*UN donates materials to America
*Israels cases exceed 3,600
*African has 2,650 cases, 49 deaths – WHO
In what looks like the Coronavirus crisis is now going beyond control by the West and Europe, updates from monitoring centres say more than 10,023 people have died in Italy since the start of the coronavirus pandemic as at late Saturday.
This new figure is according to the latest data from the Civil Protection Agency.
It says worldwide, the number of cases has reached more than 600,000, of which more than 131,000 people have recovered. More than 27,000 have died.
Italy, Spain, China and Iran continue to be the most affected countries in terms of deaths, but the US tops the list of the highest number of confirmed cases – 115,547 with deaths now surpassing 1,700. This is also as 2,314 have died in France.
Italy recorded the most deaths with 10,023 fatalities with nearly 92,500 cases, while Spain has 5,812 deaths and over 72,200 confirmed cases. China, the ground zero of the virus, followed Spain with 3,100 deaths and nearly 82,000 cases.
Spain’s death toll from the coronavirus pandemic jumped to 5,690 on Saturday, with 832 patients dying in the past 24 hours, according to the health ministry.
The announcement came as the number of people infected with the virus in the United States hit more than 104,000, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally, with deaths surpassing 1,700.
In France
French health authorities reported 319 new deaths from the coronavirus, up 16 percent on the previous day and taking the total to 2,314, as the government scrambled to increase the number of intensive care beds nationwide.
The daily government tally only accounts for those dying in hospital but authorities say they will be able to compile data on deaths in retirement homes from next week, which is likely to result in a big increase in registered fatalities.
The number of known cases of infection rose to 37,575 on Saturday from 32,964 a day earlier, the health authority said.
“I want to say how things are with clarity and frankness. The battle is only starting,” said Prime Minister Edouard Philippe at a news conference with Health Minister Olivier Veran to outline the government’s strategy.
“The first 15 days of April will be even more difficult than the 15 days that are coming to an end now,” Philippe said.
India
A nationwide lockdown in India – the world’s largest – over the coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc on thousands of migrant workers in the capital, New Delhi.
With few transport options available, thousands of people, mostly young male day labourers but also families, have resorted to commuting on foot during the 21-day-lockdown that started on Wednesday.
The workers started fleeing New Delhi after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the lockdown, which effectively put millions of Indians living off daily earnings out of work. Construction projects, taxi services, housekeeping and other informal sector employment came to a sudden halt.
Donations to America
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the donation of the 250,000 masks, which had just been located in United Nations storage facilities, to the United States for use in hard-hit New York City.
The city’s Mayor Bill De Blasio hailed the UN for “answering the call” for the city where the insitution’s headquarters are located.
Guterres said in statement the United Nations and the US Mission to the UN were working with de Blasio’s office to ensure swift delivery of the masks to medical facilities around New York.
In Israel
The total number of the coronavirus cases in Israel has reached 3,619, as 159 more people tested positive, according to country’s health ministry.
At least 12 people have so far died of the coronavirus, with 54 patients in critical condition and 89 recoveries, a ministry statement said.
As part of measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus, all schools in the country have been closed all meetings in open or closed areas with more than 10 people have also been banned.
The global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 30,000 on Saturday, according to data compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.
The virus known as COVID-19, which emerged in Wuhan, China last December, has spread to at least 177 countries and regions around the globe, with a total of 649,904 confirmed cases worldwide and 30,249 deaths.
A total of 137,283 people diagnosed with the virus have so far recovered globally.
Africa’s cases, deaths
Coronavirus has now spread to dozens of countries in Africa, with 2,650 infected and 49 dead, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
The WHO stands ready to support all countries in the fight against the virus, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said on Twitter.
“The #coronavirus has now spread to dozens of countries in the @WHOAFRO region. As of today, there are 2,650 confirmed #COVID19 cases and 49 deaths. Governments and health authorities across the continent are striving to limit widespread infections,” the WHO DG tweeted.
Countries with weaker health systems must act aggressively to contain spread among early cases and prevent community transmission, he said.
The 31 cases with us – Qatar
A statement from Qatar’s Communications Office has shed light on the conditions of Bahraini citizens, who were transiting home from Iran. The 31 Bahrainis, whose government has not yet sent a charter plane to fly them back, have all been tested for coronavirus and are staying at a quarantine hotel in Doha.
