The number of people infected with the novel coronavirus across the world has approached near 40 lakh, while the death toll stands at over 2.74 lakh. However, 13.22 lakh people have been recovered from the virus.
Here are the top 10 global developments this morning:
1. A top aide to US Vice-President Mike Pence has tested positive for Covid-19 one day after another White House staff member was diagnosed with the virus.
2. The number of people in Italy who’ve died with COVID-19 infections has topped 30,000. The Health Ministry registered 243 deaths on Friday, bringing the total of those who died in the country to 30,201.
3. The US has blocked a vote on a UN security council resolution calling for a global ceasefire during the Covid-19 pandemic, because the Trump administration objected to an indirect reference to the World Health Organization.
4. China reported one new coronavirus case on Friday, unchanged from the day before, data from the national health authority showed on Saturday. The case was linked to foreign travel, the National Health Commission said in a statement.
5. The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to launch an app this month to enable people in under-resourced countries to assess whether they may have the novel coronavirus, and is considering a Bluetooth-based contact tracing feature too, an official told Reuters on Friday.
ALSO READ: COVID-19 | Top 10 developments in India this Saturday morning
6. The head of the International Monetary Fund on Friday signalled a possible downward revision of global economic forecasts, and warned the United States and China against rekindling a trade war that could weaken a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
7. US unemployment has hit 14.7%, as 20 million Americans lost their jobs in April. This is up from 4.4% in March.
8. Russia on Friday registered more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases for the sixth day in a row, after emerging as a new hotspot of the pandemic.
9. US President Donald Trump has said that coronavirus is “going to go away without a vaccine”, but warned there could be “flare ups” next year.
10. France’s daily coronavirus death toll rebounded on Friday, three days before it starts lifting its almost two-month-old national lockdown.