Coronavirus Updates: May 22, 2020 | As it happened

Cyprus plans to resume commercial flights next month from select countries with low COVID-19 infections. Cyprus’ Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos says flights will begin from countries, selected by a team of medical experts, on June 9 and June 20. The first group includes Greece, Malta, Bulgaria, Norway, Austria, Finland, Slovenia, Hungary, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Slovakia and Lithuania. The second group includes Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Estonia and the Czech Republic.

Karousos says starting June 9, passengers arriving from countries in either group must get a health certificate confirming they virus-free three days before departure.

Starting June 20, passengers from the first group of countries won’t need health certificates, but those from second group will still be required to produce.

Hotels will open on June 1.

With Gujarat reporting 363 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the number of such patients in the state has gone up to 13,273, an official said
on Friday. During the same period, 29 patients succumbed to the infection, taking the death toll in the state to 802, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi.

As many as 392 patients were discharged from hospitals, which took the number of recovered persons in Gujarat to 5,880, she said. Gujarat's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 13,273, new cases 363, deaths 802, discharged 5,880, active cases 6,591 and people tested so far 1,72,562.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the coronavirus has stabilized in the country, with the number of new infections abating. Putin, speaking during Friday’s video conference with top officials, says “the positive dynamic is not so fast as we would like it to be, sometimes even unstable, but it does exist.”

Russia currently ranks second behind the United States in the number of infections with more than 326,400 reported cases and more than 3,200 deaths. The U.S. has more than 1.5 million cases and leads the world with more than 90,000 deaths. The Russian leader says the positive trends set the stage for further lifting restrictions, but he emphasized the need to preserve the hospital capacity for a possible new wave of contagion.

Officials have reported to Putin the hospitals treating COVID-19 patients are currently filled by just over half and the influx of patients, particularly those in grave condition, has been decreasing. The coronavirus mortality rate in Russia has remained remarkably low at about 1 percent, drawing suspicions in the West that the country was under-reporting its death toll. Russian officials have rejected the claim, saying the low death toll reflected efficient preventative measures and broad testing.

The number of coronavirus cases in the Dharavi area of Mumbai increased to 1,478 as 53 new patients were found on Friday, while death toll reached 57
with one more person dying, a civic official said.

Five more persons tested positive for coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar on Friday, taking the total number of cases in the district to 307, officials said. Also, five people, including an 80-year-old woman, were discharged from hospitals after recovery from COVID-9, leaving 88 active cases, the officials said. District Surveillance Officer Sunil Dohare said 62 test results were obtained from the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) and 10 from the National Institute of Biologicals (NIB) on Thursday, while others were from private labs.

"All results from GIMS were negative. One from NIB was found positive, while four from private laboratories were also found positive," he said.

"Five people have been found positive for COVID-19 on Friday and total positive cases till date stand at 307. Five patients were discharged on Friday and a total 204 patients have recovered so far. There are 88 active cases now," Dohare said in a statement.

Among new patients are a 41-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman from Gijhod village in Sector 53 in Noida, a 23-year-old man from Gaur City- II and two men aged 23 and 36 from Sector 4 – all three in Greater Noida, the official said.

A 15-year-old girl who was admitted to the Child PGI in Sector 30 Noida was among the patients who recovered. Other four patients, an 80-year-old woman and three men aged 22, 25 and 29, were discharged from the Sharda Hospital in Greater Noida after recovery, the official added.

With the latest cases, the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in the district now stands at 69.70 per cent, according to the statistics.

Gautam Buddh Nagar, adjoining Delhi, in western Uttar Pradesh has so far recorded five deaths - all of them male aged above 60 years, the officials said.

Nine coronavirus patients, detected in a fresh spurt of cases in Goa this month, recovered on Friday while two new patients were found, a senior official said. Thus the total number of cases went up to 54 but that of active cases came down to 38, said state Health Secretary Nila Mohanan.

