment rules or spread misinformation as it tackles one of Asia’s highest COVID-19 rates.
“The psychological fight to allay fear and hysteria is just as important as the fight to contain the spread of COVID-19,” deputy public prosecutor Deborah Lee said in her sentencing submission, according to case records.
Lai, who represented himself and could not be reached for comment, was sentenced to four months’ jail on Wednesday, a spokesman for the State Courts said.
11:45am - Karachi, Pakistan — Gym and fitness centres open up after three months
Gym and fitness centres in Karachi have opened up after a three-month closure due to the coronavirus lockdown.
The fitness centres have been opened with all the precautionary measures and the machines have been sprayed with disinfectants. Gyms have also been added with sanitizers and the government has made it mandatory that social distancing is followed.
The chairman of the Sindh bodybuilding association has stated that the gyms will remain open from 5pm to 9pm.
11:05am - Some exporters obtain large orders for face masks: Dawood
10:00am — Islamabad, Pakistan — Nationwide death toll climbs to 1,261
Death toll from the novel coronavirus jumped to 1,261 on Thursday after new deaths were reported across the country.
According to the national dashboard, 19 new deaths were reported in Punjab in the last 24 hours, while one each was reported from AJK and Islamabad.