People wearing face masks perform Friday prayer, following the social distancing rule, in front of a mosque in Ankara, Turkey on May 29, 2020. Mosques across Turkey reopened on Friday after 74 days of closure as part of the normalization process amid a slowdown in the COVID-19 spread. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
- Turkish businesses prepare to resume operation
- Africa's COVID-19 cases surpass 140,000 mark: Africa CDC
- Japan gov't rules out imminent return of emergency for Tokyo, Fukuoka
- Israeli PM warns new restrictions amid fresh coronavirus outbreak
BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Municipal workers disinfect the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, May 28, 2020. The bazaar will open its doors on June 1 as part of normalization from COVID-19 restrictions in the country. (Photo by Yasin Akgul/Xinhua)
ISTANBUL -- Many businesses across Turkey on Sunday prepared to resume their operations for the first time after over two months of closure amid a slowdown in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Restaurants, cafes, parks, beaches, daycare centers, kindergartens, libraries, sports facilities, swimming pools, and museums will be operational as of June 1 as part of the new normalization process which was announced on May 28 by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a cabinet meeting.
A new hospital was inaugurated on Sunday, constructed for COVID-19 patients in the country's biggest city Istanbul.
The hospital was built in the Ataturk airport area on the European side of Istanbul and named after Murat Dilmener, a notable Turkish doctor, who died of COVID-19 in Istanbul at the beginning of May.
A citizen jogs along a road in Johannesburg, South Africa, May 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng)
ADDIS ABABA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent reached 141,535 as the death toll from the ongoing pandemic surged to 4,069 as of Sunday morning, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
The Africa CDC in its latest situation update issued on Sunday also revealed the number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases across the continent rose from 135,292 on Saturday morning to 141,535 as of Sunday morning, eventually registering 5,243 new cases during the past 24-hours period.
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TOKYO -- The Japanese government has no immediate plan to reinstate a state of emergency for the capital of Tokyo and Fukuoka Prefecture despite an increase of COVID-19 cases in the two areas recently, Economic Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Sunday.
Nishimura, also minister in charge of the government's response to the pandemic, told the public broadcaster NHK that he did not expect the number of new infections to rise quickly as Japan restarted its economy, adding that he would continue to monitor the situation closely.
People are seen at a reopened coffee shop in central Israeli city of Modiin, on May 27, 2020. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)
JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that new restrictions will be re-imposed if the coronavirus spread in the country continues, after most of the lockdown rules had been lifted.
Speaking during Israel's weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu told his ministers that recent days showed a steep increase in the number of the confirmed cases of coronavirus.
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KABUL -- Afghanistan has recorded 680 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of patients infected with the disease to 15,205 in the country, spokesman of the Public Health Ministry Tawhid Shakohmand said Sunday.
According to the spokesman, eight patients have died due to the disease over the past 24 hours, totaling the number of COVID-19 related deaths to 257 since the outbreak of the disease in February in the country.
Passengers wearing face masks take the subway in Kiev, Ukraine, May 25, 2020. (Photo by Sergey Starostenko/Xinhua)
KIEV -- Ukraine reported 468 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday, taking its total to 23,672 confirmed cases with 708 deaths, the country's health ministry said.
As of Sunday, 1,712 children and 4,542 health workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while 9,538 patients have recovered.
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VALLETTA -- Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Sunday that airports and ports will resume operations on July 1 while bars, gyms and law courts will reopen on Friday.
Abela told a television interview on party station ONE TV that following the good results in the past days, the decision was taken to start the process to return to complete normality, as the numbers were showing that COVID-19 "was a thing of the past in Malta."
A woman wearing face mask is seen in Berlin, capital of Germany, May 28, 2020. (Photo by Binh Truong/Xinhua)
BERLIN -- German broadcaster NDR reported on Sunday a COVID-19 cluster infection in connection with several celebrations in German city Gottingen, as at least 35 people have been infected and 160 in home quarantine.
Among the infected, one is seriously ill and hospitalized. The infected are from several families whose members had attended several private parties, according to the NDR.
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TOKYO -- The Japanese government has no immediate plan to reinstate a state of emergency for the capital of Tokyo and Fukuoka Prefecture despite an increase of COVID-19 cases in the two areas recently, Economic Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Sunday.
Nishimura, also minister in charge of the government's response to the pandemic, told the public broadcaster NHK that he did not expect the number of new infections to rise quickly as Japan restarted its economy, adding that he would continue to monitor the situation closely.
A man wearing a face mask takes a nap in a park in downtown Tehran, Iran, on May 30, 2020. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)
TEHRAN -- Iran on Sunday registered 63 new deaths over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 7,797, according to state TV.
During an online press conference, Kianush Jahanpur, head of Public Relations and Information Center of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, confirmed 2,516 new infection cases, taking the total cases to 151,466.
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DHAKA -- Bangladesh Sunday reported 40 new COVID-19 deaths and 2,545 new patients in just one day - by far the country's biggest one-day tally since the crisis begun in the country on March 8.
The highest single-day rise in deaths came just a day after the country reported 28 COVID-19 fatalities.
Chinese medical experts board a charter plane at Robert Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, May 25, 2020. The Chinese medical expert team on Monday left Zimbabwe for Equatorial Guinea to support the country in its response to COVID-19. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang)
HARARE -- The number of COVID-19 positive cases in Zimbabwe rose to 174 as 14 more cases have been confirmed, the health ministry has said.
In its latest update Sunday morning, the Ministry of Health and Child Care said of the 14 new cases were seven returnees and seven local transmissions.
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KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwait on Sunday reported 851 new cases of COVID-19 and seven more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 27,043 and the death toll to 212, the health ministry said in a statement.
Currently, 15,445 patients are receiving treatment, including 200 in ICU, according to the statement.
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WUHAN -- The Yellow Crane Tower, a landmark tourist attraction in Wuhan, the Chinese city once hardest-hit by the novel coronavirus, will fully reopen to the public on Monday.
Tourists can book online to visit the main tower and the exhibition centers at the tourism hot spot from June following its partial reopening on April 29. ■
