Coronavirus: England's hospital death toll rises 429 to 14,829
Read the latest on the spread of the novel coronavirus around the world here
Putin warns Russia's coronavirus crisis yet to peak as cases surpass 47,000
President Vladimir Putin said Russia had managed to slow the spread of the new coronavirus but warned the peak of the outbreak still lay ahead after the number of confirmed infections surged past 47,000 nationwide on Monday.
Russia reported 4,268 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday, down from more than 6,000 the day before. Forty-four people died overnight, bringing the death toll to 405, Russia’s coronavirus task force said.
Russia’s new coronavirus infections have risen quickly in April even as Moscow and an array of Russian regions have imposed lockdown restrictions now already three weeks old.
Swiss authorities say positive coronavirus tests rise by 204 to 27,944, deaths at 1,142
The Swiss death toll from the new coronavirus has reached 1,142, the country’s public health ministry said on Monday, rising from 1,135 people on Sunday.
The number of positive tests also increased to 27,944 from 27,740 on Sunday, it said. The slowdown in the number of new cases has allowed the Swiss government to start relaxing its lockdown restrictions from April 27.
'Back in the classroom, open your books': Germany cautiously reopens schools
Students in Germany went back to class to take their final exams on Monday as schools that had been shut last month to stem the spread of the coronavirus epidemic began to reopen.
The partial re-opening, agreed last week by Chancellor Angela Merkel and regional premiers, started with the oldest students, who will observe strict social distancing as they write their papers.
"I believe the students are ready for their final exams now," said Antje Luekemann, headteacher of Berlin's Steglitz High School, where students arrived wearing face masks and disinfecting their hands with sanitiser before sitting down at widely spaced school desks.
Coronavirus: 80% cases asymptomatic, but no need to revise testing criteria, says ICMR
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday said that 80 per cent Covid-19 cases remain asymptomatic, reports India Today.
Addressing a press conference, ICMR chief Dr R Gangakhedkar said, "If 100 people have been infected by novel coronavirus, 80 of them will not exhibit any symptoms or mild symptoms of the disease."
Merkel: Germany must stay vigilant in coronavirus fight
Germany must stay cautious and disciplined in its fight against the coronavirus outbreak to avoid a relapse in the coming weeks, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday.
Germany would only see in two weeks’ time whether Monday’s partial relaxation of restrictions on public life pushes up the infection rate, Merkel told reporters, adding: “We must remain vigilant and disciplined.”
New York mayor says lack of coronavirus testing may delay city reopening
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday that it could take weeks if not months before the country’s most populous city reopens due to a lack of widespread testing, even as officials elsewhere began rolling back restrictions on daily life.
De Blasio, whose city is at the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis in the United States, said New York needed to be conducting hundreds of thousands of tests a day and to see hospitalizations decline further before reopening the economy.
England's Covid-19 hospital death toll rises 429 to 14,829
The Covid-19 death toll in English hospitals rose 429 to 14,829, the national health service said.
“15 of the 429 patients (aged between 49 and 92 years old) had no known underlying health condition,” the health service said.
The United Kingdom’s figures will be released shortly.
UK's main concern is to prevent second coronavirus wave: PM's spokesman
Britain needs to be sure that any lifting or easing of social distancing measures does not lead to a second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.
"The big concern is a second peak, that is what ultimately will do the most damage to health and the most damage to the economy," the spokesman told reporters.
"If you move too quickly then the virus could begin to spread exponentially again. What we need to be certain of is that if we move to lift some of the social distancing measures it isn't going to lead to the virus starting to spread exponentially again."
Unrest flares in Paris suburb amid lockdown
Police and youths clashed for a second night in a low-income Paris suburb on Sunday as strict lockdown rules to curb the spread of the coronavirus threaten a fragile social peace in deprived areas.
The trouble in Villeneuve-La-Garenne, north of Paris, first flared late Saturday after a motorcyclist collided with the open door of an unmarked police car during a pursuit. The skirmishes lasted into the early hours of Sunday before calm was restored.
Swiss authorities say positive coronavirus tests rise by 204 to 27,944, deaths at 1,142
The Swiss death toll from the new coronavirus has reached 1,142, the country’s public health ministry said on Monday, rising from 1,135 people on Sunday.
The number of positive tests also increased to 27,944 from 27,740 on Sunday, it said. The slowdown in the number of new cases has allowed the Swiss government to start relaxing its lockdown restrictions from April 27.
Prince Philip breaks retirement silence to thank those fighting Covid-19
Prince Philip, the 98-year-old husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, made a rare statement on Monday to thank those involved in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Taiwan virus cases jump after ship visit, Palau says not the source
Taiwan reported 22 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, almost all of them sailors who were on a navy visit to the small Pacific islands state of Palau, which said there was "little chance" it was the source of the infection.
