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Coronavirus pandemic - World News

Japan reports biggest daily jump in Covid-19 cases as emergency begins

Japan recorded 503 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, its biggest daily increase since the start of the pandemic, as a state of emergency took effect but commuters still crowded some trains into Tokyo despite government calls to stay at home, Reuters reports.

The jump in new Covid-19 cases, including 144 in the capital, underscored the struggle of Japanese authorities to contain the outbreak without imposing a sweeping, mandatory lockdown on the population as most countries overseas have done.
 
Italy recorded another drop in daily deaths, down to 542 - the lowest number since Sunday and far below the record rise of 919 on 27 March. The number of people in intensive care in the country also fell. And while its total number of confirmed cases rose slightly day-on-day, the country performed more tests compared with Tuesday

Despite 16 hours of talks, EU finance ministers still could not agree how to tackle the economic fallout from the outbreak. Frans Timmermans, currently European Commission First Vice President, said “the EU as we know it will not survive this” if a solution can’t be found – read more here

France’s flagship, the nuclear-power aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, is returning to port after a number of sailors came down with coronavirus symptoms. A medical team is en route to test them and help stop any potential spread on board

The outbreak is affecting religious ceremonies across Europe with Easter coming up this weekend. While German courts have stepped in to stop some Catholics who tried to attend services, a church in Poland has introduced drive-in confessions
 
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will chair cabinet today, his first appearance at work since he began working from home on 12 March.

He was instructed to self-isolate for 14 days because his wife Sophie came down with coronavirus, but he continued to work from his residence.

He will continue working mostly from home, but says he will attend government meetings in person if he thinks it's important.

His meeting today will tackle the "next steps" in his government's plan to fight the spread coronavirus and ease its economic effects.

He says he hopes Parliament will begin meeting virtually, so that MPs whose families do not live in the region can attend.

Parliament has been suspended, except for brief sessions to pass emergency legislation, since the coronavirus crisis began.
 
Coronavirus bursting Israeli ultra-Orthodox fatal bubble

I know, most of you are too lazy to read anything with more than three lines, so I always bold out the interesting bit, just for you. <3

Coronavirus bursting Israeli ultra-Orthodox fatal bubble

Most Israelis have been holed up in their homes for the past few weeks and isolated from the rest of the world. Yet even as the directives of the Ministry of Health became increasingly stringent, a significant part of the ultra-Orthodox community and leadership continued living in denial. The Israeli media spent many long days reporting about instructions given by the leader of the Lithuanian faction of the ultra-Orthodox community, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky. He had ordered his followers not to stop yeshiva studies or prayer quorums, and to continue with large weddings and funerals with numerous participants. In fact, these continued to take place in Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem. It is hard to imagine, but while this was going on, Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman, himself the representative of the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox community in the government and a member of the Gur Hasidic sect, asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to exempt synagogues from the closure order and to allow the ultra-Orthodox to continue praying in a quorum as is their custom.

That's why no one was surprised when the densely populated ultra-Orthodox towns and neighborhoods became hotspots for the spread of the coronavirus and home to the highest number of people infected. And yet, even after the ultra-Orthodox community recognized the danger inherent in this pandemic, underground "minyanim" (prayer quorums of 10 people at least) continued to take place, with lookouts warning worshippers if the police were coming. Ultra-Orthodox children playing in the streets even coughed on the police and called them Nazis. According to various testimonies, Litzman himself, who has the virus that causes COVID-19, continued to pray in a synagogue quorum despite the directives of the very ministry he heads.

Friction between civil authorities and the ultra-Orthodox community has never been as serious as it is now. With the number of coronavirus carriers in Bnei Brak soaring, the government declared the city a "restricted zone" on April 2. Thus, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been forced to enter the largest and most densely populated ultra-Orthodox city in order to restore order and assist residents sequestered in their homes, in many cases without enough food or medication.

In the early hours of April 6, the Cabinet adopted by phone a decision to allow the government to close off more cities and neighborhoods in Israel and the West Bank. Thus, the government imposed closure over eight secular and ultra-Orthodox cities and over 15 Orthodox/ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem. DF troops started patrolling the streets of ultra-Orthodox urban centers such as Elad, Modi’in Ilit and the Meah Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem.

According to news reports, the Israeli economy will not be able to function until the situation in ultra-Orthodox towns and neighborhoods stabilizes. This is causing the sociopolitical situation to become more violent and extreme than ever. Anyone who attacks the ultra-Orthodox leadership or public is subject to retaliation, often being called “Nazi” and “anti-Semite.” On the other side of the divide, every ultra-Orthodox Jew is automatically considered a “lawbreaker” and “spreader of the disease.”

Obviously, the truth is much more complicated than these mutual accusations. This is because it is not just about the coronavirus. It is part of a much larger story concerning the relationship between the State of Israel and the ultra-Orthodox. The ultra-Orthodox community received an unusual degree of autonomy in Israel, under the aegis of politicians from the right and the left. It is the inevitable outcome of their enormous political power. In private, politicians from across the political spectrum admit that they prefer to have the ultra-Orthodox in their coalitions, because “it is easier to close a deal with them.” In exchange for full social, educational and religious autonomy and generous funding for their educational institutions and yeshivas, they provide the other parties with the seats they need, and rarely make problems (especially as compared to the other members of the coalition). No one knows exactly how this can be changed either. There are no plans to get the ultra-Orthodox to agree to teaching a core curriculum in their schools, serving in the IDF or holding a job.

Over the years, there has been a growth in the number of citizens who get no training for life in the modern world. They don’t learn math or English; they don’t go near chemistry, biology or physics; and they don’t know how to use a computer. Not all of them become yeshiva students dedicating their lives to studying the Torah, yet even those who are unfit for that kind of life cannot serve in the army or work. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, less than 50% of ultra-Orthodox men were considered employed in November 2018. This figure includes those who work part-time or even just one day a month. As a result, they don’t meet the minimum requirements to pay taxes and they are not part of Israel’s contributing population.

This public is used to living in poverty and making do with little. In times of crisis or disaster, however, this little is not enough. Their refusal to cooperate with law enforcement, even in severe cases of pedophilia and domestic violence, is damaging to ultra-Orthodox society itself. Though it is not all the ultra-Orthodox, a good part of the community rejects the State of Israel and its institutions altogether, and regards them with hostility. Yes, they must be tolerated, but they must still stay away from them like fire. There is a kind of "iron curtain," which the ultra-Orthodox leadership built to separate their community from the country at large. These leaders, the "gedoilim" (the sages), are the important rabbis who run this world according to their own rules, with the help of ultra-Orthodox politicians, journalists and wheeler-dealers. All of this is intended to maintain their political power and wield it as they please. We should keep in mind that most of the ultra-Orthodox community does not watch television or access internet. Many of them heard about the pandemic when cars fitted with loudspeakers started making rounds of ultra-Orthodox towns and neighborhoods to inform them.

What this coronavirus pandemic has shown clearly is that despite the physical and metaphysical barriers that the ultra-Orthodox have built around themselves (entry into some ultra-Orthodox cities is banned from Friday evening until the end of the Sabbath), it is all worthless, because this virus doesn’t recognize any boundaries. What happens in Bnei Brak has an impact on Nazareth and Tel Aviv, according to head of the Arab Joint List Ayman Odeh. If there is a significant outbreak in ultra-Orthodox Elad or Bnei Brak, all the other sick people in Israel will suffer as a result of it. And when the virus starts spreading quickly, the unbelievable happens, and IDF soldiers are posted to those very neighborhoods where people are adamant about refusing to let their own sons serve in the military.

The relationship between the ultra-Orthodox public and the state authorities must undergo a significant shift once the coronavirus crisis is over. The bubble in which the ultra-Orthodox have lived for so long just burst.

There are already signs of internal criticism, and this could well get much louder as Israel approaches the highpoint of this pandemic, which, according to the Ministry of Health, has yet to come. It is very important that the ultra-Orthodox community, part of which has been undergoing a gradual process of emancipation over the last few years, realizes that the people keeping it from obtaining knowledge are also keeping it from power and from making educated decisions. No less important is the idea that Israeli politicians must realize that the very existence of a state within a state is unconscionable and was wrong from the outset. The ultra-Orthodox leadership’s insistence on taking things to the extreme — inciting against the state on the one hand and forcing it to accept its priorities on the other, all the while sucking up vast budgets — has brought Israel to where it is today.

