Coronavirus: Dutch report lowest daily death rate in over three weeks
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Italy's daily coronavirus death toll hits one-week low
Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 433 on Sunday, the lowest daily tally in a week, and the number of new cases also slowed to 3,047 from a previous 3,491, the Civil Protection Agency said.
The death toll had risen by 482 on Saturday, down from 575 on Friday.
Coronavirus cases in Chile top 10,000, third highest in Latin America
Chile reported over 10,000 cases of coronavirus on Sunday, the third-highest tally in Latin America, as the disease continues to ravage the economy of the world’s top copper producer.
Large swaths of Santiago, a city of 6 million, are under lockdown, and virtually all non-essential businesses have been closed for weeks.
Chile recorded its first coronavirus case on March 3 and took 23 days to reach 1,000 cases. It took only 13 more days to reach 5,000 cases on April 7, according to a Reuters tally. Chile has reported a total of 133 deaths, the health ministry said.
In Latin America, only Brazil and Peru have more cases.
Coronavirus cases rise in US hot spots, governors tell Trump it's too soon to reopen America
Governors in US states hardest hit by the novel coronavirus sparred with President Donald Trump over his claims they have enough tests and should quickly reopen their economies as more protests are planned over the extension of stay-at-home orders.
"The administration I think is trying to ramp up testing, they are doing some things with respect to private labs," said Republican Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland during a CNN interview. "But to try to push this off, to say the governors have plenty of testing and they should just get to work on testing, somehow we aren't doing our jobs, is absolutely false."
Zimbabwe president extends coronavirus lockdown by two more weeks
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Sunday extended a lockdown to contain the spread of the new coronavirus by two weeks, saying the country had not yet met conditions set down by the World Health Organization to lift the measures.
Three people have died from the virus out of the 25 confirmed infected in the southern African nation, but health experts expect the figures to rise once authorities ramp up testing.
“It has been a very hard decision that my government has had to take reluctantly,” Mnangagwa said in a live television broadcast.
Canadian coronavirus deaths rise by almost 12% in a day: official data
The total number of people killed by the coronavirus in Canada rose by just under 12 percent to 1,506 in a day, official data posted by the public health agency showed on Sunday.
In a statement posted shortly before 11:00 eastern time (1500 GMT), it said the figure for those diagnosed with the coronavirus had climbed to 33,922. The respective figures on Saturday were 1,346 deaths and 32,412 positive diagnoses.
UK reports 596 Covid-19 deaths as total tops 16,000
Britain reported 596 deaths from COVID-19 in hospitals in its daily update on Sunday, raising the country’s total to more than 16,000 as a senior minister said the government’s testing target remained 100,000 per day.
Britain has suffered the fifth-highest death toll from the pandemic which has been linked to almost 160,000 deaths worldwide.
Inventor of N95 mask comes out of retirement in search for reusable masks
Health care workers at increased risk of coronavirus infection as hospitals across the world are facing a shortage of N95 masks amid the pandemic.
The shortage of N95 masks has brought material scientist and engineer Peter Tsai out of retirement, reports the National Public Radio.
Tsai developed the mask's virus-blocking technology, out of retirement to study safe ways to disinfect the single-use masks for reuse — nearly 30 years after his invention.
UK hospital COVID-19 deaths rise by smallest amount in nearly two weeks
Britain’s hospital death toll from COVID-19 rose by 596 to 16,060 as of 1600 GMT on April 18, the smallest increase in nearly two weeks, the health ministry said on Sunday
Data published on Sundays has tended show smaller increases in the number of fatalities. April 6 marked the last time the health ministry reported a smaller increase in the daily death toll.
Pelosi says 'very close' to coronavirus funding deal
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she believed lawmakers are very close to a deal on approving extra money to help small businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.
An agreement would end a stalemate that has lasted more than a week over President Donald Trump's request to add $250 billion to a small-business loan program. Congress set up the program last month as part of a $2.3 trillion coronavirus economic relief plan, but it has already run out of money.
Coronavirus epidemic expected to peak on May 3 in Hungary - PM Orban
Experts expect the coronavirus epidemic to peak on May 3 in Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a video posted on his official Facebook page on Sunday.
