Australia will consider early easing of coronavirus restrictions next week, officials announced Friday, as the number of local cases dwindled and the economic impact of the crisis fell into painful relief.

France reported 289 coronavirus deaths on Thursday, a drop of more than 100 from the previous day, as well as another decline in the number of patients in intensive care.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Thursday said he tested positive for coronavirus and will self-isolate to protect other cabinet members.

"I have just learned that the test on the coronavirus I took was positive," Mishustin said in a video meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

Twitter said Wednesday it would allow researchers to access data on real-time conversations about the coronavirus pandemic to help deepen their understanding of the disease.

US scientists have hailed a potential breakthrough in the coronavirus fight after a trial showed patients responding to an antiviral drug, fueling global hopes for a return to normal despite mounting deaths and abysmal economic figures.

Yemen's internationally recognized government on Wednesday reported five new coronavirus cases amid warnings by health and aid organisations the pandemic could have dire consequences in the war-ravaged country.

After six weeks of being stuck in their homes, a growing number of Parisians appear unable to wait for the May 11 lifting of the nationwide lockdown, venturing out even as officials warn of a new surge in COVID-19 cases if people let down their guard too early.

Several hundred small business owners protested in Kiev on Wednesday, demanding the authorities ease anti-virus measures to save them from bankruptcy.

LAU has received a considerable donation from Antoun Nabil Sehnaoui, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL), toward the LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, LAU said in a statement released Wednesday.

Commending the university’s endeavors, Sehnaoui remarked that its most recent initiatives, since the COVID-19 outbreak, underscored its “commitment in equal measure to help the community and to raise the bar in higher education in Lebanon and the Middle East.”

For the first time Tuesday, hundreds of New Yorkers were able to get tested for COVID-19 without having serious symptoms or underlying health issues -- hopeful they had already contracted and beaten the potentially deadly disease.