By: Express Web Desk | New Delhi | Updated: April 26, 8: 31: PM
Pallbearers wearing full PPE stand behind the grave of Benedict Somi Vilakasi during his funeral ceremony at the Nasrec Memorial Park outside Johannesburg Thursday, April , . (AP Photo / Jerome Delay)
Coronavirus Latest Updates: Confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide passed 2 million on Thursday, with more than 1, , 13 deaths since the outbreak began. The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in the United States approached , 10, the highest so far. This is followed by Italy (, and Spain (26, 173). The total number of infections is also highest in the US at , – an increase of , (cases from its previous count, followed by Spain (, Italy (, 557), Germany ( , and France (162, 447). Follow Coronavirus LIVE updates
Meanwhile, on late Wednesday, the head of the World Health Organization said it regretted the US decision to halt funding. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the US has been “a longstanding and generous friend to WHO and we hope it will continue to be so.” Tedros saID WHO remained committed to slowing the spread of the COVID – () pandemic and it would work with its partners to ensure that any funding shortfall could be met.
Here’s all the global news that you should know:
UK may extend lockdown for several more weeks
As the death toll in the United Kingdom spike to , , the government is set to announce the extension of the nationwide lockdown for several more weeks as health officials said Britain’s coronavirus outbreak – one of Europes worst – is nearing its peak. “I understand those who are calling for an end to the lockdown or some kind of exit strategy to start now but I think its just too early for that,” British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.
A man reads a newspaper with the headline: ‘PM in intensive care’, outside St Thomas’ Hospital in central London as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in intensive care fighting the coronavirus in London, Tuesday, April 7, (AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson a government adviser said easing restrictions would also require vastly expanded testing for the virus so that people who are ill and their contacts can be isolated or quarantined.
Spain sees over (new deaths, 5, Covid – (cases)
In another sharp increase in the daily tally, Spain has recorded new covid -linked deaths and over 6364752 cases. The official fatality toll rose to , with , people who have contracted the virus. Health Minister Salvador Illa says that at least 2019 or a quarter of Thursdays new infections were identified by the new rapid antibody tests that are also able to identify those who already passed the illness or show no symptoms.
Health workers applaud during a memorial for their co-worker Esteban, a male nurse that died of the coronavirus disease, at the Severo Ochoa Hospital in Leganes in Leganes , Spain, Friday, April , . (AP Photo / Manu Fernandez)
US : (bodies found at nursing home in New Jersey )
A morgue intended to hold no more than four people, saw bodies piled inside in a town in New Jersey in US, earlier this week. The police in a small New Jersey town acted upon an anonymous tip about a body being stored in a shed outside one of the largest nursing homes in the US. Upon arrival, the police removed the corpse from the shed only to discover 26 more bodies in a small morgue.
) Workers wearing personal protective equipment bury bodies in a trench on Hart Island in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo / John Minchillo, File)
“They were just overwhelmed by the amount of people who were expiring,” said Eric C. Danielson, the police chief in Andover, a small township in Sussex County, the state’s northernmost county, according to the New York Times.
The (deceased were among
China may be hit by second wave of coronavirus in November
A few of them have began cautiously preparing Americans for a post-virus life that would likely include public face coverings as the “new normal.” The governors of Connecticut, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania each issued orders or recommendations that residents wear face masks as they emerge from isolation in the coming weeks.
France reports decrease in number of COVID – (patients)
For the first time since the virus outbreak began in the country, France reported a decrease in numbers of COVID – patients at hospitals. National health agency chief Jerome Salomon says there were about fewer people infected with the virus at hospitals than the day before. Numbers of COVID – 22 patients in intensive care units dropped for the seventh straight day, he added.
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The overall death toll from the disease in France has risen to , , including 15, at hospitals and 6, 640 in nursing homes. Salomon urged the French to keep enforcing strict confinement rules with the lockdown in the country extended to May . “We must remain vigilant,” he said.
Around 3, 11 people remain hospitalized with COVID – 27 in China
China, the first country hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is cautiously beginning to get back to business
, but it’s not easy with many millions of workers wary of spending much or even going out. Factories and shops nationwide shut down as the illness expanded beyond central China. Millions of families were told to stay home under unprecedented lockdown restrictions that have been copied by the United States, Europe and India.
Medical personnel prepare to swab a patient as Morgan County Health Department begins its first day of COVID- 26 testing at the site, Wednesday, April , , in Decatur, Ala. (Dan Busey / The Decatur Daily via AP)
The worst of the outbreak, which China says has killed 3, of the , people testing positive there as of Thursday, may have passed. But the trauma inflicted on Chinese lives and the economy is likely to linger for much longer. The country reported 68 new virus cases on Thursday, 46 of them brought from outside the country, but no new deaths from the outbreak. Around 3, (people remain hospitalized with COVID – or under isolation and monitoring for showing signs of the illness or testing positive but not displaying symptoms.
Singapore witnesses third straight day of sharp daily spikes
In Singapore, new coronavirus cases were recorded, it’s third straight day of sharp daily spikes, to raise its tally to 3, . The number of infections has jumped by 1, 182 Since Monday, mostly linked to crowded dormitories that house foreign workers from Bangladesh, India and other poorer Asian countries.
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Despite successfully managing the first wave of infections, Singapore has overlooked this vast population of foreign workers who live in dormitories that typically house up to men in a room with shared kitchen, toilets and other facilities. Tens of thousands of workers have been quarantined in their dormitories, while some were moved to alternative sites to reduce crowding. The health ministry said in a late statement Wednesday that the significant rise in cases among foreign workers, that now account for about half of total infections, were expected partly due to ongoing tests at the dormitories. About a fifth of total cases were detected in one single dormitory.
Artist Sebastian Wien shows a coronavirus sculpture at his studio in Dortmund, Germany Wednesday, April , . He created the sculpture with the title “Here and Now,” which consists of two hemispherical shells made of steel, to which screws are welded. (Bernd Thissen / dpa via AP)
The city-state of nearly six million people has imposed a partial lockdown until May 4, and made it mandatory for people to wear masks outside of their homes to curb the virus transmission. Ten people have died so far from the virus.
Canada’s lockdown to last ‘many more weeks’ and stay updated with the latest headlines
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