Worldwide coronavirus cases pass 4 million


FE Team | Published: May 10, 2020 16:50:04 | Updated: May 10, 2020 17:29:27


-Reuters file photo

More than 4.02 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 276,894 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019, reports Reuters.

New coronavirus infections are accelerating again in Germany just days after its leaders loosened social restrictions, raising concerns that the pandemic could once again slip out of control.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out a five-tier warning system for the coronavirus in England when he outlines plans to begin slowly easing lockdown measures, British media reported. Johnson is due to make a televised address at 1800 GMT on Sunday.

The Russian authorities said they had recorded 11,012 new cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 209,688.

One person was killed after a fire broke out on Saturday at a Moscow hospital treating coronavirus patients, the authorities said.

South Korea warned of a second wave of the new coronavirus as infections rebounded to a one-month high, just as the authorities were starting to ease some restrictions.

China's National Health Commission reported 14 new confirmed coronavirus cases on May 9, the highest number since April 28, including the first for more than a month in the city of Wuhan where the outbreak was first detected late last year.

Australia's most populous state, home to Sydney, will allow restaurants, playgrounds and outdoor pools to reopen on Friday as extensive testing has shown the spread of the coronavirus has slowed sharply, New South Wales state's premier said.

Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the government is looking to lift the state of emergency in "many of 34 prefectures" that are not among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic before the nationwide deadline of May 31.

Three senior officials guiding the US response to the pandemic were in self-quarantine on Saturday after coming into contact with someone who had tested positive for the coronavirus, their agencies and spokesmen said.

Former President Barack Obama described President Donald Trump's handling of the pandemic as "chaotic" in a conference call with former members of his administration, a source said on Saturday.

Tesla Inc sued local authorities in California on Saturday as the electric carmaker pushed to re-open its factory there and Chief Executive Elon Musk threatened to move Tesla's headquarters and future programmes from the state to Texas or Nevada.

Coronavirus patients were being turned away from hospitals in the Mexican capital on Saturday, as both public and private medical facilities quickly fill up and the number of new infections continues to rise.

The coronavirus could kill between 83,000 and 190,000 people in Africa in the first year and infect between 29 million and 44 million in the first year if it is not contained, the World Health Organisation said.

Kuwait will enact a "total curfew" from 4pm on Sunday through to May 30, the Information Ministry said on Twitter on Friday.

China's central bank said it will step up counter-cyclical adjustments to support the economy and make monetary policy more flexible to fend off financial risks.

Large Italian companies have requested 18.5 billion euros ($20 billion) in state-guaranteed loans to weather the coronavirus crisis, state-backed export credit agency SACE said.

India's fuel demand dipped 45.8% in April from a year earlier, as a nationwide lockdown and travel curbs eroded economic activity.

Share if you like