Not everyone realizes the scope of this tragedy. Once the crisis is over and the full picture becomes clear, civil authorities and the ultra-Orthodox community must engage each other in a new dialogue, based on respect of the law as it exists in Israel, cooperation with state institutions and a fundamental change in attitudes toward the state among the ultra-Orthodox public.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/or...-draft-coronavirus-yeshiva.html#ixzz6J2nLKWo4
 
Everybody thinks, they, their holy books and their holy places are something special.

Coronavirus the great equalizer, by Sirris:

Criticize a Mullah, they call you a Kafir!
Criticize a Jew, get labelled as a Nazi!

No matter the holy man, they all react the same
Here's my holy prediction, where is my fame

Don't close my Synagoge, don't close my Masjid!
Keeping my Church open, no virus shall enter my place of worship!

It's their God's Warth onto others, they were laughing
they were so assured, until they themselves started coughing...
 
BREAKING: Number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reached 1,500,000 worldwide.
 
Brazil turns to local industry to build ventilators as China supplies fail

Brazil’s Health Minister Luis Henrique Mandetta said on Wednesday that the country’s attempts to purchase medical supplies from China to fight the coronavirus epidemic were failing and the government is turning to Brazilian companies to make ventilators.

Mandetta reported the first case of coronavirus among the Yanomami people on the country’s largest reservation and said the government plans to build a field hospital for indigenous communities that are vulnerable to contagion.

Confirmed cases of coronavirus soared to 15,927 on Wednesday, with the death toll rising by 133 in just 24 hours to 800, the ministry said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...as-china-purchases-fall-through-idUSKCN21Q393
 
Portugal suspends water, electricity shutoffs and releases some prisoners amid coronavirus outbreak

Portugal’s parliament temporarily suspended electricity, water and gas shutoffs and granted partial pardon to some of its prisoners on Wednesday as the country moved to contain the economic and social damage of the coronavirus outbreak.

Until a month after the end of the state of emergency, called on March 18 to prevent the spread of coronavirus and extended last week to at least April 17, electricity, water, and gas cannot be shut off, easing pressure on Portuguese families struggling to pay their bills.

Government data shows over 4,000 people registering at job centres per day in the first week of April and an increase in unemployment of 28,000 in March as the country’s export-driven, tourism-dependent economy reels from the sudden drop in demand.

Also on Wednesday, parliament voted to grant partial pardon to prisoners with pre-existing health conditions, up to two-year sentences or less than two years left behind bars, in a move aimed at decongesting prisons to minimise risk in the event of an outbreak.

Prisoners given sentences longer than six months who have served a quarter of their time, normally allowed three days leave, will be granted 45 days.

“The virus would spread like a fuse in a prison,” justice minister Francisca Van Dunem said. “A decent state does not leave any of its citizens behind, even if they are prisoners.”

Those convicted of homicide, sexual violence, physical abuse, or association with criminal networks will remain in prison, as well as anyone who committed a crime while in public office, from politicians to police officers.

Portugal, currently in its third week of a nationwide state of emergency, has so far reported 13,141 confirmed coronavirus cases and 380 deaths, a relatively low toll, especially compared with neighbouring Spain and Italy.

Earlier on Wednesday, hotel association AHP reported that around 85% of hotel workers in Portugal will be temporarily laid off in April due to the impact the coronavirus is having on the country’s economy.

AHP also said the hotel industry could lose 80% to 90% of its revenues, or up to 1.4 billion euros between March and June if the novel coronavirus continues to spread.

Portugal attracts millions of foreign visitors annually, and the tourism sector, accounting for nearly 15% of gross domestic product, helped it to recover from the 2010-14 debt crisis.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...oners-amid-coronavirus-outbreak-idUSKCN21Q38F
 
Police are investigating why the Ruby Princess allowed ill passengers to disembark in Sydney
At least 15 passengers have since died - nearly a third of Australia's total
'Ships have a black box very similar to international planes,' police said
The World Health Organization has defended itself after criticism from Donald Trump
'We are close to every nation,' says its head, after 'China-centric' accusations
UK PM Boris Johnson remains in intensive care but condition 'improving'
 
Cases continue to decline in New Zealand

New Zealand is now into its 15th day in lockdown, and its number of virus cases appear to be steadily decreasing.

There were just 29 new cases confirmed today - the lowest in two weeks - following 50 on Wednesday, 54 on Tuesday and 67 on Monday.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern thanked fellow Kiwis for staying home, saying "you are breaking the chain of transmission and you did it for each other... you have saved lives".

She also announced stricter quarantine measures for all people arriving from overseas. They will now go straight to a managed facility rather than being allowed home.
 
Italy could ease lockdown by end of month: PM

Italy could ease lockdown measures as early as the end of the month, its prime minister Giuseppe Conte said in his first interview with UK broadcasters since the outbreak exploded.

He told the BBC that if "scientists [confirmed] it, we might begin to relax some measures already by the end of the month", adding that this was something that would have to be done gradually.
 
Italy's prime minister has told the BBC that the European Union risks failing as a project in the coronavirus crisis.

Giuseppe Conte says the EU must act in an adequate and co-ordinated way to help countries worst hit by the virus.

Mr Conte says the European Union needs to rise to the challenge of what he calls "the biggest test since the Second World War".

This was his first interview with the UK broadcast media since the pandemic exploded in Italy seven weeks ago.

He was speaking as Italy and some other EU countries try to push more frugal members of the bloc to issue so-called "corona bonds" - sharing debt that all EU nations would help to pay off. The Netherlands in particular has opposed the idea, leading to a clash between finance ministers of the eurozone.

The Italian prime minister told the BBC that Europe's leaders were "facing an appointment with history" that they could not miss.

"If we do not seize the opportunity to put new life into the European project, the risk of failure is real."

The infection rate in Italy is slowing - the latest figures show positive cases increasing from the previous day by a little over 1%. Two weeks ago, the rise was 7%.

The death toll too shows signs of falling, from 919 a fortnight ago to 542 fatalities in the past 24 hours. But Giuseppe Conte warned Italy not to lower its guard and said that the national lockdown, imposed on 9 March, could only be eased gradually.

"We need to pick sectors that can restart their activity. If scientists confirm it, we might begin to relax some measures already by the end of this month."

Mr Conte has won plaudits for his government's handling of the crisis - a recent poll by Demos showed his approval rating surging from 46% to 71%. But critics contend that the restrictions announced in the first few days were slow and piecemeal.

He initially resisted a push by some politicians in Lombardy, the northern region worst hit by the outbreak, to impose tighter measures more quickly. When a delegation from the Chinese Red Cross came to Milan in mid-March, they lambasted what they saw as Italy's lax lockdown.

But the prime minister defended his government's action.

"Going back, I would do the same", he said. "We have a completely different system to China. For us to severely limit constitutional freedoms was a critical decision that we had to consider very carefully. If I had suggested a lockdown or limits on constitutional rights at the start, when there were the first clusters, people would have taken me for a madman."

Italy maintains that one of the reasons behind the large number of cases here is that it has performed more tests than many other western countries.

While Britain is now averaging around 14,000 tests per day, Italy's testing level is around double that figure. In the past day, it has carried out more than 50,000 tests.

Mr Conte refused to criticise directly any other country for testing too lightly - but he compared it to "coping with the situation in the dark".

The slowing of the infection rate is gradually easing pressure in intensive care units, though in Lombardy and some other areas, they remain close to capacity.

And the toll on Italy's medics has been immense - nearly 100 doctors have died.

Providing some backup have been countries including China, Cuba and Russia, which have sent medical teams and supplies.

Moscow has capitalised on the initiative for its public relations, adding a message "from Russia with love" to the plane of equipment. Russian state television broadcasting footage of an Italian man replacing an EU flag with a Russian one.

Asked whether Russia's aid to Italy had conditions attached, possibly including the Italian government supporting lifting EU sanctions on Moscow, Mr Conte hit back.

"The mere insinuation offends me deeply", he said. "It's an offence to the Italian government… and also to Vladimir Putin, who would never dream of using this as leverage."

The fact is that Italy needs all the friends it can get at the moment, with latest forecasts suggesting the outbreak will lead its economy to contract by more than 11% and national debt to rise to unsustainable levels.

