Coronavirus latest: at a glance
Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:
Global infections head towards 800,000
Infections worldwide have passed 786,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, with 37,800 deaths. The three countries with the highest infections are: the United States with nearly 165,000 (see below), Italy with nearly 102,000 and Spain with just under 88,000. Italy retains the highest death toll (11,591), followed by Spain 7,716) and China (3,309).
US deaths pass grim milestone, as hospital ship arrives in New York
The US cases of Covid-19 rose to just under 165,000, with more than 3,000 deaths. The new infection figure is nearly double China’s (82,240) and fast approaching China’s death toll of 3,309. Late on Monday the US Navy ship Comfort docked in Manhattan, with its 1,000 beds to treat non-coronavirus patients to free up hospitals. A field hospital opened in New York City’s iconic Central Park, and will begin taking patients on Tuesday. US infectious disease experts warned smaller cities were about to witness rapid acceleration of cases.
China’s Wuhan city records no new cases for a week
The Chinese Health Commission says the centre of the outbreak, Wuhan, has not had a new cases of Covid-19 since 23 January, and some shopping areas were beginning to reopen. The commission also said there were just 2,161 cases across the country remaining, with 76,052 people recovered.
World Bank warns of ‘unprecedented global shock’
The World Bank says the pandemic could “bring growth to a halt and increase poverty”, according to its East Asia and Pacific chief economist, Aaditya Mattoo. Even in the best-case scenario, the region will see a sharp drop in growth, with China’s expansion slowing to 2.3%from 6.1% in 2019.
Japanese government resists calls for state of emergency
A government spokesman dismissed calls for the prime minister, Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency, as the country recorded nearly 2,000 cases and 56 deaths. The country’s economics minister warned that shutdowns in cities such as Tokyo or Osaka could have huge consequences on the world’s third largest economy. Australia’s infection rate slows Australia reported reported a sustained fall in the rate of new coronavirus infections, with the rate of
growth in new infections slowing from 25-30% a week ago to an average of 9% over the past three days.
Airlines call for help
American Airlines said it plans to seek $12bn in government aid to cover payroll costs over the next six months. On Monday EasyJet grounded its entire fleet of aircraft for at least two months and will seek to scale back plans for $5.5bn of spending, including payments for new planes from Airbus. Early on Tuesday, reports emerged that British Airways had cancelled all flights out of Gatwick.
Risk in middle age
The first comprehensive study of Covid-19 deaths and hospitalisations in mainland China has revealed in stark detail the increase in risk for coronavirus patients from middle age onwards, according to analysis published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases. It found that while the overall death rate for confirmed cases was 1.38%, the rate rose sharply with age – from 0.0016% in the under 10s, to 7.8% for those in their 80s and over.