Orban, who was visiting a hospital, said that by then Hungary would have 5,000 ventilators, up from just over 2,000 now. He said the total would rise to 8,000 afterwards, which would be enough to treat all COVID-19 patients who need to be put on the machines.
Belarusians flock to churches for Easter, defy stay home calls
Thousands of Belarusians converged on churches across the country on Sunday to celebrate Easter, ignoring calls from health authorities and church leaders to stay at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Priests had planned to conduct services in empty churches over the Easter weekend observed by Orthodox Christians in many eastern European countries.
Belarus is one of very few countries that did not impose lockdown measures or close borders to curb the epidemic. State media ridicule fears over the new coronavirus, while the country’s president calls fears around it “mass psychosis”.
Dutch report lowest daily corona death rate in over three weeks
The number of deaths caused by the novel coronavirus in the Netherlands has risen by 83, Dutch health authorities said on Sunday, which was the smallest reported daily increase since March 26.
The total number of deaths among people known to have been infected with the coronavirus increased to 3,684, while the number of confirmed infections rose by 1,066 to 32,655.
Delivery of protective healthcare equipment to UK delayed
A delivery of protective equipment for British health workers that was due on Sunday from Turkey has been delayed, a British government official said, as medics on the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak increasingly report shortages of gear.
Ministers had on Saturday highlighted an 84-tonne consignment that was due to arrive from Turkey containing personal protective equipment (PPE), including 400,000 protective gowns.
Queen Elizabeth cancels gun salutes for her birthday
Britain's Queen Elizabeth has asked that there be no gun salutes to mark her birthday on Tuesday.
ITV reporter Chris Ship said on Twitter, adding that it would be the first such request had been made in her 68-year reign.
Swiss coronavirus death toll rises to 1,135, confirmed infections hit 27,740
The Swiss death toll from the novel coronavirus has reached 1,135 people, the country’s public health agency said on Sunday, rising from 1,111 on Saturday.
The number of people showing positive tests for the disease increased to 27,740, it said, up from 27,404.
'I thought I would never wake up,' Belgian doctor says after surviving Covid-19
A Belgian urologist has spoken of his "incredible" experience, having survived Covid-19 and been discharged from intensive care after three weeks in a coma.
"I was seeing my end," Antoine Sassine said from his room at Brussels' Delta Chirec hospital, where he used to work. "I thought I was going to die and would never wake up."
Irish unlikely to see packed pubs, big gatherings soon: minister
Ireland is highly unlikely to allow large gatherings this year and the “cocooning” of people over 70 years old in their homes may persist for quite a while, Health Minister Simon Harris said on Sunday.
“What’s not going to come back quickly are scenarios in which we can’t safely socially distance,” Harris told the Sunday Independent newspaper in an interview.
“I can’t see how people can be in packed pubs again as long as this virus is still with us and we don’t have a vaccine or an effective treatment.”
Ireland’s chief medical officer declared on Thursday that the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak had been contained in the population at large.
Russia reports record daily rise in coronavirus cases
Russia on Sunday reported a record rise of 6,060 new coronavirus cases over the previous 24 hours, bringing its nationwide tally to 42,853, the Russian coronavirus crisis response center said.
The number of coronavirus cases in Russia began rising sharply this month, although it had reported far fewer infections than many western European countries in the outbreak’s early stages.
India's Maharashtra state allows some economic activity as national coronavirus cases top 15,000
India’s Maharashtra state, the country’s largest regional economy, will allow a limited number of sectors to resume business on Monday, after a weeks-long shutdown to slow the spread of coronavirus left millions out of work.
Maharashtra, home to financial centre Mumbai, has the biggest share of India’s caseload of 15,713 infections, including a large number now ripping through its densely-packed slums.
Iran extends prisoner furloughs, closure of holy sites amid coronavirus
Iran has extended furloughs for prisoners for another month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, as the Islamic Republic endeavors to stem the spread of the new coronavirus in its crowded jails.
Iran's reported temporary release of 100,000 prisoners since February - including prisoners of conscience and dual and foreign nationals - was welcomed by the United Nations on Friday as a good step, but one that must be expanded.
UK not thinking of easing virus lockdown measures yet: minister
Britain is not considering lifting the lockdown enacted almost four weeks ago to control the coronavirus outbreak given "deeply worrying" increases in the death toll, a senior minister said on Sunday.