The prime minister called it an "economic and social emergency" that was testing the financial structure of every country. In southern Italy, there have been isolated cases of supermarkets being raided. Four weeks into the nationwide lockdown, patience is being tested.

And as this crisis grinds on, Italians are growing exhausted with the daily loss of hundreds of lives. There may be hope that the worst of the outbreak is behind them - but it will take a generation to recover.

"I feel the pain of the gaping wound that this nation is experiencing", Mr Conte said. "Behind the numbers are names and surnames, life stories and broken families. The Italian nation is suffering."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52224838
 
Here are the countries with the most positive tests to date:

US 432,132

Spain 148,220

Italy 139,422

Germany 113,296

France 83,080

China 82, 867

Iran 64,586

UK 61,474

Turkey 38,226

Belgium 23,403
 
MenInG said:
Cases continue to decline in New Zealand

New Zealand is now into its 15th day in lockdown, and its number of virus cases appear to be steadily decreasing.

There were just 29 new cases confirmed today - the lowest in two weeks - following 50 on Wednesday, 54 on Tuesday and 67 on Monday.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern thanked fellow Kiwis for staying home, saying "you are breaking the chain of transmission and you did it for each other... you have saved lives".

She also announced stricter quarantine measures for all people arriving from overseas. They will now go straight to a managed facility rather than being allowed home.
Click to expand...

Proof that a well administered lockdown is the solution.

Americans claim that they can't have a full lockdown and get the police and military involved, because they are a democracy and that would be taking away the peoples freedom. Well America ranks 25th on the democratic index rankings, NZ ranks 4th. USA isn't even considered a full democracy, it's classed as a flawed democracy.
 
Spain death toll passes 15,000, but new cases fall

The number of coronavirus deaths in Spain has risen to 15,238, but there is hope as the rate of new infections appears to be slowing.

According to Thursday's figures, the number of recorded cases rose by 5,756 in the past 24 hours, down from the rise of 6,180 reported on Wednesday.

The figure represents a return to a daily decrease in new cases. New infections had been declining for four consecutive days until the numbers rose again on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Thursday's figures also showed a drop in the number of deaths.

Parliament is debating an extension to Spain's lockdown, but the prime minister has suggested the situation is beginning to be brought under control.
 
Japan reports biggest daily rise in cases

There were more than 500 new virus cases in Japan on Wednesday, its biggest daily increase since the start of the outbreak, the health ministry said on Thursday.

The 503 cases, including 144 in the capital Tokyo, bring the total number of cases in the country to 5,002.

The figures come a day after the country imposed a state of emergency across several provinces and cities, including Tokyo.

But pictures from our reporters on the ground yesterday showed large groups of people gathering in smoking areas, and commuters still heading to work as per normal.
 
Cases of novel coronavirus in Russia surge past 10,000 after record daily rise

Russia on Thursday reported a record one-day rise in cases of novel coronavirus, pushing the official tally to more than 10,000, a day after President Vladimir Putin said the coming weeks would prove decisive in the fight against the virus.
 
Brazil's health minister has told local officials to talk with drug lords and gang leaders about how to stop the spread of coronavirus. Luiz Henrique Mandetta said that the authorities had to be realistic about who was in power in poor neighbourhoods. "We have to understand that these are areas where the state is often absent and the ones in charge are drug traffickers," he said. "They are human beings, too, and they need to help." Eight hundred people have died of Covid-19 in Brazil - the highest number of confirmed cases in Latin America.

Bolivia is "cutting off" Montero for 12 days from Thursday as it fears that the city of 120,000 inhabitants is at the centre of the pandemic. No one will be allowed in or out of the city and residents will be confined to their homes except for one day set aside for essential food shopping. Helicopters will patrol the city from the air.

Panamanians will have to spend Easter Saturday and Sunday in lockdown after the security minister declared a "total quarantine". But the Catholic Church has found novel ways to deliver blessings to its followers. Last Sunday, Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa took to the skies in a helicopter with a statue of the Virgin, to the delight of the faithful.
 
A further 6.6 million people file for unemployment benefits in the US

Confirmed coronavirus cases around the world pass 1.5 million, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University

Almost 90,000 people have died with the virusIn Spain, the death toll has risen to 15,238 but the rate of infection appears to be slowing

The World Health Organization has defended itself after criticism from Donald Trump

The European Union risks failing as a project in the crisis, Italy's PM tells the BBC

UK PM Boris Johnson remains in intensive care but condition "improving"Some European countries cautiously start to ease lockdown measures
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for solidarity and talks chairman Mario Centeno says they are very close to a deal, after the first attempt lasted 16 hours and ended in stalemate

Italy’s daily number of deaths rose to 610 on Thursday, up from 542 the day before, with day-to-day confirmed cases also rising

The death toll in Italy's the worst hit region, Lombardy, has now passed 10,000 - a grim reminder the crisis is far from over.

The Italian data comes after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told the BBC his country “might begin to relax some measures” in its lockdown in the coming weeks, depending on scientific advice

Other leaders have also sounded cautiously optimistic about the outbreak. Spain's PM Pedro Sánchez told MPs that “the fire is starting to come under control”

However, there is widespread concern about Easter – the most important festival in the Christian calendar, which will this year see the Pope livestream a service from the Vatican - with countries from Poland to Portugal announcing even tighter restrictions to stop people celebrating together
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the "slight flattening" of the country's coronavirus curve offers some "cautious hope".

The number of confirmed infections in Germany rose by 4,974 in the past 24 hours to 108,202, climbing for the third straight day after four previous days of drops. There have been 2,107 deaths.

Merkel said: "I can say that the latest numbers on the spread of the virus give reason for cautious hope.

"The curve is flattening slightly. And the number of those infected is going slightly down. We can be very happy about that."
 
Austria says EU deal should not be a back door to coronabonds

A deal struck by European Union finance ministers on Thursday evening should not lead to the introduction of coronabonds through the back door, fiscal hawk Austria’s Finance Minister Gernot Bluemel said in a statement.

“For us it was and is important that the current crisis not serve as a back door for a mutualisation of debt through euro bonds. With this agreement the countries affected can be helped in a targeted way without damaging the euro area’s stability in the long term,” he said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...t-be-a-back-door-to-coronabonds-idUSKCN21R3HK
 
Millions of Christians to mark Good Friday under lockdown
In New York, deaths increase, but new hospital admissions fall again
China reports a fall in imported cases after more border closures
Singapore sees another sharp rise in cases, though the total remains relatively low
South Korea's Daegu, the centre of the country’s outbreak, reports no new cases for the first time
The number of deaths worldwide approaches 100,000
Meanwhile, the US State Department continues its criticism of WHO
UK PM Boris Johnson is out of intensive care
 
Hungary reports biggest daily rise in virus cases

Hungary's confirmed coronavirus cases have increased by 210 to 1,190, the largest daily increase since the outbreak of the virus, Reuters reported citing government data.

At least 77 people have died so far, according to the government.

The increase in the number of cases includes 151 infections in an old people's home in Budapest, of whom seven people had died.
 
Global virus death toll passes 94,000

Another day of the coronavirus pandemic saw the global death toll pass 94,000, although there were tentative signs of hope that the crisis was peaking in the United States and Europe, AFP reported.

Another 1,700 people died in the United States while there were hundreds more deaths across Europe, driving the confirmed global toll above 94,000.

Nearly half of all pandemic fatalities have occurred over the past week.

But authorities in Europe and the United States said a slight decline in daily deaths and infections gave reason to hope the worst could be over.
 
One hundred Italian doctors have died after contracting coronavirus since the pandemic reached the Mediterranean country in February, Italy's FNOMCeO health association said on Thursday.

"The number of doctors who have died because of COVID-19 is 100 - perhaps even 101 at the moment, unfortunately," a spokesman for the association told AFP.

The toll includes retired doctors who the government began calling in a month ago to help fight a virus that has officially claimed a world-topping 17,669 lives in Italy.

Italian media reports estimate that 30 nurses and nursing assistants have also died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

"We can longer allow our doctors, our health workers, to be sent to fight without any protection against the virus," FNOMCeO president Filippo Anelli said on the association's website.

"It is an unfair fight."

