Cyprus Mail 8 April 2020 -Reuters News Agency
As of 6.30 today more than 1,431,940 people have been infected across the world and over 82,085 have died but at the same time 302,200 people have recovered.
The USA is now the country with the most infected cases (400,540) ahead of Spain (141,942) who overtook Italy (135,586) earlier this week. France and Germany follow with 109,069 and 107,663 cases respectively
Confirmed deaths by country:
Italy: 17,127
Spain: 14,045
USA: 12,857
France: 10,328
UK: 6,159
Italy: 17,127
Spain: 14,045
USA: 12,857
France: 10,328
UK: 6,159
All the latest news in brief as it happens
09.22 Japan to pledge contribution to IMF trust for low-income countries hit by pandemic
Japan will next week pledge to contribute to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) trust offering debt relief to low-income countries hit hard by the coronavirus, a finance ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Finance Minister Taro Aso will deliver the pledge, along with other contributions, at one of the meetings of the IMF and finance leaders of the Group of 20 major economies next week, said the source, who had direct knowledge of the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity.
The plan, including the amount to pledged, was still being finalised, said the official.
09.20 France’s central bank estimates first-quarter GDP shrunk 6% from previous quarter
France’s economy likely contracted 6% in the first quarter from the previous three months as a nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak shut down vast swathes of the economy, the central bank estimated on Wednesday.
That would be the biggest contraction on a quarterly basis since World War II, surpassing the previous record of -5.3% in the second quarter of 1968 when France was gripped by civil unrest, mass student protests and general strikes.
France has been subject to stay-at-home orders since March 17 that officially end on April 15, although the government has warned they could very well be extended if judged prudent.
07.59 Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases rise to 103,228, deaths to 1,861
The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Germany rose by 4,003 in the past 24 hours to 103,228 on Wednesday, climbing for the second straight day after four previous days of drops, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed.
The reported death toll rose by 254 to 1,861.
07.57 Thailand reports 111 new coronavirus cases, 3 more deaths
Thailand on Wednesday reported 111 new coronavirus cases and 3 more deaths.
The dead included a 48-year-old Russian, a 69-year-old Indian and a 69-year-old U.S. national, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration said.
Since the pandemic escalated in January, Thailand has reported a total of 2,369 cases and 30 fatalities, while 888 patients have recovered and gone home.
07.25 Asymptomatic patients and imported infections become China’s chief concern
Mainland China’s new coronavirus cases doubled in 24 hours as the number of infected overseas travellers surged, and new asymptomatic infections more than quadrupled.
New confirmed cases rose to 62 on Tuesday from 32 a day earlier, the highest since March 25. New imported infections accounted for 59 of the cases.
The number of new asymptomatic cases rose to 137 from 30 a day earlier, the health authority said on Wednesday, with incoming travellers accounting for 102 of the latest batch.
07.20 NZ PM cautiously optimistic about coronavirus, urges Easter ‘staycation’
New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said on Wednesday she was cautiously optimistic about slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus as authorities reported the lowest number of new daily cases in two weeks.
New Zealand reported 50 new cases on Wednesday from 54 on Tuesday and 67 on Monday, bringing its tally to 1,210. One person has died.
06.26 Asian shares turn cautious, oil rebounds in choppy trade
Asian stocks stepped back on Wednesday after two sessions of sharp gains as investors tempered their optimism about the coronavirus while death tolls were still mounting across the globe.
While the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations seemed to be levelling off in New York state, deaths across the United States jumped by a record 1,800.
Mainland China’s new coronavirus cases also doubled in 24 hours due to infected overseas travellers.
Not helping sentiment were wild swings in the oil market, where prices rebounded in Asia after sliding on Tuesday to leave traders feeling dizzy.
05.26 Country folk singer John Prine dies at 73 of coronavirus complications
Grammy-winning singer John Prine, who wrote his early songs in his head while delivering mail and later emerged from Chicago’s folk revival scene in the 1970s to become one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, died on Tuesday. He was 73.
Prine was hospitalized in Nashville on March 26 suffering from symptoms of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to his wife, Fiona Whelan Prine, who was also his manager.
05.10 African-Americans dying of coronavirus at higher rates
The new coronavirus is killing African-Americans at a higher rate than the U.S. population at large, according to preliminary numbers from Louisiana, Michigan and Illinois that officials say point to disparities in health and healthcare access.
The figures were reported by state and city leaders at briefings on the coronavirus, including Louisiana Governor John Edwards who said more than 70% of the 512 people killed by the coronavirus in Louisiana as of Monday were black, a much larger percentage than the state’s population that black people represent, about 33 percent.
Michigan officials also said that the coronavirus took a disproportionate toll on African-Americans with 40% of the reported deaths in the state, whose population is 14% African-American. As of Tuesday, confirmed cases in Michigan were 18,970 with 845 deaths.
04.11 Panama reports 149 new cases of coronavirus, bringing total to 2,249
Panama registered 149 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the country’s total to 2,249 cases, authorities said on Tuesday.
The death toll stands at 59.
03.18 Mainland China reports 62 new confirmed cases of coronavirus
Mainland China reported on Wednesday 62 new confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, up from 32 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said, as the number of infections from people arriving from abroad surged.
Mainland China’s imported cases stood at 1,042 as of Tuesday, up 59 from day earlier, according to the health authority.
That brings the total number of confirmed cases to 81,802 so far.
03.17 Mexico registers 2,785 cases of coronavirus and 141 deaths
Mexico has registered 346 new cases of coronavirus infection, bringing the country’s total to 2,785, as well as 141 deaths, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
03.11 Ecuador builds emergency cemeteries due to coronavirus outbreak
Ecuador’s government is preparing an emergency burial ground on land donated by a private cemetery in Guayaquil, the country’s largest city, to address a shortage of burial plots as the novel coronavirus hits the Andean country hard.
