COVID cases rising in Russia, Eastern Europe, waning in Western Europe: WHO

[June 02, 2020]  GENEVA (Reuters) - New cases of COVID-19 reported daily are steadily declining in Western Europe, but not in hotspots in Russia and Eastern Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a briefing: "At the moment in Europe, in Western Europe, we are seeing a steady decline. It's not speedy but there's a steady decline in new cases being reported daily, so that means that the number of new cases are still significant but the number is coming down except for Russia and Eastern Europe where we are still seeing the rise."

Russia has reported 423,741 cases, the world's third highest reported total, including 5,037 deaths.

Harris said that she had no information on whether talks were still taking place with the Trump administration, which announced last Friday that it was leaving the agency over its handling of the pandemic. "I have no information on whether we were formally notified," she added.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Emma Farge)

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