Coronavirus has infected more than 7 million people across the world and killed more than 402,000, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Here are the latest updates on the pandemic from around the world:
New Zealand
New Zealand has eliminated transmission of the novel coronavirus and will lift all containment measures except for border curbs, prime minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday, making the South Pacific nation one of the first countries to do so.
The government will drop social distancing restrictions form midnight on Monday as it moves to a level 1 national alert from level 2, Ms Ardern told a news conference.
Public and private events, the retail and hospitality industries and all public transport could resume without social distancing norms still in place across much of the world.
“While we’re in a safer, stronger position there’s still no easy path back to pre-Covid life, but the determination and focus we have had on our health response will now be vested in our economic rebuild,” Ms Ardern said.
“While the job is not done, there is no denying this is a milestone. So can I finish with a very simple ‘Thank you, New Zealand’. ”
The South Pacific nation of about 5 million people is emerging from the pandemic while big economies such as Brazil, Britain, India and the United States grapple with the spreading virus.
There were no active cases for the first time since the virus arrived in New Zealand in late February, the health ministry said. New Zealand has reported 1,154 infections and 22 deaths from the disease.
“Having no active cases for the first time since February 28th is certainly a significant mark in our journey, but as we’ve previously said, ongoing vigilance against Covid-19 will continue to be essential,” Dr Ashley Bloomfield, the director-general of health, said in the statement.
New Zealand has vowed to eliminate, not just contain, the virus, but the health ministry has been cautious about declaring victory.
It said elimination did not mean eradicating the virus permanently, but stopping “chains of transmission” for a period after the last infected person left isolation.
It also required New Zealand to “effectively prevent or contain any future imported cases from overseas”, it added in an emailed statement.
Brazil
Anti-government demonstrations broke out in several Brazilian cities on Sunday as president Jair Bolsonaro suffers a growing backlash against his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Protesters carrying signs in defence of democracy and against racism gathered in Brazil's largest cities despite medical recommendations of social distancing, many encouraged by US demonstrations that followed the death of George Floyd. Pro-Bolsonaro marches also took place in some cities, in smaller numbers.
As the number of deaths from Covid-19 soars and Brazil becomes a global hot spot for the virus, the government faced increased criticism over the weekend when it decided to limit the amount of data published about the pandemic. In response, health secretaries from all Brazilian states began compiling and releasing their own numbers for total cases and deaths from Covid-19.
Brazil registered 37,312 total coronavirus deaths while overall cases in the country reached 685,427, according to data from the health ministry on Sunday. It now has the third highest number of deaths in the world after the US and UK.
UK
Travellers arriving in the UK will now be required to self-isolate for 14 days under government measures to guard against a second wave of coronavirus. All passengers — bar a handful of exemptions — will have to fill out an online locator form giving their contact and travel details, as well as the address of where they will isolate. People who fail to comply could be fined £1,000 in England, and police will be allowed to use “reasonable force” to make sure they follow the rules.
Border Force officers will carry out checks on arrivals and may refuse entry to a non-resident foreign national who refuses to comply with the regulations. Failure to complete the locator form will be punishable by a £100 fixed penalty notice.
Travellers arriving from within the Common Travel Area (CTA) — which includes Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands — will not need to self-isolate unless they have arrived in the CTA in the last 14 days.
Britain’s coronavirus lockdown has led to dozens of people dying at home alone and not being discovered for up to two weeks, it has been reported. Doctors believe several dozen such cases occurred in London between March and May, with bodies lying undetected for so long they had started to decompose, according to The Guardian.
Exactly how many people have died at home alone is not known, but all such cases are referred to local coroners upon discovery
US
Exactly 100 days after the first coronavirus case was confirmed in New York City, some workers began returning to jobs on Monday at the start of reopening from a citywide shutdown to battle the epidemic that killed nearly 22,000 of its residents.
People who had been staying home for months boarded subways and buses as the most populous US city began phase one of its hopeful journey toward economic recovery.
“This is clearly the hardest place in America to get to this moment because we’re the epicentre,” mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
New York, by far the hardest-hit US city, on Monday reported the rate of people testing positive for the coronavirus fell to a new low of 3 per cent, well below its threshold for reopening of 15 per cent, Mr de Blasio said.
As some 400,000 workers head back to 32,000 construction sites, wholesale and manufacturing centers and some retail sites across the city, Mr de Blasio urged them to wear face masks and use social distancing to keep Covid-19 cases on a downward trend - particularly those who use mass transit to get to work.
Subway rider Jim Duke, who commutes from the New York suburb of Putnam County, said normally packed trains had few enough riders to accommodate social distancing from other commuters.
“There’s not a lot of people on there, so it’s fairly easy. So far,” said Mr Duke, wearing a face mask.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo noted that the rest of the state had already entered the same reopening phase without a jump in infections, largely because of restrictions that limit restaurants to serving guests only outdoors and retailers to making only curbside sales.
“If we follow those guidelines in New York City, there should not be a spike, just like there hasn’t been a spike across the rest of the state,” Mr Cuomo said.
Mr de Blasio said the city is opening 32 km of new bus routes and new bus lanes from June through October to increase spacing between mass transit passengers.
The mayor said he was cautiously monitoring the virus’ spread after thousands of protesters - many without masks - swarmed New York streets for daily marches against racism following the May 25th death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, to be sure reopening can continue and eventually bring customers back to hair salons, restaurants and other businesses.
