There have been 2,463,357 reported coronavirus infections around the world, from which 169,502 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has the most deaths of any country with 40,931.
Italy is the second hardest-hit country, with 24,114 dead. Spain follows with 20,852, then France with 20,265 and Britain with 16,509.
Concern as lockdown easing starts
Germany starts the process of easing its lockdown, but Chancellor Angela Merkel urges discipline in the fight against the pandemic.
“We must not lose sight of the fact that we stand at the beginning of the pandemic and are still a long way from being out of the woods,” she says.
Denmark begins to open up more small businesses, while in Norway children are allowed to go back to nurseries, although some parents have expressed reservations over the decision.
Ghana ends a three-week lockdown on two key regions around the capital Accra and second region Kumasi.
Historic oil plunge
US oil prices crash to historic lows as futures in US benchmark West Texas Intermediate end in negative territory for the first time amid a supply glut and coronavirus-caused drop in demand.
The Bank of Spain says the country’s economy is likely to crash by between 6.6% and 13.6% in 2020.
‘Nothing hidden’ by WHO
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insists that the UN agency has not hidden from the US any information it had about the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have been warning from day one that this is a devil that everyone should fight,” he says.
China urged on transparency
German Chancellor Merkel urges China to be as transparent as possible about the coronavirus outbreak, as Beijing faces mounting pressure over its management of the crisis.
“I believe the more transparent China is about the origin story of the virus, the better it is for everyone in the world in order to learn from it,” she says.
Meanwhile, Beijing rejects Australia’s call for a probe examining the global response to the pandemic – including Beijing’s early handling of the outbreak.
Coronavirus ‘map’
Researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University in the US unveil a coronavirus “heat map” powered by Facebook and Google data which is aimed at helping track the spread of the disease and plan for reopening society.
Austrian ministers donate pay
Austrian government ministers agree to forego a month’s net salary as a sign of solidarity with those who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
– AFP and Johns Hopkins University