The number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world has soared past one million and deaths have topped 50,000 as the United States reported the highest daily death toll of any country so far.
Despite more than half the planet living in some form of lockdown, the virus is continuing to spread rapidly, and to claim lives at an alarming pace, with the US, Spain and Britain all seeing their worst days yet.
Economic cost of Covid-19 pandemic rising
The economic cost of the pandemic is getting starker by the day, with new figures showing that an extra 6.65 million Americans signed on for unemployment benefit last week, taking to 10 million the number of people who lost their jobs in the last two weeks of March.
Trump again negative
US President Donald Trump again tests negative for Coronavirus.
Spain among worst hit
Spain virus death toll tops 10,000: government sources tell AFP
Trump doubts China's death toll figures
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump cast doubt on the accuracy of official Chinese figures on its coronavirus outbreak after US lawmakers, citing an intelligence report, accused Beijing of a cover up. "How do we know" if they are accurate, Trump asked at a press conference. "Their numbers seem to be a little bit on the light side."
Trump insisted that "the relationship with China's a good one" and that he remained close to President Xi Jinping. However, controversy around Beijing's transparency has strained ties, adding to bad feelings triggered by a conspiracy theory in China that the US military was to blame for the virus. - AFP
China to mark April 4 to commemorate fallen frontline workers
Beijing: China will observe a national day of mourning on Saturday for martyrs, including the "whistleblower" doctor Li Wenliang, who sacrificed their lives in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak and the over 3,300 people who died of the COVID-19 in the country.
During the commemoration, national flags will fly at half-mast across the country and in all Chinese embassies and consulates abroad, and public recreational activities will be suspended across the country, official media reported on Friday.
China to remember fallen heroes on April 4
South Korea reports 86 new Covid19 cases, count rises to 10,000
South Korea has reported 86 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing its caseload above 10,000. South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday said about half of the new cases came from the densely populous Seoul metropolitan area, where infections linked to international arrivals have been rising.
Another 22 infections were detected at airports where workers have been isolating and testing passengers arriving with fever or respiratory symptoms.
New cases in South Korea today
300+ new cases recorded in Philippines
385 new cases. Now at 3,018. Assuming no backlogs, this is CAUTIOUSLY ok news. Because the doubling time is now 5 days. We were at 1,546 cases March 30. Unimpeded acceleration is doubling time of 3 days. This MIGHT be because of ECQ. Fingers crossed. #COVID19 #Philippines ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ pic.twitter.com/j1rgLWvs0y
— Dr. Edsel Salvana (@EdselSalvana) April 3, 2020
Global death toll reaches 50,000
As per AFP sources, the total death toll due to Coronavirus pandemic has reached 50,000.
Chinese mouthpiece claims clinical trial underway for vaccine
A group of 108 volunteers has been vaccinated in a clinical trial for a #COVID19 vaccine in #Wuhan and 18 of them have ended their 14-day quarantine as of Thursday. CT examinations and blood tests show they are all in good health. pic.twitter.com/b8fbwQ0gQi
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) April 3, 2020
UK to build more field hospitals
The UK government said Friday it was rushing to build more emergency field hospitals ahead of an expected surge in coronavirus cases, hours after recording a record 569 deaths from the disease.
Two new facilities will be built in Bristol in the west and Harrogate in the north to house up to 1,500 patients, the state-run National Health Service (NHS) said in a statement. The announcement comes as a similar 4,000-bed facility in London -- built in less than ten days -- prepares to open Friday, and as criticism mounts over the government's failure to provide screening, particularly for frontline healthcare workers. - AFP
Poor nations need COVID-19 research to avoid system 'breakdown'
Research on the prevention of treatment of COVID-19 in poor and developing nations is urgently needed to avert a "complete breakdown" of health services, a coalition of more than 70 scientific bodies said Friday.
The pandemic is currently hitting Europe and the United States the hardest, straining even their health systems to the limit. But there are growing fears that widespread coronavirus outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia could prove even more catastrophic. - AFP
Iran death toll stands at 3,294
Iran on Friday announced 134 more deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing the officially confirmed total to 3,294.
Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told a news conference that 2,715 new infections had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 53,183. Iran is one of the countries worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic and has been struggling to contain the outbreak since it reported its first deaths on February 19.
Belgium death toll crosses 1K mark
BRUSSELS: The number of deaths attributed to the global coronavirus epidemic in Belgium increased sharply and passed the 1,000 mark on Thursday, health officials said.
The official toll in the country of 11.4 million has doubled in the space of three days, in part because figures have been updated with a backlog of fatalities from retirement homes. There have now been 1,001 deaths and 15,348 officially recorded cases since the start of the outbreak, officials told a daily news conference. - AFP
Google to reveal user location data to help governments tackle coronavirus
Google will publish location data from its users around the world from Friday to allow governments to gauge the effectiveness of social distancing measures put in place to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, the tech giant said.
The reports on users' movements in 131 countries will be made available on a special website and will "chart movement trends over time by geography," according to a post on one of the company's blogs. - AFP
WHO issues guidelines on disabled being impacted by virus
NEW WHO guidance on disability during #COVID19. Populations with #disability may be impacted more significantly by #coronavirus. This can be mitigated if simple actions & protective measures are taken
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) April 3, 2020
👉 https://t.co/HPktRsm8Cv pic.twitter.com/FRUdcbPDEV
Recovery from #coronavirus must lead to a better world.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 3, 2020
We simply cannot return to where we were before #COVID19 struck, with countries unnecessarily vulnerable to crises.
Now is the time to build more inclusive, sustainable and resilient societies.
https://t.co/7ZDpDi5VWS
UN Secretary General says recovery from Corona must lead to better world
Coronavirus death mounting with alarming rate
NEW YORK: Coronavirus deaths mounted with alarming speed in Spain, Italy and New York, the most lethal hot spot in the United States, while the outbreak has thrown 10 million Americans out of work in just two weeks and by Friday had sickened more than a million people around the globe.
The public health crisis deepened in New York City, where one funeral home in a hard-hit neighborhood had 185 bodies stacked up more than triple normal capacity. The city has seen at least 1,500 virus deaths. - AP
French nationals wait at the check in area to board a chartered flight to France organized by the French government to evacuate its citizens from Thailand as cases of COVID-19 novel coronavirus increase, at Suvarnambhumi Airport in Bangkok - AFP
