The United States remains the nation wors affected by the new virus. The number of infections there has exceeded 1 million, with over 58,300 fatalities, the latest data provided by the university says.
In China, where the virus originated last December, 22 new cases of COVID-19 has been registered within 24 hours, compared to six new infections reported a day ago.
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The death toll from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Mexico has risen to 1,569. The number of confirmed cases has increased over the past 24 hours by 1,223.
Out of the 22 new cases, 21 were imported, and one was local. No new deaths have been reported.
The death toll stood at 20, and a total of 37 patients have recovered, the centre added.
The province of Quebec announced it intends to begin reopening the economy on 4 May.
Canada has registered 50,026 cases including 2,859 deaths, public health agency data revealed.
The province of Quebec remains the epicenter of the outbreak in Canada, accounting for more than half of all confirmed cases - 25,757 - and 1,682 deaths.
Ontario trails with 15,381 confirmed infections and 951 disease-related fatalities, with the rest of the provinces being spared the worst of the pandemic.
"We are announcing an additional 2,887 positive test results, that pushes our state statewide total to just under 14,000 [113,856]", Governor Phil Murphy said in a press briefing on Tuesday. "We must report 402 additional fatalities, meaning that we now have lost 6,442 residents to COVID-19 related complications".
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The number of US novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases has surpassed 1 million, Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center revealed on Tuesday.
The US has now registered1,002,498 cases overall, according to the data, including 56.749 deaths.
The United States currently leads the world in the number of reported COVID-19 deaths and confirmed cases. There are more than 3 million COVID-19 cases around the world and more than 213,000 deaths, according to the data.
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Sputnik) - A 67 percent majority of the US electorate expects significant disruptions during upcoming presidential and congressional elections due to the coronavirus pandemic, a PEW Research Center poll revealed Tuesday.
“With just over six months until Election Day, two-thirds of Americans (67%) – including 80% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents and half of Republicans and Republican leaners – say it is very or somewhat likely that the coronavirus outbreak will significantly disrupt people’s ability to vote in the presidential election,” a press release explaining the poll said. “While most Americans expect the coronavirus to affect the presidential election, majorities are at least somewhat confident that it will be conducted fairly and accurately (59%) and that all citizens who want to will be able to vote (63%).”
The survey also showed a large majority favouring proposals expanding vote-by-mail options to minimize disruption due to the pandemic, with many Americans reluctant to visit crowded polling sites.
Overall, 70 percent favour allowing any voter to vote by mail if they want to, including 44 percent who strongly support this policy. About half of the public (52%) favours conducting all elections by mail. The share supporting this proposal has increased 18 percentage points since 2018, the release said.
Democrats overwhelmingly favour allowing a universal vote-by-mail option (87%), including nearly two-thirds who strongly favour this measure (63%), while Republicans are split, with 49 percent support for access to mail-in ballots and 50 percent opposing the measure, according to the release.
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Sputnik) - The United States may introduce mandatory coronavirus tests for people arriving on certain international flights to avoid importing new disease cases, US President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
“We are... setting up a system where we do some testing. We are working with airlines on that,” Trump said during a White House meeting with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who raised the issue.
He added that passengers may be required to pass preflight temperature checks and take virus tests.
“We are looking at that very closely and we are in coordination with other governors also, but in particular with Ron,” Trump said. “We will make that decision pretty soon.”
He and DeSantis highlighted Brazil as a country of particular concern.
Trump previously imposed travel bans on China and Europe in an attempt curb the coronavirus spread.
The US president also called it “a good idea” to mandate wearing face masks during passenger flights.
BERLIN, April 28 (Sputnik) - Human encroachment into animal habitats increases the risk of new infections jumping species, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned at a virtual climate meeting on Tuesday.
"The economy and ecology must be considered together when we pursue the goal of preserving biodiversity because a shrinking natural habitat has a negative impact on the abundance of species and is a threat to us," she said.
Speaking at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, Merkel said that about six out of every 10 known infectious diseases in people came from animals.
"This is linked to a more active exploration of what used to be inviolable natural habitats, which has increased the number of contacts with animals," she explained.
The World Health Organization says that the new coronavirus most likely originated from bats and was passed to humans through an intermediate animal host.
