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Brazil’s health ministry has confirmed 14,919 new cases of the novel coronavirus, as well as 816 related deaths, pushing the total number of infections to at least 233,142 – the fourth-highest in the world, surpassing Spain’s tally – while the death toll hit 15,633.
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Burundi is pushing ahead with an election on Wednesday that will end President Pierre Nkurunziza’s divisive and bloody 15-year rule. But the coronavirus poses a threat to the May 20 vote, and the government has kicked out World Health Organization workers after concerns were raised.
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Former US President Barack Obama has criticised American leaders for the handling of the coronavirus response, telling college graduates in an online commencement address that the pandemic shows many officials “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”
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Globally, more than 4.6 million people have been infected and more than 311,000 have died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. About 1.8 million people have recovered, according to another coronavirus monitor, Worldometers.
Here are all the latest updates:
Sunday, May 17
03: 16 GMT – China, South Korea consult Japan on easing business-travel limits
China and South Korea have consulted Japan about easing border controls on business travellers to help revive business activities, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Sunday without citing sources.
The idea, already implemented between South Korea and China, would allow a fast-track entry of business people if they test negative for the new coronavirus before departure and after arrival, the newspaper said.
But Tokyo is cautious about relaxing border controls at this point due to fears of another spike in infections, as well as a lack of test kits for travellers, according to the report. Japan has reported some 16,300 cases of the coronavirus and 748 deaths.
03:01 GMT – Coronavirus cases hit 1,000 in US state of Washington
The number of deaths in Washington state because of the new coronavirus has reached 1,000.
The Washington State Department of Health on Saturday added eight more deaths and listed the total number of confirmed cases at 18,288.
02:35 GMT – Venezuela sees its largest one-day virus increase
Venezuela is reporting its biggest one-day increase in confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic hit the South American nation, with 45 new cases bringing the total number of cases to 504 with 10 deaths.
President Nicolás Maduro ordered a nationwide lockdown shortly after the first cases, and he recently extended it until mid-June, hoping to contain the virus’ spread.
Officials say that 35 of Saturday’s cases involved people returning to Venezuela, including several on a flight from Peru.
Venezuelan citizens wait outside the headquarter of the Venezuelan Consulate in Quito, Ecuador, to get a chance to return their country [Jose Jacome/EPA]
02:18 GMT – China reports 5 new coronavirus cases, down from 8 a day earlier
Mainland China reported five new confirmed COVID-19 cases for May 16, down from eight the previous day, Reuters news agency reported on Sunday quoting the National Health Commission (NHC).
Two of the five confirmed cases are so-called imported infections, while three are locally transmitted in northeastern Jilin Province. The number of new asymptomatic cases of the coronavirus fell to 12 from 13, the NHC said.
The number of confirmed cases in the mainland stands at 82,947 and the death toll at 4,634.
01:50 GMT – South Korea adds 13 new virus cases
South Korea added 13 new cases of the new coronavirus on Sunday with nightclub-linked infections showing signs of a slowdown over the weekend, Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday quoting health officials.
The new cases, detected as of the end of Saturday, brought the country’s total to 11,050, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). There were no new reported deaths keeping the total death toll at 262.
01:40 GMT – Coronavirus deaths in Turkey slow down
Turkey’s health ministry says 41 more people have died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 4,096. The death rate is the lowest registered since the end of March.
Minister Fahrettin Koca wrote on social media that 1,610 new infections were confirmed, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 148,067.
01:18 GMT – Sudan hits highest one-day tally of infections
Sudan’s Health Ministry has reported the country’s highest one-day tally of coronavirus infections, with 325 new COVID-19 patients and six deaths.
Saturday’s figures have taken the country’s tally to 2,289 confirmed cases, including 97 fatalities, the ministry said. A total of 222 were discharged after recovering.
Most of the country’s COVID-19 patients were in the capital, Khartoum where authorities imposed round-the-clock curfew in April to stem the spread of the virus, AP news agency reported.
01:05 GMT – Mexico registers 47,144 cases of coronavirus and 5,045 deaths
Mexico registered 47,144 cases of coronavirus on Saturday, with the country’s death toll rising to 5,045, health authorities said.
Mexico has seen a slightly higher death rate from coronavirus than the global average so far due to the widespread presence of pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity, experts told Reuters news agency.
00:38 GMT – More US sailors test positive of coronavirus
Eight more American sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive a second time for the new coronavirus, raising to 13 the number who appear to have become infected again while serving aboard the sidelined aircraft carrier, AP news agency reported.
All the sailors had previously tested positive and had gone through at least two weeks of isolation. Before they were allowed to go back to the ship, all had to test negative twice in a row, with the tests separated by at least a day or two.
On Saturday, a Navy official confirmed eight additional sailors had tested positive again. A day earlier the Navy had said in a statement that five had tested positive a second time. The Navy official was not authorised to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
00:04 GMT – Obama criticises US coronavirus response
Then US President Obama meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House during the transition period in November 2016 [File: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]
Former President Barack Obama on Saturday criticised American leaders over the handling of the coronavirus response, telling college graduates in an online commencement address that the pandemic shows many officials “aren’t even pretending to be in charge”.
Obama spoke on, Show Me Your Walk, HBCU Edition, a two-hour event for students graduating from historically black colleges and universities broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
“More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing,” Obama said without naming the president or other officials. “A lot them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”
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Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. You can find all the key developments from yesterday, March 16, here.
