We have launched a new blog at the link below, where we’ll be bringing you rolling coverage of developments in the coronavirus pandemic worldwide. Follow me there:
Thank you for the messages on Twitter so far, many have been helpful. I’m @helenrsullivan if you have questions or tips.
Tonight’s White House presser, summarized
Donald Trump held a press conference on Sunday evening to lay out what his administration has been doing to address the coronavirus and what the weeks ahead hold for the United States.
Here are some key points:
- Trump says he’s seeing glimmers of hope, “light at the end of the tunnel” thanks to work of medical workers and Americans’ social distancing.
- Fauci reiterated this is going to be a very bad week as the curve flattens, but that they hope that it will get better in the weeks after. After the peak, mitigation is key to make sure it doesn’t rebound.
- Trump repeatedly says Americans should try the untested drug hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus, said his administration has ordered 29m doses to be distributed across the United States.
- Fema is airlifitng supplies to affected states, including millions of masks, gloves, and sterile gowns.
- Trump took the opportunity to take digs at the governor of Illinois, CNN and a reporter from the Associated Press, calling CNN “fake news” for asking about the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine and telling the AP reporter, “You should be thanking them, not always asking wise guy questions.”
Guatemala has asked the United States to limit the deportations of immigrants to the Central American country to 25 persons per plane due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, Guatemalan Health Minister Hugo Monroy said on Sunday, Reuters reports.
The White House press briefing is over. We’ll post a summary shortly of what happened, and then I’ll be launching a new blog soon after that.
Dr. Fauci is asked why he’s not wearing a face mask. There are a couple of reasons:
“Part of the reason for wearing face masks is to protect you from infecting you – he gestures at reporters. I had my test yesterday and it was negative.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci is talking now about the seeming disconnect between the idea that there is a glimmer of hope and the week ahead being very bad.
“It has to do with the lag,” he says. What we’re seeing now is the result of what happened two and a half weeks ago. There is always going to be a lag of that much time.
“The only tool and the best tool we have is mitigation.”
More of the effects of hydroxychloroquine, the drug being touted by Trump as something that causes no harm, so “we might as well try,”. According to Australia’s Therapeutic Drugs Administration:
Well-known serious risks to patients including cardiac toxicity (potentially leading to sudden heart attacks), irreversible eye damage and severe depletion of blood sugar (potentially leading to coma)”
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia wrote to members urging them to “refuse the dispensing of hydroxychloroquine if there is not a genuine need”.
Updated
Trump is talking about how to build highways now, so we’ll go to news from Mexico for a moment, which is that there are now 2143 confirmed cases and 94 deaths.
That’s 253 more cases, up from 1890 cases yesterday, and 15 more deaths.
When asked if he will refrain from interacting with Pence to avoid the spread of coronavirus, Trump joked “I don’t breathe when I’m with him”.
Trump and Pence shared the stage for the entirety of questioning on Sunday.
Trump says of hydroxychloroquine: “It can help them but it’s not going to hurt them. What do you have to lose?”
Again, here is some of what people have to lose:
- Like many drugs, hydroxychloroquine comes with a number of potential side-effects. These include headaches, dizziness, stomach pain, weight loss and mood changes.
- A sudden surge in demand for hydroxychloroquine risks shortages of the drug for those who need it most. Hydroxychloroquine is able to keep lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, in check but some people with the condition have complained they are now unable to find Plaquenil. Trump’s pushing of the treatment has caused many Americans, whether they need it or not, to stock up on the drug.
“The faster we open our country the bigger the boom the bigger the rocket ship,” Trump says of the economy.
Dr. Deborah Birx is speaking now. She says she got modelling today that again shows 100,000 people will die. But “we believe, Dr. Fauci and I,” that if people follow the social distancing guidelines that number may be lower.
Trump jumps in to say the American people are doing a great job. Even New Yorkers and Californians.
Trump says he is very impressed with the emptiness of New York streets, and the "fantastic job" being done in California and by Gov. Newsom. He says he's proud of a lot of people "on the other side."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 5, 2020
Trump is being asked about the clinical trials in place looking at the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, and why he does not wait for science to confirm that it is safe. If it was safe and effective doctors could already prescribe it – it’s already on the market – so why aren’t they, if it’s definitely safe?
Because we’ll only know in about a year, year and a half, Trump says. “It may not work, in which case - Hey, it didn’t work – or it may save lives.”
“I don’t wait a year and a half to find out. And only CNN would ask that question. Fake news.”
Trump says the US has the greatest doctors, lab technicians, minds in the world, “everybody admits it”.
Asked why he is promoting hydroxycholorquine, an unproven treatment for coronavirus, Trump said again, “What do they have to lose?”
“We don’t have time to take a couple years to test it out”, he said.
Trump wrongly says that we know hydroxychloroquine won't kill people because it's been "out there" for years for other purposes. All together now: that is not how medicine works.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 5, 2020
Updated
A reporter is referring to the US surgeon General’s comments earlier that this is like “Pearl Harbor” and that the coming weeks will be among the most difficult in people’s lives.
How are people supposed to square that with the Trump team’s comments that there are glimmers of hope, the reporter asks.
The comments aren’t so different, Trump says. “Hopefully we can get this over with,” he said. “This is a horrible thing for the whole world, we are one of 182 countries affected by this.”
Just to note: 2,403 Americans died in the Pearl Harbor attacks. So far almost four times that many lives have been lost to the virus.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams said earlier today, “The next week is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment. It’s going to be our 9/11 moment. It’s going to be the hardest moment for many Americans in their entire lives.”
Updated
Trump says he has not spoken to UK prime minister Boris Johnson. He spoke to the Ambassador.
“Hey, it’s a big move going to the hospital, he’s a great gentleman, I hope he’s ok,” Trump says.
Updated
US vice president Mike Pence is speaking now. He leads the White House coronavirus taskforce.
“We’re seeing a trend of some levelling among all the governors I spoke to today,” says Pence. In Michigan, he says a new programme in Detroit – a formal study – will make hydroxycholorquine available to 3,000 people.
Mayor Mike Duggan of Detroit is “so grateful to the FDA” for approval of a 15-minute test. He was able to test a few hundred first responders using the test this weekend and they are all now back to work.
Michigan and Illinois are at the forefront of the task force’s thinking this week, says Pence.
“We’re beginning to see glimmers of hope,” he adds.
John Polowczyk, who leads FEMA’s supply chain task force, is discussing the distribution of supplies across the US.
He said 2.8 million masks and 11.8 million gloves are en route to be distributed to hospitals and nursing homes.
Polowczyk said at Trump’s command FEMA is also distributing “millions of doses” of hydroxycholorquine to pharmacies.
Updated
In the US, Dr. Deborah Birx says that there will be a rising number of people in the US losing their lives in the coming days, but that cases should stabilise.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus task force response coordinator, is speaking now.
She says that after four weeks of mitigation in Spain and Italy they are seeing the pandemic slow.
“Over the next week, although we’ll see rising number of cases of people who lose their lives to this illness, we are also hopeful we will see a stabilization of cases across these large metro areas where the outbreak began several weeks ago”, she said.
Trump again claims we are seeing the disease peak in coming days.
“We see the light at the end of the tunnel”. Trump said. “Hopefully in the not-too-distant future we will be proud of the job we all did”.
He sounds tired, or at least is taking a slightly more sombre tone.
There are currently 335,524 confirmed infections in the US, according to Johns Hopkins University figures, and 9,562 deaths – three times the toll of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Trump says 1.67 million Americans have been tested for coronavirus.
Trump says the US has ordered 29 million pills of hydroxychloroquine and wondered what Americans “have to lose” by taking the drug.
My colleague Oliver Milman wrote about the drug earlier this week. There are three main points worth keeping in mind:
- Hydroxychloroquine, also known by its brand name Plaquenil, is a drug used to treat malaria. It is a less toxic version of chloroquine, another malaria drug, which itself is related to quinine, an ingredient in tonic water.
- Like many drugs, hydroxychloroquine comes with a number of potential side-effects. These include headaches, dizziness, stomach pain, weight loss and mood changes.
- A sudden surge in demand for hydroxychloroquine risks shortages of the drug for those who need it most. Hydroxychloroquine is able to keep lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, in check but some people with the condition have complained they are now unable to find Plaquenil. Trump’s pushing of the treatment has caused many Americans, whether they need it or not, to stock up on the drug.
US president Donald Trump opened tonight’s White House briefing with well wishes for UK PM Boris Johnson.
“He’s a great friend of mine,” Trump said. “I’m sure he is going to be fine, he’s a strong man, a strong person.”
Johnson’s hospital admission suggests virus may have progressed
Most people recover from Covid-19 within a week and cannot even be certain they had it, as they probably won’t be tested. The advice is to stay home, rest and take paracetamol. In 80% of cases, that is the end of it.
But NHS advice is that if the symptoms – mainly the dry cough, temperature and fatigue – have not gone by the end of a week, or they get worse, people should seek medical help.
Unlike Matt Hancock, the health secretary, who revealed he had Covid-19 on the same day as the prime minister, Boris Johnson has not recovered within the first week. He is said to have been admitted to hospital for tests, which may include scans of his lungs to check for pneumonia, as well as blood tests. He had a diagnostic test for Covid-19, so doctors will be looking for progression of the disease and to establish that he has not entered the second phase, where the immune system goes into overdrive.
Given the increasing pressure on hospitals at the moment, it is unlikely he will have been admitted unless doctors have real concerns. Minor tests could be carried out in Downing Street.
We have a picture of the tiger that tested positive for coronavirus at Bronx Zoo. Her name is Nadia, and she is four years old.
Six other tigers and lions have also fallen ill at the zoo, according to AP, though we do not yet know whether they are infected with the virus.
Nadia is believed to have been infected by a zoo employee who wasn’t yet showing symptoms, the zoo said. The first animal started showing symptoms 27 March, and all are doing well and expected to recover, said the zoo, which has been closed to the public since 16 March amid the surging coronavirus outbreak in New York.
You can get in touch with me directly on Twitter @helenrsullivan with any questions, tips and stories.
Hello, Helen Sullivan here. I’ll be taking you through the latest coronavirus pandemic developments – feline and otherwise – for the next few hours.
In the US, president Donald Trump is expected to begin a press briefing at the White House shortly. My colleagues will be covering that on the US politics live blog, but we’ll also have the most important developments here, as they happen.
Updated
That’s me, Clea Skopeliti, signing off for now. I leave you with my colleague Helen Sullivan who will guide you through events as they continue to unfold. Many thanks to everyone who got in touch with tips and stories.
Updated
Summary
Here are the main developments of the last few hours to bring you up to speed.
- The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at over 1.27 million globally and there have been more than 69,000 deaths. Nearly 260,000 patients have recovered from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
- The Haitian health ministry has announced the country’s first death from coronavirus. The victim is a 55-year-old man who reportedly had underlying health conditions.
- Scotland’s chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood has resigned after facing criticism for not adhering to her own social distancing guidance by visiting her second home.
- The British prime minister has been admitted to hospital with coronavirus after suffering persistent symptoms for 10 days. Downing Street maintains he has been admitted as a precautionary measure.
- Some 1,000 migrants have been placed under quarantine after an outbreak of Covid-19 at a camp in the south of Malta, where eight cases were confirmed in two days.
- Speaking in a special broadcast to address the pandemic – only the fifth in her reign - the Queen thanked NHS staff and other key workers, and said we will overcome the coronavirus crisis if we “remain united and resolute”.
- Daily death tolls have slowed in Italy, Spain and France, with Italy registering 525 new coronavirus deaths, Spain recording 674 and France at 357.
- Norway will send a team of medical and logistical staff to Italy’s badly-affected Lombardy region to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.
- Ireland’s premier, who worked as a doctor for seven years before becoming a politician, will return to work as doctor one day a week amid the coronavirus crisis.
Updated
A tiger at New York City’s Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the coronavirus, in the first known case of Covid-19 in an animal in the US, a zoo spokesman told Reuters on Sunday.
“We tested the cat out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about Covid-19 will contribute to the world’s continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus,” the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the zoo, said in a statement.
Haiti reports first coronavirus death
The Haitian health ministry has announced the country’s first death from coronavirus. The victim is a 55-year-old man who reportedly had underlying health conditions.
The Caribbean nation has recorded 21 confirmed cases.
Updated
Read our full report on Boris Johnson’s admission to hospital here:
Updated
Scottish chief medical officer resigns
Scotland’s chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood has resigned after being criticised for not following her own social distancing guidance by visiting her second home.
In a statement, Dr Calderwood said “my behaviour risks becoming a distraction”, which First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said “is not a risk either of us is willing to take”.
Dr Calderwood will now work “over the next few days to ensure a smooth transition” to her successor.
The First Minister has said she was a “transformational” chief medical officer.
Sturgeon said: “It is however clear that the mistake she made - even though she has apologised sincerely and honourably for it - risks distracting from and undermining confidence in the Government’s public health message at this crucial time. That is not a risk either of us is willing to take.
“Catherine has been a transformational CMO, bringing changes to the way medicine is delivered in Scotland and in particular using her experience to bring an overdue focus to women’s health.
“While she has made a very serious mistake in her actions, that should not detract from the fact that as CMO she has made a highly valuable contribution to the medical profession and to health in Scotland, and I have no doubt she will continue to do so in future.