Taiwan's government on Sunday said 700 navy personnel were being quarantined and tested and there were 24 positive cases altogether. Of those, three cadets had been to Palau, one of only 15 countries to maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and one of the last states in the world yet to report a coronavirus outbreak.
Coronavirus crisis stoking anti-Semitism worldwide: report
The coronavirus crisis is stirring anti-Semitism around the world, fuelled by centuries-old lies that Jews are spreading infection, researchers in Israel said on Monday.
The findings, in the annual report on Anti-Semitism Worldwide by the Kantor Center at Tel Aviv University, showed an 18% rise in anti-Semitic incidents in 2019 over the previous year.
In the first few months of 2020, far-right politicians in the United States and Europe and ultra-conservative pastors have seized upon the health crisis and its resulting economic hardship to foster hatred against Jews, the researchers said.
Empty resorts spell long crisis for Caribbean as coronavirus hits
Across the Caribbean, scenes of desolation are playing out as the most tourism-dependent region in the world reels from a pandemic that has shut borders, grounded airlines, berthed cruise ships and sent much of the planet into isolation since mid-March.
From the historic towns of the Dominican Republic to the isolated coves of Tobago, tourism employs an estimated 2.5 million people and generates - directly and indirectly - nearly one-third of the region’s economic output, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization.
As a result, there are few places where the economic impact of the pandemic may be as immediate as the archipelago’s 26 small island states and dependencies, many of them already heavily indebted.
Iran death toll from new coronavirus outbreak rises by 91 to 5,209: health ministry official
The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Iran reached 5,209 on Monday with 91 deaths in the past twenty four hours, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said in a statement on state TV on Monday.
The total number of diagnosed cases of the new coronavirus in Iran, the Middle Eastern country hardest hit by the outbreak, has reached 83،505, he said.
India restarts factories, farming in rural areas even as coronavirus cases rise
Some shops and businesses opened in rural India on Monday as part of a staggered exit from a weeks-long lockdown that has left millions out of work and short of food, while coronavirus infections rose by more than 1,500 over the previous day.
India's 1.3 billion population has been under one of the world's toughest lockdowns with people forbidden from stepping out of their homes except for food and medicines until May 3.
Australian kangaroo spotted hopping through eerie Adelaide streets
A kangaroo was spotted hopping through the empty streets of the Australian city of Adelaide, as coronavirus lockdowns lure wildlife into abandoned capitals around the world.
Police officers monitoring the city's street cameras had "tracked a suspect wearing a grey fur coat hopping through the heart of the #adelaide CBD," the state police department said in a social media post.
Malaysia reports 36 new coronavirus cases with no new deaths
Malaysian health authorities on Monday reported 36 new coronavirus cases, the lowest daily rise since the government imposed curbs on movement and business to contain the spread of the pandemic a month ago.
The new cases bring the cumulative total to 5,425 cases. The health ministry reported no new deaths on Monday, keeping total fatalities at 89.
China rejects Australia's questions on its handling of coronavirus
China dismissed as groundless on Monday Australia's questioning of how Beijing handled the coronavirus pandemic, saying it had been open and transparent, despite growing scepticism about the accuracy of its official death toll.
Australia's foreign minister, Marise Payne, called for an international investigation into the origins and spread of the virus, joining a chorus of concern over how China tackled the virus that emerged in its central city of Wuhan last year.
Spain's confirmed coronavirus cases surpass 200,000
The number of people diagnosed with the new coronavirus in Spain has surpassed the 200,000 threshold, the country's health ministry said today.
The ministry said the number of cases rose to 200,210 from 195,944 cases on Sunday. Spain has the second highest number of diagnosed cases in the world after the United States, according to Reuters data, Reuters reported.
The cumulative death toll from the coronavirus rose to 20,852 on Monday from 20,453 the day before, the ministry said.
Hong Kong reports zero new coronavirus cases for first time since early March
Hong Kong recorded zero new coronavirus cases today for the first time since early March, health authorities said, though they urged residents to maintain strict hygiene and social distancing practices and avoid unnecessary travel.
The Chinese-ruled city, which has avoided the exponential increases seen in other parts of the world, has confirmed 1,025 total cases and four deaths since the outbreak began in January. The previous day with no recorded cases was March 5, Reuters reported.
While schools remain closed, many people are working from home and shopping malls and restaurants are less busy, Hong Kong has stopped short of a full lockdown like those imposed in other cities such as London and New York.
