Paris (AFP)

New assessments, new measures, highlights: an update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic around the world.

- Meeting under tension at WHO -

The secretary general of the United Nations criticized the countries which "ignored the recommendations" of the WHO to respond to the pandemic, believing that the world was paying today at the "high price" for the divergent strategies, at the opening of the World Health Assembly. The 194 member countries of WHO are gathered to debate the international response to the pandemic, with the Sino-American tensions and the discussion on vaccines in the background.

- Xi Jinping's promises -

Chinese President Xi Jinping has assured that a possible Chinese vaccine will be "a global public good", pledging that China would spend $ 2 billion on the global fight against Covid-19 at the WHO annual meeting .

The Chinese number one also said he was in favor of an investigation when the epidemic is stopped, assuring that his country had "always shown transparency and" responsibility "in the face of the epidemic.

- Deconfinement is accelerating in Italy -

In Italy, where the deconfinement has entered its "phase 2", with resumption of masses and timid reopening of shops, cafes and terraces, Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome welcomed its first faithful and tourists, mask on the nose, after temperature measurement and hand disinfection.

- The Acropolis reopens -

The Acropolis of Athens, a landmark monument of Antiquity visited by 2.9 million people in 2019, reopened to the public on Monday like all archaeological sites in Greece. We will have to wait until June 15 for the museums to reopen.

- Lower infections in Russia -

Russia, the second country in the world in number of detected cases of Covid-19, has managed to "stop the growth" of new infections, said the Prime Minister on Monday, nevertheless describing the situation as "complicated". According to official figures, 8,926 new cases have been identified in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 290,678 patients and 2,722 deaths. This is the lowest number of new cases since May 1.

- Over 315,000 dead

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 315,270 people worldwide since the first official cases in December in China, according to a report compiled by AFP from official sources Monday at 11:00 GMT.

The United States is the most affected country in terms of both death and case numbers, with nearly 90,000 deaths and nearly 1.49 million cases. This is followed by the United Kingdom (34,636 dead), Italy (31,908), France (28,108) and Spain (27,650).

- Recession in Japan -

The Japanese economy entered a recession, with a second quarter of a contraction in gross domestic product between January and March, as the coronavirus crisis began to strike.

- Decline in GDP in Thailand -

The Thai economy, highly dependent on tourism (more than 15% of GDP) and exports, is expected to contract by 5 to 6% in 2020, the strongest decline since the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998.

- Mount Fuji deprived of visitors -

For the first time in at least 60 years, the access trails to Mount Fuji will remain closed this summer, depriving hikers of the summer ascent of the most famous volcano in Japan.

burs-kd / cac

© 2020 AFP