Easing restrictions to boost Australian economy by US$6bn a month Once Australia removes most social distancing restrictions by July, its economy will be boosted by AU$9.4bn (US$6.15bn) each month, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will say on Tuesday in a speech updating lawmakers on his budget planning, Reuters reports. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said last week social distancing restrictions imposed since March will be eased in a three-step process, as Canberra aims to remove most curbs by July and get nearly 1 million people back to work. While the lockdown measures have successfully prevented local hospitals being swamped by coronavirus patients, they have taken a devastating toll on the economy. Australia has recorded about 7,000 cases of coronavirus and 97 deaths from the virus. In a bid to stave-off a prolonged economic depression, Australia’s government and central bank pledged to inject A$320 billion into the country’s economy. To fund the staggering fiscal package, Australia may have to borrow more than A$300 billion over the next 15 months - 15% of annual economic output, and Frydenberg will say a period of economic austerity will be needed in the future. The bulk of the financial aid goes toward funding the government’s scheme to subsidise the wages of about 6 million locals that keeps them out of unemployment statistics. But still about 10% of the country’s labour force is also expected to be without a job this year. The government expects about 850,000 people will return to work once the third phase or relaxation on social distancing restrictions is implemented. Let’s take a minute to check in with Olive and Mabel, shall we: Summary Hello and welcome to today’s global live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Helen Sullivan, and I’ll be with you for the next few hours. Please do get in touch with questions, comments or news from your part of the world on Twitter @helenrsullivan. After a tense interaction with reporters, President Trump ended a press conference on Monday, refusing to take any more questions and leaving the podium. Asked by CBS White House Correspondent Weijia Jiang why he is fixated on comparing the US’s testing capability with other countries, Trump replied: “Maybe that’s a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me, ask China that question, OK?” Jiang, who is Asian-American, asked Trump why he had said directed that comment at her, specifically, Trump said, “I’m telling you, I’m not saying it specifically to anybody. I’m saying it to anybody that would ask a nasty question like that.” Trump then cut off the CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins as she asked a question and walked away from the podium Here is what else has happened in the last few hours: Global confirmed death toll exceeds 285,000. The number of people known to have died since the pandemic began has reached at least 285,445, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. They say at least 4,168,427 people are known to have been infected. The figures are likely to significantly underestimate the true scale of the pandemic. Trump declared victory over the “invisible enemy” as deaths surpassed 80,000 in the US.“We have met the moment and we have prevailed,” Trump, flanked by ventilators and testing supplies, said during a briefing in the White House Rose Garden on Monday. He later said he was referring to testing. Trump accused of racism over press conference comments. The president was criticised for telling an Asian-American journalist to direct her questions on the US’s epidemic to China, instead of to him. Trump insisted he would have answered the question the same way regardless of who had asked it. Trump refused to take further questions and abruptly ended the press conference. CNN’s influential chief media correspondent, Brian Stelter, said Trump’s actions had “racist overtones”, adding: “It’s racist to look at an Asian-American correspondent and say ‘ask China’; it’s part of a pattern from the president.” White House staff ordered to wear masks. The White House has directed staff working in the West Wing, where the daily operations of Donald Trump’s administration are carried out, to wear masks. With Trump’s valet and vice-president Mike Pence’s press secretary both testing positive for the virus last week, pressure is growing for the White House to take further steps in protecting the health of country’s 73-year-old president. The World Health Organization says “extreme vigilance” is needed as countries begin to exit lockdowns imposed to curb the virus’ spread. The warning comes after Germany reported an acceleration in new infections after easing its lockdown, and South Korea, another country that succeeded in limiting infections, saw a new outbreak in nightclubs. Boris Johnson denies reports his senior scientific and medical advisers were not consulted on the new messaging attached to his plan to ease the country’s lockdown as he set out the details in parliament. Amid muddled guidance from ministers on what the new rules actually allow, Johnson insists the public understands his government’s message. “No guarantee” of vaccine, UK’s PM says. There is no guarantee of a Covid-19 vaccine, says the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, but he adds that the UK is heavily involved in the work to develop one. Germany has reported an acceleration in new infections after taking early steps to ease its lockdown. South Korea, another country that succeeded in limiting infections, has seen a new outbreak in nightclubs. Putin eases Russia lockdown despite infection surge. The Russian president announces an easing of the nationwide lockdown, even as the country sees a record number of new infections. Men’s blood has higher levels of an enzyme used by the Sars-CoV-2 virus to infect cells, the results of a study published in the European Heart Journal show. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is found in the heart, kidneys and other organs. It is thought to play a role in how the infection progresses into the lungs. Saudi-backed authorities in Yemen declared Aden an “infested” city as the number of cases there rose. The Aden-based national coronavirus committee announced 17 new cases, 10 of them in the southern port city. That raises the total count in areas under the Saudi-backed government’s control to 51, with eight deaths. Half a million more people could die from Aids-related illnesses in sub-Saharan Africa if efforts are not made to overcome interruptions to health services as a result of the pandemic, the World Health Organization warned. According to modelling, the disruption to health services could take Aids-related deaths in the next year back to 2008 levels, when it claimed 950,000 lives. The UK and WHO are to lead a global information campaign around the coronavirus pandemic. The “Stop the Spread” campaign, intended to counteract “incorrect and false information” about the virus, will appear across BBC World television channels, websites and apps from this month and throughout June.