Coronavirus: What's happening around the world June 10

The latest:

• Total U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed 2 million on Wednesday, according to a tally byJohnsHopkins University.
• World economy on track for worst recession in a century, OECD says.
• WHO backtracks on claim that asymptomatic spread of COVID-19 is 'very rare.'
• Brazil's Supreme Court orders government to publish COVID-19 case, death totals.
• INTERACTIVE | How does Canada compare to the rest of the world when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic?
• How safe are my favourite summer activities during a pandemic?

Total U.S.coronaviruscases surpassed 2millionon Wednesday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Nationally, new infections are rising slightly after five weeks of declines, according to a Reuters analysis. Part of the increase is due to more testing, which hit a record high on June 5 of 545,690 tests in a single day but has since fallen, according to the COVID-Tracking Project.

Meanwhile, Africa's confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 200,000, according tothe Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 54-nation continent has 202,782 cases and 5,516 deaths.

While Africa still represents a small percentage of the world's total COVID-19 cases, officials in South Africa and elsewhere have expressed concern because the number of infections continues to climb.

South Africa leads the continent with 52,991 cases, with almost two-thirds of them in the Western Cape province centred on the city of Cape Town. Egypt has 36,829 reported cases, and Nigeria has13,464 reported cases.

As of Wednesday morning, there were more than 7.2 million coronavirus cases worldwide, with more than 411,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United Statesaccounted for more than 1.9 million cases andmore than 112,00 deaths, according to the Baltimore-based university's tracking tool.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said in a period of four months, the coronavirus pandemic has "devastated the world."

WATCH | Dr. Anthony Fauci talks about why the pandemic is so worrying:

Fauci talks about what makes the novel coronavirus so worrying

4 years ago

Duration 2:09

Leading infectious disease doctor takes questions from Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath, president and CEO at Biotechnology Innovation Organization, about the pandemic and what might come next.

The "highly transmissible" virus has caused millions of infections worldwide"and it isn't over yet," Fauci told Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath, president and CEO at Biotechnology Innovation Organization in a question and answer session sponsored by Johnson & Johnson.

As of 12:40 p.m. ET, there were 97,060 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases in Canada, with more than 56,603 considered recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial data, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 8,008.

The vast majority of the caseshasbeen concentrated in Ontario and Quebec. Quebec alone accounts for more than 5,000 deaths.

Here's a look at what's happening in Canada

WATCH |Will COVID-19 pandemic continue through the summer?

Will COVID-19 pandemic continue through the summer?

4 years ago

Duration 3:48

An infectious disease specialist answers viewer questions about COVID-19, including whether the pandemic will continue through the summer and whether recent protests could cause outbreaks.

• Canadians have made 190,000 repayments for CERB claims they weren't eligible for
• Inside the battle to keep COVID-19 patients alive at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital
• Ont. nursing homes have had 22 years to do safety upgrades. COVID-19 reveals deadly cost of delay
• 22 out-of-province doctors for Vitalit did not fully self-isolate after travel
• Family facing eviction over noisy kids during pandemic
• B.C. marks 4th straight day with no deaths from COVID-19
• Alberta will move to Stage 2 of reopeningon Friday, premier says
• Largest school board in N.L. eyeing blended learning in September to counter drawbacks of online classes
• Physical distancing creates new barriers for Nunavut child abuse victims

Public health officials in Canada and around the world are warning that even as case numbers decline in some areas, the pandemic is far from over.There are no proven treatments or vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by a novel coronavirus that first emerged in China.

While most people who contract the virus experience mild or moderate disease, some people including the elderly and people with underlying health issues are at increased risk of experiencing more severe disease or death.

Read on to see what's happening with COVID-19 around the world.

The virus crisis has triggered the worst global recession in nearly a century and the pain is not over yet even if there is no second wave of infections, an international economic report warned Wednesday.

Hundreds of millions of people have lost their jobs, and the crisis is hitting the poor and young people the hardest, worsening inequalities, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in its latest analysis of global economic data.

"It is probably the most uncertain and dramatic outlook since the creation of the OECD," Secretary General Angel Gurria said. "We cannot make projections as we normally do."

In the best-case scenario, if there is no second wave of infections, the agency forecast a global drop in economic output of six per centthis yearand a rise of 2.8 per centnext year.

If the coronavirus re-emerges later in the year, however, the global economy could shrink by 7.6 per cent, the OECD said.

Austria has announced it will open its borders to most European neighbours beginning June 16, with the exceptions of Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Britain.

Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg also said Wednesday that the border with Italy to the south would be open without conditionsbut that a travel warning for Austrian citizens is in place for Lombardy.

While Italy opened its borders on June 3, Austria's reluctance to open the shared border has been a sore spot between the neighbours, especially as the summer tourism season gets underway.

English adults who live alone, as well as single parents, will be allowed to meet another household indoors from this weekendand will not need to keep twometres apart, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday.

"There are too many people ... particularly those who live by themselves, who are lonely and struggling with being unable to see friends and family," Johnson said at the government's daily news conference.

"So from this weekend, we will allow single adult households adults living aloneor single parents with children under 18 to form a 'support bubble' with one other household."

Germany is prolonging its travel warning for more than 160 countries outside Europe until the end of August.

The government agreed Wednesday to extend the guidance introduced on March 17 due to the pandemic to almost all non-EU countries, with the exception of some that have successfully contained the outbreak.

