More than half a million people diagnosed with the virus in Brazil with a death toll the fourth-highest in the world.
Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Kate Mayberry in Kuala Lumpur.
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Brazil reported 1,262 deaths from COVID-19 in the 24 hours to Tuesday night, another daily record.
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South Africa has said it has taken note of a High Court judgement declaring its coronavirus restrictions unconstitutional and is studying the judgement. The lockdown will remain in force for now.
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More than 6.3 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed around the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 378,000 people have died, including more than 106,000 in the US. More than 2.7 million have recovered from the disease.
Here are the latest updates:
Wednesday, June 3
03:10 GMT – South Korea approves import of remdesivir
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has approved a health ministry request to import the anti-viral drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19.
02:50 GMT – Comprehensive study of bat viruses homes in on Rhinolophus
Science magazine says a group of scientists working on bat viruses have published the most comprehensive analysis of such viruses ever completed, singling out one genus – Rhinolophus (Chinese horseshoe bats) – as crucial to the evolution of SARS-related coronaviruses.
The research examines the partial genetic sequences of 781 coronaviruses found in bats in China and while it can’t pinpoint the origin of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, co-author Peter Daszak said it found Rhinoloplus was a “major reservoir” of SARS-related coronaviruses.
Daszak is the president of EcoHealth Alliance, whose research grant to study the bats with colleagues in China was pulled by the US National Institutes of Health last month.
A preprint of the study was posted to bioRxiv.
01:05 GMT – Bolivia feels coronavirus strain as cases exceed 10,000
Authorities in Bolivia are making door-to-door checks in regions with severe coronavirus outbreaks to try and stem the spread of COVID-19.
The landlocked country registered its first novel coronavirus cases on March 10, and until May 21 had reached 5,000 cases. That number has since doubled, government data shows.
More on that story here.
00:00 GMT – Brazil sets another daily record for coronavirus deaths
Some 1,262 people in Brazil died from coronavirus in the 24 hours to Tuesday evening, the country’s Health Ministry said.
It’s another daily record for the South American country where the outbreak shows no sign of slowing down.
Brazil also confirmed 28,936 additional cases of the disease, bringing the total to 555,383. A total of 31,199 people in Brazil have died from coronavirus.
COVID-19 began in the country’s wealthy neighbourhoods and large cities where there were links with international travellers, but the virus is now making its way to poorer and more isolated areas to devastating effect. You can read more on that here.
23:30 GMT (Tuesday) – Lancet raises new questions about hydroxychloroquine study
The Lancet has commissioned an independent audit of the data behind a study it published last month that found hydroxycholorquine increased the risk of death in COVID-19 patients.
The May 22 study was based on data provided by healthcare analytics firm Surgisphere and not a traditional clinical trial that would have compared hydroxychloroquine to a placebo or other medicine.
The editors of the British medical journal said serious scientific questions had been brought to their attention.
Several clinical trials into the use of the drug, including one by the World Health Organization, were suspended after the paper was published. Hydroxychloroquine is usually prescribed for illnesses such as malaria or lupus, but has been trumpeted as a COVID-19 treatment by US President Donald Trump and other right-wing leaders.
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Read all the updates from yesterday (June 1) here.
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