US, Russia, Britain Top List of COVID-19 Infections

More than 4.5 million people worldwide have been infected with the coronavirus  and more than 300,000 have died because of it.
The United States, Russia and Britain top the list of countries with the most Coronavirus cases. The U.S. has almost 1.5 million cases, Russia -- which is widely suspected of under-reporting -- has nearly 263,000, and Britain follows closely behind with more than 238,000 cases.
A new World Health Organization modeling study warns that nearly a quarter of a billion people will eventually be infected by the virus, and that 150,000 people in Africa could die if urgent action is not taken. The study, published Friday in the journal BMJ Global Health, projects lower infection rates and deaths in other parts of the world, such as Europe and the U.S.
Eritrea had good news Friday. Its Health Ministry said in a statement that all 39 of its confirmed coronavirus cases “have recovered fully.” It cautioned, however, that “this important milestone should not induce complacency.”
Italy has signed a decree allowing travel to and from the country, beginning June 3. Travel between the country’s regions will also resume on the same day. More than 31,600 people have died in Italy from the virus. The country has almost 224,000 infections, but its infection rate has recently fallen.
In Brazil, Health Minister Nelson Teich resigned Friday after being on the job less than a month in a sign the government continues to struggle to combat the virus. The move comes a day after President Jair Bolsonaro increased pressure on Teich to expand the use of the antimalarial drug chloroquine for COVID-19 patients. Teich’s predecessor was fired last month after he clashed with the president over the need for social distancing.
Britain is the latest country to announce it has established a program to train dogs to sniff out people who may be carriers of the COVID-19. The animals would be used at airports and other places. The U.S. and France have also announced similar programs. Dogs have already been trained to use their sense of smell to detect cancer, diabetes and other diseases in people.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on national economies, with Germany among its latest victims.
The pandemic pushed the European economic powerhouse into a recession in the first quarter, as its economy shrank by 2.2%.
Germany’s federal statistics agency said Friday the economy’s decline over the last quarter in 2019 was “the worst since the global financial crisis” in 2009.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s economy contracted a sharp 3.9% in the first quarter from the previous quarter as the pandemic hit the country’s tourism-dependent sector particularly hard.
In Slovenia, the government declared an end to the epidemic Friday and opened its borders, although new cases were still being reported.
The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania lifted movement restrictions and established a free movement zone for themselves. Officials in Finland and Poland have indicated they may join the zone in the near future.
Despite the easing of restrictions in Europe, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said Friday the country will probably maintain travel restrictions until Aug. 20.

House Democrats in the U.S. passed a $3 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill Friday that has no chance of being approved by the Republican-heavy Senate. The White House has threatened to veto the measure. The move is widely seen as an election year campaign statement.
The U.S. virus outbreak is taking its toll on the world’s largest economy with retail sales plunging a record 16.4% last month. The drop was steeper than expected as the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses across the country to close.
The U.S. Federal Reserve warned Friday that the financial sector faces "significant" vulnerabilities because of the virus and could receive another shock if the global pandemic takes an “unexpected course.”
The United States is facing criticism from abroad for its handling of the outbreak.
The Lancet medical journal said in an editorial published Friday that U.S. citizens should vote a leader into the White House who can take a nonpartisan approach to public health issues.
“Americans must put a president in the White House come January, 2021, who will understand that public health should not be guided by partisan politics,” the editorial said. There was no immediate response from the White House.
Meanwhile, China’s ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, Wang Qun, accused the U.S. of eroding the world economy with trade barriers and extending the pandemic by suspending funding to the World Health Organization.
U.S. President Donald Trump cut funding to the WHO, saying the organization was slow in recognizing the gravity of the pandemic and “pushed China’s misinformation” about the virus.
Trump said his administration would halt funding while conducting a 60- to 90-day review of the WHO, redirecting the money to other groups and countries.