Global Coronavirus Deaths Pass 200,000: Live Updates | News

• The global death toll from coronavirus exceeded the 200,000 threshold, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned countries that issue so-called “immunity passports” to those recovered from COVID-19, saying there is no evidence, but that previously infected cannot re-infect themselves.

• In the UK, an additional 813 people died in hospital after testing positive for the disease caused by the new coronavirus, bringing the country’s total to 20,319.

• India allowed a limited reopening of stores in neighborhoods and residential areas, one month after the country of some 1.3 billion people closed.

• Globally, the number of confirmed infections amounted to more than 2.88 million people, with some 813,000 recoveries.

Here are the latest updates:

Sunday, April 25

04:08 GMT – ‘Is it because I am African?’: Racism of China’s coronavirus

23-year-old medical student from Sierra Leone says authorities Guangzhou china he was selected for coronavirus and quarantine testing despite the fact that he had not left the city since the outbreak began.

He declined, saying that if he was to be quarantined, his Chinese colleagues would have to go with him.
Their experience is not unique. Many African residents of Guangzhou denounce acts of discrimination amid the pandemic, in a move that is becoming important evidence of ties between China and Africa.

Betsy Joles has more on this topic here.

03:29 GMT – The vast majority of infected inmates in four US states. USA Are asymptomatic

An overwhelming majority of American inmates who tested positive for coronavirus in prison systems in the states of Arkansas, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia were asymptomatic, according to Reuters.

About 96 percent of 3,277 inmates were asymptomatic, Reuters says, citing records and interviews with officials.

The agency says the numbers are the latest evidence to suggest that asymptomatic, contagious but not physically ill people may be driving the spread of the virus.

03:18 GMT – South Korea reports 10 new cases

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it recorded 10 new cases of coronavirus and no new deaths at the end of Saturday.

The new infections involve travelers from abroad, while three are in Daegu, the epicenter of the South Korean coronavirus outbreak. The figure brings the total number of infections to 10,718.

The death toll remains at 240 for the third consecutive day.

03:14 GMT – China reports 11 new cases on dry land

China’s health authorities report 11 new coronavirus infections on the mainland, five of which involved travelers from abroad.

The National Health Commission says there were no new deaths on the continent at the end of Saturday.

The new figures bring the total number of infections on the continent to 82,827. The death toll remains 4,632 people.

02:25 GMT – Heatwave draws thousands to California beaches

A heat wave is taking thousands of people to open beaches in Southern California, including Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, despite orders to stay home for people across the state.

“We are seeing a multitude of summer days,” says Brian O’Rourke, a chief lifeguard battalion at Newport Beach in Orange County, who saw about 40,000 people on Friday.

California Governor Gavin Newsom urges people who visit the coast to practice social distancing.

It’s going to be nice outside this weekend. You may feel shut up. Ready for life to be “normal” again.

But I can’t emphasize this enough:

CA can only keep flattening the curve if we stay home and practice physical distancing.

You have the power to literally save lives.

– Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) April 24, 2020

01:22 GMT – Saudi Arabia partially lifts curfew, except in Mecca

King Salman of Saudi Arabia is ordering the partial lifting of a curfew in all regions of the kingdom except in the city of Mecca and previously quarantined neighborhoods, according to the official Saudi press agency.

The curfew will be raised between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Starting on Sunday, while shopping malls, wholesale and retail stores will be able to reopen from Wednesday for two weeks.

The kingdom has more than 16,000 confirmed infections and 136 deaths.

00:44 GMT – Coronavirus cases in Mexico rise to 13,842

Health authorities in Mexico report 970 new cases of coronavirus infections and an additional 84 deaths.

The figures bring the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 13,842 and the death toll to 1,305.

00:38 GMT – WHO ‘wants to discourage voluntary or forced self-infection’

Chris Smith, a professor at Cambridge University, says the WHO cannot afford to endorse immunity passes until you are sure of the long-term effects of the virus.

“I think the WHO is taking the position that they are because what they want to discourage is the possibility that there may be voluntary or forced self-infection,” the medical virologist told Al Jazeera.

“There is a concern that if people thought this was their passport not just for traveling internationally, but for not worrying about it anymore, there might be a temptation to actively go out and look for infections. That will be a high-risk strategy. it will control and as a result could lead to another increase in cases, increased transmission. “

00:12 GMT – Tajikistan closes schools, cancels sporting events

Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon cancels sporting events and orders schools to be closed for two weeks.

The order is unexpected as Tajikistan has yet to recognize any coronavirus infections in the country. Along with schools, theaters and cinemas will also be closed.

The central Asian nation’s soccer association says it will suspend its soccer season until May 10.

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Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continued coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I am Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives.

For all the key developments from yesterday, go here.