*Syria’s al-Assad and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince in first talk in 9 years
The number of people infected with the novel coronavirus in the United States have hit more than 104,000 early on Saturday, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally, with the number of fatalities surpassing 1,700, pushing the global death toll up to 27,360.
Italy, meanwhile, announced 919 new deaths from the coronavirus, the highest number of fatalities any country has reported in the space of 24 hours since the outbreak began late last year.
The total number of people who have died as a result of COVID-19 in Italy now stands at 9,134. The number of cases also continues to rise, hitting more than 86,000.
Further dashing hopes that Europe is containing the pandemic, Spain recorded 769 new deaths in a day, bringing the total number to 4,858. As of early Saturday, the death toll has surpassed 5,000.
In China, the number of cases coming from abroad continues to rise, but there were no new cases reported domestically.
Worldwide, the number of cases has reached more than 597,000, of which more than 131,000 people have recovered.
Turkey announces stricter travel restrictions
Turkey suspended all intercity trains and limited domestic flights as part of measures to contain a fast-growing coronavirus outbreak, as the number of cases jumped by a third in a day to 5,698, with 92 dead.
In a notice detailing the travel restrictions, the Interior Ministry said all citizens must remain in the cities they reside and would only be allowed to leave with a doctor’s note, in the event of the death of a close family member or if they have no accommodation.
Also, Thailand Saturday confirmed 109 new coronavirus cases and one additional death, bringing the total to 1,245 infections and six fatalities.
The new infections include 39 patients linked to previous cases, 17 new cases deemed to be imported ones and 53 awaiting investigation, Anupong Sujariyakul, an expert in preventive medicine at the Disease Control Department, told reporters.
The government urged people to stay home and introduced a state of emergency earlier this week, banning foreigners and closing public facilities and businesses in major cities until April 30.
In Tokyo, Japan, sixty new coronavirus cases have been confirmed, according to national broadcaster NHK.
In the meantime, President Bashar al-Assad and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan have spoken on the phone, Syrian state media reported, in the first such call since Syria’s war began in 2011.
The crown prince confirmed the conversation in a tweet, saying the two had discussed “updates on COVID-19”.
“I assured him of the supp
ort of the UAE and its willingness to help the Syrian people. Humanitarian solidarity during trying times supersedes all matters, and Syria and her people will not stand alone,” he said.
