On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world could face the most challenging crisis since World War II.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 11 March declared an outbreak of the new coronavirus infection a pandemic. According to the latest WHO data, more than 823,600 cases of COVID-19 have been registered worldwide, and over 40,500 people have died.
Johns Hopkins University count shows over 930,000 cases of COVID-19 worldwide, with the death toll nearing 47,000.
The largest number of COVID-19 fatalities in the US has been registered in New York, where the disease left 1,374 people dead.
"I want to address this afternoon the death of an individual who was transported from Bimini to New Providence", Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said at a press conference.
A total of 21 cases of COVID-19 have been registered in the islands so far.
According to the ministry, 580 cases are imported ones, 349 more resulted from close contact with the infected people, while the other 204 are being investigated now.
The death toll has increased by 4 to 31 people within the past 24 hours.
"This is a time to work together to overcome a common enemy that threatens the lives of all of us", State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a press release.
"We will soon have more ventilators than we need. We're building thousands, we will fairly soon be at a point where we have far more than we can use even after we stockpile for some future catastrophe, which we hope doesn't happen", Trump said at a White House briefing Wednesday. "We are going to be distributing them, the extras around the world. We go to Italy, France, Spain which is very hard hit".
"[Navy hospital ships Comfort and Mercy] really struck a blow, a very positive blow... So we are looking very seriously at building two additional ships of about the same size", Trump said on Wednesday.
Comfort and Mercy have 1,000 beds each. They currently treat non-infectious patients allowing local medics to focus on coronavirus fight.
The death toll stands at 241.
All three victims suffered from other diseases, including cardiovascular ones. One of the deceased persons has recently returned from a foreign country, according to the Coronavirus Response Centre.
The total death toll from COVID-19 in Russia's capital has risen to 19.
According to the ministry, the death toll from COVID-19 in the country has increased by two to eight people within the past 24 hours.
As of 8:00 pm on Wednesday (17:00 GMT), the whole number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country stood at 6,092.
The overall death toll stood at 52 people, 182 recovered, the ministry said.
This makes France the fourth country to have surpassed the 4,000 death toll after Italy, Spain and the United States.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in France climbed from 52,128 to 56,989 in one day.
"It is being negotiated at the moment. It was requested by five or six ambassadors, and we will make it happen, for sure next week or before", Dominican Republic’s Special Envoy to the Security Council and its President for April Jose Singer Weisinger said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
"From data that we have seen from China, in particular, we know that individuals who are identified [as asymptomatic], who are listed as asymptomatic, about 75 percent of those actually go on to develop symptoms", Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead of the World Health Organisation (WHO), said on Wednesday during a briefing.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - North Dakota became eligible for federal coronavirus disaster relief under a declaration signed by President Donald Trump, the White House announced on Wednesday.
Earlier, the number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the United States rose above 200,000, according to Johns Hopkins University’s real-time tracker, including over 4,400 deaths.
"Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the State of North Dakota and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic beginning on January 20, 2020, and continuing," the White House said in a statement.
The declaration makes federal funding available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, for all areas in the state impacted by the coronavirus, according to the release.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the United States has risen above 200,000, Johns Hopkins University’s real-time tracker showed on Wednesday.
The total number of cases as of 2:45 p.m. EST (6:45 p.m. GMT) rose to 203,608, which is the world's highest number of infections. At least 4,476 people have died from the disease, the tracker showed, while 8,362 recovered.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US state of New Jersey recorded as of Wednesday 22,255 coronavirus cases with 355 fatalities, Governor Phil Murphy said in a briefing.
"Over the past 24 hours we have received an additional 3,649 positive test results, pushing our state total to 22,255," Murphy said. "Since yesterday we sadly have lost another 91 of our fellow New Jersians to COVID-19-related complications. This means we have now lost a total of 355 members of our great blessed and diverse New Jersey family."
He presented a chart suggesting that the disease, if allowed "to run amok" since January- early February, would have produced 80,000 patients in need of hospitalization in the state which has 18,000 hospital beds.
The social distancing enforcement, the path chosen by the authorities, projects just 35,000 hospitalizations, Murphy said. Even the second, more favorable scenario forecasts that the bed capacity will be depleted by May 8.
The United States has more than 199,000 COVID-19 cases with 4,361 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University latest tally.
