Global coronavirus death toll tops 100,000 – latest updates

Friday, April 10, 2020:

Global coronavirus death toll tops 100,000 

More than 100,000 people have died worldwide from the coronavirus, with nearly 70 percent of all fatalities in Europe, according to Johs Hopkins University data.

A total of 100,661 people have been killed, including 70,245 in Europe, since the virus first emerged in China in December.

Italy has the highest number of deaths with 18,849, followed by the United States with 17,925 and 15,843 in Spain.

Turkeys bans citizens from leaving home for 48 hours

Turkey ordered citizens to stay at home for 48 hours across 31 cities starting midnight Friday as it rolled out new strict measures to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. 

The interior ministry said in a statement the order would last until midnight Sunday in dozens of cities, including the economic hub of Istanbul and the capital Ankara.

Trump says he thinks US will lose fewer than 100,000 lives

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he thinks the United States will lose fewer than the initially projected 100,000 lives to Covid-19.

Trump suggested that the United States is nearing its peak infection rate and said the nationwide number of new coronavirus cases is flattening, with the situations in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Detroit, Michigan, stabilising.

US deaths due to the virus topped 18,100 on Friday, according to a Reuters tally.

French coronavirus death toll up by nearly 1,000 in a day - ministry

The number of people who have died from coronavirus infection in France jumped by nearly 1,000 to 13,197 but the number of people in intensive care units fell slightly for the second day in a row as the effect of nationwide confinement started to show.

The health ministry said 7,004 people were in intensive care, a fall of 62 or 0.9 percent following a 1 percent fall on Thursday.

"We seem to be reaching a plateau, albeit a high level," health ministry director Jerome Salomon told a daily press briefing by video.

Trudeau says 'more normal' phase of Canada's coronavirus fight could come in summer

Canadian life could soon return to a semblance of normality if people bear down now to stop the spread of the coronavirus, but the risk of resurgence will remain until a vaccine is developed, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday.

Canada's coronavirus deaths rose to 531 on Friday, up 15 percent from 461 on Thursday, and total cases topped 21,000, the Public Health Agency said.

The death toll is set to soar to as high as 22,000 by the end of the pandemic, health officials said on Thursday, while the economy lost a record 1 million jobs last month.

Italy to extend virus lockdown until May 3 - PM

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Friday that he had taken the "difficult" decision to extend the Mediterranean country's economically crippling lockdown until May 3.

"We are extending the restrictions until May 3. It is a difficult but necessary decision for which I assume full political responsibility," Conte told the nation after Italy's world-topping coronavirus death toll rose to 18,849.

NY needs millions of coronavirus tests before reopening: governor

Millions of New Yorkers must be tested for the new coronavirus before the state can reopen, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Friday, as he reported a continued slowing of Covid-19.

Cuomo said intensive care admissions were at their lowest since the crisis began last month but called for an "unprecedented mobilisation" of testing before residents are able to return to work.

"Even with our high capacity and high performance on testing it's still not enough," Cuomo told reporters.

"It's not enough if you want to reopen on a meaningful scale and reopen quickly, so the testing front is going to be a challenge for us."

New York is the epicentre of America's coronavirus outbreak.

The state has almost 160,000 confirmed cases, more than any country outside of the United States, including Europe's hardest-hit nations of Spain and Italy.

A total of 777 people died in New York in the last 24 hours, Cuomo told reporters, bringing the state's death toll to 7,844, around half of deaths across the US.

Turkey's death toll from coronavirus rises to 1,006

Turkey on Friday confirmed that 98 more people died from the coronavirus in the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 1,006.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases surged to 47,029 as 4,747 more people tested positive for the virus, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a news conference following the country’s Science Board meeting.

So far, a total of 2,423 have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, Koca said.

He also said 30,864 tests were conducted on Friday, with the overall number of tests hitting 307,210.

Turkey is currently treating 1,667 patients in intensive care units, he added, underlining the mortality rate in Turkey is 2.15 percent, the 12th highest among countries with the population exceeding 10 million.

Lifting virus lockdowns too quickly could spark 'deadly resurgence' - WHO

A hasty lifting of restrictions imposed to control the Covid-19 pandemic could lead to a fatal resurgence of the new coronavirus, the World Health Organization warned Friday.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was working with countries on ways in which lockdowns could be gradually eased, but said doing so too quickly could be dangerous.

"I know that some countries are already planning the transition out of stay-at-home restrictions. WHO wants to see restrictions lifted as much as anyone," he told a virtual press conference in Geneva.

"At the same time, lifting restrictions too quickly could lead to a deadly resurgence. The way down can be as dangerous as the way up if not managed properly."

"WHO is working with affected countries on strategies for gradually and safely easing restrictions."

UK's Covid-19 death toll up 980 in largest rise to date

The UK death toll from Covid-19 has risen by 980 to 8,958, health minister Matt Hancock said on Friday, its biggest daily rise to date.

The toll exceeded the deadliest day reported by Italy on March 28, the country worst hit by the coronavirus.

Hancock urged Britons not to leave their homes over the Easter holidays, during which hot weather is expected.

"This Easter will be another test of the nation's resolve," he said at a news conference in Downing Street.

