The number of infected across the globe continues to rise despite the social distancing measures and quarantines imposed by most countries. There are eight countries with over 100,000 confirmed cases - the United States, Spain, Italy, France, the UK, Germany, Turkey, and Russia, which has recently joined this list.
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The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Korea has risen by six to 10,780 over the past day, the Health Ministry's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Saturday.
The death toll has risen from 248 to 250 people within the same period of time. The number of recovered people has reached 9,123.
The country has conducted more than 608,000 coronavirus tests, with the results of 8,496 tests being processed now.
“The National Health Commission received information about 82,875 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by a new type of coronavirus from 31 provinces [regions and municipalities], including 557 currently ill people. 37 people are in critical condition, 4,633 have died, 77,685 people have been discharged from hospitals", the commission said in a statement.
The number of people, who tested positive for COVID-19 in Mexico, has risen by 1,515 to 20,739 within the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said.
The ministry's director of epidemiology, Jose Luis Alomia, also said on late Friday that death toll had increased by 113 to 1,972 people within the same period of time.
"Today we have confirmed two new [COVID-19] cases and Venezuela currently has 335 cases", Maduro said in a televised address on late Friday.
"The speed of the virus spread has decreased ... There is a significant decrease in the number of deaths, especially in the province of Guayas, where [the rate of growth] sank by 94 percent", President Lenin Moreno said in a televised address on late Friday.
"Hopefully, we're going to come in below that 100,000 lives lost", Trump said during remarks at the White House on Friday.
"A new confirmed case of coronavirus was reported, the first in the [southwestern] governorate of Taiz, in a man in his 40s", the National Emergency Coronavirus Committee said on Twitter.
"Thirty-seven patients with diagnosed pneumonia and positive coronavirus test results have died in Moscow", the statement read.
The response center noted that the coronavirus could be easily mistaken for symptoms of other viral respiratory infections. COVID-19 patients can have both mild forms of infection or serious health conditions.
The cumulative total of COVID-19 cases worldwide has reached 3,321,402, the statistics collected by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Centre showed on Friday.
According to the university, 237,180 deaths from coronavirus-related complications have been registered so far.
The United States has the highest case count of over 1 million cases, followed by Spain with over 215,000 cases and Italy with more than 205,000 cases.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Brazil has grown by 6,209 to a total of 91,589 over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Friday.
The previous reports indicated that there were 85,380 COVID-19 cases and 5,901 fatalities.
According to the Health Ministry, the death toll has increased by 428 over the same period that brought the overall number of fatalities to 6,329.
About 38,000 people fully recovered from the coronavirus disease.
The death toll has increased by two to 225.
According to the ministry's evening update, the number of infected people has dropped to 6,720, of whom 103 patients are in critical condition, with 83 being on ventilators.
The ministry also confirmed that the total number of recoveries amounts to 9,156, with 398 patients having recovered within the past day.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said in a press conference on Friday that 311 people have died from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the past 24 hours as the state prepares to open parks and other outdoor areas this weekend.
"We are reporting 311 additional deaths from COVID-19. Our statewide total is now unspeakably 7,538 precious lives lost", Murphy said.
New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said during the press conference there are 2,651 new COVID-19 cases for a total of 121,190.
Persichilli noted that hospitalisations in New Jersey have declined by 28 percent from a high of 8,293 individuals hospitalized on 14 April.
The WHO declared the highest level of health emergency when there were less than 100 coronavirus cases outside China, which was the hardest-hit country at that time. During a media briefing on the COVID-19 situation, the WHO director-general was asked whether the organization regretted that it did not declare a global health emergency during the Emergency Committee meetings on 21 and 23 January and whether the decision would be different if the committee had to make it again.
"And I repeat that 30 January was a timely declaration of the highest level of global emergency based on the International Health Regulations, which is WHO's mandate", Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
NEW YORK (Sputnik) - The percentage of people testing positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City has dropped from 58 on 11 April to 23 percent, indicating a steady improvement, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press briefing on Friday.
“The citywide percentage is really improving pretty steadily: on 11 April, when we started the indicators - 58 percent, by last Friday - 30 percent, today - 23 percent”, de Blasio said. “That's fantastic. Very, very hopeful sign”.
Nevertheless, De Blasio said, New York City still has a wide level of the virus transmission, with 2,637 new cases diagnosed on Thursday, and 202 deaths. The goal is to reach the point where authorities would be able to track and act on every COVID-19 case, he said.
“This virus is tragically still alive and well and living in this city. We have not beaten it”, the mayor said, adding that the fight would be ultimately won.
