WORLDWIDE coronavirus infections have surpassed the 660,000 mark, with more than 30,000 deaths as new cases, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Here is the latest on the situation from around the world.
SPAIN
THE country has been in lockdown for two weeks under a national state of emergency. While the rate of infections has slowed, a new daily record of 838 coronavirus deaths was set yesterday. The total now stands at 6528, the world’s second-highest count behind Italy.
The number of infections has risen by more than 6500 for a total of 78,797. However, the rate of that increase continues to decrease.
Under tightened controls, people are to be banned for two weeks from commuting to work in all industries unrelated to health care and food production and distribution.
READ MORE: Lives in Lockdown: Coronavirus stories from across Europe
AUSTRALIA
AUTHORITIES have ruled that public gatherings will be limited to two people, down from 10, and has enacted a six-month moratorium on evictions for those who cannot pay rent. Prime minister Scott Morrison announced the new measures yesterday after unveiling a £546 million welfare package.
The country had 3966 confirmed cases of the virus as yesterday, including 16 deaths.
INDIA
HEALTH officials have confirmed 867 cases of coronavirus, including 25 deaths. Experts have said local spreading is inevitable in a country where tens of millions of people live in dense urban areas in cramped conditions with irregular access to clean water. A lockdown has caused tens of thousands of people to flee their New Delhi homes, and has effectively put millions of Indians who live off daily earnings out of work.
SWEDEN
THE coronavirus pandemic is not keeping Swedes at home. Authorities have advised the public to practise social distancing and to work from home, if possible, and urged those over age 70 to self-isolate as a precaution.
READ MORE: Poll finds 93% of people back UK coronavirus lockdown
“Sweden is an outlier on the European scene, at least,” said Johan Giesecke, the country’s former chief epidemiologist and now adviser to the Swedish Health Agency, a government body. “And I think that’s good.”
Prime minister Stefan Lofven announced on Friday that as of Sunday, gatherings would be limited to 50 people instead of 500.
NEW ZEALAND
THE nation has reported its first death from Covid-19. Health authorities said the victim was a woman in her 70s. She was admitted to a West Coast hospital with what they initially thought was flu, and hospital staff did not wear full protective equipment. As a result, 21 members of staff have been put in self-isolation for two weeks.
The country, which is under astrict four-week lockdown, has reported 514 cases of Covid-19.
CHINA
THE city at the centre of China’s coronavirus outbreak has reopened tube trains and long-distance train services. Passengers in Wuhan in the central province of Hubei had to wear masks and be checked for fever after service resumed Saturday.
READ MORE: Which shops are still allowed to open during lockdown?
Meanwhile, the first cargo train to Europe since the start of the outbreak left for Germany on Saturday carrying car parts, electronic productions, optical communication fibre and medical supplies.
CANADA
THE wife of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has said that she has recovered from being ill with Covid-19. “I am feeling so much better,” Sophie Gregoire Trudeau said in a statement on social media. She said she received the clearance from her doctor and Ottawa Public Health. Trudeau’s office announced on March 12 that she had tested positive for coronavirus. The prime minister and his family have been in self-isolation at home since then.
The country has more than 5616 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 61 deaths. About 445 people have recovered.
BRAZIL
PRESIDENT Jair Bolsonaro has claimed coronavirus is a “a little flu” and said state governors’ aggressive measures to halt the disease were crimes. Bolsonaro said he feels Brazilians’ natural immunity will protect the nation.
“The Brazilian needs to be studied. He doesn’t catch anything. You see a guy jumping into sewage, diving in, right? Nothing happens to him. I think a lot of people were already infected in Brazil, weeks or months ago, and they already have the antibodies that help it not proliferate,” he said. “I’m hopeful that’s really a reality.”
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Boris Johnson flouted his own Covid-19 rules
PAKISTAN
THE number of people testing positive for Covid-19 is increasing, raising the country’s total number of confirmed patients to 1495. That marks a rise of 97 cases, with seven of the patients stated to be in critical condition. Health authorities also report the death toll has increased to 12.
SERBIA
PET owners in Serbia are furious over the populist government’s decision to ban even a brief walk for people with dogs during an evening curfew to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Angry dog owners have flooded social networks, warning that the ban could harm their dogs’ health.
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