Number of Covid-19 cases around the world rises above four million

LEBANON

Lebanon’s churches have welcomed worshippers for the first time in nearly two months.

Churches and mosques are now permitted to open for congregational prayers on Sundays and Fridays as long as capacities are limited and other safety guidelines including social distancing measures are respected.

Many worshippers entering churches around Lebanon on Sunday were sprayed with disinfectant and had their temperatures checked before they were allowed in to sit at a distance from others.

Lebanon has the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East – about a third of the country’s five million people. The country has registered 809 cases of the coronavirus with 26 deaths attributed to Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.

RUSSIA

Russia’s count of coronavirus infections has climbed above 200,000 after its highest daily tally of new cases.

Figures released on Sunday recorded 11,012 new cases of the virus for a total of 209,688, with 1,915 deaths attributed to Covid-19. Russian officials said the sharp rise in numbers can be attributed to increased testing, at least in part.

More than half the infection cases and deaths are recorded in Moscow, which will remain under a lockdown for the rest of the month.

MALAYSIA

Movement restrictions in Malaysia are to be extended by four weeks until June 9 despite a sharp drop in infections in the country.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said restrictions that were due to end on Tuesday must continue in order to prevent infections from flaring up in the absence of a vaccine.

The government had already let most businesses reopen with strict conditions from May 4 to help revive its hard-hit economy. But mass gatherings remain barred, with schools, cinemas and worship houses staying shut, while group sports are prohibited and interstate travel banned.

Mr Muhyiddin said 6.6 million people, nearly half of the country’s labour force, has returned to work, with the number expected to increase.

Malaysia has recorded 6,589 cases with 108 deaths.

AFRICA

Africa has more than 60,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to a tally from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The Africa CDC says that all but one of the continent’s 54 countries, tiny Lesotho, has confirmed cases of the virus. South Africa has the most with more than 9,400 registered.

The widespread shortage of testing capacity continues to be a challenge and means the true figures are likely to be much higher.

Some countries are easing lockdowns even as cases rise, arguing that people have to make a living and feed their families despite the risks.

GERMANY

Police in Germany said dozens of people were detained at protests against the pandemic restrictions after some rallies turned violent on Saturday.

Berlin police said one officer was injured and 86 people arrested after bottles were thrown at officers during a demonstration in Alexanderplatz, a large central square in former East Berlin. Another officer was hurt in a separate incident in front of the Reichstag building, where 45 people were detained.

In the western city of Dortmund, police said a 23-year-old man was arrested after attacking a TV crew during a protest — the third such incident in Germany in the past two weeks. Police in nearby Cologne expressed outrage that some protesters in the city urged shoppers to remove their masks when entering stores.

“It seems like these people still haven’t understood that it’s not just about their health but also the lives of others,” Cologne’s police chief said.

Despite the gradual easing of Germany’s pandemic restrictions in recent weeks, protests against them have swelled, bringing together far-right groups, C-list celebrities and people who believe the virus is harmless or part of a global conspiracy.

CHINA

China reported its first double-digit rise in new cases in 10 days on Sunday, saying 14 had been detected, 12 of them domestic infections and two from abroad.

Eleven of the domestic cases were in the north-eastern province of Jilin and one in Hubei, whose capital Wuhan was the epicentre of the global pandemic. Jilin shares a border with North Korea, where the virus situation is unclear.

No new virus deaths have been reported in China for almost a month and the number of people in treatment for Covid-19 nationwide fell to 148, with another 798 under isolation. China has reported a total of 4,633 total death 82,901 cases.

The jump in new cases could fuel concerns over how quickly to lift strict social distancing measures and reopen schools and other public institutions.

AUSTRALIA

Health Minister Greg Hunt says Australia’s government supports a European Union motion for an independent investigation into the origins of Covid-19 in China.

Australia has called for such an inquiry for some weeks to better understand how the coronavirus started in Wuhan, China, to be able counter such pandemics in the future. The move has drawn a sharp response from China, Australia’s main trading partner.

Mr Hunt said: “We support the EU motion which includes an independent investigation, regulatory work on wet markets and also the potential for independent inspection powers.” Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive arm, said last week that she would like to see China work together with her organisation, and others, to determine how the virus emerged.

INDIA

An Indian navy warship carrying Indians stranded in the Maldives because of the coronavirus lockdown has docked at a port in Kochi, the capital of the southernmost state of Kerala.

The INS Jalashwa, with 698 returning citizens on board, is the first vessel to arrive as part of India’s massive repatriation mission. India is also using national carrier Air India to bring back thousands of stranded citizens from the Persian Gulf, the UK and elsewhere in Asia. Passengers have been charged a fare to return home. Hundreds of thousands of Indians have signed up for additional repatriation journeys this month.

India’s lockdown has entered a sixth week, though some restrictions have been eased for self-employed people unable to access government support to return to work. Nationwide though the pace of Covid-19 infection is growing, and India has reported 60,829 cases, including 19,357 recovered patients, and 2,109 deaths.