Covid-19 - Over 4.3 million people are known to have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide

At least 4.3 million people are known to have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, while at least 295,671 people have died. The figures collected by Johns Hopkins University are likely to be a great underestimate of the true scale of the pandemic.

Trump describes Fauci’s warning over reopening the economy too soon as “unacceptable”. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday described as not acceptable a warning given by top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci this week about the dangers of reopening the economy too quickly. “To me it’s not an acceptable answer especially when it comes to schools,” Trump told reporters at the White House, noting he was surprised by the response Fauci gave to lawmakers in testimony to the US Senate on Tuesday.

Virus may never be eradicated – WHO. The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 could become endemic like HIV, the World Health Organization has said, warning against any attempt to predict how long it would keep circulating and calling for a “massive effort” to counter it.

Every African country is now affected by the outbreak, after Lesotho announced its first case. The virus was detected in one of 81 people tested after arriving last week from Saudi Arabia and neighbouring South Africa, Lesotho’s health ministry said.

Former UK spy chief dismisses Wuhan lab conspiracy theory. In the UK, the former director general of the domestic intelligence service has poured cold water on White House speculation that Covid-19 may have emerged via a leak from a coronavirus research laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Public Health England approves antibody test – report. Public Health England (PHE) has reportedly approved an antibody test kit, the first to receive such an endorsement. The kit is made by the Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG, the Daily Telegraph has reported. The newspaper added that it understands the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care is in negotiations with Roche to buy millions of the kits.

Afghanistan reached 5,000 confirmed cases, as the country’s health ministry warned that easing lockdowns would bring a “catastrophe”. Out of 619 suspected patients tested in the last 24 hours, 259 came back positive, pushing the total number of infections to 5,226. The death toll reached 132, after five more patients died overnight. The number of recoveries is 648.

Sweden announced it would hire up to 10,000 more care workers to address shortcomings in elderly care exposed by the pandemic. About half of the Sweden’s 3,460 coronavirus-related deaths have been among nursing home residents, and another quarter among those receiving care at home.

Mexico said it would reopen parts of the economy after 51 days of lockdown, despite the country reporting its highest number of daily deaths so far. Mexico has confirmed 1,992 new cases and 353 deaths, bringing the total death toll to 3,926 and the total number of cases to 38,324.

Hotels and restaurants across Europe have been asked to enforce physical distancing between guests to allow Europeans to take their annual summer holiday. The EU executive called for a “gradual and careful easing of lockdown restrictions across the continent”.

The car manufacturer Ford announced plans to restart production, including at two factories in the UK. Work will resume on 18 May at the company’s engine plants in Dagenham in Essex and Bridgend in south Wales. The move, along with the reopening of the Valencia engine plant in Spain, will open all of Ford’s European manufacturing facilities.