“She leaves office with my thanks and admiration.”
BREAKING: Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer has resigned
— Nick Eardley (@nickeardleybbc) April 5, 2020
Updated
The PM is expected to remain in hospital overnight, according to the BBC’s political editor.
Johnson is in an NHS hospital in London where he will stay for “as long as needed”.
As the first secretary of state, Dominic Raab is expected to chair the government’s Monday morning meeting.
Johnson was taken to hospital earlier this evening, he has been admitted, so expected to stay in overnight and is having what are described as ‘routine tests’ - Foreign Sec Dominic Raab expected to chair Corona virus 9.15 morning meeting tmrw
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) April 5, 2020
Updated
UK PM admitted to hospital for tests
The UK prime minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital for tests after showing persistent symptoms of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “On the advice of his doctor, the Prime Minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests.
“This is a precautionary step, as the Prime Minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive for the virus.
“The Prime Minister thanks NHS staff for all of their incredible hard work and urges the public to continue to follow the Government’s advice to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”
Johnson remains in charge of the government and in contact with ministers and officials.
Johnson on March 27 became the first leader of a major power to announce that he had tested positive. He has been isolating in his Downing Street flat since.
Updated
Daily death tolls slowed on Sunday in Italy, Spain and France.
- Italy registered 525 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday, the lowest daily rate since March 19. This brings the total number of deaths to 15,887.
- Spain recorded 674 deaths in the past 24 hours – the lowest daily death toll reported since March 26. The virus has claimed 12,418 lives in the country,
- In France, 357 people died from Covid-19 in hospitals, compared with 441 in the previous 24 hours, taking the total toll to 5,889.
Updated
Malta quarantines migrant camp
Some 1,000 migrants have been placed under quarantine after an outbreak of Covid-19 at a camp at Hal Far in the south of Malta. The camp has been was surrounded by police and army trucks.
Health minister Chris Fearne said eight cases had been confirmed in two days and a risk assessment showed that the disease had likely spread since people in the camp are in close proximity.
He said the eight confirmed cases had been placed in isolation. All other migrants in the camp will have to observe quarantine for 14 days.
This follows outbreaks in Greece’s migrant camps in Ritsona and Malakasa.
Malta has reported 227 cases but no deaths.
Updated
Queen urges Britons to stay strong in televised address
In only the fifth special televised broadcast, other than Christmas messages, the Queen has said: “While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal.”
She thanked NHS staff and other key workers, and urged people to stay “united and resolute”.
Updated
Greek authorities have placed Mykonos and Santorini – two of the country’s most popular isles - under night curfew, announcing that residents will be unable to leave their homes between 8 PM and 8AM. Further restrictions on movement were also unveiled Sunday after a second case of coronavirus was confirmed by health workers on Mykonos.
With the exception of funerals, residents will be prohibited from attending all other public events for the next 14 days. The ban will extend to attending the elderly or sick – henceforth to be undertaken by municipal authorities – and leaving homes for exercise. As of Monday morning residents will only be able to walk outside with dogs and only for 15 minutes at most. The stringent rules will also be applied on Santorini where construction activities have also been ordered to come to a standstill.
The Cycladic isles are heavily populated, so much so that local clinics could easily be overwhelmed in the event of a surge of Covid-19. The precautionary measures, to be reviewed in two weeks’ time, were announced as Greek authorities confirmed that coronavirus cases, nationwide, had risen to 1735 with the death toll now standing at 73. The vast majority of fatalities - 52 - are men.
On Saturday, with 1,673 identified coronavirus cases, Greece ranked 43rd globally while holding 17th place in the European Union.
Updated
France's death toll slows
France’s daily death toll from the coronavirus fell in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday.
The health ministry data showed that 357 people died from Covid-19 in hospitals, compared with 441 in the previous 24 hours, taking the total toll in hospitals to 5,889. The ministry added that 2,189 people had died in nursing homes since March 1, taking France’s total death toll to 8,078.
Updated
Norway sends response team to Italy
Norway will send a team of medical and logistical staff to Italy’s Lombardy region to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, the Oslo government has announced.
The deployment is planned to last four weeks and will probably be based in the badly-affected city of Bergamo, according to the New York Times. The effort is in response to a request for international help issued by Lombardy’s health authorities on March 31.
The team is made up of 20-25 doctors, nurses and logistical staff, many of whom have experience working in outbreaks including Ebola and measles.
“Solidarity in Europe is not a theoretical exercise and now is the time to show it in practice,” Norwegian Health Secretary Bent Hoeie said. “We must help each other when crisis hits.”
Updated
Ireland’s premier Leo Varadkar has re-registered as a medical practitioner and will work one shift a week during the coronavirus crisis, Reuters reports.
Varadkar worked as a doctor for seven years before becoming a politician.
According to the Irish Times, the Taoiseach re-registered in March as the outbreak spread and will work in Ireland’s Health Service Executive.
Varadkar is reportedly helping out with phone assessments, as anybody who may have been exposed to the virus is initially assessed over the phone.
Updated
In the UK, a nurse at Liverpool’s Aintree University Hospital died on Friday after testing positive for coronavirus, PA news agency reports.
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust chief nurse Dianne Brown said: “It is with great sadness that I can confirm that Liz Glanister, a long-serving staff nurse at Aintree University Hospital, sadly passed away at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Friday after being tested positive for Covid-19.
“All our thoughts are with Liz’s family at this time and we offer them our sincere condolences. Liz will be sadly missed by all those who knew and worked with her.”
The first serving NHS midwife in England to die with coronavirus was confirmed on Sunday when Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, announced the death of Lynsay Coventry, 54.
Lance McCarthy, chief executive of the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, said Ms Coventry, would be remembered for her “professionalism and commitment”. Her family said in a statement that she had “followed her dream and trained as a midwife later in life”.
One other nurse, five doctors and two healthcare assistants have also contracted coronavirus and died since the start of the outbreak.
Updated
Turkey’s death toll from the coronavirus rose by 73 on Saturday to a total of 574. New confirmed cases rose by 3,135 to 27,069, health minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.
He added that 20,065 tests for the virus had been carried out in Turkey over the last 24 hours.
Test sayısında 20.000’i aştık. İyileşen toplam hasta sayımız 1.000’i geçti. Virüs, gücünü temas ortamından alıyor. Virüse bu fırsatı tanımayalım. Evde kalalım. Yeni uygulamada davranışlarıyla herkese örnek olan gençlere teşekkür ediyorum.https://t.co/RVlhe7786O pic.twitter.com/Anu01vZPU8
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) April 5, 2020
Updated
In the UK, oxygen supplies at a hospital just northwest of London became so precarious last week that officials considered how to decide who should receive the gas and who should miss out and likely die, the Guardian understands.
The oxygen system at Watford general hospital came close to breaking point on Saturday, when a critical incident was declared and staff had to tell the public not to come to the hospital. Some patients were moved out to prevent the vital system failing.
Last week, health planners in Hertfordshire, where more than 800 cases of coronavirus have been recorded, became so concerned about oxygen supplies they alerted the military that they might need help.
A senior clinician said: “They were [consulting] the hospital ethics committee every day and considering who they were not going to oxygenate and ventilate if they needed it, and making decisions about who would be triaged to not have oxygen and die.”
Updated
Summary
Here are the key developments of the last few hours:
- Italy has reported its lowest increase in deaths in two weeks, with 525 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday. For the first time, the total number of people hospitalised fell – down 61, from 29,010 to 28,949 – in a day.
- Ethiopia and Barbados have reported their first coronavirus deaths. The Ethiopian victim was a 60-year-old Ethiopian woman who had spent six days in intensive care, while in Barbados the victim was an 81-year-old man with an underlying condition.
- Scotland’s chief medical officer has withdrawn from daily media briefings after it was revealed she had twice visited her family’s second home. Catherine Calderwood will remain in the post and continue advising the Scottish government.
- Pakistan has quarantined 20,000 worshippers and is looking for tens of thousands of others who attended a religious event in Lahore in March. Authorities want to test or quarantine 100,000 people who were at the event held by the Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic missionary movement.
- Lebanon has started repatriating nationals in its first flights in weeks since it closed its international airport in response to the pandemic. Authorities said more than 20,000 people had signed up to be repatriated.
- Pope Francis has celebrated Palm Sunday mass without the public due to the pandemic, which he said should focus people’s attention on what’s most important.
- Austria’s number of new cases had risen by 270 since Saturday morning, while the number of recoveries increased by 491. Authorities said that the daily rate of new infections has fallen significantly in recent days.
- Sweden’s government is drawing up legislation to allow it to take “extraordinary steps” to tackle Covid-19. On Sunday, Sweden reported a total of 401 deaths – an 8% increase from Saturday.
- Belgium’s coronavirus outbreak appears to be reaching its peak according to reports after the number of intensive care hospitalisations rose from 1,245 to 1,261.
- Singapore reported 120 new cases of the virus on Sunday, compared to 75 on Saturday. It marks the most infections confirmed in a day for the city-state, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,309.
Updated
Barbados reports its first coronavirus death
The country’s health minister has announced that Barbados has recorded its first death from the coronavirus.
The victim is said to be an 81-year-old male who had an underlying medical condition and had travelled to the UK.
Updated
Italy reports lowest increase in deaths in two weeks
Italy registered 525 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday, the lowest daily rate within the last two weeks and down from the record high of 969 on 27 March.
For the first time, the total number of people hospitalised across Italy fell by 61 ( from 29,010 to 28,949 in a day). This comes alongside a second day-to-day decrease in the number of intensive care unit beds in use.
The number of new confirmed cases increased by 2,972, a 3.3% rise compared to Saturday, but almost half the number of new cases recorded on 20 March.
Italy’s civil protection authority said on Sunday that 21,815 people had so far recovered from the virus, 819 more than on Saturday.
Updated
This has just come in from my colleague Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro:
A strategic study on Covid-19 by the Brazilian army has contradicted far-right president Jair Bolsonaro by recommending social isolation, following WHO and scientific studies, and “national cohesion”.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain who has stuffed his cabinet with military officers, has said Brazilians will be immune to the virus because they can jump in sewage, threatened to sack his health minister, attacked state governors for decreeing lockdowns and ignored WHO guidelines by mingling with crowds of people.
Published on April 2 and revealed on Sunday by Brazilian journalist Rubens Valente on the UOL site, the report from the Brazilian army’s Centre for Strategic Studies, entitled ‘Covid-19 crisis: Strategies for the Transition to Normality’, said that for now, “horizontal isolation” should be maintained.
Bolsonaro has called for Brazilians to get back to work and advocated the “vertical isolation” of those at risk, such as old people.
“There is a worldwide consensus between health specialists that social isolation, especially horizontal, is the best way of preventing contagion for the whole population. Selective, or vertical isolation, for determined risk groups is defended by some specialists and being adopted by some countries. However it is premature to draw conclusions from its results,” it said.
It said that selective isolation has been successful, when combined with widespread testing - currently not an option in Brazil. It said the “transition to normality” demanded, among other measures, following “recommendations of the World Health Organisation and scientific evidence.”
And it called for unity from “political leaders”, unlike Bolsonaro who has accused state governors and mayors who ordered lockdown of committing “crimes” and “busting the country”.
“In front of the size of the challenge… the need for national cohesion seems clear,” the report said.
Updated
Ethiopia reports first coronavirus death
Ethiopia has announced the first death of a patient suffering from the coronavirus, AFP reports.
“It is my deepest regret to announce the first death of a patient from COVID19 in Ethiopia,” health minister Lia Tadesse wrote on Twitter.
The victim was a 60-year-old Ethiopian woman who had spent six days in intensive care, a health ministry statement said.
It is my deepest regret to announce the first death of a patient from #COVID19 in Ethiopia. The patient who was in critical condition after being admitted to Eka Kotebe hospital was in ICU care and strict medical follow up. My sincere condolences to the family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/rPKNFkrWmb
— Lia Tadesse (@lia_tadesse) April 5, 2020
Pakistan quarantines 20,000 worshippers
Pakistan has quarantined 20,000 worshippers and is looking for tens of thousands of others who attended a religious event in Lahore in March despite the pandemic, according to AFP.
Authorities said they want to test or quarantine those who were at the event held by the Tablighi Jamaat - an Islamic missionary movement - between March 10-12.
Over 100,000 people attended the meeting despite government requests for it to be cancelled as the virus hit the country.
Updated
The UK coronavirus daily briefing is under way - head over to the UK liveblog to follow our coverage.
Lebanon begins repatriation
Lebanon has begun repatriating nationals in its first flights in weeks since it closed its international airport in response to the pandemic, AFP reports.
Local television showed healthcare workers wearing protective equipment taking the temperature of disembarking passengers.
AFP reports that buses waited outside the airport to transport the passengers to their homes to self-quarantine or to a hotel to await the results of tests on arrival.
Lebanese authorities said over 20,000 people had signed up to be repatriated this week or at the end of the month.
The country closed its airport on March 19 as part of measures to curb the virus’s spread, which has officially infected 527 people and killed 18 nationwide.
Updated
Hello, this is Clea Skopeliti taking over the live blog.