WATCH |Toronto respirologist troubled by WHO's 'mixed messages' around data on COVID-19 asymptomatic spread:

Toronto respirologist troubled by WHO's 'mixed messages' around data on COVID-19 asymptomatic spread

4 years ago

Duration 5:48

Dr. Samir Gupta says peer-reviewed literature shows asymptomatic transmission is an important path for the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Last week, Germany downgraded its travel warning for the rest of the 27-nation EU, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland and Britain.

Also Wednesday, the government announced the end of border controls for EU citizens coming to Germany. Almost all German states require travellers arriving from countries that have 50 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days to quarantine for two weeks. This is currently the case for fellow EU member state Sweden.

Deaths from theepidemic in Italy climbed by 71 on Wednesday, against 79 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases fell to 202 compared to283 on Tuesday.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 now stands at 34,114, the agency said, the fourth-highest in the world after those of the U.S., Britain and Brazil. The number of confirmed cases amounts to 235,763, the seventh-highest global tally behind those of the U.S., Russia, Brazil, Spain, Britain and India.

Indonesian authorities have arrested dozens of people suspected of snatching the bodies of COVID-19 victims from several hospitals so the dead could be buried according to their wishes.

Provincial police spokespersonIbrahim Tompo said Wednesday that at least 33 suspects have been detained by police in South Sulawesi province in the past week. Tompo said charges against 10 of them will proceed to prosecutors.

He says if convicted, the suspects face up to seven years in prison and $7,000 in fines for violating health laws and resisting officers.

Videos of several incidents have circulated widely on social media in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

In one instance, a mob is seen breaking into a hospital's isolation room and taking away a body on a stretcher.

Tompo said religious faith and funeral traditions are motives for people who see public health restrictions on burials as unacceptable.

The arrests came as Indonesia's Health Ministry reported the highest single-day increase in confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday. The 1,241 new cases bring the country's total to 34,316. The figures include 36 people who died in the last 24 hours, taking the country's COVID-19 death toll to 1,923.

Pakistan's coronavirus infections soared past 5,000 as the World Health Organization urged the government to impose a two-week lockdown to stem the relentless spike in new cases. Pakistan has recorded 113,702 confirmed cases and 2,255 deaths.

Until now, Pakistan's daily testing rate has hovered around 25,000, but WHO says it should be double that.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has come under criticism from political opponents and health professionals for easing lockdowns despite soaring numbers and no progress in tracking COVID-19 outbreaks.

Khan, who has reprimanded Pakistanis for not wearing masks and keeping physical distance, says the economy cannot survive a total lockdown and the poorest in Pakistan would be the hardest hit.

Pakistan was slow to rein in religious leaders who were initially allowed to invite Islamic missionaries to attend a massive gathering in mid-March, which was blamed for spreading infection as far as the Gaza Strip.

Khan also refused to shut down mosques during Ramadan and eased restrictions ahead of the Eid-al Fitr holiday. Since then, the number of cases has continued to rise and medical workers worry the weak health system that has barely 3,000 ICU beds for a population of 220 million will be overwhelmed.

Malaysia reopened nearly all economic and social activities Wednesday after a nearly three-month lockdown successfully brought down viral infections.

Malaysians can now travel for domestic holidays, get haircuts and shop at street markets. Schools and religious activities also will gradually resume.

While happy to be back at work, hairstylist Shirley Chaisaid she is nervous about the strict health rules for hairdressers, especially the one-hour limit for each client.

"I couldn't sleep at all last night. Very excited because everything is changing," she said at her salon in a Kuala Lumpur shopping mall.

Malaysia has entered a "recovery" phase until the end of August with certain prohibitions still in place, but officials warn restrictions will be reinstated if infections soar again.

Nightclubs, pubs, karaoke bars, theme parks and reflexology centres will stay shut. Contact sports or those with many spectatorsand activities involving mass groups, are still banned.

Malaysia has had 8,336 confirmed infections and 117 deaths. Daily cases have dropped to only seven since Monday, the lowest since the lockdown started March 18.

South Korea has reported 50 new cases of COVID-19 as officials begin requiring nightclubs, karaoke rooms and gyms to register their customers with smartphone QR codes so they could be easily located when needed.

The figures from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday brought national totals to 11,902 cases and 276 deaths. At least 41 of the cases were reported from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, where officials have struggled to trace transmissions linked to entertainment venues, church gatherings and low-income workers who couldn't afford to stay home.

The nationwide requirement of QR codes at "high-risk" venues come after a trial run in the cities of Seoul, Incheon and Daejeon, where some 300 businesses used an app developed by internet company Naver to collect the information of some 6,000 customers. The government is also encouraging churches, libraries, hospitals and movie theatres to voluntarily adopt the technology.

Authorities in Zimbabwe have started publicly naming people who have escaped from quarantine centres and urging the public to report them to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Zimbabwe has seen a rise in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in recent days, with most recorded at quarantine centres.

More than 3,700 people are being kept in the quarantine centres after entering the country, mostly from neighbouring South Africa and Botswana, but dozens are fleeing the confinement complaining of filthy, unhygienic conditions and charging infections are spread at the quarantine areas.

Millions of Zimbabweans left the country for South Africa and other countries to escape political and economic turmoil over the last two decades, but some are returning home during the outbreak.

New arrivals at the quarantine centres will have to surrender their passports and other identity documents to make it easier to trace them if they escape, Zimbabwe's COVID-19 chief co-ordinator Agnes Mahomva announced Wednesday.

The government is publishing names of escapees, some with confirmed positive results of COVID-19, in newspapers and on social media.