BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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DHAKA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh has reached 26,738 as 1,617 new cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours, the biggest daily jump since March 8, a senior health ministry official told a media briefing on television on Wednesday.

"Sixteen more people died in the last 24 hours," said Professor Nasima Sultana, additional director general of Directorate General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health.

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MANILA -- The Philippine health department on Wednesday reported that 279 more people have contracted the COVID-19, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 13,221.

In a daily bulletin, the Department of Health (DOH) said 89 more patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the number of recoveries to 2,932. It added that five more patients have died from the COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 842.

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MOSCOW -- Russia has confirmed 8,764 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, raising its total number of infections to 308,705, its coronavirus response center said in a statement Wednesday.

The single-day increase has fallen below 10,000 for five consecutive days, the center's data showed.

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KUALA LUMPUR -- The number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia totaled 7,009 after 31 new cases were reported, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a press briefing that of the new cases 21 are local transmissions, 10 are imported cases.

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KABUL -- The Afghan Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday said that 492 people, including 262 in the capital city Kabul, have been tested positive for COVID-19 over the last 24 hours.

The ministry said in a statement that 1,003 suspected cases have been tested during the period across the country, bringing the national tally to 8,145.

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SEOUL -- South Korea's state-run economic think tank on Wednesday announced a gloomy growth outlook this year due to worry about an economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak across the world.

The Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its first-half growth outlook report that the economy is expected to grow 0.2 percent in 2020 before rebounding 3.9 percent in 2021.

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JOHANNESBURG -- South African schools will be opened on June 1 for Grade 7 and 12 after closing to curb the spread of COVID-19, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has said.

The schools will re-open in a risk-adjusted and phased manner; parents who are afraid that their children can contract the virus can keep them at home, the minister said Tuesday night.

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BEIJING -- With concerted efforts of the whole country, China has brought the COVID-19 epidemic under control in a short period of time, a spokesperson with the annual session of the country's top political advisory body said Wednesday.

China has effectively safeguarded people's lives and health, made solid progress in resuming work and production, and accelerated the restoration of normal social life and production, Guo Weimin, spokesperson for the third session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, told a press conference. Enditem

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