NEW YORK (Sputnik) - The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) could claim the lives of as many as 93,000 people in the United States, including 16,000 in New York State, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
Cuomo cited a projection by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation which estimates that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue in the United States until July, with the disease killing as many as 93,000 Americans by then.
According to Cuomo, the apex in the number of coronavirus cases will start hitting at the end of April. At that point, New York might need 110,000 hospital beds and 37,000 ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients only.
However, high compliance with social distancing measures will help to bring the numbers down to 75,000 beds and 25,000 ventilators and, therefore, prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed, the governor said.
The number of COVID-19 cases in New York State has climbed to 83,712 as of Wednesday, while 1,941 people have died. In the United States, almost 200,000 people have already tested positive for the virus, with at least 4,361 fatalities.
France says 509 more people have died from COVID-19 infection in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 4,032, the country's health official Jerome Salomon said.
NEW YORK (Sputnik) - The number of people who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in New York State has reached 83,712, while 1,941 people have died from the disease, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
"Total cases 83,712," Cuomo said. "Number of deaths 1900 [1,941] up from 1550, that number will continue to go up."
Of the total number of New York State residents who have tested positive, 12,226 are hospitalized and 3,022 patients are undergoing treatment in intensive care units.
The highest concentration of cases is in New York City, where at least 47,439 residents have been infected with the novel coronavirus.
In a move to curb the spread of the virus, Cuomo announced an order to shut down all New York City playgrounds.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The global number of COVID-19 cases will reach 1 million in the next few days, with 50,000 fatalities, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.
"The number of deaths has more than doubled in the past week. In the next few days we will reach 1 million confirmed #COVID19 cases, and 50 thousand deaths"-@DrTedros #coronavirus
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) April 1, 2020
CHISINAU (Sputnik) - Moldova has registered 70 new cases of the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 423, Health Minister Viorica Dumbraveanu said on Wednesday.
"Over the past day, we have confirmed 70 new cases of the coronavirus, one person has died in Transnistria", Dumbraveanu said during a briefing.
The new fatality brings the death toll in the country to five.
On 17 March, Moldova declared a state of emergency for 60 days. The country has suspended all international air traffic and closed its land border.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Eight medications that are registered in Russian are currently being tested on whether they can be used in the treatment of COVID-19, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Wednesday.
“We are working on checking the drugs that are already available for the treatment of new coronavirus infection. Now we are testing eight drugs that are already registered in Russia, and reliable data on the possibility of treating the new coronavirus infection [by these drugs] will be received from us on 10 April”, Golikova said.
She also added that 22 new drugs, presented by the Siberian department of the Russian Academy of Sciences, are also being checked, and the results of their tests would also be revealed on 10 April.
Eight Russia-registered coronavirus medications are being studied, 22 more are being checked, and the results are to be available on 10 April, Russia's deputy prime minister said.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US ventilator maker Avamed has ramped up production with 24-hour shifts in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and aims to achieve a more than 20-fold increase in output by the end of April, CEO Scott Whitaker said in an interview on Wednesday.
“Before the crisis we were doing about 600 or 700 ventilators a week on the manufacturing side. We’ve begun to scale that up dramatically in the course of the last few weeks. We’re doing about 3,000, maybe 4,000 a week now and the goal is … to get to 10,000 or 15,000 later this month,” Whitaker told Fox News.
Eight-hour shifts have become 24-hour shifts and company production lines now operate seven days a week, Whitaker said.
Hospitals throughout the United States have warned of a looming shortage of the machines amid predictions of an exponential increase in COVID-19 infections in the next 30 days.
Ventilators keep patients alive until they recover when supplemental oxygen proves ineffective.
TORONTO (Sputnik) - Canada’s total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has risen to 9,017 while the death toll now stands at 105, Health Ministry data revealed on Wednesday.
According to the ministry data, over the past 24 hours, the number of those infected has increased from 7,424 and 16 new fatalities were reported.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Catalan government’s health department has issued a recommendation for emergency and hospital staff saying that coronavirus patients over 80 should not be placed in intensive care units, the Spanish 20 Minutos newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing an internal document.
According to the document, which is titled "Recommendations on Decisions to Limit Medical Efforts," hospital staffs should prioritize the use of resources for "patients who will maximize their benefits in the form of saved years of life," as cited by the media outlet.
Patients older than 80, according to the recommendations, should only receive oxygen therapy. If they do not feel better within 15 minutes, medical personnel may consider administering the patient morphine.