Rome's ISS public health institute estimates that 10 percent of those infected with the novel coronavirus in Italy work in healthcare.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/italian-doctors-died-coronavirus-200409211435347.html
 
Here's the latest from around Europe

Europe's finance ministers have welcomed a late-night €500bn (£430bn) rescue package for workers, businesses, and governments caught up in the coronavirus crisis. Germany says it shows Europe's strength and solidarity and Italy calls it ambitious. In other developments:

Russia has recorded its biggest daily increase in infections, with 1,786 new cases and 18 deaths, bringing the total to 94. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin says the city is "at the foothills" of the disease, not the peak

Seventy people who were among around 100 at a birthday party in Sweden in early March fell ill, according to Dagens Nyheter newspaper

In France, two specially-equipped high-speed TGV trains will transfer another 50 patients out of the Paris region for treatment at hospitals in the south-west

A Roma (Gypsy) settlement of 3,000 people in Greece has been put under strict quarantine after 13 people tested positive for the virus

Moscow zoo says its two giant pandas, Ru Yi and Ding Ding, have been missing their daily human visits since the city went into lockdown
 
Spanish health officials say a further 605 people with COVID-19 have died in the country bringing total recorded deaths to 15,843 with the total number of recorded cases rising by 4,576 to 157,022
 
Spain is second only to Italy in the number of deaths in the coronavirus pandemic.

It has reported another 605 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking its official total to 15,843. But that figure for new deaths is the lowest for 17 days and a further sign that the outbreak is past its peak in Spain. The country's state of alert has been in place since 14 March and the mortality rate peaked in early April.

Spain has seen 157,022 cases, more than Italy, and yet the daily rate of increase in new infections recorded - 4,576 - is also down to 3%. That's the lowest since the outbreak started, the El País newspaper reports. Over 55,000 patients have recovered. A look at the health ministry map shows the spread of infections per 100,000 people in the past two weeks. The Madrid region is worst affected.
 
Belgium sees highest daily death toll so far

Belgium has reported 496 new deaths in the past 24 hours, its deadliest day so far, bringing the number of fatalities to 3,019.

The number appears very high for a country of 11.4 million, however around half the number of fatalities have been recorded outside Belgium's hospitals, largely in care homes, and many of the latest deaths happened last month.

Geert Meyfroidt, president of the Belgian Society of Intensive Care Medicine, has told the BBC that the number is so high because Belgium counts all suspected cases of Covid-19 as well as confirmed cases. "In most other countries, they only count those who have tested positive."

He also said the number of deaths in care homes was barely higher than normal.

The situation in Belgium's hospitals and intensive care units appears to have stabilised, according to local health authorities.
 
Hospitals and ambulance services in Moscow are at risk of being overwhelmed after a steep rise in coronavirus cases, a senior city official has said.

Anastasia Rakova, Moscow’s deputy mayor, issued the warning as Russia recorded its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases, jumping by 1,786 to almost 12,000. The national death toll stands at 94.

The numbers are expected to rise significantly now as officials have begun including all patients showing obvious symptoms of the infection in their statistics, arguing that coronavirus tests are too often mistaken.

The majority of coronavirus patients are in the capital, the epicentre of the outbreak in Russia. The number of hospital admissions in Moscow has doubled in the past few days, Rakova said.

The deputy mayor said almost all new patients had pneumonia, brought on by coronavirus. She warned that both hospitals and the ambulance service were stretched to their limit.

That is clear from the first-hand accounts of medics, who are beginning to talk of a non-stop flow of ambulances and of overflowing wards.

The Russian capital has been in lockdown since the end of March, with residents only allowed out for essential work, or to the nearest shop.
 
A 15-year-old member of the Yanomami indigenous group has died in the northern Brazilian state of Roraima, local authorities say.

Rights groups have raised concerns about the possible impact of the virus on indigenous people, and say two other people from different tribes have already died though this has not been officially confirmed. Across the country, there have been 17,857 confirmed cases and 941 deaths.

In other developments in Latin America:

Also in Brazil, the iconic Copacabana Palace hotel in Rio de Janeiro will close its doors for the first time in its 97-year history. Occupancy fell to around 30% amid measures in the state that include the closure of most shops and all beaches. A strong critic of those restrictions, President Jair Bolsonaro has threatened to issue a national decree ordering all businesses to re-open

In Ecuador, prisoners will start making coffins to help cover a shortage in the city of Guayaquil, where some families were forced to bury their relatives in cardboard boxes donated by private companies. The city is one of the worst-hit in the region and, last month, bodies were left in the streets as authorities were unable to handle the high number of deaths. The country has confirmed 4,965 cases with 272 deaths

The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) has warned that Nicaragua's refusal to take actions such as travel restrictions or social distancing could spark a regional outbreak. “We have concerns for the lack of social distancing, the convening of mass gatherings. We have concerns about the testing, contact tracing, about the reporting of cases," said the body's director, Dr Carissa Etienne.
 
I hope after all of this is over there are far-reaching sanctions and penalties on China with a few slap on the wrists. I know Pakistan is deeply aligned with China but the actions of their citizens have sent the whole world into misery and guess what they do this every few years. I don't know why can't they stick to traditional meats, why do they have to branch out and consume all sorts of filth. Our poor country was already struggling and now thanks to Chinese virus we will go into full on recession.
 
Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has announced an extension of the country's covid-19 lockdown, which was supposed to end on 13 April, until Sunday 3 May
 
France has reported 987 more deaths of people who had coronavirus.
The total death toll in France has now risen to 13,197.
However, the number of patients in intensive care fell for the second day in a row, top health official Jérôme Salomon told reporters, describing the trend as a “ray of sunshine”.
Deaths increased by 554 to 8,598 in hospitals and by 433 to 4,599 in homes for the elderly and dependant, he said.
France has the third highest coronavirus death toll in the world, surpassed only by Spain and Italy.
A tally by Johns Hopkins University says there are more than 118,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in France, the fifth highest in the world.
 
Uruguay to repatriate Australians and New Zealanders from coronavirus-hit cruise ship

Uruguay on Saturday will repatriate 112 Australians and New Zealanders from a cruise ship that has been stranded in the La Plata River near capital Montevideo since March 27, the government of the small South American country said.

The operation is to begin Friday evening when the ship is scheduled to dock in the Port of Montevideo. The Greg Mortimer is an Antarctic cruise ship operated by Aurora Expeditions.

The passengers, most of whom have tested positive for the coronavirus, are to be bussed to a special airport terminal with strict health controls. They are scheduled to board a Melbourne-bound charter flight in the early morning hours of Saturday.

The “humanitarian corridor” will allow the 96 Australians and 16 New Zealanders to return to their homes but will not include passengers of other nationalities, who will remain on the ship pending negotiations with their home nations.

Among them are Americans, British, Jamaicans and people from various European countries, according to Uruguay’s Foreign Ministry.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...rom-coronavirus-hit-cruise-ship-idUSKCN21S21M
 
Global coronavirus death toll hits 100,000, cases over 1.6 million

The number of deaths linked to the novel coronavirus reached 100,000 on Friday, as the tally of cases passed 1.6 million, according to a Reuters tally.

The first death came in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Jan. 9. It took 83 days for the first 50,000 deaths to be recorded and just eight more for the toll to climb to 100,000.

The toll has been accelerating at a daily rate of between 6% and 10% over the past week, and there were almost 7,300 deaths globally reported on Thursday.

The death toll now compares with that of London’s Great Plague in the mid-1660s, which killed an estimated 100,000 people, about a third of the city’s population at the time.

But it is still far short of the so-called Spanish flu, which began in 1918 and is estimated to have killed more than 20 million people by the time it petered out in 1920.

The novel coronavirus is believed to have emerged in a Wuhan market where wild animals were sold late last year. It quickly spread through China and around the world.

Much remains to be determined about it, including just how lethal it is. Estimates vary widely.

Friday’s figures - 100,000 deaths of out 1.6 million cases - would suggest a fatality rate of 6.25% but many experts believe the actual rate is lower given that many mild and asymptomatic cases, when infected people don’t show symptoms, are not included in case totals.

Some countries, including Italy, France, Algeria, the Netherlands, Spain and Britain are reporting that more than 10% of all confirmed cases have been fatal.

One of the largest studies of the fatality of the disease, involving 44,000 patients in China, put the rate at about 2.9%.

The same study reported that 93% of recorded fatalities were people over the age of 50, and more than half were over 70.

Despite that, there are growing numbers of young adults and teenagers included in the global toll.

