More than 5.4 million people across the world have been affected by COVID-19.
As of May 26, 2020, according to figures by the World Health Organization, the number of confirmed cases was 5,491,678.
The number is expected to increase.
Confirmed deaths as of May 26 were 349,190 globally.
Countries, areas, and territories with COVID-19 were 217.
Meanwhile in Canada, there were 86,928 confirmed cases as of May 27, 2020, based on official figures by the federal government.
As of that date, a total of 6,671 people in Canada have died of the novel coronavirus that was first reported in China in December 2019.
So far, a total of 1,528,315 have been tested in Canada.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a media briefing on May 25 that “over 400
hospitals in 35 countries are actively recruiting patients and nearly 3500 patients have been enrolled from 17 countries” as part of the Solidarity Trial which was established to evaluate the safety and efficacy of four drugs and drug combinations against COVID-19.
The WHO Regional Office for Europe, along with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), said that they will continue to repurpose their influenza surveillance systems to also detect the COVID-19 virus.
Facing an unprecedented global demand for essential COVID-19 medical supplies, WHO is working with partners to help secure supplies to assist the most vulnerable countries.
According to WHO, unprecedented global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), diagnostic tests and biomedical equipment required for the COVID-19 response has created acute market shortages of these essential supplies.
WHO’s Operations Support and Logistics (OSL) team is working with WFP, UNICEF and other UN agencies, donor partners and NGOs to approach the market with the collective voice of the UN to negotiate with manufacturers to help secure life-saving supplies to assist the most vulnerable countries.
WHO is preparing to ship more than 70 million medical masks, 3 million gowns, 28 million gloves, 15 million N95 Respirators, 1 million goggles and 9 million face shields to 126 countries.