French President Emmanuel Macron reacts as he meets Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020 in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19, the presidential Elysee Palace announced on Thursday. DONALD TRUMPPresident Donald Trump announced in October that he and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, tested positive for the coronavirus. BORIS JOHNSONThe British prime minister was the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19, after facing criticism for downplaying the pandemic. Other top officials in former Soviet states who were infected include Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

It’s a social economic decision.”Gamzu is managing the virus crisis at a bleak time, with the world rapidly approaching 1 million COVID-19 deaths globally. But Gamzu is taking it in stride, drawing on a personal battle with cancer just two years ago for inspiration. “I had my personal crisis with the eye cancer. It was a hard time, really, a crisis, personal one. In an attempt to revive the flagging economy, schools and businesses were reopened swiftly — and virus numbers began to creep up.

FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept 8, 2020 file photo, ultra-Orthodox Jews keep social distancing and wear face masks during a morning prayer next to their houses as synagogues are limited to twenty people following the government's measures to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, in Bnei Brak, Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced a national furor over his handling of the coronavirus, but that anger is boiling over among the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredim, who have used their political muscle to fend off what they see as discriminatory restrictions. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)

“Our goal is to stop the increase (in cases) and lower morbidity,” Netanyahu said in a nationally broadcast statement. A sticking point in government deliberations over the lockdown was what prayers would look like during the holidays. Israel has had more than 150,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more than 1,100 deaths. It is now seeing more than 4,000 daily cases of the virus. It has since been criticized for opening businesses and schools too quickly and allowing the virus to spread unchecked.

Many churches are adapting their services as Christians around the world are celebrating Easter at a distance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Others have suggested that faith is an authority higher than science, and belief can turn back contagion. But as more officials trace virus hot spots back to faith gatherings, calls have grown louder for the devout to protect each other’s physical well-being first. Though he dismissed a possible Passover curfew last month, Israel ultimately imposed a national lockdown on the holiday’s first night. Some Iraqis have criticized al-Sadr, a Shiite Muslim, arguing he hasn’t discouraged believers from visiting holy shrines.

By Friday, Bnei Brak had become the country's worst hot spot and now resembles a ghost town. “An outbreak in Bnei Brak is the same as an outbreak in Tel Aviv. Influential Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky of Bnei Brak said closing religious seminaries is more harmful than the virus. Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, home to large ultra-Orthodox communities, have the largest concentrations. The government is also sending in troops to help local authorities in Bnei Brak.

___SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea says more than 27,000 people are under self-quarantine in the county after it strengthened border controls to slow coronavirus infections linked to international arrivals. ___SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has reported 86 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing its caseload above 10,000. South Korea has been enforcing two-week quarantines on all passengers arriving from overseas since Wednesday to stem a rise in imported infections. Administration officials say the United States' infection and death rate from the virus is akin to what hard-hit Italy is facing. The United States, with a population of about 327 million, has recorded more than 5,800 deaths and more than 240,000 infections.

In this Monday, March 2, 2020 photo, Israel's Health Minister Yaakov Litzman delivers a statement as he visits a makeshift tent for quarantined coronavirus voters in Tel Aviv, Israel. As Israel's case count rose to over 6,800, including 34 deaths, the country was rattled by the diagnosis of its health minister, who has had frequent contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Middle East has confirmed over 82,000 cases of the virus and over 3,600 deaths, most of them in Iran. Iran’s Health Ministry said Thursday that the new coronavirus killed another 124 people, pushing the country's death toll to 3,160. Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and his wife, who also caught the virus, are members of Israel's insular ultra-Orthodox community, which has been particularly hard-hit.