BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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SEOUL -- South Korea reported 27 more cases of COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of 0:00 a.m. Friday local time, raising the total number of infections to 11,018.

The daily caseload hovered around 30 for six straight days as a cluster infection was found from clubs and bars at the multicultural neighborhood of Itaewon in Seoul.

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MANILA -- The global economy could suffer between 5.8 trillion U.S. dollars and 8.8 trillion dollars in losses -- equivalent to 6.4 percent to 9.7 percent of global gross domestic product -- due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said a new report released by the Asian Development Bank on Friday.

The report, Updated Assessment of the Potential Economic Impact of COVID-19, found that economic losses in Asia and the Pacific could range from 1.7 trillion dollars under a short containment scenario of three months to 2.5 trillion dollars under a long containment scenario of six months, with the region accounting for about 30 percent of the overall decline in global output.

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WASHINGTON -- A clinical trial has begun in the United States to evaluate whether anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given together with antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent COVID-19 hospitalization and death, according to a release published by the U.S. National Institutes of Health on Thursday.

Hydroxychloroquine is approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent and treat malaria, as well as to treat the autoimmune diseases rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. And azithromycin is FDA-approved antibiotic.

The trial will enroll approximately 2,000 adults across the United States, who are infected with the novel coronavirus and exhibiting symptoms of fever, cough or shortness of breath, according to the release.

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BEIJING -- China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of consumption growth, declined 7.5 percent year on year in April as the COVID-19 epidemic hit the economy, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.

The figure rebounded from a drop of 15.8 percent in March, NBS data showed.

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RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Brazilian Ministry of Health reported on Thursday that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country has exceeded 200,000.

According to the latest epidemiological data, the virus has infected 202,918 people and left 13,993 dead.

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CAPE TOWN -- The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa has risen to 12,739, up by 665 in the past 24 hours, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Thursday.

"Regrettably we report a further 19 COVID-19 related deaths and this brings the total national deaths to 238," Mkhize said in his daily update.

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LIMA -- Peru's Health Ministry on Thursday said 4,298 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the country's total number to 80,604, with 2,267 deaths.

Currently, 6,941 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, with 842 of those in intensive care units and on ventilators, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

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NEW YORK -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States reached 1,401,948 as of 1:38 p.m. (1738 GMT) Thursday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the disease in the country hit 85,066.