People attend a memorial service to honor the life of George Floyd in New York, the United States, June 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
- New York state reports lowest COVID-19 death toll since pandemic hit
- WHO recommends wider use of face masks to curb COVID-19
- Chile reports 122,499 COVID-19 cases with 1,448 deaths
- UK COVID-19 deaths top 40,000 as another 357 patients die
- Africa's confirmed COVID-19 cases surpass 171,206: Africa CDC
BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
NEW YORK -- A total of 42 people in the U.S. state of New York passed away on Thursday due to COVID-19, which is the lowest death toll since the pandemic began, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Friday.
"While our hearts ache for those families who lost loved ones yesterday, just eight weeks ago, we had 800 deaths per day," said the governor at his daily briefing.
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UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations is making preparations for the phased reopening of its headquarters in New York, said a spokesman on Friday.
Preparations are going through a senior emergency management group, which exists just for the COVID-19 crisis, with inputs from various UN departments, guided by the UN medical authorities, and in close contact with the host city of New York, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
People wearing face masks visit the Louvre Lens museum during its first day of reopening to the public in Lens, northern France, June 3, 2020. (Photo by Sebastien Courdji/Xinhua)
GENEVA -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday updated its guidance on the use of masks for control of COVID-19, advising all people aged 60 years or over, or those with underlying conditions, to wear a medical mask in situations where physical distancing is not possible.
The new guidance advises medical masks for all people working in clinical areas of a health facility in areas with widespread transmission, not only workers dealing with COVID-19 patients.
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GENEVA -- World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that as COVID-19 cases keep growing in South Asia, there are risks of disease explosion in the densely-populated region.
"Particularly in South Asia, not just in India, but in Bangladesh… and in Pakistan and other countries in South Asia with large dense populations, the disease has not exploded, but there is always the risk of that happening," Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, said during a press conference in Geneva.
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SANTIAGO -- The Chilean Ministry of Health on Friday raised the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country to 122,499, with 1,448 deaths.
Over the past 24 hours, 4,207 new infections and 92 new deaths have been registered. Of the new confirmed cases, 3,790 presented symptoms while 417 were asymptomatic.
A woman wearing a face mask takes part in the weekly "Clap for our Carers" for the last time in front of the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, on May 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
LONDON -- Another 357 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Thursday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 40,261, the British Department of Health and Social Care said Friday.
The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.
Passengers register their information on arrival at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone, Botswana, June 3, 2020. (Photo by Tshekiso Tebalo/Xinhua)
ADDIS ABABA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases across the African continent surpassed 171,206, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said Friday.
The Africa CDC in its latest update said that the number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases rose from 163,599 on Thursday to 171,206 as of Friday evening.
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DOHA -- Qatar's health ministry on Friday announced 1,754 new infections of COVID-19, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 65,495.
"Some 1,467 people recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 40,935, while four others died, raising the fatalities up to 49," the official Qatar News Agency reported, quoting a statement by the ministry. ■