Almost all Hong Kongers wear masks, office buildings, commercial centres and public institutions run temperature checks, and free sanitizer dispensers are widely available.
Hong Kong banned public gatherings of more than four people for 14 days from March 29 and later extended that restriction until April 23.
Game centres, gyms, cinemas and other places of amusement and public entertainment are also closed and foreign arrivals at the airport are suspended indefinitely.
Death and new infections spike as 10 dead in Bangladesh
Bangladesh today confirmed 10 more deaths from the novel coronavirus and 492 new cases of infection after testing 2,779 samples in last 24 hours.
With this, the death toll from the deadly virus rises to 101 and the number of total infected person stands at 2,948, The Business Standard reported.
"Among the dead patients, eight are male and two female. Five of them were from Dhaka, four from Narayanganj and one from Narsingdi. Four of them were aged above 60," Additional Director General of Health Directorate Nasima Sultana said this in a virtual briefing today.
Indonesia reports 185 new coronavirus cases, total 6,760
Indonesia reported on Monday 185 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections in the Southeast Asian country to 6,760, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said.
Yurianto said there had been eight new deaths attributed to the disease, taking the total number to 590, while 747 people had recovered. More than 49,700 tests had been performed, he said, Reuters reported.
Britain secured 25 million protective gowns from China, minister says
Britain has secured 25 million protective gowns from China and is working across the globe to secure more supplies of medical clothing after some hospitals warned they were running dangerously low, Culture Minister Oliver Dowden said on Monday.
The government has also said it is expecting 400,000 gowns to arrive from Turkey, protective clothing worn by medics to shield them from the virus in hospitals, Reuters reported.
“We’ve secured 25 million gowns from China, those will be coming in,” he told LBC Radio. “We’re working across the globe to get supplies.”
Singapore confirms record jump of 1,426 COVID-19 cases
Singapore's health ministry confirmed on Monday an additional 1,426 cases of COVID-19 infection, a record daily jump that took the city-state's tally to 8,014.
The ministry said the vast majority of the new cases were among migrant workers living in dormitories, Reuters reported.
Russian coronavirus cases surpass 47,000, new cases drop
Russia reported 4,268 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday, fewer than 6,060 on the previous day, which took the total number of cases to 47,121.
Forty-four Russian coronavirus patients died in the last 24 hours, the Russian coronavirus crisis response center said, Reuters reported.
Philippines records 19 new coronavirus deaths, 200 more cases
The Philippines health ministry on Monday reported 19 new coronavirus deaths and 200 additional infections.
In a bulletin, the health ministry said total infections have risen to 6,459 while deaths have increased to 428. But 41 more patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 613, Reuters reported.
Deserted Thai beaches lure rare turtles to build most nests in 20 years
Thailand has found the largest number of nests of rare leatherback sea turtles in two decades on beaches bereft of tourists because of the coronavirus pandemic, environmentalists say.
From wild boars patrolling the Israeli city of Haifa to deer venturing into London suburbs, virus closures are drawing wildlife into the abandoned streets of many cities, Reuters reported.
In Thailand, with 2,765 infections and 47 deaths, travel curbs ranging from a ban on international flights to an appeal to citizens to stay home have brought a collapse in tourist numbers, but freed up the beaches for wildlife.
Novartis, US regulators agree to malaria drug trial against Covid-19
Novartis has won the go-ahead from the US Food and Drug Administration to conduct a randomized trial of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine against Covid-19 disease, the Swiss drugmaker said on Monday, to see if it helps patients.
The decades-old generic medicine got FDA emergency use authorization this month for its unapproved use for coronavirus disease, but so far there is no scientific proof it works. There are currently no approved Covid-19 medicines, Reuters reported.
Coronavirus exposes ‘weaknesses’ in health systems: G20
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed "systemic weaknesses" in global health systems, the G20 said today, but there was no mention of Washington's contentious decision to halt World Health Organisation (WHO) funding.
The statement came after health ministers from the 20 most advanced economies held a virtual meeting on Sunday hosted by the group's current president Saudi Arabia following criticism the institution was slow to address the pandemic, AFP reported.
Ghana turns to drones to enable faster coronavirus testing
Ghana is using delivery drones from U.S.-based startup Zipline to enable it to test people more quickly outside major cities for the novel coronavirus, the company said on Monday.
Ghana has 834 confirmed infections and nine people have died from Covid-19, the disease the virus causes, Reuters reported.
Zipline operated its first coronavirus test flight on April 1 and will now fly samples collected from more than 1,000 health facilities in rural areas to laboratories in the capital Accra and to Kumasi, the second-largest city.
