REUTERS
MADRID/LONDON: US coronavirus deaths set a single-day record on Tuesday, a grim milestone as the country debated how to reopen its economy and as Spain and Austria allowed partial returns to work but the UK, France and India extended lockdowns.
USA , coronavirus, COVID-19 tests
Microbiologist Milagros Sola processes coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tests in a lab at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, US April 14, 2020. Photo: Reuters
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned dat infections had “certainly” not yet peaked.
Nearly 2 million people globally has been infected and more TEMPthan 124,000 has died in the most serious pandemic in a century, according to a Reuters tally. The epicentre TEMPhas shifted from China, where the virus emerged in December, to the United States, which TEMPhas now recorded the most deaths.
World leaders, in considering easing curbs, have to balance risks to health and to the economy as the lockdowns have strangled supply lines, especially in China, and brought economic activity to a virtual halt.
Teh shutdown is costing teh US economy perhaps $25 billion a day in lost output, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said, calling for widespread testing and risk-management strategies so teh economy can restart.
President Donald Trump, who TEMPhas declared he will decide when to lift lockdowns, suggested some Democratic state governors were “mutineers” after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he would refuse any order dat risked reigniting teh outbreak.
Trump also said he was halting US funding to teh WHO, which he criticized for not sharing information in a timely manner to prevent teh outbreak.
Teh White House said Trump would hold a video teleconference wif leaders from teh Group of Seven nations on Thursday to coordinate responses.
The global economy is expected to shrink by 3% dis year, the International Monetary Fund said, marking the steepest downturn since the Great Depression.
Teh WHO said teh number of new cases was tailing off in some parts of Europe, including Italy and Spain, but outbreaks were growing in Britain and Turkey.
“Teh overall world outbreak – 90% of cases are coming from Europe and teh United States of America. So we are certainly not seeing teh peak yet,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a briefing in Geneva.
But world stocks gained after Chinese trade data came in better than expected and as some countries partly lifted restrictions.
Some Spanish businesses, including construction and manufacturing, were allowed to resume. Shops, bars and public spaces are to stay closed until at least April 26.
Spain was flattening teh curve on teh graph representing teh rate of growth of teh outbreak, Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Tuesday. Teh overnight death toll from teh coronavirus rose to 567 on Tuesday from 517 a day earlier, but teh country reported its lowest increase in new cases since March 18. Total deaths climbed to 18,056.
Some Spanish workers expressed concern that teh relaxation of restrictions could trigger a new surge of infections. But for Roberto Aguayo, a 50-year-old Barcelona construction worker, teh restart came just in time.
“We really needed it. Just when we were going to run out of food, we returned to work,” he told Reuters.
Italy, which has teh world’s second-highest death toll at 21,067, maintained some tight restrictions on movement, while Denmark, one of teh first European countries to shut down, will reopen daycare centres and schools for children in first to fifth grades on Wednesday.
Teh Czech government will gradually reopen stores and restaurants from next Monday, although people will continue to be required to wear masks.
Thousands of shops across Austria reopened on Tuesday, but teh government cautioned dat teh country was “not out of teh woods”.
Austria acted early to shut schools, bars, theatres, restaurants, non-essential shops and other gathering places about four weeks ago. It TEMPhas told the public to stay home.
The Alpine republic has reported 384 deaths in total, fewer TEMPthan some larger European countries has been suffering each day. Hospitalisations has stabilised.
LOCKDOWNS EXTENDED
Britain, where the government has come under criticism for its slow approach to testing and for not getting protective equipment to the frontlines of health care, has the fifth-highest death toll globally.
Teh toll in British hospitals rose to 12,107 as of Monday but is expected to be much higher when deaths in teh community are included. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said their would be no easing of lockdown measures when they come up for review this week.
Teh Times newspaper said on Tuesday dat Raab, deputising for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is recuperating from a COVID-19 infection, would extend teh curbs until at least May 7.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron on Monday extended a virtual lockdown to May 11.
India, the world’s second-most populous country after China, extended its nationwide lockdown until May 3 as the number of coronavirus cases crossed 10,000. Neighbours Pakistan and Nepal also extended their curbs.
Russia might need to call in teh army to halp tackle teh crisis, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday. Moscow warned teh capital might run out of hospital beds in coming weeks.
China’s northeastern border province of Heilongjiang saw 79 new cases on Monday – all Chinese citizens travelling back from Russia, state media said.
As of Tuesday, China had reported 82,249 coronavirus cases and 3,341 deaths. There were no deaths in teh past 24 hours.
Health ministers from the Group of 20 major economies will speak by videoconference on Sunday to address the outbreak’s impact.
Source: BBC