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Sputnik) - US airlines that get bailed out by the federal government amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will face restrictions on compensation and share buybacks, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Tuesday.
"If we're making direct loans to airlines, there are restrictions on compensation and share buybacks," Mnuchin said. "We think that's the appropriate thing to do."
Last week, the Treasury Department said it had approved a COVID-19 rescue package for the US airline industry in the amount of $25 billion.
The six largest US airlines - American Airlines Group, United Airlines Holdings, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways Corp. and Alaska Airlines - as well as four smaller carriers accepted the support, the Treasury Department said.
Major airlines will receive 70 percent of the funds for payroll in cash assistance that will not need to be paid back, while smaller carriers receiving $100 million or less will not need to repay any funds.
While the collapse in air passenger travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic has left most US airlines in dire straits, the industry has been criticized for spending billions on stock buybacks and elevated executive compensation in recent years, when some of its funds could have been left in reserve for emergency situations.
NEW YORK, April 28 (Sputnik) - More than 30 percent of New York City residents have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, according to data shared by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday.
On average, over the last 14 days, 31 percent of people in New York City have tested positive for COVID-19, the data revealed.
Some 31 percent of the Long Island region's residents have also contracted the disease, followed by the Mid-Hudson with 28 percent and western New York with 17 percent of people who have tested positive for COVID-19.
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Sputnik) - US House lawmakers will not return to the nation's capital next week due to the risks posed by the coronavirus, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters on Tuesday.
The decision comes a day after Hoyer's press office said the House would be in session starting May 4 and votes were possible. The US Senate, in contrast, does plan to reconvene next week to vote begin voting on judicial appointments.
"We will not come back next week... the House physician's view is that there is a risk to members," Hoyer said.
Hoyer said he made the decision after discussing the issue with Congress' Attending Physician Brian Monahan who was concerned because the number of coronavirus cases in the District of Columbia are going up, not down.
The majority leader in a statement on Twitter said he also consulted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the decision not to reconvene.
MOSCOW, April 28 (Sputnik) - Famous musicians from Russia and the United States, Italy, France, Brazil, India, Japan and Armenia will erase the geographic boundaries on International Jazz Day with some tunes to support Russian medical workers who are on the front line of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic during the Doctor Jazz Party online charity marathon.
The marathon, which will start on Thursday at 13:00 GMT, is organized by the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, the Krasny Kvadrat media group and the international Koktebel Jazz Party festival, with the support of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Russia’s Alliance Against Coronavirus.
"Now, in the fight against the shared calamity caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there can be no abstentions. All measures and all efforts that are possible should be taken. Jazz has always been music that gives a sense of freedom and hope. Right now, when people need support, jazz becomes a spiritual and emotional retreat. Music celebrities from many countries will perform in our Doctor Jazz Party marathon, but more importantly, they are caring people who are ready to help over any borders – geographical, political, whichever," Dmitry Kiselev, the Koktebel Jazz Party founder and the director-general of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, said.
Jazz musicians from Russia and the world will join the event from their improvised stages and home studios. The full list of participants has been published at the https://www.koktebel-jazz.ru website.
The online marathon will include Jazz at the Speed of Light event, which was first featured in 2006. The program will feature traditional jam sessions of musicians playing together over a distance of hundreds of thousands of miles.
The event will be streamed on the websites https://ria.ru, https://www.koktebel-jazz.ru and https://стопкоронавирус.рф, as well as on the RIA news agency’s account on the VK social network.
Foundation Zhivoy, a charity that helps Russians aged 18 to 60 years with serious diseases, will raise funds during the marathon to help Russian hospitals and purchase personal protective equipment for doctors in regional clinics. To donate, one should send a text message with the word "ДЖАЗ" and an indication of the amount of their donation — for example, "ДЖАЗ 300" to 3443. The fundraising has already begun.
Among information partners are Sputnik Radio, channels Rossiya 24 and Rossiya Kultura, and the Vesti.ru and стопкоронавирус.рф websites.
The Koktebel Jazz Party originated from a private initiative put forth by Kiselev in 2003 and became one of Crimea's hallmarks, taking its place on the list of international jazz festivals.
US states that mismanaged their finances before the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic should not expect to be bailed out by the federal government, though states like New York and New Jersey, which spent heavily to fight the pandemic, deserve more reimbursement than others, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Monday.
