Worldwide coronavirus cases over 3.34 million, death toll crosses 237,000
Read the latest on the spread of the novel coronavirus around the world here
Irish PM sees targeted extension of emergency wage, welfare schemes
Ireland will likely extend Covid-19 emergency wage and jobless payment schemes beyond June, keeping them in place at the very least for sectors unable to open by then, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Friday.
Varadkar laid out a roadmap for a gradual re-opening of the economy on Friday that could allow construction firms to return to work from May 18 but order restaurants to wait until June 29 to reopen and pubs until August 10, Reuters reported.
“It wouldn’t be right to unwind it before those sectors can actually reopen. My anticipation is it will have to be extended but as sectors reopen, then perhaps we can unwind it then,” Varadkar told national broadcaster RTE in an interview.
Singapore to ease some coronavirus curbs over next few weeks
Singapore will start easing some curbs put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus over the next few weeks, authorities said on Saturday, as the city-state takes the first tentative steps towards reopening its economy.
Selected activities such as home-based businesses, laundry services and barbers will be allowed to operate from May 12. Some students will be allowed to go back to schools in small groups from May 19, Reuters reported.
Some work premises will be allowed to gradually reopen, taking into account their importance to the economy and supply chains and their ability to minimise risks of transmission.
Singapore is facing the deepest recession in its 55-year history, compounded by restrictions called ‘circuit breakers’ due to last until June 1, which include the closure of most workplaces and shops.
Singapore has among the highest number of infections in Asia, mainly due to outbreaks in cramped migrant workers dormitories. It has managed to curb the spread of the disease among locals outside the dormitories.
Thailand reports six new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
Thailand reported six new coronavirus cases and no new deaths on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases to 2,966.
New daily infections have stayed in the single digits for six consecutive days, prompting the government to allow some businesses and public parks to reopen starting on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Three of the new cases were found on the southern resort island of Phuket, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman of the government's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.
While more than half of Thailand's nearly 3,000 cases were concentrated in Bangkok, Phuket has the highest rate of infection per population, Taweesin said.
Since Thailand first detected the coronavirus in January, a total of 54 patients have died, 2,732 have recovered and 180 are still hospitalised, according to official figures.
Nearly 10,000 inmates freed as virus hits Philippine jails
Nearly 10,000 prison inmates have been released in the Philippines as the country races to halt coronavirus infections in its overcrowded jails, a Supreme Court official said Saturday.
The move follows a directive to lower courts to release those awaiting trial in prison because they could not afford bail, Associate Supreme Court Justice Mario Victor Leonen told reporters, AFP reported.
“The court is very much aware of the congested situation in our prisons,” Leonen told reporters as he announced the release of 9,731 inmates.
Covid-19 outbreaks have been reported at some of the country’s most overcrowded jails, affecting both inmates as well as corrections personnel.
Social distancing is all but impossible in the country’s prison system, where cells are sometimes filled to five times their capacity due to inadequate infrastructure and a slow-moving and overburdened judicial system.
Overcrowding has become an even greater problem since President Rodrigo Duterte launched a drug crackdown in 2016 that has seen thousands sent to prison.
Among those which have reported outbreaks are the Quezon City Jail in the capital Manila, a facility so crowded that inmates take turns sleeping on staircases and open-air basketball courts.
The worst outbreaks so far are at two prisons in the central island of Cebu, where two city jails have announced a combined 348 infections among more than 8,000 inmates as of Friday.
The outbreaks have fuelled calls from rights groups for the early release of prisoners charged with non-violent offences as well as the sick and elderly.
The Philippines has reported nearly 9,000 coronavirus infections and 603 deaths.
Free at last! Spaniards get outside to exercise after 49 days of lockdown
Joggers and cyclists across Spain emerged from their homes early on Saturday, with adults allowed out for exercise for the first time in seven weeks as the government began easing coronavirus restrictions.
In Barcelona, runners and cyclists crowded paths near the beach, while surfers and paddle-boarders were out enjoying the waves, Reuters reported.
Worldwide coronavirus cases over 3.34 million, death toll crosses 237,000
More than 3.34 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 237,137 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
Indonesia reports 292 new coronavirus cases, 31 new deaths
Indonesia recorded 292 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, taking the total number of infections to 10,843, said health ministry official, Achmad Yurianto.
Yurianto also reported 31 new deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 831. The number of people who have recovered from Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, rose by 74 to 1,665, he said, Reuters reported.
The country has tested more than 79,800 people for the virus, he said.
Philippines says total coronavirus cases nearing 9,000
The Philippines said on Saturday it has recorded 156 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 24 more deaths, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 8,928 and the fatalities to 603.
It also said that 40 more individuals had recovered from infections, bringing the recoveries to 1,124, Reuters reported.
Bangladesh reports 5 more deaths from coronavirus, 552 new cases
Bangladesh today confirmed five more deaths from the novel coronavirus and 552 new cases of infection testing 5,827 samples in the last 24 hours.
With this, the death toll from the deadly virus rose to 175 and the number of total infections stood at 8,790, The Business Standard reported.
Covid-19 death toll rises to 1,218 in India, cases to 37,336
The death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 1,218 and the number of cases climbed to 37,336 in India on Saturday, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The number of active Covid-19 cases stood at 26,167, while 9,950 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said, PTI reported.
The total cases include 111 foreign nationals.
A total of 66 deaths were reported since Friday evening of which 26 fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, 22 from Gujarat, eight from Madhya Pradesh, four from Rajasthan, two from Delhi and one each from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Tamil Nadu.
Of the 1,218 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 485 fatalities, followed by Gujarat at 236, Madhya Pradesh at 145, Rajasthan at 62, Delhi at 61, Uttar Pradesh at 42 and West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh at 33 each.
