KATHMANDU: About 1.44 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus across the world till date, according to World Health Organization (WHO)'s data.

Of those detected with the novel virus infection worldwide, as many as 356,952 people have recovered.

Of the total 1,439,516 cases worldwide, the US has 395,030, the highest number of COVID-19 infections while Italy records the highest 17,669 deaths from the pandemic disease, the WHO data shows.

Thus far, a total of 85,711 people have lost their lives while fighting the disease.

Infections have been reported in 212 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China, in December 2019.

Three US local governments plan to sign deals this week to become the first to adopt a location tracking app aimed at preventing new outbreaks of the novel coronavirus, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-led project said Thursday. An additional 17 state and municipal governments are considering introducing the app in their communities as soon as in the next two weeks, said Ramesh Raskar, an associate professor at MIT, in an email exchange

Likewise, the number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Germany rose by 5,323 in the past 24 hours to 113,525 on Friday, climbing for a fourth straight day after four previous days of declines, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed. The reported death toll rose by 266 to 2,373.

Similarly, Yemen has reported its first coronavirus case in Hadhramaut Governorate, supreme national emergency committee tweeted early on Friday. The committee added that the patient was stable and receiving health care, without elaborating.

Once the biggest outbreak outside of China, South Korean city reports zero new coronavirus cases

The South Korean city of Daegu, which endured the first large coronavirus outbreak outside of China, on Friday reported zero new cases for the first time since late February, as new infections across the country dropped to record lows. With at least 6,807 confirmed cases, Daegu accounts for more than half of all South Korea's 10,450 infections.

China has accused Taiwan of "venomously" attacking the World Health Organization (WHO) and conniving with internet users to spread racist comments, after the agency's chief said racist slurs against him had come from the island. Taiwan, claimed by China as its sacred territory, has responded angrily to WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus's assertion that "racist slurs" against him had originated in Taiwan, and demanded he apologize saying the accusations are nonsense.

Macron visits Marseille doctor working on COVID-19 drug touted by Trump

President Emmanuel Macron visited a French doctor in Marseille on Thursday whose work on an anti-malaria drug has been promoted by US President Donald Trump as a potential weapon against COVID-19 but has split medical opinion. Macron, who met Professor Didier Raoult at his Marseille hospital behind closed doors, did not endorse the treatment, his office said, adding that it was too early for the French government to assess its effectiveness.

'You can't relax': Vigilance urged as New York sees signs of coronavirus progress

Americans must resist the impulse to ease social-separation measures at the first glimpse of progress now being seen in the coronavirus battle, state government and public health leaders warned on Thursday, as the US death toll surpassed 16,500. Calls for heightened vigilance, countering talk from the Trump administration of reopening the economy next month, came as new evidence emerged that stay-at-home restrictions were working to flatten the arc of infections in New York state, the US epicenter of the pandemic.

New York sees drop in new hospitalisations, deaths keep rising

New York state saw a sharp drop in the number of people newly admitted to a hospital in the past 24 hours to the lowest level since the coronavirus outbreak began, a sign that social distancing steps were working, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday. But Cuomo also disclosed that the number of deaths increased to 799 on Wednesday, a record high for a third day, and talked about a growing economic toll on the state that he said far exceeded the impact of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Bristol-Myers' win in US patent case against Gilead boosted to $1.2 billion

A federal judge increased to $1.2 billion the damages that Gilead Sciences Inc must pay to Bristol-Myers Squibb Co in a patent infringement case regarding technology for treating cancer. The judgment was entered against Gilead's Kite Pharma unit on its "counterclaims of non-infringement and invalidity", according to a ruling by US District Judge Philip Gutierrez.

Malaysian firms led by world's top glove maker prioritise medical supplies

Top Glove Corp Bhd, the world's biggest maker of medical gloves, plans to start producing face masks to meet rising demand from the coronavirus outbreak, a top executive told Reuters. The Malaysian company, which makes one out of every five gloves in the world, will have a facility ready in two months with a production capacity of 110 million masks a year.