COVID-19: Live Updates for Monday, May 25

Rolling updates on the latest developments and headlines from around the world on the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Gina Lee and Peter Nurse

(9:43 PM ET) Japan could lift Tokyo’s state of emergency

Japan could lift the state of emergency in Tokyo later in the day as new coronavirus cases in the country decrease.

(10:03 PM ET) U.S. slaps travel ban on Brazil

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration will restrict entry for non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, with the South American country now housing the second highest number of cases globally.

The ban will take effect at the end of the day on May 28, with American citizens and their spouses exempted. Commercial goods bound for U.S. markets are also exempted.

The U.S. will restrict entry for non-U.S. travelers who have been in Brazil, after a jump in cases pushed the Latin American nation to second place for infections. The ban takes effect at the end of the day May 28, the White House said.

Meanwhile, the chief justice of the Brazilian Supreme Court, Dias Toffoli, is on medical leave for seven days after exhibiting some respiratory COVID-19 symptoms. Toffoli tested negative for the virus on May 20 but exhibited the symptoms after hospitalization to remove an abscess.

Should his diagnosis be confirmed, Toffoli will be the latest Brazilian official to become a COVID-19 patient, following the Minister of the Institutional Security Office Augusto Heleno and Rio de Janeiro governor Wilson Witzel.

(9:58 PM ET) U.K. Finance Minister authorizes strategically important companies rescue plan

British finance minister Rishi Sunak authorized a plan to save strategically important companies under exceptional circumstances.

Project Birch will rescue companies hit by the COVID-19 virus whose failure would “disproportionally harm the economy”. Although no further details were provided, companies such as Rolls Royce (LON:RR) Holdings and Virgin Atlantic Airways are two potential candidates for the program.

(9:53 PM ET) Most South African business to reopen in June

Most businesses in South Africa will reopen in June, even with the mounting number of COVID-19 cases as the country heads into the winter season.

The government will drop the disease alert by one level on June 1, easing a lockdown than began on March 27. Around 8 million people will return to work, limited alcohol sales for home usage will be permitted, and exercise restrictions as well as a night-time curfew will be dropped.

(9:50 PM ET) Lombardy records no fatalities for 24-hour period

The hard-hit northern Italian region of Lombardy recorded no deaths for a 24-hour period, with the number of new cases around the country also falling.

No hospitals or municipalities in the region, the epicenter of the Italian outbreak reported fatalities.

(9:45 AM ET) Iranian businesses could reopen on Tuesday, Greek students to return to school

Iranian businesses, including those deemed “high risk”, could reopen on Tuesday, according to the head of a trades union association. Mosques are shrines will reopen on Monday, after the Eid holiday.

Meanwhile, Greek schoolchildren, including kindergarteners, will return to school on June 1, with high school students already back in the classroom.

Restaurants and cafes in the country will open on Monday, a week earlier than the initial reopening date, with the number of cases remaining low since the lifting of government restrictions on May 4.