(Reuters) – Brazil became the world No. 2 hotspot for coronavirus cases on Friday, second only to the United States, after it confirmed that 330,890 people had been infected by the virus, the Health Ministry said.
It registered 1,001 daily coronavirus deaths on Friday, taking total deaths to 21,048. President Jair Bolsonaro has been widely criticized for his handling of the outbreak and is at the center of a deepening political crisis.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* More than 5.21 million people were reported to have been infected globally with the virus and nearly 337,000 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.
* For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.
* For Eikon users, click on MacroVitals cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and a summary of developments.
EUROPE
* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resisted calls on Saturday from opposition parties to sack adviser Dominic Cummings after he traveled 400 km while his wife showed COVID-19 symptoms to ensure their son could be looked after by his family.
* Russia said 9,434 new cases of the coronavirus had been reported in the last 24 hours, pushing its nationwide tally to 335,882. It also reported 139 new fatalities after a record of 150 deaths the day before, bringing the death toll to 3,388.
* Lockdowns will be eased in Spain’s capital Madrid and second city Barcelona from Monday to allow outdoor dining and gatherings of up to 10 people.
* Britain will introduce a COVID-19 quarantine for travelers arriving from abroad from June 8, interior minister Priti Patel said, a measure that airlines have warned will devastate their industry. All international arrivals, including returning Britons, will have to self-isolate for 14 days.
AMERICAS
* Mexico on Friday registered a record for coronavirus deaths on a single day, posting 479 more deaths along with 2,960 new infections, according to health ministry data. Authorities have now reported 62,527 total cases of the coronavirus and 6,989 deaths since detecting the first cases in Mexico in late February.
* The Trump administration weighed in on a lawsuit brought against Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s coronavirus stay-at-home orders, with a rare federal court filing in support of the legal challenge he faces over his emergency powers.
The U.S. Justice Department’s filing in Illinois marked another escalation by the administration in confronting state governors it sees as going too far with restrictions meant to quell the coronavirus pandemic.
* As the United States into the long Memorial Day holiday weekend, Americans are back on the road after more than two months of coronavirus lockdowns that kept them homebound, with beach-area traffic tripling since the low point in mid-April.
* Canada will ramp up COVID-19 testing and contact tracing as it gradually lifts restrictions and is working closely with Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google on a mobile phone app to help, the prime minister said.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* China recorded no new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland for May 22, the first time it had seen no daily rise in the number of cases since the pandemic began in the central city of Wuhan late last year.
* Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, said on Saturday it recorded just three new cases of the coronavirus the previous day and urged younger people to get tested as it prepared to further loosen restrictions on pubs and restaurants.
* Coronavirus cases in Singapore topped 30,000 as the city-state reported hundreds of new infections in cramped migrant worker dormitories every day.
* Indonesia confirmed 949 new coronavirus infections, taking its total to 21,745, the health ministry said. There were 25 new deaths, taking the total to 1,351.
* Japan’s central bank created its own version of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s “Main Street” lending program to channel more money to small businesses.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Iran moved to open businesses, religious and cultural sites as it eases restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Museums and historical sites are to reopen on Sunday to coincide with the Eid el-Fitr celebrations that end the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, President Hassan Rouhani said. Holy shrines will reopen on Monday.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Car rental firm Hertz Global Holdings Inc HTZ.N filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday after its business was decimated during the coronavirus pandemic and talks with creditors failed to result in much needed relief.
The firm, whose largest shareholder is billionaire investor Carl Icahn with a nearly 39% ownership stake, is reeling from government orders restricting travel and requiring citizens to remain home.
* Oil prices tumbled and global equity markets wavered on Friday as China’s move to impose a new security law on Hong Kong further strained U.S.-Sino relations and clouded economic recovery prospects.[MKTS/GLOB]
* Unemployment rates rose and total employment fell in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in April due to lockdowns, the Labor Department said.
* China dropped its annual growth target for the first time and pledged more government spending as the COVID-19 pandemic hammers its economy.
(Compiled by Angus MacSwan; ; editing by John Stonestreet)