If you spot a story I’ve missed or have a tip, please feel free to message me on Twitter @cleaskopeliti. I won’t have time to reply to everything but will try to read them all. Thanks!
Updated
Social-distancing requirements have affected events around the world for Palm Sunday, which commemorates the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem, where thousands of pilgrims usually participate in the march, this year was limited to a handful of participants. Clerics and faithful went door to door often throwing the branches to Christians looking on from their balconies.
This year because of the new situation we are trying to come to all the Christians in our Christian Quarter to bring these branches of olives, the sign of new hope, said the Rev. Sandro Tomasevic, a Catholic clergyman at the Latin Parish of Jerusalem.
Pope urges recognition of "the real heroes" during pandemic
Pope Francis has celebrated Palm Sunday Mass without the public because of the coronavirus pandemic, which he said should focus people’s attention on what’s most important, despite heavy hearts using one’s life to serve others.
Looking pensive and sounding subdued, Francis led the first of several solemn Holy Week ceremonies that will shut out rank-and-file faithful from attending, the Associated Press news agency reported.
The tragedy we are experiencing summons us to take seriously the things that are serious, and not to be caught up in those that matter less, to rediscover that life is of no use if not used to serve others,” the pontiff said in his homily ( full text here).
In a remark directed to young people, Francis said:
Dear friends, look at the real heroes who come to light in these days: they are not famous, rich and successful people; rather, they are those who are giving themselves in order to serve others.
Feel called yourselves to put your lives on the line. Do not be afraid to devote your life to God and to others; it pays! For life is a gift we receive only when we give ourselves away, and our deepest joy comes from saying yes to love, without ifs and buts. As Jesus did for us.
Normally, tens of thousands of Romans, tourists and pilgrims, clutching olive tree branches or palm fronds would have flocked to an outdoor Mass led by the pontiff. Instead, Francis celebrated Mass inside St. Peters Basilica, which seemed even more cavernous than usual because it was so empty.
Experts are watching carefully to see if Covid-19 will follow the seasonal pattern of flu, but warn differences may be minor.
Flu epidemics tend to die out as winter ends; could sunshine, similarly, affect the behaviour of the coronavirus and its spread? It is a key question, and epidemiologists will be watching for changes very closely.
Initial studies of other coronaviruses - the common varieties that cause colds in the UK - do suggest a seasonal pattern, with peaks occurring during winter and disappearing in spring. Intriguingly, these peaks tend to coincide with flu outbreaks. By contrast, only small amounts of coronavirus appear to be transmitted in the summer.
A key study of the common coronaviruses - HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-229E - was published last week by scientists at University College London.
By analysing samples collected several years ago they found high rates of coronavirus infections in February, while in summer they were very low. Other studies have also shown coronaviruses are seasonal in behaviour in temperate climates.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has been spending a bit of time today on Twitter, where he has referred to what gives him a sense of optimism.
What makes me optimistic in the face of this new infectious respiratory pandemic is that in every conversation, literally, I've had since 31 Dec 2019, leaders from many countries, sectors, backgrounds & creeds have agreed on the need to come together in the fight against #COVID19
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) April 5, 2020
Austrian authorities report more recoveries than new cases
The number of new coronavirus infections in Austria rose on Sunday to 11,897, but authorities reported more newly recovered than newly diagnosed patients and a declining number of people in intensive care.
On Sunday morning the number of new cases had risen by 270 since Saturday morning, while the number of recoveries rose by 491, according to the health ministry.
It said the daily rate of new COVID-19 infections has fallen significantly in recent days, Reuters reported.
“These are some hopeful figures, but now...we must remain consistent and not give up...Hence my appeal: No private Easter celebrations and Easter holidays,” said Health Minister Rudolf Anschober.
Some 204 people have died of the global pandemic in Austria.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has indicated he will present a rough road map on Monday regarding when, in which order and under what conditions the restrictions on public life that have been in place since March 16 could be eased.
“If we all remain disciplined during Easter week, I am confident that we will be able to gradually and cautiously return to normality after Easter,” Kurz told the daily Kleine Zeitung in an interview published late on Saturday.
Updated
Authorities in Ecuador’s biggest city are distributing thousands of cardboard coffins and have created a helpline for families who need corpses to be removed from their homes, report Tom Phillips and Blanca Moncada in Guayaquil.
The city has emerged as a regional hotspot for coronavirus, and hospitals and mortuaries have been overwhelmed, forcing some families to store bodies at home.
“It looks like a warzone hospital. The things we have seen are straight out of a horror film,” a doctor at the Teodoro Maldonado Carbo hospital, one of city’s biggestfacilities, told the Guardian.
“My wife doesn’t want me to go to work. But if I don’t, more patients will die.”
On Saturday Ecuador’s health ministry said it had registered 172 Covid-19 deaths, 122 of them in Guayas province, of which Guayaquil is the capital. Low testing rates mean the true figure is almost certainly higher.
Ecuador has officially registered 3,465 coronavirus cases, the third highest number in South America after Brazil and Chile.
Next week will be "Pearl Harbour moment" - US Surgeon General
The next week is going to be “the Pearl Harbour moment” of the current population of the US, the country’s Surgeon General has said.
Jerome Adams, whose post makes him the operational head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, went on to tell the Meet the Press programme on NBC News that there was no magic bullet or magic cure for coronavirus.
“It is good old fashion public health and prevention. Everyone coming together, practicing good hygiene, staying at home, doing the things that we’ve always told people to do to prevent spread of infectious disease.”
Adams went on to say that the wearing of face masks was not a substitute for social distancing, adding: “We always try to evolve our recommendations based on the best available science.”
Scottish chief medical officer says she will not resign
Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer has been appearing in front of the cameras where she has reiterated an apology for travelling to her second home in contravention of the advice she has been giving the public.
Dr Catherine Calderwood said it was her intention to continue with her job having spoken to Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.
She had seen all of the comments on social media from people calling her a hypocrite and telling her of the hardships they have endured while following her guidance
“People have told me that I am irresponsible. That I have behaved as if my advice does not apply to me,” she said
“What I did was wrong. I am very sorry. It will not happen again.”
Speaking earlier, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she recognised that anger would be justifiable but people would make mistakes. She insisted that Calderwood’s advice had been invaluable to her.
Both Sturgeon and Calderwood are now being questioned by journalists.
UK reports 621 hospital deaths in 24 hours
A total of 4,934 patients died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Saturday, the Department of Health has said.
That is an increase of 621 from 4,313 yesterday when there were 708 new deaths confirmed in the UK.
As of 9am on Sunday, a total of 195,524 people have been tested for Covid, 47,806 of whom tested positive, according to the Department of Health.
My colleague Mattha Busby is liveblogging UK developments here
Updated
Sweden prepares measures amid concern over 'soft' approach
Sweden’s government is drawing up new legislation to allow it to take “extraordinary steps” to combat Covid-19, local media have reported, amid concern that its relatively soft approach may be leading to a higher death rate than in other Nordic countries.
Denmark and Norway are among the many countries to have imposed tough lockdowns, closing borders and shutting schools, and Finland has isolated its main urban area around Helsinki. But Swedes are still able to shop, go to restaurants, get a haircut and send children under 16 to class.
On Sunday Sweden reported a total of 401 deaths so far from Covid-19, and acknowledged delays in reporting mean the actual number is likely to be considerably higher. The figure was up 8% from Saturday and is greater than the totals of the other three Nordic nations combined. Sweden’s toll per million inhabitants is 37, compared with 28 in Denmark, 12 in Norway and 4.5 in Finland.
The state broadcaster SVT said on Sunday that after an outcry by opposition parties, the Social Democrat-led government had abandoned plans reported earlier in the weekend to rule by decree, bypassing MPs.
As those US governors, as well as prime ministers and leaders of other states, scrambled to procure protective equipment and other stocks, there’s an interesting piece in the New York Times on what it describes as the “prepper nation” of Finland.
It is sitting on an “enviable supply” of surgical masks, medical supplies, as well as oil, grains, agricultural tools and other raw materials.
“It’s in the Finnish people’s DNA to be prepared,” the Times was told by Tomi Lounema, the chief executive of Finland’s National Emergency Supply Agency, referring to Finland’s proximity to Russia.
As governors in the US compete (in some cases) for crucial resources and supplies protective equipment, a number are expected to make appearances on Sunday morning talkshows in the US.
Democratic governors of hard-hit states are due to appear, including John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Jay Inslee of Washington.
A Republican governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, is due on NBC. My colleague Martin Pengelly is live blogging developments on our US blog here:
The Abu Dhabi-based owners of London’s ExCel conference centre are not charging Britain’s health service for using it as a temporary hospital providing thousands of extra beds for the coronavirus epidemic, the site’s chief executive has said.
A report in Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper cited industry sources and said that ExCel, owned by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec), was charging the National Health Service (NHS) some £2 million to £3 million pounds a month.
“The use of ExCeL London for NHS Nightingale London has always been provided to the NHS rent free,” ExCel chief executive Jeremy Rees said in a statement.
“We joined the national effort to combat coronavirus immediately, and worked in close partnership with the NHS to ensure this hospital could be up and running in a matter of days.”
Police have visited Scotland’s chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood and issued her with a warning after she visited her second home.
Scotland’s chief constable Iain Livingstone said in a statement:
Earlier today, local officers visited Dr Catherine Calderwood and spoke to her about her actions, reiterated crucial advice and issued a warning about her future conduct, all of which she accepted.
The legal instructions on not leaving your home without a reasonable excuse apply to everyone.
Isolated from state governors and his own cabinet, in open warfare with his health minister and facing calls for his removal, Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has turned today to a new weapon to fight coronavirus: a day of prayer and fasting.
The president said the plan was for “Brazil to be free of this evil as soon as possible,” during a radio interview on Thursday.
According to the Rede Brasil Atual site, the suggestion was made by pastors gathered in front of the presidential palace earlier the same day – where evangelical supporters have prayed for the president during his daily conversation with fans and reporters.
A video published on Bolsonaro’s facebook page on Saturday quoted the bible (2 Chronicles 20:3) and featured a list of famous pastors supporting the move.
“Sunday is the day of fast,” Bolsonaro said in the video.
“The biggest evangelical leaders of this country attended a holy proclamation made by the supreme chief of the nation, the president Jair Messias Bolsonar, and invited the biggest army of Christians to the biggest fast and prayer campaign ever seen in the history of Brazil,” the narrator continued.
“Fast, pray and ask for mercy so that this plague that came over the world ceases,” said Pastor Marco Feliciano, a congressman and leading Bolsonaro ally.
But as cases of the virus Bolsonaro has dismissed as a “little flu” continuing to rise in his country – Brazil now has 10,278 cases and 432 deaths – not all religious leaders were convinced.
“The president’s job is to follow the constitution, put all his energy into resolving together with all the other instituted powers, this gigantic crisis,” Lutheran pastor Romi Bencke, general secretary of Brazil’s National Council of Christian Churches, told Rede Brasil Atual.
Leftist politician Guilherme Boulos tweeted a video of Pope Francis talking about fast. “Does my fast come to help others? If it doesn’t come to help others, it’s pretend, it’s incoherent, and it leads you to a double life,” the pope said in the video.
Updated
Belgium reaching peak of pandemic data - reports
The pandemic’s peak in Belgium appears to be being reached according to reports after the number of intensive care hospitalisations rose from 1,245 to 1,261.
The number number of new hospitalisations is now lower than that of discharges for the first time, reports Le Soir.
Jack Parrock, Brussels Correspondent for Euro News tweets:
🇧🇪 #BELGIUM #COVID19 update:
— Jack Parrock (@jackeparrock) April 5, 2020
🏨 For the first time, the number of people who left hospital in a day (504) was greater than the number of new #coronavirus patient admissions (499), according to the national public health institute of Belgium.https://t.co/DQo9LkX2Zh
Parisians have been warned not to succumb to the tempting sunny spring weather and to remain indoors to help fight the spread of the coronavirus that has killed 7,560 in France.
France, like other countries, has confined its residents to home since March 17 to curb the spread of the virus. The measures have been extended until April 15, and are likely to be extended again.
Reuters reported that several guests on Sunday televisions shows, including doctors, were alarmed by images of many Parisians out and about along the banks of the river Seine and on car-less streets and sidewalks, jogging, strolling and enjoying the sunny weather.
“When we see some of these images, when we see some of these attitudes, it is true that it is totally incomprehensible,” Jean Rottner, head of the Grand Est region, where the outbreak first took hold, said on BFM TV.
As the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 continues to grow in the US, we’ve published this map of cases on a state by state basis.
In Spain, cautious optimism greeted the latest figures, after 674 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours – the lowest daily death toll reported since March 26.
The virus has claimed 12,418 lives in the country, second only to Italy. Spain has recorded 130,759 confirmed cases, according to the health ministry.
The latest data suggests the growth in the number of infections has slowed to around 5% – the smallest increase seen since officials began tracking the outbreak. The actual number of cases in the country, however, is likely higher after hard-hit regions such as Madrid and Catalonia instructed people with mild symptoms to self-isolate rather than seek testing,
While officials urged caution in interpreting the data, they noted the figures hint at a downward trend, with fewer hospitalisations and a drop in patients needing critical care. “The sense that we’re getting from the regions is that the pressure is easing,” said María José Sierra of Spain’s health emergency centre. “It’s what we expected after three weeks of distancing measures.”
