FILE PHOTO: A view shows an apartment block with a mural dedicated to medical specialists in Odintsovo, outside Moscow, Russia, May 14. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
The global economy will suffer the biggest peacetime downturn in a century before it emerges next year from a coronavirus-inflicted recession, the OECD said on Wednesday.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* More than 7.27 million people have been reported infected with the novel coronavirus globally and 410,958 have died, a Reuters tally showed on Wednesday.
EUROPE
* Two drugs used to treat inflammatory diseases and cancer are being tested as potential therapies for patients with COVID-19, the Universities of Birmingham and Oxford announced on Wednesday.
* Population-wide face mask use could push COVID-19 transmission down to controllable levels for national epidemics, and could prevent further waves of the pandemic disease when combined with lockdowns, according to a British study.
* Denmark, the first country outside Asia to ease its lockdown, said on Wednesday the spread of COVID-19 has not accelerated since it entered its second phase of reopening society last month.
* France will end special government powers brought in to deal with the pandemic on July 10 though it will retain the ability to curb gatherings and freedom of movement for four months.
* Any inquiry into the French response to the pandemic should be handled by parliament rather than a judicial panel, the justice minister said.
* Russia on Wednesday reported 8,404 new cases of the coronavirus, taking the nationwide tally of infections to 493,657.
* A team of Polish scientists has designed a remote-controlled ventilator they hope will allow doctors to help critically ill patients breathe, but from a distance, in a bid to make medical personnel safer during the pandemic.
AMERICAS
* The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it would distribute about $25 billion to hospitals that have not previously received relief funds as they grapple with a rise in COVID-19 cases.
* Arizona again told hospitals to activate the coronavirus emergency plans after cases spiked following reopening.
* Ontario has started testing about 8,000 migrant farm workers in a hard-hit rural region of the province after two young workers died and the novel coronavirus was found on at least 17 farms.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* A potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Chinese researchers showed promise in trials in monkeys, triggering antibodies and raising no safety issues, researchers said, and a human trial with more than 1,000 participants is under way.
* Singapore on Wednesday approved the use of Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir for the treatment of severely ill patients with COVID-19 infection.
* Indonesia reported on Wednesday its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases for a second successive day, with 1,241 new infections, taking its total to 34,316.
* The Philippines' health ministry on Wednesday confirmed 10 more coronavirus deaths and 740 additional infections, the highest single-day increase in cases in one week.
* Japanese biotech AnGes Inc expects its coronavirus vaccine to be ready as early as the first half of 2021, if it can overcome supply chain and production hurdles, the company's founder said.
* Malaysia on Wednesday reported two new coronavirus cases, the lowest since curbs on movement were imposed in mid-March, raising the total number of infections to 8,338.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Qatar will start lifting restrictions under a four-phase plan starting on June 15.
* Oman will further ease its containment measures on Wednesday, allowing several businesses and shops to re-open, the state news agency reported.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* World stock markets hovered below three-month highs on Wednesday, while the dollar stumbled ahead of a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
* Deepening the European Union's capital market has become a priority to help the economy recover from COVID-19 and reduce reliance on the City of London, a report for the EU said.
* Turkey's unemployment rate fell to 13.2% in the February-April period from 13.6% a month earlier, data showed on Wednesday, falling despite an economic slowdown driven by measures to counter the virus outbreak.
* Layoffs in the United States fell in April, but remained the second highest on record, while hiring hit an all-time low.