"[For] states that were mismanaged, there shouldn't be a bailout… because of the coronavirus," Mnuchin told CNBC. "I would also say states that had specifically large expenses as a result of the coronavirus like New York and New Jersey, I think it was the right thing that the federal government gave them money."
In March, the Trump administration rolled out a $2.1 trillion stimulus package approved by Congress that included reimbursement for states spending on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
The premature lifting of lockdown measures designed to curb the spread of COVID-19 will lead to a second wave of the disease and increased infection rates, according to a new report published by researchers in Singapore on Tuesday.
“The early relaxation of social distancing and lockdown in Italy and United States might increase infection rates and thus delay the ending as predicted now,” a report published by the Data-Driven Innovation Lab at the Singapore University of Technology and Design read.
The laboratory uses infection rates to predict the end of the global pandemic and updates in real-time. The researchers predict that the global outbreak will end on December 1, although countries that were seen as the earlier epicenters of the outbreak, such as Italy and Spain, will gain complete control over the disease by the summer.
Shops in France will gradually be allowed to reopen from May 11 as the country looks to begin easing lockdown measures enforced to curb the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Tuesday.
"Shops will open from May 11. All except cafes and restaurants will be able to reopen from May 11," the prime minister said to the National Assembly while presenting the government’s plans to lift the social distancing measures.
The prime minister added that all those using public transport must wear a protective mask that covers their nose and mouth, even as the lockdown measures are being lifted.
"Wearing masks will become mandatory in public transport – both in the subway and on buses," Philippe said.
After May 11, public gatherings will still be limited to a maximum of 10 people and major events of a religious nature will be forbidden until June 2.
Additionally, cinemas, theaters, museums and concert venues will not reopen after May 11.
The prime minister also stated that the government proposes to extend the state of health emergency until July 24, in order to limit inter-regional travel.
"It will be necessary to limit travel between regions or departments. To that end, I will propose to parliament a law to extend the state of health emergency until July 24. It will be submitted next week," the prime minister said.
On Monday, public health officials in France confirmed more than 3,700 new cases of the coronavirus disease over the preceding 24 hours, taking the total number of positive tests reported since the start of the outbreak above 165,000.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday thanked medical personnel for fighting the coronavirus pandemic and proposed to make April 28 the National Ambulance Worker Day.
"I know that it is today, on April 28, that we unofficially mark the day when the ambulance was created in Russia. I want to congratulate doctors, paramedics, nurses, hospital attendants, and ambulance drivers on this holiday. Thank you for your much-needed work. In these busy days and weeks, you demonstrate courage and your best human qualities. I think that it would be right to make this date a professional holiday — Ambulance Worker Day. We will do so," Putin said at a meeting focusing on the fight against the pandemic across Russia.
Russia has confirmed so far over 93,500 cases of the coronavirus, including 867 fatalities and 8,456 recoveries. On Tuesday, the health authorities registered a record-high of 6,411 new coronavirus cases over the previous 24 hours.
The number of Canadians confirmed to have contracted the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) grew to 49,025 on Tuesday, updated figures from Canada’s Public Health Agency revealed.
The COVID-19-related death toll rose to 2,766, the data also showed.
The province of Quebec remains the epicenter of the outbreak in Canada, accounting for more than half of all confirmed cases - 24,982 - and 1,599 deaths. Ontario trails with 15,381 confirmed infections and 951 disease-related fatalities, with the rest of the provinces being spared the worst of the pandemic.
The dire situation in long-term health care facilities across Canada also remains in the national spotlight. Half of the reported deaths in the country have been attributed to care homes, according to health officials.
The relative calm in some provinces, including New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, has prompted officials there to commence or begin planning for a gradual scaling back of coronavirus-induced restrictions.
The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11. To date, over 3 million people have been infected with the new coronavirus worldwide, of which more than 212,000 have succumbed to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Russia has one of the lowest coronavirus mortality rates in the world, Chief Sanitary Doctor Anna Popova said on Tuesday.
"The rate of mortality [from the coronavirus] in Russia is one of the lowest in the world, it does not exceed one percent," Popova said at a meeting on countering the coronavirus epidemic.
The transfusion of blood plasma from people who have recovered from the coronavirus disease to current patients is still at an experimental stage and could be life-threatening for patients, Joint Secretary of India's Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry Lav Agarwal said on Tuesday.