Hans Kluge of the World Health Organization echoed her cautious tone. “Careful optimism as a result of bold measures, innovative approaches and courageous decisions,” he wrote on Twitter after wrapping up a mission to Spain.
He added that he had been deeply impressed by the heroism of the country’s frontline workers and the solidarity among Spain’s residents.
The impact of the virus has been widespread across the country, which not a single Spanish region spared. As the number of cases continues its steady climb upwards, a handful of municipalities have cut themselves off from the rest of Spain – and the world – in hopes of keeping the virus out.
Among the most fervent is the southern Spanish municipality of Zahara de la Sierra. Home to some 1,400 people and perched high on a mountain, local officials have used chains and fences to block off all but one of the five access roads to the white village.
Police keep constant watch over the one road that remains open, stopping every vehicle that passes to ensure they have the necessary authorisation to enter the town.
Those that are allowed through are sprayed with disinfectant before they can proceed up to the fortress town. “Fortunately, we don’t have one (coronavirus) case in this municipality, nor anyone in quarantine,” mayor Santiago Galván told Europa Press.
Nearby, the village of Setenil de las Bodegas has also sprang into action. Popular with daytrippers who flock to visit its houses built into the rocks that loom over the village, officials have dumped hundreds of kilograms of dirt to block off most roads leading into the municipality.
Home to some 2,700 people, the local council recently announced plans to disinfect all of the streets of the village on a daily basis while any vehicle that enters must pass under a custom-built arch that showers them with disinfectant.
Updated
Singapore has recorded a 60% increase in coronavirus cases in a single day.
The county’s health ministry reported 120 new cases of the virus on Sunday, in comparison to 75 on Saturday. It marks the most infections confirmed in a day for the city-state.
So far, Singapore has confirmed a total of 1,309 positive cases and six deaths from Covid-19.
South Africa’s state-owned arms firm Denel will design and produce ventilators in partnership with other public entities, research bodies and medical technology companies to treat coronavirus patients.
Danie du Toit, group executive of Denel, said engineers from Denel Dynamics and Aeronautics were working round the clock on the project, named Sabela, without giving a target figure.
“We are still in the early stages of the project, but we are optimistic that this local initiative will help to alleviate the dire need for medical ventilators that are required in great numbers at both public and private hospitals,” Du Toit said.
The firm is also considering other areas in which it could repurpose its current operations and technology to tackle the health crisis, including by potentially producing sanitisers for industrial and medical use and converting Casspir mine-protected vehicles into ambulances.
South Africa has reported 1,585 coronavirus cases as of Saturday, with nine deaths.
Pope Francis has marked the opening of Holy week in a deserted St. Peter’s Basilica by urging people to think about “what good we can do for others”.
The Palm Sunday service usually attracts tens of thousands of people to Vatican City, and includes a long procession of cardinals, priests and followers carrying palm fronds.
Today, it was held from a secondary altar behind the one Pope Francis normally uses and was attended by around two dozen people, including aides, nuns, and a small choir practicing social distancing.
During his sermon, which was broadcast to millions around the world, he said:
The tragedy we are experiencing summons us to take seriously the things that are serious, and not to be caught up in those that matter less; to rediscover that life is of no use if not used to serve others. For life is measured by love.
“May we reach out to those who are suffering and those most in need. May we not be concerned about what we lack, but what good we can do for others.”
Updated
Switzerland’s death toll from Covid-19 has risen by 19 to 559, the country’s health ministry said on Sunday.
More than 158,000 people in Switzerland – which has a population of 8.6m – have been tested for the virus, with 21,100 confirmed as positive cases.
I’m Amy Walker, running the global blog while my colleague Ben Quinn takes a lunch break. You can follow me on Twitter @amyrwalker.
Updated
Summary
Spain records smallest percentage rise in infections since start of crisis
Spain’s death toll has risen by 674 to 12,418 in the past 24 hours, according to figures which recorded the lowest number of victims in nine days. The number of registered cases rose to 130,759 from 124,736, Spain’s ministry said. The five percent rise in infections was the smallest increase since the start of the health crisis. Germany’s confirmed coronavirus infections meanwhile rose by 5,936 in the past 24 hours to 91,714 on Sunday, the third straight drop in the daily rate of new cases.
Global cases pass 1.2 million
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases globally has passed 1.2m, according to Johns Hopkins University figures. Just over one in four of these is in the US, which has 311,544 cases. There have been 64,753 coronavirus-related deaths worldwide. The five countries with the highest numbers of confirmed cases were the US, Spain, Italy, Germany and France. China, which is now at number six, reported 30 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, up from 19 a day earlier.
Trump talks up unproven malaria drug
Donald Trump has directly urged Americans worried about Covid-19 to take a little-studied anti-malaria drug for the disease, despite potentially serious side effects and a lack of data on safety and efficacy in treatment of the pandemic virus. The president also warned the US that the worst was yet to come, and that Americans would see “a lot of death”. At a briefing on Saturday afternoon, the president sought to discredit media reports of his administration’s failures and called some outlets in the White House press corps “fake news”.
Lombardy enacts law obliging citizens to wear face masks
Authorities in Lombardy, the Italian region worst-affected by coronavirus, have enacted a law obliging citizens to wear face masks when they go outside. In the absence of a mask, people should “cover their mouths and noses with a simple foulard or scarf”, said Attilio Fontana, the president of Lombardy.
The law came as images from major cities including Rome, Naples, Milan and Turin showed an increase in the number of people venturing out in recent days amid good weather.
Pandemic threatens survival of European Union, Spanish PM warns
The European Union’s very survival is at stake and a new ‘Marshall Plan for Europe is needed’ to rebuild the continent’s economies, Spain’s prime minister has warned in article published by the Guardian. Europe must build a wartime economy and promote European resistance, reconstruction and recovery, Pedro Sánchez said. A critical juncture had been reached at which even the most fervently pro-European countries and governments, as is Spain’s case, needed real proof of commitment in the form of “unwavering solidarity”.
African economics face “complete collapse” if virus not controlled
Economies in some parts of Africa face a “complete collapse” unless the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic is controlled, a senior UN official with responsibility for operations on the continent has said. Up to 50% of all projected job growth in Africa will be lost as aviation, services, exports, mining, agriculture and the informal sector all take a hit, according to Ahunna Eziakonwa, the United Nations Development Program regional director for Africa.
First case recorded in South Sudan as Iran puts death toll at 3,603
South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest states and one where decades of war and hunger have already devastated infrastructure, has become one of the latest states to record a confirmed case of Covid-19. The case was a 29-year-old woman who arrived in February from the Netherlands, via Ethiopia. Elsewhere, Iran said that Covid-19 infections stood at 58,226 while the death toll from the outbreak was 3,603.
Outdoor exercise could be banned if rules flouted, Britons warned
Outdoor exercise could be banned in Britain if people flout the social distancing rules, the UK’s health minister has warned. Matt Hancock said sunbathing in public spaces was against the Government guidance, and told those who dared to disobey that they are putting their own and others’ lives at risk. His warning came ahead of a televised address by the Queen, who was expected to praise Britain for its “self-discipline” and “resolve” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Australian authorities cautiously optimistic
Health authorities in Australia have expressed cautious optimism that the country may be able to limit its domestic outbreak, as the nation’s death toll reached 34. However, senior officials have warned against complacency or relaxing social distancing rules too early, saying that could lead to a resurgence in cases. The government has also warned its citizens that imported “home” Covid-19 test kits pose a serious risk to public health.
Criminal investigation launched into handling of cruise ship
A criminal investigation is to be launched into the disastrous handling of the Ruby Princess cruise ship, which has become the single largest source of Covid-19 cases in Australia, the NSW police commissioner said on Sunday. Commissioner Mike Fuller announced the move as it was revealed four more passengers from the ill-fated ship have died – bringing the total number up to 11, and accounting for more than 30% of all Australian Covid-19 deaths.
Germany records third straight drop in daily rate of new cases
Germany’s confirmed coronavirus infections rose by 5,936 in the past 24 hours to 91,714 on Sunday, the third straight drop in the daily rate of new cases, according to data from the government’s Robert Koch Institute.
Reuters reported that Sunday’s figure amounted to a drop of 146 cases compared with 6,082 new infections recorded on Saturday, itself a fall from 6,174 new infections on Friday.
African economics face "complete collapse" UN official warns
Economies in some parts of Africa face a “complete collapse” unless the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic is controlled, a senior UN official with responsibility for operations on the continent has said.
Up to 50% of all projected job growth in Africa will be lost as aviation, services, exports, mining, agriculture and the informal sector all take a hit, according to Ahunna Eziakonwa, the United Nations Development Program regional director for Africa.
“We will see a complete collapse of economies and livelihoods. Livelihoods will be wiped out in a way we have never seen before,” she told the Associated Press.
The UN Economic Commission for Africa has said the pandemic could seriously dent already stagnant growth in many countries, with oil-exporting nations like Nigeria and Angola losing up to $65 billion in revenue as prices fall.
Updated
There’s more on that first confirmed case of Covid-19 in South Sudan. The person is a 29-year-old woman who arrived in February from the Netherlands, via Ethiopia.
Denis Dumo, a journalist covering South Sudan, tweets this picture from a press conference given by Riek Machar, one of the country’s vice presidents.
The patient is a 29 year old female a foreign national who arrived in the country #SouthSudan from Netherlands via Addis Ababa on 28 February 2020. https://t.co/I795CPqz6m pic.twitter.com/9dXAU99v8J
— Denis Dumo (@DenisDumo) April 5, 2020
Authorities in Lombardy, the Italian region worst-affected by coronavirus, have enacted a law obliging citizens to wear face masks when they go outside.
In the absence of a mask, people should “cover their mouths and noses with a simple foulard or scarf”, said Attilio Fontana, the president of Lombardy.
“So as to prevent you from spreading the virus if you happen to be carriers,” he added.
The law came as images from major cities including Rome, Naples, Milan and Turin showed an increase in the number of people venturing out in recent days amid good weather.
Between Thursday and Saturday, 15,000 people were fined for breaking the quarantine rules, according to figures from the interior ministry. “Hundreds” were reportedly on the streets in Naples, while there has been a rise in pedestrian movement in Milan, the capital of Lombardy.
“The desire to go out is great, but you can’t,” added Fontana. “We haven’t reached any goals yet, or concluded any work…therefore we must continue otherwise the effort made to date will be nullified.”
The law will be in place at least until 13 April, when Italy’s lockdown is due to expire.
The pressure on hospitals in Italy is starting to ease, with the first drop in the number of intensive care beds in use registered on Saturday (from 4,068 to 3,994 in a day).
“This is important news, as it allows our hospitals to breathe,” said Angelo Borrelli, the chief of the civil protection authority.” Deaths on Saturday rose by 681, the lowest daily rise for almost two weeks.
Spain records smallest percentage rise in infections since start of crisis
Spain’s coronavirus death toll has risen by 674 to 12,418 in the past 24 hours, according to figures which recorded the lowest number of victims in nine days.
It is also the first time since March 28 that daily deaths have dropped below 800.
The number of registered cases rose to 130,759 from 124,736, Spain’s ministry said. The five percent rise in infections was the smallest increase since the start of the health crisis.
The latest figures came as Spain’s prime minister warned that the European Union’s very survival was at stake and called for a new ‘Marshall Plan for Europe’ to rebuild the continent’s economies,
In an article published today by the Guardian, Pedro Sanchez added:
The challenge we face is extraordinary and unprecedented. It calls for a single, united, radical and ambitious response to preserve our economic and social system and protect our citizens.
The Spanish have always protected and defended the European project. It is time for reciprocity. With us, with Italy and with each and every one of the 27 countries of the union.
Updated
First confirmed case of Covid-19 in South Sudan
The first confirmed case of Covid-19 has been recorded in South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest states where decades of war and hunger have already devastated infrastructure.
The news was announced by Riek Machar, one of the country’s vice presidents, Reuters reports.
Updated
Scotland’s chief medical officer (CMO) has been photographed visiting her family’s second home in Fife during the coronavirus pandemic, despite herself issuing advice to stay at home.
Photos of Dr Catherine Calderwood and her family near a coastal retreat in Earlsferry were published in the Scottish Sun late on Saturday.
Just days earlier, the 51-year-old tweeted a photo of her family from their main residence in Edinburgh as they clapped for NHS staff working to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood flouts lockdown rule by visiting holiday home on the Fife coast with her family. @ScottishSun on Sunday exclusive by @olnorton https://t.co/Di3imKBNBM
— Chris Musson (@ChrisMusson) April 4, 2020
Malaysia has reported 179 new coronavirus cases, raising the cumulative total to 3,662 cases as Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy grapples with the highest number of infections in the region.
The new cases include 4 deaths, raising the tally to 61 people who have died as of noon on Sunday, Reuters reported, citing health ministry officials.
Several articles in the French media claim people have taken to calling the police to “denounce” their neighbours for breaking the lockdown rules.
Calls to the police emergency number - 17 in France - have soared to up to three times the normal number, officers in some areas have reported.
Most of these calls are from people asking questions about what they can or cannot do during the lockdown, but some are calling to snitch on others, say police.
