The number of new coronavirus cases nationally hovered around 30,000 a day during the entire month of April, meaning that the virus has managed to spread in spite of stringent social distancing measures. - https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-caseload-held-steady-1cbe9501-67b7-4108-aff0-56d67c748b65.html

A very high level of a protein known as suPAR in the blood of patients with COVID-19 may be a predictor of severe respiratory failure, according to new research published in Critical Care on April 30. The findings by researchers at Rush University Medical Center and other institutions suggest suPAR could be a potential predictor for which patients with COVID-19 will need to be put on ventilators to help them breathe. - https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-05-early-predictor-severe-respiratory-failure.html

For 47 days and nights, staff and residents of the Vilanova nursing home on the outskirts of the east-central city of Lyon waited out the coronavirus storm together, while COVID-19 killed tens of thousands of people in other homes across Europe, including more than 9,000 in France. - https://apnews.com/fd1600f3d39055b9060cd7442568c739

Bavarian leader Markus Söder said Germany was doing better than many other countries because it had adopted a good strategy nationally and regionally and everyone had remained patient. Social distancing of 1.5m (5ft) and hygiene were key to keeping the infection rate low, he said. - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52557718

Hackers post swastikas on Mercedes-Benz Instagram account
Carmaker Mercedes-Benz has said it is "sorry for any inconvenience and offense caused" after hackers posted Nazi imagery on its Instagram page. Other posts included images of vehicles made by competitor BMW - https://p.dw.com/p/3bpli

Merkel cautiously optimistic as she announces lockdown rollback
German Chancellor Merkel warned that while the coronavirus' "first phase is over…we still have a long fight ahead of us." Social distancing measures remain in place until June 5, but parts of the economy will reopen - https://www.dw.com/en/merkel-cautiously-optimistic-as-she-announces-lockdown-rollback/a-53346427

At least 47 residents and three workers have been infected with coronavirus at a retirement home in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, authorities said on Wednesday, in one of the biggest outbreaks yet reported in the country. - https://reut.rs/2SGjDiE

The newly-opened basketball stadium that was the home of Tijuana's professional team, ‘Los Zonkeys’, is now an auxiliary hospital unit where teams from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) will begin assisting non-critical COVID-19 patients today, in Tijuana - https://www.msf.org/msf-provides-critically-needed-covid-19-medical-care-tijuana

When the coronavirus pandemic began, the pharmaceutical company Gilead pulled remdesivir out of its storeroom. The drug, which had proved to be ineffective against other illnesses, could have a future in the battle against COVID-19. But it's likely not a "game changer." - https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/covid-19-remedy-high-hopes-for-remdesivir-in-the-coronavirus-fight-a-cd4280dc-4696-4a2b-8e4c-a660779f09e2

11 Secret Service employees infected with coronavirus, 60 in self-quarantine - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/08/coronavirus-secret-service-employees-infected-covid-19/3101578001/

Hospitals treating COVID-19 in Mexican capital quickly filling up

Coronavirus patients were being turned away from hospitals in the Mexican capital on Saturday, as both public and private medical facilities quickly fill up and the number of new infections continues to rise.

➖ @ReutersWorldChannel ➖

When it comes to Covid-19, Iceland has deployed what medical experts see as the best weapon against the pandemic: testing. Thanks to the work of the government and local bio-tech firm Decode Genetics, the island nation has managed to build out one of the most sophisticated looks at who has the novel coronavirus and how it spreads..... - https://youtu.be/DCvV1u4a2LI

Health authorities in Germany have reported more than 900 new cases of the deadly coronavirus less than a week after lockdown restrictions were relaxed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The Koch Institute has reported 933 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday – an increase from just 357 on Monday - http://shr.gs/WtN3nqg

An Italian start-up has come up with a novel way to maintain social distancing: an electronic bracelet that informs users when they are too close to others.
The device also tells users if they have come into contact with someone who later tests positive—key to tracing cases that have allowed some countries to keep their coronavirus cases under control - https://techxplore.com/news/2020-05-italian-start-up-social-distancing-bracelets.html

Protests in Germany See Fringe Mix with the Mainstream
At demonstrations and on the internet, both the far-left and the far-right have converged in their agitation against measures taken to limit the spread of the coronavirus. In a disturbing development, their conspiracy theories are also reaching the mainstream. - https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/the-corona-conspiracy-theorists-protests-in-germany-see-fringe-mix-with-the-mainstream-a-8a9d5822-8944-407a-980a-d58e9d6b4aec

We thoughtit was one virus, then one pandemic. At the end it became a global #IQ test - https://twitter.com/JapatulValley/status/1261993029675565057

Britain could experience a transport revolution sparked by the coronavirus pandemic with up to 14 million people ready to swap cars for bikes, British Cycling believes. https://reut.rs/3byrTIk

How innovative design is reshaping the sex tech industry - https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/sex-tech-design/index.html

Germany’s Merkel: “No country can solve this problem alone.”
Japan plunges into recession as US states start opening up.
Greece reopens Acropolis in Athens and other ancient sites.
European leaders consult on possibility of summer vacations.
The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people.
https://apnews.com/16e2063cdf3b093e8a5e08acd7644319

Trump said he is taking hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug that he has cited as a possible treatment for the novel coronavirus, after consulting with the White House doctor. Trump said he doesn't have Covid-19 and has been tested regularly. - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52717161

Germany has been relaxing restrictions put in place to stem the spread of coronavirus – from opening cafes to allowing sports again. For the first time in around two months, people in Germany are dining in restaurants again and are able to get their hair cut – with special social distancing measures.
That’s because the country has been gradually lifting its lockdown which was put in place in March in order to try and slow the spread of coronavirus and stop the health system from becoming overloaded.
Some people are relieved to see businesses, like shops and gyms begin to open up again. However, others fear a spike in infections and are concerned that people are not really following social distancing rules. - https://www.thelocal.de/20200518/glimpse-of-hope-what-people-in-germany-think-about-the-easing-of-coronavirus-rules-pandemic