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Coronavirus live news: confirmed global cases approaching 1 million | Coronavirus live news: confirmed global cases approaching 1 million |
(31 minutes later) | |
Spain death toll passes 10,000; Italy reports 760 new deaths, taking total to 13,915, but a slower growth rate in infections; Thailand imposes national curfew | Spain death toll passes 10,000; Italy reports 760 new deaths, taking total to 13,915, but a slower growth rate in infections; Thailand imposes national curfew |
The mayor of Ecuador’s second city, Gayaquil, has called on the government to collect corpses, as residents complain they have been forced to spend days with the bodies of deceased relatives, Dan Collyns reports from Lima. | |
Cynthia Viteri, who has herself tested positive for the coronavirus, appealed to the government in a desperate video plea published on Twitter. She said: | |
The coronavirus is sweeping through the coastal city, amid reports of families forced to cohabit with bodies of their relatives for days. CCTV images show people abandoning corpses in the streets. | |
Other images show coffins sitting on the floor waiting to be collected from outside of hospitals. One reportedly shows the body of woman in a wheelchair in the entrance to the emergency room of a local hospital. | |
City officials have been forced to deny they are planning to dig a mass grave to cope with the dead; shipping containers have been brought in to temporarily house the corpses. | |
CNN en Español reports that the number of Covid-19 deaths could rise to 3,500 in Guayaquil. Without beds or medical staff, the healthcare system has collapsed, it says. | |
Ecuador has been one of the South American countries hardest hit countries by the coronavirus. The government reported 3,163 cases of Covid-19 and 12o deaths on Thursday. The true figure is thought to be higher. | |
Jorge Wated, the government official appointed to deal with the disposal of the dead during the coronavirus crisis, said that 2,500 to 3,500 were expected to die from Covid-19 in Guayas, the province encompassing Guayaquil, alone, AP reported. | |
Troops are patrolling the city’s streets to enforce a strict lockdown. Even so, hundreds of people have also been arrested for breaching the quarantine - which includes a night time curfew between 4pm and 8am. | |
Ecuador’s president Lenín Moreno is expected to announce new measures to combat the crisis later on Thursday, the government says. | |
Authorities in Germany have so far received 1.1 million applications for “immediate financial help” from self-employed and small businesses, Kate Connolly reports from Berlin. | |
One billion euros has already been paid to them and a total of 1.8 billion euros worth of payments has been approved, and is due to be received any day. | |
Most payments are going to restaurants, hairdressers and cosmetic salons and business consultants, far less to craftspeople and construction workers, who are still able to work as long as they can keep the physical distancing rules. | |
Self-employed people have turned to social media to express their amazement at how unbureaucratic the access to the funds has been, just days after the measures were passed as emergency legislation in Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag. | |
Freelancers, self-employed and small companies are eligible for the funds. Those with up to five workers can get a one-off payment of 9,000 euros, for businesses with up to 10 workers, it’s 15,000 euros.The monies do not have to be paid back. | |
Meanwhile Jens Spahn, the increasingly popular German health minister, who joked today his more accurate job title was “mask procurement manager” has said he will personally enter into discussions with employers in the health sector to ensure that nurses and auxiliaries receive surplus pay in reflection of their efforts during the coronavirus crisis. He said this afternoon: | |
Doctors at a public hospital in northern Mexico staged a protest over working conditions on Wednesday after after at least 26 members of medical staff fell ill with Covid-19 and one died. | |
The hospital in Monclova, Coahuila, was undergoing a deep clean on Thursday, the Associated Press reports. It accounts for the majority of the 39 reported cases of medical staff from Mexico’s national health system infected with the virus. | |
The specialist’s death led to the protest by hospital staff, who refused to work until the authorities give them the necessary equipment to avoid contagion. The first shipment of personal protective equipment arrived at the hospital on Wednesday, a day after the doctor’s death. | |
The national health system also said the hospital’s director had been removed from his position and put into isolation because he was over 60. | |
There was no immediate explanation of why personal protective equipment was only sent to the hospital this week. Mexico’s federal health officials have said they had been preparing for the virus since early January. | |
According to a statement from the Coahuila state government, everyone who works in the hospital’s emergency department is being screened for symptoms of the illness. | |
The outbreak raised questions about the preparedness of the public health system to confront a pandemic that is just beginning to gather momentum in the country. | |
Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said on Thursday that 80 public hospitals were being converted to handle patients infected with the coronavirus. In a subsequent clarification, he said that just segments of 80 hospitals were being isolated, with on average eight beds and ventilators reserved for coronavirus patients. | |
There have been 37 deaths in Mexico and more than 1,300 confirmed infections. | |
As coronavirus lockdowns have moved many in-person activities online, the use of the video conferencing platform Zoom has escalated quickly. So too have concerns about its security, Kari Paul reports. | As coronavirus lockdowns have moved many in-person activities online, the use of the video conferencing platform Zoom has escalated quickly. So too have concerns about its security, Kari Paul reports. |
There has been a 535% rise in daily traffic to the Zoom.us download page in the last month, according to analysis from the web analytics firm SimilarWeb. Its app for iPhone has been the most downloaded app in the country for weeks, according to the market research firm Sensor Tower. Even politicians and other high-profile figures including the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the former US federal reserve chair Alan Greenspan use it for conferencing as they work from home. | There has been a 535% rise in daily traffic to the Zoom.us download page in the last month, according to analysis from the web analytics firm SimilarWeb. Its app for iPhone has been the most downloaded app in the country for weeks, according to the market research firm Sensor Tower. Even politicians and other high-profile figures including the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the former US federal reserve chair Alan Greenspan use it for conferencing as they work from home. |
Security experts, however, have called Zoom “a privacy disaster” and “fundamentally corrupt” as allegations of the company mishandling user data snowball. | Security experts, however, have called Zoom “a privacy disaster” and “fundamentally corrupt” as allegations of the company mishandling user data snowball. |
As its president ordered workers to stay away from their jobs until the end of the month, Russia is considering aggressive new surveillance methods to enforce a mandatory lockdown across its 11 time zones, Andrew Roth reports from Moscow. | As its president ordered workers to stay away from their jobs until the end of the month, Russia is considering aggressive new surveillance methods to enforce a mandatory lockdown across its 11 time zones, Andrew Roth reports from Moscow. |
The details of the new system have not been confirmed, but official statements and leaked plans have indicated they could include mobile apps that track users’ location, CCTV cameras with facial recognition software, QR codes, mobile phone data and credit card records. | The details of the new system have not been confirmed, but official statements and leaked plans have indicated they could include mobile apps that track users’ location, CCTV cameras with facial recognition software, QR codes, mobile phone data and credit card records. |
The hastily developed patchwork to monitor individuals’ movements could tell authorities whether Russians had broken coronavirus lockdowns for reasons other than those allowed: seeking medical care, shopping for groceries, visiting the pharmacy or traveling to an authorised job. Leaked plans indicate that parts of the system may go online this weekend. | The hastily developed patchwork to monitor individuals’ movements could tell authorities whether Russians had broken coronavirus lockdowns for reasons other than those allowed: seeking medical care, shopping for groceries, visiting the pharmacy or traveling to an authorised job. Leaked plans indicate that parts of the system may go online this weekend. |
Italy registered 760 more deaths from coronavirus on Thursday, 33 more than on Wednesday, bringing the total to 13,915, Angela Giuffrida reports from Rome. | |
The growth rate in new infections was slower compared with Wednesday, with 2,477 more cases registered, a day-to-day rise of 3%, compared to highs of 15% during the early phase of the emergency. | |
The infection rate has also slowed again in Lombardy, the worst-affected region, with 1,292 new cases registered on Thursday compared with 1,565 on Wednesday. | |
The Italian government extended the country’s lockdown until 13 April on Wednesday. | |
“When the [scientific] data consolidate, we will begin to programme a gradual loosening of the restrictions,” the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, told the population. “I can’t tell you when that will be.” | “When the [scientific] data consolidate, we will begin to programme a gradual loosening of the restrictions,” the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, told the population. “I can’t tell you when that will be.” |
Ukraine has made an appeal to the US tycoon Elon Musk-, after he announced on Twitter that he had spare ventilators to ship to any country where they are needed. | Ukraine has made an appeal to the US tycoon Elon Musk-, after he announced on Twitter that he had spare ventilators to ship to any country where they are needed. |
The Ukrainian embassy in the United States posted replied, saying: “People in hospitals need ventilators. We are ready to cooperate!” | The Ukrainian embassy in the United States posted replied, saying: “People in hospitals need ventilators. We are ready to cooperate!” |
Ulana Suprun, a former health minister, also replied to Musk. | Ulana Suprun, a former health minister, also replied to Musk. |