Britain is at or near the peak of a health crisis in which more than 15,000 people have died - the fifth highest national death toll of a pandemic linked to at least 150,000 deaths worldwide.
Spain's coronavirus toll slows, with 410 deaths overnight: health ministry
Spain’s death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak rose by 410 on Sunday, down from 565 on Saturday, the Health Ministry said, bringing the total to 20,453 deaths in one of the world’s hardest hit countries.
The number of overall coronavirus cases rose to 195,944 on Sunday from 191,726 on Saturday, it added.
Indonesia confirms 327 new coronavirus cases, total 6,575
Indonesia reported 327 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the total number of infections to 6,575.
Health ministry official Achmad Yurianto also reported 47 new deaths, taking the total to 582.
The figures come a day after the chairman of the Indonesian Doctors Association said that the country’s actual death toll could be nearly twice the official numbers.
In response, Yurianto told reporters in an online briefing on Sunday to “avoid the added psychological burden of untrue news”.
Govt forms advisory committee to tackle Covid-19 spread
Bangladesh government has formed a national technical committee with 17 specialists to tackle the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19).
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare published a circular in this regard today.
30% of Covid-19 cases across India tied to Jamaat event
Around 30% of the total confirmed cases Covid-19 in India are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat event held in mid-March at Nizamuddin Markaz in New Delhi.
The health ministry said underlining how the event contributed significantly to the caseload of 23 states including those with high burden of the infection, reported Times of India.
Bangladesh confirms 7 more deaths from coronavirus, 312 new cases
Bangladesh today confirmed seven more deaths from the novel coronavirus and 312 new cases of infection in last 24 hours.
With this, the death toll from the deadly virus rises to 91 and the number of total infected person stands at 2,456.
"Some 2,634 samples were tested during the time," Health Minister Zahid Maleque said in a virtual briefing today.
Singapore reports 596 new coronavirus cases, taking total to 6,588
Singapore's health ministry confirmed 596 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, taking the total number of cases in the city-state to 6,588, Reuters reported.
The vast majority of the new cases are migrant workers living in dormitories and 25 are permanent residents, the health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Malaysia urges Dhaka to lift ban on Hydroxychloroquine export
Mentioning Hydroxychloroquine as an essential medicine to treat Covid-19 patients, Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has requested his Bangladesh counterpart Abdul Momen to withdraw the ban of exporting the medicine.
In a letter to Abdul Momen, Hishammuddin Hussein said his government is helping all the Bangladeshis living there to tackle the situation created by coronavirus and working closely with the Bangladeshi High Commission there.
He thanked Abdul Momen to help taking back the Malaysian citizens to their country and emphasized importance to work jointly to face the present situation, says a press release from Foreign Ministry.
South Korea relaxes some social distancing rules
South Korea extended its social distancing policy for another 15 days on Sunday but offered some relief for churches and sporting fixtures, as it reported just eight new coronavirus infections, the lowest in two months.
The slightly relaxed guidelines mean high-risk facilities like churches will no longer have to close, while sports matches such as soccer can resume without an audience, Reuters reported.
"It is safest to maintain the intensive social distancing, but it isn't easy realistically. We need to find a middle ground," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a televised meeting of government officials.
Coronavirus test begins in Bogura
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) lab has been started today in Bogura to detect coronavirus patients.
Now 94 blood samples can be tested at the lab daily, which was set up at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital, the principal of the college Dr Rezaul Alam Juwel said.
Panama holds 1,700 migrants in jungle due to coronavirus
Around 1,700 illegal migrants heading to the United States are being held in a jungle camp by Panama authorities after several cases of the new coronavirus were detected among them, an official source said.
They are being kept in La Penita, close to the Colombian border, in facilities designed to accommodate around 200 people, AFP reported.
“Seventeen migrants have been infected with the new coronavirus,” the official source said on condition of anonymity.
The infected people have already been removed from the camp.
Thailand reports 32 new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
Thailand on Sunday reported 32 new coronavirus cases, bringing its total to 2,765, a senior official said.
Of the new cases, 28 were in the capital, Bangkok, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
No new fatalities were reported. Thailand has had 47 deaths from the coronavirus, Reuters reported.
3 doctors of SBMC infected with coronavirus
Three doctors of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College (SBMC) have tested positive with the novel coronavirus. With this the number of patients in Barishal rises to 20.
