There are more than 5.8 million infections of COVID-19 around the world, with more than 360,000 deaths.

Some countries are starting to loosen restrictions initiated to halt the spread of the devastating disease, while the number of cases is skyrocketing in other places.

The Americas are the new epicenter of the outbreak. The U.S. has more than 1.7 million coronavirus infections, followed by Brazil with more than 438,000 cases.

Developing nations

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has warned that the pandemic could cause "unimaginable devastation and suffering around the world," including famine and massive unemployment, unless governments start taking preventative action now.

"Developed countries have announced their own relief packages, because they can,"

Guterres told a virtual summit of nearly 50 world leaders. "But we have not yet seen enough solidarity with developing countries to provide them with the massive and urgent support they need."

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama suggested that the price of a global post-coronavirus recovery for poorer countries would be a bargain.

He said wealthy nations have already dedicated $8 trillion for their own comeback. "Even if the equivalent of one-half of 1% of this was dedicated to all the world's small island developing states, it would provide us with the vital support we need."

Why does a virus make some people sicker than others?

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Diabetics and COVID-19

A French study has found that one in 10 diabetics who contracted coronavirus died within a week of being admitted to hospitals. Most of the 1,317 patients in the study published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association of Diabetes, had Type 2 diabetes.

Cancer patients

Oncology experts holding an online conference this weekend said they plan to discuss a new study that says COVID-19 is especially dangerous for former and current cancer patients.

The study in the journal Lancet looked at more than 900 patients with both diseases in Britain, Canada, Spain and the United States. Researchers found that cancer patients were more likely to die within a month than COVID-19 patients who never had cancer.

One of the authors of the study, Dr. Jeremy Warner of Vanderbilt University, said this is the reason many hospitals are urging cancer patients to delay or modify care by staying away from facilities where there are many coronavirus patients.

"If they don't have COVID-19, they want to do anything they can to avoid getting it," he said.

South African students

Some South African parents of seventh and 12th grade students are reluctant to allow their children back into schools, set to reopen Monday, saying current disinfection efforts are not enough to convince them that it is safe for their children to return.

Boston marathon

The Boston Marathon has been canceled for the first time in 124 years because of the coronavirus.

The legendary road race had already been postponed from April, and organizers had said they hoped to be able to run it on September 14.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Thursday that date looked "less and less plausible."

"There's no way to hold this usual race format without bringing large numbers of people into close proximity," Walsh said.

The first Boston Marathon was held in 1897 and is the longest running such event in the world.