More and more health experts have been saying that plasma therapy could be effective in treating COVID-19. The method is already being used in China, Germany, Russia, Turkey, the United States and other countries.
"There is no concrete evidence that plasma therapy can be used as a treatment for the coronavirus. The therapy is still at an experimental stage, and the Indian Council of Medical Research is conducting a national study on the matter. It can even be life-threatening," Agarwal said at a briefing.
Last week, Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal said that two out of four patients who had undergone plasma therapy were being prepared for release from the hospital.
According to the health authorities, the total number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak in India is nearing 30,000. Meanwhile, the death toll has reached 937 people and the number of recoveries increased to 7,026. As of Tuesday, there are 22,010 active cases of the disease in the country.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia will extend non-working period through May 11, adding three regular days to May's paid time off, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
Under usual circumstances, May 6-8 would have been regular working days between holidays.
"Therefore, with all May holidays taken into account the non-working period will extend through May 11 ... with strict compliance with preventive measures that were introduced in the regions," the president said.
The president said the coronavirus restrictions should not be lifted all at once. Instead, he asked the government to prepare by May 5 a plan on how to lift the restrictions gradually, starting on May 12.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday that it had helped to build a 1,000-bed camp for homeless migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina's Bihac city, which will be operating until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"A 1,000-bed camp for homeless migrants has begun operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with IOM support. The new facility, in the northern city of Bihac will remain open for the duration of the COVID-19 Pandemic. When the virus began to hit the country an estimated 2,500 migrants had no access to official accommodation centers. Most were squatting in abandoned buildings, without any humanitarian assistance or, critical in COVID-19 times, adequate medical care," the statement said.
The new facility, which is expected to receive only single males who are being relocated by local police, will provide residents with basic humanitarian aid, including accommodation, food, hygiene, sanitation and medical care, according to the statement.
Moreover, all residents will be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival to the camp, where special isolation zones and quarantine spaces were set up to properly treat those showing coronavirus symptoms and avoid spreading the disease within the facility.
Though the Western Balkan migrant route leading from Greece through Macedonia and Serbia to Croatia was closed in 2016, migrants continue to cross into EU countries through a new Balkan route, increasing pressure on the reception capacities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Montenegro.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has so far registered 1,565 COVID-19 cases and 60 fatalities. A total of 659 people have recovered from the disease.
Saudi Arabia has confirmed 1,266 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total toll of those infected to 20,077, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the kingdom has reached 152 with the eight fatalities being recorded over the past 24 hours.
The ministry also confirmed 253 new recoveries, which brings the total number of patients who were cured to 2,784.
A spike in Saudi Arabia's COVID-19 cases has been seen since the health ministry began running tests in suspected infection cluster areas nearly two weeks ago. According to the authorities, around 1 million people have been screened so far across the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered to lift the coronavirus-related curfew across the country, except for the city of Mecca and a number of other designated areas, starting on Sunday until 13 May.
Switzerland has confirmed 100 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, and the total number of people infected with the virus increased to 29,264, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health said on Tuesday.
It has also reported 27 new coronavirus-related deaths, taking the overall death toll to 1,380.
The country started to gradually lift anti-coronavirus measures on Monday. The first stage of the three-phase plan allows flower shops, beauty salons, dental offices, and other small businesses to go back to work.
A total of 3,391 Japanese citizens have lost their jobs from the end of January to April 27 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, media reported on Tuesday, citing the country's Labor Ministry.
According to the NHK broadcaster, over 2,000 people of the total were let go in March.
The media also said that 12,395 companies across the country had already fired their workers or were considering doing so. Most of the businesses are in the tourism or hotel sectors, which have been hit the hardest by the pandemic.
As of Tuesday, the Japanese health authorities have reported a total of 13,607 COVID-19 cases, including 11,328 active cases, 380 fatalities and 1,899 recoveries.
Austria and South Korea have agreed on the need to cooperate internationally to avoid a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic following the two countries' gradual relaxation of restrictions, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday after phone talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
"We agreed on the need to cooperate internationally to avoid a second wave, e.g. to develop a vaccine," Kurz wrote on Twitter.
