Covid-19 wrap | Nearly 345 000 coronavirus deaths, outrage over British aide, Iran reopens shrines
Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis.
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Nearly 345 000 deaths
The pandemic has killed at least 344 964 people worldwide since it surfaced in China late last year, according to an AFP tally at 1100 GMT on Monday, based on official sources.
The United States has recorded the most deaths with 97 722 fatalities. It is followed by Britain with 36 793, Italy with 32 785, Spain with 28 752, France with 28 367 and Brazil 22 666.
Belgium has the highest per capita death rate with 803 fatalities per million inhabitants.
At least 5 422 320 cases of coronavirus have been registered in 196 countries and territories. Of these, at least 2 110 500 are now considered recovered.
AFP
Iran reopens key shrines after two-month virus closure
Iran on Monday reopened major Shiite shrines across the Islamic republic, more than two months after they were closed because of the Middle East's deadliest novel coronavirus outbreak.
At Tehran's Shah Abdol-Azim shrine, worshippers had to wear a mask, walk through a disinfection tunnel and have their temperature checked as they began returning from the early morning, according to an AFP reporter.
The Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad in northeast Iran and the Fatima Masumeh shrine and Jamkaran mosque in the holy city of Qom also reopened while observing health protocols, state news agency IRNA reported.
They are allowed to open starting from an hour after dawn until an hour before dusk.
State TV showed worshippers crying and running towards Imam Reza's shrine as they were guided by attendants.
AFP
Parks packed, terraces open as Madrid and Barcelona celebrate easing
Hundreds of Madrid residents flooded to the city's parks as lockdown measures were finally eased in the Spanish capital and in Barcelona, while beaches reopened in parts of the country after months-long closures.
As well as reopening the gates of the capital's parks for the first time since mid-March, residents in the two cities can now meet in groups of up to 10 people in homes or on the terraces of bars and restaurants.
The easing measures come as the Madrid region, the city of Barcelona and large parts of Castile-Leon in the northwest, formally enter the first phase of rolling back one of the strictest lockdowns in the world.
These areas have been on a slower track as they bore the brunt of the pandemic in Spain, which has killed more than 28 700 people, one of the world's highest tolls.
AFP
Russian police to probe Siberia street party
Authorities in Russia have opened an investigation into a street party that saw dozens gather in the centre of Novosibirsk despite an anti-coronavirus lockdown in the Siberian city.
The local investigative committee said it was launching the probe after photos and videos were posted online of young Russians dancing as music played from loudspeakers in the city's central Lenin Square in the night of Saturday to Sunday.
The committee said more than 300 people may have joined the street party in the city of 1.5 million - Russia's third-largest - under lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Local police said separately that 50 to 60 people had taken part and that the crowd had dispersed when officers arrived.
Russians can face up to seven years in prison for violating anti-virus lockdown rules, though in most cases face only a fine.
Russia has recorded more than 353 000 coronavirus infections, the third-highest number in the world, and 3 633 deaths.
The number of new cases has been steadily dropping and authorities have begun easing lockdown measures in some parts of the country.
AFP
Unease in Greece as restaurants, cafes reopen
Restaurants and cafes across Greece opened ahead of schedule Monday as the country prepared to launch a shortened tourism season vital to its economy.
But with social distancing rules limiting businesses to around 50 percent capacity, and only outdoor tables allowed, many owners questioned the wisdom of reopening after a lockdown of over two months.
"We have to disinfect everything all the time... we'd have to hire someone to clean up and keep track of the customers... but are unable to do that," cafe owner Vangelis Daskalopoulos told AFP in Athens.
AFP
Outrage over British aide
British newspaper headlines are hostile after Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed Dominic Cummings, a top advisor in the British government, who was seen visiting his parents
400 km away from his London home during the country's lockdown, despite suffering from virus symptoms. "What planet are they on?" the right-wing tabloid Daily Mail asks.