Saudi imposes 24-hour virus curfew in five cities – latest updates

Monday, April 6, 2020

British PM in intensive care with coronavirus

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was on Monday admitted to intensive care after being hospitalised with coronavirus, with foreign minister Dominic Raab to take over his duties "where necessary", his Downing Street office said.

"Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital," said the Downing Street press release.

"The PM has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab... to deputise for him where necessary," it added.

The prime minister was moved in case he needed to use a ventilator, the government added.

Saudi imposes 24-hour virus curfew in five cities

Saudi Arabia extended the duration of daily curfews Monday in four governorates and five cities, including the capital, to 24 hours to combat coronavirus as confirmed deaths from the disease hit 38.

The kingdom imposed round-the-clock lockdowns on the cities of Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran and Hofuf, the interior ministry said on Twitter.

The same measures were also imposed on the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif and Khobar, the ministry added.

Authorities had already sealed off the holy cities of Mecca and Medina along with Riyadh and Jeddah, barring people from entering and exiting as well as prohibiting movement between all provinces.

France reports 833 new coronavirus deaths

France on Monday reported deaths of 833 more people in hospitals and nursing homes over the previous 24 hours, its highest daily toll since the epidemic began.

"We have not reached the end of the ascent of this epidemic," Health Minster Olivier Veran told reporters, as he announced the new toll which brought the total number killed in the coronavirus epidemic in France to 8,911.

Of the new deaths, 605 were registered in hospitals, Veran said.

Veran said that 478 more people had gone into intensive care over the last 24 hours, a higher figure than in previous days.

Veran said that in nursing homes –– where a total of 2,417 people have died since the start of the epidemic –– a "vast operation" of testing would begin to better protect residents.

Italy reports 636 new deaths, contagion slows

Italy on Monday reported 636 more deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 16,523 –– the highest in the world –– but registering a clear slowdown in the pace of contagions.

The slowing trend reported in the rise of infections – down from the double-digit increases in the early stages of the outbreak – seems to be supporting the government's hopes that the peak of the contagion has reached.

Current infections grew 2 percent from Sunday to reach 93,187 – the slowest rise in over a week and one of the lowest since the start of the outbreak. The number of recovered people also continued to surge, climbing to 22,837, while the number of intensive care patients fell for the third consecutive day.

The epicentre of the Italian outbreak remains the northern Lombardy region, which now counts 9,202 victims.

Turkey confirms 75 deaths, 3,148 new cases

Turkey announced 75 new deaths taking toll to 649 and new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 3,148 more people have been diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total number in Turkey to 30,217.

So far, a total of 1,326 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, while 1,415 patients are currently under intensive care units, the data shows.

Also, 21,400 tests were conducted on Monday, and the number of overall tests carried out so far reached 202,845.

"The daily tests will reach 30,000 soon," Koca said.

Erdogan says $221M raised in relief efforts

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday said Turkish health care system surpassed the "important threshold" of 20,000 daily coronavirus tests.

Referring to a recent decision to distribute medical masks to people between the ages of 20 and 65 free of charge, Erdogan said local officials had begun distribution efforts, adding that the sale of masks is prohibited in the country.

He informed that 1.5 billion liras (over $221M) have been raised by Turkish citizens and companies after a National Solidarity Campaign was launched last week.

"We started preparations to deliver aid to 2.3 million households," he went on to say.

US coronavirus death toll surpasses 10,000

The number of people in the US who have died from the novel coronavirus has surpassed the 10,000 mark, according to data Monday by Johns Hopkins University.

The university's running tally counted 10,335 deaths and 347,003 cases as the US struggles to curb the outbreak.

UK death toll rises by 439 to 5,373

The United Kingdom coronavirus death toll rose by 439 to 5,373 people as of 1600 GMT on April 5, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

As of 0800 GMT on April 6, a total of 208,837 people had been tested of which 51,608 were positive, it said.

Norway says virus outbreak 'under control'

Norway's government said it considered the coronavirus outbreak to be "under control" in the country.

It said the reproduction rate of the disease,  the number of new people infected by each patient with the virus, had fallen to 0.7. 

That was down from 2.5 when containment measures such as closing public spaces and banning sports and cultural events were introduced in mid-March. 

"This means that we have brought the coronavirus infection under control," Health Minister Bent Hoie said.

Dutch coronavirus cases rise by 5.3 percent

The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in the Netherlands has risen by 952, or 5.3 percent, to 18,803, health authorities said, with 101 new deaths.

