A couple walks on the waterfront in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, April 3, 2020. (MICHAEL DWYER/AP)

WASHINGTON / ROME / PARIS / LONDON / OTTAWA / GENEVA / CAIRO / WARSAW / HELSINKI / STOCKHELM / GUATEMALA CITY / TEGUCIGALPA / MECIXAN CITY / SANTIAGO - US President Donald Trump said on Friday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends that Americans wear cloth face coverings to protect against COVID-19.   

"The CDC is advising the use of non-medical cloth face covering as a voluntary health measure," Trump told a White House briefing. "It is voluntary. They suggested for a period of time."   

Trump stressed that the recommendation should not be seen as replacing social-distancing measures considered key to slowing the outbreak, which has now claimed more lives in New York state than the Sept 11, 2001, attacks.

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More than 277,000 COVID-19 cases were tallied in the United States, with a death toll exceeding 7,100, according to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University.

Trump on Friday signed an order directing his administration to stop the export to other countries of N-95 face masks and other personal protective equipment needed in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The 3M Co said on Friday it would make more N95 respirator masks for the United States to fight the pandemic, but warned of the “humanitarian implications” of limiting supply to other countries as Trump directed.

People get exercise outside on the lake shore path along Lake Ontario in Toronto on April 2, 2020. (NATHAN DENETTE/THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP)

Canada

Canadian province of Ontario said on Friday that between 3,000 and 15,000 people in the province will die from COVID-19 by the end of April if the current anti-COVID-19 measures in place are upheld.   

Without any public health measures, the death number could rise 100,000, Peter Donnelly, president and CEO of Public Health Ontario said at a press conference in Toronto on Friday.

EU

The European Union (EU) announced on Friday to temporarily waive customs duties and value-added tax (VAT) on the import of medical devices, and protective equipment, from non-EU countries to help the fight against coronavirus.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made an example that in Italy, the customs duties of 12 percent and the value-added tax of 22 percent is levied on some face masks, or protective garments imported from countries like China. The decision will make them one-third cheaper. For ventilators, the average value-added tax rate is 20 percent.

UK

Britain is unlikely to lift its stringent lockdown rules until the end of May, a leading government adviser said on Saturday, warning that the spread of the coronavirus must first slow and intense testing be introduced.

The government has put Britain into a widespread shutdown, closing pubs, restaurants and nearly all shops, while ordering people to stay home unless absolutely essential to venture out.

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Britain reached 38,168 as of Friday morning, an increase of 4,450 in 24 hours, according to the lastest figure from the Department of Health and Social Care.   

As of Thursday afternoon, of those hospitalised in Britain who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, 3,605 have died, marking a record daily rise of 684.

Germany

Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases have risen by 6,082 in the past 24 hours, a slight decrease from the day before, according to data from the government’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Saturday.

The reported reduction in new daily cases, which were down from 6,174 new cases a day earlier, could be a sign that the rate of infection is beginning to level off, but the government cautioned it was far too early to identify a trend.

Germany now has 85,778 cases, up from 79,696 infections on Friday, with the highest level of infections in Bavaria, according to the RKI statistics. Deaths have increased to 1,158, the RKI said, from 1,017 deaths as of Friday.

France

Deaths caused by the coronavirus surged to 6,507 on Friday in France where further 5,233 positive cases were detected, taking the total to 64,338, Director General of Health Jerome Salomon said.   

Italy

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed 14,681 lives in locked-down Italy, bringing the total number of infections, fatalities and recoveries so far to 119,827, the latest data from the country's Civil Protection Department managing the national emergency response showed on Friday.    

On daily basis, 766 deaths of COVID-19 were reported on Friday compared with Thursday's 760 cases.

Switzerland

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in Switzerland, it is less likely that the country could return to normal life on April 20, when the current restrictive measures end, a senior Swiss official said on Friday.   

ALSO READ: WHO declares virus outbreak a pandemic, seeks urgent action

Alain Berset, head of the Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs, said at a press conference that China's experience showed that even with tougher measures, it will take two months to ease the containment measures.

He urged the Swiss people to better respect the rules of hygiene and physical distance and stay home for at least another several weeks.

Switzerland’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has reached 540, the country’s public health agency said on Saturday, rising from 484 on Friday.

The number of people testing positive for infections also increased to 20,278 from 19,303 on Friday, it said.

Poland

The Polish Ministry of Health has reported a one-day record number of 320 new cases on Friday, bringing the official total in the country to 3,266.    

The Death toll directly attributed to the coronavirus has reached 65, according to the ministry.

Finland

The Finnish government on Friday ordered all restaurants in the country to close from Saturday until the end of May, in its latest effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Restaurants serving employees at workplaces, as well as catering in hospitals, schools and daycare, will not be affected.

As of Friday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Finland has reached 1,615 with 20 deaths, according to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.  

