The Nikkei Asian Review is tracking the spread of the new coronavirus that originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
Global cases have reached 6,973,195, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The worldwide death toll has hit 401,564.
To see how the disease has spread, view our virus tracker charts:
(Source photo by AP)
Here are the latest developments (Tokyo time):
Monday, June 8
4:42 a.m. Chinese drugmaker Shanghai Junshi Biosciences has launched early-stage trials of a potential antibody therapy for the coronavirus in uninfected subjects, official newspaper Liberation Daily reports. The treatment is being developed in collaboration with Eli Lilly.
12:15 a.m. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott accuses China of trying to sabotage coronavirus vaccine development by Western countries. “What I really believe is, whether England does it first or we do it first, we’re going to share,” he said. “Communist China, they’re not going to share.”
Sunday, June 7
11:32 p.m. Thailand holds its first virtual live music festival, with thousands attending via the Zoom video meeting platform.
10:58 p.m. Gilead Sciences, maker of the potential COVID-19 treatment remdesivir, has been approached by U.K.-based AstraZeneca about a possible merger, Bloomberg News reported.
5:41 p.m. Indonesia reports 672 new coronavirus infections, taking the total to 31,186, and 50 new deaths, taking the total to 1,851.
5:02 p.m. Malaysia will lift most coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses Wednesday, including a ban on interstate travel, after a nearly three-month lockdown, although international borders will remain closed. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announces in a televised address the outbreak is under control and Malaysia will begin a new recovery phase until Aug. 31.
4:03 p.m. Taiwan will further ease restrictions related to control of the coronavirus, the government says, as the island has kept the pandemic well in hand with only 6 active cases and no local transmission for 56 days.
12:23 p.m. China’s exports contracted in May as global coronavirus lockdowns continued to devastate demand, while a sharper-than-expected fall in imports pointed to mounting pressure on manufacturers as global growth stalled. Overseas shipments in May fell 3.3% from a year earlier, after a surprising 3.5% gain in April, customs data shows.
11:39 a.m. China’s foreign exchange reserves rose unexpectedly in May even as the yuan weakened on worries over an escalation in Sino-American tensions. The country’s foreign exchange reserves — the world’s largest — rose $10.233 billion in May to $3.102 trillion, central bank data shows.
1:00 a.m. Global cases of the novel coronavirus topped 7 million on Saturday as case numbers surged in Brazil and India, according to Reuters’ tally. About 30% of these, or 2 million infections, were in the U.S. Latin America came in second, with more than 15% of cases. Globally, deaths from the virus approached 400,000.
Saturday, June 6
10:30 p.m. Potential coronavirus treatment Avigan is now expected to take until July at the earliest to complete a clinical trial, further delaying government approval in Japan, Nikkei has learned. A sharp decline in COVID-19 cases in Japan has made it difficult to secure enough patients for testing, according to people familiar with the matter.
5:42 p.m. Indonesia reports its biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections, with 993 new cases, taking its total to 30,514. It also reports 31 new deaths related to COVID-19, taking total deaths there to 1,801.
4:38 p.m. India reports a record 9,887 new coronavirus cases in one day and overtakes Italy as the world’s sixth-biggest outbreak, two days before relaxing a lockdown with the reopening of malls, restaurants and places of worship.
1:49 p.m. Thailand reports two new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, taking its total confirmed cases to 3,104 and 58 deaths since the outbreak began in January. The two cases are men who returned from Russia and Kuwait and are in quarantine.
10:30 a.m. The group of 20 rich and emerging economies issues a statement saying it has pledged more than $21 billion to fight the coronavirus.
5:00 a.m. The Dow closes 3.2% higher and the S&P 500 climbs 2.6%. For the week, they were up 6.8% and 4.9%, respectively, the sharpest gains since the week ending April 10.
3:26 a.m. New York City has logged its first day of no COVID-19 deaths in roughly three months. The tally of zero was recorded on Wednesday, data from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene shows.
2:30 a.m. China’s tourism ministry has advised the public to avoid travel to Australia, warning of racial discrimination and violence against the Chinese in connection with the coronavirus pandemic.
To catch up on earlier developments, see last week’s latest updates.