•706,000 confirmed cases in the U.S.
•U.K. deaths hit over 800 for third day
•Spanish deaths pass 20,000
•Russia reports biggest case increase

By Victor Tunde Oso (with agencies’ report)

Spain has joined Italy and the United States in reporting more than 20,000 coronavirus deaths. United Kingdom’s daily deaths topped 800 for a third straight day. Germany, Canada, France, the U.K., South Korea and eight other nations issued a joint statement on the “critical role” of the World Health Organization in tackling the outbreak days after U.S. President Donald Trump moved to suspend its funding.

706,000 confirmed cases in the U.S.

As of Saturday morning, there were more than 706,000 confirmed cases in the United States and at least 37,079 people had died, according to Johns Hopkins University. With new guidelines from the Federal Government, some governors have rolled out plans to begin lifting measures in place battling the spread of the coronavirus — but other officials say it’s still too early.

Health experts and medical groups have however, warned the US is still behind in its testing capacity — a key factor in the country’s reopening process to help determine and track just how many people are infected.

U.K. deaths over 800 for third day

The U.K. reported more than 800 deaths for the third day in a row. Fatalities rose by 888 to 15,464. The number of cases reached more than 114,000, the health ministry said on Saturday. Britain’s Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth will not celebrate her 94th birthday in any special way and has asked that there be no gun salutes to mark the occasion as the country battles COVID-19. She said that this would not be appropriate as the country battles the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the cherished the National Health Service, or NHS, even further to the center of British life. Chronically underfunded and stretched to its limits even during normal times, the health service has never been under so much pressure. It has also never received more praise, love and gratitude from the public.

Spanish deaths pass 20,000

New coronavirus cases in Spain rose by 4,499 in the last 24 hours, pushing the total to 191,726 as the government reviews the way it reports its figures. Authorities reported a total of 20,043 deaths from the illness since the outbreak started, with 565 people dying in the last 24 hours. That’s roughly in line with this week’s data, although the ministry hasn’t clarified discrepancies in the number of deaths reported yesterday. Spain is now the third country after Italy and the U.S. to suffer more than 20,000 deaths.

Russia reports biggest case increase

Russia recorded its largest daily increase in coronavirus infections, with new cases rising by almost 5,000 in a single day. New infections jumped by 4,785 to 36,793, the official Russian coronavirus information center reported on its website. Forty people died in the past day, including 21 in Moscow, bringing the number of fatalities to 313. The pace of new cases increased 17.6% after slowing to less than 15% in the previous two days.

Vanguard