UK coronavirus toll jumps as Johnson leaves ICU: Live updates

UK PM remains in hospital as country’s death toll rises by 881 to 7,978 and confirmed cases worldwide top 1.5 million.

The United Kingdom’s coronavirus death toll rose by 881 in 24 hours, officials said on Thursday, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved out of intensive care but remained in hospital to receive treatment for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Spain reported 683 additional deaths, a lower number compared to the previous two days, while the overall number of fatalities in the United States linked to the coronavirus topped 15,000. 

More:

• Coronavirus: Which countries have confirmed cases?

• Coronavirus testing methods: What you need to know

• Doctor’s Note: Obesity and the coronavirus risk

There are now more than 1.5 million confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world. More than 90,000 people have died and some 339,000 have recovered.

Here are the latest updates.

Click here for Friday, April 10 updates

Thursday, April 9

23:08 GMT – Trump ‘encouraged’ that British PM Johnson is out of ICU

President Donald Trump says Americans are encouraged to learn that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is no longer in intensive care as he battles the coronavirus.

Trump said “that’s a tremendous statement, and we continue to pray for him and his fast recovery. That’s a very, very positive development.”

Trump spoke about Johnson during a daily press briefing at the White House.

20:26 GMT – Egypt reports 139 new cases, 15 deaths

Egypt reported 139 new cases, bringing its total since the start of the outbreak to 1,699, according to a health ministry statement.

The Arab world’s most populous country also recorded 15 new deaths, raising the total number of fatalities to 118.

19:29 GMT – Uganda president encourages people to exercise at home

In a Twitter post, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni “discouraged” people from jogging in groups.

“You do not have to go outdoors to exercise. Here is my demonstration of how you can exercise indoors and stay safe,” he wrote in a post, above a video demonstration. 

Read more here.

16:49 GMT – UK PM Boris Johnson remains in ICU

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson continues to make progress, four days after being admitted to hospital with COVID-19, but he remains in intensive care.

Johnson, 55, was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital on Sunday evening with a persistent high temperature and cough and was rushed to intensive care on Monday where he has since spent three nights receiving treatment.

“He’s still in intensive care but he continues to make positive steps forward and he’s in good spirits,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said at a news conference in Downing Street.

Meanwhile, UK officials signalled there was no end in sight yet for lockdown measures.

16:38 GMT – Death toll in Turkey rises to 908

Turkey’s health ministry said the country’s death toll rose to 908, after 96 more people lost their lives in the past 24 hours due to the virus.

The ministry added that 4,056 new cases have been confirmed, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 42,282.

16:23 GMT – UK death toll rises to 7,978

Britain’s coronavirus death toll rose by 881 to 7,978 people as of 16:00 GMT on April 8, Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said.

As of 08:00 GMT on April 9, a total of 243,421 had been tested, of which 65,077 tested positive, Raab said, speaking at the government’s daily news conference. 

Raab warned that the country hadn’t “yet reached the peak of the virus”.

16:14 GMT – New York sees highest single-day toll with 799 deaths

The US’ coronavirus epicenter of New York recorded a new single-day high of 799 COVID-19 deaths, but Governor Andrew Cuomo said the rate of hospitalisations continued to fall. 

Cuomo said 799 people died in the last 24 hours, outdoing the previous high of 779 announced on Wednesday, but added that the curve was flattening because of social confinement measures.

“We had a 200-net increase in hospitalizations, which you can see is the lowest number we’ve had since this nightmare started,” Cuomo told reporters, adding that intensive care admissions were also at the lowest yet.

16:08 GMT – Italy reports new cases, deaths 

The total number of confrimed cases in Italy rises to 143,626, while the death toll rises by 610 to a total of 18,279.

15:52 GMT – Turkey to track patients via smartphone app 

Turkey will introduce a smartphone application to track coronavirus patients and those they have been in contact with to ensure they remain at home in self-isolation, the presidency said.

The app, named the “Pandemic Isolation Tracking Project”, is being developed by the health ministry to stem the spread of the virus.     

If an individual goes outside, they will receive a text warning and will be contacted with an automatic call asking them to return home. If the individual repeatedly violates the rule, police will be notified and they will face the “necessary administrative measures and sanctions” but the presidency did not give details of what these might be.    

15:41 GMT – Germany’s Merkel pleads for ‘patience’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for “patience” in the coronavirus crisis, saying that society will have to “live with the virus” until a vaccine becomes available. 

“It will need patience… a lot will depend on whether people continue to keep their distance from one another and wash their hands,” said Merkel at a news conference.

Though the rate of infection has slowed in Germany in recent days, Merkel warned that COVID-19 “will not disappear before we have a vaccine to immunise the population: and that means living with this virus.”

The veteran leader said recent figures were cause for “cautious optimism”, but insisted that restrictions on public life would only be able to be rolled back on a step-by-step basis.  

15:36 GMT – Number of cases in Canada rises to 19,774

The number of cases in Canada increased to 19,774, up from 18,447 the day before, according to data provided by the public health agency.

The number of deaths increased to 461.

15:20 GMT – Iran’s Supreme Leader says create sense of Ramadan at home

Iran’s Supreme Leader called on Iranians to create the sense of Ramadan – due to begin later this month – in their homes, since public gatherings are banned as the country tries to contain the outbreak.

