BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The world is now in a battle against COVID-19, a disease caused by a previously unknown coronavirus that has spread to over 200 countries and regions.
The following are the updates on the contagious disease.
MADRID -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday that the country is close to the beginning of a decline in its novel coronavirus epidemic.
The COVID-19 date is encouraging and "the fire has started to come under control," the prime minister told parliament before a vote on the extension of a state of emergency by another two weeks until April 26.
- - - -
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia's Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports has decided to postpone secondary and high school exams in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Khmer Times reported on Thursday.
Minister of Education, Youth and Sports Hang Chuon Naron issued a notice on Wednesday, saying the ministry had decided to postpone the two national exams, which were previously scheduled for August.
- - - -
KUALA LUMPUR -- The number of the COVID-19 cases in Malaysia totaled at 4,228 after 109 new cases were recorded, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.
Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a press briefing that among the infections, 1,608 have been cured and discharged from hospital, while 72 are currently being held in intensive care and 43 of those are in need of assisted breathing.
- - - -
MOSCOW -- Russia's COVID-19 cases grew 1,459 in the last 24 hours to reach 10,131 on Thursday, the country's coronavirus response center said in a statement.
The death toll rose to 76 from 63 a day before, and 698 people have recovered, including 118 in the last 24 hours, according to the center.
- - - -
BEIJING -- A trial protocol on recovered COVID-19 patients' quarantine, return visits to doctors, re-testing and health monitoring has been released by the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against the novel coronavirus.
According to the protocol, recovered COVID-19 patients should stay in quarantine for 14 days either at home or in an isolation center for medical observation.
- - - -
TASHKENT -- Uzbekistan has sent protective medical supplies and foodstuff to its neighbor Tajikistan to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the state news agency UzA said Thursday.
The supplies, donated under the instruction of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, were sent from southern Surkhandaria region to Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe by rail, the report said.
- - - -
BERLIN -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Germany rose by 4,974 over the past 24 hours to 108,202 on Thursday, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases.
The reported death toll rose by 246 to 2,107, according to RKI, the federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention.
