A pedestrian walks by closed outdoor retail huts in Madrid, Spain, April 13, 2020. Italy, Spain and France reported a slowdown in new coronavirus cases. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)
MOSCOW/MADRID/LONDON/ROME/PARIS/BERLIN/LAGOS/CAPE TOWN/LIMA - Russia on Sunday reported a record rise of 6,060 new coronavirus cases over the previous 24 hours, bringing its nationwide tally to 42,853, the Russian coronavirus crisis response center said.
Spain reported 410 more deaths from the coronavirus, the fewest in almost a month, while German cases rose by the least in four days as the nation prepares to loosen some of the restrictions on public life.
Fallout from the coronavirus is likely to trigger the worst recession in the European Union’s history and member nations have been struggling to come up with a coordinated response to the crisis. The lack of leadership has been compounded by President Donald Trump’s suspicion of international cooperation. This week he suspended US funding for the World Health Organization (WHO), saying it had botched the response to the pandemic.
A group of 13 countries including Germany, France and the UK issued a joint statement Saturday noting the “critical role” of the WHO in tackling the virus outbreak. In an apparent rebuke to Trump, the so-called Ministerial Coordination Group on Covid-19, said a “strong and coordinated global health response” is needed.
Next week promises to be crucial for European investors as they try to gauge the economic impact of the outbreak. On Thursday, global data will start to quantify the damage, while on the same day the EU is due to hold a summit to agree on its rescue package and the UK is set to revise its borrowing plans.
Russia
Russia identified 6,060 new infections in 24 hours, setting another daily record with an increase of 27 percent. The total number of cases rose to 42,853, with 48 new deaths bringing the number of fatalities to 361, Russia’s coronavirus information center reported.
The pace of new cases was 17.6 percent on Saturday and less than 15 percent in the preceding two days.
“The situation is completely under control,” President Vladimir Putin said in a Russian Orthodox Easter address focused on the impact of coronavirus. “We have everything we need: a healthy, strong economy, scientific potential, medical resources and a highly professional health-care system.”
Spain
Spain reported the smallest increase in the number of deaths in four weeks on Sunday, while new infections slowed compared with previous days. Coronavirus deaths rose by 410 to 20,453 on Sunday, the smallest one-day increase since March 22, when 394 people died, according to the Spanish Health Ministry’s daily report.
In total 195,944 people have been infected in Spain, with 4,218 new cases detected in the past 24 hours. That’s a decline after four consecutive days with new cases above 5,000.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he would ask lawmakers to extend the lockdown until May 9 rather than lift it on April 25.
“Spain has contained the brutal attack of the pandemic,” Sanchez said in a nationally televised speech. “The gains aren’t enough yet, and they are fragile.”
Italy
Italy’s daily death toll declined to 482, the lowest since April 12. Europe’s hardest-hit country last week extended its lockdown until May 3, even though there are signs that new cases are peaking.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the country will stick to its plan to start easing a nationwide lockdown no earlier than May 4. The government won’t change its timeline despite signs that measures to contain and treat Covid-19 are bearing fruit, Conte said in a statement on Facebook following a meeting with national and regional leaders and medical and scientific professionals.
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Belgium
Belgium reported 230 deaths from coronavirus during the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 5,683. Fatalities fell for a fourth day in a row and are down 45 percent from Thursday.
Total confirmed cases as reported Saturday rose by 1,313 to 38,496. While 265 patients infected with the virus were admitted to hospitals, 409 were discharged.
Switzerland
Switzerland’s economic affairs minister Guy Parmelin indicated in an interview with SonntagsZeitung that restaurants may open soon.
The country also plans to spend up to 2.2 billion Swiss francs (US$2.3 billion) on medical equipment including 550 million protective masks and 1,000 new ventilators, NZZ am Sonntag reports citing a list that the Federal Council provided to a parliamentary finance committee.
Germany
In Germany, which plans to ease some restrictions on commercial life on Monday after a four-week shutdown, new cases increased the most in a week.
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The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle arrives in the bay of Toulon, southern France, April 12, 2020. The Defense Ministry said in a statement that around 40 sailors showed symptoms compatible with COVID-19, the disease the coronavirus causes. (DANIEL COLE / AP)
France
France reported 642 new deaths, the smallest increase in five days, while the number of hospitalized patients, including those in intensive care, declined further.
“The decline in the need for equipment and staffing for intensive care is confirmed, but we’re still at an exceptional level, far above the usual maximum in France,” the French Health Ministry said in a statement Saturday.
UK
Deaths in the UK rose by 888 from Friday, increasing the death toll to more than 15,000. Only Spain, Italy and France have suffered more deaths in Europe. The British Medical Association warned that the country risks running out of protective gear for hospital staff.
At the same time, senior UK government ministers have drawn up a three-phase plan that would allow schools to reopen as early as May 11, the Sunday Times reported.
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The proposal, to be presented to Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he returns to work, also envisages the reopening of clothing stores and garden centers, and the resumption of full bus and rail services.
A second phase, beginning in late May or early June would let more businesses reopen, while pubs and stadium events wouldn’t be allowed to until at least July.
South Africa
South Africa on Saturday reported 251 new cases of COVID-19, the highest surge within 24 hours since the country recorded its first case last month.
The total number of infections has reached 3,034, said South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. Two more patients have died of the disease, bringing the death toll to 52, Mkhize added.
A boy wearing a face mask carries a small bowl of "githeri", or mixed beans and maize, for him to eat as he walks past an informational mural warning people about the risk of the new coronavirus, painted by graffiti artists from the Mathare Roots youth group, in the Mathare slum, or informal settlement, of Nairobi, Kenya, April 18, 2020. (BRIAN INGANGA / AP)
Peru
Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra announced on Saturday that his government has decided to suspend face-to-face classes indefinitely due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in the country.
As of Saturday, Peru has reported 14,420 positive cases and 348 deaths from the virus.
Nigeria
The Nigerian president’s chief of staff died on Friday from COVID-19, the presidency said on Saturday, making him the most high-profile person in the country to die in the coronavirus outbreak.
Abba Kyari had acted as the gatekeeper to 77-year-old President Muhammadu Buhari. After his re-election last year, Buhari ordered ministers to channel all communications through him. Kyari had underlying health problems including diabetes.
Ecuador
The Ecuadorian Ministry of Public Health reported on Saturday 456 fatalities and 9,022 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the country, with the southwestern province of Guayas as the epicenter of the virus.
The Ecuadorian vice minister of governance and health surveillance, Francisco Xavier Solorzano, presented the newest report on the advance of the virus on Saturday and urged citizens to stay in their homes, as the virus "is quite contagious, aggressive" and "does not move alone, but with the movement of people."
