Medicine i_need_contribute
COVID-19 news update Apr/20
source:WTMF 2020-04-20 [Medicine]

 

 

 

 

Country,
Other

Total
Cases

New
Cases

Total
Deaths

World

2,406,575

+75,804

165,031

USA

764,636

+25,844

40,575

Spain

198,674

+4,258

20,453

Italy

178,972

+3,047

23,660

France

152,894

+1,101

19,718

Germany

145,742

+2,018

4,642

UK

120,067

+5,850

16,060

Turkey

86,306

+3,977

2,017

China

82,735

+16

4,632

Iran

82,211

+1,343

5,118

Russia

42,853

+6,060

361

Brazil

38,654

+1,932

2,462

Belgium

38,496

+1,313

5,683

Canada

35,056

+1,673

1,587

Netherlands

32,655

+1,066

3,684

Switzerland

27,740

+336

1,393

Portugal

20,206

+521

714

India

17,615

+1,250

559

Peru

15,628

+1,208

400

Ireland

15,251

+493

610

Austria

14,749

+78

452

Sweden

14,385

+563

1,540

Israel

13,491

+226

172

Japan

10,797

+501

236

S. Korea

10,661

+8

234

Chile

10,088

+358

133

Ecuador

9,468

+446

474

Saudi Arabia

9,362

+1,088

97

Poland

9,287

+545

360

Romania

8,746

+328

451

Pakistan

8,348

+710

168

Mexico

7,497

+622

650

Denmark

7,384

+142

355

Norway

7,078

+42

165

UAE

6,781

+479

41

Czechia

6,746

+140

186

Australia

6,612

+26

71

Singapore

6,588

+596

11

Indonesia

6,575

+327

582

Serbia

6,318

+324

122

Philippines

6,259

+172

409

Ukraine

5,449

+343

141

Qatar

5,448

+440

8

Malaysia

5,389

+84

89

Belarus

4,779

 

47

Dominican Republic

4,680

+345

226

Panama

4,273

+63

120

Colombia

3,792

+171

179

Finland

3,783

+102

94

Luxembourg

3,550

+13

73

South Africa

3,158

+124

54

Egypt

3,144

+112

239

Argentina

2,941

+102

134

Morocco

2,855

+170

141

Thailand

2,765

+32

47

Algeria

2,629

+95

375

Moldova

2,472

+121

67

Bangladesh

2,456

+312

91

Greece

2,235

 

113

Hungary

1,916

+82

189

Kuwait

1,915

+164

7

Bahrain

1,881

+108

7

Croatia

1,871

+39

47

Iceland

1,771

+11

9

Kazakhstan

1,676

+61

17

Uzbekistan

1,565

+75

5

Iraq

1,539

+26

82

Estonia

1,528

+16

40

New Zealand

1,431

+9

12

Azerbaijan

1,398

+25

19

Slovenia

1,330

+13

74

Lithuania

1,298

+59

35

 

 

 

 

President Bolsonaro cheers an anti-quarantine protest that called for military rule.

 

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil unequivocally endorsed a protest of quarantine and social distancing measures on Sunday in Brasília.Credit...Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil on Sunday enthusiastically addressed demonstrators in Brasília who demanded an end to business shutdowns and quarantine guidelines imposed by governors around the country.

The protest, one of several held across the country, included calls for the armed forces to shut down Congress and the Supreme Court and a return to military rule. Leaders in those branches of government have been highly critical of Mr. Bolsonaro’s handling of the coronavirus crisis and broadly agree that quarantine measures are necessary to avert a public health calamity.

“Everyone in Brazil must understand that they are subject to the will of the people,” Mr. Bolsonaro told demonstrators in the capital, speaking from the back of a pickup truck.

 

 

 

Fearing a new outbreak, China warns its citizens in Russia to stay there.

 

A hospital where asymptomatic coronavirus patients are kept in Suifenhe, a Chinese city bordering Russia, this month.Credit...Huizhong Wu/Reuters

The Chinese authorities have issued harsh warnings for any Chinese citizens trying to flee the spreading coronavirus infections in Russia by returning to their homeland: stay in Russia, and if you have already returned, don’t lie about your travels or symptoms.

The warnings have come after the Chinese government became alarmed this month by more than 100 coronavirus cases among Chinese people who had crossed over from Russia, especially into Suifenhe, a northeast Chinese frontier town. China is trying to stamp out such imported infections that could ignite a flare-up of cases while it tries to begin an economic recovery.

