Evidence can't support COVID-19 lab leak theory, says researchers

BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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HONG KONG -- Researchers at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology have found a new branch in the family tree of bat coronaviruses and the result cannot support the COVID-19 lab leak theory, the South China Morning Post has reported.

The viruses, which have high levels of similarity across certain areas of the genomeare, are more distantly related to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 than several other known viruses, the researchers was quoted as saying on Tuesday in a paper released last week.

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SEOUL -- South Korea reported 629 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Wednesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 138,311.

The daily caseload was down from 707 in the previous day, sending the daily average caseload for the past week to 599.

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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil on Wednesday reported 2,398 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the national count to 454,429, the Ministry of Health said.

A total of 80,486 more infections were detected, raising the nationwide tally to 16,274,695, the ministry said.

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ADDIS ABABA -- Ethiopia registered 398 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 270,180 as of Wednesday evening, the country's health ministry said.

The ministry said 15 new deaths were reported, bringing the national death toll to 4,108.

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BUENOS AIRES -- Argentina reported 35,399 new COVID-19 cases, taking the national tally to 3,622,135, the Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

The ministry said that 532 more deaths were reported, bringing the death toll to 75,588.

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TUNIS -- Tunisia reported on Wednesday 1,324 new COVID-19 cases and 56 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 338,853 and the death toll to 12,398, according to the Ministry of Health.

The total number of recoveries reached 298,855, the ministry said in a statement.

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SANTIAGO -- Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris reported on Wednesday 5,176 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, for a total of 1,344,618 cases.

Meanwhile, 39 more deaths were also recorded in the past day, bringing the total to 28,624.

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COLOMBO -- The Sri Lankan government has received another batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government as the island country looks to vaccinate its citizens against the virus.

The vaccines which arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport Tuesday night from Beijing were received by Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong and handed over to Sri Lanka's Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi.

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WASHINGTON -- Black people made up more than 80 percent of the coronavirus cases reported in Washington, D.C. in recent days, compared with 46 percent late last year, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

The share of new infections involving Black people spiked sharply in the city starting around mid-April, when the coronavirus vaccine became widely available to D.C. residents. The share of cases involving White people, meanwhile, has fallen below 10 percent, compared with 33 percent of cases in December.