Among them the woman who called to say her husband was sneaking out to see his mistress, reported Le Parisian, or the man who called to ask if he could play petanque with his mates and, when told “non”, denounced his friends.
While these examples are amusingly stereotypical, the issue raises a darker spectre in France, where during the Occupation “denouncing” the neighbours meant handing Jews (and to a lesser extent Resistants and Communists) over to the Nazis.
Police are urging people to only call 17 in an emergency.
A father in China has created a “safety capsule” which he says is designed to protect infants from coronavirus and is planning to mass-produce and price it at around $1400.
Sixth Tone, an English-language media outlet owned by a state-backed company and aimed at attracting an English-speaking readership, tweets:
A father in Shanghai created a “safety capsule” to protect infants from #COVID19. He's planning to mass-produce and price it at around $1400. pic.twitter.com/uR0C7SIuUI
— Sixth Tone (@SixthTone) April 5, 2020
As the coronavirus crisis tests the resilience of democracies around the globe, Germany has gone from cursing its lead-footed, decentralised political system to wondering if federalism’s tortoise versus hare logic puts it in a better position to brave the pandemic than most.
Under German federalism – which has roots going back to the Holy Roman Empire but was entrenched after the Nazi era to weaken centralised rule – key policy areas, such as health, education and cultural affairs, fall under the jurisdiction of the country’s 16 states, or Länder.
At the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, such a highly devolved system of governance made the woman nominally in charge of the country look oddly powerless: even when Angela Merkel announced the first raft of social-distancing measures, she could only make recommendations that the federal states were free to implement or ignore.
A week and a half into the de facto lockdown, however, Germany is beginning to discover the upsides of a system which distributes, rather than centralises, power.
The country suddenly finds itself being held up as the model to be emulated for its high rates of testing – seen by many as the only strategy for being able to navigate a route out of lockdown measures.
Priests have been delivering blessings from the back of trucks and motorised tricycles in the Philippine on Sunday, adapting the deeply Catholic nation’s traditions to the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
Locals lined up in front of their homes in a district of Manila, which is entering its fourth week of a lockdown that has brought the frenetic metropolis nearly to a halt, the AFP news agency reported.
The priests made signs of the cross as they rolled past waving residents marking Palm Sunday, the start of the week that culminates with the observance of Easter.
“This celebration will continue despite the spread of the virus,” said Bong Sosa, who attended wearing a mask crafted from a water cooler bottle.
The blessings come as the Philippines recorded a total of 144deaths and 3,094 confirmed virus cases, numbers that are expected to keep rising as the nation ramps up testing.
European Union survival at stake - Spanish PM
The European Union’s very survival is at stake and a new ‘Marshall Plan for Europe is needed’ to rebuild the continent’s economies, Spain’s prime minister writes in article published today by the Guardian.
Europe must build a wartime economy and promote European resistance, reconstruction and recovery, Pedro Sánchez says.
It must start doing so as soon as possible with measures to support the public debt that many states, including Spain, are taking on.
And it must continue to do so when this health emergency is over, to rebuild the continent’s economies by mobilising significant resources through a plan we are calling the new Marshall Plan and which will require the backing of all of the EU’s common institutions.
A critical juncture had been reached at which even the most fervently pro-European countries and governments, as is Spain’s case, needed real proof of commitment in the form of “unwavering solidarity”.
Sunbathing agains rules - UK health minister
Britain’s health minister has said he is “very concerned” that global supply chains should be kept open as he warned that the UK was “not there yet” in terms of its battle to flatten the curve of rising Covid-19 infections.
On what appeared set to be a particularly sunny day in some parts of Britain - and anger in some quarters towards those who have been pictured relaxing outdoors this weekend - Matt Hancock also said that sunbathing was against the rules that had been set out for important public health reasons.
“I wish I didn’t have to say this because the whole country wants to come through this crisis as quickly as possible and the fastest way to come through the crisis and save lives and reduce pressure on the National Health Service,” he said.
Hancock was also asked about - and rejected - reports that he was at odds with the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, about when to lift the UK’s lockdown.
The Mail on Sunday reported that Sunak has made ‘robust’ representations to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, arguing that unless a path is mapped now for a swift return to normal economic activity it could cause lasting damage to the country.
You can follow coverage of developments on our UK liveblog here
Afghan health officials have warned of a “catastrophe” if people don’t heed Coronavirus measures as restrictions on movement tightened amid a surge in Covid-19 infections in Kabul, a city six million.
Some 38 new Coronavirus cases have been confirmed nationally in last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 337. Out of new cases, 10 were confirmed in the capital Kabul and 10 in Herat, the country’s worst affected area, taking the total number of infections to 214 in the province.
Four out of seven deaths of Coronavirus have been confirmed in Herat.
New positives cases decreased in Herat compared with infections of recent days, according to a health ministry spokesman who said that this was due to the effectiveness of the curfew in Herat.
Officials in Kabul said yesterday that they will serve restrictions in the city, and even “will arrest people” while Herat governor said previously that difficult days are yet to come.
“We will enter a critical time in the next three weeks. We once again call on the people to apply the health guidelines of the Ministry of Health, particularly in Kabul and Herat,” said Nizamuddin Jalil, the head of Kabul hospitals.
The UN’s office in Afghanistan also announced its first Coronavirus case on Friday and said the UN “remains committed to continue its work as a partner to Afghanistan’s government and its people during this new crisis which comes in addition to years of conflict, grinding poverty and climate change”.
#Afghanistan is reaching a defining moment. Can its leaders rally together & engage Taliban to achieve peace? The choice is made stark by all-enveloping #COVID19 threat, said UNAMA’s OIC Ingrid Hayden briefing @UN Security Council today. Read briefing: https://t.co/oGurVPETmJ pic.twitter.com/bLTvUhrB6q
— UNAMA News (@UNAMAnews) March 31, 2020
Coronavirus hits the old and those with other health problems hardest, but fit, youthful people are dying too, and experts are trying to understand why.
In some cases, previously undiagnosed conditions are later revealed but in others no such explanations are available.
Several theories have been proposed. Some researchers believe the amount of virus that infects an individual may have crucial outcomes. Get a huge dose and your outcome may be worse.
Others argue that genetic susceptibility may be involved: in other words, that there are individuals whose genetic makeup leaves them more vulnerable to the virus as it spreads through their bodies.
Updated
Tokyo governor warns of "new stage"
Tokyo has seen its highest daily jump in coronavirus cases so far after more than 130 people were infected, according to Japanese media reports.
The city’s authorities have strongly urged people to stay at home as the city of 13 million has seen a rise in the number of cases in recent days.
On a morning news programme on Sunday, Governor Yuriko Koike repeated her call to residents to avoid unnecessary outings, saying that “lives were at stake”.
She said “I think we’ve entered a new situation and a new stage... I want people to think anew about how to protect themselves, protect their families, and at the same time protect society,”
Japan has so far largely been spared the type of surge seen in Europe, the USand elsewhere, with some 3,000 cases and 73 deaths as of Friday.
This is Ben Quinn picking up the live blog now in London.
Updated
Summary
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan for today. I trust this finds you diligently working to somehow differentiate your Sunday from the approaching Monday. You could always go for a run and eat a kebab.
Below are the most important recent developments in the coronavirus pandemic.
-
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases globally has passed 1.2 million, according to Johns Hopkins University figures. Just over one in four of these is in the US, which has 312,237 cases. There have been 64,784 coronavirus-related deaths worldwide.
- Mainland China reported 30 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, up from 19 a day earlier as the number of cases involving travellers from abroad as well as local transmissions increased. It also reported 47 new asymptomatic cases.
- Donald Trump has warned that the next two weeks will be the “toughest” in the US’s efforts to tackle coronavirus, and said he would be deploying thousands of military personnel to states to support them.
- Trump also touted hydroxychloroquine as a cure for Covid-19. The anti-malaria drug could be ‘one of the biggest game-changers in the history of medicine’, Trump claimed during the briefing but there is no magic cure.
- Trump’s pick for a new watchdog to oversee the $2 trillion support package, issued to combat the economic fallout of coronavirus, is not independent enough, congressional Democrats have said.
- New York’s death toll has exceeded 3,000, almost a quarter of the US total, and Andrew Cuomo thanks China for ventilators as the state prepares for its coronavirus peak. The New York governor announced the state obtained 1,000 ventilators from billionaires Joseph and Clara Tsai and Alibaba founder Jack Ma.
- Greece has quarantined a second migrant facility this week after a 53-year-old man at the Malakasa camp tested positive for coronavirus.
- In Australia, there will be a criminal investigation into the Ruby Princess debacle. On 19 March, 2,700 passengers were allowed to disembark the Ruby Princess cruise ship in Sydney and make their own way home, despite, according to reports, authorities knowing about the widespread respiratory sickness on board.
- New Zealand passed 1,000 cases. The country has 89 new coronavirus cases as of Sunday, according to Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield, bringing the total to 1039.
- Spain’s number of infections has overtaken those in Italy, making the country the second-worst affected after the US. Spain has 124,870 confirmed cases and Italy 124,632.
- Deaths in Italy have passed 15,000. The country has lost 15,362 people to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.
- Australia’s home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, urged people to be wary of dodgy ‘home’ Covid-19 test kits that could pose a serious risk to public health, AAP reports.
- Ecuador’s government has begun storing the bodies of victims of the coronavirus in giant refrigerated containers as hundreds of deaths in the city of Guayaquil, the centre of the country’s outbreak, have already filled morgues and hospitals.
- Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox church has decided to suspend prayers preceding Easter celebrations later this month as part of efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus, AFP reports.
- A senior health official in Iran has warned that the Iranian capital could see a resurgence of coronavirus cases, after residents in Tehran flouted restrictions.
Health officials ‘hopeful’ Australia is flattening coronavirus curve but warn against complacency
Health authorities in Australia have expressed cautious optimism that Australia may be able to limit the domestic coronavirus outbreak, as the death toll reaches 34 including three more deaths linked to the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
Modelling by the University of Sydney showed that the number of active cases in Australia, assuming continued adherence to the current social distancing laws, could peak mid-April and the spread could be controlled by July. That modelling suggested the total number of people who would contract Covid-19 in Australia over the course of the pandemic was between 8,000 and 10,000. The current number is 5,635.
Victoria’s chief health officer, Prof Brett Sutton, said he for the first time had “a little bit of optimism that we can actually beat this”.
How ‘tenacious, diligent’ Keir Starmer won over a shell-shocked party
Yesterday the Surrey-raised 57-year-old son of a toolmaker and a nurse, who named their son after the party’s first parliamentary leader, Keir Hardie, emerged not just strides but miles in front of his two rivals, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy, from the long contest to succeed Jeremy Corbyn.
The brilliant human rights lawyer who rose to become director of public prosecutions aged 45 in 2008 has only been an MP since 2015. But in a deeply divided party he managed to sweep up 56.2% of the vote, leaving Long-Bailey and Nandy way behind, on 27.6% and 16.2% respectively. Importantly, Starmer won a mandate across the board, winning the biggest share of the vote among MPs, members and affiliates.
As he embarks on his leadership and begins to appoint his shadow cabinet today, it will not be Brexit that will preoccupy Starmer but rather Labour’s approach to the coronavirus pandemic. The new leader has won a handsome mandate from a party that has placed its trust in his forensic, tenacious approach to politics and the crises it throws up. The current crisis could hardly be bigger.
In his statement yesterday, Starmer said: “Whether we voted for this government or not, we all rely on it to get this right. That’s why in the national interest the Labour party will play its full part.” The coming weeks will be a test like no other in his hitherto glittering career.
Food heroes who reach out to the isolated, vulnerable and hungry
In the week since the NHS identified more than 1.5 million people who are most vulnerable and in need of support, the government has issued about 30,000 food parcels containing tinned vegetables, bread, tuna and fresh fruit. The number is expected to increase to “hundreds of thousands being delivered every week” according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, but action has been much quicker on the ground. We speak to some of the heroes in the drive to keep the nation fed.
Greece quarantines second migrant facility
Greece has quarantined a second migrant facility this week after a 53-year-old man tested positive for coronavirus, the migration ministry said on Sunday.
The Afghan man, who was found to be infected, lives with his family at the Malakasa camp along with hundreds of other migrants and asylum seekers. He has been transferred to a hospital in Athens. Tests on his contacts will continue as the public health agency tries to trace the route of the virus.
On Thursday, authorities quarantined the Ritsona camp in central Greece after 20 asylum seekers tested positive for coronavirus. It was the first such facility in Greece to be hit since the outbreak of the disease.
The camp in Malakasa, 40km (25 miles) northeast of Athens, will be put into quarantine for two weeks, the ministry said, adding that police guarding the site would be reinforced.
A new separate closed-type facility started operating last month for migrants who arrived after March 1, the ministry said.
To Donald Trump, coronavirus is just one more chance for a power grab
Donald Trump calls allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election a “hoax”. He called his impeachment a “hoax”. He initially called the coronavirus a “hoax”.
But the real hoax is Trump’s commitment to America. In reality he will do anything – anything – to hold on to power. In his mind, the coronavirus crisis is just another opportunity.