While North America now accounts for more than 30% of cases, Europe has reported a disproportionate number of fatalities, as countries with older populations like Spain and Italy have been severely affected.

Southern Europe alone accounts for more than a third of global deaths, despite recording just 20% of cases.

In many countries, official data includes only deaths reported in hospitals, not those in homes or nursing homes.

Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...s-100000-cases-over-1-6-million-idUSKCN21S1SM
 
Two-day lockdown imposed in much of Turkey, coronavirus death toll tops 1,000

Istanbul, Ankara and other major Turkish cities locked down for two days from midnight on Friday to combat the spread of the coronavirus under an Interior Ministry order, as the country’s death toll from the pandemic rose above 1,000.

The restrictions were imposed in 31 provinces across the country and scaled up existing curbs, under which people under the age of 20 and over 65 have been told to stay at home. [nL8N2BR6WH]

Ankara has also halted all international flights, restricted domestic travel, closed schools, bars and cafes, and suspended mass prayers. But people have still been going to work to sustain economic activity.

“We urge all citizens who live in these 31 provinces to comply with this weekend’s lockdown without panicking,” the country’s communications director Fahrettin Altun wrote on Twitter.

He called on people to maintain their social distance in the brief time before the lockdown went into effect. However, soon after news of the move emerged, many people left their homes to buy food and drink in the country’s commercial hub Istanbul, a city of 16 million people.

Earlier on Friday, before the lockdown was announced, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca had urged people to resist the temptation to leave their homes during the weekend as the weather warms.

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 increased by 4,747 and 98 people died in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 1,006, Koca said. [I7N29F02Q]

Detailing specifics of the lockdown in a subsequent statement, the Interior Ministry said bakeries, pharmacies and health facilities would be among places excluded from the ban, enabling people to meet essential needs.

Strategic energy companies, distribution firms and some petrol stations would also be allowed to keep operating and people working in such places were exempted from the lockdown, it said.

“It is essential that all other citizens remain in their homes aside from the specified exemptions,” the statement said.

The new curbs, which extended across provinces from Istanbul and Kocaeli in the northwest to Diyarbakir and Van in the southeast, will remain in force until midnight (2100 GMT) on Sunday, the ministry said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...oronavirus-death-toll-tops-1000-idUSKCN21S201
 
IMF lends 51.6 million euros to Kosovo to address virus crisis

The International Monetary Fund has approved a 51.6 million euro ($56.06 million) loan for Kosovo to tackle the economic crisis caused by the new coronavirus and address urgent balance of payments issues, the international lender said.

It said the pandemic will hit Kosovo’s economy hard.

“The economy is expected to contract by 5% in 2020 as tourism receipts, remittances, exports of goods, and FDI will decrease due to travel restrictions and the effect of COVID-19 in trading partners and remittance-originating countries,” the IMF said in a statement.

The small Balkan country had expected to see economic growth of around 4% this year.

The government said it will inject some 180 million euros into the roughly 8-billion-euro economy to help the private sector cope with the crisis.

As of late on Friday some 250 people were infected with the coronavirus in Kosovo, including seven deaths.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-kosovo-to-address-virus-crisis-idUSKCN21S22L
 
The US has become the first country in the world to record more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day.

Figures from Johns Hopkins University show 2,108 people died in the past 24 hours while there are now more than half a million confirmed infections.

The US could soon surpass Italy as the country with the most coronavirus deaths worldwide.

But experts on the White House Covid-19 task force say the outbreak is starting to level off across the US.

Dr Deborah Birx said there were good signs the outbreak was stabilising, but cautioned: "As encouraging as they are, we have not reached the peak."

President Donald Trump also said he expects the US to see a lower death toll than the initial predictions of 100,000 fatalities.

In other developments:

Brazil became the first country in the southern hemisphere to surpass 1,000 deaths with coronavirus

The World Health Organization chief warned that lifting coronavirus lockdown measures too early could spark a "deadly resurgence" in infection

Turkey ordered a 48-hour curfew in 31 cities - including Istanbul and Ankara - to start at midnight. The announcement, made just two hours before the curfew was due to start, sparked panic buying and crowds of shoppers

Aid agencies expressed alarm after the first virus case was confirmed in Yemen, where years of civil war have devastated health systems

What are the latest US figures exactly?

The US now has at least 18,693 deaths and 500,399 confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins.

About half of the deaths were recorded in the New York area.

Italy has recorded 18,849 deaths while globally more than 100,000 people have died with the virus.

Researchers had predicted the US death toll would hit its peak on Friday and then gradually start to decline, falling to around 970 people a day by 1 May - the day members of the Trump administration have floated as a possible date to start reopening the economy.
 
Thailand reports 45 new coronavirus cases, two new deaths

Thailand reported 45 new coronavirus infections and two more deaths, Reuters reports.

The dead were Thai men, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman of the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.
 
Spanish Health officials say there have been a further 510 reported covid-19 deaths bringing the total number in the country to 16,353
 
DHAKA/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - In South Asia’s latest moves to curb the coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh has extended its nationwide lockdown by 11 days while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks on Saturday with states to decide whether to extend its own stringent restrictions beyond next week.

In Bangladesh, where the army has been deployed across the country to enforce social distancing measures, the government late on Friday extended the nationwide lockdown to April 25 as the number of confirmed cases rose to 424, with 27 deaths.

Meanwhile India’s 21-day lockdown ends on Tuesday and several states have urged PM Modi to extend it further, even as concerns have risen that the shutdown has put millions of poor people out of work and forced an exodus of migrant workers from cities to villages.

In signs of growing concern, 81 migrant workers were arrested in India’s western city of Surat after they started fires and threw stones in protests late on Friday evening, demanding to be allowed to go back to their home areas, police said.

“The workers are without work because of the lockdown, and are struggling to sustain themselves,” one police official said.

Indian officials have warned that widespread virus transmissions could be disastrous in a country where millions live in slums and the health system is already overburdened.

The number of cases in India rose to 7,471 on Saturday, with capital city New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai fast emerging as hotspots.

At least two Indian states - Odisha in the east and Punjab in the north - have decided to extend the lockdown until April end.


Officials government figures on the spread of the coronavirus in South Asia are as follows:

* India has 7,471 confirmed, including 239 deaths

* Pakistan has 4,788 cases, including 71 deaths

* Afghanistan has 521 cases, including 15 deaths

* Sri Lanka has 190 cases, including 7 deaths

* Bangladesh has 424 cases, including 27 deaths

* Maldives has 19 cases and no deaths

* Nepal has nine cases and no deaths

* Bhutan has five cases and no deaths
 
In the UK, people told to stay at home as temperatures are expected to soar

The British Medical Association says doctors are still not getting protective equipment

The UK announced 980 more hospital deaths yesterday, bringing the total to almost 9,000

Spain's daily death figures continue to drop, falling to lowest level in nearly three weeks

India will extend its lockdown, says Delhi's chief minister

Some 1.7 million cases and 100,000 deaths have been confirmed globally, says Johns Hopkins University

The US becomes the first country to report more than 2,000 deaths in a single day

The World Health Organization warns of a "deadly resurgence" in infections if restrictions are lifted too early

UK PM Boris Johnson "able to do short walks" as part of his recovery
 
Initial testing at a Russian hospital with 1,100 staff and patients has seen at least 170 produce positive results for coronavirus, it has been reported.

The state-run RIA Novosti news agency, as reported by English-language newspaper the Moscow Times, said Russian health officials would test the 170 people for a second time to "confirm or disprove" the results.

The Kuvatov Republic Clinical Hospital, in the city of Ufa, was placed under strict lockdown on Monday. It came after at least five doctors and two patients fell ill with coronavirus symptoms.
 
Brazil reports more than 1,000 virus deaths

Brazil has become the first country in the southern hemisphere to surpass 1,000 coronavirus deaths. The health ministry has confirmed 19,638 cases and 1,056 deaths.

Officials warn the numbers are likely to be much higher as only patients at hospitals are being tested, and experts predict the outbreak will only start to peak in the country later this month.

Most states have imposed quarantine measures but President Jair Bolsonaro continues to challenge the restrictions, saying they are unnecessarily harming the economy. He has threatened to issue a federal decree to force businesses to re-open.

In his latest act of disregard for his own government's recommendations of social distancing, the far-right leader hit the streets of the capital Brasília on Friday, a public holiday in Brazil, drawing crowds and greeting followers.

