Coronavirus Pandemic: Latest updates

More than 260,000 dead

At least 264,111 people have died of the novel coronavirus since the epidemic surfaced in China late last year, according to an Johns Hopkins University tally at 1900 GMT yesterday. There have been more than 3,769,150 officially recorded cases spanning 195 countries and territories. The United States is the worst-hit country, with 73,431 deaths. Britain follows with 30,150, then Italy with 29,684 deaths, Spain with 25,857 and France with 25,812.

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Tourism to plunge up to 80%

The number of international tourist arrivals will plunge by 60 to 80 percent in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Tourism Organization said yesterday, revising a previous forecast of a 20-30 percent drop. Tourist arrivals fell by 22 percent in the first quarter of the year, with Asia and Europe suffering the biggest declines.

World food prices fall sharply

World food prices fell for a third consecutive month in April, hit by the economic and logistical impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the United Nations food agency said yesterday. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 165.5 points last month, down 3.4% on March.

Donate May pay: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka yesterday appealed to its 1.5 million government employees to donate their May salary to the government to boost the economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and a weeks-long lockdown. Top civil servant PB Jayasundara called on all public sector workers -- including members of the armed forces and the police -- to forego their salary in the name of "social responsibility."

India's cases jump past 50,000

Coronavirus cases in India rose past 50,000, the health ministry said yesterday, with the pace of new infections showing no signs of abating despite a strict weeks-long lockdown in the world's second-most populous country. India added 3,561 cases, taking its total 52,952 while the death toll rose by 89 to 1,783.

Nepal extends lockdown

The government has decided to extend the nationwide lockdown until May 18. Nepal has been on lockdown since March 24 to contain the spread of the virus.  82 cases have been detected in nepal so far with no death.

UK minorities risk

Black men and women are more than four times more likely to die with coronavirus than white people in England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics says.

Domestic violence spike

Emergency services across Europe have seen a sharp rise in domestic abuse calls during lockdowns, the World Health Organization's regional office says, with countries reporting up to a 60 percent increase in calls in April compared to last year.