The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 117,216 on Wednesday after new infections were confirmed in the country.

The province-wise break up of the total number of cases as of 10:42pm, June 10, is as follows:

Total confirmed cases: 117,216

• Sindh: 43,790

• Punjab: 43,460

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 15,206

• Balochistan: 7,335

• Islamabad Capital Territory: 5,963

• Gilgit-Baltistan: 1,018

• AJK: 444

Deaths: 2,317

• Punjab: 807

• Sindh: 738

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 619

• Balochistan: 73

• Gilgit-Baltistan: 14

• Islamabad Capital Territory: 57

• AJK: 9

More than 7.25 million people have been reported infected with the novel coronavirus globally and over 410,000 have died, 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 JUNE 11

Live updates for June 12 to begin here.

11:53pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — Another 300 recoveries take toll to 843 

11:47pm — Karachi, Pakistan — Faisal Vawda's uncle dies of COVId-19

Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda's uncle has died of coronavirus, the Ministry of Water Resources said.

Karachi remains the worst affected city of Sindh with more than 33,000 infections and  over 500 deaths.

11:45pm — London, UK — British lockdown a week earlier could have halved COVID-19 death toll, scientist says

Britain’s death toll from COVID-19 could have been halved if lockdown had been introduced a week earlier, a former member of the UK government’s scientific advisory group said, Reuters reported.

Britain has an official death toll from confirmed COVID-19 cases of over 40,000, rising to over 50,000 cases when deaths from suspected cases are included.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed the lockdown on March 23.

Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson told lawmakers that Britain had taken the right measures but too late.

“The epidemic was doubling every three to four days before lockdown interventions were introduced. So had we introduced lockdown measures a week earlier, we would have then reduced the final death toll by at least a half,” Ferguson said.

“So whilst I think the measures ... were warranted ... certainly had we introduced them earlier, we would have seen many fewer deaths.”

11:40pm — Beijing, China — Potential COVID-19 vaccine from China shows promise in animal tests

A potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Chinese researchers showed promise in trials in monkeys, triggering antibodies and raising no safety issues, researchers said, and a human trial with more than 1,000 participants is under way.

The vaccine candidate, called BBIBP-CorV, induced high-level neutralising antibodies that can block the virus from infecting cells in monkeys, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits, researchers said in a paper published in online by the medical journal Cell on Saturday.

“These results support the further evaluation of BBIBP-CorV in a clinical trial,” researchers said in the paper.

BBIBP-CorV, developed by Beijing Institute of Biological Products affiliated to state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), is among five candidates China is testing in humans.

11:32pm — Brussels, Belgium — Facebook, Twitter, Google to report monthly on fake news fight, EU says 

Facebook, Google, and Twitter should provide monthly reports on their fight against disinformation, two senior EU officials said as they called out Russia and China for their roles in the spread of fake news, Reuters reported.

The comments by EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell and the European Commission’s Vice President for values and transparency Vera Jourova underscore the bloc’s concerns about the prevalence of misleading news on COVID-19 and the attempts by foreign actors to influence Europe.

“It really showed that disinformation does not only harm the health of our democracies, it also harms the health of our citizens. It can negatively impact the economy and undermine the response of the public authorities and therefore weaken the health measures,” Jourova told a news conference.

She said the next fake news front was vaccination, citing a study showing that Germans’ willingness to be vaccinated had fallen by 20 percentage points in two months.

11:25pm — Paris, France — New coronavirus deaths sharply down, but cases rise

France’s new death toll from COVID-19 on Wednesday was only one-third of the tally the day before but the total of new confirmed infections rose again, one month out of a strict lockdown.

The health ministry said the death toll was up by only 23 - versus an average daily increase of 53 over the previous 15 days - to 29,319, the fifth-highest total in the world. On Tuesday, 87 COVID-19 deaths were reported.

