Coronavirus: Latest Global Developments

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Trump has 'no symptoms' -

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is symptom-free, after returning to the White House from hospital stay for Covid-19, his official doctor says.

Trump put a brave face on his brush with Covid-19 declaring himself cured and tweeting "FEELING GREAT!"

Speaking in the countdown to the tense November 3 presidential election which has been overshadowed by his handling of the crisis he says he wants the next debate against his Democratic challenger Joe Biden to go ahead.

- Economic picture 'less dire' -

The global economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic will be less bad than originally feared thanks to a flood of government spending, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva says.

Warning that "less dire is not sunny", she credits the improvement to "extraordinary policy measures that put a floor under the world economy," which amounted to $12 trillion in fiscal support to households and firms.

And the World Trade Organization says global trade, devastated by the crisis, will shrink by less than expected this year at just 9.2 percent.

- More than 35.5 million cases -

Across the world, more than 35.5 million cases of the novel coronavirus have been officially diagnosed.

It has killed at least 1,045,097 people since emerging in China in late 2019, according to an AFP tally Tuesday based on official sources.

The United States has the highest death toll, with 210,196, followed by Brazil with 146,675, India 103,569, Mexico 81,877 and Britain 42,369.

- Top U.S. general in quarantine -

General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, is self-quarantining after contact with an infected Coast Guard officer, a military source says.

The Pentagon said that several senior US military officers were self-quarantining after attending meetings last week with the Coast Guard's vice commandant, Admiral Charles Ray, who has tested positive for Covid-19.

- New record for Iran -

Iran announces more than 4,000 new cases of Covid-19, the most in a single day for the Middle East country hardest hit by the pandemic.

The grim tally was announced a day after Iran reported 235 fatalities from the virus, a figure equal to the record high death toll set on July 28.

- Half million UK hospitality jobs lost -

Britain's hospitality sector will shed more than 560,000 jobs this year as the pandemic kills trade in bars, hotels, nightclubs, pubs and restaurants, Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality warns.

Although pubs have reopened following lockdown earlier in the year, the government has forced them to close by 10 pm each night -- while nightclubs remain shut.