Global Live Updates: 100th Day of COVID-19

Jordan

Jordan says the virus will have a “deep negative impact” on its economy as the government announces a 48-hour nationwide curfew starting midnight on Thursday until Saturday.

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More than 13,800 people have died in the US

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The number of deaths  in Israel has risen to 73

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87% of Bahrain’s Coronavirus Cases are Below the Age 60

People aged 60 below are most number of people infected in Bahrain, according to the Ministry of Health’s contact tracing data.

The coronavirus pandemic has infected 87% of people below the age of 60 years, contrary to global reports that the disease affects those above the age 60 the most. Meanwhile 13% of those infected by the virus belong to the age group of 60 above. Only 6% of people aged 17 below have been affected by the virus.

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Turkey

Turkey’s confirmed cases of coronavirus increased by 4,117 in the last 24 hours, and 87 people have died, taking the death toll to 812, the health ministry announced on Wednesday.

The total number of recovered cases stood at 1,846, and the number of tests carried out over the last 24 hours was 24,900, the health ministry said.

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Bahrain: 67% of Positive Cases are Bahrainis, Indians Follow With 18%

Citizens are the most number of people infected in Bahrain, according to the Ministry of Health’s contact tracing data. The Bahraini community are being hardest hit as the coronavirus pandemic reaches the country.

Out of the 755 recorded, 507 positive cases are Bahrainis and 248 are expats. Among these cases are mostly people and contacts with travel history. Indians follow with 135 cases, and then other nationalities with 72 cases. Bangladeshi people are the least with 41 people infected.

Indians make up the second-highest group of people affected, after Bahrainis. This is not a surprise as Indians form the biggest expat community in Bahrain. Meanwhile, 5% of the affected cases are Bangladeshi. The remaining 10% coronavirus patients are of different nationalities.

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UAE: Dubai Suspends Marriage, Divorce During Lockdown

Coronavirus lockdowns may make or break relationships, but in Dubai marriages and divorces have been suspended “until further notice” to avoid gatherings that could spread the disease.

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US: New York governor says deaths have far surpassed those killed on 9/11

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pointed out that the death toll in the state so far during the coronavirus crisis has far eclipsed the number of people killed during the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.

Cuomo said that the 2,753 New Yorkers were killed at the World Trade Center, while 6,268 have died so far in the coronavirus pandemic.

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Canada’s Trudeau says coronavirus measures will be in place for many more weeks

Canada’s national lockdown will continue “for many more weeks” as the nation studies how best to resume some economic activity, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.

He added that things “won’t be back to normal.”

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Boris Johnson is sitting up and engaging with medical team while in intensive care

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who remains in intensive care with Covid-19, “has been sitting up in bed and engaging positively with the clinical team,” Chancellor Rishi Sunak said.

The prime minister’s situation is improving.

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Bahrain: Government to Spend $570M on Private Sector Salaries

Bahrain’s government will spend $570 million in salaries for 100,000 private sector workers from April to June to help with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the labor ministry said on Wednesday.

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Boris Johnson was responding to treatment and described as “clinically stable” after a third night at a London hospital

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There are more than 400,000 cases in the US

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Iraq announced 80 new cases and four deaths

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UK death toll tops 7,000

The UK on Wednesday reported 938 deaths in hospitals from Covid-19 – its highest death toll in a single day so far – taking the total deaths to 7,097.

Of the 232,708 people who have been tested, at least 60,733 people have now tested positive for coronavirus, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Twitter.

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Bernie Sanders says coronavirus shows how “absurd” US health care system i

Sen. Bernie Sanders said today that the “horrific” coronavirus crisis “has exposed for all to see how absurd our current employer-based health insurance system is.”

Speaking during a live-streamed address where he announced he was dropping out of the presidential race, Sanders pointed out that “the current economic downturn we are experiencing has not only led to a massive loss of jobs but has also resulted in millions of Americans losing their health insurance.”