Nearly 3,000 crew quarantined on cruise ship in German port
Nearly 3,000 crew of a cruise ship belonging to German tourism giant TUI have been quarantined on board after one person tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the company said on Friday.
Fifteen crew members of the “Mein Schiff 3” were tested after showing mild flu symptoms, with one of them testing positive for Covid-19, AFP reported.
All 2,899 crew members would remain in quarantine on board in the ship’s home port of Cuxhaven on Germany’s North Sea coast until further notice, TUI said in a statement.
US states loosen lockdowns as virus drug approved
More US states eased pandemic lockdown measures on Friday even as coronavirus deaths rose, while American authorities greenlighted an experimental drug for emergency use on patients.
Washington also renewed its warnings to Beijing a day after President Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on China, with the White House accusing Chinese authorities of “slow-walking” coronavirus data and putting US lives at risk, AFP reported.
The United States also took a major step in that direction, with Texas becoming the largest state yet to ease lockdowns, despite reporting 50 deaths on Thursday, the most there since the outbreak began. Receptionist Diane Curtis headed to a mall in Houston to buy shoes and “get out of the house.”
“Eventually it’s like every other sickness that comes around,” she said of coronavirus. “It’ll go away but it’ll probably take time.”
Russia reports record daily rise in coronavirus cases after PM's infection
Russia on Friday reported a record daily rise in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, a day after Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced he had been diagnosed with the new virus and was temporarily stepping down to recover.
The nationwide case tally rose by 7,933 cases and now stands at 114,431, Russia's coronavirus crisis response centre said, Reuters reported.
Europe’s virus death toll passes 140,000
The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in Europe passed 140,000 on Friday, according to an AFP tally at 1740 GMT compiled from official sources.
Europe is the hardest-hit continent with 1,495,293 confirmed cases and a total of 140,096 deaths — out of 234,987 worldwide, AFP reported.
The European countries with the highest death tolls are Italy with 28,236, followed by Britain on 27,510, Spain 24,284 and France 24,594.
Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 945 to 161,703
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose by 945 to 161,703, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday.
The death toll rose by 94 to 6,575, Reuters reported.
France reports lowest daily virus toll in five weeks
France reported 218 coronavirus deaths on Friday, the smallest number in a 24-hour period in more than five weeks.
Meanwhile 141 fewer people were being treated Friday in intensive care units, top health official Jerome Salomon said, AFP reported.
The number of ICU patients peaked at 7,200 on April 9.
The last time the country recorded such a low daily number of fatalities was March 23, when there were 186 registered deaths.
France has the fourth highest death toll in Europe, with 24,594.
For Europe as a whole, the death toll has topped 140,000, according to a tally compiled by AFP based on officials sources.
The government has announced the country’s strict lockdown will be eased from May 11, but the pace will be slower in harder hit areas such as the greater Paris area and the northeast quarter of the country.
WHO says virus ‘natural in origin’
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reiterated Friday that the new coronavirus was of natural origin after US President Donald Trump claimed he had seen evidence it originated in a Chinese lab.
Scientists believe the killer virus jumped from animals to humans, emerging in China late last year, possibly from a market in Wuhan selling exotic animals for meat, Reuters reported.
UK virus death toll up by 739 to 27,510
Britain’s health minister on Friday said 739 more people had died after testing positive for COVID-19, taking the total toll to 27,711.
Matt Hancock also announced that Britain had met its goal of 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, saying that 122,347 tests were achieved on Thursday, calling it an “incredible achievement”, AFP reported.
Japan planning for one-month virus emergency extension: PM
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday the government would plan for an approximately month-long extension of a state of emergency declared over the coronavirus pandemic.
Abe put in place an initial month-long state of emergency for seven regions on April 7, later expanding it to cover the entire country, AFP reported.
But with the measures due to expire on May 6, Abe said he had instructed his minister for the virus outbreak Yasutoshi Nishimura to plan for an extension.
An expert panel advising the government is reviewing the situation in different parts of the country, he added.
“We will listen to their opinions and we hope to make a decision on May 4th.”
Abe said Japan had so far managed to avoid the sharp increase in infections seen in some other parts of the world, but cautioned that vigilance was still needed.
An extension of the state of emergency had been widely expected, despite the comparatively small scale of the outbreak in Japan, with nearly 14,300 infections recorded and 432 deaths so far.
The state of emergency is significantly less restrictive than measures seen in parts of Europe and the United States. It allows governors to urge people stay at home and call on businesses to stay shut.
But officials cannot compel citizens to comply, and there are no punishments for those who fail to do so.
Despite the relatively small scale of Japan’s outbreak, there have been persistent fears about a spike in infections that could quickly overwhelm the country’s healthcare system
Doctors’ associations have warned that hospitals are already stretched thin, with officials in Osaka even calling for donations of raincoats to serve as protective equipment for health workers stuck using trash bags.
Measures have been implemented to try to ease the pressure, including sending coronavirus patients with mild symptoms to hotels for quarantine, rather than keeping them in overcrowded hospitals.
The government has also said it is increasing testing capacity, but continues to face criticism for the relatively low numbers of tests being carried out, in part because of stringent criteria.
China reports one new coronavirus case versus 12 a day earlier
China reported one new coronavirus case for May 1, down from 12 a day earlier, data from the country’s health authority showed on Saturday.
The new case was imported, the National Health Commission (NHC) said, down from six imported cases a day earlier, Reuters reported.
China reported no domestic transmission cases down from six the day before.
The NHC also reported 20 new asymptomatic cases for May 1, down from 25 a day earlier.
The total number of confirmed cases in the country has reached 82,875. With no new deaths on Friday, the toll remained at 4,633.