But the number of new confirmed cases was 545; that figure had stayed below the 500 threshold during the previous three days. Over the last 15 days France has reported a daily average of 639 new confirmed cases.

According to Reuters calculations, if probable cases of coronavirus in care homes are added to the calculation, France’s total number of cases stands at more than 191,000, the ninth-highest tally in the world on that basis.

Hairdressers go underground in South Africa's lockdown

11:00pm — Karachi, Pakistan — Khurrum Sher Zaman tests positive for COVID-19

10:52pm — Gilgit, Pakistan — GB's cases at a glance

10:42pm — Gilgit, Pakistan — GB reports 44 new infections

10:19pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — NCC instructs postponement of exams as private schools demand reopening by June 15

The National Coordination Committee (NCC) directed provincial governments to postpone and reschedule examinations across the country, as a protest raged outside the Karachi Press Club demanding the reopening of educational institutes.

The education secretary penned down a letter to the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir, underscoring that this is not a suitable time to conduct examinations as the country struggles to stem the spread of coronavirus.

"Some educational institutions and madressahs had previously requested to conduct exams in the months of June and July. However, keeping in view the pandemic , provincial governments should ensure that there are no examinations conducted in their respective regions," he said.

Read complete story here.

10:08pm — New York, US — Oil slides below $41 as inventory rise revives glut worries

Oil fell more than 2% to below $41 a barrel after US data showed crude inventories rose to a record high, reviving worries of a persistent glut due to weak demand during the lingering coronavirus crisis, Reuters reported.

Crude stocks rose by 5.7 million barrels in the week to June 5 to 538.1 million barrels, according to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration . 

The build exceeded analysts’ expectations but was smaller than the build of 8.4 million barrels reported on Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group.

“As with the broader economy we are seeing a rebound but not one that puts us where we were a year ago,” said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Clipper Data.

Brent crude LCOc1 fell 82 cents, or 2%, to $40.36 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 dropped 96 cents, or 2.5%, to $37.98.

COVID-19 reproductive rates in different countries

Analysis by the Imperial College London and the University of Sussex shows a country-wise distribution of the reproductive rate of the coronavirus.

The reproductive rate (R0, pronounced R naught) is a measure of how contagious an infectious disease is.

In Pakistan, which has an R0 of 1.34, it can be expected that an infected person will infect, on average, 1.34 others (or at least one person).

In the countries marked by red, the R0 is bigger, indicative of the coronavirus being an epidemic in the country.

The analysis has taken into account response measures such as lockdowns, social distancing and tracking, according to AFP.

9:48pm — Quetta, Pakistan — Balochistan reports 11 deaths, 304 new infections

9:14pm — Washington, US — Number of US air passengers fell 96% in April to historic low: government

US airlines carried 3 million passengers in April, a staggering 96% decline from April 2019 amid the coronavirus pandemic and flight restrictions, the Transportation Department said, Reuters reported.

The department said US airlines carried about 2.8 million domestic passengers and 132,000 international passengers. International passengers fell 99% over April 2019 as the US imposed flight restrictions on many international visitors.

Total US airline passengers were the lowest since 1974 when the government began collecting monthly data. By comparison, there were 76.1 million total US airline passengers in April 2019.

The previous low recorded was 14.6 million passengers in February 1975.

9:08pm — Karachi, Pakistan — KU issues guidelines to resume education amid COVID-19

8:58pm — Lahore, Pakistan — PML-N's Ahsan Iqbal testes positive for COVID-19

8:48pm — Peshawar, Pakistan — KP reports nine deaths, 679 infections

8:38pm — Dubai, UAE — Emirates airline redundancies continue for second day, sources say

Emirates laid off more pilots and cabin crew in a second day of redundancies at one of the world’s biggest long-haul airlines, three company sources informed Reuters.

The Dubai-based carrier laid off hundreds of pilots and cabin crew on Tuesday in a bid to stave off a cash crunch caused by the coronavirus pandemic, sources told Reuters.