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Britain said it aimed to roll-out millions of tests in months

Britain on Wednesday said it aimed to roll-out millions of coronavirus tests in months after criticism that it had moved too slowly on the issue, saying a partnership with private firms would help it hit 100,000 tests a day by the end of April.

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Oman says the governorate of Muscat will be closed from April 10 to April 22

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Argentina extends nationwide quarantine through April

Argentina’s nationwide quarantine will continue through April, Argentina’s president Alberto Fernandez announced in a televised interview today.

Fernandez said the decision was made in order to contain the spread of the virus because the number of infections is expected to peak sometime in mid-May.

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Coronavirus: Oman to Lock Down Muscat from April 10-22

Oman will ban movement into and out of the governorate of Muscat from April 10 until April 22, the high committee for combating the coronavirus outbreak said in a tweet on Wednesday.

Oman has registered 419 cases of the novel coronavirus, including 48 in the last 24 hours.

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Europe: Cases Pass 750,000

More than 750,000 coronavirus cases have been recorded across Europe, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources.

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Philippines: 152 Doctors, 63 Nurses Test Positive for COVID-19

Over 200 doctors and nurses in the country have contracted the coronavirus disease, the Department of Health confirmed on Wednesday.

The agency said 252 health workers have tested positive for the deadly disease as shown in its latest data. Of this number, 152 or 65 percent are doctors, while 63 or 25 percent are nurses.

Twelve healthcare workers also succumbed to COVID-19, DOH said.

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Twitter struggles to combat coronavirus misinformation, according to study

Twitter is struggling to combat misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, a new study from Oxford finds.

Researchers tracked 225 pieces of misinformation rated false or misleading by fact-checkers and found a majority, 59%, of those false claims had not been removed by Twitter – that’s despite pledges from the company to tackle potentially dangerous misinformation about the virus.

Facebook and YouTube fare better with only 24% of the false claims still on Facebook and 27% on YouTube.

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At least 1.4 Million Infected, Over 83,000 Dead Worldwide

At least 83,475 people have died around the world in 192 countries, since the virus emerged in China in December.

More than 1.4 million cases have been officially recorded around the world, a toll that represents only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

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About 85% of Portugal’s hotel workers will be furloughed

About 85% of hotel workers in Portugal will be placed on furlough in the month of April, according to research by the Portuguese Hotel Association.

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There’s a Global Shortfall of 5.9 Million Nurses, says WHO

The World Health Organization is urging countries to create at least 6 million new nursing jobs by 2030 to offset a projected “global shortfall” as health-care workers across the world respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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UAE: 300 New Coronavirus Cases Recorded

With this, the total number of cases in UAE now stands at 2,659. Recoveries now stand at 239 in total.

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Bahrain: Social Security Benefits to be Doubled

The Prime Minister, has ordered to allocate a budget of BD 5.5 million, to double the value of social security benefits which include 17,000 Bahraini families, which will be disbursed in mid-April.

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It’s too early to say when UK cases will peak, government official says

It’s still too early to say when the number of coronavirus cases in the UK will peak, the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson says.

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Bahrain: No Rent for Tenants of Municipal Properties for 3 Months

Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam bin Abdullah Khalaf instructed those concerned in the municipalities to take the necessary measures to stop collecting rents and allowance from all tenants of municipal properties for three months, starting in April.

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Bahrain: Indian School to Deliver Textbooks to Students at Home

The Indian School Bahrain (ISB) has announced that steps are being taken to distribute the textbooks of the new academic year to all students at home in the wake of the coronavirus threat in the Kingdom. The school is in the process of implementing online classes for the academic year 2020-21.

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Boris Johnson is “responding to treatment,” says spokesman

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is responding to treatment for the coronavirus and remains in a stable condition in hospital, according to his official spokesman.

“The Prime Minister is receiving oxygen treatment and is breathing without support,” he said.

Johnson has spent three nights in St. Thomas’s Hospital in central London – two of which have been in intensive care.

