WHO declines to comment on Trump’s decision to cut ties
From CNN’s Amanda Watts
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
The World Health Organization said it has no comment regarding President Trump’s announcement that he would be cutting ties with WHO.
On Friday, a WHO spokesperson said in an e-mail to CNN, "We have no comment to offer at this point.”
Earlier this month, Trump sent WHO an ultimatum saying he would cut funding if WHO didn’t “commit to major substantive improvements in the next 30 days."
On Friday afternoon, Trump said WHO “failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms,” adding that the US would be “terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving, urgent global public health needs.”
5:31 p.m. ET, May 29, 2020
Hair salons and barber shops to reopen in Los Angeles
From CNN’s Jenn Selva
Hair salons and barber shops will reopen in Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
Drive-in theaters, flea markets and swap meets can also reopen.
"We are eager to bolster more businesses and reunify our community," Barger said.
6:15 p.m. ET, May 29, 2020
Infectious Diseases Society says they "stand strongly against" Trump's decision to cut ties with WHO
From CNN’s Amanda Watts
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at the White House on Friday, May 29, in Washington, DC. Win McNamee/Getty Images
The Infectious Diseases Society of America said it opposes President Trump’s decision to terminate US relations with the World Health Organization.
“As infectious diseases physicians on the front line of combating the current global crisis, we stand strongly against President Trump’s decision to leave the World Health Organization," IDSA President Dr. Thomas File said in a statement.
“This pandemic has demonstrated that neither national boundaries nor political positions can protect us from the spread of an infectious disease. We will not succeed against this pandemic, or any future outbreak, unless we stand together, share information, and coordinate actions,” the statement added.
WHO has not yet responded to request for comment by CNN.
Watch Trump's announcement here:
3:35 p.m. ET, May 29, 2020
WHO launches global information access portal for Covid-19
From CNN's Amanda Watts
The headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) is seen in Geneva on Friday, May 29. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
The World Health Organization (WHO) launched a global portal Friday to share Covid-19 information around therapeutics and vaccines.
The Covid-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) “will provide a one-stop shop for scientific knowledge, data and intellectual property to be shared equitably by the global community,” WHO said in a statement.
The pool, first proposed in March by Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado, “will ensure the latest and best science benefits all of humanity — vaccines, tests, diagnostics, treatments and other key tools in the coronavirus response — must be made universally available as global public goods,” he said.
“Science is moving with incredible speed. Almost every day there is more news about research into vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a Friday briefing.
Tedros said C-TAP has five priorities: Public disclosure of gene sequencing research, public disclosure of all clinical trial results, encouraging governments and research funders to have equitable distribution of trial data, licensing therapeutics and vaccines to both large and small producers and promoting open technology that increases supply capacity.
WHO is encouraging companies that develop an effective therapeutic to “contribute the patent to the medicines patent pool, which would then sublicense the pattern to generic manufacturers.”
“Science is giving us solutions, but to make the solutions work for everyone - we need solidarity,” Tedros said.
3:13 p.m. ET, May 29, 2020
Israel sees spike in coronavirus cases after reopening
From CNN's Amir Tal and Oren Liebermann
People sit outside a cafe in Israel's Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 27. Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
Israel has recorded a sudden spike in new coronavirus cases after lifting lockdown restrictions, according to the country's Ministry of Health, mostly blamed on a lack of discipline in maintaining social distancing guidelines.
The country recorded at least 101 new cases on Friday and 79 new cases on Thursday, according to Ministry of Health data, after experiencing less than 20 new cases a day earlier in the week.
The wave of new cases comes just weeks after Israel made the decision to reopen schools and most commercial enterprises.
"This a warning siren," Ministry of Health Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov said during a news conference held Friday.
The decision to hold the news conference during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, when government offices are closed, was a clear indication of how seriously officials are taking the spike.
In another rare move, the government will meet tomorrow, on the Sabbath, to discuss the possible re-closing of school grades seven through 12, in an effort to prevent a second wave of infections.
As of Friday evening, Israel had at least 16,987 coronavirus cases, though the vast majority have recovered. The country has 1,927 active cases, according to the Ministry of Health. In total, 284 people have died as a result of coronavirus.
1:07 p.m. ET, May 29, 2020
UK prime minister discusses coronavirus response and vaccine development with Trump
From CNN's Lauren Kent
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson stands outside 10 Downing Street in London on May 28. Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to US President Trump on Friday to discuss coronavirus response, according to a Downing Street statement.
"They discussed the global response to coronavirus and the importance of ongoing international cooperation to develop a vaccine," a Downing Street spokesperson said.
“On the upcoming G7 Summit, the prime minister and President discussed the importance of leaders meeting in the US in person if possible," the spokesperson added.
Johnson invited Trump to take part in the Global Vaccine Summit that the UK is hosting on June 4 "to raise vital funds to save the lives of millions of children around the world,” the spokesperson said.
12:54 p.m. ET, May 29, 2020
Coronavirus cases in Italy continue a steady decrease
From CNN's Hada Messia, Nicola Ruotolo in Rome and Mia Alberti in Lisbon
An Italian Navy doctor administers a Covid-19 test inside a health facility on May 21 in Tempio Pausania, Italy. Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images
Italy recorded 516 new coronavirus infections on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 46,175, according to the country's Civil Protection Agency. However, officials say the number of active Covid-19 infections in the country continues to drop.
There was an increase of 87 new deaths, which is in line with daily death tolls of the last few days, authorities said. The total number of fatalities currently stands at 33,229.
Over the last day, 2,240 more people recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to 152,844. There were 475 people still in intensive care on Friday, 14 fewer than on Thursday, according to authorities.
12:41 p.m. ET, May 29, 2020
Monkeys snatch blood samples of suspected Covid-19 patients in India
From CNN's Rishabh Madhavendra Pratap and Swati Gupta
A troop of monkeys snatched the blood samples of suspected coronavirus patients at a government hospital in the Meerut district of the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The incident happened on Thursday when a lab assistant working with the Covid-19 facility of the hospital was carrying blood samples due for testing, Dr Dheeraj Baliyan, medical superintendent of Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College and Hospital, told CNN.
The monkeys attacked the lab assistant and stole the sample box with three samples, added Baliyan.
Night falls on a temporary morgue that has been constructed on the grounds of Haycombe Cemetery to accommodate victims of COVID-19 on May 1 in Bath, United Kingdom. Matt Cardy/Getty Images
An additional 324 people have died from coronavirus in the UK, bringing the total number of fatalities in the country to at least 38,161, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said on Friday.
So far,271,222 people have tested positive for Covid-19, an increase of 2,095 cases since yesterday, Sunak said at the daily Downing Street coronavirus briefing.
Overall, 4,043,686 tests have been carried out in the UK, including 131,458 tests on Thursday, Sunak added.
CORRECTION: This post has been updated to reflect the latest figures on the numbers of tests carried out in the UK.