More redundancies were expected this week, including both Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 pilots, the sources said on Tuesday.

8:29pm  — Guatemala City, Guatemala — Hospitals overcrowd as cases surge

8:20pm — Lahore, Pakistan — Advisory group issues SOPs for injecting COVID-19 patients with specific injections

CEO Mayo Hospital said that the advisory group had issued SOPs for injecting COVID-19 patients with specific injections and that those injections could not be sold at general medical stores.

"Only government and private hospitals can sell these injections," he added.

8:13pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — British High Commissioner Turner meets Chairman NDMA to exchange views over coronavirus

8:06pm — Fazlur Rehman slams 'incompetent' Centre over coronavirus response

President Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) Maulana Fazlur Rehman slammed the federal government for its policies during the coronavirus pandemic and demanded that the problems of overseas Pakistanis be resolved immediately.

Rehman, addressing a press conference in Islamabad, said: "Whomever takes up the mantle of the prime minister is tasked with the responsibility of representing the entire country. The federal government has its own stance and the provinces their own.

"What message are the people getting from the chaotic manner in which the country is being managed by the state elements?"

He said that looking at the neighbouring countries, it is important that Pakistan form a national consensus. "Those who cannot even manage the country's affairs, how could they form a national consensus?" he asked.

Read complete story here.

7:59pm — Moscow, Russia — Moscow raises May coronavirus death toll by 3,365

Moscow’s health department said 5,260 people died from the novel coronavirus in the city in May, far higher than the 1,895 deaths reported by Russia’s coronavirus crisis response center over the course of that month, Reuters reported.

“COVID-19 as a main or an accompanying cause of death was registered in 5,260 cases,” the Moscow health department said in a statement on its website.

It said the difference of 3,365 between the previous death toll and the new one was down to changes made by Russia’s health ministry in its approach to counting coronavirus deaths.

“New recommendations allowed us to improve the calculation of cases where COVID was the main cause of the death and of those where it became, with a high degree of probability, a catalyst...for other illnesses,” the department said.

7:51pm — New York, US — Trump administration sued over coronavirus-related border restrictions

The Trump administration faced its first legal challenge to a policy that has nearly halted the US asylum system as well as admissions of migrants at the US border with Mexico, Reuters reported. 

A 16-year-old Honduran boy awaiting deportation from the United States under a Trump administration order issued in March that curtailed immigration due to the novel coronavirus pandemic sued the U.S. government in federal court in Washington, DC, late on Tuesday.

The minor, referred to as JBBP in court documents, is in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and was scheduled to be deported, according to the complaint. A judge temporarily blocked the deportation on Tuesday night.

A March 20 order by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allows agents to deport migrants apprehended at the border - including asylum seekers and unaccompanied children - without standard legal processes, arguing there is a risk they could spread the coronavirus in the United States.

7:25pm — Starbucks forecasts over $2 billion drop in quarterly income as COVID-19 hits

Starbucks Corp said it expects current-quarter operating income to plunge by up to $2.2 billion, and sales to decline for the rest of the year even as nearly all its cafes have reopened following easing of coronavirus lockdowns, Reuters reported.

The company said it would permanently close about 400 stores in the Americas over the next 18 months and cut its planned new store openings by half to about 300 this fiscal year, signifying the lasting impact of the pandemic.

The world’s largest coffee chain’s shares fell nearly 4%, as it also forecast a bigger-than-expected current-quarter loss and an over $3 billion fall in revenue.

7:10pm – Islamabad, Pakistan – National Coordination Committee recommends postponing scheduled, unscheduled exams

The National Coordination Committee has made a recommendation to postpone all the scheduled and unscheduled exams.

The Education Ministry informed all the provincial governments, alaong with Gilgit-Baltistan And Azad Jammu and Kashmir administrations via letters today.

The ministry said that the educational institutions and Madrassahs had requested to take exams in July with SOPs.