Anger as China quarantines freed human rights lawyer 400km from home
Prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang, who was jailed for four and a half years for subversion, has been released from prison but barred from reuniting with his wife and son in Beijing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
His wife, Li Wenzu, fears that the authorities are using the pandemic as an excuse to hold him under de facto house arrest indefinitely. She said Wang has been released from prison but authorities had sent him to his home town, Jinan, in the north-eastern province of Shandong (400km south of Beijing) for quarantine.
Chinese authorities have been using compulsory quarantine as a pretext to detain or restrict the movements of government critics.
Wang called his wife from the prison yesterday telling her to refrain from going to meet him in prison. In a recording she posted on Twitter, Wang said he had to be quarantined “for some time” due to the pandemic. When Li, who has been frequently harassed by the authorities, angrily asked whether he was prompted to say that under duress, he said: “We’ll be back together, but there’ll be a process.”
If you see stories you think I may have missed, have tips or want to share something that’s good for morale, get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
Can Detroit’s automakers solve America’s ventilator crisis?
Detroit is planning a rapid mobilization of its engineering and manufacturing might unseen since the second world war, switching from making cars to making ventilators as the Covid-19 pandemic brings the US to breaking point.
With coronavirus cases surging, not least in Detroit, demand for ventilators is outpacing hospitals’ supply and people are dying without the machines. Now the US’s largest car manufacturers are stepping in. General Motors plans to begin producing 10,000 ventilators per month by mid-April, and Ford hopes to produce 50,000 of the devices in the next 100 days.
But producing ventilators and automobiles are two very different processes, and retooling auto factories to make ventilators presents a daunting logistical challenge.
Breaking point: the week when UK ministers struggled to keep pace with Covid-19 crisis
A “car crash” media appearance. A political “reset” already being challenged. A prime minister stuck in isolation. The beginnings of a bureaucratic blame game and increasingly open concerns about the route out of the coronavirus epidemic. And all in the opening weeks of a crisis that most experts believe will grip the nation for months.
This was the week when public pleas for national unity from ministers were accompanied by increasingly fraught exchanges in Whitehall, as ministers, scientific advisers and officials confronted the reality of an unprecedented emergency developing at incredible speed.
“It’s extraordinary how quickly things move and turn,” said one official. “There seems to be a narrative from some that there’s a fixed body of evidence on how to deal with things. It’s not like that. It sometimes feels like a game of whack-a-mole.”
Unfortunately for the government, the moment that its handling of the crisis came seriously under strain was broadcast live on television.
UK papers, Sunday 5 April 2020
Here are Sunday’s UK front pages:
Tomorrow’s front page pic.twitter.com/lCTjmGY42Y
— The Observer (@ObserverUK) April 4, 2020
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Those who come after us will say the Britons of this generation were as strong as any #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/aBnAM0WJTI
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 4, 2020
INDEPENDENT DIGITAL: UK faces care crisis #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/ZGfGBC98Ur
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 4, 2020
SUNDAY TIMES: Queen calls on nation to be strong as virus strikes medics #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/d65KmRD3pr
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 4, 2020
SUNDAY MIRROR: @Jacob_Rees_Mogg firm: our chance to make money #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/IKHsgDyDuP
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 4, 2020
Global cases pass 1.2m as Trump warns US of worse to come
Donald Trump has warned the US the worst is yet to come, as global cases passed 1.2m and the governor of New York thanked China for donating 1,000 ventilators. The state recorded 630 deaths on Saturday in its worst day.
“This is a big deal and it’s going to make a significant difference for us,” said Andrew Cuomo, who has repeatedly warned that the state’s supply of the vital machines would be exhausted in days if current trends continued.
Donald Trump used a Saturday press conference to blame shortages on state governors asking for more supplies than they needed, and urged Americans to take a little-studied anti-malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, as a preventative despite his health expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, stating there was only “anecdotal evidence” it was of use.
Trump also warned the next two weeks would be the “toughest” and that there would be “a lot of death”. He would deploy thousands of military personnel to support the states, the president said. Cuomo and New YorkCity mayor Bill de Blasio have repeatedly implored the federal government for more help.
Meanwhile, China saw a slight rise in cases despite tough restrictions and a ban on foreign arrivals. In Europe, Italy passed 15,000 deaths, while Spain overtook Italy in terms of cases, recording a total of more than 126,000, to become the second-worst affected. The US has by far the most cases, with more than 311,000. Globally, the death toll is approaching 65,000.
Already in a 21-day lockdown, South Africa is now embarking on the widespread testing and quarantine campaign involving some 10,000 field workers who are being sent out into homes in villages, towns and cities to screen for symptoms, AFP reports.
The testing plan to break the chain of infection appears to be modelled on the South Korean strategy which saw the Asian country bring the outbreak under control.
South Africa has so far reported nine deaths and 1,585 infections, but Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has warned that the relatively small growth in numbers was perhaps “the calm before a heavy and devastating storm”.
Before the rollout of mass screening and testing, more than 47,500 tests had been performed, 6,000 of them at public health centres.
But for the heath minister, that number is too low for a country of 57 million people where several million have underlying conditions such as HIV and TB.
The turnout was slow on the first day on Friday, Dlomo said.
South Africa’s public National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) has secured 67 mobile vans to ramp up testing across the country.
Currently the state will be able to carry out 5,000 tests in 24 hours at 10 laboratories countrywide, but at full capacity it can process 30,000 tests each day.
The country is currently observing a 21-day lockdown patrolled by the police and military, a perfect time to carry out the mobile testing, according to the health minister.
New South Wales police launch criminal investigation into Ruby Princess fiasco
In Australia, New South Wales police commissioner Mick Fuller has confirmed that there will be a criminal investigation into the Ruby Princess debacle.
“There is clear evidence that [Covid-19] has been brought off that ship,” Fuller says. There’s clear evidence now when it stopped in New Zealand Covid-19 has come off that ship and at least 10 people have died in Australia from Covid-19. The only way I can get to the bottom of whether our national biosecurity laws and our state laws were broken is through a criminal investigation.”
He adds: “The investigation will look into the actions of every agency.”
Ten passengers who were on the cruise ship have now died.
The New South Wales health minister, Brad Hazzard, on Saturday defended the role of health experts who allowed 2,700 passengers to disembark the Ruby Princess cruise ship and make their own way home, following reports that authorities knew about the widespread respiratory sickness on board.
In New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern’s government has quietly codified a “bonk ban” more than a week into the country’s clampdown designed to stamp out Covid-19
New Zealand authorities have issued new lockdown guidance that separates families and lovers who don’t live together.
With Kiwis not even half-way through an initial four-week lockdown that may even be extended, it remains to be seen how long they’ll spend apart.
Self-isolation principles under the lockdown in New Zealand were previously vague.
Before the lockdown, Ms Ardern asked Kiwis to “apply common sense” and shrink down their social group to “a small group of individuals who are part of your bubble ... the bubble you must maintain” for the month.
That was understood largely to mean households, but the non-specific language allowed families and partners who didn’t live to see each other.
However, the issuing of a Health Act Order, replaced the unspecific order with explicit language, leaves no room for misinterpretation.
It allows for no fraternising across households with very limited exemptions; for shared custody of children, and when at least one of the partners lives alone.
The end result is the criminalisation of most relationships between Kiwis who don’t live together.
Ms Ardern has justified the decision as necessary to fight coronavirus, on the same day that New Zealand’s cases reached 1,000.
Thailand reported 102 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths, the country’s public health ministry said on Sunday.
The latest numbers raised the total in the Southeast Asian nation to 2,169 cases.
23 people have died in Thailand since the outbreak first emerged in January.
The Iraqi health ministry says Covid-19 has killed 56 Iraqis and infected more than 800 others. But many suspect the real numbers to be much higher, as only a few thousand people from a population of 40 million have been tested, AFP reports.
In a bid to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, authorities have imposed a countrywide lockdown, ordering schools and most shops shut.
While the government is still paying salaries and pensions to millions, Iraq’s modest private-sector economy has come to a grinding halt overnight.
Iraq is OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer, but is ranked among the 20 most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International. The World Bank says one in five Iraqis lives under the poverty line.
Sensing that relying on authorities would be unwise, young activists, community figures and local religious leaders have come together to try to support those with no income.
Using donations to buy essentials, like lentils, beans, rice and sugar, they pack supplies in plastic bags, talk their way through checkpoints and distribute them across the city.
In Thailand, a shutdown has meant red-light districts from Bangkok to Pattaya have gone quiet with night clubs and massage parlours closed and tourists blocked from entering the country, AFP reports.
That has left an estimated 300,000 sex workers out of a job, pressing some onto the streets where the risks are sharpened by the pandemic.
Since Friday Thais have been under a 10 pm to 4 am curfew. Bars and eat-in restaurants closed several days earlier.
Many of Bangkok’s sex workers had jobs in the relative safety of bars, working for tips and willing to go home with customers.
When their workplaces suddenly closed most returned home to wait out the crisis. Others went to work the streets.
The government says it is ready to enforce a 24-hour curfew if necessary to control a virus that has infected more than 2,000 people and killed 20, according to official figures.
PetroVietnam’s net profit in the first quarter of this year likely fell 50.8% from a year earlier to 4.44 trillion dong ($188.5 million) due to low oil prices and weak demand due to the new coronavirus, Vietnam’s state oil firm said on Sunday.
Its revenue in the January-March period likely fell 13% to 88.3 trillion dong, the company said in a statement outlining its preliminary results.
The company, formally known as Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, said on Wednesday it was cutting employee salaries as part of its efforts to cut costs by 15%-30%.
In Australia, a criminal investigation is expected to be launched into the conduct of cruise line operator Carnival Australia in the wake of the Ruby Princess coronavirus scandal.
The New South Wales state government is under fire after leaked emails revealed results of onboard swab tests from the cruise ship’s passengers who were showing signs of influenza would have been available the same day passengers disembarked.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard is standing behind his staff who had allowed the Ruby Princess cruise ship to disembark in Sydney on 19 March, despite knowing the results would be available within hours.
A total of 622 passengers on board have tested positive for Covid-19, including 342 NSW residents. Some of those passengers have since died, including three in NSW overnight.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday said NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller would lead an investigation into the fiasco.
It’s expected this will move into a criminal investigation into the conduct of Carnival Australia, relating to the cruise ship and its docking in Sydney, Sky News reported on Sunday.
Mr Fuller has scheduled a press conference at 3pm AEST on Sunday.
Bernie Sanders’ campaign still ‘assessing’ but focusing on a more pressing issue: coronavirus
Bernie Sanders is not done running for president and he’s tired of saying so.
“For the fourth time,” Sanders said tartly in an interview on The View this week, “we are assessing the campaign.”
It was a response – more diplomatic if no less irritated than previous versions – to a variation on a question he’s been getting for weeks: “Why are you still in the race?”
Sanders has faced calls to drop out since early last month, when Joe Bidenbegan his all-but unstoppable ascent to the nomination. But with the race for the nomination effectively in a state of suspended animation amid the coronavirus pandemic, the 78-year-old Vermont senator has resisted.
Covid-19 has ravaged the US economy and strained the healthcare system, claiming more than 7,000 lives and nearly 10 million jobs. The twin economic and public health crises give what Sanders and allies have described as a new imperative to his calls for universal healthcare and a wide expansion of the social safety net.
“In many ways, this pandemic has made the case for a lot of the policies that the senator has spent 35 years fighting for,” said Anna Bahr, a spokeswoman for the Sanders campaign. “Reality has endorsed Bernie Sanders.”
United Airlines said late Saturday it will drastically reduce flights to two New York City airports amid the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reports.
United said starting Sunday it will go from 157 daily flights total at Newark and New York LaGuardia to just 17.
Newark, the airline’s hub in the New York area, will drop from 139 daily flights to 62 destinations to 15 flights a day to nine destinations, while LaGuardia will go from 18 to 2 flights a day.
“We are mindful that United Airlines continues to provide an essential service during these challenging times. The airspace at Newark and LaGuardia is among the busiest in the world and we have an ongoing responsibility to get people and goods where they need to be,” United chief operations officer Greg Hart said in a note to employees.
United said regardless of whether employees are on duty, the airline will maintain pay and benefits of local employees in those locations. The reductions will be in effect for at least three weeks.
Football in Nicaragua is enjoying a surge in popularity as one of the few national leagues where games are still ongoing, Reuters reports.
The refusal to shut down has drawn global attention to football in a nation that has long preferred baseball, a sport that is also resisting a lockdown in Nicaragua.
“We try to avoid touching other players,” Carlos Mosquera, goalkeeper with Deportivo Las Sabanas, told Reuters. “Football has changed, because you don’t go in for a 50-50 ball with the same intensity.”
“The fear of what is happening in the world is always present. Mentally, you’re not focused on the game, you are always thinking that opponents may have the disease.”
The Primera Liga de Nicaragua is one of only four leagues believed to have survived the coronavirus lockdown, along with those in Belarus, Burundi and Tajikistan.
Games in the Central American nation are being played behind closed doors but are being broadcast locally on television or live on Facebook.
Several Australian health officials said on Sunday they were cautiously optimistic about the slowing spread of coronavirus in the country but warned social distancing restrictions are to stay in place for months, Reuters reports.
Confirmed cases rose by 181 during the 24-hour period to early Sunday, bringing the national total to 5,635, health ministry data showed. The death toll from Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, rose to 34.
