schema:articleBody
| - Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: First signs that transmission of the virus has again picked up are visible in German official data. The infection rate mounts to around 1.0, meaning each infected person passes the virus on to one other. France and Spain, among the countries with the highest death tolls, will announce later on Tuesday plans to ease their strict lockdowns, in place since March. More than 211,185 people have died worldwide since the epidemic surfaced in China in December, according to an AFP tally at 1100 GMT on Tuesday based on official sources. In total, 3,030,246 cases have now been reported in 193 countries or territories. The United States has the most deaths of any country with 56,253 fatalities. Italy is the second hardest-hit country, with 26,977 dead. Spain follows with 23,822, then France with 23,293 and the United Kingdom with 21,092. The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will have to be cancelled if the pandemic is not brought under control by next year, the organising committee's president Yoshiro Mori warns, ruling out any delay until 2022. China hits back at global criticism and warnings from US President Donald Trump that he might seek damages from Beijing over the outbreak. China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, speaking to reporters at a press briefing, accuses US politicians of "barefaced lies" and says the US is attacking Beijing to divert attention from its own handling of the pandemic. Around a hundred projects are underway to find a vaccine for COVID-19, including some dozen that are at the clinical testing stage, according to the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Hundreds of surfers and swimmers at Sydney's famous Bondi Beach hit the water for the first time in five weeks when police closed the area, as Australia takes its first steps in easing restrictions. "Surf and go" signs urge people to move on when they have finished in the water. burs-jba-eab/jmy/lc
|