Health

Brazil's confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 177,589 on Tuesday, according to the health ministry, surpassing Germany's 170,508 confirmed cases of the disease.

Australia's Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he had tested negative for the new coronavirus after breaking into a sustained coughing bout while giving a speech to parliament on Tuesday about plans for an economic recovery from the pandemic.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday reported 1,342,594 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 18,106 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,064 to 80,820.

Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has temporarily replaced his chief of staff Vital Kamerhe who is charged with stealing public funds, the president's spokesman said on Tuesday.

France's death toll from the coronavirus rose by 348 to 26,991 on Tuesday, overtaking Spain to become the country with the world's fourth-highest number of fatalities after the United States, Britain and Italy.

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 172 on Tuesday, against 179 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, but the daily tally of new cases doubled to 1,402 from 744 on Monday.

Cuba began mass testing for the new coronavirus this week even as it appeared to have contained infections, and residents struggled to move around amid a partial shutdown in search of scarce basic goods.

Global alarm was sounded on Monday over a potential second wave of coronavirus infections after Germany reported that the reproduction rate of the pathogen had risen above 1, indicating the disease was again spreading just days after the first tentative steps there to reopen the economy.

Albania plans to legalise the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes, six years after beginning a crackdown on an illegal trade that turned it, by some accounts, into Europe's largest outdoor grower of cannabis.

The Philippines' Health Ministry on Tuesday reported 25 more coronavirus deaths and 264 additional infections.

The Spanish government ordered a two-week quarantine for all travellers coming into the country from May 15 in a bid to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus after one of the Europe's strictest lockdowns helped slow down the epidemic in Spain.

Russia on Tuesday reported 10,899 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total past that of Britain to 232,243, the third highest total worldwide.

Singapore's health ministry said on Tuesday it had confirmed another 884 coronavirus cases, taking the city-state's tally of infections to 24,671.

More than 4.19 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 285,119 have died, according to a Reuters tally, as of 0503 GMT on Tuesday.

Thailand on Tuesday reported two new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, bringing the total to 3,017 cases and 56 deaths since the outbreak started in January.

Japan plans to approve its first coronavirus antigen testing kits on Wednesday, a health ministry official said, in a move to boost the number of diagnostic tests available to battle the pandemic.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 933 to 170,508, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday.

The Japanese Health Ministry is set to approve antigen coronavirus testing kits on Wednesday, a ministry official said on Tuesday, in a move to boost the number of diagnostic tests available to battle the pandemic.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday declared gyms and hair salons as essential services that can stay open through the new coronavirus outbreak, easing measures to control the disease despite new cases and deaths surging in the country.

Mexico's health ministry confirmed 1,305 new cases of coronavirus infections on Monday, along with 108 additional deaths.