The Education Secretary, in the letter, said that the time is not suitable for taking exams, adding that the governments should ensure that they do not hold any examinations during this time.

6:50pm – Lahore, Pakistan – Corona Advisory Group issues SOPs for ACTEMRA injection

The Corona Advisory Group issued SOPs for selling and administering of ACTEMRA injection to virus patients.

CEO Mayo Hospital Dr Asad Aslam said that medical stores cannot commonly sell the injection as only government and private hospitals can buy these/

A three-member team can decide regarding the administration of the ACTEMRA injection, said Dr Aslam.

Pakistani tourists in Malaysia faced difficulties as they were denied entry into the country despite having valid visas.

The foreign ministry requested the Civil Aviation Authority issued a new travel advisory for new travelers.

6:10pm - Brussels, Belgium — EU urged to reopen external borders from July 1

The European Commission will recommend EU member states begin to reopen their external frontiers to travellers from outside the bloc from July 1, diplomatic chief Josep Borrell said Wednesday.

The decision on easing restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus rests with national capitals, but Borrell said Brussels would suggest "a gradual and partial lifting" of the ban.

EU member states have begun to ease temporary restrictions on non-essential crossing of the borders within the bloc, with a goal of June 15 for restoring free travel.

5:50pm, Quetta, Pakistan — Balochistan Command and Operations Centre concerned over rise in cases

The Balochistan Command and Operations Centre has expressed concern over the rapid rise in the virus cases.

According to a BCOC press release, the cases will rise further at the end of June and the beginning of July.

The committee directed relevant departments and divisional commissioners to implement SOPs for stemming the spread of the disease.

The BCOC press statement urged transporters and passengers to ensure implementation of SOPs.

5:30pm- Paris, France — Worldwide cases cross 7.25 million, death toll stands at 411,588

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 411,588 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Wednesday.

At least 7,254,140 cases of coronavirus have been registered in 196 countries and territories. Of these, at least 3,214,600 are now considered recovered.

The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

5:00pm - Quetta, Pakistan — Passengers cannot travel while standing in buses: Shahwani

The Balochistan government has barred people from travelling while standing in buses, said the provincial government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani. 

The spokesperson stated that action will be taken against those buses which do not follow the SOPs.

4:50pm - Manila, Philippines — ADB approves $500 million loan to strengthen Pakistan's COVID-19 response

4:45pm - Vienna, Austria — Austria lifting checks at Italian border and for arrivals from 30 states

Austria is lifting checks at its border with Italy and ending quarantine requirements for arrivals from 30 other European countries as of June 16, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said on Wednesday.

Officials had told Reuters on Tuesday that Austria would lift coronavirus-related restrictions on arrivals from more than 20 European countries, including Italy, from June 16, but details were ironed out at a ministerial meeting on Wednesday morning.

The lifting of restrictions will not apply to Britain, Sweden, Spain and Portugal, Schallenberg said. Austria will continue to advise against travel to Lombardy, Italy’s hardest-hit region, with a partial travel warning, he added.

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4:20pm Islamabad, Pakistan — Chairman National Minorities Commission tests positive for COVID-19

Chairman of the National Minorities Commission Cheela Ram tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

According to Ram, he experienced mild symptoms of the virus after which he decided to get himself tested for COVID-19.

The chairman had last week met Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as well as various delegations in Peshawar and Islamabad.

4:00pm - Berlin, Germany — Germany extends corona travel warning for non-European states

Germany will extend its travel warning for non-European countries until the end of August but lift border controls to all its neighbours by mid-June, ministers said on Wednesday.

As the coronavirus crisis in many European countries eases somewhat, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Germany does not yet have systems with the rest of the world to assess and coordinate travel without entailing potentially incalculable risks.

“We cannot and will not risk Germans being stranded all over the world again this summer or holidaymakers returning to Germany with the virus undetected,” said Maas in a statement.