According to Catalonia's Health Minister Alba Verges, the document says that "clinical criteria" should take precedence over general recommendations.
Spain is among the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic with more than 102,000 cases, over 9,000 of them fatal, according to the Spanish Health Ministry’s data.
Hearings for asylum-seeking migrants from Mexico have been postponed for a second time through 1 May due to the coronavirus outbreak, the US Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department said in a statement.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Slightly over 20 percent of all the coronavirus patients across Russia have no symptoms, and only 14 percent of the patients have symptoms of pneumonia, Chief Public Health Official Anna Popova said on Wednesday.
"Today, slightly over 20 percent of all those identified [as coronavirus patients] have no symptoms, and only 14 percent have symptoms of pneumonia and their condition is severe or moderate. There are beds for everyone, specialized assistance is available for everyone, and people are receiving it," Popova told reporters.
LONDON (Sputnik) - The United Kingdom registered 4,324 coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of people infected to 29,474, the government said on Wednesday, adding that the death toll climbed to 2,352.
"As of 9am on 1 April 2020, 152,979 people have been tested, of which 29,474 were confirmed positive. As of 5pm on 31 March 2020, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 2,352 have died," the government said.
The number of COVID-19 fatalities previously stood at 1,789.
For the second day in a row, the country recorded its biggest daily increases in both infection and death tolls.
As a measure against the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared an almost complete lockdown on March 23, severely restricting the movement of citizens.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The number of confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases among US service members and related civilians has exceeded 1,400, according to a US Department of Defence (DOD) fact sheet released on Wednesday.
"Total DoD Cases (current, recovered and deaths) is 1,405", the fact sheet said.
According to the latest update, 771 military personnel have been infected, 40 of whom are hospitalised and 42 have recovered. The rest of the cases concern civilian personnel, dependents and contractors.
The death toll among Defence Department personnel has increased to five, including one service member, one dependent, one contractor and two civilian employees.
The Johns Hopkins University real-time tracker of reported COVID-19 cases around the world revealed the United States has more than 189,753 confirmed cases as of Wednesday morning.
BELGRADE (Sputnik) - Serbia has registered five more COVID-19 fatalities in the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 28, Darija Kisic Tepavcevic, the deputy director of the public health institute, said on Wednesday, adding that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases had reached 1,060.
"Five more people died over the past 24 hours, 28 patients died in total. Overall, 1,060 people are now infected in the country", Kisic Tepavcevic said during a briefing.
According to the health authorities, 21 out of 28 victims are men. Moreover, the Balkan country has detected 160 cases over the past day.
Out of all people infected with the virus, 648 have been hospitalized, and 72 are on ventilation support.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Bulgaria's council of ministers has proposed that parliament extend the state of emergency declared over the COVID-19 threat until 13 May, Bulgarian National Radio reported on Wednesday.
On 13 March, the Bulgarian parliament approved the government's initiative to declare a one-month state of emergency.
The draft project on extending the emergency has been put forward before the cabinet by the health minister.
There have been 422 confirmed cases in Bulgaria, according to the Health Ministry.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Treasury Department website offers Americans an opportunity to improve their financial literacy and make rational financial decisions amid economic uncertainty created by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, President Donald Trump said in a message on Wednesday that promoted April as National Financial Capability Month.
“There are resources available to you and your family through the Department of the Treasury’s website that will help you make sound financial decisions in these uncertain times. Financial literacy is critical throughout all stages of adulthood, especially during crises and unexpected life events”, the White House said in a press release.
The release made no direct mention of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
But with most of the nation subject to stay at home rules, Americans have time on their hands to take advantage of the Treasury Department and other resources to help manage shaky finances due to the pandemic and make rational economic decisions as aid recently approved by Congress arrives.
The release noted that the Treasury Department has delayed deadlines for individuals and businesses to pay taxes.
"The first train departing from China's Wuhan province since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic has inaugurated the restoration of regular container service Wuhan-Duisburg on the China-Europe direction. The container train, comprised of 50 40-foot containers left the Wuhan province on 28 March 2020 ... The train will deliver from China to Europe 166.4 tonnes of anti-epidemic protection equipment, including 19 containers fully filled with medical masks. The train also includes containers with car spare parts, electronic equipment, telecommunications fiber optics and materials for railroad infrastructure repairs", the United Transport and Logistics Company – Eurasian Rail Alliance said on Wednesday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The final games of the 2019/20 season of Union of European Football Associations' (UEFA) Champions League and Europa League could take place behind closed doors because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK's Independent newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The UEFA governing body will have a videoconference on the issue later in the day, but everyone involved is said to be in agreement with the UK that the season has to be concluded no matter what, accepting that the two most important finals might be played without viewers, according to the newspaper's sources.