This suggests the daily rate of infections was below 5%, about a fifth of what Australia saw in mid-March.
New South Wales Director of Health Protection Jeremy McAnulty said there is hope that a flattening of the curve of new infections has started.
“We want to be hopeful, but not to over-egg the figures,” McAnulty said.
Health Minister Greg Hunt warned on Saturday, however, that despite the good signs, Australians will still have to keep their distance from others for the next half a year.
“This is a difficult six-month period that we have to go through,” Hunt said on Sky News Australia.
A 29 March Google Community Mobility Report, which charts movement trends over time, showed that Australians cut down their trips to restaurants and shopping centres only by 45%, while traffic to grocery stores decreased only by a fifth.
The data precedes the introduction of harsher restrictions last week, which limited public gatherings to two people and urged most to stay home. State borders, cafes, clubs, parks and gyms have been closed.
Several states have also given police the power to enforce the rules via hefty on-the-spot fines and potential jail terms.
The coronavirus pandemic is increasing poverty in Britain, where levels are already high after a decade of austerity triggered by the global financial crisis, according to experts.
Official data shows that more than 14 million people in the UK are classed as living in poverty, or nearly one-quarter of the population.
Some 4.2 million children are poor, or around 30% of the total, government figures show.
The situation is worsening with Britons losing jobs en masse as the UK experiences lockdown.
Over the past fortnight, almost one million adults in the UK have applied for Universal Credit, the government’s main form of state aid.
That is nearly 10 times the level in an average two-week period.
In southern Spain, the coronavirus pandemic has completely disrupted his harvest this year. Like much of the rest of Europe, Spain has been in a lockdown since mid-March to curb the spread of the virus and this has altered consumers’ habits, with people making fewer trips to the supermarket and no longer eating out, AFP reports.
The closure of Spain’s borders has added to the burden, leaving farmers struggling to bring in crucial temporary workers to pick produce and care for animals.
One of the hardest-hit crops has been strawberries from Huelva in the southern region of Andalusia, which supplies Europe with 90 percent of the fruit at this time of the year.
Demand for strawberries has been halved this year, according to farmers’ unions.
And with the border with Morocco closed, only one-third of the temporary workers who usually come to pick strawberries were able to make the trip.
“The whole sector is very frightened,” said Gomez, who exports 70 percent of his crop to France, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Demand is “on a roller coaster”, he added.
“One day I have an order and I have to work an hour extra, the next I am twiddling my thumbs.”
Manuel Piedra, secretary general of the UPA farmers’ union in Huelva, said people were shopping as little as once every 10 days, causing sales of perishable goods to plunge.
“Consumers have completely changed their habits,” he said.
More on the situation in New Zealand now.
The country, which has been in lockdown since 25 March, has now recorded 1,039 confirmed cases, with one death. There are 15 people in hospital with Covid-19, including three in intensive care.
The director general of health, Ashley Bloomfield, said of the confirmed cases, 45% had a clear international travel link, 36% were contacts of known cases, and 1% were community transmission. The remaining 18% were still being investigated.
At a briefing on Sunday afternoon, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, praised those who had complied with the lockdown but said there were “still some people I would charitably describe as idiots”, citing a man in Christchurch who filmed himself coughing on people.
Ardern said no decisions had been made about extending the country’s four-week lockdown, but there were signs that it was having an effect.
Modelling had suggested that without the restrictions the country would have seen 4,000 cases by this weekend, instead of the 1,000 it had actually recorded, Ardern said. And while she didn’t want to “draw too many conclusions”, New Zealand had not seen the exponential growth experienced by other countries.
“No decisions have been made at the point at which we will be exiting level four,” Ardern said.
How Australia’s hospitals are bracing for the coronavirus peak
The effect of physical distancing restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus has slowed the flow of patients into the hospital.
Fewer people on the streets means fewer road accidents and less of the trauma that is the bread and butter of intensive care and emergency hospital departments.
It’s given doctors, nurses, allied health workers and the myriad support workers in Australia’s major hospitals something their colleagues in Italy, the United States and Spain missed out on: time.
Time to plan. Time to buy supplies and test equipment. Time to build space and hire and train staff. Hospitals care for critically ill patients every day but not in the numbers or at the scale that has become globally associated with Covid-19.
Guardian Australia interviewed health workers around the country, from densely populated cities such as Melbourne, up to remote communities in the Torres Strait, about how they are preparing for a potential influx of patients requiring treatment for the highly contagious disease.
Global cases pass 1.2 million
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases globally has passed 1.2 million, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.
Just over one in four of these is in the US, which has 311,544 cases.
There have been 64,753 coronavirus-related deaths worldwide.
The ten countries with the highest numbers of confirmed cases are as follows, with China no longer among the five worst-affected countries:
- US: 311,544
- Spain: 126,168
- Italy: 124,632
- Germany: 96,092
- France: 90,848
- China: 82,558
- Iran: 55,743
- United Kingdom: 42,479
- Turkey: 23,934
- Switzerland: 20,505
Updated
Mexican Deputy Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Saturday that decades of poor eating habits in the country have created an epidemic of obesity, diabetes and other related health complications that make its people more vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.
The Mexican health ministry has so far registered a total of 1,890 cases of the novel coronavirus and 79 deaths.
“These people, unfortunately, had chronic diseases or were older,” Lopez-Gatell said during a press conference, adding that the country had one of the world’s highest rates of diabetes and obesity.
“This is the product of many years, at least four decades, of poor nutrition, a diet that has been created by products of low nutritional quality and very high calories, in particular in processed foods,” Lopez-Gatell said.
The World Health Organization has said people with diabetes and its related health complications are among those most vulnerable to severe cases of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly illness caused by the new coronavirus.
If you see stories you think I may have missed, have tips or want to share something that’s good for morale, get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
Japan is considering increasing the stockpile of Fujifilm Holding Corp’s Avigan anti-flu drug during this fiscal year so it can be used to treat two million people, according to a planning document seen by Reuters.
Local media reported on Sunday that Japan was hoping to triple the production of the drug from current levels, which is enough to treat 700,000 people if used by coronavirus patients.
Avigan, also known as Favipiravir, is manufactured by a subsidiary of Fujifilm, which has a healthcare arm although it is better known for its cameras. The drug was approved for use in Japan in 2014.
Avigan is being tested in China as a treatment for Covid-19.
In the emergency stimulus package expected to be rolled out on Tuesday, the government also planned to prioritise the clinical trial process of the drug so it can be formally approved to be used in treating coronavirus patients.
According to the document, Japan also plans to boost subsidies to domestic companies that supply masks and disinfectants and will secure enough capacity to supply 700 million masks a month.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian and Syrian refugees living in overcrowded and rundown camps in Lebanon are bracing for the novel coronavirus as aid groups mobilise to help, AFP reports.
Lebanon is home to tens of thousands of Palestinians in camps that over the decades have become bustling neighbourhoods, and at least 1.5 million Syrians who have fled the war next door.
So far just one Palestinian, who lives outside a camp, and three Syrians have tested positive for Covid-19 compared to 520 infections and 17 deaths across Lebanon, according to officials.
But Palestinian and Syrian refugees who live in cramped quarters, including tent camps where basic services like water are poor, are particularly vulnerable to the illness.
UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA is looking to set up “isolation centres” inside the camps to quarantine anybody who needs it.
Similar structures are being set up for Syrians living in close quarters in seas of canvas tents in the east of the country, the UN refugee agency UNHCR says.
But deteriorating cases will have to be evacuated to Lebanese intensive care units, where aid workers fear there may not be enough beds.
Two workers at London’s Pentonville prison die from Covid-19
Two staff members at north London’s Pentonville prison have died after suffering Covid-19 symptoms, the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said.
Bovil Peter and Patrick Beckford were both support staff workers at the jail, and were believed to be aged in their 60s.
POA national chairman Mark Fairhurst said: “My thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved with these tragic deaths - two at the same prison is very concerning.”
Fairhurst said he did not know if either of the men had any underlying health conditions.
Mexico seeks to build ventilators as cases rise to 1,890
Mexico’s president said Saturday that his government hopes to build ventilators domestically, as coronavirus cases rose to 1,890 and officials reported 79 deaths so far in the pandemic, Reuters reports.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Mexico also is seeking to buy up to 5,000 ventilators abroad. But, he added, we are testing prototypes to manufacture ventilators in our country, and do it soon.
Mexico also faces a shortage of specialized doctors, and has gone on a recruitment campaign to train and get more qualified people working.
But López Obrador said he would try to avoid government budget deficits in coping with the spread of the coronavirus and in dealing with the economic damage from the pandemic.
British retailer Cath Kidston has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as part of its attempt to find a buyer, Sky News reported on Saturday.
Photograph: Russell Hart/Alamy Stock Photo
Sky said the move by the lifestyle retailer did not mean it would automatically fall into administration, a form of creditor protection, but it buys the company breathing space as it tries to secure a sale.
Many retailers are battling for survival in Britain after the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of most stores.
Summary
- Mainland China reported 30 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, up from 19 a day earlier as the number of cases involving travellers from abroad as well as local transmissions increased. It also reported 47 new asymptomatic cases.
- Donald Trump has warned that the next two weeks will be the “toughest” in the US’s efforts to tackle coronavirus, and said he would be deploying thousands of military personnel to states to support them.
- Trump also touted hydroxychloroquine as a cure for Covid-19. The anti-malaria drug, repeatedly pushed by Trump, has only shown anecdotal promise.
- Trump’s pick for a new watchdog to oversee the $2 trillion support package, issued to combat the economic fallout of coronavirus, is not independent enough, congressional Democrats have said.
- New York’s death toll has exceeded 3,000, almost a quarter of the US total, and Andrew Cuomo thanks China for ventilators as the state prepares for its coronavirus peak. The New York governor announced the state obtained 1,000 ventilators from billionaires Joseph and Clara Tsai and Alibaba founder Jack Ma.
- New Zealand passed 1,000 cases. The country has 89 new coronavirus cases as of Sunday, according to Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield, bringing the total to 1039.
- Spain’s number of infections has overtaken those in Italy, making the country the second-worst affected after the US. Spain has 124,870 confirmed cases and Italy 124,632.
- Deaths in Italy have passed 15,000. The country has lost 15,362 people to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.
- Australia’s home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, urged people to be wary of dodgy ‘home’ Covid-19 test kits that could pose a serious risk to public health, AAP reports.
- Ecuador’s government has begun storing the bodies of victims of the coronavirus in giant refrigerated containers as hundreds of deaths in the city of Guayaquil, the centre of the country’s outbreak, have already filled morgues and hospitals.
- Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox church has decided to suspend prayers preceding Easter celebrations later this month as part of efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus, AFP reports.
- A senior health official in Iran has warned that the Iranian capital could see a resurgence of coronavirus cases, after residents in Tehran flouted restrictions.
Updated
Another cruise ship with coronavirus victims on board, including two fatalities, docked in Florida on Saturday, AP reports.
Princess Cruises spokeswoman Negin Kamali said in an email that the Coral Princess ship was docking in Miami. The ship with 1,020 passengers and 878 crew members had been in limbo for days awaiting permission to dock.
As of Thursday, Kamali said seven passengers and five crew members had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Four passengers were rushed to hospital, AAP reports, including one Australian and three Americans.
Two other passengers died before the ship arrived in Miami on Saturday.
The Coral Princess, with 1020 passengers and 878 crew, is the latest cruise to turn into a nightmare when people began falling ill with coronavirus symptoms and nations refused to let the ship dock.
Anyone in need of hospitalisation would disembark first, the cruise line said, although it wasn’t immediately clear when that would happen. Those who are fit to fly will begin leaving on Sunday, while others who have symptoms of respiratory illness will remain on board until cleared by ship doctors.
Egypt's Coptic church suspends Easter Holy Week
Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox church has decided to suspend prayers preceding Easter celebrations later this month as part of efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus, AFP reports.
The church, which last month ordered the closure of churches and suspension of services nationwide, said the decision was taken on Thursday during a meeting chaired by Pope Tawadros II.
Holy Week prayers precede Easter Sunday, which this year will be celebrated on April 19 by the Orthodox community, one week later than the Catholic Easter.
Church spokesman Boulos Halim said these were “unprecedented and historic” measures implemented to stem the crisis.
On 21 March, the church ordered the closure of all churches and suspended ritual services, masses and other religious activities for two weeks to combat the spread of the virus.
With Thursday’s decision, these measures will continue until further notice.
It was not yet clear if Pope Tawadros II, who heads the Coptic church, would go ahead with a pared-down midnight mass ahead of Easter.
Coptic Christians are the largest non-Muslim religious minority in the Middle East and account for 10-15 percent of Egypt’s predominantly Sunni Muslim population of 100 million.
New Zealand passes 1,000 cases
New Zealand has 89 new coronavirus cases as of Sunday, according to Director-General of Health Dr Bloomfield, bringing the country’s total to 1039.
82 new cases were announced on Saturday. One person has died.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a press conference that there were “still some people I would charitably describe as idiots”. Ardern was referring to a man who filmed himself coughing on people.
Updated
Australians warned of dodgy 'home' Covid-19 test kits
Australia’s home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, is urging Australians to be wary of imported, dodgy ‘home’ Covid-19 tests kits that could pose a serious risk to public health, AAP reports.