At one of the stops, Bolsonaro took pictures with supporters. But some residents banged pots and pans in anger while others shouted: "Go home!"

He was particularly criticised for wiping his nose with his lower right arm at one point, then shaking hands with an elderly woman.
 
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Netherlands rose by 1,316 on Saturday to 24,413, health authorities said, with 132 new deaths.

The country's cumulative death toll is 2,643, the Netherlands' National Institute for Health (RIVM) said in its daily update.
 
Dozens of Turkish cities, including Istanbul, have been placed under lockdown for two days from midnight on Friday to combat the spread of the coronavirus, as the country's death toll from the pandemic crossed 1,000.

The restrictions, which will last until midnight (21:00 GMT) on Sunday, were imposed in 31 provinces across the country and scaled up existing curbs, under which people under the age of 20 and over 65 have been told to stay at home.

Detailing specifics of the lockdown, the interior ministry in a statement said bakeries, pharmacies and health facilities would be excluded from the ban, enabling people to meet essential needs.

Strategic energy companies, distribution firms and some petrol stations would also be allowed to keep operating, and people working in such places were exempted from the lockdown, it said.

"It is essential that all other citizens remain in their homes aside from the specified exemptions," the statement said.

Ankara has also halted all international flights, restricted domestic travel, closed schools, bars and cafes, and suspended mass prayers. But people have still been going to work to sustain economic activity.

"We urge all citizens who live in these 31 provinces to comply with this weekend's lockdown without panicking," the country's communications director Fahrettin Altun wrote on Twitter.

He called on people to maintain physical distancing in the brief time before the lockdown went into effect. However, soon after news of the move emerged, many left their homes to buy food and drink in the country's commercial hub Istanbul, a city of more than 15 million people.

Al Jazeera's Sinem Koseoglu said this was an "unprecedented announcement", following differences of opinion between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government and the country's science board.

"The science board under the health ministry has been urging the government to impose an immediate lockdown, especially for Istanbul, which has a population of more than 15 million people," Koseoglu said, speaking from Istanbul. "But Erdogan has always been saying that the Turkish economy's wheel should keep turning, and the logistics and supply lines shouldn't be cut."

'Abrupt' move

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition party, who had previously called for a lockdown, was also critical of the short notice and complained of not being informed in advance.

Istanbul resident Simona Hayrabet, who had gone out to buy fruit and water for the weekend, said she had expected such a move by the government, "but it happened so abruptly."

Another resident, Marina Gravina Zagaia, criticised the late-night announcement while Salih Topcu, holding a shopping list written by his wife, described it as "nonsense".

"It is really bad that they announced it so late. Had it been in the morning, we would have gone to the markets to get food and drinks," Zagaia told AFP.

"Right now everyone is going through chaos," she added.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told a news conference in Ankara that 4,747 new coronavirus cases had been reported in the last 24 hours and 98 people had died. That brings the total death toll in Turkey to 1,006 and the total number of infections to 47,029.

Earlier on Friday, before the lockdown was announced, Koca had urged people to resist the temptation to leave their homes during the weekend as the weather warms.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...-major-cities-curb-virus-200411084517572.html
 
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Saturday, April 11

17:45 GMT - US surpasses Italy as worst-hit country

The US recorded a total death toll of 19,882, surpassing Italy in the total number of coronavirus deaths.

Italy has a total death toll of 19,468.
 
Here’s a overview of some key updates from around the world on Saturday:

The death toll with coronavirus in the US surpassed that of Italy, jumping to 20,071 late on Saturday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said deaths in the state were stabilising but at a “horrific rate”.

Deaths in France and Italy increased but numbers of patients in intensive care dropped again. France’s director of health described the trend as a “ray of sunshine”

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel was grilled over the lack of protective equipment for NHS staff at a media briefing. She said she was "sorry if people feel there have been failings"

A further 917 coronavirus-related hospital deaths were reported in the UK, taking the total to 9,875

The Queen stressed the importance of observing social-distancing measures in a special message to mark Easter weekend

India announced an extension to its lockdown, which was due to end on Tuesday

Brazil became the first country in the southern hemisphere to surpass 1,000 deaths, as President Jair Bolsonaro faced criticism for breaching social-distancing rules
 
UK pledges 200 million pounds in aid to help stop second coronavirus wave

Britain said on Sunday it was pledging 200 million pounds ($248 million) to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and charities to help slow the spread of the coronavirus in vulnerable countries and so help prevent a second wave of infections.

More than 1.6 million people are reported to have been infected by the novel coronavirus globally and deaths have topped 100,000 according to a Reuters tally.

Infections have been reported in 210 countries since the first cases were identified in China in December last year and British aid minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said assisting the poorest nations now would help prevent the virus returning to the United Kingdom.

Britain has reported almost 10,000 deaths from the coronavirus so far, the fifth highest national number globally.

“While our brilliant doctors and nurses fight coronavirus at home, we’re deploying British expertise and funding around the world to prevent a second deadly wave reaching the UK,” Trevelyan said in a statement.

“Coronavirus does not respect country borders so our ability to protect the British public will only be effective if we strengthen the healthcare systems of vulnerable developing countries too.”

The British government said 130 million pounds would go to United Nations’ agencies, with 65 million for the WHO. Another 50 million pounds would go to the Red Cross to help war-torn and hard to reach areas, and 20 million pounds going to other organisations and charities.

The cash would help areas with weak health systems such as war-ravaged Yemen, which reported its first case on Friday, and Bangladesh, which is hosting 850,000 Rohingya refugees in crowded camps, it said.

Britain’s support for the WHO contrasts with the view of U.S. President Donald Trump who has criticised its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic with suggestions his administration might re-evaluate U.S. funding

“The United Kingdom’s generous contribution is a strong statement that this is a global threat that demands a global response,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s Director General said.

“We are all in this together, which means protecting health around the world will help to protect the health of people in the UK.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...lp-stop-second-coronavirus-wave-idUSKCN21T0WU
 
'Be messengers of life in a time of death,' pope says on Easter eve

Pope Francis urged people to “not yield to fear” and focused on a “message of hope” as he led an Easter eve Mass in an empty St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday amid the coronavirus pandemic and called for an end to wars.

The vigil, which normally takes place in a church packed with about 10,000 people, was attended by only about two dozen, including a few altar servers and a smaller-than-usual choir. Because of the coronavirus outbreak, it was scaled back to eliminate several traditional features, such as the baptism of adult converts and a long procession up the main aisle of Christendom’s largest church.

Francis drew a comparison between the Gospel account of the women who found Jesus’ tomb empty on the day Christians believe he rose from the dead and the uncertain state of the world today because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Then too, there was fear about the future and all that would need to be rebuilt. A painful memory, a hope cut short. For them, as for us, it was the darkest hour,” Francis said in his homily.

In countries around the world Catholics followed the papal service or Masses said by priests in their own empty churches and broadcast on television or over the internet.

“Do not be afraid, do not yield to fear: This is the message of hope. It is addressed to us, today. These are the words that God repeats to us this very night,” Francis said.

He encouraged people to be “messengers of life in a time of death,” again condemning the arms trade and urging those better off to help the poor.

“Let us silence the cries of death, no more wars! May we stop the production and trade of weapons, since we need bread, not guns,” Francis said.

“Let the abortion and killing of innocent lives end. May the hearts of those who have enough be open to filling the empty hands of those who do not have the bare necessities,” he said.

All of the pope’s Holy Week activities were modified, taking place with no participation by the public.

It will be the same for the culminating event on Easter Sunday, when Francis says Mass and delivers his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing and message.

The Easter Sunday Mass usually attracts up to 100,000 people in St. Peter’s Square. This year, it will be held inside the church with a symbolic congregation of fewer than 20 people.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...f-death-pope-says-on-easter-eve-idUSKCN21T0UK
 
Russia cases rise by more than 2,000 in biggest daily increase

Russia has reported 2,186 new coronavirus cases, the largest daily increase since the start of the outbreak, bring9ng the national tally of confirmed cases to 15,770.

The number of coronavirus-related deaths rose by 24 to 130, the Russian coronavirus crisis response centre said.
 
Britain pledges aid to prevent second wave

Britain has it is pledging $248 million to the WHO and charities to help slow the spread of the coronavirus in vulnerable countries and so help prevent a second wave of infections.