There are currently a total of 421,808 confirmed cases in the EU and UK, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, which is nearly half the global toll.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The pace of economic recovery after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will largely depend on the counter-crisis measures that countries take now, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Wednesday in a blog post.
“Greater intervention by the public sector is justified by the emergency for as long as exceptional circumstances persist, but must be provided in a transparent manner and with clear sunset clauses", IMF European Department Director Poul M. Thomsen said.
Recovery will occur sooner and more smoothly if governments take measures to ensure that people do not lose their jobs or homes, and that companies avoid bankruptcy, while businesses continue operating, Thomsen added.
Mitigation measures such as lockdowns and social-distancing guidelines are severely curtailing economy activity now, and this trend could continue for at least one or two quarters, the director warned.
The recovery process will have its own challenges, including higher levels of public debt, the IMF noted. Meanwhile, relative success in combating the crisis will allow for a return to normal economic activity, while fiscal measures to boost demand will become increasingly effective as more people are allowed to leave their homes and go back to work, the Fund added.
Thomsen added that Europe is almost certain to fall into recession this year due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“A deep European recession this year is a foregone conclusion,” Thomsen wrote in a blog post. “COVID-19 has struck Europe with stunning ferocity.”
Thomson said while there was no certainty on how long the crisis will last, what was known was the economic impact will be severe.
“In Europe’s major economies, nonessential services closed by government decree account for about one third of output.”
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Ukraine is calling on the parties to the Donbas conflict to protect civilians and key infrastructure amid the coronavirus pandemic, especially water supply facilities, the delegation's communication coordinator, Sanela Bajrambasic, has said in an interview.
"The ICRC has been reminding all weapon bearers to take precautionary measures under international humanitarian law to spare civilians and key infrastructure objects while engaging in armed hostilities. Civilians must be spared and the infrastructure, particularly the water supply, has to be protected", Bajrambasic said.
She added that just one attack on water supply facilities could be fatal for "a couple of millions" of people living in the conflict area, recalling that around 2.15 million people were living close to the contact line in Donbas, according to a UN estimate.
According to the ICRC official, if the water supply facilities experience a failure, these people would not be capable of implementing such basic measures to protect themselves from COVID-19 as "frequent hand-washing."
The ICRC has implemented large-scale urgent measures to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian citizens in need amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bajrambasic went on to say.
"The ICRC has reacted rapidly and at the beginning of the last week we have sent 18 trucks with food, hygiene, medicaments for the treatment of chronic diseases, and our teams have been distributing those to the people on both sides of the contact lines. Only in Donetsk NGCA [non-government-controlled areas] we have reached over 5,000 people so far and approximately the same number have been gradually supported on the GCA [government-controlled areas] side of the contact line", the official said.
ICRC teams are delivering the aid to people's doors, so that they can collect the food and hygiene parcels themselves, in order to minimise contact, the official added.
She went on to say that hostilities in Ukraine have become even more intense despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with at least one civilian death and four civilian injuries registered since the beginning of the outbreak.
"In Ukraine, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict is on-going with the flare-ups more intensive than in the period before. Since the pandemic, at least four civilians were wounded in the crossfire, while this weekend one more civilian, a woman, died of conflict-related injuries. Moreover, last week, one civilian woman activated an explosive device with her bicycle, which left scars on her face and hands", Sanela Bajrambasic said.
The ICRC official added that the combination of increasing hostilities and preventive measures to tackle the coronavirus was making people in Ukraine "even more vulnerable."
"This particularly concerns the elderly who remain one of the categories of people the most affected by the conflict and living in the area of the contact line in Donbas", Bajrambasic went on to say.
Ukraine's COVID-19 case count is climbing toward 670, with 17 fatalities.
The number of COVID-19 fatalities has increased to five in Estonia as a new death was recorded, the country's health board said on Wednesday.
"After testing positive for Covid-19, an 81 year old woman died yesterday at the North Estonia Medical Centre," the board said in a statement.
