The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday reported 1,152,372 cases of the coronavirus and said the number of deaths had risen to 67,456.
Over the weekend, the CDC updated its case count to 1,122,486 and said 65,735 people had died across the country, but that the numbers were preliminary and had not been confirmed by individual states.
The CDC’s tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, on Monday is as of May 3.
Also, New Zealand recorded no new coronavirus cases for a second day in a row on Tuesday, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the outcome of her discussions with Australia on a travel bubble between the two countries would be announced later in the day.
Ardern joined Australia’s coronavirus cabinet meeting on Tuesday as the neighbouring countries discuss reopening their borders to travel following their successes in containing the disease.
Italy was among a slew of countries easing lockdown restrictions on Monday to resurrect their economies, but officials cautioned against moving too swiftly as new coronavirus cases passed 3.5 million globally and deaths neared a quarter of a million.
Italy, among the world’s hardest-hit countries, started to relax the longest lockdown in Europe, allowing about 4.5 million people to return to work after nearly two months at home. Construction work can resume and relatives can reunite.
“I woke up at 5:30 am. I was so excited,” said Maria Antonietta Galluzzo, a grandmother taking her three-year-old grandson for a walk in Rome’s Villa Borghese park, the first time they had seen each other in eight weeks.
“He has grown by this much,” she said, holding up three horizontal fingers.
Spain, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Israel, Tunisia and Lebanon were also among countries easing some restrictions, variously reopening factories, construction sites, parks, hairdressers and libraries. In the United States, around half of states partially reopened their economies over the weekend.
The easing comes as the daily rate of new COVID-19 cases worldwide has been sitting in a two to three percent range over the past week, down from a peak of around 13 percent in mid-March.
Global cases have risen to around 3.52 million, according to a Reuters tally based on government data. However, cases may cause only mild symptoms and not everyone with symptoms is tested, while most countries only record hospital deaths.
