The novel coronavirus has infected more than 3.5 million people worldwide and killed at least 247,000. If you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments:
US death toll could rise to 90,000: President Trump has raised his estimate of the possible death toll in the country, saying between 80,000 and 90,000 people could die. Asked why he had previously said 65,000 people would die, Trump said “it goes up rapidly.” The US death toll stands at 67,686, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Russia’s cases jump: Russia reported 10,581 new coronavirus infections on Monday, bringing the total number of officially confirmed cases to 145,268, according to the country’s coronavirus response headquarters — the second-highest number of cases Russia has seen in a 24-hour period since the epidemic began.
Japan extends state of emergency: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the country will extend its state of emergency until May 31. Abe said he would review the infection status around May 14, to see if the order can be lifted before then.
Virtual vaccine pledging conference to begin: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will say the discovery of a coronavirus vaccine is the “most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes” at an international pledging conference on Monday. The virtual meeting aims to raise $8 billion. It is being co-hosted by the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and the European Commission.
Vietnam heads back to school: Most of Vietnam’s 22 million students returned to class on Monday after a three-month closure, according to state-run Vietnam News Agency. Eighteen of the country’s 63 provinces and centrally-run cities opened all schools today, while 30 others reopened primary schools and kindergartens, after secondary school students went back to class in late April.
