World News Roundup: Swiss govt says 257 dead from coronavirus; Singapore reports 42 new coronavirus cases and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Swiss govt says 257 dead from coronavirus, 14,336 tested positive

The Swiss death toll from coronavirus has reached 257, the country's public health agency said on Sunday, up from 235 people the previous day. The number of confirmed cases also increased to 14,336 from 13,213 on Saturday, it said.

Singapore reports 42 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 844

Singapore reported 42 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, its health ministry said, taking total infections to 844. The Southeast Asian city-state suffered its third coronavirus-related death earlier on Sunday.

Dutch coronavirus cases pass 10,000: health authorities

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Netherlands passed 10,000 on Sunday, health authorities said, adding that the rise in deaths and hospitalizations continued to show signs of slowing. In its daily update, the Netherlands' National Institute for Health (RIVM) said confirmed cases rose by 1,104 to 10,866, an 11% increase. There were 132 new deaths, bringing the number of fatalities to 771.

Spain’s coronavirus death toll rises by 838 overnight to 6,528

Spain awoke to its third week under near-total lockdown on Sunday, as the government met to approve a strengthening of measures and the coronavirus death toll rose by a record 838 cases overnight to 6,528. Second, only to Italy in fatalities, Spain also saw infections rise to 78,797 from 72,248 the day before.

Tokyo coronavirus cases jump in record daily rise: NHK

Tokyo has confirmed 68 new coronavirus cases, a record daily increase, public broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday, as the Japanese capital scrambles to prevent a wider outbreak, while a cluster of infections increased near the city. Japan has so far been spared a major spreading of the coronavirus that has hit Europe and North America, but authorities fear a rise in cases with no known source of infection could signal a bigger new wave.

Modi seeks 'forgiveness' from India's poor over coronavirus lockdown

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the nation's poor for forgiveness on Sunday, as the economic and human toll from his 21-day nationwide lockdown deepens and criticism mounts about a lack of adequate planning ahead of the decision. Modi announced a three week-lockdown on Tuesday to curb the spread of coronavirus. But the decision has stung millions of India's poor, leaving many hungry and forcing jobless migrant laborers to flee cities and walk hundreds of kilometers to their native villages.

Italy coronavirus death toll surges past 10,000; lockdown extension likely

The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy barrelled past 10,000 on Saturday, a figure that made an extension of a national lockdown almost certain. Officials said 889 more people died in the previous 24 hours, the second-highest daily tally since the epidemic emerged on Feb. 21, and that total fatalities reached 10,023.

China defends against an incoming second wave of coronavirus

A growing number of imported coronavirus cases in China, where the epidemic originated in December, risked fanning the second wave of infections when domestic transmissions had "basically been stopped", a senior health official said on Sunday. China, where the disease first emerged in the central city of Wuhan, had an accumulated total of 693 cases entering from overseas, which meant "the possibility of a new round of infections remains relatively big", Mi Feng, spokesman for the National Health Commission (NHC), said.

UK's Johnson warns on coronavirus: Things to get worse before they get better

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is warning Britons in a letter to 30 million households that things will get worse before they get better, as he himself self-isolates in Downing Street to recover from the coronavirus. Britain has reported 17,089 confirmed cases of the disease and 1,019 deaths and the peak of the epidemic in the country is expected to come in a few weeks.

Coronavirus crisis puts EU credibility on the line: French minister

How the European Union responds to the coronavirus outbreak will determine its future credibility, a French minister said on Sunday, after the bloc failed to agree last week on measures to cushion the economic blow from the pandemic. The EU is struggling to come up with a coordinated response to the spread of coronavirus, the latest test of the bloc's solidarity after it was shaken by Brexit, the 2015-2016 migration crisis and the eurozone debt crisis.

(With inputs from agencies.)