Goa's coronavirus figures are as follows:

Positive cases: 54

New cases: 2

Deaths: zero

Discharged: 16 

Active cases: 38

People tested so far: 11,362

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an advance financial assistance of Rs 500 crore for cyclone-battered Odisha on Friday. Modi made the announcement after an aerial survey of areas hit by cyclone 'Amphan' and holding a review meeting with Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The prime minister said further assistance will be provided for long-term rehabilitation measures after getting a detailed report from the state government.

The leaders toured districts such as Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Jajpur and Mayurbhanj for about 90 minutes. Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Sarangi were also present at the review meeting held at the premises of the Biju Patnaik International Airport.

Modi said that though the Odisha government has been able to save lives by undertaking preparations well in advance, the cyclone has caused damage to housing, power and infrastructure, besides the agriculture sector while moving towards West Bengal. Complimenting the people of Odisha, administration and the chief minister for saving lives, Modi said the disaster posed a serious challenge before the state as it struck at a time when everyone is engaged in a formidable battle against COVID-19.

The head of Italy’s pharmacological agency says there is little data about the effectiveness of the anti-malaria drug promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump to treat coronavirus. Dr. Nicola Magrini offered a briefing on the various trials the Italian Pharmacological Agency had approved during the coronavirus crisis, including one involving hydroxychloroquine. Magrini says while the drug was being used in Italy, the agency recommended it only in some patients, preferably on its own or in association with other drugs only in clinical trial settings.

While the science is still out on hydroxychloroquine’s effectiveness, Magrini said: “We are fairly certain about the possible harm and absence of security of using it in some limited sub-groups of patients.”

Trump has said he is taking hydroxychloroquine to protect against the coronavirus, even though his administration has warned it can have deadly side effects. Magrini adds he didn’t expect a vaccine before spring or summer of next year. Italian researchers are collaborating on the Oxford University vaccine.

Twelve people tested positive for COVID-19 in Himachal Pradesh on Friday, taking the number of cases in the state to 165, officials said. The number of active cases in the state now stands at 102. Fifty-three of these are from Hamirpur, 28 from Kangra, five each from Solan and Bilaspur, four from Mandi, two each from Sirmaur, Una and Chamba, and one from Kullu, the officials said. Four patients were also discharged in Kangra during the day, taking the number of those who have recovered from the disease so far to 59, they added.

Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner Harikesh Meena said all the 12 fresh cases reported in the district had returned recently from other parts of the country and were kept under institutional quarantine at different places. They are being admitted to various COVID centres of the district for treatment and isolation, he added.

Twelve more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Assam, taking the total number of cases to 222, state Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Karnataka surged to 1,710 after 105 new cases have been confirmed in Karnataka in the last 24 hours, out of which 588 have so far recovered and have been discharged, while 41 have died, State Health Department said on Friday. With this, there are 1,080 active coronavirus cases in the state. 

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh  rose to 5,619 after 104 new cases were reported on Friday, out of which 3,238 have so far recovered and have been discharged, while 138 have died, officials said. With this, the number of active cases now stands at 2,243.

More than 10,000 people, including children and those over 70, are set to be involved in the second phase of human trials for a vaccine by researchers at the University of Oxford in the UK. 

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• Cyclone Amphan has caused devastation in several areas
• We took all the possible steps in collaboration with the state government in West Bengal to minimise the damage from Cyclone Amphan: PM Modi
• PM Modi announces Rs 1,000 crore package for West Bengal.
• In the month of May, the country was busy with elections and at that time we had to combat a cyclone that battered Odisha. Now, after a year, this cyclone has affected our coastal areas. People of West Bengal have been worst affected by it: PM Modi.

Pakistan’s coronavirus cases on Friday crossed the 50,000-mark after a record 2,603 more patients were diagnosed with the COVID-19 disease

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Fire breaks out at a chemical factory in Kurkumbh MIDC area, Pune. Five fire tenders have been rushed to the spot. More details awaited

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has landed in Kolkata and left for aerial survey of affected regions to witness devastation done by cyclone Amphan in West Bengal. The Prime Minister arrived at Kolkata airport where he was received by Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

30 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed on Friday morning. Total cases stand at 487 with 3 deaths and 49 recoveries, Health Ministry, Nepal said.

