Global coronavirus cases exceed 2.5 million – latest updates

Tuesday, April 21

Global coronavirus cases exceed 2.5 million

The global coronavirus cases surpassed 2.5 million on Tuesday, according to a running tally by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

The university's data showed that the global number of deaths reached 171,718, while the number of people who recovered stands at 659,732.

A total of 2,501,156 cases are recorded worldwide and the US continues to be the worst-hit country, with the highest numbers of infections and deaths, more than 788,100 and nearly 42,400, respectively.

Also, according to a Reuters tally, global coronavirus infections surpassed 2.5 million on Tuesday, with US cases surpassing 800,000.

RAF plane arrives in Istanbul to get medical aid

A Britain's Royal Air Force plane has arrived in Turkey's city of Istanbul for medical aid to be uploaded.

The plane will depart for the United Kingdom after the medical gear gets uploaded to the aircraft. 

This is Turkey's second shipment of medical aid to UK as part of its effort to help countries fight the virus pandemic.

France deaths toll nears 21,000

France registered 531 more deaths from coronavirus infections on Tuesday, bringing the total to 20,796, the fourth-highest tally in the world, while the pace of increase of fatalities slowed again.

The number of people in hospital declined for a seventh day in a row while the total of patients in intensive care units fell for a 13th consecutive time, to 5,433 - the lowest level since March 30.

France's public health chief Jerome Salomon told a news briefing the pandemic remains "massive". 

Turkey's deaths rise to 2,259

Turkey confirmed 119 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the toll to 2,259.

The total number of registered coronavirus cases surged to 95,591, as 4,611 more people tested positive for the virus, the Health Ministry said on Twitter.

So far, a total of 14,918 patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the virus, with 1,488 discharged on Tuesday alone, the ministry added.

A total of 39,429 tests were conducted over the past 24 hours, with the total reaching 713,409.

Italy's daily death toll climbs, new cases also up

Deaths from the Covid-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 534, up from 454 the day before and the largest daily tally since Friday, the Civil Protection Agency said.

The number of new infections also increased to 2,729 from 2,256 on Monday.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 was 24,648, the agency said, the second highest in the world after that of the United States.

The number of officially confirmed cases was 183,957, the third highest global tally behind those of the United States and Spain.

People registered as currently carrying the illness declined to 107,709 from 108,237 on Monday, a second consecutive daily decline.

There were 2,471 people in intensive care on Tuesday against 2,573 on Monday, maintaining a long-running decline. Of those originally infected, 51,600 were declared recovered against 48,877 a day earlier.

UK coronavirus deaths in hospitals rise by 828 to 17,337

A total of 17,337 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospitals in Britain, an increase of 828 on the figure published 24 hours earlier, Health Ministry data showed.

The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus has risen to 129,044.

The figure for deaths is as of 5 pm (1600 GMT) on April 20, while the figure for confirmed cases is as of 9 am (0800 GMT) on April 21. 

Turkish, Russian leaders discuss coronavirus on phone

The Turkish and Russian presidents on Tuesday discussed over phone ways to combat the novel coronavirus, according to an official statement.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin also agreed to continue close cooperation between Turkey and Russia, said Turkey's Directorate of Communications.

Turkey quarantines 366 expats evacuated from Iraq

Over 350 Turkish nationals who were evacuated from Iraq were placed under a 14-day quarantine to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The 366 expatriates in the capital Baghdad came into Turkey by bus via the Habur border gate in the southeastern Sirnak province.

After health checks, they were sent to the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Batman for a 14-day quarantine in dormitories in line with the country’s strict measures to stem the virus’ spread.

Pakistan to send chloroquine to allies

Pakistan announced it would send the anti-malaria drug chloroquine to help friendly nations deal with the Covid-19 crisis, official media said.

The decision was made in a Cabinet meeting that was chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, according to state-run Radio Pakistan.

