in-cyprus 31 May 2020 -Bouli Hadjioannou
Gradual easing of coronavirus restrictions around the world included some openings for the faithful, including Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound which reopened to Muslim worshippers and visitors on Sunday after a two-and-a-half month closure.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* More than 6.04 million people have been reported infected with the coronavirus globally and 367,902 have died, a Reuters tally showed as of 0208 GMT on Sunday.
EUROPE
* After a near three-month shutdown, elite competitive sport in England can resume from Monday behind closed doors provided strict conditions are met, the government said.
* England risks losing control of the pandemic again and is at a “very dangerous moment” as it starts to ease out of the COVID-19 lockdown, senior scientific and medical advisers warned on Saturday.
The European Union urged the United States to reconsider its decision to cut ties with the World Health Organization over its handling of the pandemic.
* Parisians hurried into parks and gardens as they reopened in the French capital for the first time after almost 11 weeks of lockdown, one of the last areas of France to ease restrictions.
AMERICAS
* Brazil reported a record 33,274 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, its health ministry said, and the death toll surpassed that of France and now ranks only below the United States, Britain and Italy.
* Colombia issued new measures to control the coronavirus spread in three of its most affected cities on Saturday, including the capital Bogota, as the rest of the country prepares for quarantine rules to start lifting.
* Canada will invest C$30 million ($21.8 million) to enable its provinces and territories to promote holidays in their “own back yard” because of the closure of the country’s borders due to the pandemic.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned the country to remain vigilant against coronavirus as the country prepares a phased re-opening of activities even as daily cases rise to record highs.
* China announced two new confirmed coronavirus cases and four new asymptomatic cases, including one person without symptoms of COVID-19 on a chartered flight from Germany.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound reopened to Muslim worshippers and visitors on Sunday after a two-and-a-half month closure, but authorities imposed some precautions as health officials warned of an uptick in local infections.
* Saudi Arabia’s mosques opened their doors to worshippers on Sunday for the first time in more than two months as the kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, eased coronavirus restrictions.
* Egyptian hotels operating with a new reduced occupancy rate of 25% to contain the coronavirus spread have almost reached full capacity, a tourism ministry official told Reuters.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* China’s factory activity grew at a slower pace in May but momentum in the services and construction sectors quickened, pointing to an uneven recovery in the world’s second-largest economy as businesses emerge from shutdowns.
* Germany is working on a stimulus package worth 75 billion-80 billion euros ($83 billion-$89 billion) to support economic recovery after the pandemic, weekly Bild am Sonntag reported.
(Reuters)
