Updates: Kids in Spain allowed to go outdoor, China's Wuhan clears all cases in hospital

APD NEWS

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The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. - - - -

MADRID -- Children under the age of 14 in Spain are allowed to leave their homes and go outside on Sunday for the first time since the country entered a state of alarm and a virtual lockdown on March 15 in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Children with no symptoms of COVID-19 are allowed to go outside for an hour in the company of an adult between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., while they are advised to avoid the morning and evening rush hours when more people could be outside.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Saturday that if the number of new cases in Spain continues to fall, adults will be allowed outside to take "individual exercise" from May 2.

On Sunday, Spain reported 207,634 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 23,190 deaths.

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BEIJING -- China's Wuhan, the city hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak in the country, cleared all COVID-19 cases in hospital on Sunday.

Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission, said at a press conference in Beijing that the outcome was earned through the hard work of medical workers in Wuhan and those sent from across the country to the city.

This came five days after the cases in Wuhan dropped to double digits and less than 70 days after the daily cases in Hubei Province peaked at 50,633, of which 38,020 were in Wuhan.

Across China, 82,827 confirmed cases had been reported on the mainland. A total of 801 patients were still being treated, and 77,394 people had been discharged from hospitals after recovery by Saturday.

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MINSK -- Belarus reported 873 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the country's caseload to 10,463.

According to the country's health ministry, 1,695 patients have recovered, while 72 coronavirus patients suffering from chronic diseases have died. As of Sunday, close to 150,000 tests for coronavirus infection have been conducted across the country.

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JAKARTA -- The holy month of Ramadan and the celebration of Islamic post-fasting festivity Eid-al-Fitr have been associated with a homecoming tradition locally known as "mudik" for most of the Indonesian people.

Last year, the Ministry of Transportation noted the annual exodus to hometowns involved around 20 million people. The number of home comers this year is predicted to be about 3 million despite a ban and amid measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is expected to peak in June in the southeast Asian country.

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NEW DELHI -- India's federal health ministry Sunday evening said two new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 421 positive cases were reported since morning across the country, taking the number of deaths to 826 and total cases to 26,917.

On Sunday morning the number of COVID-19 cases in the country was 26,496 and the death toll was 824.

According to ministry officials, so far 5,914 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

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ZHENGZHOU -- A batch of medical supplies donated by the government of central China's Henan Province will be transported to Poland, Germany, Britain and other European countries via China-Europe freight trains.

The urgently needed anti-epidemic gear, consisting of 360,000 face masks and 10,000 protective suits, will be freighted on May 6 and arrive in their destinations in about two weeks, according to the Zhengzhou International Hub Development and Construction Co., Ltd. (ZIH), operator of the China-Europe trains in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan.

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THE HAGUE -- The number of deaths from the novel coronavirus in The Netherlands rose by 66 since Saturday, the lowest in over a month, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) announced on Sunday.

The daily death toll was the lowest since March 24, when 63 patients deceased. The reported deaths from COVID-19 grew to a total of 4,475. From Friday to Saturday, the death toll was 120.

The number of people tested positive rose by 655 to a total of 37,845 in the country, while that of people who are or were admitted to hospital grew by 75 to a total of 10,456. The daily hospital admissions were 100 patients a day earlier.

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LISBON -- The European Travel Commission (ETC), a European tourism organization, has said that the European tourism sector needs 375 billion euros to recover from the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and to restore operations, Portuguese Lusa News Agency reported on Sunday.

"The European Union (EU) estimates are around 255 billion euros to help Member States recover the industry, and around 120 billion euros more for extra investment to help entrepreneurs and operators to restore operations," ETC Executive Director Eduardo Santander said in an interview with Lusa.

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BANGKOK -- Thailand's new COVID-19 infections on Sunday dipped to 15, comparing to Saturday's 53 cases.

The Thai government's Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) also said that the number of in-patients has dropped to 277, the lowest for over a month.

No new fatalities were reported on Sunday. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Thailand has now tallied 2,594.

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TOKYO -- The confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan increased by 368 to reach 13,943, according to the latest figures from the health ministry and local authorities on Sunday.

When the 712 cases from the Princess Diamond cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo are excluded, the total number stands at 13,231.

The nationwide death toll from the virus has now increased by 15 to a total of 373, including those from the Princess Diamond cruise ship.

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DAKAR -- Senegalese ministry of Health and Social Action reported on Sunday 57 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 671 in the country.

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KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwait on Sunday reported 183 new cases of COVID-19 and one more death, bringing the total infections to 3,075 and death toll to 20, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti Minister of Health Bassel Al-Sabah announced the recovery of 150 people from the novel coronavirus infection, raising the total number of recoveries in the country to 806.