On a positive note, another indicator tracking the spread of COVID-19 in the city - the number of daily hospitalizations - has dropped from 850 on March 31 to 136 on 29 April, de Blasio said.
Additionally, the number of patients treated in Intensive Care Units has also gone down to 704 people on 29 April from the highest number of 887 on 14 April. According to de Blasio, the most recent number is encouraging, yet it is nowhere the sharp decrease that is needed to be witnessed in New York City.
CHISINAU (Sputnik) - Moldova has registered 83 new COVID-19 cases across the country over the past day that took the total toll to 3,980, the press service of the Moldovan Health Ministry said on Friday.
The previous reports indicated that there were 3,897 COVID-19 cases in Moldova and 119 related fatalities.
"On 1 May, 83 new cases of coronavirus were registered, and the total number of people infected with coronavirus in Moldova reached 3,980. Also to date, 1,272 people have recovered, and 122 have died due to COVID-19", the press service said in a statement.
TORONTO (Sputnik) - The number of Canadians who have contracted the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) grew by almost 1,600 in the past 24 hours to 53,657, updated figures from Canada’s Public Health Agency revealed on Friday.
The COVID-19-related death toll rose by 141 to 3,223, the data showed.
The province of Quebec remains the epicentre of the outbreak in Canada, accounting for more than half of all confirmed cases - 27,538 - and 1,859 deaths. Nevertheless, the province announced on Tuesday that it intends to begin reopening the economy on 4 May.
Ontario trails with 16,608 confirmed infections and 1,121 disease-related fatalities, with the rest of the provinces being spared the worst of the pandemic.
On Thursday, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr Theresa Tam said she is concerned by the growing number of outbreaks among indigenous communities in several of the country’s provinces.
NEW DELHI (Sputnik) - India decided to extend the coronavirus-related lockdown, which was set to expire on 3 May, for two additional weeks, the Home Affairs Ministry said on Friday.
The lockdown in India has been in force since late March. The quarantine regime prescribes closure of educational institutions, entertainment centres and suspension of public transport and taxi services, including subway and railroads. Moreover, the authorities have closed borders between states to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
"Whereas in exercise of the powers under section 6(2)(i) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, NDMA [National Disaster Management Authority] has issued an order … that lockdown measures be continued to be implemented in all parts of the Country, for a further period of two weeks with effect from 04.05.2020", the ministry said in a press release.
The ministry added that the country would be divided into different zones, and the authorities would ease the coronavirus response measures in the areas with less exposure to COVID-19.
India has so far confirmed 35,457 coronavirus cases and more than 1,100 virus-related fatalities.
BELGRADE (Sputnik) - Croatia confirmed six new deaths from coronavirus-related fatalities over the past 24 hours, and the overall COVID-19 death toll increased to 75 people, the Interior Ministry said on Friday.
The Balkan country also detected nine new coronavirus cases over the given period, bringing the total tally to 2,085.
"The number of coronavirus-related deaths in Croatia since the beginning of the pandemic and until Friday reached 75 people, the total number of cases is 2,085", the ministry said, adding that 1,421 people have fully recovered from COVID-19.
In Croatia, the capital Zagreb and the southern Split-Dalmatia county are the most affected by the outbreak.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has registered 557 new COVID-19 cases from the 26,000 tests conducted over the past 24 hours, which brings the total to 13,038, media reported on Friday, citing the country's Ministry of Health and Prevention.
According to The National newspaper, citing the ministry, the death toll has reached 111, with six new deaths having been recorded over the past day.
The total number of patients recovered from the disease has increased by 114 to 2,543, the health authority added.
Almost 10,000 patients are currently undergoing treatment across the UAE hospitals, with more than one million COVID-19 tests having been conducted in the country.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases among the US armed forces, including family members, civilian staff and contractors has surpassed 7,100, the Department of Defence said on Friday.
According to the Defence Department’s updated COVID-19 fact sheet, the total number of cases now stands at 7,145.
The Defence Department revealed no new fatalities, and the total death toll still stands at 27.
The number of people hospitalized remains at 284, while 2,336 have recovered.
RIGA (Sputnik) - The total number of people with confirmed coronavirus infection in Latvia has grown by 12 to 870 and 16 people have died so far, the country's Center for Disease Prevention and Control said in a situation update on Friday.
One person died over the past 24 hours, the centre said.
According to the update, a total of 34 Latvian patients with COVID-19 are currently undergoing treatment, including 32 in moderate condition and two others in serious condition. The number of patients discharged from hospitals after treatment is 96, and the total number of recoveries is 348.