The Netherlands' Institute for Public Health (RIVM) said in its daily update that total deaths had risen to 1,867.

The RIVM continues to caution that the numbers reflect only confirmed positive cases and confirmed deaths, while actual numbers are larger. 

More than 60 on Australian liner off Uruguay with coronavirus

More than 60 passengers aboard an Australian cruise ship off South America have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials in Uruguay announced on Monday.

Uruguay's Public Health Ministry said six passengers with "life-threatening" illness had been taken off the Greg Mortimer for treatment in Montevideo, but the rest of the more than 200 passengers and crew remain stranded on the vessel anchored some 15 miles off the coast.

Kenya halts movement in coronavirus-affected areas

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday ordered a halt to all movement in parts of the country affected by the new coronavirus, including capital Nairobi.

"The cessation of movement within the Nairobi metropolitan area shall be for an initial containment period of 21 days with effect from 7 pm Monday the 6th of April 2020, that is today," Kenyatta said in a televised address.

Kenya has reported 158 coronavirus cases and six deaths. 

British Open cancelled 

The British Open will not be played this year for the first time since 1945, with the R&A choosing to play golf's oldest championship next year at Royal St George's and move the 150th Open at St Andrews to 2022.

It was a major event in golf trying to reconfigure a schedule brought on by the spread of the new coronavirus.

Spain seeks to consolidate coronavirus contagion slowdown

Spain's government wants to consolidate the current rate of coronavirus contagion slowdown in Europe's second-worst hit country, Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Monday, as Spain enters its fourth week of confinement.

Up to 60,000 recently retired medical staff – aged 70 or less – have been rehired to contribute to the outbreak response, Illa added.

Spain's Covid-19 deaths down for fourth day 

Spain's pace of new coronavirus deaths slowed for the fourth day as the government contemplated a gradual easing of a lockdown in place since mid-March in the country with the second-highest death toll from the global pandemic.

As with worst-hit Italy, data in Spain is giving cause for hope the peak may have passed as it reported 637 fatalities during the previous 24 hours – a 5 percent increase in total and about half the pace of a week previously.

IMF encouraged by recovery in China, but pandemic could resurge

The International Monetary Fund on Monday cited limited but encouraging signs of recovery in China, the first country to suffer the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic, but said it could not rule out a resurgence of the pandemic in China and elsewhere.

In a blog, top IMF economists said the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus had pushed the world into a recession that would be worse than the global financial crisis, and called for a global, coordinated health and economic policy response.

"The economic damage is mounting across all countries, tracking the sharp rise in new infections and containment measures put in place by governments," the IMF experts wrote.

Iran death toll from outbreak reaches 3,739

The death toll in Iran from the coronavirus outbreak has reached 3,739, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said on state TV.

The total number of people infected by the coronavirus in the country has reached 60,500, he said. 

Malaysia confirms 131 new cases with one death

Malaysia reported 131 new coronavirus infections, raising the country's total to 3,793 cases, the highest in Southeast Asia.

The health ministry has recorded 62 deaths, including one more reported as of noon.

Swiss death toll hits 584 with 21,652 cases

Switzerland's novel coronavirus death toll has risen to 584, the country's public health agency said, from 559 people on Sunday.

The number of positive tests also increased to 21,652 from 21,100, it said.

Singapore quarantines nearly 20,000 foreign workers

Migrant workers living in vast Singapore dormitories cut off from the outside world due to the coronavirus outbreak fear their cramped and squalid quarters are fast becoming a hotbed for infection.

Singapore said it had quarantined nearly 20,000 workers in two dormitories, made up of mainly Bangladeshi and other South Asian manual workers, after they were linked to at least 90 infections.

Russia's cases jump by almost 1,000 in 24 hours

Russia's coronavirus case tally has risen to 6,343 during the past 24 hours, a record daily increase of 954, the country's crisis response centre said.

Cases have been recorded widely, but Moscow remains the epicentre of the outbreak with 591 new cases, the centre said. Forty-seven people have died across the country, it said.

Death toll in Pakistan reaches 50 with 3,270 cases

Pakistan's tally of Covid-19 cases soared past 3,270 as the country's death toll reached 50.

While at least 257 coronavirus patients have recovered in the South Asian nation the number of cases continues to soar despite the country being under lockdown for the third consecutive week.

Philippines reports 11 new deaths

The Philippines' Health Ministry reported 11 additional deaths and 414 new coronavirus infections.

