Cyprus Mail 22 April 2020 - Reuters News Agency
6.20: More than 2,557,500 people have been infected across the world and over 177,660 have died but at the same time 694,881 people have recovered.
THE PANDEMIC IN NUMBERS
| INFECTED CASES | DEATHS DUE TO THE VIRUS |
| USA 819,164 | USA 45,340 |
| SPAIN 204,178 | ITALY 24,114 |
| ITALY 189,957 | SPAIN 21,282 |
| FRANCE 158,050 | FRANCE 20,796 |
| GERMANY 148,453 | UK 17,337 |
| CYPRUS 784 | CYPRUS 12 |
- WORLDOMETER CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK IN NUMBERS (Updated continuously)
- UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS – KIOS AND RESEARCH CENTRE (Cyprus only)
- JOHNS HOPKINS CORONAVIRUS RESOURCE CENTRE
- HEALTH DATA CORONAVIRUS PROJECTIONS
- REUTERS TRACKING THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS
- REUTERS TRACKING THE SPREAD IN THE USA
- DEEP KNOWLEDGE GROUP SAFEST COUNTRIES RANKING
All the latest news in brief as it happens
7.30 Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 2,237 to 145,694 – RKI
Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 2,237 to 145,694, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday, marking a second consecutive day of new infections accelerating.
The reported death toll rose by 281 to 4,879, the tally showed.
7.12 Youths clash with police in new night of trouble in Paris suburbs
Youths clashed with police overnight in suburbs around Paris, Le Point website and Agence France Presse reported on Wednesday, the latest outbreak of trouble as strict lockdown rules to tackle the coronavirus heighten social tensions.
Clashes took place in areas such as Villeneuve-La-Garenne, Nanterre and Clichy. Social media networks carried images showing gangs of youths setting off fireworks in the direction of police forces, and of cars having been set on fire.
6.09 China’s daily air passenger numbers up 7.9% in April vs March -aviation regulator
China’s aviation regulator said on Wednesday daily transported air passenger numbers rose 7.9% this month as of April 21 from March, but was only at 29% of the level seen a year ago.
China’s daily flight numbers were up 1% in April from last month, but was still only at 41.6% of the level in the same period last year, the regulator said.
4.59 Japan’s Nagasaki confirms 33 coronavirus cases on cruise ship docked for repairs
Japan’s Nagasaki prefecture said on Wednesday it had confirmed 33 cases of coronavirus infection on an Italian cruise ship docked for repairs and would carry out further testing on other crew members.
Those who test positive but are asymptomatic will remain on board for monitoring, while others will be transferred to medical institutions, Nagasaki Governor Hodo Nakamura told a news conference. Those who test negative will be sent back to their countries, he said.
4.29 Oil prices recover ground after market turmoil fuels price plunge
Oil prices found some respite on Wednesday as U.S. oil futures rose more than 20% and Brent prices steadied after a two-day price plunge, as markets struggle with a massive crude glut amid the coronavirus outbreak.
After falling into negative territory for the first time in history amid record trading volumes, U.S. crude futures rose 20% as contracts for May delivery expired and the June contract became the front month.
West Texas Intermediate was up $2.05, or 18%, at $13.62 a barrel by 0034 GMT.
3.13 Mexico’s health ministry says coronavirus cases surpass 9,000
Mexico registered a jump of more than 700 confirmed coronavirus cases on Tuesday, to reach a total of 9,501 cases, health ministry officials told reporters at a regular briefing.
Reported deaths from the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the virus stand at 857, or 145 more than the previous day.
What happened on Tuesday, 24 April
EUROPE
- The true extent of the death toll in Britain was more than 40% higher than the daily figures from the government indicated by April 10, according to data that includes deaths in the community.
- Crowds of youths targeted riot police with fireworks and torched rubbish bins in a third night of unrest on the outskirts of Paris where a heavy police presence to enforce the coronavirus lockdown has exacerbated tensions.
- Italy is likely to start easing its coronavirus lockdown from May 4 though the long-awaited rollback will be cautious and calculated, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.
- Spain’s cabinet approved measures to support workers and businesses struggling under stringent coronavirus restrictions as officials cheered a slowing infection rate.
AMERICAS
- U.S. congressional leaders and the White House agreed on nearly $500 billion more in coronavirus relief for the economy.
- President Donald Trump pledged to suspend immigration into the country, while Georgia and other U.S. states began lifting restrictions that stalled their economies.
- Missouri became the first U.S. state to sue the Chinese government over its handling of the coronavirus.
- The economies of Latin America and the Caribbean will contract by a record 5.3% in 2020 as the coronavirus outbreak ravages the region, a United Nations agency said.
- Mexico has entered what the government calls “Phase 3” of the spread of the coronavirus, the most serious stage, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said.
- Police in Chile broke up a fresh round of anti-government protests in one of Santiago’s central squares late on Monday, arresting 14 and citing rules against congregations intended to ward off the spread of the coronavirus..
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
- The WHO said that all available evidence suggests the novel coronavirus originated in bats in China late last year and it was not manipulated or constructed in a laboratory.
- About 500 people entered self-isolation at the Presidential House in the Indian capital after a worker’s relative tested positive, officials said.
- Thailand approved a second automatic visa extension for foreigners to prevent long queues at immigration centres.
- Indonesia will ban the mass exodus tradition, locally known as ‘mudik’, at the end of the Muslim fasting month in May.
- A northwestern province on the frontline of China’s coronavirus battle reported its first cases in nearly three weeks, all involving travellers from overseas.
- Taiwan’s defence minister apologised and said he was willing to resign after a coronavirus outbreak on a navy ship which visited the Pacific last month just as the country celebrated a huge drop in cases.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
- Millions of children in the Middle East will become poorer as their caregivers lose jobs from lockdowns, according to the U.N. Children’s Fund.
- The coronavirus crisis is stirring anti-Semitism around the world, fuelled by centuries-old lies that Jews are spreading infection, researchers in Israel said.
- South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a 500 billion rand rescue package, equivalent to 10% of the GDP of Africa’s most industrialised nation, to try to cushion the economic blow of the coronavirus pandemic.
- The palm oil market is set to miss out on a key high-demand period in 2020 as coronavirus-driven lockdowns during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan dent demand in key importing countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
- Stock markets around the world fell on Tuesday, as oil prices kept sliding a day after May U.S. crude oil futures turned negative for the first time, underscoring the depth of economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic.
- U.S. home sales dropped by the most in nearly 4-1/2 years in March as extraordinary measures to control the spread of the coronavirus brought buyer traffic to a virtual standstill.
- The Irish economy will shrink by at least 10% this year and could shrink more than 15% if a second wave of coronavirus forces restrictions on movement to last six months longer than expected, the government said.
- The number of people facing acute food insecurity could nearly double this year to 265 million due to the economic fallout of COVID-19, the United Nations’ World Food Programme said.
- If prolonged, the pandemic could trigger a negative feedback loop in which a worsening economy threatens to destabilise Japan’s financial system, the Bank of Japan warned on Tuesday.
- Black and Hispanic families in the U.S. are taking the biggest income hit due to the coronavirus pandemic, and they are less prepared to withstand the blow, according to two studies.