Confirming the matter to The Business Standard, Director of the hospital Dr SM Bakir Hossain said, "One doctor of medicine department was working in corona unit and two intern doctors, who were treating their coronavirus infected roommate, a 5th year student of the college."
Germany's coronavirus cases rise by 2,458 to 139,897
Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases have risen by 2,458 to 139,897, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.
That was lower than a 3,609 increase reported on Saturday, by when cases of infections had been increasing for four days in a row, Reuters reported.
The reported death toll has risen by 184 to 4,294, the Sunday tally showed.
That was down from a day-on-day increase shown on Saturday of 242, and 299 on Friday.
No decision yet on easing or lifting flight restrictions: India
India has not yet taken a decision on when to lift or ease restrictions on domestic and international flights and urged airlines to take travel bookings only after a final decision is made, a government minister said.
The government announced a halt to domestic flights on March 23, ordering commercial airlines to shut down domestic operations on top of an existing ban on international flights to try and contain the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reported.
"The Ministry of Civil Aviation clarifies that so far no decision has been taken to open domestic or international operations," civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a tweet late on Saturday.
20-month-old baby tests positive for Covid-19 in Lakshmipur
A 20-month-old baby girl has tested positive with the novel coronavirus in Lakshmipur's Ramganj Kasim Nagar.
She is the youngest case of infection recorded so far in Bangladesh.
Australia calls for independent probe into global virus response
Australia on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, including the World Health Organization’s handling of the crisis.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the country would “insist” on a review that would probe, in part, China’s early response to the outbreak in Wuhan, the city where COVID-19 emerged late last year.
Payne said Australia shared similar concerns to the United States, whose President Donald Trump has accused the WHO of “mismanaging” the crisis and covering up the seriousness of China’s outbreak before it spread, AFP reported.
Pentagon extends travel restrictions through June 30
The US Defense Department said Saturday it would extend travel restrictions through June 30 in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus, but will allow for some redeployments and repatriation of troops serving abroad.
The new order will go into effect on Monday, Matthew Donovan, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, told reporters in a telephone briefing, AFP reported.
No sunbathing on Florida beaches
Some areas of Florida are beginning to reopen their beaches with restrictions: no sunbathing, no sitting in folding chairs, no coolers. Just walk, run, swim, fish or surf, AP reported.
To be clear, the state of Florida never closed the beaches along its 1,350 miles (2,173 kilometers) of shoreline, except in South Florida — a hot spot for coronavirus infections. Decisions on beach closures have been left in the hands of local governments, and when Gov Ron DeSantis issued a "safer at home" order on April 1, he specifically said walking, running and swimming were essential activities.
Canada, US extend border restrictions for 1 more month
Canada and the United States have agreed to extend border restrictions for another 30 days to help control the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday, Reuters reported.
Washington and Ottawa agreed last month to clamp down on non-essential travel while allowing trade to continue across their long shared frontier during the coronavirus outbreak.
The restrictions were due to expire next week. Trudeau said the agreement is unchanged, and he expected shipments of medical supplies such as masks to continue to cross the border.
Italy's daily coronavirus death toll lowest since April 12
Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 482 on Saturday, the lowest daily increase since April 12, while the number of new cases was stable at 3,491, the Civil Protection Agency said.
The death toll had risen by 575 on Friday, up from 525 the day before, with 3,493 new cases recorded.
The daily tallies of deaths and cases extend the broadly stable situation in place over the last 13 days, Reutrers reported.
Director of Wuhan lab denies virus link
The director of a maximum-security laboratory in China's coronavirus ground-zero city of Wuhan has rejected claims that it could be the source of the outbreak, calling it "impossible".
Beijing has come under increasing pressure over transparency in its handling of the pandemic, with the US probing whether the virus actually originated in a virology institute with a high-security biosafety laboratory.
In an interview with state media published Saturday Yuan Zhiming, director of the laboratory, said that "there's no way this virus came from us".
Taiwan reports 22 new coronavirus cases, mostly navy sailors
Taiwan's government on Sunday reported 22 new coronavirus cases, 21 of whom had been on a Taiwanese navy mission to the Pacific island state of Palau last month.
The new cases bring Taiwan's total to 420, six of whom have died, Reuters reported.