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Bahrain: 10 New Cases Recorded Today

Currently, a total of 52, 351 people have been tested and the total number of confirmed active cases is 349, amongst which 3 patients are in critical condition. To date, 467 patients have been discharged and 5 deaths have been confirmed.

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Bahrain: Companies Asked to Register for 3 Month Wages of Bahraini Employees

Labor and Social Development launched an online service on Social Insurance Organization’s portal, allowing employers to register and take advantage of the government’s guarantee to pay the salaries of Bahraini employees in private sector who number approximately 100,000 employees registered with SIO, for the months of April, May and June.

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Spain coronavirus deaths rise for second day in a row

Spain has recorded its second consecutive daily increase in the number of deaths from coronavirus following a week-long decline, according to data from the Health Ministry released Wednesday.

Figures show 757 people died in the past 24 hours, an increase from 743 deaths recorded the previous day. However it was only a 5.5% in relation to the total number of deaths, a slight slowdown compared to Tuesday’s 5.7% rise on the total.

According to the Health Ministry 14,555 people have now died from the novel coronavirus in Spain.

The number of active cases has also gone up from 83,504 to 84,111, an increase of 610, which is the lowest in nearly a month. Percentage-wise, there was a growth of 0.7% on Tuesday’s numbers, the lowest since the outbreak began.

The Health Ministry also reported 48,021 people have now recovered from the virus, 4,813 more than the number reported Tuesday.

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Pope says Covid-19 pandemic could be nature’s “response” to climate change

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Lebanon

An internal report by the humanitarian medical NGO Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontières) projected that in a best-case scenario, 658,074 people in Lebanon could become infected. The country has a population of around 6 million, including roughly a million Syrian refugees and around 175,000 Palestinian refugees.

The best-case scenario forecasts that 454,096 Lebanese citizens will be infected by coronavirus with another 159,519 Syrians and 24,460 Palestinians.

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Turkey

Turkey’s coronavirus death toll rises to 725, with 3,892 new cases.

The total number of recovered cases stood at 256, and the number of tests carried out over the last 24 hours was 20,023, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters in a press conference.

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Switzerland records 547 new cases, total 22,789

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Covid-19 cases surpass 10,000 in Africa, WHO says

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases on the continent of Africa has climbed to more than 10,000 and caused more than 500 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday.

Africa’s first Covid-19 case was reported in Egypt in February and the novel coronavirus has spread since then. However the number of cases has grown “exponentially” in recent weeks, according to WHO officials.

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Qatar confirmed two more deaths

Qatar confirmed two more deaths due to the coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the total deaths in the country to six, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Health.

Health ministry officials also said that it detected 225 new cases of the coronavirus, raising the total to 2057 cases as of Tuesday.

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WhatsApp limits message forwarding to slow coronavirus misinformation spread

Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp tightened message forwarding limits on Tuesday, restricting users to sharing forwarded content one chat at a time after a jump in messages touting bogus medical advice since the start of the coronavirus crisis.

WhatsApp, which has more than 2 billion users worldwide, said in a blog post it made the change after observing a “significant increase” in the number of forwards since the start of the coronavirus crisis.

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Iran Crosses 4000 Deaths

Iran recorded 121 new deaths from the new coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 4,003, according to a health official.

The total number of people infected with the virus rose to 67,286, added the official.

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Russia

Russia reported a record increase in new coronavirus cases for a third straight day as the country’s tally of confirmed infections rose above 8,600.

Health officials reported 1,175 new cases in the country, a 15.7% increase to bring Russia’s total number of cases to 8,672.

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Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency

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Kuwait confirmed 112 new cases

Kuwait confirmed 112 new coronavirus cases today, bringing the total to 885, according to a health ministry spokesman.

Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries is now 111, health minister Dr. Basel al-Sabah announced on his official Twitter account earlier in the day. Kuwait recorded only one death related to the virus.

