Global deaths and cases 

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 307,321 people since the outbreak first emerged  last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT yesterday. At least 4,549,100 cases of coronavirus have been registered in 196 countries and territories.  US has recorded 87,568 deaths . Britain has the second highest toll with 33,998 deaths. It is followed by Italy with 31,610 deaths, Spain with 27,563 fatalities and France with 27,529 deaths.

WHO's 'sharing platform'             

The World Health Organization on Friday urged countries, companies and researchers to pull down the barriers and open up their findings on COVID-19 as it unveiled a global knowledge-sharing platform. The information pool is intended to be a voluntary worldwide repository of intellectual property and open-sourced data, allowing everyone involved to benefit from each other's advances in a common front against the new coronavirus. The platform will be officially launched on May 29.

Statins may help frail elders

Widely-used cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may be associated with substantially fewer symptoms in older, frail COVID-19 patients, a small study suggests. Among 154 coronavirus patients at two nursing homes, those who took a statin, such as Lipitor, were nearly three times more likely to be free of symptoms during their infection than those who did not, researchers in Belgium found.

Surface coating kills virus             

A specially formulated antimicrobial coating can keep surfaces clear of a human coronavirus for up to 90 days with just one application, a preliminary study said Friday. The paper by researchers at the University of Arizona (UA), which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that the amount of virus on coated surfaces reduced by 90 percent in 10 minutes and by 99.9 percent in two hours.

Russia's highest death toll

119 people died in coronavirus yesterday, Russia's highest daily death toll yet. Russia is in second place in the world to the United States with 272,043 cases, with 9,200 new cases announced yesterday. The total number of officially confirmed deaths is now 2,537.

Leopards in Pak capital's park

Leopards, jackals and other creatures living in Islamabad's tree-covered hills have been enjoying a rare respite from the throngs of hikers and joggers that normally pack the trails. Islamabad's normally reclusive leopards have been roaming onto deserted pathways, and social networks are rife with talk of purported sightings.