Hancock confirmed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's health was improving after leaving a three-night spell of intensive care on Thursday.

Johnson, who is being treated for Covid-19, is now able to take short walks, a Downing Street spokesman said earlier. 

Italy's daily coronavirus death toll and new cases decline slightly

Deaths from the Covid-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 570 on Friday, down from 610 the day before, and the number of new cases also slowed modestly to 3,951 from a previous 4,204.

The latest tallies broadly confirm what experts describe as a plateau of new cases and deaths, which are no longer accelerating but are still not falling steeply.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 rose to 18,849, the Civil Protection Agency said, the highest in the world.

The number of officially confirmed cases cli mbed to 147,577, the third highest global tally behind those of the United States and Spain.

There were 3,497 people in intensive care on Friday against 3,605 on Thursday - a seventh consecutive daily decline.

Of those originally infected, 30,455 were declared recovered against 28,470 a day earlier. 

US coronavirus deaths top 17,000 - Reuters tally

US deaths due to the coronavirus topped 17,000 on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, although there are signs that Americans staying home was curbing new infections.

Over 1,900 new deaths have been reported three days in a row, according a Reuters tally.

US cases topped 472,000 on Friday and have been rising by 30,000 to 35,000 cases a day as testing becomes more available.

Irish PM extends coronavirus lockdown to May 5

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced on Friday that Ireland's coronavirus lockdown measures rolled out last month will be extended until May 5.

The government accepted an "expert recommendation" that the current ban on non-essential movement should be prolonged, Varadkar said.

"What we're doing is difficult, but it's making a difference and we have to keep going," he added.

"Too many have died and sadly more will die and get sick before this is over. So today's message is that we cannot be complacent and we cannot lose focus."

The Irish government closed schools and universities on 12 March, ramping up controls until a full lockdown on non-essential movement was imposed on 27 March.

The order had been due to expire at midnight (2300 GMT) on Sunday.

Singapore sees jump in virus cases as second wave grows

Singapore reported almost 200 new coronavirus cases and one death Friday as a country previously seen as a model for tackling the disease battles a fast-moving second wave of infections.

On Friday health authorities reported 198 new cases and an additional death, taking the city-state's total number of infections to 2,108 including seven fatalities.

Portugal to extend state of emergency to May

Portugal will extend the state of emergency imposed to combat coronavirus until May 1, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said on Friday.

The state of emergency, which began on March 19 and currently runs to April 19, will be formally extended at the end of next week, he said.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa told the TVI channel that lifting emergency measures now would "send the wrong message to the country".

According to a tally published Friday, Portugal has 15,472 declared coronavirus cases and 435 deaths from the virus.

Spain records lowest increase in deaths in 17 days

The number of people dying of coronavirus in Spain each day fell again as the country registered 605 fatalities over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said.

The overall death toll rose to 15,843 from 15,238 the previous day, it said in a statement. The total number of coronavirus cases rose to 157,022 from 152,446 on Thursday.

The Spanish government is meeting to establish a $21.9 billion (20 billion euro) fund to help small businesses and the self-employed cope with the economic fallout of the outbreak, but it’s also discussing what comes next for 47 million Spaniards who have been quarantined for four weeks.

Air Zimbabwe to put workers on unpaid leave over coronavirus

Zimbabwe's state-owned airline will put workers on indefinite unpaid leave after revenue dried up with the new coronavirus outbreak virtually grounding global air travel, an internal notice to employees said.

With $300 million of debt, Air Zimbabwe was already facing financial trouble before the outbreak of the virus.

The perennially loss-making national carrier said it would retain skeleton staff for adhoc operations and airworthiness compliance, adding that wages remained its biggest cost. Employees would, however, receive their April salaries.

"Some of us will be put on indefinite unpaid leave from 23 April 2020 until operations normalise," the notice said.

Malaysia extends movement curbs until April 28

Malaysia extended movement and travel restrictions on Friday for another two weeks, until April 28, as it tries to contain a coronavirus outbreak which has left it with the most infections in Southeast Asia.

The curbs, imposed on March 18, were originally set to end on April 14. But the government reported 118 new cases on Friday, bringing its total to more than 4,200.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address said Malaysia has done well in keeping the infection rate at 7 percent of patients screened, which is below the 10 percent benchmark set by the World Health Organisation (WHO), while its 1.6 percent death rate is well below the 5.8 percent global average.

Belgium in top five of Covid-19 deaths per million

Belgium's death toll from the novel coronavirus pandemic has topped 3,000, officials after the country recorded 496 more deaths during the past 24 hours.

Currently, its virus mortality rate stands at 260 deaths per million people. 

Health authorities said the big jump over previous daily counts included 171 fatalities in retirement homes that took place in the last half of March.

It pushed the national running total of Covid-19 related deaths to 3,019.

Iran's death toll rises to 4,232

Iran's total death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak rose to 4,232 with 122 lives lost in the past 24 hours, according to a health ministry spokesman. 

The total number of people diagnosed with the disease increased by 1,972 during the past 24 hours to a total of 68,192, the spokesman, Kianoush Jahanpur, said on state TV, adding that 3,969 people were in critical condition.

