Factbox: Latest on the worldwide spread of the new coronavirus
As more than 3.80 million people have been infected globally and 264,682 dead
A United States Postal Service (USPS) worker works in the rain in Manhattan during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, New York, US, April 13, 2020. PHOTO: REUTERS
More than 3.80 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 264,682 have died, according to the latest Reuters tally on Thursday.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.
* For a US-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.
EUROPE
* Russia overtook France and Germany, with the fifth highest number of cases in the world. Moscow’s mayor said the real number of cases in the capital was more than triple the official, TASS news agency reported.
* Restrictions in Moscow have been extended until May 31, said Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
* France’s death toll reached almost 26,000 on Thursday, but rose less sharply than in previous days as the government confirmed it would start lifting an almost two-month-old national lockdown from Monday.
* Deaths in Italy climbed by 274 on Thursday, against 369 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections declined marginally to 1,401 from 1,444 on Wednesday.
* Black people and men of Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin are nearly twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than whites, even when adjusting data for deprivation, a British report said.
* Poland plans to test 1,000 miners a day at drive-through sites as data show rapid growth in new cases in the coal region.
AMERICAS
* US deaths from the coronavirus topped 75,000 deaths on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally.
* US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have tested negative for the coronavirus after a member of the US military who works at the White House as a valet came down with the virus.
* US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday laid out the broad outlines of the next massive coronavirus-response bill Democrats will seek, with possible votes as soon as next week.
* California will face a budget deficit of $54.3 billion due to a drop in revenue combined with increased expenses linked to the pandemic, according to a projection released Thursday by financial advisers to Governor Gavin Newsom.
* The first immigrant in US detention has died of the coronavirus, local health authorities said as infections steadily climbed among the country’s around 30,000 immigrant detainees.
* Indigenous groups from nine countries in the Amazon basin called for donations to help protect 3 million rainforest inhabitants, vulnerable because they lack adequate access to healthcare.
* Brazil, one of the world’s emerging hot spots, registered a record number of cases and deaths on Wednesday. President Bolsonaro’s spokesperson has tested positive and is quarantined in his home.
* A coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than 30% of inmates at the prison in Villavicencio, in central Colombia, has sparked fear among local officials, neighbours and prisoners’ families.
* At least 47 residents and three workers have been infected at a retirement home in Mexico, in one of the biggest outbreaks yet reported in the country.
* El Salvador said it would from Thursday temporarily suspend public transport.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* China said it supports the WHO in trying to pinpoint the origins of the pandemic and accused the US Secretary of State of lying in his attacks on Beijing
* Japan has approved Gilead’s remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19, the health ministry said, making it the country’s first officially authorised drug for the disease.
* Cases in India rose past 50,000 on Thursday, with the pace of new infections showing no signs of abating despite a strict weeks-long lockdown.
* India will roll out a version of its coronavirus contact-tracing application that can run on Reliance Jio’s cheap phones, as it looks to widen use.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* The coronavirus could kill between 83,000 and 190,000 people in Africa in the first year and infect between 29 million and 44 million in the first year if it is not contained, the WHO said.
* Turkey’s coronavirus death toll rises by 57 to 3,641, Health Ministry data showed on Thursday.
* Iran is scrambling to buy millions of tonnes of grains to shore up reserves, officials and traders said, despite the president’s assertions that the coronavirus would not endanger food supplies.
* Pakistan’s lockdown will be lifted on Saturday, its prime minister said, despite the number of cases still accelerating.
* The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention rejected the Tanzanian president’s assertion that tests it supplied are faulty.
* Saudi Arabia has formed a police unit to monitor violations of its coronavirus lockdown rules and has banned gatherings of more than five people, the state news agency SPA said on Thursday.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* World shares largely shook off data on Thursday showing millions more Americans sought unemployment benefits, with sentiment sustained by stronger than expected Chinese exports.
* US natural gas futures fell almost 3% on Thursday on a much bigger-than-usual weekly storage build that analysts said was caused by coronavirus-related demand destruction.
* The United Nations on Thursday more than tripled its appeal to help vulnerable countries combat the spread and destabilising effects of the coronavirus pandemic, asking for $6.7 billion to help 63 states mainly in Africa and Latin America.
* The IMF has approved 50 requests for emergency aid for a total of about $18 billion, and is continuing to work quickly through remaining requests, IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice said.
* Millions more Americans likely sought unemployment benefits last week, suggesting a broadening of layoffs from consumer facing industries to other segments of the economy and could remain elevated even as many parts of the country start to reopen.