A number of these faulty kits have been intercepted by Australian Border Force officers in recent weeks.
He warned using these kits would undermine the vital, lifesaving work of health professionals.
“Inaccurate results could prevent people from seeking the medical help they need, or alternatively, discourage people who should be self-isolating from doing so,” Mr Dutton said in a statement on Sunday.
He said the Therapeutic Goods Administration has ruled the tests kits as unapproved medical devices.
The ABF intercepted a consignment of 200 units that originated from China and arrived in Perth as air cargo via Singapore on March 16.
Similar detections have now been made in Perth (50 units) on March 23 and Melbourne (39 units) on March 27, both originating in Hong Kong.
Mr Dutton said the only approved tests for Covid-19 in Australia are laboratory based tests or tests that can be used by health professionals at the point of care such as in hospitals or clinics.
China to facilitate donation of 1,000 ventilators to New York
New York governor Andrew Cuomo said the Chinese government would facilitate a donation of 1,000 ventilators to arrive into JFK airport on Saturday. Cuomo said: ‘This is a big deal and it’s going to make a significant difference for us. We’re not at the apex so we’re still in the stage where we have the luxury – if you will – of gathering as much as we can.’
Brazil’s lower house of Congress approved a constitutional amendment for a “war budget” to separate coronavirus-related spending from the government’s main budget and shield the economy as the country surpassed 10,000 confirmed cases.
The war budget still needs the Senate’s approval by three-fifths of the votes in two rounds expected to take place next week.
Late on Friday, the lower house approved the main text of the bill with 423 votes in favour and one opposed in a second round of voting after a first score of 505 in favour and two against.
The amendment creates an extraordinary regime to prevent expenses related to a “state of emergency” decree triggered by the pandemic, which is valid until Dec. 31, from being mixed with the federal budget over the same period.
Besides easing fiscal and budgetary constraints to speed up measures tackling the outbreak, the war budget also grants the Brazilian central bank emergency bond-buying powers to stabilize financial markets.
The South China Morning Post reports that 13o Hong Kong anti-riot squad members have been placed in quarantine after an officer tested positive for the virus:
Nearly all members of a regional anti-riot squad in Hong Kong will be placed under quarantine for two weeks after an officer involved in mass arrests at the site of an anti-government protest earlier this week was confirmed to be infected on Saturday.
About 130 of the elite team tackling disorder in the West Kowloon region will be out of action and their jobs covered by officers from other districts.
New York not yet at apex, says Cuomo
Coronavirus-related illnesses killed 630 people in the last day in New York state, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday, in the grimmest 24 hours yet for the US state hit hardest by the pandemic, Reuters reports.
The novel coronavirus has now killed 3,565 people in the state and the situation is particularly worrying on Long Island, east of New York City, where the number of cases “is like a fire spreading,” Cuomo told a news conference.
Health experts calculate that New York, home both to bustling Manhattan and hilly farm country stretching to the Canadian border, might be around a week away from the worst point in the health crisis which has killed about 60,000 people worldwide.
“We’re not yet at the apex, we’re getting closer ... Our reading of the projections is we’re somewhere in the seven-day range,” Cuomo said.
“It’s only been 30 days since our first case,” he said. “It feels like an entire lifetime.”
The number of crew on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier who have tested positive for the coronavirus has risen 13% in the past 24 hours to 155, the Navy said on Saturday, in the wake of the firing of the carrier’s captain.
The Navy said 44% of the carrier’s nearly 5,000-strong crew had been tested and 1,548 sailors from the crew have moved ashore. None of the infected sailors have been hospitalised, it said in a statement
Captain Brett Crozier was relieved of his command of the Theodore Roosevelt on Thursday after the public leak of a scathing letter in which he called on the Navy for stronger action to halt the spread of the virus aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Here are some comforting words for those of you suffering from having a brain (or considering cutting your own hair):
Saw this ad and wow it helped pic.twitter.com/AsWlXiPwp1
— Gwynn Ballard (@gwynnballard) April 3, 2020
Panama’s health ministry on Saturday registered 1,801 cases of the novel coronavirus in the Central American county, an increase of 128 cases from a day earlier.
The number of deaths increased by five to 46.
China reports 30 new cases and 47 asymptomatic cases
Mainland China reported 30 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, up from 19 a day earlier as the number of cases involving travellers from abroad as well as local transmissions increased.
It also reported 47 new asymptomatic cases. The so-called imported cases and asymptomatic patients, who have the virus and can give it to others but show no symptoms, have become among China’s chief concerns in recent weeks, Reuters reports.
The National Health Commission said in a statement on Sunday that 25 of the cases reported on Saturday involved those who entered the country from abroad, compared with 18 such cases reported a day earlier.
The mainland has now reported a total of 81,669 cases, while the death toll has risen by three to 3,329.
On Saturday, people across China paused for three minutes to remember the patients and medical workers who died in the coronavirus outbreak. Citizens stood still, while cars, trains and ships sounded their horns, and air-raid sirens rang out in memory of the more than 3,000 lives lost. In Wuhan, where the outbreak began, all traffic lights in urban areas turned red for three minutes. The city of 11 million was the hardest hit by the outbreak, recording 2,567 fatalities. This accounts for more than three quarters of China’s coronavirus deaths.
Updated
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera sparked outrage on Friday by posing for photographs at the plaza that was the centre of anti-government protests before it was put under quarantine to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reports.
Photographs of Pinera in the now empty Plaza Italia on Friday afternoon, sitting in shirtsleeves on the steps of a monument plastered with graffiti calling for his resignation, went viral on social media.
Cuando comenzaron masivas movilizaciones @sebastianpinera prefirió salir a comer pizza, ahora en plena pandemia posa para fotografiarse en plaza de la dignidad. Sí, allí mismo donde su gobierno permitió violar los derechos humanos. Indolente es poco! pic.twitter.com/MrpytCyGuW
— Daniel Jadue #YoApruebo (@danieljadue) April 4, 2020
At least 31 people died, 3,000 were injured, and 30,000 were detained in the protests, which started in October over a hike in public transport rates and broadened to include grievances over pensions, healthcare, education and elitism.
The area around Plaza Italia is covered by a strict quarantine covering large parts of Santiago that prevents people from leaving their homes without specific permission from the authorities. Chile has 3,737 confirmed cases of the coronavirus so far, and 22 people have died.
Marianne Faithfull hospitalised with coronavirus
Marianne Faithfull has been hospitalised in London with coronavirus.
The Balad of Lucy Jordan singer, who became famous amid the “swinging London” scene of the 1960s and has had a respected (and occasionally troubled) career ever since, is said to be “stable and responding to treatment”, according to her representatives.
Her friend, the performer Penny Arcade, told Rolling Stone that Faithfull had self-isolated following a cold, and then checked herself into hospital last Monday, where she tested positive for Covid-19. She has since contracted pneumonia.
Updated
A French orchestra has found a way around the coronavirus lockdown to record a 51-instrument rendition of Ravel’s Bolero. One by one.
Alone in their kitchens, lounges or dining rooms, individual Orchestre national de France (ONF) musicians played as their mobile phones recorded their parts in Maurice Ravel’s thrilling orchestral score.
Then the magic: a technician jigsawed the bits together into a video mosaic to create a near flawless, combined performance of woodwinds, brass, percussion and strings.
“I would never have imagined synchronising the sound of instruments not playing together,” said Dimitri Scapolan, a Radio France video editor in charge of the project. The ONF is one of two orchestras of Radio France.
“When I overlapped all the pieces recorded by the cellphones on my computer, to my great astonishment, everyone was in perfect harmony,” he told AFP.
“All I had to do was to adjust the levels a bit and add some resonance - it mixed itself. It was a pleasure.”
You can watch the performance here:
Ecuador stores bodies in refrigerated containers as morgues fill
Ecuador’s government has begun storing the bodies of victims of the coronavirus in giant refrigerated containers as hundreds of deaths in the city of Guayaquil, the centre of the country’s outbreak, have already filled morgues and hospitals.
Ecuador has confirmed 318 deaths from the virus, one of the highest tallies in Latin America. But President Lenin Moreno said this week that the real figure was higher as authorities were collecting more than 100 bodies a day, many from relatives’ homes as a strict quarantine prevented them from being buried.
The government has installed three containers, the largest about 12 meters (40 ft) long, at public hospitals to preserve bodies until graves were prepared, according to Guayaquil’s mayor, Cynthia Viteri. So far 150 victims have been buried in a private cemetery in the port city.
On Saturday, Ecuador’s government said it would activate a new digital system that would allow families to find out where their dead relatives were buried.
Moreno said the government expected the total number of deaths in Guayaquil’s surrounding province to reach up to 3,500, and said a “special camp” was being built to bury the dead.
Updated
Here’s a summary of the latest events in the US:
- Trump touts hydroxychloroquine as a cure for Covid-19 during his daily briefing. The anti-malaria drug could be ‘one of the biggest game-changers in the history of medicine’, Trump claimed, but there is no magic cure.
- The president accuses states of asking for unneeded supplies and media of spreading fake news. Trump used his briefing to further his assertions that media outlets were spreading false information about shortages of ventilators and protective equipment.
- Cruise ship docks in Florida with two dead and 12 testing positive for coronavirus. The Coral Princess pulls into Miami with 1,000 passengers and 878 crew, after being refused permission to dock in Fort Lauderdale.
- Adam Schiff said Trump was ‘decapitating’ intelligence leadership amid coronavirus crisis. The chair of the House intelligence committee made the comments to MSNBC after the president fired the inspector general of the US intelligence community late on Friday night.
-
Andrew Cuomo thanks China for ventilators as New York prepares for coronavirus peak. The New York governor announced the state obtained 1,000 ventilators from billionaires Joseph and Clara Tsai and Alibaba founder Jack Ma. He also said Oregon would be lending 140 more.
- US has 278,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, there are have now been nearly 278,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the US, and more than 7,000 deaths. That toll will no doubt rise today.
In his Saturday night White House press briefing, US President Donald Trump told Americans to brace for a big spike in coronavirus fatalities in the coming days, as the country faces what he called the toughest two weeks of the pandemic.
“There’s going to be a lot of death,” Trump said at a briefing with reporters.
He pushed back on criticism that the federal government has not done enough to get ventilators that many critically ill coronavirus patients need to survive to the states, saying some governors are asking for more machines than they will need.
“Fears of shortages have led to inflated requests,” Trump said of submissions his administration has received to dole out equipment from the strategic national stockpile.
The United States has the world’s highest number of known cases of Covid-19. More than 308,500 people have tested positive in the United States and over 8,376 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.
“We are coming up to a time that is going to be very horrendous,” Trump said at the White House. “We probably have never seen anything like these kind of numbers. Maybe during the war, during a World War One or Two or something.”
Updated
Trump touted hydroxychloroquine as a cure for Covid-19. Don’t believe the hype
Faced with a global coronavirus pandemic that is increasingly centered upon the US, Donald Trump has touted several drugs that he claims can help tackle the outbreak.
The US president last week used a press conference to promote the use of hydroxychloroquine, a common anti-malaria drug, to treat Covid-19, saying: “I sure as hell think we ought to give it a try.”
He followed this with a tweet that claimed the use of the drug in combination with azithromycin, an antibiotic, could be “one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine”.
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE & AZITHROMYCIN, taken together, have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine. The FDA has moved mountains - Thank You! Hopefully they will BOTH (H works better with A, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents).....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 21, 2020
Trump was immediately contradicted by public health experts including his own top infectious diseases adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, who warned that there was only “anecdotal evidence” that the drugs could be helpful.
Summary
Hello and welcome to today’s live coronavirus pandemic coverage with me, Helen Sullivan.
I’ll be taking you through the latest key developments as they happen. If you see stories you think I may have missed, have tips or want to share something that’s good for morale, get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
Here is the most important news from the last few hours:
- Spain’s number of infections has overtaken those in Italy, making the country the second-worst affected after the US. Spain has 124,870 confirmed cases and Italy 124,632.
- Deaths in Italy have passed 15,000. The country has lost 15,362 people to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.
- Trump has warned that the next two weeks will be the “toughest” in the US’s efforts to tackle coronavirus, and said he would be deploying thousands of military personnel to states to support them.
- Donald Trump’s pick for a new watchdog to oversee the $2 trillion support package, issued to combat the economic fallout of coronavirus, is not independent enough, congressional Democrats have said.
-
New York’s death toll has exceeded 3,000, almost a quarter of the US total.
- Two prison officers in London have become the first prison staff to die from coronavirus in the UK.
- The conspiracy theory that links 5G technology to the spread of coronavirus is “dangerous nonsense”, a British minister said at the government’s daily coronavirus briefing. The bizarre theory has led to phone masts around the UK being attacked.
- Dubai has entered a two week lockdown which will see just one resident per household allowed to leave.
- Malawi’s president and ministers will take a 10% salary cut and redirect funds to support the country in fighting coronavirus.
- A senior health official in Iran has warned that the Iranian capital could see a resurgence of coronavirus cases, after residents in Tehran flouted restrictions.
- Tunisia’s parliament have given the government new powers to tackle coronavirus, including the ability to make decrees and seek finance without the approval of the parliament.
Updated