Iran is the country most affected by the pandemic in the Middle East. It has recorded a total of 35,465 recoveries from the Covid-19 respiratory disease, he said. 

Germany's coronavirus cases rise by 5,323

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Germany rose by 5,323 during the past 24 hours to 113,525 , climbing for a fourth straight day after four previous days of declines, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed.

The reported death toll rose by 266 to 2,373. 

Hungary reports biggest daily rise in coronavirus cases

Hungary's confirmed coronavirus cases have increased by 210 to 1,190, the single largest daily increase since the outbreak of the virus, government data showed.

At least 77 people have died so far, according to the government. The latest jump in cases includes 151 infections in an old people's home in Budapest, of whom seven people had died, the government tally showed.

Number of cases crosses 12,000 in India

India's confirmed coronavirus cases crossed 12,000, government data showed, despite a harsh weeks-long clampdown to control the outbreak.

India's capital of Delhi, and its financial hub of Mumbai, have emerged as hotspots and local officials are urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend a 21-day nationwide lockdown beyond its expiry date of Tuesday.

India's vast shutdown of 1.3 billion people has left millions out of work and forced an exodus of migrant workers from the cities to their homes in the hinterland, but state leaders say it is more important to save lives.

Russia reports new record daily rise of coronavirus cases

Russia reported 1,786 more coronavirus cases, its largest daily rise so far, which took the national tally of confirmed infections to 11,917.

The number of coronavirus-related deaths rose by 18 to 94, the Russian coronavirus crisis response centre said in a statement.

Philippines records 18 more deaths, 119 new cases

The Philippines' health ministry reported 18 more coronavirus deaths and 119 new infections.

The death toll in the Southeast Asian country has reached 221, while confirmed cases totalled 4,195.

Sixteen more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 140, the ministry said in a bulletin.

Indonesia reports 219 new cases, total 3,512

Indonesia reported 219 new coronavirus cases and 26 new deaths, a health ministry official Achmad Yurianto told reporters.

This brings the total number of cases and deaths to 3,512 and 306, respectively.

Virus kills 66 in Pakistan

Number of Covid-19 cases in Pakistan climbed to 4,601, with 66 deaths.

Authorities warned of tough penalties if people flouted the lockdown to go to mosques for Friday prayers. 

The rules allow only five people to pray at a time in a mosque but many more gathered last week.

Number of cases cross 10,000 in Israel

In Israel, the number of coronavirus infections rose to more than 10,000. The government imposed strict measures to contain the pandemic early on but has seen it tear through the insular ultra-Orthodox religious community.

The Health Ministry reported a total of 10,095 cases, including 92 deaths.

Taiwan reports sixth death from coronavirus, 382 cases

A sixth person infected with the coronavirus has died in Taiwan, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said.

The island also recorded two new infections, bringing the total to 382 cases, he told a news conference.

South Korea reports 27 new coronavirus cases

South Korea has reported 27 new cases of the coronavirus, marking its ninth consecutive day below 100, as infections continue to wane in the worst-hit city of Daegu.

Figures released by South Korea's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday brought nationwide totals to 10,450 cases and 208 virus-related deaths.

Thailand reports 50 new coronavirus cases

Thailand reported 50 new coronavirus cases and the death of a 43-year-old woman.

Of the new cases, 27 are linked to previous cases and eight who are waiting for investigation into how they caught the disease, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman of the government's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. 

Three of the new cases were imported, Wisanuyothin said.

Since the outbreak escalated in January, Thailand has reported a total of 2,473 cases and 33 fatalities, while 1,013 patients have recovered and gone home. 

Yemen confirms first coronavirus case

Yemen has reported its first coronavirus case in Hadhramaut Governorate, supreme national emergency committee tweeted.

The committee added that the patient was stable and receiving health care, without elaborating.

The United Nations and Western allies had pointed to the threat of coronavirus outbreak in the war-battered country.

US records 1,783 virus deaths in past 24 hours

The United States recorded 1,783 deaths related to the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University as of 8:30 pm on Thursday (0030 GMT Friday).

The number of fatalities was lower than the previous day's record toll of 1,973. 

The total number of US fatalities linked to the virus now stands at 16,478, the second-highest tally in the world after Italy.

Mexico registers 3,441 cases of coronavirus

Mexico has registered 260 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the country's total to 3,441 cases and 194 deaths, the health ministry said on Thursday.

Among the dead were two pregnant women.

One of the two women gave birth to a son before passing away, deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell told a news conference, noting that pregnant women are highly susceptible to infection caused by the virus.

China reports 42 new coronavirus cases vs 63 day earlier

Mainland China reported on Friday 42 new coronavirus cases, including 38 cases involving travellers from overseas, down from 63 cases a day earlier.

China's National Health Commission said in a statement that 47 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases were also reported in the mainland, down from 61 new cases a day earlier.

The total number of infections in mainland China now stands at 81,907, while the death toll rose by one to 3,336.

Panama reports 224 new coronavirus cases

Panama registered 224 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the country's total to 2,752 cases, the health ministry said on Thursday.

The death toll rose to 66.