Greece
Bars, nightclubs and internet cafes have been allowed to reopen in Greece, where an early lockdown is credited with keeping the number of coronavirus deaths and serious illnesses at low levels. Nearly all lockdown measures have now been lifted in a phased reopening, with regulations in place for businesses to maintain limits on the number of customers allowed and distances to be maintained.
Most bars, nightclubs and restaurants operate outdoors in Greece during the summer months, which has helped authorities in allowing them to reopen. However, government and health authorities warned that local lockdowns could be imposed if violations in social distancing regulations lead to outbreaks.
Italy
The Italian government’s point person on combating the Covid-19 pandemic says so far not enough Italians have downloaded an app to help health authorities trace contacts with people testing positive for the virus.
Domenico Arcuri said in an interview on Sunday with Italian state TV that two million people in Italy have downloaded Immuni, the app that uses Bluetooth technology to signal when someone comes in close contact with an infected person.
That number is “still too few”, Mr Arcuri said. He was referring to experts advising that at least 60 per cent of Italy’s 60 million people would have to use the app for contact tracing to be effective. As Italy gradually emerges from lockdown, allowing travel to resume throughout the country for whatever reason, the health minister and scientific experts who advise him have urged citizens to use Immuni.
Germany
Germany recorded a decline in the number of new coronavirus cases, while the infection rate rose above the key threshold of 1.0 for the first time in six days. There were 300 new cases in the 24 hours through Monday morning, bringing the total to 185,750, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
That compares with 526 the previous day and almost 7,000 at the peak of the pandemic in late March. Fatalities increased by 12 to 8,685.
The daily death toll has remained well below 100 since mid-May. The reproduction factor of the virus, known as R-naught, rose to 1.05 on Sunday from 0.87 the day before, according to the latest estimate from the Robert Koch Institute. That means 10 infected people are estimated to infect an average of around one other person.
Denmark
The country plans to lift the limit on public gatherings from 50 to 100 people in July and to 200 in August as it eases measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, the government said on Monday.
Earlier on Monday, the government raised the limit on public gatherings from 10 to 50 and allowed fitness centres and public swimming pools to reopen.
The government said its plan to allow groups of 100 and 200 to gather from July 8th and August 8th respectively, could be changed depending on a possible second wave of coronavirus in the country.
Denmark was one of the first countries in Europe to lock down in early March. The country had registered 593 coronavirus-related deaths on Monday, but the number of coronavirus-related deaths and hospital admissions has fallen since April.
In late May, Denmark and Norway said they would allow tourists to travel between the two countries from mid-June, but said border crossings with Sweden, where the number of Covid-19 infections is higher, would remain restricted.
Sweden
Sweden’s prime minister was forced to defend his Covid-19 strategy after opposition parties mounted a scathing attack amid signs the government’s handling of the pandemic was badly flawed.
With more than 4,500 deaths, and Sweden's chief epidemiologist – who advised keeping most of society open – admitting mistakes, prime minister Stefan Lofven became the target during a broadcast debate of party leaders Sunday night. Ulf Kristersson, leader of the main opposition party, said "there have been obvious, fundamental failures".
Mr Lofven said there's no reason to abandon the approach but acknowledged room for improvement. "We have far too many fatalities in elderly care." He also said the government "should have tested more people." Swedes now face travel restrictions in the European Union due to the country's high infection rate.
India
India is reopening its restaurants, shopping centres and religious places in most states even as the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the country grows. The health ministry reported another 9,983 cases on Monday, raising India’s count past 256,000 to become the fifth most in the world.
The 206 fatalities reported on Monday were the highest single-day rise and takes the country’s death toll to 7,135. New Delhi is also reopening its state borders, allowing the interstate movement of people and goods.
India has already partially restored train services and domestic flights and allowed shops and manufacturing to reopen. Schools remain closed. The number of new cases has soared since the government began relaxing restrictions.
There has also been a surge in infections in India’s vast countryside following the return of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who left cities and towns after losing their jobs.
Indonesia
Retail stores, restaurants and offices reopened in Indonesia’s capital after more than two-months as authorities eased social restriction rules to jump-start an economy hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of visitors to dine-in restaurants and retail stores is limited to 50 per cent of their capacities under a new health protocol unveiled by Jakarta’s administration last week, which also saw public transport services being restored to the pre-pandemic period albeit with reduced capacity.
Jakarta, the epicenter of the nation’s virus outbreak, switched to a month-long transition phase from a partial lockdown last week by allowing places of worship to reopen.
The city of almost 11 million people has seen the rate of infections fall below the threshold seen as safe to resume limited activities, according to Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.
South Korea
South Korea reported 38 more coronavirus cases in 24 hours, bringing the total tally to 11,814, data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.
About 800 people are being tested for possible infection from a student who visited the Lotte World theme park, though there have been no confirmed cases yet. Infections related to a logistics center rose to 138, while the number of confirmed cases from Seoul metropolitan region churches rose by four to 86.
Pakistan
The number of new coronavirus infections in Pakistan has continued to spiral upwards, as the nation of 220 million people surpassed 100,000 cases, with more than 2,000 deaths. The daily infection rate spiked after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan ended and markets were thrown open during the Eid-al Fitr holiday at the end of May.
That followed the government refusing to close mosques and deciding to open up the country even as medical professionals pleaded for a stricter lockdown. Since then the daily infection rates have held fairly steady with just under 5,000 new cases each day. Testing has held steady in recent days at about 22,000 each day, with government officials saying Pakistan aimed to eventually carry out 30,000 tests every day.
Prime minister Imran Khan has gone on national television to tell people the country’s poorest cannot survive a strict lockdown. – Agencies