"Using contactless drone delivery to transport Covid-19 test samples will allow the government to respond to the pandemic and help save lives more quickly," Zipline Chief Executive Keller Rinaudo said in a release.
As of April 15, the Ghana Health Service said it had tested 57,000 coronavirus samples.
Zipline, which already operates fleets of drones in Ghana and Rwanda to deliver blood, vaccines and other essential medical equipment to rural areas, is working with the Ministry of Health to enable the coronavirus sample flights.
The company said using drones would cut the delivery time for test samples from hours, with trucks needing to traverse rural roads to collect tests from multiple hospitals, to under an hour in some cases.
It said it expects to operate the service daily "for the duration of the Government's Covid-19 response efforts."
Thailand reports 27 new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
Thailand today reported 27 new coronavirus cases, bringing the nation's total to 2,792 cases, a senior health official said.
Of the new cases, 16 had come into contact with a previously confirmed case, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government's Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, Reuters reported.
No new deaths were reported for the third consecutive day.
Thailand has had a total of 47 fatalities, and 1,999 patients have recovered.
1.5 trillion euros in aid could be needed to tackle coronavirus: EU economics chief
The European Union’s Economics Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told German magazine Der Spiegel that aid worth around 1.5 trillion euros ($1.63 trillion) could be needed to tackle the coronavirus crisis.
“The Eurogroup has now made proposals for aid worth more than 500 billion euros to finance healthcare and short-time work and to help small and medium-sized companies. That leaves at least one trillion euros. This is roughly the amount we need to be dealing with now,” Reuters reported.
He said the funds could be raised via the EU’s next multi-annual budget.
Germany's coronavirus cases rise by 1,775, deaths by 110
Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 1,775 to 141,672, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday, marking the second consecutive day that the number of new infections had fallen.
The reported death toll rose by 110 to 4,404, the tally showed, Reuters reported.
Mexico registers 8,261 confirmed coronavirus cases, 686 deaths
Mexican Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Sunday that Mexico has registered a total of 8,261 confirmed coronavirus cases and 686 deaths.
That is up from 7,497 cases and 650 deaths as of Saturday, Reuters reported.
New Zealand extends lockdown by a week, to ease measures on April 27
New Zealand will extend the lockdown measures in place to beat the coronavirus by a week, after which it will move to a lower level of restrictions, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday.
“New Zealand will move out of Alert Level 4 lockdown at 11.59 p.m. on Monday April 27, one week from today,” Ardern said in a news conference, Reuters reported.
“We will then hold in Alert Level 3 for two weeks, before reviewing how we are tracking again, and making further decisions at Cabinet on the 11th of May,” she said.
With virus ‘under control’, Germany begins opening up
Germany takes its first steps back towards normality on Monday, with smaller shops in some regions opening up for the first time in a month after politicians declared the coronavirus "under control".
From florists to fashion stores, the majority of shops smaller than 800 square metres (8,600 square feet) will be allowed to welcome customers again, in a first wave of relaxations to strict curbs on public life introduced last month, AFP reported.
Guatemala says 50 migrants deported from US test positive for coronavirus
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said on Sunday a total of 50 migrants deported by the United States to Guatemala have tested positive for coronavirus, including 14 sent to the Central American nation on a Tuesday flight.
Most of the deportees that have tested positive for coronavirus arrived from the United States on a Monday flight. Four others who tested positive arrived in March, Reuters reported.
In total, Guatemala registered 32 new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, Giammattei said, bring the total to 289 cases and 7 deaths.
“I want to emphasize that 14 of these 32 cases are people that were deported on a flight on April 14 and who tested positive today,” said Giammattei. “They were taken to hospital this morning from where they were being held in quarantine.”
The Trump administration has pressured Guatemala to keep receiving deported migrants despite growing concerns returnees are bringing the virus with them and could infect remote communities.
The April 14 flight came from Brownsville, Texas and was carrying 109 deportees, including 91 adults and 18 minors, according to Guatemalan migration authorities.
It is not clear where the deportees contracted the infection.
The United States said on Thursday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had sent a mission to assess the situation and test the migrants, who remain in quarantine in a hospital.
Guatemala temporarily suspended flights deporting migrants from the United States on Thursday after reports of the mass infection.
Japan to issue extra bonds worth $240 billion to fund coronavirus stimulus budget
Japan’s government is set to issue extra bonds worth 25.6914 trillion yen ($238.24 billion) to fund a supplementary budget for stimulus measures to ease the pain from the coronavirus outbreak, a government draft obtained by Reuters found.
The amount of new borrowing will be pushed up from 16.8 trillion yen initially planned, after an expansion of a cash payouts program to support households, the draft showed, Reuters reported.