The chancellor added that Austria followed a similar approach to curb the virus as South Korea, which has been successful in the fight against COVID-19 through decisive and early measures.
At the onset of the health crisis, South Korea quickly enacted lockdown measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. For over a week now, the number of new infection cases registered in the country per day has been an average of 10. The authorities reported only 14 new cases on Tuesday and one fatality. The steady decline has allowed the authorities to ease self-distancing and open shopping malls, parks and part of restaurants.
As of Tuesday, the number of deaths associated with the coronavirus disease in Austria has grown by 20 to 569. Meanwhile, the total of those infected has grown by 83 to 15,357, including 12,580 recoveries with 218 recorded over the past day.
Since 14 April Austria has been gradually canceling the restrictive measures introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic, despite the COVID-19 lockdown remaining in place in the country until May 1. Small stores, as well as construction and gardening shops, were allowed to resume operations while keeping the number of visitors under strict control.
The peak of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa is not expected until September, the chair of the government’s economic cluster and minister of tourism Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said Tuesday.
The minister spoke at a press briefing, outlining the government’s proposals to prop up the country’s economy amid the ongoing health crisis and enact a phased reduction of lockdown measures.
“If government does not coordinate the response there is a risk of more job losses and the contracting of the economy to unprecedented levels ... These plans span over 6-8 months because we believe that the curve of the peak will probably arrive in September 2020,” Kubayi-Ngubane said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on April 21 announced an economic and social relief package worth 500 billion rand ($26.8 billion) to support the country’s population.
On Monday, health authorities in South Africa confirmed 247 new cases of COVID-19 over the preceding 24 hours, up from 185 new positive tests on Sunday. In total, 4,793 cases of the disease have been reported since the start of the outbreak, with 90 deaths.
Organized crime groups are adapting quickly to the global disruption caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and EU member states have responded well to this new challenge, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said on Tuesday.
“The organized crime criminal groups are adapting very quickly to this new situation and it was very encouraging to hear how much awareness the member states put on this situation,” the commissioner said at a press briefing after an informal video conference of EU home affairs ministers.
Johansson added that the European Commission is establishing a new strategy to tackle organized crime in the near future.
“I am preparing for some sharp new proposals when it comes to fighting organized crimes and also other security issues as a part of the Security Union strategy that the Commission is preparing,” she said.
The global police body Interpol has previously warned of a rise in fraud, drug commerce, cybercrime, and counterfeit trade, particularly in the medical industry, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of deaths associated with the coronavirus disease in Austria has grown by 20 to a total of 569, the Austrian Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.
The previous situation report from Austria on Monday stated 549 fatalities.
According to the ministry's update, the total number of coronavirus infection cases in Austria has grown by 83 to a current total of 15,357, including 12,580 recoveries with account of 218 recorded over the past day.
Hospitalized patients count 561, of them 136 in intensive care units, the ministry said.
Despite the COVID-19 lockdown remaining in place in Austria until 1 May, the country began gradually easing business restrictions earlier this month. On April 14, small stores, as well as construction and gardening shops, were allowed to resume operations while keeping the number of visitors under strict control.
Food services are not expected to resume work in the landlocked Alpine nation earlier than 15 May and hospitality businesses earlier than 29 May. Mass public gatherings are expected to remain banned at least until the end of August.
The US is attempting to lay blame for the coronavirus pandemic on China are little more than maneuvers to distract attention from the US’ failure to fight the pandemic, spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry Geng Shuang said Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has embarked on a campaign to accuse China of everything related to the coronavirus, from manufacturing it in a secret laboratory to covering up its spread and skewing the World Health Organization.
“The only purpose of all this is to try to throw off responsibility for the failure in the fight against the epidemic, distract the attention of the public, but the facts are a stubborn thing,” Geng said at a regular briefing in Beijing.
In addition to US pressure, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne earlier this month called for a global investigation into the cause of the pandemic and China’s response during the early stages of the outbreak in Wuhan.
The number of confirmed cases in the US is nearing one million in total with over 56,000 deaths, by far exceeding the worst-case estimates of epidemiologists early in the outbreak. The US coronavirus response has been marred with political infighting, medical unpreparedness and disharmonious mitigation measures.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has announced that Tokyo will deliver supplies of the anti-flu drug Avigan, which has been touted as a treatment for COVID-19, to 38 countries, the NHK broadcaster reported on Tuesday.
