Medical personnel at work in the intensive care unit of the hospital of Brescia, Italy – Copyright Claudio Furlan/LaPresse
Rome reported 427 new COVID-19 fatalities in a day, taking its death toll to 3,405, more than 150 ahead of China. Italy’s total stood at 1,016 just a week ago, but with 300-400 new deaths a day it has now tripled over that period.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged countries to focus on a global reaction to the deadly coronavirus rather than a nation-by-nation response to the crisis.In a virtual address, Guterres said that the global response was “only as strong as the weakest health system,” and urged richer nations to be ready to help poorer countries.”It has been proven that the virus can be contained – it must be contained,” he said.Unlike the 2008 financial crisis, he said, injecting capital into the banking system will not solve the devastating crisis that will be caused by COVID-19. He urged that low wage workers needed to be protected, “to ensure that the burden is not felt by those who can least afford it.”He also highlighted the fact that 800 million children were currently out of school and that it was women who faced the bulk of the burden.
The EU and UK have over 70,000 cases, with thousands of new cases every day, whereas Hubei province, where the coronavirus was first detected in December, detected no new cases for the first time on Thursday.”I am naturally following all of the instructions, as is my team. My message to all of those who are affected or in isolation from this: we will come out of this together,” Barnier wrote on Twitter. He is not the first case to be identified within EU institutions.
At a glance: key coronavirus developments
- Prince Albert of Monaco tests positive for COVID-19 coronavirus
- Coronavirus is biggest challenge for Germany since WW2, says Angela Merkel
- UK can ‘turn the tide’ on COVID-19 in 12 weeks, says Boris Johnson
- No new cases reported from source of COVID-19 in China’s Hubei or Wuhan
- The UK says schools will be closed from Friday.
- Budget airline Ryanair says it will ground nearly all flights from next week.
- EURO 2020 and Copa America football tournaments, set for June, put back to next year.
- Latest figures on new infections and deaths.