Government, private sector speed up development of a vaccine against virus DUBAI: The coronavirus pandemic continues to exact a toll on human lives and economies, and with no end in sight in the horizon, as government and private sector players speed up the development of a vaccine against the virus that has infected more than 3 million people. Thursday, April 30, 2020 (All times in GMT) 18:54 - Sudan announced 64 new cases of coronavirus and three deaths from the disease on Thursday. 17:47 - US company Pfizer aims to make 10-20 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine it is developing with Germany"s BioNtech by the end of 2020 for emergency use should it pass tests, the drugmaker"s head of vaccines said on Thursday. 15:30 - France says total COVID-19 death toll rose to 24,376 from 24,087 and cases rise to 129,580 from 128,442. 16:53 - Russia"s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin diagnosed with coronavirus. 16:50 - Germany announces that it will begin easing coronavirus restrictions as of May 6. 16:21 - Turkey"s coronavirus death toll rises by 93 to 3,174, according to the health ministry. 16:15 - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the country is past the peak and on a downwards slope, while adding that the current death tally is 26,711. 15:47 - Pakistan announces 828 new coronavirus cases and 23 deaths. 15:38 - India exports 50 million hydroxychloroquine tablets to the US to combat coronavirus. 15:30 - Egypt"s Health Ministry recorded 269 new coronavirus cases and 12 deaths. 15:13 - Algerian Health Ministry records 158 new coronavirus cases and 6 deaths. 15:10 - Canada"s total coronavirus cases rise to 52,056 from 50,373 the day before - death toll now at 3,082 up from 2,904. 13:57 - US intelligence agencies have concluded that the new coronavirus was “not manmade or genetically modified" but say they are still examining whether the origins of the pandemic trace to contact with infected animals or an accident at a Chinese lab. 12:40 – Saudi Arabia said there were 1,351 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 22,753 infections. The Kingdom also confirmed five fatalities, bringing the total death toll to 162, and 210 recoveries, bringing the total to 3,163 patients. 11:20 – Kuwait confirmed 284 new cases, bringing the total to 4,024 infection cases. The government also reported two fatalities, bringing the country’s death toll to 26. 10:57 – UAE reported 552 new coronavirus cases, 100 new recoveries and seven additional fatalities. 10:49 – Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said some Italian regions might be able to roll back coronavirus restrictions more rapidly than others but warned local authorities against acting unilaterally. READ THE STORY 10:47 – Oman confirmed one coronavirus fatality, bringing total deaths in the sultanate to 11. 10:26 – Bahrain said there were 116 additional coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s caseload to 3,037 patients. 10:25 – Morocco reported 38 new cases, bringing the total to 3,359 infected people. 10:00 – Iran’s coronavirus cases increase to 94,640 while fatalities reach 6,028. 09:27 – Egypt confirmed its first coronavirus case in North Sinai, Al-Arabiya reported. 09:17 – The number of fatalities related to the novel coronavirus recorded overnight in Spain fell to 268, the lowest tally in nearly six weeks. 08:46 – Social distancing measures in Germany will be extended until May 10, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff said ahead of a government meeting later on Thursday to review lockdown restrictions. READ THE STORY 08:22 – Lebanon said there were three new coronavirus cases; all patients were citizens who arrived from abroad. 08:19 – The Philippines reported 276 new coronavirus infections and 10 more deaths, bringing its total number of cases to 8,488 and fatalities to 568. 08:09 – Iraq’s Kurdistan region confirms five new cases. 07:40 – Russia reported 7,099 new cases of the novel coronavirus, a record daily rise, bringing its nationwide tally to 106,498. 07:13 – Singapore confirmed 528 new coronavirus cases, its Health Hinistry said, taking the city-state’s total cases to 16,169. 07:03 – Oman reported 74 new cases, bringing the total to 2,348 infected people. 06:47 – Thailand will start reopening on Sunday some businesses, such as outdoor markets, barber shops and pet groomers, after the numbers of new coronavirus infections dropped into single digits this week. READ THE STORY 04:17 – The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has risen by 1,478 to 159,119, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed. 04:03 – Chinese factory activity continued to expand in April, but analysts warned that the outlook remained clouded by battered overseas demand as the rest of the world struggles to overcome the coronavirus pandemic. 04:02 – Economic lockdowns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic look set to cut global energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions by record amounts, the International Energy Agency said. 03:46 – South Korea reported no new domestic coronavirus cases for the first time since February, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. 00:44 – The United States recorded 2,502 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the latest real-time tally on Wednesday reported by Johns Hopkins University. Wednesday, April 29, 2020 (All times in GMT) 23:36 – Jordan will allow shops inside mall to reopen subject to strict safety procedures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Tariq Hammouri, the minister of trade said. 20:55 – Saudi Arabia has repatriated 296 Filipino passengers to Manila as part of the Kingdom’s initiative to return residents and tourists back to their countries due to coronavirus, state news agency SPA reported. 19:31 – A Kuwait Air Force plane has arrived from China carrying medical supplies to combat the coronavirus spread, state news agency KUNA reported citing the Ministry of Defense. 17:46 – The UAE government confirmed 549 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 11,929. 16:12 – The UAE government has separately sent aid plans to the Philippines and Nepal to help the countries’ efforts against the coronavirus pandemic. 15:51 – Saudi Arabia will allow entry to and exit from the Qatif governorate, state news agency SPA reported, citing the Ministry of Interior