May 2 coronavirus news

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

"With everyone playing their part and observing safe distancing measures, we have seen a significant decrease in community transmission over the past month," the Ministry of Health said in a statement today.

"That said, we are not out of the woods. There are still unlinked cases in the community and new clusters may form if we let our guard down. We must be cautious in how we lift the restrictions, and put in place further safeguards even as we do so."

Here's how the resumptions will work:

Read more here.

The United States has at least 1,103,781 reported cases of coronavirus and 65,068 related deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

As states begin to include probable deaths in their counts, so will JHU. As a result, numbers may surge to reflect this change in the upcoming days.

The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases and those in the military, veterans hospitals and federal prisons. 

India reported 2,293 new cases of coronavirus today -- its biggest single-day increase since the outbreak began, according to the country's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

That takes the national total to 37,336 cases and 1,218 related deaths, according to the ministry.

All 1.3 billion people in India remain under lockdown. State borders are closed, transportation is suspended, businesses are closed, and people are ordered to stay home.

The lockdown, which left thousands of people stranded away from their home states, was supposed to lift tomorrow. However it has since been extended for another two weeks, although restrictions will be loosened in some low-risk areas.

This post has been updated to correct the total number of cases in India.

In some countries, the coronavirus is still peaking, with authorities scrambling to respond to spikes in cases and deaths. In others, people are returning to normal life. Here's what the pandemic looks like around the world.

In the US, multiple protests are taking place.

Friday was Labor Day, and employees from various major companies including Amazon and Whole Foods went on strike -- demanding better wages, rent suspensions and government protections for essential workers on the front lines of the pandemic.

There were also protests on the other side of the spectrum -- people angry about governments ordering beaches and businesses to close. People held rallies in Massachusetts, California, Nevada and other places, calling the mandatory closures "fascism" and "tyranny."

In Australia, restrictions have loosened in some states, and the federal government is considering ending the nationwide lockdown early. In Queensland state, residents are now allowed to go out for recreational activities like picnics or boating.

While people are still expected to observe social distancing, residents flocked outdoors today, eager for fresh air after weeks at home.

In China, businesses are reopening and people are cautiously resuming normal life. Several of Beijing's most iconic sightseeing spots, like the Forbidden City, also reopened -- albeit with new restrictions, like a cap on daily visitors.

In Spain, authorities are preparing to ease restrictions after seven weeks of a nationwide state of emergency. Most people will be able to do limited sports activities or take short walks every day under the loosened guidelines.

With case numbers slowly going down, Madrid authorities closed an emergency hospital on Friday. The field hospital treated more than 4,000 people during its 41 days of operation.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States' top infectious diseases expert, will testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on May 12, per an aide to Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander.  

“Chairman Alexander looks forward to hearing from Dr. Fauci and other administration officials at the Senate health committee’s second hearing back,” the aide said.

Earlier today, CNN reported that the White House had blocked an appearance by Fauci at a House Appropriations Committee hearing next week.

CNN is asking the White House for comment about the May 12 hearing.

China's National Health Commission (NHC) has reported a single new case of the novel coronavirus and no deaths for the fourth consecutive day.

It's a huge drop from the peak of the outbreak, when the country was reporting thousands of new cases a day, and suggests the danger there has mostly passed.

The latest case was imported from abroad, and not a local transmission, the NHC said.

Here's the country breakdown, according to the NHC:

Oprah Winfrey invited fans into her home (virtually) Friday night for a spiritual discussion.

Winfrey kicked off the 24-hour global livestream event called "The Call to Unite," organized in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Her discussion featured the event's organizer, Timothy Shriver, as well as Bishop T.D. Jakes and Eckhart Tolle, a spiritual leader and bestselling author.

Tolle said: "When you experience adversity in your life, it is even more important to be in the present moment. If you do not, you suffer a lot ... when you move to the present moment you might realize ... there's a lot to be grateful for in this moment."

The coronavirus pandemic is nowhere near over -- but in some parts of the world, governments are slowly opening up for business.

Here's a roundup:

Japan had 261 new coronavirus cases and 26 deaths yesterday, according to the country's health ministry.

The nationwide state of emergency was set to lift on May 6, but Prime Minster Shinzo Abe said on Friday that the government plans to extend it for about a month. The final decision will be made Monday, he said.

Japan has had a total of 15,257 coronavirus cases and 471 deaths.