Wednesday, April 15
Libya’s internationally recognised government imposes curfew
Libya’s internationally-recognised government, in the west, imposed a 24-hour curfew for10 days effective from Friday, April 17, the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) said in a statement.
Libya’s National centre for disease control reported 36 cases of coronavirus in Libya and only one death.
Coronavirus spreads on French aircraft carrier
Nearly 700 sailors assigned to the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle’s naval group have tested positive for the coronavirus, the armed forces ministry said on Wednesday.
The ministry said 1,767 mariners, nearly all from the Charles de Gaulle itself, had been tested and results showed at least 668 to be infected with the new coronavirus. Results are still not in from a third of the tests.
“Thirty-one personnel are today in hospital,” it said in a statement. “More tests are being carried out.”
Turkey sees 115 more deaths, toll rises to 1,518
Turkey confirmed 115 more deaths from the novel coronavirus in the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 1,518.
The total number of registered coronavirus cases surged to 69,392 as 4,281 more people tested positive for the virus, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.
So far, a total of 5,674 have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, Koca said.
He also said 34,090 tests were conducted over the past day, with the overall number of tests reaching 477,716.
Turkey is currently treating 1,820 patients in intensive care units, according to Koca.
France death toll tops 17,000
Over 17,000 people have now died in France from Covid-19, a top health official said on Wednesday, but the total number currently hospitalised has fallen for the first time since the epidemic began.
A total of 17,167 people are now confirmed to have died in France in hospitals and nursing homes, Jerome Salomon told reporters, compared with a total toll of 15,729 the day earlier. But he said the difference did not represent a daily toll due to the delayed collation of data from the Easter weekend.
In better news, he said there were currently 513 fewer coronavirus patients in hospital since the day before.
Italy death toll rises by 578, new cases continue to slow
Deaths from the Covid-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 578 on Wednesday, down from 602 the day before, while the number of new cases slowed to 2,667 from a previous 2,972, continuing the recent downward trend.
The number of new cases was the lowest since March 13 but the daily tally of deaths remains stubbornly high.
It has hovered between 525 and 636 for the last 11 days, except for a steep drop to 431 on Easter Sunday, which was immediately reversed the following day.
The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 rose to 21,645 the Civil Protection Agency said, the second-highest in the world after that of the United States.
The number of officially confirmed cases climbed to 165,155, the third-highest global tally behind those of the United States and Spain.
Germany to begin easing virus curbs
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday announced first steps in undoing coronavirus lockdowns for the coming weeks, with most shops allowed to open although schools must stay closed until May 4.
Shops up to 800 square metres (8,600 square feet) will be allowed to reopen once they have “plans to maintain hygiene”, Merkel said, while schools will gradually reopen with priority given to pupils about to take exams.
Meanwhile, a ban on large public events will be upheld until August 31 to prevent possible mass transmissions of the virus.
UK coronavirus death toll rises by 761 to 12,868
The number of people who have died in hospitals in Britain from the coronavirus has risen to 12,868, according to Health Ministry figures published on Wednesday.
This is an increase of 761 on the previous day and official figures also showed that the number of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 has now reached 98,476.
Germany to extend curbs to May 3
Germany is poised to extend restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus to May 3, regional government sources said, hours ahead of key talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel on the issue.
Representatives from Germany’s 16 states and the chancellery have agreed on a position paper which includes delaying a deadline on maintaining curbs, including keeping schools closed beyond the current April 19 cutoff, the sources told AFP.
Merkel is expected to announce the decision after her video conference with state premiers.
Over 500,000 patients recover globally
More than 500,000 people have recovered from the coronavirus globally, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.
China has the highest number of recovered people with 78,282.
Outside of China, the total number of recovered people is 72,600 in Germany, 70,853 in Spain, 49,966 in the US,49,933 in Iran, 37,130 in Italy, 29,121 in France, 14,700 in Switzerland, 14,026 in Brazil, 8,235 in Canada, 8,098 in Austria, 7,616 in South Korea, 323 in the UK and 4,799 in Turkey, the university data showed.
Iran’s coronavirus death toll rises to 4,777
Iran’s new coronavirus death toll rose to 4,777 on Wednesday, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said in a statement on state TV.
Ninety four people died in the past 24 hours, he said.
Iran, the Middle Eastern country hardest hit by the outbreak, has a total of 76,389 people infected, Jahanpur said.
Malaysia reports 85 new coronavirus cases, with one new death
Malaysia on Wednesday reported 85 new cases of coronavirus, the lowest daily rise since the government imposed curbs to limit the virus’ spread on March 18, taking the total number of infections to 5,072.
The health ministry also reported one new death, with a total of 83 fatalities so far.
Malaysia had had the highest number of confirmed infections in Southeast Asia but was overtaken this week by neighbours Philippines and Indonesia, which reported a total of 5,453 and 5,136 cases on Wednesday.
Spain’s daily virus toll falls again with 523 dead
Spain’s daily death toll from the coronavirus fell on Wednesday to 523, after posting a one-day rise, bringing the total number of fatalities to 18,579, the health ministry said.
