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Global cornavirus death toll crosses 61,000

Published : Sunday, 5 April, 2020 at 1:16 AM  Count : 570

Global cornavirus death toll crosses 61,000

Global cornavirus death toll crosses 61,000



MADRID: Americans on Saturday came to grips with recommendations to wear masks against the coronavirus, while Spain added to hopes that Europe could be turning a corner in the pandemic with a second daily drop in deaths, reports AFP.

More than 1,130,204 cases of infection, including 61,138 deaths, have been reported in 190 countries and territories around the world since the virus first emerged in China in December.

China meanwhile came to a standstill as the nation where the virus first appeared held three minutes of silence to mourn the patients and medical staff killed by the outbreak.

Across China, cars, trains and ships sounded their horns, and air-raid sirens wailed, as flags were flown at half-staff.

China, where over 3,000 people have died from the virus, appears to be over the worst of its outbreak and there are signs of normality returning.

Europe accounts for the lion's share of virus fatalities, but America logged another rise in its death toll to bring the total to just over 7,100.

President Donald Trump's administration on Friday suggested widespread use of simple masks or scarves might help slow the spread — even if the US leader said he himself wouldn't be following the advice.

'It's going to be really a voluntary thing,' Trump said. 'You don’t have to do it and I’m choosing not to do it, but some people may want to do it and that's okay.'

Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health, cited 'recent information that the virus can actually be spread even when people just speak as opposed to coughing and sneezing.'

The World Health Organisation has been more cautious, saying the airborne threat was only known to occur during certain medical treatments.

In Europe, Italy and Spain continue to bear the brunt of a pandemic that has kept millions of citizens confined to their homes, closed schools and businesses and overwhelmed healthcare systems.

Spain, which is under a near-total lockdown, on Saturday recorded a second successive daily fall in coronavirus-related deaths with 809 fatalities.

The total number of deaths in the country now stands at 11,744, second only to Italy.

The number of new Spanish cases also slowed at 7,026, taking the total to 124,736.

Italy, which recorded its first coronavirus death at the end of February, has 15,362 fatalities, with 119,827 infections and 19,758 people recovered.

France has reported 6,507 deaths and 83,165 cases.

Italy reported late Friday that the daily rise of officially registered infections dropped to a new low of just four per cent, while the number of people who had fully recovered was rising.

'The numbers are improving,' said Giuli Gallera, chief medical officer of Italy’s worst-hit Lombardy region.

Britain on Saturday reported 708 more deaths from COVID-19 in a new daily high, as the number of confirmed cases rose to nearly 42,000.

The health ministry said 4,313 people who tested positive for the virus in hospital had died as of 1600 GMT Friday while there were 41,903 confirmed cases as of 0800 GMT Saturday, up 3,735.

France has reported 6,507 deaths and 83,165 cases.

The United States has the highest official number of infected people with 278,458 diagnosed cases, 7,159 deaths and 9,772 recoveries.

'The worst is yet to come,' UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said, referring to countries such as Syria, Libya and Yemen. 'The COVID-19 storm is now coming to all these theatres of conflict.'

The world economy has been pummelled by the virus and associated lockdowns, with millions more people signing on for unemployment payments in the US.

AFP/SZA

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Global cornavirus death   crosses 61   000  








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