SAN JOSE, March 28 (Reuters) - Thousands of African, Haitian and Asian migrants bound for the United States have amassed in immigration shelters in Panama and Costa Rica as plans to relocate them to less crowded areas to lower the risk of spreading the coronavirus have faltered.

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Coronavirus has now spread to dozens of the 47 countries of the WHO Africa region, with 2,650 infected and 49 dead, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday.

JOHANNESBURG, March 28 (Reuters) - South Africa's confirmed cases of coronavirus increased at a slower rate on Saturday, up by 17 to 1,187 people, the health ministry said, as the country entered the second day of a national lockdown.

DUBAI, March 28 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates on Saturday extended to April 5 a nightly curfew to sterilize public places to combat the spread of coronavirus as neighboring Qatar reported its first death from the disease.

(Reuters) - President Donald Trump signed into law a $2.2 trillion aid package to help the United States cope with the economic downturn inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak first emerged, began lifting a two-month lockdown.

March 28 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump signed into law a $2.2 trillion aid package to help the United States cope with the economic downturn inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic. In Italy, the government was reported to be considering extending a national lockdown to mid-April. DEATHS, INFECTIONS * More than 615,600 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus across the world and 28,316 have died, according to a Reuters tally. * For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser. * U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T EUROPE * The number of deaths in the badly hit Italian region of Lombardy rose to close to 6,000 as the national government was reported to be considering plans to extend a country-wide lockdown to mid-April. * Spain's death toll rose overnight to 5,690, the health ministry said on Saturday, marking a new high in the daily rise in fatalities. The total number of those infected rose to 72,248. * Britain said 1,019 people had died by Friday afternoon, a rise of 260 on the total 24 hours earlier. The number of confirmed cases was 17,089 as of 0900 GMT on Saturday. * A drive-through testing facility for health workers has begun operating in the car park of a popular resort near London as Britain seeks to ramp up testing for those on the frontline of the epidemic. * Germans have been largely compliant with rules to prevent the coronavirus spread, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, as her chief of staff said the shutdown would not be eased before April 20. * The number of confirmed cases in Germany has risen to 48,582 and 325 people have died of the disease, statistics from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Saturday. AMERICAS * New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday he was postponing the state's April 28 presidential primary to June 23 as its number of coronavirus cases climbed to 52,318 and deaths to 728. * The number of confirmed U.S. infections rose by about 18,000 on Friday, the highest jump in a single day, to more than 103,000. By Saturday morning, the total stood at 103,598. * The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved a $2.2 trillion aid package and Trump quickly signed it into law. * Trump on Friday invoked emergency powers to require General Motors Co to build much-needed ventilators for coronavirus patients after he accused the largest U.S. automaker of "wasting time" during negotiations. * Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro cast doubt on Sao Paulo's death toll from coronavirus and accused the state governor of manipulating the numbers for political ends, without giving evidence for his claims. ASIA AND THE PACIFIC * Japan's Abe promised an unprecedented package of steps to cushion the world's third-biggest economy from the pandemic, saying the country was close to a national emergency as infections surged. * The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak first emerged, began lifting a two-month lockdown on Saturday by restarting some metro services and reopening borders, allowing some semblance of normality to return and families to reunite. * India said it was planning to turn some railway coaches into isolation wards for coronavirus patients, as authorities scramble to prepare the country's health infrastructure for an expected surge in cases. * Australia stepped up enforcement of social distancing rules on Saturday, implementing fines, closing beaches and threatening stricter measures if people defy pleas to stay at home. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Turkey halted all intercity trains and limited domestic flights on Saturday. The number of cases jumped to 7,402, with 108 dead. * Palestinian groups in Gaza canceled mass rallies planned for next week along the border with Israel amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus in the densely-populated territory, organizers said on Saturday. * Iran started an intercity travel ban, as its death toll rose to 2,378 on Friday. * South Africans struggled to adapt to confinement rules, with many city streets no less crowded than normal as a strict lockdown begun.

TUNIS, March 28 (Reuters) - The European Union has granted Tunisia 250 million euros in aid to help it cope with the economic and social effects of the coronavirus outbreak, EU ambassador Patrice Bergamini said on Saturday in a tweet.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese security forces cleared away a protest camp in central Beirut on Saturday and reopened roads blocked by demonstrators since protests against the governing elite started in October.

(Reuters) - In the world’s largest refugee settlement in Bangladesh, filmmaker Mohammed Arafat has been making public safety videos to warn about the dangers of coronavirus.