China has abandoned an economic growth target as the country faces “great uncertainty” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the first time in decades that the country has scrapped its target.  

In a morning update, the Health Ministry said, of the total cases at least 66,330 are active. A total of 48,534 individuals have been cured and discharged while 3,583 people lost their lives. Read More

Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves from Delhi for West Bengal to take stock of the situation in the wake of cyclone Amphan. He will conduct aerial surveys and take part in review meetings later today. PM Modi will also visit Odisha later today.

South Korea has reported 20 new coronavirus cases, including nine in the Seoul metropolitan area, as authorities scramble to stem transmissions while proceeding with a phased reopening of schools. The figures announced Friday by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought national totals to 11,142 cases and 264 deaths. Nine other new cases were linked to international arrivals.

South Korea was reporting around 500 new cases a day in early March but has since managed to stabilize infections with aggressive tracing and testing. Officials have eased social distancing measures and began reopening schools, starting with high school seniors on Wednesday. But students at dozens of schools in Incheon, near Seoul, were sent back home after some tested positive after visiting a karaoke room or taking private classes from a virus carrier.

Health Minister Park Neung-hoo pleaded with people Friday to avoid visiting karaoke rooms or computer gaming centers near schools to lower infection risks for students.

China has reported four new confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Another 372 people are in isolation and undergoing monitoring for being suspected cases or after testing positive without showing symptoms, and 82 remain in the hospital for treatment of COVID-19. The new cases come as China opens the annual session of its ceremonial parliament, the National People’s Congress, which is being held largely behind closed doors in Beijing to avoid cross-infections as the country looks to avoid a second wave of cases.

China has reported 4,634 deaths among 82,971 cases since the virus was first detected late last year in Wuhan. The central Chinese industrial city moved this week to completely ban the raising and sale for human consumption of wild animals that are considered a key vector for transmission of the virus from bats to people.

Watch yoga guru Swami Ramdev's lessons to boost immunity, build healthy body LIVE everyday at 7:58 am and evening 5 pm. Watch today's show on how to detox your body | 

• Global cases surpass 5.1 million, reports Johns Hopkins University
• US to send 200 ventilators to Russia as part of humanitarian aid package
• Trump announces flags will be lowered to half-staff in memory of COVID-19 victims
• Brazil's number of cases and deaths continue to reach new records
• Japan set to ease state of emergencies in some regions
• Two-day-old baby dies from COVID-19 in South Africa

Many popular national parks were closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Parks Service is re-opening some of them with new rules and restrictions for visitors ahead of the US long weekend.

President Donald Trump says he will order the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff over the next three days as the death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 95,000.

Trump tweeted Thursday: “I will be lowering the flags on all Federal Buildings and National Monuments to half-staff over the next three days in memory of the Americans we have lost to the CoronaVirus.”

He said the flags will continue to be flown at half-staff on Memorial Day in honor of those in the military who died serving their country.

The move follows a request from Democratic leaders to do so to recognize a “sad day of reckoning when we reach 100,000 deaths.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote to Trump that an order to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff would “serve as a national expression of grief so needed by everyone in our country.”

Hello and welcome to today's live coverage of coronavirus news in India and across the world, with me, Rashi Hardaha and my colleagues Himanshu Shekhar, Shashwat  Bhandari, Vani Mehrotra, Priya Jaiswal,  Sidhant Mamtany and Sushmita Panda. You can get in touch with us directly on twitter ​@rashihardaha, @himaanshus, @ShashBhandari​ @vani_mehrotra​ @priyajais, @SidMamtany, and @sushmitapanda for news, tips, photos, questions and comments.

Here's a quick overview: 

The total number of global cases has surpassed 5.1 million, including more than 334,000 fatalities. More than 2,078,000 patients are reported to have recovered.

Deaths by country:

United States- 96,354
Italy- 32,486
Spain- 27,940
France- 28,215
United Kingdom- 36,042
Belgium - 9,186

Coronavirus in India: Total COVID-19 positive cases cross 1.1 million-mark
Coronavirus Death Toll in India: As of Thursday evening, the death toll stood at 3,435