Aware that many holidaymakers want to travel to destinations including Turkey, the United States, northern African and south-eastern Asia, Maas said the government would keep looking at the travel warning before September.

Germany had already announced it would lift a blanket travel ban for EU members, Britain, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland from June 15, opening the way to separate travel advice for individual regions.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Wednesday Germany was going further and would lift border controls with its by June 15, while cautioning it would reconsider if the virus situation worsens.

Seehofer also said existing rules for non-EU citizens wanting to come to Germany would be extended until the end of June.

3:45 pm - Karachi, Pakistan — Sindh reports over 2,400 cases in last 24 hours

Nationwide positive cases of coronavirus rose to 116,189 after new cases were reported in Sindh.

According to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, 2,487 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.

Sindh also carried out over 9,000 tests in the last 24 hours.

The new cases takes the provincial tally of positive cases to 43,790.

3:40pm - Karachi, Pakistan — Countrywide death toll nears 2,300

Nationwide death toll from the coroanvirus rose to 2,297 after new deaths were reported in Sindh.

According to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, 42 new deaths were recorded in province taking the provincial tally to 738.

3:15pm - Karachi, Pakistan — SHC issues notices in case challenging ban on Qingqi rickshaws

The Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the chief secretary, home secretary and secretary transport in a petition challenging the ban on Qingqi rickshaws due to the lockdown.

The court has asked the officials to submit their replies by June 30.

3:00pm - Berlin, Germany — Germany to end border controls with France, Austria, Denmark on June 15

Germany will lift border controls with Switzerland, France, Austria and Denmark on June 15, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Wednesday, adding the government would reconsider if the coronavirus situation deteriorates.

Seehofer also said existing rules for non-EU citizens wanting to come to Germany would be extended until the end of June.

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2:40pm - Peshawar, Pakistan — KMU test faciltiy carries out over 8,000 tests in last six days: Health minister 

2:25pm - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Malaysia to reopen schools in stages from June 24: minister

Malaysia will begin reopening schools from June 24, its education minister said on Wednesday, as the country enters recovery mode after three months of strict curbs on movement and businesses to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy began lifting most coronavirus restrictions from Wednesday, after the government declared that the outbreak was under control.

Schools will be reopened in stages, beginning with students facing public examinations and equivalent international school examinations this year, the minister, Mohd Radzi Jidin, said.

Malaysia has reported 8,336 cases and 117 deaths.

2:15pm - Islamabad, Pakistan — NDMA launches helpline for plasma donation: spokesperson

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has launched a helpline for plasma donations, said a spokesperson on Wednesday.

According to the spokesperson, one officer has been designated for the data collection and the helpline will be operational 24 hours.

The spokesperson stated that recovered coronavirus patients can approach the helpline for donations and urged them to donate as much as they can.

2:05pm - Lahore, Pakistan — Former additional medical superintendent of PIC loses life to COVID-19

Former additional medical superintendent of the PIC Lahore Dr Rahar Maqsood passed away due to the coronavirus, said the Jinnah Hospital Medical superintendent on Wednesday.

According to the MS, the doctor was diagnosed with the virus four days ago and was on a ventilator. The doctor had retired retired four months ago.

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12:55pm - Bangkok, Thailand — Thailand to consider reopening more businesses as virus appears contained

Thailand will consider a plan to reopen more businesses and establishments from as early as June 15, an official said on Wednesday, after the country has reported no local transmissions of the coronavirus in the past 16 days.

The government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration will consider the plan for the next phase of more “high risk” reopenings on Friday, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, the centre’s spokesman.

A draft of the plan currently includes schools, alcohol sales in dine-in restaurants, concerts with seating arrangements, amusement parks and playgrounds, and outdoor sports facilities, he said.

The businesses and activities could resume as early as June 15, or sometime before the end of the month, said Taweesin.

The plan does not yet include nightlife venues or “soapy massage” parlours, he said.

