Howard Johnson
Philippines Correspondent, BBC News

Roxas Boulevard, a palm tree-lined promenade in Manila Bay, is a popular spot for joggers and amateur fishermen. But in the last month regulars here have been confronted with an eerie sight, a shimmering ‘city’ of cruise ships around 8km (five miles) from the shore.

Thousands of returning Filipino and foreign crew members are on board more than 20 ships undergoing 14-days in isolation quarantine so they can disembark in the Philippines. But delays in processing Covid-19 test results by the Filipino authorities mean many have had to endure more than a month alone in their cabins.

According to the Philippine Coastguard the testing schedule was put on hold last Friday because Typhoon Vongfong passed through Manila.

At the weekend I spoke with Tijana Majic, a 28-year-old Serbian crew worker from one of the ships. She was at Manila’s main international airport waiting for a flight home to Belgrade via Doha, arranged by the cruise ship operator. “Disaster, all of it,” she told me. “I was locked down for 50 days in one room. They brought us food and washing, but it was like being in a jail.”

Today I spoke with another crew member still on board one of the ships. He was scheduled to fly home at the weekend but was “kept in the dark” as to why he wasn’t allowed to disembark. “I can’t speak for Filipinos in quarantine,” he told me, “but there is growing anger among the rest of us that have been kept locked down for a month”.

Cruise operators say they have already repatriated thousands of crew members and that their top priority is to return more safely and as quickly as possible.

Australian states and territories have begun easing restrictions - to varying levels - in the past week.

For many, it was the first weekend since March that they had seen family and friends.

Australia has recorded more than 7,000 infections and 99 deaths.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Nikhil Inamdar
India Business Correspondent

China is facing a global backlash over the Covid-19 pandemic that could destabilise its reign as the world's factory of choice.

And its neighbour, India, is hoping to cash in on this opportunity. The federal government is readying a pool of land twice the size of Luxembourg to offer manufacturers.

But experts say there are other challenges.

Read the full story here.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA

Over the weekend, Cambodia said its only remaining Covid-19 patient has been treated and released from hospital, leaving the country with no current cases of the virus.

Video of the 36-year old woman leaving a hospital in the capital Phnom Penh was shown live on Cambodian television on Saturday.

Cambodia has reported 122 cases of the virus and no deaths.

Health officials have warned that they will not ease existing restrictions though - including school closures and border entry checks and quarantine - and continue to be vigilant.

"We think that most of the cases, generally, are imported, so we must be careful with all checkpoints at the border, at airports, at ports, at land checkpoints," Health Minister Mam Bunheng said.

A growing number of countries are backing Australia in calling for an independent inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak.

More than 100 countries will co-sponsor the motion, boosting its chances of passing through at the virtual meeting of the World Health Assembly later on today, said a report by the Sydney Morning Herald., external

The motion does not mention the location in which the outbreak is believed to have emerged, but calls on the WHO to "identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population".

The international support is likely to isolate China, which has previously dismissed calls for an inquiry saying it was "political manipulation".

Katy Watson
BBC South America correspondent

A quarantine in São Paulo state was imposed nearly two months ago - businesses, schools and public spaces were closed and people were asked to stay at home.

But there are no costly punishments for those who flout the rules - plenty of Paulistanos (residents of São Paulo city) are still choosing to drive to the beach for the weekend and it's getting locals very cross.

A recent rule brought in that made the wearing of masks mandatory is often ignored - at the weekend, I saw plenty of people going for their Sunday cycle or run either with no mask or wearing one around their neck. It doesn't feel like the virus is being taken seriously.

At the same time, people are seeing Europe start to open up and wonder when it's going to happen here. But as the mayor said at the weekend, the city has to stop before it can reopen. Many are expecting a tougher lockdown in the weeks ahead.

About 30,000 staff members at pre-schools around Singapore will be required to undergo testing before they go back to work.

This includes teachers, principals, administrative staff, cooks and cleaners - who will be tested between 15 - 26 May.

Local preschools have had clusters of infections. Earlier in April, one centre was closed for 10 days after a teacher tested positive. Another centre was also temporarily shut after a child tested positive after being infected by a family member.

One parent told news site TODAY, external that the move was reassuring, adding that it was a "good initiative".

However, questions still remain over how measures like social distancing and mask wearing would be put in place in preschool - most children who attend are under the age of 6.

It is not yet clear when preschools might reopen but Singapore is currently under a partial state of lockdown until 1 June.

Image source, Get

The selfies are back in Vietnam after the government allowed domestic travel to return. Tourists are now visiting famed spots like Ha Long Bay and Da Nang.

Swift and severe action early on has allowed Vietnam to stem the spread of the virus and it's already opening up again. But the country's tourism sector has been hit hard by the restrictions

Take a look:

Europe's worst-hit countries appear to have passed their peaks both in numbers of daily deaths and new infections.

Their overall tolls are still rising, but at a much slower rate than earlier this month. Here are six countries with their death tolls visualised.

More than 4.7 million people across the world have now been infected with the coronavirus outbreak, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The US accounts for the staggering majority of this with over 1.4 million cases, or almost one-third.

Russia comes in at second with 281,752, followed closely by the United Kingdom at 244,995.

A surge cases means the number of cases in Brazil have surpassed the total in Italy, with 241,080 infections recorded in the central American country.

