BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
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PARIS -- The French government has decided to extend the state of health emergency until July 24 to fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Minister of Health Olivier Vrran announced on Saturday.
The state of health emergency, installed since March 24, is to be extended because lifting it, as previously scheduled on May 23, "would be premature" as the risks of an epidemic resurgence are present, the minister told a press conference.
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BUCHAREST -- Moldovan Interior Minister Pavel Voicu announced Saturday on his social media account that he had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Voicu became the first senior official infected in the country.
"I want to confirm that following the testing procedure for the new virus infection, yesterday I was confirmed positively with a mild form of COVID-19," the minister wrote in a Facebook post.
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DHAKA -- Bangladesh has reported 552 new COVID-19 cases and five more deaths in the last 24 hours.
The total number of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh now stands at 8,790 after the country recorded 552 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the figures from the Health Ministry showed on Saturday.
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MANILA -- The Philippines has released a total of 9,731 inmates in an apparent move to decongest jails as the country grapples with an increasing number of COVID-19 cases, Associate Supreme Court Justice Mario Victor Leonen said on Saturday.
Leonen said the move followed a directive to lower courts to free those prisoners awaiting trial who can not afford bail.
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KAMPALA -- The Ugandan military has immediately suspended the rotation of its peacekeeping troops to Somalia and capacity building in Equatorial Guinea over COVID-19 pandemic, a spokesperson said Saturday.
Brig. Richard Karemire, Ugandan military spokesperson told Xinhua by telephone that Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) high command took a decision to protect thousands of troops in foreign missions.
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YINCHUAN -- Chinese medical experts returned home Saturday after completing their mission to help fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The medical team composed of eight experts, who were selected by the health commission of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Enditem