The number of new confirmed infections in the country, one of the worst hit by the pandemic, rose by over 5,000, after falling for six consecutive days, which lifts the total number of infections to over 177,000.
Philippines reports 14 new coronavirus deaths, 230 more infections
The Philippines’ health ministry on Wednesday reported 14 new coronavirus deaths and 230additional infections.
In a bulletin, the health ministry said coronavirus deaths have reached 349 while total confirmed cases have increased to 5,453, keeping the Philippines as the country with the most infections in Southeast Asia.
But 58 patients have recovered, bringing the total to 353, it added.
Coronavirus cases in Russia near 25,000 after record daily rise
Russia on Wednesday reported 3,388 new cases of the coronavirus, a record daily rise, bringing its overall nationwide tally to 24,490, the country’s coronavirus response centre said.
It said 198 people in Russia diagnosed with the virus had now died, an overnight rise of 28.
India to ease lockdown restrictions on April 20
India has announced some easing of lockdown restrictions, beginning April 20, to restart manufacturing and farming activity in rural areas to ease the suffering of millions of poor people.
India’s Home ministry issued guidelines that will also permit construction of roads and buildings in the rural areas as well as inter-state transport of essential and non-essential goods.
The step came a day after India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced extension to the country’s three-week lockdown until May 3 to fight the Covid-19 which has claimed 377 lives, and infected more than 10,000 people in the South Asian nation.
Danish schools begin reopening after month-long closure
Schools in Denmark started reopening on Wednesday, after a month-long closure over the novel coronavirus, according to AFP.
The Nordic country is the first in Europe to start opening up nurseries, kindergartens and primary schools after they were closed on March 12 in an effort to curb the Covid-19 epidemic.
However classes are only resuming in about half of Denmark’s municipalities and in about 35 percent of Copenhagen’s institutions, as others have requested more time to adjust to health protocols still in place.
Global Covid-19 cases reach two million – tracker
Global Covid-19 cases on Wednesday reached the 2,000,000 mark according to Worldmeter tracker.
By 0600GMT, there were 2,000,231 active cases worldwide and 484,603 people have recovered from the virus.
Around half of globally reported cases or more than one million infections have been registered across Europe, while at least thirty percent of cases or more than 600,000 confirmed infections have been reported in the US.
Globally 126,757 people have died from Covid-19 since the disease was first detected in Wuhan, China.
Thailand reports 30 new coronavirus cases, 2 new deaths
Thailand reported 30 new coronavirus cases and 2 deaths on Wednesday.
Of the new cases, 19 patients were linked to previous cases,a nd three had no links to old cases, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration.
One of those infected was in state quarantine, and the cases of seven people who tested positive were being investigated.
Since the outbreak escalated in January, Thailand has reported a total of 2,643 cases and 43 fatalities, while 1,497patients have recovered and gone home.
Germany’s coronavirus cases rise by 2,486, deaths by 285 – RKI
Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases have risen by 2,486 to 127,584, data from the Robert KochInstitute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday, meaning the number of new infections rose after four days of decline.
The reported death toll has risen by 285 to 3,254, the tally showed.
Trump announces funding halt to WHO
President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a suspension of US funding to the World Health Organization because he said it had covered up the seriousness of the Covid-19 outbreak in China before it spread around the world.
Trump told a press conference he was instructing his administration to halt funding while “a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.”
According to Trump, the WHO prevented transparency over the outbreak and the United States — the UN body’s biggest funder which provided $400 million last year — will now “discuss what to do with all that money that goes to the WHO.”
“With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have deep concerns whether America’s generosity has been put to the best use possible.”
China reports fewer cases
China reported on Wednesday a decline in new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the mainland, although an increasing number of local transmissions in its far northeast bordering Russia remained a concern for authorities.
China reported 46 new confirmed cases compared with 89 cases a day earlier, according to the National Health Commission.
Of the new cases, 36 involved travellers arriving in China from overseas, compared with 86 imported cases a day earlier.
UN chief says ‘not the time’ to reduce WHO resources
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday it was “not the time” to reduce resources for the World Health Organization.
Guterres said in a statement it was “not the time to reduce the resources for the operations of the World Health Organization or any other humanitarian organization in the fight against the virus.”
“Now is the time for unity and for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences,” he said
US hits record 2,228 deaths
The United States recorded 2,228 deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic over the past 24 hours, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University as of 0030 GMT Wednesday.
The number of fatalities was a sharp increase after two days in decline.
The outbreak has now claimed the lives of at least 25,757 people in the US, the most of any country.
Mexico reports 385 new cases
Mexico registered 385 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing its total to 5,399 cases and 406 deaths, the health ministry said.
NYC death toll rises to over 10,000
New York City’s death toll was revised to over 10,000 on Tuesday to include 3,700 deaths that are presumed to be due to the novel coronavirus but never tested,the city health department said.
“Behind every death is a friend, a family member, a loved one. We are focused on ensuring that every New Yorker who died be cause of Covid-19 gets counted,” said Health Commissioner Dr Oxiris Barbot.
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