Russia records sad record, world warns of new Covid-19 outbreak

Warning of the risk of a second wave of Covid-19 outbreak in the US

The United States is currently the country most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the highest total number of infections (1,158,881 people) and deaths (67,293 people) as of early morning on May 2. In just the past 24 hours, the country recorded nearly 27,851 new Covid-19 infections and 1,540 deaths from the pandemic.

According to CNN, although the spread of the new coronavirus in many parts of the US is slowing down thanks to social distancing measures, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading US medical expert and member of the White House's Covid-19 task force, warned people not to be complacent. Mr. Fauci said that the Covid-19 epidemic is likely to recur a second time when more states relax or lift stay-at-home orders and quickly restore normal economic and social life as before.

AP news agency noted that beautiful weather across the United States last week caused thousands of people to defy warnings and flock to beaches or parks to sunbathe and cool off.

In New York State, the epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak in the US, Governor Andrew Cuomo urged people to adhere to social distancing and wear masks when leaving their homes. Authorities also dispatched about 1,000 police officers and park staff to remind people to strictly follow epidemic prevention recommendations.

Russia records sad record

In just the past 24 hours, Russia has had 9,623 more cases of the new coronavirus, the highest daily increase ever, bringing the total number of Covid-19 cases to 124,054. The total number of deaths from the epidemic nationwide is now 1,222, an increase of 53 cases compared to the previous day.

According to RT, the recent increase in Covid-19 infections in Russia may be partly due to increased testing in the capital Moscow, the hardest-hit area in the country. On May 2 alone, Moscow recorded 5,358 new Covid-19 cases.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the city had doubled the capacity of its testing centers and increased antibody testing by 10 times in the past week. Moscow is considering setting up field hospitals in sports complexes and shopping malls to cope with the surge in Covid-19 patients.

Russian authorities have urged people to strictly adhere to social distancing, hoping that better testing measures will help strengthen quarantines and allow early medical intervention in serious cases.

France extends health emergency decree until July

French Health Minister Olivier Veran announced on May 2 that after an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers, the government agreed to extend the state of health emergency, which has been in place nationwide since March, until July 24 to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic.

However, according to the BBC, French authorities still plan to start lifting some lockdown measures from May 11. Restrictions to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus will be adjusted by region.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner noted that “if the conditions are met,” people will no longer need permission to go out. However, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe will be able to “take measures by decree to regulate the movement of people and the use of means of transport.”

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Minister Castaner stressed: "We will have to live with the new coronavirus for a while. Learning to live with this virus is what we need to do in the coming months."

France is still the "hotspot" of the Covid-19 epidemic in the world with more than 168,000 Covid-19 infections and 24,760 of them have died.

Europe cautiously eases lockdown

Although Europe remains a "hot spot" for the Covid-19 epidemic, many countries in the region have relaxed Covid-19 prevention measures in the past week.

InSpainAdults were allowed to go out for exercise for the first time in seven weeks on May 2. Children under 14 were allowed to do so a week ago.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that the government will distribute about 6 million masks for free, mainly at public transport points and give an additional 7 million masks to localities to serve the fight against Covid-19.

Spain is currently the second largest Covid-19 "epidemic" in the world after the US with 245,567 positive cases of the new coronavirus and 25,100 deaths.

Lockdown measures are also being gradually lifted in several other European countries, although social distancing rules remain in place. Some countries are also requiring people to wear masks in stores and on public transport to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

In terms of the number of deaths due to Covid-19,Italyis currently the leading country in Europe and second in the world after the US with 28,710 people, followed by the UK with 28,131 people.

In just the past 24 hours, Italy recorded 474 more deaths from the epidemic, much higher than the previous day, and 1,900 more people infected with Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases nationwide to 209,328.

At the same time,Older brotherThere were 621 more Covid-19 patients who died and 4,806 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections nationwide as of the morning of May 3 to 182,260 people.

Other notable news about Covid-19:

- Ministry of HealthJapansaid it will launch an online Covid-19 reporting system from May 10 and roll it out nationwide from May 17 to ease the burden on medical centers struggling to cope with the outbreak. The Japanese government is expected to extend the state of emergency for about a month to prevent a resurgence of the virus. There are now 14,305 people in the country who have tested positive for the new coronavirus, with 455 of them having died.

- GovernmentSingaporeOn May 2, Singapore announced a plan to ease restrictions to contain the epidemic, in which some residents will be allowed to go out to exercise from May 5; some services such as food processing, food and beverage delivery, laundry, hairdressing, etc. will be allowed to resume operations from May 12. All businesses will be allowed to reopen from June 1. As of early morning on May 3, Singapore recorded at least 17,548 Covid-19 cases with 17 deaths.

- Reuters quoted Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme CourtPhilippinesMario Victor Leonen announced on May 2 that in order to prevent the risk of spreading Covid-19 in crowded prisons where social distancing measures cannot be implemented, the country has released 9,731 prisoners. Two prisons on Cebu Island are the places that have witnessed the highest number of Covid-19 infections in the country, with a total of 349 infections out of more than 8,000 prisoners. As of early morning on May 3, the Philippines recorded 8,928 positive cases of the new coronavirus and 603 deaths.

- According to the national police directorMalaysia, the country has begun placing illegal immigrants in centralized detention facilities to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. As of the end of May 2, local authorities had detained more than 700 undocumented immigrants in a crackdown in the capital Kuala Lumpur, as the government imposed nationwide travel restrictions to control the Covid-19 epidemic. Malaysia has now had 103 deaths out of a total of 6,176 Covid-19 cases.

- Dr. Maria van Kerkhove, technical director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Program, congratulated Wuhan, the epicenter of the Covid-19 epidemic in China.Chinaas the city currently has no serious cases of the novel coronavirus. Ms. Kerkhove also praised local residents for strictly following the lockdown and isolation measures for nearly three months to successfully contain the outbreak.