Covid-19: Situation improves in New York, Europe; keep trade open, says IMF

Europe remains the most severely affected continent by the outbreak, with more than 1.1 million cases of the disease.

The World Health Organisation said on Sunday that a further 81,153 people have tested positive for the coronavirus disease over the preceding 24 hours, taking the overall number of cases confirmed since the start of the outbreak above 2.24 million.
In total, 6,463 people who have tested positive for Covid-19 have died over the preceding 24 hours, raising the total death toll to 152,551. The latest update indicates a decline in the daily increase of case numbers and deaths compared to data released by WHO on Saturday. Almost 4,000 fewer cases and 247 fewer deaths were reported worldwide on Sunday.

Europe remains the most severely affected continent by the outbreak, with more than 1.1 million cases of the disease. The Covid-19 death toll in Europe surpassed 100,000 on Sunday, according to WHO, after 3,737 more deaths were reported.

A further 37,589 cases and 2,516 deaths were reported in the Americas region, the bulk of which were in the United States.

Earlier in the day, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed leading health officials during a video conference of G20 health ministers. The director-general called on the world's leading economies to offer urgent support to countries that are struggling to cope with the Covid-19 outbreak.

Ghebreyesus said that lifting lockdown restrictions for Covid-19 is not the end of the epidemic, it's just the beginning of the next phase. Speaking at the Group of 20 (G20) Health Ministers virtual meeting from Geneva, the WHO chief said it's vital in this next phase that countries educate, engage and empower their people to prevent and respond rapidly to any resurgence, Xinhua reported.