Top scientists, health officials and the WHO on Monday rushed to counter claims made by a leading Italian doctor who said the new coronavirus "no longer exists" in the country.

The row came as Italy prepared the next stage of its gradual easing of a national lockdown imposed three months ago to fight the spread of the deadly virus.

Britain on Monday reported 111 more coronavirus deaths -- the lowest daily toll since the start of the nationwide lockdown on March 23.

Greek hotel owners reopened Monday after a 10-week coronavirus-imposed shutdown, relieved to be back in business but anxious about how quickly customers will return.

Banned in some countries, promoted in others -- the drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for the new coronavirus is dividing opinion worldwide.

Iran on Monday announced almost 3,000 new coronavirus infections, its highest daily count in two months, as it warned of another "dangerous peak" in the Middle East's deadliest outbreak.

North Korea will reopen schools this month after shuttering them over the coronavirus pandemic, reports said Monday.

Britain partially reopens schools on Monday and allows the most vulnerable to venture outdoors despite warnings that the world's second worst-hit country is moving too quickly out of its coronavirus lockdown.

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Latin America have surged past one million, while hard-hit Britain and Russia eased lockdowns Monday, despite not having their outbreaks fully under control.

Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, reopened on Sunday after being closed for over two months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of coronavirus cases worldwide topped six million Sunday, with Brazil registering another record surge in daily infections as divisions deepened on how to deal with the pandemic.