Update: COVID-19 watch, May 21-- Global deaths surpass 328,000, confirmed cases top 5 mln

Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 17:51:25|Editor: huaxia

People ride in Johannesburg, South Africa, May 19, 2020. (Photo by Yeshiel/Xinhua)

- Global COVID-19 deaths surpassed 328,000 and total COVID-19 cases around the world rose to 5,000,038.

- Russia has confirmed 8,849 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

- Kyrgyzstan confirmed 43 new COVID-19 cases, raising its total number of infections to 1,313.

- Uganda confirmed 10 new cases of COVID-19, as the government revised its total number of infections down to 145 cases.

BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

NEW YORK -- Global COVID-19 deaths surpassed 328,000 on Thursday, reaching 328,172 as of 1:59 a.m. (0559 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, total COVID-19 cases around the world rose to 5,000,038, according to the CSSE.

A medical worker takes a swab sample at a COVID-19 drive-thru testing site in Washington D.C., the United States, May 19, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

- - - -

MOSCOW -- Russia has confirmed 8,849 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, raising its total number of infections to 317,554, its coronavirus response center said in a statement Thursday.

- - - -

KAMPALA -- Uganda's ministry of health late on Wednesday confirmed 10 new cases of COVID-19, as the government revised its total number of infections down to 145 cases.

Out of 1,497 samples collected from cross-border drivers and the community, nine Ugandan truck drivers and one contact of a confirmed truck driver tested positive for the virus, the ministry said in a statement.

Workers make facemasks in Jinja, Uganda, May 15, 2020. Uganda on Tuesday further eased the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions as the country gradually moves to open up. (Xinhua/Nicholas Kajoba)

- - - -

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan confirmed 43 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising its total number of infections to 1,313, with 14 deaths.

Among the newly infected, four are medical workers, bringing the total number of medical workers diagnosed with COVID-19 to 270, 233 of whom have recovered, Deputy Health Minister Nurbolot Usenbaev told a daily briefing.

The total number of recovered cases has increased to 929, with 19 new recoveries in the last 24 hours, he added.

- - - -

WASHINGTON -- China's large-scale COVID-19 testing may pave the way for a strong economic recovery, a renowned U.S. economist has said.

"Although there are no official national data on the number of tests that have been carried out in China, press reports suggest that China, at least in certain localities, has tested widely and strategically for COVID-19," Nicholas Lardy, senior fellow at the Washington D.C.-based think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics, wrote Tuesday in an analysis.

Staff member Xu Baoxia selects goods according to an order from a client at a supermarket in Shulan, northeast China's Jilin Province, May 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan)

- - - -

WELLINGTON -- New Zealand reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday for four consecutive days, with the combined total of confirmed and probable cases remaining at 1,503, according to the Ministry of Health.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a press conference that the death toll has remained at 21 in the country since May 6, the ministry said.

KEY WORDS:
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011102121390755401