Motegi said that more than 70 countries had requested supplies of the drug, the broadcaster stated. In total, 38 countries, including the Netherlands, the Philippines, and Malaysia will initially receive a supply of Avigan, on the basis that these countries will send clinical trial data back to Tokyo, the broadcaster reported.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Avigan offered the potential to treat the coronavirus disease and that early clinical trials had shown its effectiveness. Tokyo is already working to expedite government approval for Remdesivir, an antiviral drug that has previously been used to treat Ebola.
The Japanese government on Monday widened a ban on international arrivals to the country amid the COVID-19 outbreak to a further 14 countries, taking the total number of countries subject to entry restrictions to 87.
The Japanese government is going to facilitate fast approval of Remdesivir, an antiviral drug for treating Ebola, as a potential treatment for patients with COVID-19, media in Japan reported on Tuesday, citing Health Minister Kato Katsunobu.
Remdesivir is developed by the US biotech firm Gilead Sciences and has previously been tested on humans to treat Ebola. On Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the government would approve the drug in Japan as soon as clinical trials are over.
According to Health Minister Katsunobu, as cited by the NHK broadcaster, Remdesivir will be fast-tracked via a special approval system which is applied in emergencies to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
The condition for the drug to get approved in Japan is if it gets approved in other countries, as stated in the report.
The Japanese government is reportedly waiting for the results, in particular, of Germany and the United States, the first countries to start screening Remdesivir for approval.
Should Japan approve the drug, it would become the country's first coronavirus treatment.
As of Tuesday, the Japanese health authorities have reported a total of 13,607 COVID-19 cases, including 11,328 active cases, 380 fatalities and 1,899 recoveries.
Singapore has confirmed 528 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours with the total toll of those infected nearing 15,000, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
"As of 28 April 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has preliminarily confirmed an additional 528 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, the vast majority of whom are Work Permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories. Eight cases are Singaporeans/ Permanent Residents," the ministry said in a press release.
This takes Singapore's tally to 14,951. Meanwhile, the death toll from the disease stands at 12.
The Omani Health Ministry said on Tuesday it had confirmed 82 new cases of coronavirus infection in the country, taking the total to 2,131, including an unchanged number of 10 fatalities.
The previous situation report form Oman on Monday stated 2,049 COVID-19 cases with 10 fatalities.
"The Ministry of Health announces the registration of (82) new confirmed cases with Coronavirus (COVID-19). (40) of the new cases are Omani nationals and (42) for non-Omanis, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases registered in the Sultanate to (2131); including ten deaths," the ministry said.
According to the statement, the number of recovered COVID-19 patients has grown to 364 in Oman.
The ministry further urged people to adhere to social distancing guidelines, such as to stay at home except for essential outings, frequently wash hands with soap and avoid touching face, as well as to follow healthy habits when coughing and sneezing.
Last week, Oman banned group gatherings for meals and prayers during the fasting month of Ramadan to curb the spread of infection.
Spain's COVID-19 death toll has increased by 301 (331 yesterday) to 23,822 over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
The country's number of COVID-19 cases has grown by 1,308 (1,831 yesterday) to 210,773 over the same period of time.
The number of recoveries has reached 102,500 after growing by 1,673 (2,144 yesterday) over the past 24 hours.
As many as 84,400 cases remain active.
Russia has registered record-high 6,411 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours (6,198 yesterday), bringing the total to 93,558, the national coronavirus response center said on Tuesday.
Russia's COVID-19 total is now higher that Iran's, where 91,472 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed.
"Over the past 24 hours, 6,411 COVID-19 cases have been registered in 83 regions. Of these, 2,609 (or 40.7 percent) have been detected actively, with people showing no clinical symptoms," the center said in a statement, adding that Russia has so far confirmed 93,558 COVID-19 cases in 85 regions, which is a 7.4 percent increase from 87,147 the day before.
Of all the new cases, 3,075 have been registered in Moscow, 523 in Moscow region and 198 in St. Petersburg (compared to yesterday's 2,871, 638 and 161 respectively).
The country's COVID-19 death toll has increased by 72 (50 yesterday) to 867.
As many as 1,110 patients have recovered over the past 24 hours (579 yesterday), bringing the total number of cured people to 8,456.