Ukraine has confirmed 804 cases of the virus and 20 fatalities. | Ukraine has confirmed 804 cases of the virus and 20 fatalities. |
Continuing a response to the coronavirus pandemic that is becoming the envy of the world, German hospitals have increased their number of intensive care beds to 40,000, the chief of the country’s hospital federation said on Thursday. | Continuing a response to the coronavirus pandemic that is becoming the envy of the world, German hospitals have increased their number of intensive care beds to 40,000, the chief of the country’s hospital federation said on Thursday. |
Three out of four of the beds (30,000) are equipped with ventilators, Gerald Gass, the head of the German Hospital Federation, told Rheinischen Post daily, according to an AFP report. | Three out of four of the beds (30,000) are equipped with ventilators, Gerald Gass, the head of the German Hospital Federation, told Rheinischen Post daily, according to an AFP report. |
It comes after Berlin urged hospitals to double their intensive care bed capacity to 56,000, to deal with any potential surge in patients needing 24-hour care. About 2,000 intensive care beds are currently occupied by Covid-19 patients. Germany has also taken in more than 100 seriously ill patients from other EU nations. | It comes after Berlin urged hospitals to double their intensive care bed capacity to 56,000, to deal with any potential surge in patients needing 24-hour care. About 2,000 intensive care beds are currently occupied by Covid-19 patients. Germany has also taken in more than 100 seriously ill patients from other EU nations. |
Europe’s biggest economy has recorded 73,522 confirmed infections and 872 deaths, according to the disease control agency the Robert Koch Institute. | Europe’s biggest economy has recorded 73,522 confirmed infections and 872 deaths, according to the disease control agency the Robert Koch Institute. |
The speaker of Iran’s parliament, Ali Larijani, has contracted the coronavirus, the highest-ranking official among several senior government figures to catch the disease, the Associated Press reports. | The speaker of Iran’s parliament, Ali Larijani, has contracted the coronavirus, the highest-ranking official among several senior government figures to catch the disease, the Associated Press reports. |
The parliament in Iran announced Larijani’s illness on its website, saying he was receiving treatment in quarantine. | The parliament in Iran announced Larijani’s illness on its website, saying he was receiving treatment in quarantine. |
Iran’s health ministry said Thursday the coronavirus had killed another 124 people, pushing the country’s death toll to 3,160. | Iran’s health ministry said Thursday the coronavirus had killed another 124 people, pushing the country’s death toll to 3,160. |
In a rare acknowledgment of the severity of the outbreak by a senior Iranian official, the president, Hassan Rouhani, said the coronavirus may remain through the end of the Iranian year, which just began late last month, state TV reported Thursday. | In a rare acknowledgment of the severity of the outbreak by a senior Iranian official, the president, Hassan Rouhani, said the coronavirus may remain through the end of the Iranian year, which just began late last month, state TV reported Thursday. |
Jack Ma, the founder of Chinese wholesale online market Alibaba, has donated millions of dollars in medical aid around the world to help countries battling the coronavirus, including sending a million masks and 500,000 testing kits to the US. | Jack Ma, the founder of Chinese wholesale online market Alibaba, has donated millions of dollars in medical aid around the world to help countries battling the coronavirus, including sending a million masks and 500,000 testing kits to the US. |
But this week an attempt by Ma to make a similar donation to Cuba – which has itself been sending doctors around the world to help with coronavirus medical efforts – was blocked by the US government, reports Xinhua, China’s official news agency. | But this week an attempt by Ma to make a similar donation to Cuba – which has itself been sending doctors around the world to help with coronavirus medical efforts – was blocked by the US government, reports Xinhua, China’s official news agency. |
According to Xinhua, the US haulier hired by Alibaba to carry face masks, test kits and ventilators to the Caribbean island pulled out at the last minute, citing backdoor sanctions against Cuba implemented last year by the Trump administration. | According to Xinhua, the US haulier hired by Alibaba to carry face masks, test kits and ventilators to the Caribbean island pulled out at the last minute, citing backdoor sanctions against Cuba implemented last year by the Trump administration. |
Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, enacted by the Trump government last May, gives US nationals and companies the right to sue foreign citizens and enterprises investing in properties nationalised by the Cuban government. | Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, enacted by the Trump government last May, gives US nationals and companies the right to sue foreign citizens and enterprises investing in properties nationalised by the Cuban government. |
Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba’s president, criticised the move on Twitter on Wednesday. He wrote: | Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba’s president, criticised the move on Twitter on Wednesday. He wrote: |