"The Cabinet also approved export of chloroquine to the USA, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UK, Italy, Qatar, and Kazakhstan as Pakistan has additional stock of the drug," Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan told reporters after the meeting.

Pakistan has 40 million chloroquine tablets in stock and raw materials to produce more.

"One million chloroquine tablets will be sent to Saudi Arabia and United States each, 500,000 to Turkey and Italy each, five million to the United Kingdom, 700,000 to Kazakhstan and 300,000 to Qatar," the Dawn newspaper quoted Awan as saying.

Coronavirus infections rise in Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar

Authorities in Kuwait, Morocco and Qatar announced additional coronavirus infections and fatalities.

Health Ministry spokesperson Abdullah al Sanad said two more fatalities took Kuwait's fatalities to 11. And with 85 new infections the country now has a total of 2,800 cases.

He said 45 patients have recovered from the virus, bringing the total to 412.

A statement from Morocco’s Health Ministry said one death was reported along with 140 new infections, bringing the country's Covid-19 death toll to 144 and infections to 3,186.

In Qatar, the Health Ministry reported two deaths from the coronavirus and 518 new infections.

It said the death toll stands at nine, infections jumped to 6,533 and recovered cases are at 614.

Dutch coronavirus cases rise by 729 to 34,134

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Netherlands has risen by 729 to 34,134, health authorities said, with 165 new deaths.

Total deaths stand at 3,916, the Netherlands Institute for Health (RIVM) said in its daily update. 

The RIVM repeated that it only reports cases and deaths confirmed by testing, and actual numbers are larger. 

Iran's death toll rises to 5,297

Iran's death toll from the Covid-19 respiratory disease reached 5,297 on Tuesday, as it claimed 88 lives in the past 24 hours, a health ministry official said.

The total number of infections reached 84,802, he said.

Turkey to sell medical equipment, ventilator parts to US

Turkey will sell medical equipment and medical parts to the US after President Erdogan issued an exemption for the export of the items following a phone call with President Trump on Sunday.

Hazmat suits and masks, as well as a crucial spare part for ventilators, are among the list of items, CNN Turk reported. 

Turkey can manufacture domestically produced ventilators and the country has ample amount of parts and equipment. 

Swiss coronavirus death toll nears 1,200

The Swiss death toll from the new coronavirus has reached 1,187, the country's public health agency said on Tuesday, rising from 1,142 people on Monday.

The number of positive tests increased to 28,063 from 27,944 on Monday, an increase of 119, it said.  

The infection rate has slowed of late from a peak of 1,300 new positive tests per day at the end of March.

Malaysia reports 57 cases and 3 new deaths

Malaysian health authorities reported 57 new cases, bringing the cumulative total to 5,482 cases as the daily increase in cases remained in double digits for the fifth straight day.

Malaysia's health ministry also reported 3 new deaths, bringing the total fatalities up to 92.

Spain sees slight hike in daily virus toll with 430 deaths

Spain saw a slight increase in the daily death toll on Tuesday, with 430 people dying in the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed. 

So far, 21,282 people have succumbed to the pandemic in Spain.

Singapore to extend partial lockdown by four weeks until June 1

Singapore has extended by four weeks until June 1 a partial lockdown to curb the spread of infections in the city-state, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

The measures, which include the closures of most work places and schools, were initially set to run from April 7 until May 4.

Indonesia reports 375 new infections

Indonesia reported 375 infections, taking the total in the Southeast Asian country to 7,135.

Health ministry official Achmad Yurianto reported 26 deaths, taking the total to 616.

More than 46,700 people have been tested and 842 people had recovered, he added. 

Death toll in England 41% higher than early data suggested: ONS

The true extent of the death toll in England and Wales from Covid-19 up to April 10 was 41% higher than the daily figures from the government indicated, according to data on Tuesday that includes deaths in the community.

The Office for National Statistics said it recorded 13,121 deaths by April 10, compared with 9,288 in the government's daily toll for those who died in hospital. 

