Berlin, May 20 (RHC)-- In Germany, at least 70 refugees at a shelter near the city of Bonn have tested positive for COVID-19.  News of the outbreak at the facility — which houses nearly 500 people — has triggered demands for better protection and more testing for asylum seekers and refugees. 

Germany has seen a recent spike in coronavirus cases as the country gradually comes out of lockdown.  There are now over 177,000 confirmed cases and a death toll of over 8,000.

In other news from Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have proposed setting up a European Union fund of 500 billion euros to aid in the region’s economic recovery from the pandemic.  The money would be dispersed as grants for European countries hardest hit by the coronavirus.