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Spain death toll reaches 14,555

The number of daily coronavirus deaths rose in Spain for the second day on Wednesday as 757 people died over the past 24 hours, though the pace of the proportional daily increase in the death toll slowed down slightly, the health ministry said.

The number of total fatalities caused by the new coronavirus in Spain rose to 14,555 on Wednesday, the ministry said. The daily increase as a percentage of the total death toll was 5.5 percent, down from 5.7 percent the day before, when 743 people died.

The overall detected cases in the country rose to 146,690 from 140,510 on Tuesday, it added.

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1,500 Filipinos and 900 Turks Leave Kuwait

The General Administration of Civil Aviation continued to operate the flights for expats wishing to leave the country, as yesterday the third flight left for Turkey from Kuwait International Airport carrying 348 Turks since the decision was made to stop commercial flights in the country.

The total number of Turkish citizens evacuated including yesterdays flight reached 902 passengers with 3 flights on request of Turkish authorities coordinating with the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On the other hand, the illegal residents who wished to take the opportunity of amnesty set by Kuwait govt to exit without paying fines nor any expenses with a free travel ticket started to leave by Kuwaiti by Kuwait Airways flight on a Boeing 777 from Kuwait International Airport to the Philippine capital, Manila with about 322 passengers.

Sources stated that the plane took off from the T4 passenger terminal at dawn yesterday this was a fifth flight which carried Filipino citizens after the Ministry of Interior allowed the departure of violators with a total of 1527 passengers.

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Italy begins testing medical staff for signs of coronavirus immunity

Italy has begun screening doctors for signs of coronavirus immunity, but officials admit that the antibody tests may not work.

The northern regions of Veneto and Emilia-Romagna are hoping to issue ‘licences’ to return to work for people who are shown to be immune.

The blood tests are intended to detect antibodies, the tools which the body creates to fight off infection and prevent it from returning.

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Kuwait: Expat Quarantine Facilities Set Up, Medics Recruited from India & Bangladesh

Minister of Public Works Dr. Rana Al-Fares said the ministry would complete preparations of quarantine facilities and housing centres for expatriates in the coming days, part of the government’s action to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The medical personnel that will be recruited to support the medical staff working top level will be from India and Bangladesh.

The sources stated that the Ministry of Health requested teams from more than one country through official channels, but it did not receive approval except India and Bangladesh. The medical teams working in top-level are in good condition and that the recruitment of new teams aims to provide support for them.

Al-Fares, also Minister of State for Housing, said the quarantine facilities would be located in Al-Jahra, South Sabahiya and Abdaly.

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UK is “nowhere near lifting lockdown,” says London mayor

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Oman: 48 new coronavirus cases, 72 recoveries

The ministry called upon all to adhere to the isolation procedures by staying in an isolated room with an attached toilet and serving the isolated person from outside the room as instructed, Oman News Agency (ONA) reported.

It also advised all citizens and residents to keep on washing hands with water and soap, avoiding touching the face, nose, mouth, and eyes and following the healthy habits when coughing and sneezing.

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Germany sees highest number of coronavirus deaths yet

Germany has suffered its largest daily spike in coronavirus deaths as 254 people were added to the death toll today.

The scores of new deaths bring the tally from 1,607 to 1,861, dampening hopes that the crisis is under control.

Meanwhile the total number of cases has jumped over 100,000, as 4,003 positive tests took the figure from 99,225 to 103,228.

The infection rate has shown signs of flattening, but experts warn there is a time lag before any slowdown will be reflected in the death toll.

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More than 10,000 deaths in France

The death toll continues to climb in the country, with over 10,300 fatalities in total, as of Wednesday morning.

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China reports 62 new cases of coronavirus

Some 62 new cases of coronavirus were recorded in mainland China on Tuesday, with all but three of them imported, according to the country’s National Health Commission.

The country also recorded two new deaths on Tuesday — one in Shanghai, and one in Hubei, the province where the pandemic began.

This brings China’s totals to:

Additionally, 137 new asymptomatic infections were reported, including 102 imported cases. Eleven of the new asymptomatic cases became confirmed cases later in the day.