"While our brilliant doctors and nurses fight coronavirus at home, we’re deploying British expertise and funding around the world to prevent a second deadly wave reaching the UK," Trevelyan said in a statement. "Coronavirus does not respect country borders so our ability to protect the British public will only be effective if we strengthen the healthcare systems of vulnerable developing countries too."

The British government said 130 million pounds would go to United Nations' agencies, with 65 million for the WHO. Another 50 million pounds would go to the Red Cross to help war-torn and hard to reach areas, and 20 million pounds going to other organisations and charities.

The cash would help areas with weak health systems such as war-ravaged Yemen, which reported its first case on Friday, and Bangladesh, which is hosting 850,000 Rohingya refugees in crowded camps, it said.
 
Indonesia orders transport curbs ahead of Ramadan exodus

Indonesia has imposed curbs on public transport ahead of the annual exodus to home villages that marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the government has said.

About 75 million Indonesians usually stream home from bigger cities at the end of Ramadan, due this year at the end of May, but health experts have warned against a surge in cases after a slow government response masked the scale of the outbreak.

Public buses, trains, airplanes and ships will be allowed to fill only half their passenger seats, under a new regulation that also limits occupation of a private car to just half the seats, while a motorcycle may be ridden only by one person.

"The essence of this new regulation is to carry out public transport control...while still meeting the needs of the people," transport ministry spokeswoman Adita Irawati said in a statement posted on the cabinet secretariat website.
 
Thailand reports 33 new cases, three new deaths

Thailand reported 33 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, for a total of 2,551 cases, as well as three more deaths, taking the southeast Asian nation's toll to 38.

Two Thai men aged 74 and 44, and a woman aged 65 died, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government's Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
 
Two hospitals in Tasmania will be forced to close for two weeks because of large-scale infection among their staff.

More than 1,000 staff in the North West Regional Hospital and North West Private Hospital will go into quarantine, state Premier Peter Gutwein has announced.

Tasmania has 133 cases of Covid-19, of which 49 are linked to an outbreak in the hospitals.
 
Spanish health officials say there have been a further 619 reported covid-19 deaths in the country bringing the total to 16,972
 
NEW DELHI/DHAKA (Reuters) - India said on Sunday its hospital network is adequately prepared to tackle the spread of the coronavirus, with over 100,000 beds ready to cater to a potential surge in patient numbers.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced a relief package worth about $1.7 billion to help farmers struggling because of restrictions imposed to stem the disease’s spread.

The number of people infected in India rose to 8,447 on Sunday, a rapid rise from fewer than 1,000 two weeks ago. Some 273 people have died.

Senior Indian Health Ministry official Lav Agarwal told a daily media briefing that the country is being “over-prepared, extra cautious”, and had almost 106,000 hospital beds in 601 hospitals to cater to any surge in patient numbers.

“The country is ready to fight this epidemic,” he said.

Indian officials have said widespread virus infections could be disastrous in a country where millions live in slums, and the health system is already overburdened.

There has been mounting concern that the financial hub Mumbai, which accounts for around 1,250 cases, is becoming a hotspot for the disease. Local authorities are battling the infection’s spread through the city’s densely populated slum areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to extend a 21-day nationwide lockdown due to end Tuesday, according to a state chief minister with knowledge of discussions among top officials. The federal government has yet to make an announcement on this.

States such as Maharashtra, home to Mumbai, and at least three others have already said independently they will extend lockdowns to the end of April.

BANGLADESH FARMS
Including India, the number of coronavirus cases in the South Asia region neared 15,000 on Sunday.

The agricultural relief package announced by Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday includes $590 million for cheap farm loans and $1.1 billion for fertilizer subsidies.

“Disasters come. We’ll have to face it boldly ... We want to make sure that our farming sector continues its smooth production,” Hasina said.

Bangladesh has extended its lockdown by 11 days to April 25, a move that could exacerbate the difficulties faced by the country’s hundreds of thousands of rice, fish, dairy, poultry and vegetable farmers.

In Pakistan, authorities expressed alarm at a sharp rise in cases of the coronavirus in Karachi, the country’s largest city. The provincial government there has decided to seal off 11 densely populated neighbourhoods in Karachi, officials said.

Officials government figures on the spread of the coronavirus in South Asia are as follows:

* India has 8,447 confirmed cases, including 273 deaths

* Pakistan has 5,038 cases, including 86 deaths

* Bangladesh has 621 cases, including 34 deaths

* Afghanistan has 607 cases, including 19 deaths

* Sri Lanka has 203 cases, including 7 deaths

* Maldives has 20 cases and no deaths

* Nepal has 12 cases and no deaths

* Bhutan has five cases and no deaths
 
Italian health officials say a further 431 people with COVID-19 have died which is the lowest daily increase since 19 march and brings the total number of recorded deaths up to 19,899
 
The pandemic seems to be leaving no corner of life untouched - including violent crime.

The Associated Press news agency has looked at crime rates globally in an interesting report - it explains that they've dropped and by spectacular levels in some countries. It says:

In South Africa, homicides fell from 326 to 94 in the first week of lockdown compared to the same period last year

In El Salvador, one of the world's most violent countries, there were 65 homicides in March, down from 114 in February

Crime levels in Peru fell 84% last month

And in the epicentre of the US outbreak, New York City, murder, rape, robbery, burglary, assault, and car theft decreased by 12% from February to March

The drop in crime is being put down to increased policing on the streets, as well as more people staying at home.

“There’s a lot fewer opportunities for criminals to take advantage of,” Joe Giacalone, a former New York Police Department sergeant, told AP.

Sadly one area of crime that has soared is domestic violence. So much so that the World Health Organization has called for abuse charities to be designated essential services in order to deal with the volume of cases.
 
Italy has reported 431 new coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, the lowest number in more than three weeks, as experts express hope that the country's strict lockdown is working.

Sunday's death toll is Italy's the lowest since 19 March, when 427 virus-related fatalities were recorded.

The number of people in intensive care with Covid-19 continues to drop in Italy as well, with 38 fewer than the previous day, bringing the total to 3,343.

"The data show that measures are having an impact," Professor Luca Richeldi, a scientific adviser to the Italian government, said at a news conference on Sunday.

There have now been 19,899 deaths and 156,363 confirmed infections in total since the epidemic began in Italy, Europe's worst-affected country.

On Saturday, the US total of virus-related rose above 20,000, surpassing Italy's total.
 
Which countries have not reported any coronavirus cases?

In December 2019, the coronavirus was seemingly confined to China.

But, a few weeks later, the virus, which causes the illness known as COVID-19, became a global pandemic.

The virus, which leads to a respiratory illness that can be transmitted from droplets of bodily fluids - such as mucus and saliva, has now been reported in at least 185 countries.

Scientists, health officials and governments across the world have encouraged citizens to practice physical distancing and to avoid going out unless for necessary purposes.

According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, more than 1.8 million people have been infected, and the global death toll is more than 110,000. More than 412,000 patients have recovered.

Here are a few countries that have not reported any cases of the coronavirus so far:

Comoros

Kiribati

Lesotho

Marshall Islands

Micronesia

Nauru

North Korea

Palau

Samoa

Sao Tome and Principe

Solomon Islands

South Sudan

Tajikistan

Tonga

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

Vanuatu

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/countries-reported-coronavirus-cases-200412093314762.html
 
France has reported a slight drop in the number of hospital deaths and patients in intensive care, as its health ministry said the country’s coronavirus epidemic had reached a “plateau”.

The country recorded 315 additional hospital deaths in the last 24 hours, a drop from the 353 announced on Saturday.

That brings the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in hospitals and care homes to 14,393 in France, the third highest in the world.

There was another glimmer of hope, however.

The net number of patients with Covid-19 in intensive care dropped for the fourth consecutive day, bringing the total down to 6,845.

France’s health ministry said the epidemic appeared to be plateauing but stressed caution, saying: "We must remain vigilant."
 
The interior minister for Turkey has resigned over the announcement of a two-day curfew this weekend that critics say caused panic and confusion.

Süleyman Soylu said he took full responsibility for the curfew, which was implemented with the “good intention” of stemming the spread of coronavirus.

The Turkish government said late on Friday that people living in 31 major cities would not be allowed to leave their homes for 48 hours from midnight.

