US coronavirus deaths top 110,000: Live updates

• Global death toll from the coronavirus surged past 400,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. About 30 percent of those cases, or two million infections, are in the US. Latin America has the second-largest outbreak, with more than 15 percent of cases. There are more than 6.9 million cases globally.

• The novel coronavirus has killed more than 110,000 people in the United States, as confirmed cases approach two million.

• The number of coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia has exceeded 100,000, following a rise in new infections over the past ten days.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has changed its position on face masks and is now encouraging people to wear them in crowded places, citing anecdotal evidence that supports their value in stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Here are the latest updates:

Sunday, June 7

20:30 GMT – India’s bodybuilders rally calling for gyms to open

Gym owners and trainers in several Indian cities held protests over the weekend against a ban on opening fitness centres over fears of spreading the coronavirus, even as many lockdown restrictions are set to ease.

The nation of 1.3 billion people will allow shopping malls, restaurants, hotels and places of worship to re-open Monday, more than 10 weeks after a nationwide shutdown was imposed in late March.

But gyms will remain closed, to the frustration of owners and trainers in several cities, including Amritsar in northern Punjab state.

19:30 GMT – Liberia set to ease virus restrictions

Liberia has made good progress in containing the spread of coronavirus and will open its international airport and hotels on June 21, the government said.

A state of emergency that was declared in April and due to expire on June 21 would not be renewed, President George Weah said in a statement.

Restrictions such as a night-time curfew would remain in place, though it would start later, according to the statement released.

18:30 GMT – US coronavirus deaths top 110,000

The novel coronavirus has killed more than 110,000 people in the US, according to Johns Hopkins University data, as nationwide protests against racial injustice spark fears of a resurgence of the virus.

Total US coronavirus cases are approaching two million, the highest in the world followed by Brazil with about 672,000 cases and Russia with about 467,000.

Several southern US states reported sharp increases in COVID-19 infections, with Alabama, South Carolina and Virginia all seeing new cases rise.

18:00 GMT – France reports 13 more coronavirus deaths, total at 29,155

France’s coronavirus death toll, the fifth-highest in the world, has gone up by 13 to 29,155, the government said.

The number of people in hospital intensive care units fell by six to 1,053, a smaller decrease than the previous day but extending a steady drop in critical cases since a peak of over 7,000 in early April, according to data posted on a government website.

The total number of people being treated in hospital for COVID-19 fell by 18 to 12,461. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, rose by 343 to 153,997.

17:20 GMT – In Pictures: Burying COVID-19 victims on Peru’s hilltop cemetery

As the number of COVID-19 deaths in Peru rapidly mounts, the Virgen de Lourdes cemetery outside Peru’s capital has become a monument to the pandemic’s devastating toll among the poor.

The cemetery is among the biggest in the world – with more than a million tombs – and it is located in one of Lima’s most impoverished neighbourhoods.

See the picture gallery here.

16:45 GMT – Canada’s coronavirus death toll edges up by less than 1 percent

The total number of Canadians killed by the coronavirus has edged up by 0.9 percent to 7,773 from 7,703 on Saturday, the public health agency said, further evidence that the worst of the pandemic has passed.

In a statement, the agency said the total number of cases rose to 95,057 from 94,335. Canada’s 10 provinces have all started to reopen their economies and relax restrictions on social gatherings.

16:20 GMT – Italy reports 53 new COVID-19 deaths and 197 new cases

Italy has reported 53 new COVID-19 deaths against 72 a day earlier and 197 new cases, down from 270 the day before, the Civil Protection department said.

The total death toll since the outbreak emerged stands at 33,899, the agency said, the fourth-highest in the world after those of the US, the UK and Brazil.

With a total number of confirmed cases at 234,998, Italy now has the seventh-highest global tally. People registered as currently carrying the disease fell to 35,262 from 35,877 the day before.

15:55 GMT – Thailand takes live music festival to Zoom amid pandemic

Rock fans in Thailand watched their favourite bands play via video-meeting platform Zoom as a live music festival went online.

Public gatherings have been banned in Thailand since mid-March to prevent the spread of coronavirus, but the six-hour-long show gave people a chance to see and interact with artists from afar. 

Some music fans gathered in small groups – permitted under the coronavirus restrictions – to watch the event, for which about 3,000 tickets were sold at 499 baht ($15.84) apiece.