There are currently 1,095 asymptomatic cases under medical observation.

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Bahrain: Highlights of Latest COVID-19 Measures

The National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19) yesterday held a press conference to highlight the latest measures taken to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

1. Drive through testing will be introduced at the Bahrain International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
2. Citizens and residents will be required to wear face masks when in public.
3. Commercial and industrial premises are required to sterilize in accordance with the Ministry of Health’s regulations.
4. Movie theatres, sports centres, private swimming pools, shisha cafes, salons will remain closed.
5. Restaurants will continue to limit their services to delivery and takeout.
6. All business to consumer enterprises will allocate their first hour of opening to the elderly and pregnant women.
7. All non-essential medical services provided by private health clinics are to remain suspended.
8. Commercial and industrial businesses providing goods or services directly to customers, are to open and resume work provided the following conditions are met.

   – Employees and visitors are required to wear a face mask.

   -The number of employees in any facility is reduced and overcrowding in stores is actively prevented to ensure sufficient social distancing measures are maintained at all times.

   -Stores must ensure continuous sterilization, including external premises.

   -Queuing and line-ups outside stores must be arranged.

9. The Kingdom’s current testing, quarantine, isolation and treatment capacity is as follows:
   –  Public treatment centres capacity is 1699 beds, of which 345 are occupied-  Private centres capacity is 172 beds, of which 4 are occupied

   –  Public quarantine centres capacity stands at 2,504 beds, of which 947 are occupied

   –  Private quarantine centres capacity stands at 321 beds, of which 94 are occupied

   –  More than 50,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted

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UK PM Boris Johnson is in a stable condition

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in a stable condition in hospital, according to junior health minister Edward Argar.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson said Johnson is receiving “standard oxygen treatment” and is breathing without assistance, a day after he was transferred to intensive care.

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UAE: New Fines For Breaking Quarantine Rules

The UAE government published a break down of the 11 new fines applicable for breaking coronavirus quarantine rules in the emirates.

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China: Flights resume in Wuhan

The 76-day long lockdown in Wuhan — ground zero of the pandemic — is now officially over. At least 54 flights were listed to leave the city today, carrying thousands of passengers. More than 50,000 were also expected to leave by train.

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Singapore has banned all social gatherings

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Saudi: King Orders Temporary Release of Jailed Debtors

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz has suspended the judicial orders related to the imprisonment of debtors in private right cases, with the immediate temporary release of those who were imprisoned.

The King also suspended the judicial orders related to enabling children to visit one of their separated parents.

He added that the ruling related to seeing and visiting children was also suspended immediately and the parties were notified by a text message.

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Bahrain: Up To 70% Fall in Vegetable and Fruit Prices

Prices of vegetables and fruits in the local markets stabilized as more shipments of vegetables and fruits supplies arrived in the KIngdom.

Shipments of 1400 tons arrived in Bahrain from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Pakistan, the U.A.E, Oman and Yemen, in addition to 40 tons of bananas and apples from Chile and 44 trucks from Egypt, which led to decreased prices in the local central market ranges between 50% and 70%.

Head of the Food Wealth Committee at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Khaled Al-Amin, said that the local markets are witnessing a decrease in the prices of vegetables, as the Jordanian and Egyptian 5-kilograms potato bag reached BD2, while the same bag of Pakistani potatoes was at BD1.

He noted that the price of onions reached 300 fils per kilo at the wholesale price. He assured that the availability of food commodities on the market and confirmed price stability.

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Covid-19 death rate rises in US counties with high air pollution, study says

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South Korea

South Korea has reported 53 new cases, raising the national tally to 10,384

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New Zealand reports third consecutive day of decline in new virus numbers

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New York City reports a record 800-plus deaths in one day

Of the national daily total of 1,909 new deaths, more than 800 are from New York.

US coronavirus cases are nearing 400,000 and the death toll has reached at least 12,895.

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Cases top 1.4 million globally

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