The government ordered a lockdown of Suifenhe, and said it would open a temporary hospital in the town for possible infections. The Chinese authorities also announced that land border crossings with Russia would be closed to travelers, even Chinese citizens trying to return home.

To emphasize the warnings, the Suifenhe office for fighting the coronavirus outbreak on Sunday issued a notice warning people not to violate isolation orders, hide symptoms of possible infection, or lie about their travel history and contacts with infected people. It offered rewards of up to 3,000 renminbi, or about $424, for people who gave information on violators of the rules.

China’s ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui, said in an interview with the Chinese television broadcaster CCTV on Friday that “bringing back the virus is morally reprehensible.” He said that some returnees had lied by saying that they were forced back because Russian authorities had made it impossible to stay.

 

 

 

A remote region in Russia orders a lockdown on information.

 

Nearly as big as California but served by only a handful of mostly decrepit Soviet-era hospitals, the remote northern Russian region of Komi is a coronavirus petri dish for the horrors lying in wait for the world’s largest country.

Amid growing evidence that the pathogen had already breached Komi’s feeble defenses, the local authorities moved vigorously last week to contain the crisis: The police summoned critics of the regional government to ask how they knew about an outbreak in a hospital at a time when officials in Komi were insisting nobody had been infected.

The police intervention was carried out at the behest of Komi’s health minister, who was fired last week for mishandling the pandemic. It highlights one of Russia’s biggest obstacles as it struggles to control the spread of the virus in its vast and often ramshackle hinterland: a lumbering bureaucratic machine geared first and foremost to protecting officials, even after they lose their jobs, not safeguarding the public or its health.

 

 

 

Antibody tests are being rushed to market amid concern about their reliability.

 

Taking a blood sample as part of random sampling for antibodies to the coronavirus, in Munich, Germany, last week.Credit...Laetitia Vancon for The New York Times

Companies around the world are rolling out blood tests for coronavirus antibodies, widely heralded as crucial tools to assess the reach of the pandemic, restart the economy and reintegrate society.

But for all their promise, the tests are already raising alarms.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has allowed about 90 companies, many based in China, to sell tests that have not gotten government vetting, saying the pandemic warrants an urgent response. But the agency has since warned that some of those businesses are making false claims about their products; health officials, like their counterparts overseas, have found others deeply flawed.

 

 

 

Chile will issue ‘immunity cards’ to people who have recovered from the virus.

 

To curb the spread of the virus, Chile has imposed quarantines that remain in place across parts of the capital, Santiago, above, and in other regions of the country.Credit...Martin Bernetti/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

might last, and the accuracy of antibody tests.

“We have to learn to live differently,” Dr. Paula Daza, the under secretary in Chile’s health ministry, said on Sunday, adding that Chileans must “gradually resume our lives.”

Anyone can apply for the cards, which will be issued starting Monday. To qualify, Chileans have to take a test that shows they have antibodies for the novel coronavirus. Those who have had the disease must be free of symptoms for at least 14 days — or 28, if they have a compromised immune system.

 

 

 

The pandemic accelerates the release of Facebook’s new gaming app.

 

The mobile Facebook Gaming app is set for release on Monday. The coronavirus pandemic sped up the release date from June.Credit...Facebook

Facebook plans to introduce the Facebook Gaming mobile app on Monday, the social network said, in its most decisive move into the video game business as people seek entertainment during the pandemic.

Facebook originally intended to release the app in June but accelerated its plans as the quarantine’s scope became clear. With much of the world urged or ordered to stay home during the coronavirus outbreak, the $160 billion global games business is booming.

 

 

 

Zimbabwe is extending its lockdown for two weeks but letting mines reopen.

 

Police and soldiers on patrol in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Sunday.Credit...Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters

Zimbabwe’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, extended a nationwide lockdown on Sunday for an additional two weeks but said that mines in the country could reopen, citing “the need to keep the economy running.”

The lockdown, which began on March 30, was supposed to end at midnight on Sunday. In a televised address from the statehouse in the country’s capital, Harare, Mr. Mnangagwa said that the extension was needed to choke the spread of the virus and “prepare for worse times which are lurking ahead.”

 

 

 

Some Sydney beaches have reopened. But things aren't back to normal just yet

 

For weeks, Sydney's beach lovers have had to stay away from the sand and surf.

But starting Monday, some beaches in the city's eastern suburbs will be open for "exercise purposes only," according to the local authorities.

