Covid-19 has killed at least 1,42,651 people around the world, with Europe accounting for more than two-thirds of the deaths. More than 2,128,751 cases have been reported from over 190 countries and territories. Of these cases, at least 5,39,000 are now considered recovered.
US: The confirmed coronavirus death toll in the United States surpassed 33,000 on Thursday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The tracker says 30,990 people have now died in the country from Covid-19 since the start of the global health crisis.
The US has the highest death toll in the world, followed by Italy with 21,645 dead although its population is just a fifth of that of the US. Spain has recorded 19,130 deaths, followed by France with 17,167.
Nearly 6,40,000 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the United States, which has seen a record number of deaths over the past two days. New York, the epicenter of the country’s Covid-19 epidemic, has suffered more than 14,000 deaths across the state alone.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump promised to unveil plans later Thursday to reopen the US economy, claiming his country has “passed the peak” of the coronavirus crisis despite the record daily death tolls.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo extended the state’s shutdown order Thursday until May 15, citing data showing conditions were improving but adding that “we have to continue what we are doing.” “I would like to see that infection rate get down even more,” Cuomo said at his daily briefing, reporting that 606 more people had died in the US COVID-19 epicenter, the lowest daily toll in 10 days.
UK death toll rises 861 to 13,729
The number of people in Britain who have died in hospital from the Covid-19 disease has risen by 861 to 13,729, according to daily health ministry figures on Thursday. After several days of decreasing numbers, it represents a spike of 100 on the previous day’s rate of increase. The latest figures also showed the number of people in Britain to have tested positive for Covid-19 passed 1,00,000.
Meanwhile, the UK Government is preparing to formally extend the initial three-week strict social distancing measures imposed last month to try and curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic as the country’s death toll from Covid-19 crosses 12,868. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is standing in for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he recuperates after testing positive for the virus, will chair a crucial meeting of the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (Cobra) on Thursday during which the Cabinet will finalise the plans for an extension.
Spain sees 551 new virus deaths
Spain’s coronavirus death toll soared past 19,000 on Thursday after another 551 people died of COVID-19, with the numbers reflecting a slowdown after nearly five weeks on lockdown. One of the worst-hit countries in the world, Spain has seen the increase in the number of deaths and infections come down over the past fortnight, with the overnight fatalities taking the toll to 19,130.
But there are growing concerns that the toll may be far higher, with regional authorities in Madrid and Catalonia insisting they each had thousands more victims than the official count.
Madrid, which by Thursday counted 6,877 deaths, has mooted a figure well above 10,000, while Catalonia, where some 3,855 have died, believes its toll to be nearly double that after changing counting method.
Iran says virus deaths rise 92 to 4,869
Iran on Thursday announced 92 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the third straight day that official fatalities remained in double digits in the Middle East’s worst-hit country.
Health Ministry spokesman Kinaoush Jahanpour told a news conference the latest deaths brought the official total to 4,869. He added 1,606 new infections had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 77,995 from 310,340 tests.
Of those confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus and admitted to hospital, 52,229 had been discharged after recovering, which he described as a “rising trend”. Another 3,594 patients are in critical condition.
There has been speculation abroad that the number of deaths and infections is higher than officially announced.
Italy probes suspicious care-home deaths
Italian justice officials have launched an investigation into the suspicious deaths of nearly 200 people in a Milan care home since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.
Investigators seized documents on Wednesday from the headquarters of Milan’s Lombardy regional government, media reports said. They were investigating the deaths of “around 180 people” at Milan’s Pio Albergo Trivulzio care home since Italy’s Covid-19 outbreak erupted in February, the AGI news agency said.
Italy has officially recorded 21,645 deaths from the virus — the world’s second-highest total after the United States. But most care-home deaths are not included in the official statistics and some doctors suspect Italy’s real toll might be twice as high.