Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:
Global death toll exceeds 180,000
More than 2.6 million people have been infected and at least 182,992 have died since the outbreak began, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
The figures, which are based on official releases and media reports, are likely to represent a significant underestimate due to suspected underreporting by national governments and differing testing regimes.
Ethnic minorities overrepresented in death toll, analysis shows
The UK government is being urged to recognise that race and racial inequalities are risk factors for Covid-19, as Guardian research reveals that people from ethnic minorities in England are dying in disproportionately high numbers compared with white people.
Italy’s death rate decelerates
The country reports that 437 more people died on Tuesday; 97 fewer than on Monday. That brings Italy’s death toll to 25,085. The number of people currently infected with the virus fell for the third day in a row, by 10 to 107,699, while there was a record rise of 2,943 in the number of people who have recovered.
Virus hit US weeks earlier than thought
The coronavirus was present in the US weeks before health officials, doctors or the government realised, it emerges. Health officials now say two people died from Covid-19 in California in early February – before the first reported death from the disease in the US.
State-backed hackers capitalise on pandemic
More than a dozen government-backed hacking groups are using the pandemic as cover for phishing and malware attempts, according to security experts at Google.
The firm says its Threat Analysis Group found hackers targeting international health organisations, including activity that corroborated a Reuters report from early April that the World Health Organization was targeted.
US reports 26,000 more cases
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 802,583 cases as of Tuesday; an increase of 26,490 from Monday. It says the number of deaths has risen by 2,817 to 44,575.
World has ‘a long way to go’, warns WHO chief
The director general of the World Health Organization says there is still “a long way to go” in tackling the pandemic. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that, while most national epidemics in western Europe appear to have stabilised or are declining, outbreaks appeared to be growing in Africa, Central and South America, and eastern Europe.
US handling of Covid-19 ‘like third world country’, says top economist
Donald Trump’s botched handling of the epidemic has left the US looking like a third world country and on course for a second Great Depression, says the Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.
In an interview with the Guardian, Stiglitz said millions of Americans were turning to food banks, having to work due to a lack of sick pay and dying because of health inequalities.
UK hospital death toll rises by 759
The country’s Department for Health and Social Care publishes the latest daily figures, showing that there have been 759 new deaths, taking the total to 18,100. Yesterday’s daily rise was 823.
However, according to an analysis of ONS data by the Financial Times, the overall total of coronavirus-related deaths in the UK may be as high as 41,000. The findings include deaths that occurred outside hospitals, updated to reflect recent mortality trends.
