Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:
Global coronavirus cases pass 2 million mark
The total number of coronavirus cases across the world has reached at least 2,090,110, according to Johns Hopkins University, which has tracked the spread of the virus during the pandemic.
The US has the highest number of cases with 640,291, followed by Spain, with 182,816. The number of cases of coronavirus registered globally passed 1.5 million on 9 April.
UK government announces lockdown extension for three weeks
The UK’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Boris Johnson as he recovers from Covid-19, confirmed the extension following advice from the government’s scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage).
Raab said: “The government has decided that the current measures must remain in place for at least the next three weeks.”
He said Sage had advised that “relaxing any of the measures in place” would “undo the progress we have made” and would “risk damage to both public health and the economy”.
There were 861 Covid-19 deaths in UK hospitals reported on Thursday, taking the total past 13,000.
5 million more Americans sign on as unemployed
More than 22 million American have lost their jobs in the last four weeks as the coronavirus pandemic has swept across the US.
The US labour department announced that another 5.24 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week, making a total of 22.2 million since 14 March, when nationwide stay-at-home orders led to an unprecedented wave of layoffs across the country.
The largest number of people to ask for unemployment benefits in a four-week period before the Covid-19 crisis came in 1992, when 2.7 million sought support.
Australia PM says more Covid-19 measures needed
Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister, said the country had succeeding in flattening the infection curve but that a “more extensive surveillance regime” needed to be implemented if they were to forge “the road out” of lockdown.
He praised the extensive testing and contact-tracing system in place and the actions from states to open testing to anyone with symptoms. But he cautioned: “We need to do even better than that … so when we move to a less restricted environment, we can identify outbreaks very quickly and respond to them.”
His government has proposed a mobile app that would trace the movements of patients. At least 40% of Australians would need to download the app for it to be effective.
EU chief: ‘Europe owes Italy an apology’
Europe owes Italy “a heartfelt apology” for not offering assistance when the country was suffering in the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, the head of the European Union executive said.
Speaking at the European parliament, commission president Ursula von der Leyen said truth was needed to overcome the pandemic, including political honesty. She said: “Too many were not there on time when Italy needed a helping hand at the very beginning. And yes, for that it is right that Europe as a whole offers a heartfelt apology.”
New York State lockdown extended
Governor Andrew Cuomo has extended the New York state shutdown to 15 May. He also announced that starting on Friday, anyone aged two and older would be required to wear face coverings in public if they cannot socially distance.
Another 606 people have died from the virus in New York, the lowest figure in 10 days, bringing the total above 12,000 in the state.
IMF: Asian economies will not grow this year
Economies in Asia will see zero growth this year for the first time in 60 years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. It warned that the global economy would face the “worst recession since the Great Depression” and that Asia’s service sector in particular will struggle to rebound.
Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific department, warned that governments would need to take extraordinary actions as a result. Rhee said: “This is not a time for business as usual. Asian countries need to use all policy instruments in their toolkits.”
Singapore reports biggest jump yet in cases
Singapore reported at least 728 new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the previous 24 hours, the biggest jump yet in numbers in the city-state, which had fought hard to keep its outbreak under control.
The latest increase in confirmed cases is 63% more than the 447 new cases reported by the health ministry on Wednesday, and brings the total number so far in the city to 4,427.
Singapore had been praised by the World Health Organization for rigorous contact tracing, quarantine and surveillance measures, which had previously mitigated the spread of Covid-19. But the disease has begun spreading rapidly within the large migrant worker community that Singapore relies on to staff many of its basic services, highlighting what rights groups say is a weak link in containment efforts.
Japan declares nationwide state of emergency
Japan has expanded its state of emergency to cover the entire country.
Shinzo Abe, the country’s prime minister, told a special meeting of medical experts called to discuss the disease: “Areas where a state of emergency should be carried out will be expanded from the seven prefectures to all prefectures.”
According to AFP, the declaration allows regional governors to urge people to stay indoors, but with no punitive measures or legal force the measure is weaker than strict lockdowns seen in other parts of the world.
Facebook to warn users who ‘like’ misinformation
Facebook will begin showing notifications to users who have interacted with posts that contain “harmful” coronavirus misinformation, the company announced.
The new policy applies only to misinformation that Facebook considers likely to contribute to “imminent physical harm”, such as false claims about “cures” or statements that physical distancing is not effective. Facebook’s policy has been to remove those posts from the platform.
Under the new policy, which will be rolled out in the coming weeks, users who liked, shared, commented or reacted with an emoji to such posts before they were deleted will see a message in their news feed directing them to a “myth busters” page maintained by the WHO.
