Global virus deaths inch closer to 4 lakh

Even as several countries prepare to reopen their international borders after gradually easing lockdown imposed to contain the spread of novel Coronavirus the death toll due to COVID19 inched closer to 4 lakh on Wednesday As many as 383178 people have died across the world since the outbreak of COVID19 in China in December and the number of those infected now stands at 6482695Germany lifts travel warningGermanys government says it plans to lift a travel warning for European countries on June 15 mdash but it may still advise against travel in some cases for example to Britain if quarantine rules there remain in placeThe country has reported a total of 184115 infections and 8676 deaths due to COVID19 so far On Wednesday Chancellor Angela Merkels governing coalition was spending a second day hammering out a stimulus package meant to help kickstart the economy In Germany the unemployment rate rose modestly to 63 per cent from 58 per cent according to its own labour agency measuresEuropes unemployment rate ticked up modestly last month contained by use of labour programs that have kept millions of workers on payrolls and as some people stopped looking for work statistics agency Eurostat said on WednesdayThe jobless rate in the 19 countries that use the euro rose to 73 per cent in April from 71 per cent in March Europes rise in unemployment has been moderate by international standards because employers are making extensive use of governmentbacked shorttime work programs that allows them to keep employees on the payroll while they await better timesItaly reopens intl bordersRomes airport sprang back to life on Wednesday as Italy opened regional and international borders in the final phase of easing its lockdown Italy is the first European country to fully open its international borders dropping the 14day quarantine rule for visitors But most European nations see Italys move mdash that aims to boost its collapsed yet critical tourism industry mdash as prematureExperts watch as Brazil starts to reopenRio de Janeiro one of the cities worst hit by COVID19 in Brazil has slowly started to reopen more than two months after nonessential businesses were forced to shut down in order to limit the spread of the new Coronavirus As of June 1 Rio had over 30000 confirmed cases and 3671 deaths Some people ventured onto the beach on Tuesday even though they officially remained closed while surfers and swimmers were allowed to get into the sea for the first time in weeksSports activities in training centers resumed behind closed doors In the first of the plans six phases most street shops will remain closed with a few exceptions such as car and furniture stores Restaurants and bars also remain shutSweden could have battled COVID19 betterSwedens chief epidemiologist showed contrition on Wednesday as criticism mounted over the Scandinavian countrys hotly debated method of fighting the COVID19 which has resulted in one of the highest death rates per capita in the worldSweden has stood out among European nations and the world for the way it has handled the pandemic not shutting down the country like others but relying on citizens sense of civic duty Authorities have advised people to practice physical distancing but schools bars and restaurants remained open Only gatherings of over 50 people have been banned I think there is potential for improvement in what we have done in Sweden quite clearly Anders Tegnell of the Public Health Agency saidCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever