Globally, there have been more than 4.7 million known cases of COVID-19, and more than 318,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Here are the 10 global developments this morning:
1. Globally, there have been more than 4.7 million known cases of COVID-19, and more than 318,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 1.7 million people have recovered.
2. US President Donald Trump has threatened to permanently halt funding for the WHO and withdraw the United States from the UN health agency if it does not make “substantive improvements” in the next 30 days.
Earlier on Monday he attacked the WHO as a “puppet of China”. The president froze US funding for the WHO in April.
This is the letter sent to Dr. Tedros of the World Health Organization. It is self-explanatory! pic.twitter.com/pF2kzPUpDv
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2020
3. Children in the Australian state of New South Wales will return to school full-time from next week, the state’s Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.
Berjiklian said the state government had used the time that children were at home to prepare schools as a COVID-safe environment, but warned that temporary closures would probably be necessary to contain sporadic outbreaks of the virus.
4. The coronavirus is spreading so fast among indigenous people in the most remote parts of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest that doctors are having to evacuate the most seriously-ill patients by plane.
Brazil’s indigenous health service, Sesai, reported on Monday that at least 23 indigenous people had died from COVID-19. The country’s main tribal umbrella group APIB, which counts cases among indigenous people who have moved to the cities, reported 103 confirmed deaths on Monday up from 18 on April 3.
5. The US Department of Health and Human Services has set aside $11 billion in new funding to support coronavirus testing.
6. Studies from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Council of Museums have confirmed that more than 85,000 museums across the world – about 90 percent of all institutions – have shut because of the coronavirus.
Museums may be temporarily closed, but they remain a source of knowledge and discovery for many – now through virtual tours in particular.
This International Museum Day, let's celebrate the inspirational power of museums & thank museum workers for their valuable contribution. pic.twitter.com/vbtxeGlos4
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 18, 2020
7. The WHO chief has promised an independent review of the global pandemic response, after countries at a virtual meeting of the World Health Assembly called for a probe.