The global death toll in the novel coronavirus pandemic soared past the grim 200,000 milestone on Sunday, as the World Health Organization warned against "immunity passports" for recovered patients, seen as a possible tool for countries preparing to re-open their economies.

Spain's daily virus toll rose slightly on Saturday with 378 people dying, the government said a day after the country registered its lowest number of fatalities in four weeks.

In Spain, one of the hardest-hit countries in the pandemic, the coronavirus spread quickly and widely without being detected, especially among the elderly, experts told AFP.

The global coronavirus death toll approached 200,000 on Saturday as the United Nations launched an international push for a vaccine to defeat the pandemic.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to return to work soon after his recovery from COVID-19, as pressure mounts on his government to explain how to get Britain out of lockdown.

Gyms, hair salons and tattoo parlors had a green light to reopen Friday in the state of Georgia as the United States surpassed the grim milestone of 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic.

Britain's health ministry on Friday said that 684 more people had died after testing positive for COVID-19 in hospital, taking the death toll to 19,506.

The growing use of export restrictions by governments can be "dangerously counterproductive" as the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic, the IMF and WTO warned Friday.

Italy is to ease its coronavirus lockdown, the toughest and longest in Europe, over the next four weeks, media reported on Friday although there was no official confirmation.

Muslims around the world began marking Ramadan under coronavirus lockdown on Friday with unprecedented bans on family gatherings and mass prayers, while a pushback in some countries has sparked fears of a surge in infections.