Nearly 4 million cases

At least 274,617 people have died of the novel coronavirus so far, according to an AFP tally at 1900 GMT yesterday. There have been more than 3,946,130 recorded cases spanning 195 countries and territories. The United States is the worst-hit country, with 77,180 deaths out of 1,283,929 cases. Britain follows with 31,241, then Italy with 30,201 deaths, Spain with 26,478 and France with 26,230.

Deadly food distribution

At least six people were killed in Afghanistan's western province of Ghor as clashes broke out between police forces and protesters during a demonstration against alleged mismanagement of aid to alleviate the effects of the pandemic. It was not immediately clear why the gathering turned violent, but officials blamed armed men in the crowd.

China admits 'shortcomings'

The coronavirus outbreak exposed "shortcomings" in China's public healthcare system, a top health official admitted yesterday, saying that reforms are underway to improve the country's disease prevention and control mechanisms. China reported one new coronavirus case at the end of Friday. It also reported 15 new asymptomatic.

Bolsonaro 'biggest threat'

The Lancet, a leading medical journal, has described President Jair Bolsonaro as "perhaps the biggest threat" to Brazil's ability to successfully fight the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, Brazil's Ministry of Health registered 10,222 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 751 related deaths, a daily high. That brought the total of confirmed cases in the country to 145,328 and deaths to 9,897.

Pence spokeswoman positive      

The US vice president's spokeswoman Katie Miller became the second White House staffer this week to test positive for coronavirus, officials said Friday. Miller is spokeswoman for Vice President Mike Pence, giving her frequent access to high-level meetings. The news boosted fears that the White House is at risk of becoming a viral hot spot.

Americans oppose reopening      

A large majority of Americans oppose reopening the country now, with Democrats and Republicans sharply divided on the question, according to a poll published on Friday. Sixty-four percent of those polled by ABC News/Ipsos said opening the country now is not worth it because it will mean more lives lost to the coronavirus.

10,000 more cases in Russia

Russian authorities yesterday said they had recorded 10,817 new cases of the coronavirus in the last day, pushing the nationwide tally to 198,676. Russia's coronavirus taskforce said that 104 people had died overnight, bringing the national death toll to 1,827. Russian coronavirus cases overtook French and German infections this week to become the fifth-highest in the world.