In a bulletin, the ministry said total Covid-19 deaths in the Philippines had reached 163 and cases rose to 3,660. At least 73 patients had recovered. 

At least 14 people hospitalised, one dead in Florida cruise ship

Authorities say 14 people have been taken to hospitals from a cruise ship that docked in Florida with coronavirus victims aboard and one of them has died.

Two fatalities were reported earlier aboard the Coral Princess, which docked Saturday in Miami. The ship had more than 1,000 passengers and nearly 900 crew members.

Authorities did not immediately disclose whether the 14 people removed for immediate medical attention had a confirmed coronavirus link.

Anyone with symptoms of the disease or recovering from it were being kept on the ship until medically cleared.

Germany's coronavirus cases rise to 100,123

Germany's confirmed coronavirus infections rose to 100,123, with another drop in the daily rate of new cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The number of new cases –– 4,031–– was lower than infections reported on Sunday and was the third straight drop in daily number of new cases.

The reported death toll rose to 1,584.

Germany's Robert Koch Institute reported a lower case tally, of more than 95,300.

Thailand reports 51 news cases, three more deaths 

Thailand reported 51 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths according to a spokesman for the government's Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration.

Thirteen of the new cases were medical personnel who attended to infected patients or had activities with them, said the spokesman, Taweesin Wisanuyothin.

Thailand has confirmed 2,220 cases and 26 fatalities since the outbreak emerged in the country in January.

Virus-hit cruise ship docks in Australia

Carnival Corp's troubled Ruby Princess cruise liner, the biggest single source of coronavirus infections in Australia, docked south of Sydney to get help for sick crew members requiring urgent medical treatment.

The Ruby Princess, now the target of a criminal investigation led by the homicide squad in the state of New South Wales (NSW), has more than 1,000 crew still on board after passengers disembarked in mid-March without health checks.

There have been at least 360 Covid-19 cases, including passengers and staff, associated with the vessel, which includes at least six deaths.

China sees rises in new coronavirus cases

The National Health Commission said in a statement that 78 new asymptomatic cases had been identified, compared with 47 the day before.

Mainland China reported 39 new coronavirus cases as of Sunday, up from 30 a day earlier, and the number of asymptomatic cases also surged, as Beijing continued to struggle to extinguish the outbreak despite drastic containment efforts.

South Korea reports fewer than 50 new coronavirus cases

South Korea reported fewer than 50 new coronavirus cases on Monday for the first time since its February 29 peak, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.

The KCDC reported 47 new infections, taking the national tally to 10,284. 

The death toll rose by three to 186.

US virus deaths top 1,200 in the last 24 hours – Johns Hopkins 

More than 1,200 people have died of coronavirus complications in the United States in the past day, John Hopkins University said on Monday at 0030 GMT.

The Baltimore-based university, which has been keeping a running tally of global coronavirus numbers, said there are at least 337,072 confirmed infections in the US with 9,633 deaths.

Mexico registers 2,143 coronavirus cases, 94 deaths

Mexico on Sunday had registered 2,143 cases of the novel coronavirus in the country, an increase of 253 cases from a day earlier, the health ministry said.

The number of deaths linked to the virus rose by 15 to 94.

Panama's coronavirus death toll rises to 54

Panama's health ministry on Sunday registered 1,988 cases of the novel coronavirus in the Central American country, a rise of 187 cases from a day earlier. 

The number of deaths increased by eight to 54.

Tiger at NYC's Bronx Zoo tests positive for coronavirus

A tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the new coronavirus, in what is believed to be the first known infection in an animal in the US or a tiger anywhere, federal officials and the zoo said Sunday.

The 4-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia, and six other tigers and lions that have also fallen ill, are believed to have been infected by a zoo employee who wasn't yet showing symptoms, the zoo said. 

The first animal started showing symptoms March 27, and all are doing well and expected to recover, said the zoo, which has been closed to the public since March 16 amid the surging coronavirus outbreak in New York.

Trump hopes for 'levelling-off' of coronavirus in US hot spots

President Donald Trump on Sunday expressed hope that the United States was seeing a "levelling-off" of the coronavirus crisis in some of the nation's hot spots for the viral outbreak.

New York, the hardest-hit state, reported on Sunday that for the first time in a week deaths had fallen slightly from the day before, but there were still nearly 600 new fatalities and more than 7,300 new cases.

"Maybe that's a good sign," Trump told reporters, referring to the drop in fatalities.