It added that the total number of confirmed cases has reached 779.
"Today, on 1 April, 95 patients require hospitalisation in Estonia due to the novel coronavirus, of whom 15 are on ventilation. 33 patients have recovered from the disease and 5 people have died," the board said.
Over 1 million Israeli citizens, or nearly a quarter of the population, have lost their jobs as a result of the restrictions imposed by the government in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, media reported on Wednesday, citing the Israel National Employment Service (INES).
According to the Globes business news portal, since early March, INES has registered 843,945 new jobseekers, bringing the total of those unemployed to 1,004,316, which is 24.1 percent of the country's working population. A month ago, the unemployment rate in Israel stood at 4 percent, the publication said.
Most of those seeking a new job — 89.7 percent — were forcibly sent on unpaid leave, according to the news outlet.
Israeli professor of economics Avia Spivak told Globes that the loss of work by a quarter of the working population was a characteristic of the greatest crises in history, such as the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday in an address to the nation that the government would allocate 80 billion shekels (about $22.5 billion) to support the national economy hit by the pandemic.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel has grown to 5,591, while the death toll has increased by 4 to 21 over the past 24 hours, the country’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday. Israel has been resorting to strict measures in order to stop the disease from spreading, including a ban on movement, as well as on having guests and gathering in groups of more than 10 people.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Wednesday that it was about to ship the first batch of nuclear-derived equipment worth $4.4 million to over 40 countries to allow them to rapidly test people for COVID-19.
"Dozens of laboratories in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean will receive diagnostic machines and kits, reagents and laboratory consumables to speed up national testing, which is crucial in containing the outbreak," the agency said in a press release.
More deliveries of the testing equipment and protective gear for laboratory personnel are expected in the coming weeks. IAEA, which is part of the UN crisis management team on COVID-19, is using its reserves and donations to pay for the equipment.
The international community should step up support for Venezuela to minimize the human impact of the shocks triggered by the coronavirus epidemic, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said on Wednesday.
"We want to recall the potentially devastating effects that the coronavirus pandemic could have in Venezuela. That would compound with an already very serious economic, social and humanitarian situation. It is essential to minimise the human impact of the pandemic and that requires national solidarity and unity, political maturity and generosity. This would also be important to foster more international support, which is much needed in Venezuela," the EEAS said.
The EU, it added, will provide support to Venezuelan people to help them tackle the challenge.
The EEAS also pledged to "study very carefully" US State Secretary Mike Pompeo’s recent proposal for an interim government to be established in Venezuela and comment on it in the coming days.
The bloc at the same reiterated its support for "all steps leading to a genuine political process towards a peaceful and democratic resolution of the crisis, based on credible and transparent elections."
Venezuela has so far registered 143 COVID-19 cases. Last week, Russia delivered the first batch of 10,000 coronavirus test kits to the country and vowed to continue this assistance. China, in turn, sent a team to medical experts to help the sanctioned and the cash-strapped country. Both nations have called for lifting sanctions on Venezuela.
Amid these developments, Pompeo said on Tuesday that an interim government could be established in Venezuela, consisting of National Assembly members and accepted by both Caracas and the opposition, to serve until the next presidential and legislative elections. The US pledges to remove sanctions should the conditions of its plan, including "the departure of foreign security forces" and free elections, be met.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Romania has increased to 2,460, with 85 deaths, Digi 24 TV channel reported on Wednesday, citing the government's strategic communications group on the epidemic.
The previously reported numbers were 2,245 confirmed cases, as well as 69 fatalities.
The country's authorities also state that 252 patients have recovered and have been discharged from hospitals, according to the broadcaster.
French police have handed out 359,000 fines to people found in breach of home confinement rules during the two weeks of a lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of the new coronavirus, the interior minister said Wednesday.
"We are talking about 5.8 million checks and 359,000 notifications issued in the first 15 days... Our aim is not to hand out fines, our aim is to make sure that people stay at home in order to protect them," Christophe Castaner told the LCI news channel.
Fines for violating the stay at home order range from 135 euros ($148) to 3,750 euros ($4,105) for repeat violations registered within a month.
France went into quarantine on March 17, with people only allowed to make essential trips, to stem the outbreak, which has killed 3,523 people and infected 52,128 in the country as of Monday.