15:20 GMT – UK coronavirus death toll rises 77 to 40,542

The UK’s death toll from confirmed cases of COVID-19 has gone up by 77 to 40,542 as of 16:00 GMT on June 6, according to government data published.

Scotland and Northern Ireland earlier reported no COVID-19 deaths in the previous 24 hours.

14:55 – S Africa government, private hospitals agree deal on COVID-19 patients

The South African government has agreed on how much it will pay private hospitals and medical practitioners to treat severely ill COVID-19 patients if public hospitals run out of space, a senior health official told the Reuters News Agency.

The government has been in talks for months with private firms and medical associations ahead of a probable scenario where public hospitals run out of critical care beds.

An agreement has been reached on a daily fee of up to 16,000 rand ($950) for COVID-19 patients that get treated in critical care beds in private hospitals, said Anban Pillay, the health ministry’s deputy director-general for national health insurance.

14:35 GMT – Scotland, N Ireland report no new COVID-19 deaths in past 24 hours

Scotland has recorded no deaths of patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, Scottish health minister Jeane Freeman said.

Northern Ireland’s health department also said it had no new COVID-19 deaths reported in the 24 hours to 09:00 GMT on Sunday.

“I would offer a note of caution about reading too much into today’s figure. We know that fewer deaths tend to be registered at the weekend,” Freeman said at a news conference.

“It is still very likely that further COVID deaths will be reported in the days ahead.”

14:10 GMT – Don’t celebrate victory over coronavirus yet: Pope

Pope Francis has warned Italians to not let their guard down against the coronavirus now that infection rates have fallen and urged them to obey government rules on social distancing and wearing masks.

Francis, addressing several hundred people in St Peter’s Square for his Sunday blessing, reacted to applause that broke out when he said their presence, albeit reduced, was a sign that Italy had overcome the acute phase of the pandemic.

“Be careful. Don’t cry victory too soon,” he cautioned them, departing from his prepared text.

Nearly 34,000 people have died in Italy from the coronavirus, the fourth-highest toll in the world after the United States, the UK and Brazil.

13:50 GMT – New Delhi reserves hospital beds for residents as cases surge

The city of New Delhi ordered many of its hospital beds to be reserved solely for residents of the Indian capital, as the number of COVID-19 infections continued to surge.

India on Sunday registered 9,971 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally to 246,628 cases, with 6,929 deaths. The case numbers now lag behind only the US, Brazil, Russia, the UK and Spain.

New Delhi alone has registered more than 10 percent of the total cases, making it the third-worst affected part of the country after the western state of Maharashtra, home to financial capital Mumbai, and southern Tamil Nadu state.

13:30 GMT – Saudi Arabia’s coronavirus cases exceed 100,000

The number of coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia has exceeded 100,000, following a rise in new infections over the past 10 days.

The Saudi Ministry of Health reported 3,045 new cases, taking the total to 101,914, with 712 deaths. The number of new daily cases exceeded 3,000 for the first time on Saturday.

The country of 30 million people recorded its first COVID-19 infection on March 2. Health authorities said in April the virus could eventually infect between 10,000 and 200,000 people in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom topped 50,000 cases on May 16.

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Hello, this is Umut Uras in Doha taking over from my colleague, Usaid Siddiqui.

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12:45 GMT – New York mayor lifts curfew ahead of pandemic ‘reopening’

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has lifted a curfew he had imposed on the city for nearly a week as anti-racism protests raged there and nationwide.

“Yesterday and last night we saw the very best of our city,” de Blasio tweeted in announcing that the curfew was over “effective immediately.”

The 8:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew – the city’s first in 75 years – ends a day early on the eve of the city’s “reopening” on Monday after more than two months of sheltering-at-home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

12:30 GMT – India sees almost 10,000 new cases ahead of reopenings

India has reported 9,971 new coronavirus cases in another biggest single-day spike, a day before it prepares to reopen shopping malls, hotels and places of worship after a 10-week lockdown.

India has now surpassed Spain as the fifth-hardest hit country, with more than 247,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including nearly 7,000 deaths.

12:15 GMT – Afghan cricket team starts training despite coronavirus fear

Afghanistan’s national cricket team has kicked off a month-long training camp, even as the coronavirus was spreading widely across the country and an international aid organisation warned it was on the brink of a humanitarian crisis.

