The Latest: Coronavirus watch, May 30 -- Trump says U.S. "terminating" relationship with WHO

Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-30 09:33:20|Editor: huaxia

People wearing face masks walk through Domino Park in Brooklyn borough of New York, the United States, May 27, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

- Trump says U.S. "terminating" relationship with WHO

- NYC expected to start phased reopening on June 8

- EU grants Morocco 172 mln USD amid COVID-19 pandemic

- Egypt sees highest single-day hike of deaths, infections

BEIJING, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Photo taken on May 29, 2020 shows the live broadcast of U.S. President Donald Trump speaking at a press conference at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States.(Xinhua/Liu Jie)

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that his country is "terminating" its relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO).

"We will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs," Trump said during a press conference at the White House.

In a letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus earlier this month, Trump threatened to permanently cut off the nation's funding to the WHO and "reconsider our membership" if the international body does not commit to what he called "substantive improvements within the next 30 days."

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NEW YORK -- New York City, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, is set to enter phase one of the reopening process on June 8, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Friday.

"We are on track to open on June 8," Cuomo said at his daily briefing, adding that the city is expected to meet all seven metrics set by the state for a phased reopening before that day.

The city, currently with 199,038 cases according to the city tally and the only region in the state that remains under the "PAUSE" order, still has to get enough hospital beds available before reopening.

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A medical worker seals a COVID-19 test sample in Sale, Morocco, May 27, 2020. (Photo by Chadi/Xinhua)

RABAT -- European Union (EU) has granted Morocco 157 million euros (172 million U.S. dollars) to support the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a joint statement issued on Friday by the Moroccan Ministry of Finance and the EU delegation in Rabat, the payment made on May 26 is aimed to support the state budget.

This financial payment was made within the framework of support programs of the EU in particular to the areas of health, social protection, training and education, and to the competitiveness of businesses and green growth, the statement added.

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SANTIAGO -- The Chilean Ministry of Health announced on Friday that the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the country had risen to 90,638, with 944 deaths.

The ministry reported that 1,143 coronavirus patients are currently on ventilators, with 306 in critical condition. Authorities stated that there are another 345 ventilators available to the nation's private and public health networks.

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People wearing face masks are seen on a street in Cairo, Egypt, on May 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

CAIRO -- Egypt registered 34 new COVID-19 fatalities on Friday, the highest single-day surge since the pandemic hit the country in mid-February, raising the death toll to 879.

The North African country also reported a single-day record of 1,289 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections in Egypt to 22,082, Egypt's health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

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TUNIS -- Tunisian Ministry of Health announced on Friday the detection of three new imported COVID-19 cases in Tunisia, bringing the total number of infected people to 1,071.

The ministry said in its daily epidemiological report that the three new imported cases have been recorded in Manouba, Kairouan and Gafsa provinces.

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RABAT -- The Moroccan Health Ministry on Friday reported 71 new infections with COVID-19, bringing the total number in the North African country to 7,714.

The number of the recoveries increased to 5,271 after 76 new ones were added, the ministry said in a statement posted at its website.

The death toll from the coronavirus stood at 202, with no new fatality confirmed.

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DUBAI -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday announced 638 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of the confirmed cases in the country to 33,170.

The UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention said in a statement the new cases include many nationalities. All are in a stable condition and receiving medical treatment.

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BEIJING -- The All-China Women's Federation has honored a nurse who sacrificed her life to the fight against COVID-19.

Liang Xiaoxia, 28, who died on May 26, was honored as a national-level female role model. She died after doctors could not revive her as she passed out while working in an isolation ward in Wuhan, the hardest-hit city in central China's Hubei Province.

Liang, who came from south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, arrived in Wuhan to help combat the coronavirus on February 21.

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