The lockdown will last until at least April 15, although 93 percent of the French believe the ban on non-essential travel will be extended past that date, according to an Elabe poll published on Wednesday.
The survey found that the number of those concerned by the epidemic remained at 87 percent as the country entered the second week of the lockdown, but the number of those "very concerned" rose 6 points to 37 percent, mostly among those aged 65 and over.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia has increased by 142 to 2,908 over the past day, the country's Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
The number of coronavirus-related deaths increased by two to 45 over the same period, it said.
The number of people who has recovered from COVID-19 in Malaysia stands at 645.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc declared on Wednesday COVID-19 to be a national epidemic of a "Class A infectious disease" per the law on the prevention and control of infectious diseases, according to the official government news portal, VGP.
"Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on April 1 officially declared COVID-19 a national epidemic as the infection cases rose to 212 in 25 provinces and cities across Viet Nam. Of the total infection cases, 196 have been confirmed since March 6, according to the Ministry of Health. As many as 63 cases have been cleared of the virus and exited hospitals as of Wednesday morning," the statement read.
It added that official Class A diseases include extremely dangerous infectious diseases that can transmit rapidly in a widespread manner with a high mortality rate.
The death toll from COVID-19 in Iran has surpassed 3,000, the health ministry's spokesman, Kianoush Jahanpour, said on Wednesday.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country has increased by 2,987 over the past day to 47,593, while the number of deaths rose by 138 to 3,036, he said, adding that a total of 15,473 people had recovered.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani noted earlier in the day that the spread of coronavirus had slowed down in all provinces of the country.
Scandic Hotels Oy said on Wednesday that it would close 14 out of its 28 hotels across Finland due to a drop in demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the latest data, Finland has registered 1,446 COVID-19 cases, including 17 fatalities.
"The decision is very difficult, but necessary because of the collapsed demand. In this way, we strive to minimize the financial consequences of the crisis, " Scandic Hotels Oy CEO Aki Kayhko said, as quoted in a statement.
In April, the closures will affect hotels in Turku, Seinajoki, Salo, Rauma, Mikkeli, Kuopio, Kemi, Jarvenpaa, Jyvaskyla, Joensuu and Hameenlinna.
Scandic Hotels Oy is a part of Scandic Group, the largest hotel chain in the Nordic countries. In March, the hotel chain shut a number of hotels in the region and furloughed part of its staff.
The death toll from COVID-19 in Belgium has increased by 123 over the past 24 hours to 828, the country's coronavirus response center said on Wednesday.
So far, Belgium has confirmed a total of 13,964 cases of the disease, with 1,189 of them being recorded over the last 24 hours.
Datos sobre #Coronavirus en España, desde el primer caso inicial, actualizados a día 1 de abril:
— Salud Pública (@SaludPublicaEs) April 1, 2020
▶Confirmados 102.136
▶En UCI 5.872
▶Fallecidos 9.053
▶Curados 22.647
Toda la información en @sanidadgob y en: https://t.co/rK1snxlbGE#COVID19 #EsteVirusLoParamosUnidos pic.twitter.com/f0vIcDqNBU
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hungary has increased to 525, with the death toll standing at 20, according to the prime minister's office.
The previously reported number of cases was 261.
There are currently 61 people in quarantine and 40 patients have recovered so far, the authorities say.
On Monday, the country's parliament passed a law granting additional authority to handle the spread of COVID-19 to the government of Viktor Orban. The law was criticized by the opposition which accused Orban of using the situation to get more power.
The Kremlin wishes a speedy recovery to Denis Protsenko, the chief doctor of Moscow's hospital for coronavirus patients, who has recently himself tested positive for COVID-19, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, commending his work.
Protsenko said on Tuesday that his test came back positive and that he was feeling fine. The doctor noted that he self-isolated in his study at the hospital and continued working remotely.
"Let us wish the doctor a speedy recovery together. Our joint applause goes to him and we hope that he will be back in service very soon," Peskov said.
When asked whether Protsenko had been tested for COVID-19 ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the hospital last week, the spokesman replied that the doctor "did not even know that the president is coming to him."
Moscow and Riyadh may have their differences, but the bilateral relationship facilitates an effective dialogue, added.
"As for our relations with Saudi Arabia, they are at a fairly high level, of course, we may have some disagreements, but in general, our bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia allow, if necessary, a fairly effective dialogue," Peskov told reporters, commenting on US President Donald Trump’s announcement of his assistance in resuming negotiations between Moscow and Riyadh.