France stops all flights outside Schengen zone

France has stopped all flights outside the Schengen zone, French Transport and Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne said.

"There are no more international flights outside the Schengen zone", Borne told French RTL radio. 

Philippines reports nine new deaths, 140 more infections

The Philippines' health ministry recorded nine new deaths and 140 additional confirmed cases.

In a bulletin, the health ministry said total virus deaths have reached 437 while infections have risen to 6,599.

But 41 more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 654, it added.

Russia's confirms cases surge past 52,000

Russia recorded 5,642 new virus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing its nation wide tally to 52,763, the Russian coronavirus crisis response centre said.

Fifty-one people with the virus died in the last 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 456, it said.

The number of infections in Russia began rising sharply this month, although it had reported far fewer infections than many western European countries in the outbreak's early stages.

Singapore reports 1,111 new cases

Singapore said it had preliminarily confirmed 1,111 new cases, taking the city-state's total infections to 9,125.

The health ministry said most of the cases were migrant workers living in dormitories, a group that accounts for more than three quarters of the city-state's total infections.

The World Health Organization's regional chief said that Singapore - which has the highest number of reported cases in Southeast Asia - is facing "very difficult challenges" from a recent surge in infections but has the health care system and risk management capacity to handle it.

After denial, Indonesia sees mounting deaths

While Indonesia’s neighbours scrambled early this year to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the government of the world’s fourth most populous nation insisted that everything was fine.

In speeches, Indonesia’s health minister, Terawan Agus Putranto, told his country's people that they shouldn’t fear the virus, even as tens of thousands around the world were being infected.

Rather than focus on creating social distancing guidelines or ramping up testing, Putranto credited Indonesian “immunity” and the strength of prayer for the country's lack of any infections.

He dismissed as “insulting" a report by Harvard University researchers that said Indonesia must have elected not to report its cases.

Japan PM asks citizens to be more diligent

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed concerns that Japanese people haven’t followed social distancing measures as much as they’re supposed to under a state of emergency he declared two weeks ago to fight the spread of the virus.

Abe asked citizens to do more to prevent Japanese health care systems from collapsing.

“Please avoid making out-of-town trips,” Abe said Tuesday. He said hospitals are overburdened already and infections must be slowed. “I seek further cooperation from all of you,” he added.

Italy to start easing lockdown from May 4

Italy will announce before the end of this week its plans for the gradual reopening from a lockdown imposed to fight the outbreak emergency that will be applied starting from May 4, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.

"I wish I could say: let's reopen everything. Immediately. We start tomorrow morning ... But such a decision would be irresponsible. It would make the contagion curve go up in an uncontrolled way and would nullify all the efforts we have made so far," Conte wrote in a Facebook post.

"We must act on the basis of a national (reopening) plan, which however takes into account the territorial peculiarities."

Thailand records 19 new cases, one new death

Thailand recorded 19 new virus cases, a senior health official said, the lowest daily tally in more than a month.

A 50-year-old taxi driver accounted for the latest death, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.

Thailand's 19 new cases make up its lowest daily increase since it reported seven cases on March 14, preceding a surge in new cases, that prompted the prime minister to enforce an emergency decree and order a partial lockdown.

The Southeast Asian nation has a total of 2,811 cases and 48 deaths. 

Nearly 75%, or 2,108 sufferers, have recovered. 

Germany's confirmed cases rise over 148,000

Germany's confirmed cases rose by 1,785 to 148,850, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed, marking a slight increase in the number of new infections after two days of declines.

New infections had increased by 1,775 on Monday.

The reported death toll rose by 194 to 5,056, the tally showed.

Saudi Arabia suspends Ramadan prayers at Holy Mosques

Saudi Arabia has suspended Taraweeh prayers at Islam's two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.

Taraweeh, special night prayers performed during the holy month, will be held without public attendance at the Grand Mosque [Masjid al-Haram] and the Prophet's Mosque [Masjid al-Nabawi], said Abdul Rahman As-Sudais, president of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques.