China's new coronavirus cases fall, eyes on northeastern province
China reported 16 new confirmed coronavirus cases on April 18, the lowest since March 17 and down from 27 a day earlier, according to data published on Sunday.
Despite the declines in new confirmed cases, authorities are still on guard against a major resurgence, which could be socially and economically destabilising, Reuters reported.
Notably, the northeastern province of Heilongjiang has seen a surge in infected travellers arriving from Russia in recent weeks, and is now battling to contain a flare-up in local cases.
US records 1,891 coronavirus deaths in past 24 hours
The coronavirus death toll in the United States climbed by 1,891 in the past 24 hours to reach 38,664 on Saturday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The US has seen a total of 732,197 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the global health crisis, according to the Baltimore-based university.
It is the highest number of virus cases and deaths of any country in the world, AFP reported
Also Saturday, coronavirus deaths surged past 100,000 in Europe, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the 157,539 fatalities worldwide.
Turkey records 121 new coronavirus deaths
The Turkish health minister on Saturday said 121 more people have died of coronavirus, as the death toll rose to 1,890, AP reported.
FahrettinKoca shared the figures on Twitter, saying 3,783 more people were infected with the coronavirus. The total number of confirmed infections is 82,329.
"Despite an increase in tests, there's a decrease in number of new cases," Koca tweeted and urged: "Precaution, treatment." Nearly 600,000 people have been tested so far, according to the figures.
He also said 1,822 patients had recovered in the past 24 hours, bringing that number to 10,453.
French coronavirus deaths top 19,000
France registered 642 more deaths from coronavirus infections on Saturday, although fatalities increased at a slower pace for the third day running and a downward trend in the number of people in hospital continued.
France has the world's fourth-highest tally of deaths from the outbreak with 19,323, after the United States, Italy and Spain.
The total death tally - which included 11,842 fatalities in hospitals and another 7,481 in nursing homes - rose by 3.4%, the third day running that the pace of increase has slowed, Reuters reported.
France has been in virtual lockdown since March 17 as part of efforts to curb the outbreak.
Israel to ease some coronavirus restrictions
Israel will gradually ease its coronavirus lockdown from Sunday by letting some businesses reopen and relaxing curbs on movement after a slowdown in infection rates, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Authorities have steadily tightened a partial lockdown imposed on March 14, shuttering offices, closing schools and ordering people to stay mostly at home.
The measures have battered Israel's economy, forced many businesses to close and sent unemployment above 25%, Reuters reported.
Israel has reported at least 164 deaths and nearly 13,300 cases of COVID-19, as of Saturday evening.
Worldwide coronavirus cases exceed 2.31mn, death toll crosses 158,300
More than 2.31 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 158,384 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
Spain's PM to seek longer but more flexible lockdown
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday he would ask parliament for a 15-day extension until May 9 of the lockdown imposed in one of the world's worst coronavirus' outbreaks, but said the restrictions would be more flexible, Reuters reported.
Spain's death toll from the coronavirus rose at a slower pace on Saturday but surpassed 20,000 fatalities, the Health Ministry said. It increased by 565 deaths, down from 585 on Friday, while the number of coronavirus cases rose to 191,726 from 188,068.
Spain began this week to ease a strict lockdown imposed on March 14 by opening up some sectors of the economy, including manufacturing. But most people are still confined to their homes except for essential outings such as food shopping, and not even children are allowed out for exercise.
S Korea's new virus cases fall to single digits for first time in two months
South Korea on Sunday reported single digit new coronavirus cases for the first day in two months with eight new infections.
Of the new cases, five were imported from overseas, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said. The death toll rose to 234.
It was the first time since February 18 that South Korea reported a single digit daily rise. The figure brings its total infections to 10,661, Reuters reported.
Trump warns China could face consequences for virus outbreak
US President Donald Trump warned China on Saturday that it should face consequences if it was "knowingly responsible" for the coronavirus pandemic, as he ratcheted up criticism of Beijing over its handling of the outbreak, Reuters reported.
"It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn't, and the whole world is suffering because of it," Trump told a daily White House briefing.
It was the latest US volley in a war of words between the world's two biggest economies, showing increased strains in relations at a time when experts say an unprecedented level of cooperation is needed to deal with the coronavirus crisis.