Lastly, Spain has now recorded 230,698 cases, followed by Italy, France and Germany.

The World Health Organization (WHO)'s decision-making body is set to (virtually) meet.

The annual World Health Assembly (WHA) usually brings together representatives from the WHO's member states in Geneva. There's no doubt there'll only be one thing on the agenda this year - the virus outbreak.

But it's not just a health convention - this year's assembly has already been shrouded in politics.

According to AFP, the WHO is set to discuss the question of Taiwan's participation as an observer at the WHA.

Taiwan has had huge success in dealing with the pandemic but it is currently excluded from the WHO. Taiwan sees itself as an independent nation but China views it as a breakaway province.

Nearly 15 countries have written to the WHO, asking that the question of Taiwan's participation be added to the agenda.

Find out more about why Taiwan has not been invited here.

Image source, Gett

The K-League is one of the few football arenas where playing has resumed, albeit, in empty stadiums. To remedy that lack of a proper crowd, FC Seoul decided to put plastic fans into the stands for their clash against Gwangju FC on Sunday.

But eagle-eyed social media users said the mannequins looked more like sex dolls.

The club has since apologised in a statement but said the order it placed with its supplier was for "products for fashion companies", i.e. not an "adult product".

PM Jacinda Ardern and her partner, Clarke Gayford, went to a cafe in Wellington on Saturday, two days after her government lifted a nationwide lockdown.

But the venue was at capacity due to distancing limits – a fact that was made public by a Twitter user, who wrote they had been "omg... rejected”.

New Zealand restaurants can now seat a maximum of 100 customers, if groups are separated by at least a metre.

The wait for Ms Ardern and Mr Gayford was only brief, local media reported.

Mr Gayford later tweeted: "I have to take responsibility for this, I didn't get organized and book anywhere. Was very nice of them to chase us down st when a spot freed up. A+ service."

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa implemented one of the world's toughest lockdowns, even banning cigarettes and alcohol.

But what's the impact of such strict measures and how do people feel about it?

India has extended its lockdown for another two weeks as it attempts to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The government's disaster response authority said that new guidelines would be issued, "keeping in view the need to open up economic activities".

The country went into lockdown on 24 March and schools, public transport and most businesses have been shut since.

India has recorded 2,896 deaths. It has more than 90,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 53,946 active infections.

It is the fourth time the federal government has extended the world's largest lockdown, covering 1.3 billion people. India media dubbed the extension "lockdown 4.0".

Read more here.

Image source, afp

The mayor of Brazil's largest city, São Paulo, has said its health system could collapse as demand grows for emergency beds to deal with coronavirus cases.

Bruno Covas said the city's public hospitals had reached 90% and could run out of space in about two weeks.

• Click here to read our full story

On Sunday, Brazil's health ministry reported 7,938 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total above 241,000. Only the US, Russia and the UK have higher numbers. With more than 16,000 deaths, the country has the sixth-highest death toll.

Brazil is deeply divided over how to respond to the crisis.

While governors have implemented lockdown measures, President Jair Bolsonaro continues to speak out against such measures, arguing the harm from a collapsing economy will be worse than that from the virus.

Simon Atkinson
BBC News, Sydney

Despite being in financial trouble even before the Covid-19 pandemic, Virgin Australia - Australia's second-biggest airline - has had no shortage of potential buyers.

Administrators Deloitte have shortlisted "a small number" of bidders to go through to the next stage of the sale process.

They have not been named officially but are all described as "well funded and possessing deep aviation experience". Binding offers must be made in the next four weeks or so.

Whoever takes over Virgin Australia is expected to cut back the business - including axing unprofitable routes.

But the fact there has been so much interest is a relief for those who feared that Qantas would have a domestic monopoly in this vast land, where air travel is an essential mode of transport.

Image source, Getty Images

As some countries are easing their lockdowns, people are heading back to the beaches wherever they are allowed to.

Social distancing measures are meant to remain in place though - which in some places means ticketed entires and temperature check before you can hit the waves.

A glimmer of hope coming out of Europe this morning. The death toll in several countries have now hit a new low for the first time in weeks.

Italy reported 145 new deaths on Sunday, its lowest toll since 9 March. It comes as the country is set to further ease its lockdown measures - most businesses in Italy will be free to reopen in just a matter of hours, after more than two months in lockdown.

Over in Spain, the death toll stood at 87 - the first time the death toll has fallen below 100 since it imposed its lockdown restrictions. Spain is set to relax its restrictions outside of Madrid and Barcelona, with groups of up to 10 people free to meet.

And the trend continues in the UK which saw 170 deaths, the lowest since 24 March - the day after lockdown was introduced. However it is not uncommon for the number of deaths to be lower at the weekend than those reported during the week.

Read more about what restrictions are being eased in Europe here.

Japan has fallen into a recession for the first time since 2015, as the virus outbreak continues to take a heavy toll on businesses and consumer spending.

GDP shrank an annualised 3.4% in the first quarter of the year from the previous quarter, as private consumption, capital expenditure and exports fell.

And experts say the future isn’t looking good either.

“It’s near certainty the economy suffered an even deeper decline in the current quarter,” Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at the Meiji Yasuda Research Institute told Reuters.

Analysts polled by Reuters said they expect Japan's economy to shrink an annualised 22% in the current quarter - which if it happens, would be the biggest decline on record.

Image source, Getty Images