The latest: COVID-19 outbreak worldwide (Updated April 25)

Doctor Hophelia is seen in Brussels, Belgium, April 24, 2020. Despite the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on people's life in Belgium, there are people who stick to their posts during the lockdown to provide others with help and service. (Photo: Xinhua)

The total number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has increased to 197,506 with the global confirmed cases reaching 2,815,347 as of 6 pm BJT on Saturday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

10 countries_regions with the most confirmed COVID-19cases outside China (3).jpg

Current status (data as of 6 pm BJT, April 25):

The US state of Georgia, which on Friday reopened some non-essential businesses, is among the boldest states in the country to do so, and a number of other states are expected to follow suit despite great concerns over COVID-19.

India's federal health ministry on Saturday morning reported 52 new deaths and 1,054 fresh positive cases since last evening, taking the number of deaths to 775 and total cases to 24,506.

The Finnish coalition government on Friday rolled out its new policy rules for emergency aid to entrepreneurs, saying aid criteria would be based more on the permanent costs of companies so as to better match the problems caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The monthly retail sales volume in Britain fell a record 5.1 percent in March as lockdown measures were introduced to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Friday.

Thailand on Saturday saw a sudden spurt in COVID-19 patients with 53 new cases reported, the highest since April 9. The total number of COVID-19 patients rose to 2,907, among which 2,547 have recovered.

Iran had 1,134 new infections of COVID-19 and 76 new deaths during the past 24 hours, Iran's health ministry spokesman said on Saturday. The number of confirmed cases has risen to 89,328, with the number of deaths at 5,650. As of Saturday, 68,193 people have recovered.

In another sign of encouragement and hope, Italy reported 420 new deaths related to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the smallest daily increase since March 18, fresh figures showed on Friday.