As of 8 am, June 2, 2020:
World count: 6,112,902 cases, 2,671,705 recoveries, 373,883 deaths
There are now 6,226,409 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 worldwide. There have been 373,883 deaths from the coronavirus all over the globe since the pandemic began. The United States has the highest number of coronavirus cases, with 1,844,695 infections, followed by Brazil (525,307) and Russia (414,878).
The US has the highest death toll in the world, with 106,407 fatalities from Covid-19, followed by the United Kingdom (39,045) and Italy (33,475).
2,671,705 people worldwide have recovered from the coronavirus.
Singapore: 408 additional cases, 767 more discharged, 1 new death
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on June 1 that there are 408 new Covid-19 cases in the country. Singapore now has a total of 35,292 confirmed cases, with an additional 767 discharged from hospital. A total of 22,466 individuals have recovered, and 24 have died.
The latest fatality is a 51-year-old Chinese national, the youngest person in Singapore to have died from Covid-19. He was confirmed positive for the coronavirus on May 1. The MOH added, “He was diagnosed with lymphoma complicated by multi-organ failure while he had been warded in the intensive care unit in end-April. Despite being treated for lymphoma, his condition had deteriorated and he subsequently passed on.”
Health officials warn against too early easing of lockdown restrictions
Even as more countries lift lockdown restrictions, many health officials are warning against doing so too soon, as this would increase the risk of more infections. The Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) said on June 1 that it was “increasingly concerned that the government is misjudging this balancing act and lifting too many restrictions, too quickly,” while an Honorary Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Sally Bloomfield, said that easing so many measures at once “does not look like gently lifting the lid” and could mean another lockdown should the situation deteriorate.
“I fear that our desire to socialise means that the critical nature of our situation is being forgotten,” she added.
India: New Delhi borders closed for one week
In an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the borders of New Delhi, India’s capital, will be sealed for a week, said the chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, save for the movement of essential goods and services across the city’s borders. A 9pm to 5am curfew will also be imposed on the city.
Thailand: Easing of restrictions begins
The office of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced that several lockdown restrictions have begun easing in Thailand from June 1, including shorter curfew hours, the reopening educational facilities for certain activities, longer hours for malls, markets and exhibitions, and the reopening of gyms, beauty clinics, tattoo shops, sporting arenas, spas, cinemas, and zoos, but with public health restrictions implemented.
Drug company Eli Lilly starts human trial of coronavirus antibody therapy
Eli Lilly and Company announced the start of the first human trial of an antibody therapy to treat the coronavirus. Should the therapy prove to be successful, it may be available later in the year. The company is conducting its trials at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, and Emory University in Atlanta, with results available at the end of the month.
Dr Dan Skovronsky, Eli Lilly’s senior vice president and chief scientific officer, said, “We’ve already started the manufacturing process to really scale this up without even knowing yet if it works for patients, because if it does work, we don’t want to waste a single day, we want to have as much medicine as possible available to help as many people quickly.”—/TISG
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