The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.
TOP OF THE HOUR:
— Movement restrictions extended in Malaysia.
— More than 60,000 confirmed virus cases in Africa.
— Arrests after protests against restrictions in Germany.
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Movement restrictions in Malaysia are to be extended by four weeks until June 9 despite a sharp drop in infections in the country.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin says restrictions that were due to end on Tuesday must continue to prevent infections from flaring up in the absence of a vaccine.
The government had already let most businesses reopen with strict conditions from May 4 to help revive its hard-hit economy. But mass gatherings remain barred with schools, cinemas and worship houses staying shut, while group sports are prohibited and interstate travel banned.
Muhyiddin says 6.6 million people, nearly half of the country’s labor force, has returned to work with the number expected to increase.
He apologized to ethnic Malay Muslims for disallowing them to return to their hometowns to celebrate the Eid festival at the end of the fasting month, but said gatherings of up to 20 people will be allowed within the same state. He said the government also plans to let worship houses operate with strict measures soon.
Malaysia has recorded 6,589 cases with 108 deaths.
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JOHANNESBURG – Africa has more than 60,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to a tally from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Africa CDC says that all but one of the continent’s 54 countries, tiny Lesotho, has confirmed cases of the virus. South Africa has the most with more than 9,400 registered.
The widespread shortage of testing capacity continues to be a challenge and means the true figures are likely to be much higher.
Some countries are easing lockdowns even as cases rise, arguing people have to make a living and feed their families despite the risks.
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BERLIN — Police in Germany say dozens of people were detained at protests against the pandemic restrictions after some rallies turned violent on Saturday.
Berlin police said 86 people were detained after bottles were thrown at officers during a demonstration on Alexanderplatz, a large central square in former East Berlin. One officer was injured, and another was injured in a separate incident in front of the Reichstag building where 45 people were detained.
In the western city of Dortmund, police said a man attacked a TV crew during a protest — the third such attack in Germany in the past two weeks. The 23-year-old assailant was arrested.
Police in nearby Cologne expressed outrage that some protesters in the city urged shoppers to remove their masks when entering stores.
“It seems like these people still haven’t understood that it’s not just about their health but also the lives of others,” Cologne’s police chief said.
Despite the gradual easing of Germany’s pandemic restrictions in recent weeks, protests against them have swelled, bringing together far-right groups, C-list celebrities and people who believe the virus is harmless or part of a global conspiracy.
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SEOUL, South Korea — The governor of a province that surrounds Seoul ordered the two-week shutdowns of all nightclubs, hostess bars and other similar entertainment facilities in his province to guard against a possible new surge in coronavirus cases.
Lee Jae-myung, the Gyeonggi province governor, announced the steps Sunday, a day after Seoul shut down more 2,100 nightclubs, hostess bars and discos in the capital city as dozens of fresh infections linked to clubgoers have been reported in recent days.
The province and Seoul form the Seoul metropolitan area, where about half of South Korea’s 51 million people reside.
Earlier Sunday, South Korea reported 34 additional virus cases over the past 24 hours, the first time the country’s daily jump has marked above 30 in about a month. Health authorities said that 24 of the 34 cases were those who had visited clubs in Seoul’s Itaewon entertainment neighborhood in the past several days or people who came in contact with them later.
New cases linked to the Itaewon clubs raised worries that an outbreak in South Korea may surge again after showing a downward trend for weeks.
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NEW DELHI — An Indian navy warship carrying Indians stranded in the Maldives because of the coronavirus lockdown has docked at a port in Kochi, a port city in the southernmost state of Kerala.
The INS Jalashwa with 698 returning Indian citizens aboard is the first vessel to arrive Sunday as part of India’s massive repatriation mission. India is also using national carrier Air India to bring back thousands of stranded citizens from the Persian Gulf, U.K. and elsewhere in Asia.
Sea and air passengers have been charged a fare to return to India. Hundreds of thousands of Indian citizens have signed up for additional repatriation journeys planned this month.
India’s lockdown entered a sixth week Sunday, though some restrictions have been eased for self-employed people unable to access government support to return to work. India has reported 60,829 positive cases, including 19,357 recovered patients, and 2,109 deaths.
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SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s president says his proposal to North Korea on jointly tackling infectious diseases such as the COVID-19 illness remains valid, though the North hasn’t responded.
President Moon Jae-in told reporters Sunday that he believes the North is suffering “various difficulties” over the coronavirus pandemic.
Moon didn’t elaborate. His spy agency recently told lawmakers the virus pandemic resulted in sharply shrinking the North’s external trade and causing panic buying in Pyongyang, the North’s capital.
Moon says he’ll try to persuade North Korea to accept his offers for reconciliation projects after the pandemic is stabilized. Moon has proposed reconnecting severed railways, resuming reunions of families split by war and sending South Korean tourists to North Korea.
North Korea has been taking intense anti-virus quarantine steps but it has steadfastly claimed there hasn’t been a single case of the coronavirus on its territory. Many foreign experts are skeptical of the North’s claim.
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WASHINGTON — Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, another stark reminder that not even one of the nation’s most secure buildings is immune from the virus.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the task force, has become nationally known for his simple and direct explanations to the public about the coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease it causes. Also quarantining are Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn.
Fauci’s institute said he has tested negative for COVID-19 and will continue to be tested regularly. It added that he is considered at “relatively low risk” based on the degree of his exposure, and that he would be “taking appropriate precautions” to mitigate the risk to personal contacts while still carrying out his duties. While he will stay at home and telework, Fauci will go to the White House if called and take every precaution, the institute said.
Redfield will be “teleworking for the next two weeks” after it was determined he had a “low risk exposure” to a person at the White House, the CDC said in a statement Saturday evening. The statement said he felt fine and has no symptoms.
Just a few hours earlier, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed that Hahn had come in contact with someone who tested positive and was in self-quarantine for the next two weeks. He tested negative for the virus.
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Follow AP news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