The country has conducted 61,120 tests since the beginning of the outbreak, including 3,234 tests conducted over the past 24 hours.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The US coronavirus case count jumped by almost 30,000 within a 24-hour period, with over 2,000 new fatalities, the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Coronavirus Resource Centre showed on Friday.
The United States has recorded 29,515 new cases in the given period, with 27,327 registered the previous day.
A total of 2,029 people died over the past day, bringing the cumulative death tally to more than 63,000.
The United States has reached a total of 1,070,032 COVID-19 cases, according to JHU data.
"Forecasts point to a severe drop in GDP in 2020, by 9.2 percent, primarily due to a decrease in domestic demand”, Nadia Calvino, deputy prime minister and minister of economic affairs, said at a press conference.
The deepest drop is expected in the current second quarter, followed by a gradual economic recovery. A significant rebound is projected to come in 2021.
Unemployment, according to the government's outlook, will jump from the current 14.41 percent to 19 percent by the end of the year.
"Air passenger services between Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be safeguarded through a £5.7 million government investment, announced today by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps", the Department for Transport said in a statement.
The funds will be used to pay the airlines Aer Lingus and Loganair, which fly from London to Belfast and Derry.
"Maintaining air links between Great Britain and Northern Ireland is vital. We must ensure that critical workers can continue to fly over the Irish Sea, and today’s investment in these lifeline services guarantees that", Shapps said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Indonesia has confirmed 433 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of patients to 10,551, the Health Ministry said on Friday.
According to the ministry's update, the death toll is at 800 after another eight fatalities have been registered. The number of recoveries has increased by 69 to 1,591.
In late March, President Joko Widodo declared a health emergency to halt the spread of COVID-19, which was extended in April until 29 May.
I can confirm that we are past the peak of this disease.
— Boris Johnson #StayHomeSaveLives (@BorisJohnson) May 1, 2020
We are past the peak and we are on the downward slope.
And we have so many reasons to be hopeful for the long term.
But we can only defeat coronavirus by our collective discipline and working together.
TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel has risen to 16,004, with 58 registered overnight and the death toll has increased by one to 223, the Health Ministry said on Friday.
The number of recoveries grew by 197 people, bringing the total to 8,758. The number of people in critical condition stands at 105, with 83 of them being in need of lung ventilation treatment.
The number of active COVID-19 cases has decreased to 7,023 as of Friday morning.
"It is disappointing that the UK government stands out globally as being one of the few countries not to be supporting its aviation sector", Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye told Reuters.
"I think it comes back to a lack of understanding perhaps of just how vital aviation is to the rest of the economy... The Americans, the first thing they did was to provide for national support to their airlines and airports. The French are doing the same thing, as are the Germans. In the UK we've seen Flybe go bust, and we might see the same thing happen to Virgin [Atlantic]".
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has registered a record 7,933 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 114,431, the national coronavirus response centre said Friday.
On Thursday, Russia reported 7,099 new cases, which was also a record daily.
"Over the past 24 hours, 7,933 COVID-19 cases have been registered in 85 regions. Of these, 3,534 (or 44.5 percent) have been detected with people showing no clinical symptoms", the centre said in a statement.
This is a 7.4 percent increase from the 106,498 cumulative cases recorded a day before.
Of the new cases, 3,561 were registered in Moscow, 797 in the Moscow Region, and 349 in St. Petersburg (compared to yesterday's 3,093, 793, and 336, respectively).
The country's COVID-19 death toll has increased by 96 (101 yesterday) to 1,169.
A total of 1,601 patients have recovered over the past 24 hours (1,333 yesterday), bringing the total number of cured people to 13,220.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, 1,639 new cases have been confirmed in the country over the past 24 hours, while the death toll rose by 193, bringing the overall number of fatalities to 6,481.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A court in Brazil has ruled that President Jair Bolsonaro release the results of his coronavirus tests within two days, Brazilian media reported on Friday.
According to the broadcaster G1, federal judge Ana Lucia Petri Betto has requested the "results of all the tests that the president has undergone".
The results have to be provided within 48 hours, with each day beyond the deadline is punishable by a fine of 5,000 reais ($911).
The ruling reportedly came in response to a petition published in the Sao Paulo official bulletin.
In March, Bolsonaro travelled to the United States with a delegation of which 20 members later tested positive for COVID-19. The Brazilian president himself has undergone several tests but has consistently rejected testing positive.
Should the court order reveal that he, in fact, was infected and concealed it, the president, who so far has felt free to breach social distancing and actively communicated with people in public, can be held liable to the point of impeachment.