The date for the military parade in Moscow celebrating the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, planned for 9 May, has not been changed despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Peskov added.
"No, we have not made any other decisions. The situation is being monitored," Peskov told reporters when asked if there are discussions regarding changing the parade's date due to the virus outbreak.
Prime Minister’s COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Fund-2020 has been set up to help us fight this pandemic. I want everyone to donate towards this fund which will be used to take care of all those who have been made destitute by the lockdown.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 1, 2020
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on Wednesday enacted law amendments that allow state bodies to access people’s cellphone location data to contain the coronavirus epidemic as the COVID-19 case count surpassed 570.
Armenia declared a state of emergency from 16 March to 14 April in connection with the outbreak. Since 25 March, the operation of all enterprises and organizations, except for those strategically important, has been temporarily suspended. People’s movement has also been restricted.
According to the presidential office, given that the approved amendments to laws on a state of the emergency and electronic communication envisage "significant restrictions on human rights," they will be applied by the government as an exceptional measure and only during a state of emergency.
In line with the amendments, mobile operators are obliged to share location data with state bodies during a state of emergency. The only goal of the legislation is to save lives and ensure public health, the office stressed.
The measure comes as the COVID-19 case count in the county has jumped by 39 to 571 over the past 24 hours. The death toll stands at three.
As part of measures to counter the spread of the virus, Armenia has already suspended the work of public transport, with the exception of railway and taxi. The Yerevan subway announced on Wednesday that it is closed until 12 April.
Of 267 new coronavirus patients in Moscow, 117 are aged between 18 and 45, the city response center said Wednesday.
The federal response center said earlier in the day that there had been 440 new cases in 24 hours, including Moscow's 267.
According to the capital's response center, 87 new patients are aged between 46 and 65, 34 people are older than 65. Twenty-nine children have been infected.
The total number of cases in Moscow has reached 1,880.
An app with QR codes to help monitor any breaches of self-isolation in Moscow is ready, it will launch after the relevant decree of the authorities, the head of the city government's IT department, Eduard Lysenko, said Wednesday.
"QR codes will start working when Moscow government issues the relevant decree," Lysenko told Ekho Moskvy broadcaster.
The system is ready for a large number of users, the head of the IT department added.
"In terms of practical application, those who need to get the code, depending on why —it will all be in the decree — will register at the website, fill out a simple form, the necessary code will be generated, which can be either on the phone screen, in personal profile or in the mail, or it can be printed out," Lysenko said.
In addition, Moscow authorities have developed an app for the coronavirus patients who are getting treatment at home, the full version will be available on Thursday, Lysenko told the broadcaster.
According to Lysenko, people who are treated at home will have an option to get smartphones from the city government to install the app.
A checkpoint will be set up on the Crimean Bridge over the Kerch Strait to monitor crossing vehicles and prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection, the head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said Wednesday.
Aksyonov has already declared quarantine in the republic starting 2 April.
"Starting midnight, there will be a checkpoint on the Crimean Bridge. There will be 100-percent checks of all vehicles," Aksyonov said.
The number of the confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Israel grew by 760 to 5,591, with the death toll having increased to 21 by four more fatalities in the past 24 hours, the country’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
The ministry said that 97 patients were now in critical condition, and 226 had fully recovered.
According to the health authorities, 637 people have been hospitalized, 3,062 are receiving treatment at home, and 689 are under medical supervision in specially equipped hotels.
Meanwhile, the country’s army press office said that the Defense Forces' chief of general staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, would remain in quarantine until the end of the week, even though he had tested negative for COVID-19 and was feeling well. He was quarantined after one of the officers participating in a meeting of the General Staff was found to be infected.
As of Wednesday, the total number of the confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world has reached over 860,000, with more than 42,000 people having died and some 178,000 having recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus resource centre.
Russia registered 440 new cases of the coronavirus infection in 35 regions in 24 hours, the country's COVID-19 response centre said Wednesday.
In total, 2,777 cases have been registered in 75 regions.
In Moscow, 267 new cases have been registered.
Seven people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in the last 24 hours, five of them in Moscow. The total number of deaths has reached 24.
Sixty-nine people have been discharged in 24 hours, 45 of them in Moscow, the response center said. The total number of discharged patients reached 190.