Since early May, Thailand has gradually lifted restrictions on businesses and activities such as shopping malls, public parks, restaurants, gyms and cinemas.

12:40pm - Paris, France — France may end COVID-19 emergency health measures on July 10

The French government is considering whether to end emergency health measures imposed to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic on July 10, the Prime Minister’s department said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe’s office said the possible date of July 10 was one of several options being examined at present.

France has eased many of its earlier, strict lockdown measures as data has shown signs that the virus may be fading away in the country, with shops, holiday resorts and tourist attractions slowly re-opening.

Nevertheless, the public is still being encouraged to wear face masks when outside, and to maintain distances of at least one metre apart from one another, while most employees are continuing to work from home rather than the office.

Official data published on Tuesday showed that France’s coronavirus death toll had risen by 87 to 29,296. This marked the highest daily toll since June 2, but remained under 100 for the seventh day in a row.

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12:20pm - Lahore, Pakistan — Over 200 COVID-19 patients treated with plasma therapy

Head of the National Institute of Blood Diseases (NIBD) Dr Tahir Shamsi shared that over 200 COVID-19 patients have been treated with plasma therapy.

Dr Shamsi highlighted that a gathering of plasma has become a problem as there is a shortage of facilities where it can be stored. He added that plasma donors are not understanding this problem.

“We are appealing on a humanitarian basis but they are not responding,” said Dr Shamsi, adding that recovered coronavirus patients can deposit their plasmas after every two to three days. 

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12:00pm - Peshawar, Pakistan — KP health department shares number of its testing service 

11:30am - Beijing, China — US says consulate in China's Wuhan to reopen in near future

The United States will soon resume operations at its consulate in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus outbreak began late last year, the US Embassy said on Wednesday.

US ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, “intends to resume operations in Wuhan in the near future”, Frank Witaker, minister counselor for Public Affairs at the embassy, said in an email to Reuters, without giving a specific date.

The US State Department withdrew consulate staff and their families in late January after the Chinese government put the city under lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.

Wuhan, a central Chinese city with a population of about 11 million, has accounted for the majority of China’s coronavirus cases and deaths, though the epidemic has since subsided there and in other parts of the country.

Since apparently jumping to people in a Wuhan market selling wildlife, the coronavirus has spread globally, infecting more than 7 million people and killing more than 410,000.

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Latest data from five-worst hit countries

11:00am - London, UK — Widespread mask-wearing could prevent COVID-19 second waves, study shows

Population-wide facemask use could push COVID-19 transmission down to controllable levels for national epidemics and could prevent further waves of the pandemic disease when combined with lockdowns, according to a UK study published Wednesday.

The research, led by scientists at the Britain’s Cambridge and Greenwich Universities, suggests lockdowns alone will not stop the resurgence of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, but that even homemade masks can dramatically reduce transmission rates if enough people wear them in public.

“Our analyses support the immediate and universal adoption of facemasks by the public,” said Richard Stutt, who co-led the study at Cambridge.

He said the findings showed that if widespread mask use were combined with social distancing and some lockdown measures, this could be “an acceptable way of managing the pandemic and re-opening economic activity” long before the development and public availability of an effective vaccine against COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.

The study’s findings were published in the “Proceedings of the Royal Society A” scientific journal.

10:50am - Berlin, Germany — Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 318 to 184,861

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 318 to 184,861, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday.

The reported death toll rose by 18 to 8,729, the tally showed.

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10:35am - Karachi, Pakistan — Sindh govt to expand testing capacity of KU lab to 2,400: Murtaza Wahab

10:15am - Dubai, UAE — Emirates to lay off more pilots, cabin crew on Wednesday, sources say

Emirates, one of the world’s biggest long-haul airlines, will lay off more pilots and cabin crew on Wednesday, sources said, in what would be a second day of redundancies.