Randwick City Council said Coogee, Maroubra and Clovelly beaches would reopen for activities including "sand jogging and walking, swimming, surfing and other exercise activities."

Three weeks ago, all Randwick City beaches were closed to discourage large groups congregating at the beach.

"Living along the coast, I know how important our beaches are to the mental and physical health of so many in the community," said Mayor Danny Said.
"The past three weeks have been difficult as we’ve all had to make changes and sacrifices to our daily routines."

 

 

 

India reintroduces ban on e-commerce companies delivering non-essential items

From CNN's Swati Gupta in New Delhi

 

India has reintroduced a ban on the delivery of non-essential items by e-commerce companies -- reversing an earlier decision to lift the restriction.

In an order issued Sunday, the Ministry of Home Affairs said companies such as Amazon and Flipkart wouldn't be allowed to deliver non-essential items until May 3.

That reverses an earlier relaxation of lockdown restrictions introduced last week -- when the government said e-commerce companies could start delivering non-essential items. 

Nothing has changed for essential items. Since the lockdown was enacted last month, e-commerce companies have been allowed to deliver groceries and other essential goods. That remains the case.

 

 

 

Japan is offering sex workers financial aid. But they say it's not enough to survive the pandemic

From CNN's Jessie Yeung, Junko Ogura and Will Ripley

Empty streets are seen in Kabukicho, Tokyo's entertainment district, on April 7. Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images

Mika is worried. As a sex worker in Japan, she used to see three or four clients a day -- then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Now, with people staying home and avoiding close contact, she's out of clients and out of money. 

With no savings or other sources of income, Mika says she is living off borrowed money. She has tried to find other jobs, but nobody's hiring in the middle of an economic crisis. At this rate, she might not be able to pay rent or afford basic necessities, let alone pay off the debt she has recently taken on.

 

 

 

India records highest single-day spike in cases since the outbreak began

From CNN's Vedika Sud in New Delhi

 

Municipal workers disinfect an area to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Jammu, India, on April 16. Channi Anand/AP

A total of 1,553 new Covid-19 cases have been reported in India in the past 24 hours -- the country's largest single-day spike during the epidemic, according to a CNN count.

Another 36 deaths were also reported.

India has confirmed a total of at least 17,265 cases of coronavirus, including 543 deaths, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

A total of 2,547 people have recovered or been discharged.

Some 401,586 samples have been tested as of April 19, according to the Indian Council for Medical Research.

The highest number of cases are being reported from the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, and the union territory of Delhi.

 

 

 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeals for "brotherhood" to fight Covid-19

From CNN's Swati Gupta in New Delhi

A woman waits for her turn for a free medical check in Mumbai, India, on April 18. Rajanish Kakade/AP

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his people to come together to face the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Covid-19 does not see race, religion, color, caste, creed, language or border before striking,” he said in a post on social network LinkedIn. "Our response and conduct thereafter should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood."
"We are in this together," he added.
"Unlike previous moments in history, when countries or societies faced off against each other, today we are together facing a common challenge. The future will be about togetherness and resilience."

 

 

 

Trump shocks in time of crisis with his standard approach

Analysis from CNN's Stephen Collinson

 

Even after three tumultuous years in which US President Donald Trump has shredded the decorum of his office, his unwillingness to provide unifying leadership still has the power to shock.

Trump's daily coronavirus task force press briefing has become the chief exhibit in this deficit of national stewardship and has largely shed any purpose in conveying useful information at a fraught moment -- if that was ever the aim.

Instead, the President spends his time perpetually trying to repair his own image by disguising his belated and faulty response to the emergency.

 

 

 

New Zealand extends strict coronavirus lockdown by 5 more days

From CNN's Julia Hollingsworth in Wellington, New Zealand

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks at a news conference on April 19, in Wellington, New Zealand. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced the country will stay in its strict lockdown for five additional days.

The country was scheduled to come out of its level 4 lockdown -- the highest level on the alert system -- on Wednesday at 11.59 p.m. local time. However, Ardern said on Monday that the measures would continue until next Monday at 11.59 p.m.

 

 

 

More than 759,500 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the US

A medical professional administers a test for coronavirus at a drive-through test site on April 18, in Springfield, Tennessee. Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

At least 759,569 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the United States, including at least 40,679 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally. 

On Sunday, 24,498 new cases and 1,774 deaths were reported, according to Johns Hopkins.   

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all repatriated cases.