Coronavirus live update: Two new imported cases raising Vietnam's tally to 270

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One police officer checking on a Vietnamese truck driver's body temperature (Photo: VIR)

Coronavirus today update: More than 190,000 people have died due to the pandemic, including 50,000 in the US, with nearly 2.8 million infected globally, out of whom almost 770,000 have recovered.

Coronavirus today update: The World Health Organisation's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency is partnering with global leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to accelerate work on drugs and a vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, noting that "the world needs these tools and needs them fast. We are facing a common threat which we can only defeat with a common approach”, Reuters reported.

Deputy Minister Vu Duc Dam said the transmission risks in the community is still high (Photo: Giao Duc Thoi Dai)

Coronavirus today update: The US

At least 30,905 new coronavirus deaths were reported in the United States in a 24-hour period, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The total death toll in the country has reached 51,865 amid 917,347 cases.

US says will not take part in WHO global drugs, vaccine initiative launch

The US will not take part in the launching of a global initiative on Friday to speed the development, production and distribution of drugs and vaccines against COVID-19, a spokesman for the US mission in Geneva told Reuters news agency.

"There will be no U.S. official participation", he said in an email reply to a query. "We look forward to learning more about this initiative in support of international cooperation to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 as soon as possible”, Al Jazeera quoted the spokesman as saying.

US President Donald Trump has earlier announced a suspension of funding to the WHO, where it is the largest donor.

Coronavirus live update: Trump's disinfectant idea shocking and dangerous, doctors say

Doctors and health experts urged people not to drink or inject disinfectant on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested scientists should investigate inserting the cleaning agent into the body as a way to cure COVID-19.

Trump noted Thursday that researchers were looking at the effects of disinfectants on the virus and wondered aloud if they could be injected into people, saying the virus “does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that”, according to abc News.

That prompted a strong warning from the maker of disinfectants Lysol and Dettol, which said it was issuing a statement to combat “recent speculation.”

Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at Britain’s University of East Anglia said infecting disinfections “is one of the most dangerous and idiotic suggestions” and “would likely kill anyone who tried it”, according to Reuters.

The White House accused the media of misrepresenting Trump's comment.

On Thursday, the White House also pitched “emerging” research on the benefits of sunlight and humidity in diminishing the threat of the coronavirus.

Past studies, however, have not found good evidence that the warmer temperatures and higher humidity of spring and summer will help tamp down the spread of the virus, abc News reported.

Trump's disinfectant idea was apposed by doctors and medical scientists (Photo: Boston Globe)

Coronavirus live update: Spain: Was coronavirus already spreading a month before lockdown?

Recent scientific research suggests that Spain, the country that currently has the most coronavirus cases in Europe, was hit by a virus "family" derived from a single ancestor - of coronavirus as early as February 14, much earlier than previously thought. The coronavirus threat was believed to be so weak that towards the end of February, Spain's health emergency chief Fernando Simon insisted: "The virus is not in Spain nor is it being transmitted."

That was a full month before the country went into lockdown, and a time when officials worldwide were still trying to understand the scale of the virus, Al jazeera reported.

As of April 25, Spain has 219,764 infections, with a record-high 6,740 additional cases. Death toll stands at 22,524.

Coronavirus today update: Italy to roll back lockdown over the course of four weeks

The third world’s epicenter is to ease its coronavirus lockdown, the toughest and longest in Europe, over the next four weeks.

"The next four Mondays will mark the country's reopening" following the lockdown implemented last month to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, the Corriere della Sera daily reported.

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed nearly 26,000 people in Italy, the world's second-highest death toll.

(Photo: Bao Phu Tho)

Coronavirus today update: The UK

UK PM Boris Johnson recovering well from COVID-19 and in 'incredible' shape

Johnson, 55, is on the mend at his country residence after spending three nights in intensive care at a London hospital earlier this month with COVID-19 complications. He later said he owed his life to the hospital staff.

But as speculation mounts that the prime minister is preparing to return to work, Johnson is under pressure to explain just how and when the world's fifth-largest economy will exit the crippling lockdown, News wire reported.

The Prime Minister is facing the biggest conundrum of his premiership as he recuperates from COVID-19: how to lift a lockdown that is destroying swathes of the British economy without triggering a deadly second wave of the outbreak.

Coronavirus live update: Qatar records 761 new cases, highest daily increase

Qatar has reported 761 new cases of the coronavirus, the largest daily increase since the outbreak began, according to the health ministry.

A total of 8,525 cases have been reported in the country, with 10 deaths.

Coronavirus today update: Russia to open a 1,000-bed hospital in the exhibition centre in St Petersburg by end of the week, RIA news agency reported late on Thursday.

St Petersburg, Russia’s second-biggest city, had reported 2,700 coronavirus cases and 20 deaths as of Saturday. Russia as a whole had nearly 70,000 confirmed cases, with nearly 5,849 new cases and 615 deaths.

Two people wearing face masks walking pass the Giant Merlion in Singapore (Photo: Kintedothi)

Coronavirus today update: ASEAN countries have 37,000 patients in total, over 1,300 deaths. Singapore is the biggest epicenter

With 15 new deaths, the Phillippines has the highest one-day fatality rise in the region Friday, raising death tally to 477.

Meanwhile, on April 24 late evening, South East Asia reports 8 out of 11 countries to have no death within 24 hours, except for Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, with 42, 15, 1 respectively.

Regarding new infections, 4 countries confirmed no new infections on April 25, namely Brunei, Campuchia, Mayanmar, Lao. Brunei, Campuchia have no new case for 9 consecutive days.

However, on the other end of the spectrum, Singapore has 897 new cases – highest in the region, raising cumulative infections to 12,075. Indonesia reports 436 new coronavirus infections, total infection stands at 8,211. With an addition of 211 cases on April 25, the Philippines ranks third in the list, with total infections only some 500 less than Indonesia’s.

Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam have 88, 15, 7, 2 new cases in respective order.

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