* The Bank of England said Britain could be headed for its biggest economic slump in over 300 years and kept the door open for more stimulus next month.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.
* For a US-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.
EUROPE
* Russia overtook France and Germany, with the fifth highest number of cases in the world. Moscow’s mayor said the real number of cases in the capital was more than triple the official, TASS news agency reported.
* Restrictions in Moscow have been extended until May 31, said Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
* France’s death toll reached almost 26,000 on Thursday, but rose less sharply than in previous days as the government confirmed it would start lifting an almost two-month-old national lockdown from Monday.
* Deaths in Italy climbed by 274 on Thursday, against 369 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections declined marginally to 1,401 from 1,444 on Wednesday.
* Black people and men of Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin are nearly twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than whites, even when adjusting data for deprivation, a British report said.
* Poland plans to test 1,000 miners a day at drive-through sites as data show rapid growth in new cases in the coal region.
AMERICAS
* US deaths from the coronavirus topped 75,000 deaths on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally.
* US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have tested negative for the coronavirus after a member of the US military who works at the White House as a valet came down with the virus.
* US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday laid out the broad outlines of the next massive coronavirus-response bill Democrats will seek, with possible votes as soon as next week.
* California will face a budget deficit of $54.3 billion due to a drop in revenue combined with increased expenses linked to the pandemic, according to a projection released Thursday by financial advisers to Governor Gavin Newsom.
* The first immigrant in US detention has died of the coronavirus, local health authorities said as infections steadily climbed among the country’s around 30,000 immigrant detainees.
* Indigenous groups from nine countries in the Amazon basin called for donations to help protect 3 million rainforest inhabitants, vulnerable because they lack adequate access to healthcare.
* Brazil, one of the world’s emerging hot spots, registered a record number of cases and deaths on Wednesday. President Bolsonaro’s spokesperson has tested positive and is quarantined in his home.
* A coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than 30% of inmates at the prison in Villavicencio, in central Colombia, has sparked fear among local officials, neighbours and prisoners’ families.
* At least 47 residents and three workers have been infected at a retirement home in Mexico, in one of the biggest outbreaks yet reported in the country.
* El Salvador said it would from Thursday temporarily suspend public transport.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* China said it supports the WHO in trying to pinpoint the origins of the pandemic and accused the US Secretary of State of lying in his attacks on Beijing
* Japan has approved Gilead’s remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19, the health ministry said, making it the country’s first officially authorised drug for the disease.
* Cases in India rose past 50,000 on Thursday, with the pace of new infections showing no signs of abating despite a strict weeks-long lockdown.
* India will roll out a version of its coronavirus contact-tracing application that can run on Reliance Jio’s cheap phones, as it looks to widen use.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* The coronavirus could kill between 83,000 and 190,000 people in Africa in the first year and infect between 29 million and 44 million in the first year if it is not contained, the WHO said.
* Turkey’s coronavirus death toll rises by 57 to 3,641, Health Ministry data showed on Thursday.
* Iran is scrambling to buy millions of tonnes of grains to shore up reserves, officials and traders said, despite the president’s assertions that the coronavirus would not endanger food supplies.
* Pakistan’s lockdown will be lifted on Saturday, its prime minister said, despite the number of cases still accelerating.
* The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention rejected the Tanzanian president’s assertion that tests it supplied are faulty.
* Saudi Arabia has formed a police unit to monitor violations of its coronavirus lockdown rules and has banned gatherings of more than five people, the state news agency SPA said on Thursday.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* World shares largely shook off data on Thursday showing millions more Americans sought unemployment benefits, with sentiment sustained by stronger than expected Chinese exports.
* US natural gas futures fell almost 3% on Thursday on a much bigger-than-usual weekly storage build that analysts said was caused by coronavirus-related demand destruction.
* The United Nations on Thursday more than tripled its appeal to help vulnerable countries combat the spread and destabilising effects of the coronavirus pandemic, asking for $6.7 billion to help 63 states mainly in Africa and Latin America.
* The IMF has approved 50 requests for emergency aid for a total of about $18 billion, and is continuing to work quickly through remaining requests, IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice said.
* Millions more Americans likely sought unemployment benefits last week, suggesting a broadening of layoffs from consumer facing industries to other segments of the economy and could remain elevated even as many parts of the country start to reopen.
* The Bank of England said Britain could be headed for its biggest economic slump in over 300 years and kept the door open for more stimulus next month.