Afghanistan has officially recorded more than 20,000 cases countrywide, but the actual number is believed to be much higher.

11:55 GMT – Iran says virus uptick due to increased testing

Iran’s health ministry has said a surge in newly reported coronavirus infections was due to increased testing rather than a worsening outbreak.

After hitting a near two-month low in early May and lifting of tough movement restrictions, COVID-19 cases have been rising in the Islamic republic which is battling the Middle East’s deadliest outbreak of the disease.

“The main reason for rising numbers is that we started identifying (infected people) with no or light symptoms,” said Mohammad-Mehdi Gouya, the health ministry’s head epidemiologist.

11:35 GMT – Istanbul residents ignore virus rules on first weekend out

Istanbul residents have flocked to the city’s shores and parks on the first weekend with no coronavirus lockdown, prompting a reprimand from the country’s health minister who warned that the COVID-19 pandemic still poses a threat.

Images on social media and in the news media showed crowds picnicking and partying on Saturday night without heeding social distancing or wearing masks.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted “let’s not normalize too much” and urged people to wear masks and keep their distance.

11:20 GMT – Pope warns ‘be careful’ after lockdowns lifted

Pope Francis is cautioning people in countries emerging from coronavirus lockdowns to keep following authorities’ rules for COVID-19 containment.

“Be careful, don’t cry victory, don’t cry victory too soon,” he said.

Italy’s gradual easing of stay-at-home rules now allows the public to gather in St Peter’s Square on Sundays for the pope’s noon blessing, and Francis was clearly delighted to see several hundred people gathered in the square below his window, standing safely either individually or as families.

11:00 GMT – Brazil stops publishing coronavirus deaths, infections

Brazil’s government has stopped publishing a running total of coronavirus deaths and infections in an extraordinary move that critics have called an attempt to hide the true toll of the disease in Latin America’s largest nation.

Saturday’s move came after months of criticism from experts saying Brazil’s statistics are woefully deficient, and in some cases manipulated, so it may never be possible to gain a real understanding of the depth of the pandemic in the country.

Read more here.

10:40 GMT – Portuguese economy to shrink nearly 7 percent 

Portugal’s tourism-dependent economy is expected to shrink by nearly 7 percent this year due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, the government said in its economic and financial stability programme published late on Saturday.

“A strong contraction of the Portuguese economy is expected as a result of the economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the containment measures implemented,” it said, describing the 6.9 percent predicted fall as the “biggest contraction registered in recent decades”.

09:55 GMT – Indonesia reports 672 new coronavirus infections, 50 deaths

Indonesia has reported 672 new coronavirus infections, taking the total to 31,186, a health ministry official has said.

There were 50 new deaths, taking the total to 1,851, while 10,498 people have recovered, the official, Achmad Yurianto, said.

09:40 GMT – Russia reports 8,984 new coronavirus cases, 134 deaths

Russia has reported 8,984 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, pushing the total number of infections to 467,673.

Officials said 134 people had died during the same period, bringing the official nationwide death toll to 5,859.

09:15 GMT – UK health secretary: Attending protests undoubtedly a risk

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said attending protests during the coronavirus pandemic was “undoubtedly a risk”.

“The virus itself doesn’t discriminate and gathering in large groups is temporarily against the rules precisely because it increases the risk of the spread of this virus”, Hancock told British broadcaster Sky.

08:55 GMT – UK places of worship to open for private prayer

The British government will allow places of worship to reopen on June 15 – but only for private prayer.

Weddings and other services will not be permitted under the latest easing of the coronavirus lockdown.

People are expected to adhere to physical distancing rules.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said it has been a “priority” to get places of worship to open again. He said people of all faiths have “shown enormous patience and forbearance” during the lockdown, unable to mark Easter, Passover, Ramadan or Vaisakhi in the traditional way.

08:30 GMT – Malaysia to reopen most economic activity with virus outbreak ‘under control’

Malaysia has said it would resume nearly all economic activity and allow interstate travel starting June 10, lifting coronavirus restrictions imposed nearly three months ago as it moves to revive an economy battered by the pandemic.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced in a televised address the novel coronavirus outbreak was “successfully” under control and Malaysia would begin a new recovery phase until August 31.

“I am aware the government cannot control your lives forever to control the virus,” Muhyiddin said.