Russia's Gazprom said Wednesday it had resumed gas traffic to China via the Power of Siberia trunkline after a pause for technical maintenance.
"On 31 March, scheduled technical maintenance on the Power of Siberia trunkline was completed. Gas deliveries to the Chinese consumers have been resumed," the company said.
COVID-19 ile birlikte mücadele ve daha güzel günler temennisiyle İtalya ve İspanya için hazırlanan sağlık malzemeleri, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetlerine ait A-400M tipi uçak ile yola çıktı.#MSB #TSKhttps://t.co/vv8Ho2qrla pic.twitter.com/NbjAEhGqXu
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) April 1, 2020
aiwan will send 10 million protective masks to countries with an unfavorable epidemiological situation to support medical personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday.
"Taiwan should not stand aside and will actively strengthen cooperation with other countries in the field of preventing and combating the epidemic. Taiwan is ready to assist the international community in the form of masks, medicines and technologies," Tsai said.
According to her, the current daily production of protective masks in Taiwan is about 13 million, but in the near future it will be 15 million.
"Taiwan will send 10 million masks to support medical personnel in countries with serious epidemiological situations and will subsequently provide additional support based on production capacities," the president said.
As of Wednesday, nearly 860,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, and over 42,300 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Russian consumer health protection watchdog on Wednesday decreed that citizens must keep the distance of one meter, or 3.2 feet, from one another amid the spread of the coronavirus infection.
In addition, Chief Sanitary Physician Anna Popova has ordered regional authorities to ensure that all people older than 65 with signs of respiratory infections are tested for COVID-19.
Mainland China has registered 36 new coronavirus cases, seven fatalities and 130 asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers over the past 24 hours, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday.
"The National Health Commission has received information from 31 provinces … about 81,554 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection, including 2,004 who are still ill (466 people are in serious condition), 76,238 people who have been discharged from hospitals, and 3,312 who have died," the сommission reported.
The statistics thereby shows that 93.5 percent of all those infected have recovered.
The commission has also started reporting figures on asymptomatic cases since Wednesday. Over the past 24 hours, the country has detected 130 asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers. A total of 1,367 of such people remain under medical supervision.
Over the given period, one imported COVID-19 case and six fatalities have been registered in Hubei, the province where the virus was first detected in China.
In total, the province has 1,283 active cases, with 435 people being in serious condition.
Separately, Hong Kong accounts for a total of 714 cases and four fatalities, and Macao for 41 cases. Taiwan has confirmed a total of 322 cases, including five deaths.
The number of people who had contracted the new coronavirus disease in Mexico has increased by 121 to 1,215 over the past 24 hours, Jose Luis Alomia, the Health Ministry's director of epidemiology, said.
"To date we have confirmed 1,215 cases. One patient have died bringing the total death toll to 29," Alomia said on Tuesday.
A day before, the authorities reported about 1,094 confirmed coronavirus cases and 28 deaths.
According to the data, doctors are currently examining 3,511 suspected COVID-19 cases and have received 6,282 negative coronavirus tests. Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell praised citizens' compliance with the sanitary recommendations of the authorities and especially voluntary self-isolation.
On Monday, Mexico declared a health emergency, which would be in force until 30 April, and imposed stricter self-isolation rules.
Argentine police have detained nearly 20,000 people for violating quarantine rules imposed in light of the coronavirus pandemic, national media reported on Wednesday.
The self-isolation regime in the country has been in place since March 20. The measures were meant to expire on March 31, but were extended through April 12.
As of Tuesday, a total of 19,939 people have been detained and 1,597 vehicles have been impounded for violating the quarantine rules since March 20, according to the Argentine TN channel.
In Argentina, people are now required to obtain a special permit to travel by personal vehicle. Otherwise, one can face a fine or have their car seized until the end of the quarantine.
Argentina has so far confirmed 1,054 COVID-19 cases, including 27 deaths.
South Korea has registered 101 new cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), 159 people have recovered over the past 24 hours, the overall number of confirmed cases has risen to 9,887, the Health Ministry's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.
The KCDC said the death toll had risen by three to 165 people.
The number of recovered people now stands at 5,567.
Chief of the General Staff LTG Aviv Kohavi has tested negative for #COVID19.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 1, 2020
LTG Kohavi is feeling well and will remain in quarantine until the end of the week, in accordance with restrictions.