An Emirates spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the airline’s statement on Tuesday that some employees had been laid off. No further details were provided.

The Dubai state airline laid off hundreds of pilots and thousands of cabin crew on Tuesday in a bid to stave off a cash crunch caused by the coronavirus pandemic, sources told Reuters.

More redundancies were expected this week, including both Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 pilots, the sources said on Tuesday.

9:50am - Melbourne, Australia — Australia on track to see coronavirus largely gone by July, sport resumes

Australia is on course to have largely eradicated the coronavirus by July, a public health official said on Wednesday, as the country’s most populous state announced the removal of restrictions on community sports.

“Our view has been that we had hoped that by June/July that we would see coronavirus largely disappearing from the country, so this is pretty much on track,” said Bill Rawlinson, a senior medical virologist with New South Wales Health.

New South Wales said it would resume community sports like netball and cricket from July 1, after the state went for two weeks without any cases of community transmission.

Australia logged an increase of seven cases overnight in the eastern states, three in NSW and four in Victoria, bringing total nationwide cases to 7,274. Three of the most recent cases were from unknown sources, after the country recorded no cases acquired from an unknown source overnight to Tuesday.

Despite the low numbers, some Australian states including Queensland and Western Australia have kept their borders shut, resisting calls to reopen them by their hard-hit tourism industries.

9:30am — Islamabad, Pakistan — Punjab, Islamabad, AJK report new cases, death toll climbs to 2,255

Confirmed cases in the country climbed to 113,702 on Wednesday after new cases were reported in Punjab, Islamabad and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the national dashboard, 2,641 cases were reported in Punjab, 178 cases were reported in Islamabad and 32 new cases were detected in AJK.

The country’s death toll also climbed to 2,255 after 34 deaths were reported in Punjab and five more in the federal capital.

Worldwide coronavirus cases at 7.21 million, death toll about 408,000

More than 7.21 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 408,400 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

8:40am — Brasilia, Brazil — Brazil reports 32,091 new cases and 1,272 deaths

Brazil reported 32,091 new cases of coronavirus and 1,272 new deaths for the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The South American country has so far recorded 739,503 confirmed cases of the virus, the second-highest level of contagion after the United States, and 38,406 people have died, the third-highest death toll worldwide.

Coronavirus pandemic nearing peak in Mexico: WHO 

The coronavirus pandemic in Mexico is advancing toward its peak level of infections but social distancing should continue until a vaccine is made available, WHO officials said.

The officials stressed that more testing is needed in Mexico before further economic re-opening and that street protests could cause a spike of new cases.

Mexico, where total confirmed cases exceed 120,000 and the death toll stands at about 14,000, began a gradual re-opening of the economy at the start of June.

11:30pm/June 9 — Islamabad, Pakistan — As many as 188 doctors providing services on government's telehealth dashboard

10:59pm/June 9 — US government offers $25 billion in COVID-19 relief to some hospitals

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it would distribute about $25 billion to hospitals that have not previously received relief funds as they grapple with a rise in COVID-19 cases, Reuters reported.

The agency said it would provide about $15 billion of the total to hospitals serving patients covered by federal Medicaid program for low-income individuals and children’s health insurance program, and $10 billion to safety net hospitals that treat patients regardless of their insurance status.

The US government has earmarked $175 billion for hospitals and medical providers to meet the increased expenses from rising COVID-19 cases and cover lost revenues due to suspension of medical procedures and routine visits.

10:50pm/June 9 — Karachi, Pakistan — WHO is not an organisation representing PPP, Wahab slams PTI over easing lockdown

World Health Organisation does not represent the PPP, Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab said, while criticising federal government over its policy to ease the lockdown.

He said that the government and courts need to take stern actions because this pandemic cannot be tackled without it, he said while speaking in Geo News programme "Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath".

The WHO, in its letter to the country, had mentioned that Pakistan did not meet any prerequisites of lifting the lockdown restrictions.