Highlights: Maharashtra's Covid-19 tally reaches 1,24,331; death toll at 5,893

About 20% of projects under China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to link Asia, Europe and beyond have been “seriously affected” by the coronavirus pandemic, an official from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

The Covid-19 lockdown created a boom for online retailers, with customers stuck at home demanding everything from restaurant and food delivery to fresh flowers and pre-mixed cocktails. As the UK follows other parts of the world in reopening non-essential shops, e-commerce companies are betting that the shift to the web will stick, reported news agency Bloomberg.

Thailand on Friday reported five new coronavirus cases, all of which were found in quarantine, making it 25 days without a confirmed domestic transmission of the virus.

China has reported 37 new coronavirus cases including 25 in Beijing, where 183 patients are undergoing treatment.

"As many as 164 countries have either partially or totally closed their borders to fight Covid-19," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, expressing concern over the state of refugees in these difficult times.

No fresh cases of coronavirus were reported in Mizoram in the last 24 hours, government sources said on Friday. The state has reported 130 cases of Covid-19 so far.

As many as 380,533 people have been infected with coronavirus in India, according to the health ministry portal on Friday morning. The country's death toll has reached 12,573.

Canada is going to introduce a contact tracing smartphone app that will notify Canadians of exposure to the new coronavirus.

Experts said that Florida could become the next Covid-19 epicenter, as many locals and tourists flocking to the sunny state are failing to wear masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines, reported news agency AFP.

A few hundred million Covid-19 vaccine doses could be produced by end of the year, WHO said on Thursday.

Street sweepers march in Peru's Lima to demand an employment contract that includes healthcare after some of their colleagues died from Covid-19.

Street sweepers march in Lima to demand an employment contract that includes healthcare after some of their colleagues died from COVID-19.

Peru has surpassed 240,000 cases of COVID-19 and follows Brazil in the most number of cases in Latin America

📸 John Reyes pic.twitter.com/rNsVM9OvZR

— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 19, 2020

Hong Kong’s Disneyland reopened after being closed for nearly five months with enhanced health measures. All the rides are back up and the majority of the park's shopping and dining locations are restarting operations with ‘controlled capacity’

Mexico’s health ministry reported on Thursday a record 5,662 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 667 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 165,455 cases and 19,747 deaths.

The United States on Thursday questioned China's credibility on reporting fresh coronavirus cases in Beijing and called for neutral observers to assess the extent of the outbreak, reported news agency AFP.

According to experts, the rise of positivity rate in India, coupled with increasing new cases, suggests that the virus is spreading in the community.