Shops were reportedly overwhelmed in the wake of the announcement, as people rushed to buy food and other essentials before the curfew came into effect.

The abrupt announcement of the lockdown drew criticism, with many saying it heightened the risk of spreading coronavirus as people hurriedly descended on shops.

“I acted in good faith to prevent the epidemic spreading,” Soylu, an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, wrote on Twitter.

“The scenes that occurred before the lockdown began, even for a short time, are my responsibility.”

As of Sunday, Turkey has reported more than 52,000 cases of coronavirus, a number that is rising fast.
 
China on Sunday reported 108 new cases, its highest number in weeks - almost all were imported
With Italy recording its lowest death toll in three weeks on Sunday, there was a glimmer of hope for Europe
New York deaths remain high but with the hospital admission rate down, Governor Andrew Cuomo said the peak was nearing
More than 22,000 people have now died with coronavirus in the US, while Italy's total is 19,899
Billions of people around the world have celebrated the Easter weekend in isolation
On Sunday, the UK passed a grim landmark of 10,000 deaths in hospitals from the virus
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was discharged from hospital and is recovering at his home
More than 1.8m people have been confirmed infected globally, according to a US university count
 
5,000 people in Tasmania forced to quarantine

The Australian state of Tasmania has closed down two hospitals after a number of infections were found to be linked to them.

All 1,200 staff members from the North West Regional Hospital and the North West Private Hospital in Burnie, as well as their household members, now need to go into quarantine for two weeks. Local media reports say that's about 5,000 people that will have to be quarantined.

The majority of patients will be transferred to a nearby hospital so the hospitals can undergo "deep cleaning".

Around 60 cases of the state's 144 cases have been linked to the hospitals, say local media reports.

“Never before has a premier had to ask a community to do this,” said the state's premier Peter Gutwein.

"But I would ask that you work with us. This is the best way that we can get on top of this, that we can stop the spread of this insidious disease.”
 
Two of the European countries worst-affected by the pandemic, Italy and France, have both reported a reduction in the daily number of deaths linked to Covid-19

The latest figure from Italy is 431 - the lowest in more than three weeks. Officials say the crisis has peaked.

France has recorded a slight fall in both the number of dead and of patients put onto life support. It said on Sunday there were 315 deaths in hospital in the past 24 hours, compared with 345 the day earlier.

Spain however has seen an increase in daily deaths linked to Covid-19, to just over 600. The government warned there could still be tough times ahead, even as the number of new infections continues to slow.
 
Fifth death in New Zealand

A fifth person has died in New Zealand - a man in his 80s who is the third death from a cluster at a care home in Christchurch.

It comes as New Zealand recorded a low of 19 new confirmed cases - bringing the total number of cases to 1,349.

However, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the country would not be coming out of lockdown early despite the low figures.

"Our number of cases may be small but that doesn’t mean we have yet been successful in hunting this virus down," she said at a news conference on Monday.

"One positive can be indicative of other cases in the community and that is why we must keep going."

She also addressed those who had broken lockdown rules over the Easter weekend.

Local station RNZ said police had issued more than 100 warnings for drivers who were caught breaking the rules on Good Friday.

"I say to those who broke the rules this weekend - it can take one case amongst you to have an outbreak that could lead to dozens of infections and possibly death," said Ardern.

"New Zealand does not take this challenge lightly and nor should you."
 
Andrea Bocelli, one of the world's most famous tenors, has sung in Milan's Duomo Cathedral, without an audience, in an effort to bring people together during the global coronavirus lockdown.

Speaking ahead of the "Music For Hope" event on Easter Sunday evening, the Italian opera star said it was not a concert in the normal sense, but a prayer.

He added: "The Duomo will be completely empty. This, on its own, already makes the situation abnormal."

"But in this case, and I repeat, as this won't be a concert and it won't be a performance, it will be a prayer and as a consequence it will not be important who is present physically but rather who wants to be with me spiritually in that moment."

He said he had been asked by Lady Gaga to join other musicians performing live-streamed events to try to inspire a sense of hope.

"She called me and I couldn't but reply 'here I am, count me in'" he said.

Bocelli was accompanied only by the cathedral organist, Emanuele Vianelli, playing one of world's largest pipe organs
and performing a repertoire of sacred works including Pietro Mascagni's Sancta Maria.

The concert, organised at the invitation of the mayor of Milan and the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, the body that looks after the development and conservation of the cathedral, was streamed on Bocelli's YouTube channel.

Bocelli has admitted, that like everyone else, he is concerned and uncertain about the future amid the coronavirus pandemic.

His home country, Italy, has been one of the worst-hit nations in Europe, with almost 20,000 people dying with COVID-19.

But on Sunday, it recorded the lowest number of new cases in three weeks, with officials saying 431 people have died in the past day, bringing the total to 19,899.

Bocelli, whose personal foundation helps people struggling with poverty and illiteracy, added: "I'm not so worried about the present and I don't feel that concerned about the virus per se, but about what will happen next."

Italy had already faced many economic difficulties before the outbreak in February.

He said: "So, getting this country to bounce back will be a big problem.

"And we will have many people in difficulty. I hope I am wrong but I fear that's how it will be.

"Certainly, we will all have to pitch in, each to his and her best ability, and we will need some wise and enlightened people to guide us, because if we don't, it will be very difficult."

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...ster-prayer-in-empty-milan-cathedral-11972404
 
Germany's coronavirus deaths rise by 126

Germany’s number of confirmed coronavirus infections has risen by 2,537 to 123,016, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed, according to Reuters.

The number is lower than a 2,821 increase reported a day earlier and marked the third decline after four days of increases.

The reported death toll has risen by 126 to 2,799.
 
The death rate in Italy and France - two of the countries worst-affected by the coronavirus - appears to be slowing, as the number of people confirmed to have the disease across the world rose beyond 1.8 million.

Italy's Civil Protection Agency reported the lowest number of coronavirus deaths since March 19, with 431 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours, compared with 619 the previous day.

France reported 315 deaths in hospital over the last day, compared with 345 the day before. President Emmanuel Macron is due to address the nation for a third time later on Monday but is expected to stress the need for the lockdown to continue.

Globally, more than 114,000 people have died from the new coronavirus, while nearly 422,000 have recovered, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
 
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected the resignation of his interior minister, who had said he would quit after a much-criticised weekend curfew to tackle the coronavirus outbreak which caught millions of people by surprise.

"In a process carried out diligently and meticulously, the responsibility for all implementation of the weekend curfew to stem the pandemic falls on me in every respect," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter on Sunday evening.

Later on Sunday, the Turkish presidency said that Erdogan had not accepted the resignation.

Turkey announced the weekend lockdown late on Friday, but in the brief time before it went into effect, many people rushed out to buy food and drink in the country's commercial hub Istanbul, a city of 16 million people, and other cities.

The lockdown ended at 21:00 GMT on Sunday.

"Although in a limited period of time, the incidents that occurred ahead of the implementation of the curfew was not befitting with the perfect management of the outbreak process," Soylu said.

Soylu, who has held the post since August 2016, said the scenes that took place just following the declaration of the curfew on Friday night did not reflect a smooth implementation of policy.

Soylu added that he had been proud to serve as interior minister and would remain loyal to Erdogan.

If his resignation had been accepted by President Erdogan, Soylu would have been the second Turkish minister to leave his post since the coronavirus pandemic was declared.

Transport Minister Mehmet Cahit Turhan was removed two weeks ago after the ministry drew criticism for holding a tender amid the outbreak to prepare to build a huge canal on the edge of Istanbul.

On Sunday, Turkey reported 97 more deaths related to the novel coronavirus, bringing the death toll to 1,198. The country also has nearly 57,000 confirmed cases since the first patient was diagnosed a little more than a month ago.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ation-coronavirus-curfew-200412193938580.html
 
India, like most parts of the world, is in a race against time to deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) to its medical teams fighting the coronavirus.

With more than 8,500 cases nationwide so far, state governments are struggling to cope with the demand.

In some cases, doctors were forced to use raincoats and motorbike helmets.

One doctor working in a hospital in the northern city of Lucknow said: "We are not getting PPE kits as fast as we should. This is really a war and we are being compared to soldiers. But you don't send soldiers to fight a war without ammunition."

Many countries have seen shortages. In the UK, paramedics and other frontline staff have raised concerns about their protective equipment.
 
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