Worldwide death toll tops 170,000

The number of deaths worldwide surpassed 170,000 late Monday, according to a running tally by US-based Johns Hopkins University. 

The university's data counted 170,261 fatalities while the number of cases and recoveries stood at 2,475,841 and 646,433, respectively. 

US death toll hits  42,000 

US deaths topped 42,000 on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, as more protesters gathered in state capitals to demand an early end to the lockdowns, while officials pleaded for patience until more testing becomes available. 

Stay-at-home measures, which experts say are essential to slow the spread of the respiratory virus, have ground the economy to a standstill and forced more than 22 million people to apply for unemployment benefits in the last month. 

The United States has by far the world's largest number of confirmed cases, with more than 774,000 infections, up 20,000 on Monday, with several states yet to report. 

New reported US cases appear to be slowing from about 30,000 a day last week.

Hong Kong to extend restrictions by 14 days 

Hong Kong's government will extend social restrictions aimed at tackling the disease for another 14 days, the Chinese-ruled city's leader Carrie Lam's aid. 

Hong Kong recorded zero new coronavirus cases on Monday for the first time since early March. 

The city has confirmed 1,025 total cases and four deaths since the outbreak began in January. 

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 have been suspended indefinitely.

UN member states demand 'equitable' access to vaccines 

The 193 members of the UN General Assembly on Monday adopted by consensus a resolution that calls for "equitable, efficient and timely" access to any future vaccines developed to fight the virus. 

The resolution also highlights the "crucial leading role" played by the World Health Organization, which has faced criticism from Washington and others about its handling of the pandemic. 

The resolution, which was drafted by Mexico and received US support, calls for strengthening the "scientific international cooperation necessary to combat the disease and to bolster coordination," including with the private sector.

China sees 11 new cases 

China reported 11 new confirmed cases on April 20, down from 12 a day earlier, with no new deaths, the country's health authority said.   

Of the total, four were imported, down from eight on the previous day, the National Health Commission said in its daily bulletin. 

There were seven cases of local infection, including six in the northeastern border province of Heilongjiang and one in the southern province of Guangdong. 

China also reported 37 new asymptomatic cases on the mainland on April 20, compared to 49 a day earlier. 

Mainland China now has an accumulated total of 82,758 cases and 4,632 deaths as of the end of April 20.

Trump hopes for deal on small business programme 

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he hoped negotiators in Congress would reach a deal to provide more aid for small businesses hurt by the pandemic, with a vote possible in the Senate. 

"We hope to have an agreement on that very soon. A lot of progress has been made on that," Trump said at a White House briefing. 

Panama sees nearly 200 new cases  

Panama registered 191 new cases on Monday, bringing the country's total to 4,658 cases, the health ministry said. 

Officials also confirmed 10 more deaths, raising Panama's death toll from the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the virus to 136. 

Colombia extends lockdown 

Colombia will extend its quarantine until May 11, President Ivan Duque said on Monday, but will allow some sectors like construction tore-open. 

The Andean country has nearly 4,000 cases. 

It has been in lockdown for nearly a month. 

Ecuador's cases top 10,000 

Ecuador reported over 10,000 cases on Monday, the fourth-highest tally in Latin America, as the disease ravages the economy of the oil-producing country. 

The pandemic in recent weeks has overwhelmed sanitary authorities in the largest city of Guayaquil, the centre of the Andean nation's outbreak, where corpses remained in homes or for hours on streets. 

Ecuador recorded its first case on February 29 and took 24 days to reach 1,000 cases. 

It took seven days for cases to double to 2,000, eight days to double to 4,000 and eight days to double again to 8,000, according to a Reuters tally.

The Andean nation has reported a total of 507 deaths, the health ministry said. 

Officials said they believed another 826 people have died due to the virus, but the cases were never confirmed.