May 3 coronavirus news

The UK’s coronavirus contact-tracing app -- which will alert users if they have been near someone infected with the virus -- will start being used in a limited way this week, said the country’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

"And the idea is that we will encourage as many people as possible to take this up as possible.

"We need for this to work – 50, 60% of people to be using this app.”

He said it would be the "best possible way" for people to help the UK's National Health Service (NHS), adding that the data will be confidential.

Other countries have already launched smartphone apps to help track the spread of the virus in the community.

Shapps also indicated there’ll be a push to get more people walking or riding to work when coronavirus restrictions start to ease so that public transport is not overcrowded.

“[There is] a very popular scheme where you can buy a bike through your employer – effectively before tax – and pay it back,” he told Sky News. “We’ve seen hundreds of percent increase [in interest] in that scheme.”

The UK has now recorded 183,500 cases and 28,205 deaths from the coronavirus, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Russia reported 10,633 new cases of the coronavirus in another record single-day increase Sunday, bringing the total number to 134,687.

Around 50% of the cases were asymptomatic, the country’s coronavirus response headquarters said in a statement, adding that a total of 1,280 deaths had now been recorded.

Russia has seen four consecutive days of record single-day increases after a week of relatively steady growth, when it added five to six thousand cases per day. Moscow, the country’s worst-hit city, accounts for more than a half of total cases.

In March, Vladimir Putin radiated confidence about his government's response to a growing global crisis, reassuring his citizens that the situation was "under control" thanks to early intervention measures. The Russian President then played the role of international rescuer, dispatching a planeload of medical supplies to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

But by April 13, the mood had changed. "We have a lot of problems," Putin said in a video conference. "There is nothing to boast about, and we must not let our guard down, because in general, as you and your specialists say, we have not passed the peak of the epidemic yet."

A video posted Saturday by the George W. Bush Presidential Center featured a message from the former US President urging compassion and empathy during “a challenging and solemn time in the life of our nation and world.”

The message was originally shared during “The Call to Unite” 24-hour event.

Bush told people to remember “we have faced times of testing before” and that “empathy and simple kindness are essential powerful tools of national recovery.” He added: “…we are not partisan combatants. We're human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God. We rise or fall together.”

Former President Bill Clinton also appeared during the event, along with other notable guests like Oprah.

Singapore reported 657 new confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 18,205, according to the Ministry of Health.

Most of the cases are work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories. Ten are Singaporeans or permanent residents, the ministry said.

In recent weeks, the Asian city-state has had a spike in coronavirus infections, with thousands of new cases linked to clusters in foreign worker dormitories. To control the spread, the government has attempted to isolate the dormitories, test workers and move symptomatic patients into quarantine facilities.

But those measures have left hundreds of thousands of workers trapped in their dormitories, living cheek by jowl in cramped conditions that make social distancing near impossible.

Singapore has announced plans to ease restrictions over the coming weeks, with business to resume more fully from June 1.

Read more about the migrant worker dormitories:

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Singapore's migrant workers are suffering the brunt of the country's coronavirus outbreak

This weekend under the coronavirus pandemic drove many people across the US outside -- some for recreation and others in protest.

States across the country are either holding fast to stay-at-home orders or beginning to phase out the restrictions, with several orders already expiring.

In California, people showed up in droves to protest restrictions put in place to combat coronavirus, which has killed 66,385 people in the country and infected more than 1,100,000.

More than 1,000 people, many of them not wearing masks, demonstrated with signs and American flags Friday at the California state capitol building to protest Governor Gavin Newsom's stay at home order, according to a statement from the California Highway Patrol. More than 30 were arrested for "disobeying a lawful order, demonstrating without a permit and resisting or delaying a police officer," the statement said.

Further south, between 2,500 and 3,000 people gathered Friday at California's Huntington Beach to protest Newsom's closure of the state's beaches, according to Huntington Beach Police Chief Robert Handy. There were no arrests or injuries.

Elsewhere, residents of New York City and Washington DC, many of whom appeared to be observing social distancing rules, enjoyed warmer weather in parks and open spaces Saturday. And those in states including Pennsylvania and New Jersey were able to take advantage of some state parks, forest facilities and golf courses for the first time this spring. 

Read the full story here.

The leaders of France, Norway, Italy and Germany have pledged to raise $8 billion in an “international alliance” to find a vaccine and treatments for the coronavirus.

In a press release published by the European Council on Saturday, they said that they were building on the commitments made by G20 leaders and supporting the call to action from the World Health Organization and other groups.

“For this reason, we have recently launched the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a global cooperation platform to accelerate and scale-up research, development, access and equitable distribution of the vaccine and other life-saving therapeutics and diagnostics treatments,” the release said.

“We are determined to work together, with all those who share our commitment to international co-operation,” they added.

The release was signed by Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy; Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany; and Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway. It was also signed by Charles Michel, President of the European Council and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

The leaders said they aimed to raise an initial 7.5 billion euros ($8 billion) in an online pledging conference on May 4 “to make up the global funding shortfall estimated by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) and others.”

They said more funding would be required to achieve their aim of manufacturing and delivering medicines on a global scale and “to achieve universal access to vaccination, treatment and testing.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has revealed "strategic plans" were put in place while he was in hospital with the coronavirus. 

In an interview with The Sun newspaper on Sunday, the Prime Minister said he was given "litres and litres of oxygen" to keep him alive.

Earlier, Johnson and his fiancée Carrie Symonds revealed they had named their newborn son Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson.

The names are a tribute to their grandfathers and two doctors who treated the prime minister in hospital. Wilfred was the name of Boris Johnson’s grandfather and Lawrie was the name of Symonds’s grandfather. The doctors who treated Johnson were both named Nicholas. 

The baby was born Wednesday, just weeks after the Prime Minister was discharged from hospital.

The Dalai Lama has called for a “coordinated, global response” to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

"In this time of serious crisis, we face threats to our health and sadness for the family and friends we have lost. Economic disruption is posing a major challenge to governments and undermining the ability of so many people to make a living," the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said in a statement today.

The Dalai Lama also urged people to focus on "what unites us as members of one human family."

The Dalai Lama went on to say that the pandemic "and its consequences serve as a warning" and that "only by coming together in a coordinated, global response, will we meet the unprecedented magnitude of the challenges we face."

On February 12 the Dalai Lama canceled all his public engagements “until further notice” after his personal physician and others advised him to due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a statement from the Dalai Lama’s office in Dharamsala, and from his personal secretary.

Eighteen laborers crammed inside a concrete mixer in a desperate attempt to evade India's nationwide lockdown and travel home, police said.

They were found in the machine when the truck carrying the cement mixer was pulled over by police in the state of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday.

The workers were traveling from Mumbai, in western India, to their homes in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, said Choudhary -- a distance of more than 1,300 kilometers (about 800 miles).

Police said they impounded the truck and the laborers were sent to a quarantine centre in Indore. A formal complaint was filed by police.

India's nationwide lockdown has been in effect since March 24 and on Friday was extended by two more weeks until May 17, although exemptions have been issued for certain areas and activities. 

Travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road is prohibited.

Over the past few days, the government has arranged transportation for stranded migrant workers, students and tourists who need to travel back to their homes.