Coronavirus cases in Peru top 15,000, second highest in Latin America
Peru reported over 15,000 cases of coronavirus on Sunday, the second-highest tally in Latin America, as the disease continues to ravage the economy of the world’s No 2 copper producer.
The crisis has paralyzed Peru and left millions without jobs. The central bank has said the economy had been “severely affected” temporarily by simultaneous supply and demand shocks, Reuters reported.
Peru recorded its first coronavirus case on March 6 and took 25 days to reach 1,000 cases. It took only 14 more days to reach 10,000 cases on April 14, according to a Reuters tally. Peru has reported a total of 15,628 cases and 400 deaths, the health ministry said.
In Latin America, only Brazil has more cases.
On March 15, Peru announced it would close its borders and called on citizens to self-quarantine for 15 days with just 71 recorded coronavirus cases. The nationwide quarantine has since been extended to April 26. Prime Minister Vicente Zeballos said on Sunday that the lockdown would continue for a few more weeks.
Peru’s government has announced a massive economic stimulus package worth 90 billion soles ($26.41 billion), around 12% of gross domestic product, to support citizens and the key mining sector.
China reports 12 new mainland coronavirus cases on April 19, eight imported
China reported 12 new confirmed coronavirus cases on April 19, down from 16 a day earlier, with no new deaths, the country’s health authority said today.
Of the total, eight were imported, down from nine on the previous day, the National Health Commission said in its daily bulletin, Reuters reported.
There were four cases of local infection, including three in the northeastern border province of Heilongjiang and one in Inner Mongolia.
China also reported 49 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases on the mainland on April 19, compared to 44 a day earlier.
Mainland China now has an accumulated total of 82,747 cases and 4,632 deaths as of the end of April 19.
US coronavirus death toll rises as cases hit 750,000
The number of coronavirus deaths in the United States rose by almost 2,000 in the past 24 hours to reach 40,661 on Sunday, a tally from Johns Hopkins University showed.
The rise in deaths, by 1,997, is marginally above the 1,891 which Johns Hopkins data showed a day earlier for the previous 24-hour period to Saturday.
Sunday’s figure came on the same day that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the epidemic in his hardest-hit state is “past the high point.”
The 24-hour tally in the United States had exceeded 2,500 on Wednesday, Johns Hopkins data showed.
Deaths from COVID-19 in the United States are by far the highest of any country, as is the total number of cases which on Sunday reached 759,086, according to Johns Hopkins.
Spain sees sharp drop in daily virus death toll
Spain registered Sunday a sharp drop in the daily death toll from coronavirus, with the number falling to 410 from 565.
The total fatalities in Spain, the third hardest-hit country in the world after the US and Italy, have reached 20,453, the health ministry said, AFP reported.
Infections rose to 195,344, with 4,218 new cases in the past 24 hours.
UK virus death toll rises by 596 to 16,060
The number of people in Britain who have died in hospital from the coronavirus has risen by 596 to 16,060, according to daily health ministry figures on Sunday.
As of 5 pm on 18 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 16,060 have sadly died,” said the ministry, up from 15,464 earlier, AFP reported.
Iran virus deaths rise by 87 to 5,118
Iran on Sunday announced 87 new deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, raising the official toll to 5,118, as it takes steps to reopen the economy.
It is the sixth consecutive day that Iran has announced a death toll under 100, though Sunday’s toll was 14 higher than the day before, AFP reported.
Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 1,343 new infections had been confirmed, taking the total to 82,211.
Of those admitted to hospital, 57,023 have recovered and been discharged, while 3,456 remain in critical condition.
The Islamic republic has struggled to contain what is the Middle East’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreak since reporting its first cases on February 19.
France reports another 395 coronavirus deaths, total toll 19,718
France on Sunday reported 395 deaths from COVID-19 in 24 hours as the number of new hospitalisations continued a slow decline.
The new deaths — 227 in hospitals and 168 in nursing homes — brought France’s total epidemic death toll to 19,718, AFP reported.
Italy’s daily virus toll edges down to 433
Italy’s official daily toll from the novel coronavirus edged down to 433 on Sunday, the lowest figure in one week.
The total number of deaths reported by the civil protection services since the start of Italy’s health crisis in February now stands at 23,660 — second only to the United States, AFP reported.
Sunday’s fatalities figure was the second lowest in one month.
The 3,047 new virus infections represented a rise of just 1.7 percent.
The new infections rate is being watched close by Italian government as it deliberates on how to exit a lockdown imposed over the first half of March.
The current restrictions are due to be lifted on May 4, and the government is trying to determine which businesses to allow to resume operations, and whether to let people out of their homes.