08:10 GMT – Migrant worker virus exodus plunges India’s factories into crisis

An acute shortage of workers means thousands of factories in India are struggling to restart after an exodus of migrant workers during the virus lockdown.

India is slowly emerging from strict containment measures imposed in late March as leaders look to revive the battered economy, but manufacturers do not have enough workers to man the machinery.

The big cities – once an attractive destination for workers from poor, rural regions – have been hit by reverse migration as millions of labourers returned to their far-flung villages, some uncertain if they will ever go back.

07:40 GMT – China will make any vaccine ‘global public goods’

Chinese officials on Sunday promised to make any Chinese vaccine “global public goods” once available.

Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang said China is involved in international cooperation on vaccine development and clinical trials.

Wang made the comment at a news conference to release a report on the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

07:10 GMT – Bangladesh minister tests positive for coronavirus

A Bangladeshi minister has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, local media reported.

Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing, the Chittagong hill tracts affairs minister, is the first in the country’s cabinet to have tested positive for the virus.

“Minister Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing was suffering from coronavirus like symptoms for the last nine days and we got confirmation on Saturday night that he had contracted COVID-19,” Dr Aung Swi Prue Marma, a civil surgeon at Bandarban district, told Anadolu Agency.

06:50 GMT – Australian anti-racism protestors defying health rules ‘self-indulgent’: minister

Australians who defied public health rules and rallied in support of the US’s Black Lives Matter movement were reckless and self-indulgent, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said.

More than 20,000 people protested in Sydney and other cities on Saturday, in solidarity with US anger over the death of a Black man in police custody and calling for an end to similar deaths of Indigenous Australians.

“I think it is incredibly selfish,” Cormann told Sky News. “It’s incredibly self-indulgent.”

06:20 GMT – OPEC, allies agree to extend deep output cuts through July

OPEC members, led by Saudi Arabia, and other key oil producers agreed on Saturday to extend historic output cuts through July, as oil prices tentatively recover and coronavirus lockdowns ease.

The 13-member cartel and its allies, notably Russia, decided to extend by a month deep May and June cuts agreed in April to boost prices, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a statement.

But Mexico, which had already made clear ahead of the talks that it “could not adjust… production further”, announced that it would not be complying.

05:55 GMT – China denies delay in sharing virus information: AP

The Chinese health minister has denied delays in sharing coronavirus information in response to an Associated Press investigation that found the WHO was frustrated by a lack of transparency by Beijing during the early days of the virus outbreak.

At a news conference on Sunday, where China issued an official report on the fight against COVID-19, Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission, denied China stalled or attempted a cover-up during the virus outbreak, saying the AP report “seriously violated the facts”.

“It took time to accumulate evidence, deepen understanding, and grasp the characteristics of the novel coronavirus,” Ma said.

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Hello, this is Usaid Siddiqui in Doha taking over from my colleague Ted Regencia

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05:35 GMT – US CDC reports 1,891,690 coronavirus cases

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 1,891,690 cases of the new coronavirus as of the end of Saturday, an increase of 29,034 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,128 to 109,192.

04:55 GMT – Thailand reports eight new cases, zero new deaths for 13 days in a row

Thailand on Sunday reported eight new cases and no new deaths, taking its total to 3,112 infections and 58 deaths since the outbreak began in January.

The new cases were returnees – five from the United Arab Emirates, two from Kuwait and one from India – and had been in quarantine, where most of Thailand’s recent cases have been detected, said Panprapa Yongtrakul, an assistant spokeswoman for the government’s COVID-19 Administration Centre.

Thailand has recorded zero new deaths for 13 days in a row, she said.

04:39 GMT – Shanghai drug company begins human test for COVID-19 drug

Shanghai Junshi Biosciences has started an early-stage study to test its potential antibody treatment against coronavirus in healthy people, Reuters reported on Sunday quoting the official paper Liberation Daily’s online channel.

The experimental drug, JS016, is expected to begin human study in the United States in the second quarter of this year, through collaboration with Eli Lilly and Co, with which Junshi announced a partnership last month.

04:18 GMT – Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 301 to 183,979

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 301 to 183,979, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.

The reported death toll rose by 22 to 8,668, the tally showed.

03:27 GMT – El Salvador’s Bukele sustains veto of coronavirus legislation

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has for the second time vetoed emergency legislation passed to regulate the Central American country’s coronavirus policy and usher in a gradual reopening of its economy, his legal team said.