Sweden

The number of elderly people contracting COVID-19 in Sweden has increased dramatically, as the country reported 6,078 cases of COVID-19 in total Friday afternoon.

The latest figures showed that 233 out of the 333 dead were between 70 and 90 years old. And a total of 469 people were admitted to intensive care between Thursday and Friday alone.

The Netherlands

The confirmed death toll from the coronavirus in the Netherlands has risen by 164 to 1,651, health authorities said on Saturday.

The National Institute for Health (RIVM) said the total number of infections had increased by 6% to 16,627 over the past 24 hours.

The actual number of deaths and infections is higher than the official figure due to a lack of widespread testing for the coronavirus, the RIVM has said.

Greece

The Greek ferry "Eleftherios Venizelos" with 119 confirmed cases on board has docked at Piraeus port, as the Greek government started on Friday the transfer to the shore of 261 passengers who tested negative for the novel coronavirus, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.   

According to the report, the 119 infected will remain on board for a 14-day quarantine.

By Friday afternoon, Greece had confirmed 1,613 infections and 59 deaths from the virus.

Egypt

Egypt confirmed on Friday eight COVID-19 deaths and 120 new cases, the largest daily figures since the outbreak of the infectious disease in the North African country.

A shopper wearing a protective mask and gloves buys vegetables inside Mercado Medellin in the Roma Norte area of Mexico City, April 2, 2020. (REBECCA BLACKWELL/AP)

Mexico

Mexico will be able to tap around US$10 billion from various funds and trusts to alleviate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday.

Mexico’s health ministry said on Friday that the number of people who have died of coronavirus in the country has risen to 60, up from 50 a day earlier. It registered a total of 1,688 coronavirus cases, up from 1,510.

Central America

Thousands of people have been detained across Central America for violating rules put in place by their governments to curb the fast-spreading new coronavirus in a region that has fewer medical resources than developed countries.

Honduran authorities said about 2,250 people have been arrested for violating the curfew imposed since mid-March while Guatemalan authorities said 5,705 people had been detained for leaving their homes without justification.

In Panama, more than 5,000 people have been detained in recent weeks for violating curfew rules; another 424 people have been detained for not complying with recent rules that limit men and women leaving the house to alternate days.

Meanwhile, in El Salvador, 712 people have been detained for failing to comply with the mandatory home quarantine decreed by President Nayib Bukele, and have been taken to containment centers.

Brazil

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Brazil have risen from 7,910 to 9,056, with deaths rising from 299 to 359.

Chile

Embattled Chilean President Sebastian Pinera sparked outrage on Friday by posing for photographs at the plaza that was the center of anti-government protests before it was put under quarantine to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

At least 31 people died, 3,000 were injured, and 30,000 were detained in the protests, which started in October over a hike in public transport rates and broadened to include grievances over pensions, healthcare, education and elitism.

The area around Plaza Italia is covered by a strict quarantine covering large parts of Santiago that prevents people from leaving their homes without specific permission from the authorities. Chile has 3,737 confirmed cases of the coronavirus so far, and 22 people have died.

Cameroon

Cameroon on Friday reported 203 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 509, Health Minister Manaouda Malachie said at a press briefing.   

Among those 509 cases, there are eight deaths including a health professional, and 17 recoveries, he added.

Senegal

Senegalese President Macky Sall on Friday announced measures to deal with the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, as he predicted the country's economic growth would drop from 6.8 percent to less than 3 percent.  

Sall said he had set up an Economic and Social Resilience Program to strengthen the health system and support households, businesses and their employees.

Senegal on Friday reported 12 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the country's total to 207, among which 84 are imported cases.

Morocco 

A total of 70 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Morocco on Friday, bringing the total number of cases in the North African country to 761, the Ministry of Health said.

A total of 47 people died from the virus while 56 others have recovered, according to the ministry.

Russia

Patriarch Kirill, the head of Russia’s influential Orthodox Church, drove a holy icon around the streets of Moscow in a procession of cars on Friday, as the country fights to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

The icon of the Virgin Mary was driven 109 kilometres in a procession of sleak black cars shown on state television and was brought to a cathedral in Moscow for a service.

Patriarch Kirill has said he would use the drive to pray for the end of the coronavirus outbreak and appealed to Russians to respect and follow restrictions introduced by the authorities to stem the contagion, Interfax news agency reported.

Moscow, the epicentre of Russia’s coronavirus outbreak, has been in lockdown since Monday and many regions across the country have since imposed similar measures.

Russia has reported 4,149 coronavirus cases and 34 deaths.

Georgia 

A 79-year-old woman who tested positive for the coronavirus died in Georgia on Saturday, the presiding doctor at the clinic where she was treated said, reporting the country’s first death related to the pandemic.

The patient had other illnesses and underlying conditions.

Georgia, a South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people, had reported 157 coronavirus infections as of Saturday.