As of Tuesday, the country had 3,995 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 220 deaths, with 182 more deaths suspected of being linked to the virus. The outbreak has sparked a shortage of wooden coffins, prompting some people to bury their relatives in cardboard boxes donated by cemeteries.
00.23 First patients arrive at London’s new coronavirus hospital
The first patients have been admitted to the new Nightingale Hospital in London, which has been set up in just nine days at the Excel Exhibition Centre to handle the coronavirus crisis.
The facility, which was officially opened by Prince Charles on Friday, will provide up to 4,000 beds equipped with ventilators and oxygen and be used for those who require further intensive care treatment for COVID-19.
Around 25,000 doctors, nurses and support staff will work at the location once it is fully operational.
What happened on Tuesday
EUROPE
- The pace of coronavirus deaths in Spain ticked up for the first time in five days on Tuesday, with 743 people succumbing overnight, but there was still hope the national lockdown might be eased soon.
- Doctors in Lombardy, Italy’s worst-hit region, denounced local officials for their handling of the crisis and said the mistakes they made should be a lesson for everyone.
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was set to spend a second night in intensive care on Tuesday, while his foreign minister led the government’s response. Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said he was self isolating as a family member has symptoms.
- In the Swiss Army’s biggest call-up since World War II, thousands of soldiers have been sent to support health workers, while hundreds have been confined to barracks after potential exposure.
- France has officially registered more than 10,000 deaths from coronavirus infections on Tuesday, becoming the fourth country to go beyond that threshold.
- Norway will ease some restrictions, its prime minister said. * Finland will start tracking the spread in its population with randomised antibody tests.
- Vietnam donated 550,000 face masks to five European countries on Tuesday.
- Ireland’s chief medical officer said he did not expect to be able to recommend a lifting of severe restrictions by April 12.
- Czech lawmakers approved keeping the country under the state of emergency until April 30, a shorter extension than the government had sought.
AMERICAS
- New York state is nearing a plateau in number of patients hospitalized, Governor Andrew Cuomo said, while total infections in the country rose to 374,329, with the death toll reaching 12,064.
- President Donald Trump accused the World Health Organization of being too focused on China and issuing bad advice during the coronavirus outbreak. He also accused the U.S. Health Department’s inspector general of having produced a “fake dossier” on American hospitals suffering shortages.
- Wisconsin voters faced long lines at limited polling locations on Tuesday during the state’s presidential primary and local elections.
- Canada needs to do more to persuade Washington not to block medical supplies from flowing across the border, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
- Mexico’s health ministry warned that the country was facing a shortage of doctors as it seeks to ramp up hospital care.
- A report published by the Brazilian army’s strategic studies center last week contradicts President Jair Bolsonaro by calling for widespread isolation to fight the pandemic.
- El Salvador warned that security forces had been ordered to enforce quarantine orders more rigorously.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
- Mainland China reported no deaths for the first time since the pandemic began, and a drop in new cases, a day before the city of Wuhan, where the virus emerged, is set to lift its lockdown.
- India’s 21-day lockdown is set to end next week but several state leaders have called for an extension or only a partial lifting of restrictions.
- Japan declared a one-month state of emergency in Tokyo and six other prefectures, and rolled out a nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.
- Australia’s chief medical officer said researchers were analysing data to help the government plot a recovery, after lockdown measures bought it some time.
- Philippines extended its lockdown and home quarantine measures until the end of April.
- Indonesia approved a request by the Jakarta administration to impose further large-scale social restrictions on the capital.
- India will allow limited exports of an anti-malaria drug that U.S. President Donald Trump has touted as a potential weapon in the fight against the virus.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
- Most Middle Eastern countries are seeing worrying daily increases in cases but the region still has a chance to contain its spread, a senior WHO official said.
- The coronavirus could eventually infect between 10,000 and 200,000 people in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s health minister said.
- Egypt will ban any public religious gatherings during the holy Muslim fasting month Ramadan starting in around two weeks.
- South Africa’s main health workers’ union planned to challenge the government in court on Tuesday over shortages of protective gear for frontline staff.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
- World stock markets posted sharp gains on Tuesday on signs of progress in curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus in both Europe and the United States.
- Euro zone finance ministers hope to agree on measures worth half a trillion euros to finance recovery from the coronavirus, a discussion that has sown divisions.
- The Trump administration asked Congress for an additional $250 billion in emergency economic aid for small U.S. businesses reeling from the pandemic.
- U.S. job openings fell in February, suggesting the labor market was losing momentum even before stringent measures to control the outbreak shuttered businesses.
- Latin American assets extended their recovery into a second session on Tuesday, as risk assets were propped up by hopes that the coronavirus outbreak had peaked in several hotspots.
- Slovenia will post a “high” budget deficit and public debt will increase this year, the Fiscal Council said on Tuesday.
- Portugal will boost its credit lines for struggling businesses to 4.2 billion euros on Wednesday, after it was bolstered by a state aid package from the European Commission.
- Japan will sell a record amount of extra bonds this fiscal year, worth more than $165 billion, straining the industrial world’s heaviest debt burden.
- Thailand approved measures worth $58 billion on Tuesday.
- Nearly 140 campaign groups and charities urged the IMF and World Bank, G20 governments and private creditors to help the world’s poorest countries through the crisis by cancelling debt payments.
- The IMF said it was considering Nigeria’s request for $3.4 billion in emergency financing to combat the impact of the pandemic.