Bukele’s legal counsel, Conan Castro, said Bukele had vetoed the law backed on May 30 by Congress because it breached a number of constitutional guarantees including the rights and health of workers and cooperation between organs of government.

Bukele, who has been at loggerheads with Congress for weeks over coronavirus policy, had vetoed a similar law in May on the grounds it put the public’s health at risk. El Salvador has about 2,934 coronavirus cases and 53 deaths reported.

03:03 GMT – China would make a coronavirus vaccine a “global public good”

China will increase international cooperation if it succeeds in developing a novel coronavirus vaccine, the science and technology minister said on Sunday.

China would make a vaccine a “global public good” when it is ready, Minister Wang Zhigang was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency during a news conference in Beijing.

02:32 GMT – Brazil takes down COVID-19 data, hiding soaring death toll

Brazil has removed from public view months of data on its COVID-19 epidemic, as President Jair Bolsonaro defended delays and changes to official record-keeping of the world’s second-largest coronavirus outbreak.

Brazil’s Health Ministry removed the data from a website that had documented the epidemic over time and by state and municipality.

The ministry also stopped giving a total count of confirmed cases, which have shot past 672,000 – more than anywhere outside the US – or a total death toll, which passed Italy this week, nearing 36,000 by Saturday.

“The cumulative data … does not reflect the moment the country is in,” Bolsonaro said on Twitter, citing a note from the ministry. “Other actions are under way to improve the reporting of cases and confirmation of diagnoses.”

Bolsonaro has downplayed the dangers of the pandemic, replaced medical experts in the health ministry with military officials and argued against state lockdowns, hobbling the country’s public health response.

02:06 GMT – Second day of 50-plus cases in South Korea virus spike

South Korea has reported 57 additional cases of the coronavirus, marking a second day in a row that its daily jump is above 50, as authorities struggle to suppress a spike in new infections in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Figures released on Sunday by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took the country’s total to 11,776 cases, with 273 deaths. The agency says 10,552 people have recovered while 951 remain in treatment.

South Korea’s caseload peaked in late February and early March, but a later significant easing amid aggressive tracing, testing and treatment prompted authorities to loosen strict social distancing rules. The country has since seen an increase in new infections, mostly in the Seoul region.

01:43 GMT – China reports six new COVID-19 cases, five asymptomatic cases

China reported six new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, three more than the previous day.

Five of the new cases, recorded by late Saturday, involved travellers arriving from abroad, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on its website. One locally transmitted case was found in the southern island province of Hainan.

The NHC also confirmed five new asymptomatic cases, or people who are infected with the virus but do not show symptoms, compared with two the previous day.

The total number of infections in China, where the virus first emerged late last year, stands at 83,036. With no new deaths reported, the death toll remained 4,634.

01:34 GMT – Brazil reports 904 new coronavirus deaths in 24 hours -health ministry

Brazil reported an additional 904 coronavirus deaths and 27,075 new cases over the last 24 hours, Reuters news agency reported on Sunday, quoting the country’s health ministry.

The country has registered 35,930 total coronavirus deaths and 672,846 confirmed cases.

01:08 GMT – Sri Lanka to reopen for international tourism on August 1

Sri Lanka says it will reopen for international tourists starting August 1 after a “successful containment” of the novel coronavirus.

The country’s airports had been closed since March because of the global pandemic.

Sri Lanka Tourism said in a statement on Saturday that all precautionary measures recommended by global health and travel authorities have been put in place to keep visitors and residents safe.

Sri Lanka has reported 1,810 confirmed cases, including 11 deaths.

00:34 GMT – Mexico reports 3,593 new cases, 341 new fatalities

Mexico’s health ministry has reported 3,593 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 341 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 113,619 cases and 13,511 deaths.

The government said the real number of infections is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

00:01 GMT – Russia reports second-highest one-day death toll

Russia has reported its second-highest one-day death toll even as the number of new coronavirus infections remained steady.

The national coronavirus task force said 197 people died during the past day, sharply up from 144 a day earlier. The highest one-day death toll was 232 on May 29.

There were 8,855 new infection cases overall. Russia has recorded more than 458,000 cases, including 5,725 deaths.

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Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

For all the updates from yesterday, June 6, click here.