Over 3.1 million tests to detect COVID-19 have been conducted in Russia, with 192,000 people across the country remaining under medical monitoring due to suspicions they may be infected, the national public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said on Tuesday.
"Over 3.1 million tests for coronavirus have been conducted in the Russian Federation, and 192,000 people remain under medical monitoring," Rospotrebnadzor said in a statement.
As many as 119,000 tests have been conducted over the past 24 hours, the watchdog specified.
An employee working at NITI Bhavan has been detected positive with COVID-19. It was informed to the authorities at 9 am this morning. NITI Aayog is following all the due protocols necessary as per the Ministry of Health guidelines. The building has been sealed.
— NITI Aayog (@NITIAayog) April 28, 2020
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kyrgyzstan has risen from 695 to 708, an increase of 13 over the past 24 hours, the national coronavirus response centre told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"As of 28 April 2020, 13 new COVID-19 cases have been registered in the republic," a spokesperson for the response center said.
Two people among the new COVID-19 patients are doctors, which takes the number of infected medical staffers to 185.
The death toll stands at eight, and 416 patients have recovered.
Kyrgyzstan has declared a state of emergency in several cities, including the capital of Bishkek, in light of the pandemic.
The number of coronavirus infection cases in South Korea has increased to 10,752, with 14 of them confirmed over the past 24 hours, the health ministry's Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Tuesday.
The previous situation report from South Korea on Monday stated 10 new cases adding up to a total of 10,738, including 243 fatalities and 8,764 recoveries.
According to the KCDC update, the death toll has now grown by one to 244. Recoveries count 8,854, with 90 of them registered in the 24-hour period to early Tuesday. Another 268 COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals were later confirmed re-infected.
Of total 14 new cases, the KCDC said 12 had been imported.
South Korea has conducted more than 588,000 coronavirus tests as of Tuesday, as stated in the update.
For over a week now, the number of new infection cases registered in South Korea per day has been an average of 10. There were as few as six new cases last Friday.
Mainland China has registered, over the past 24 hours, six new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, 81 patients have recovered, no deaths have been recorded, the state health committee said in a statement.
Out of the six new cases, three were imported, while the remaining three were local.
Overall, 1,639 imported cases of coronavirus infection have now been detected in China, 552 people are still sick, 21 are in serious condition, 1,087 people have recovered, not a single person who entered China infected from abroad has died.
"The state health committee received from 31 provinces (areas, cities of central subordination) information on 82,836 confirmed cases of infection with the new type of coronavirus, including 648 people currently sick (50 people are in serious condition), 77,555 people were discharged from hospitals, 4,633 died," the center said.
The number of confirmed novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Mexico has exceeded 15,500, the country's Health Ministry said.
Over the past 24 hours, medics confirmed 862 new cases of the disease, so the overall number stands at 15,529.
The death toll has risen by 83 to 1,434.
Indian health authorities have recorded 1,543 new cases of coronavirus infection over the past 24 hours, taking to total to 29,435, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India said in an update on Tuesday.
The previous two days saw the number of COVID-19 cases in India increase from 26,496 to 27,892.
The current total of 29,435 cases includes 21,632 active cases, 934 fatalities — an increase of 62 over the past day — and 6,868 recoveries, including 683 newly recorded, according to the ministry's update.
Most cases have been confirmed in the central Maharashtra state (8,590), followed by the the westernmost Gujarat state (3,548) and the greater New Delhi area (3,108), as stated in the update.
A total of 170 regions were designated as hotbeds of infection by the Indian Health Ministry, another 207 regions were marked as being affected by the outbreak, while 400 others were declared "green zones" free of infection.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi extended the state of emergency in the country for three months due to threats to the safety and health of citizens.
The decree was published in the official newspaper.
"A state of emergency is declared throughout Egypt for three months from 01:00 on April 28... after considering the point of view of the cabinet and in view of the dangerous conditions associated with the safety and health of citizens," the decree says.
Germany has confirmed 1,144 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, with the total count reaching 156,337, the Robert Koch Institute said on Tuesday.
The death toll has grown by 163 to 5,913.
A day earlier, the country confirmed 1,018 new cases and 110 fatalities.
Over 117,000 COVID-19 patients have recovered in Germany since the beginning of the outbreak.
