Global deaths from coronavirus pass 200,000

The global death toll from the novel coronavirus infection surpassed 200,000 on Sunday morning, reaching 202,846, according to the data provided by Johns Hopkins University.

So far, 2,896,746 cases have been confirmed around the world after Covid-19, the disease caused by the new strain of coronavirus, was first reported in China in December last year.

Of those infected, 1,880,815 are currently being treated with 57,864 being in serious or critical condition, according to Worldometer.

816,685 people have recovered till date.

A tentative easing around the world of coronavirus lockdowns gathered pace Saturday with the reopening in India of neighborhood stores that many of the country's 1.3 billion people rely on for everything from cold drinks to mobile phone data cards.

In the US, the states of Georgia, Oklahoma and Alaska have begun loosening lockdown orders on their pandemic-wounded businesses, even as the confirmed US death toll from the coronavirus soared past 50,000 and health experts warned that such steps might be coming too soon.

The relaxation of the Indian lockdown came with major caveats. It did not apply to hundreds of quarantined towns and other places hit hardest by the outbreak that has killed at least 775 people in the country and terrified its multitudes of poor who live in slum conditions too crowded for social distancing.

Shopping malls also stayed closed nationwide. Still, for families that run small stores, being able to earn again brought relief.

Elsewhere in Asia, authorities reported no new deaths Saturday for the 10th straight day in China, where the virus originated.

And South Korea reported just 10 fresh cases, the eighth day in a row its daily jump came below 20. There were no new deaths for the second straight day.

Other countries, however, extended or tightened restrictions, confirming a pattern of caution in trying to balance public health against the shut-down economies.

/unb/teb