Schools and universities remain closed in the Islamic Republic and a ban on cultural, religious and sports gatherings has been imposed.

“Because of being deprived of public prayings, speeches and so on during Ramadan,  we should create the same senses in our homes,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech.

15:00 GMT – Hungary prolongs lockdown indefinitely 

Hungary has prolonged a nationwide lockdown indefinitely to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on his Facebook page, asking citizens to observe the order despite the Easter holiday.

Hungary has officially recorded 980 confirmed cases and 66 deaths in the pandemic.

14:47 GMT – US gig workers confused by financial relief aid

Amid record-high unemployment numbers, many gig workers in the United States wonder which benefits apply to them. 

Read more here.

14:11 GMT – Global number of cases surpass 1.5 million

The total number of positive cases around the world now stands at 1,502,618, according to data collected by John Hopkins University in the United States.

The total number of deaths is 89,915, while 339,775 people have recovered. 

14:05 – Botswana’s entire parliament quarantined 

All Botswana’s parliamentarians including President Mokgweetsi Masisi will be quarantined for 14 days and tested for the coronavirus, after a health worker screening lawmakers for the virus herself tested positive overnight.

The health worker had checked the temperatures of some of the lawmakers a day earlier during a special sitting of parliament, which was called to debate a proposal by Masisi to extend a state of emergency to six months.

12:13 GMT – Dutch coronavirus cases rise by 1,213 to 21,762 -authorities

The Netherlands reported 1,213 coronavirus cases, taking the total to 21,762, health authorities said, with 148 new deaths.

The country’s death toll stands at 2,396, the Netherlands’ Institute for Public Health (RIVM) said in its daily update.

The RIVM repeated that the real numbers are higher, as not all cases or deaths in the country are confirmed by testing.

12:12 GMT – Vietnam says 15,000 people linked to COVID-19 hotspot tested negative

More than 1,000 healthcare workers and 14,400 others linked to a coronavirus outbreak at a hospital in Hanoi have tested negative for the coronavirus, the Vietnamese capital’s ruling body said.

Bach Mai hospital, one of the country’s biggest medical centres, has been under lockdown since March 28 after authorities became concerned that cases there would spiral out of control.

“All 15,461 people tested negative for the virus. The outbreak in Bach Mai has been well controlled after the lockdown,” Hanoi People’s Committee chairman Nguyen Duc Chung said at a meeting, according to a statement on the ruling body’s website.

11:56 GMT – Pakistani taxi drivers give free rides to Spanish health workers

Pakistani taxi drivers in Barcelona has started an intitiative providing free rides for medical workers amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The initiative started at the beginning of Spain’s lockdown, in mid-March, as six Pakistani taxi drivers led by Shahbaz Ahmed discussed how medical workers would be able to return at night to their homes.

Since then, their effort has expanded to about 200 volunteers, including some drivers from other nationalities.

Read more here.

11:45 GMT – 107-year old Dutch woman recovers from coronavirus

A 107-year old Dutch woman has recovered from the coronavirus, probably becoming the oldest survivor of the pandemic in the world.

Cornelia Ras fell ill on March 17, the day after her 107th birthday, Dutch newspaper AD reported, after attending a church service with other residents of her nursing home on Goeree-Overflakkee, an island in the southwest of the country.

She and 40 others at the service were subsequently diagnosed as carrying the virus.

11:43 GMT – ‘EU is in danger’ – Spanish PM 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has issued an urgent warning that the European Union is in danger of disintegrating in the face of the coronavirus crisis.

“The EU is in danger if there is no solidarity,” Sanchez told parliament 

Spain is among the countries calling for common debt insurance, widely referred to as coronabonds, to tackle the economic fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic. Germany and other countries have so
far rejected the proposal.

11:31 GMT – Coronavirus reaches Amazon’s isolated Yanomami tribe

Brazil has announced the first coronavirus case among the Yanomami people, an Amazon indigenous group known for its remoteness and vulnerability to foreign diseases.

The patient, a 15-year-old boy, was being treated in an intensive care unit at a hospital in Boa Vista, the capital of the northern state of Roraima, officials said.

Read more here.

11:20 GMT – Russia cases surge past 10,000 after record daily rise

Russia reported a record one-day rise in cases of novel coronavirus, pushing the official tally to more than 10,000, a day after President Vladimir Putin said the coming weeks would prove decisive in the fight against the virus.

The number of cases jumped by 1,459 and 13 more people died, the national coronavirus crisis response centre said on its website. That brings the overall death toll to 76.

11:12 GMT – Nicaragua excludes political prisoners from mass release

Political prisoners were excluded from almost 2,000 inmates released early by Nicaragua because of the coronavirus pandemic, activists said.

The Interior Ministry said 1,700 people held in prisons across the country were let out and placed under house arrest supervised by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“In this way we fulfill our Christian commitment to promote family union, especially to also promote the social reintegration of people who have made mistakes in society,” Vice President Rosario Murillo told reporters on Wednesday.

11:00 GMT  – Four infected newborns among new cases in China – study 

New evidence from China suggests it is possible for expectant mothers to pass coronavirus on to their unborn babies in the womb, according to a new report.

Research published by scientists from the University of Wuhan in the European Respiratory Journal suggests that four infected new borns were among the 81,000 coronavirus cases confirmed in China by mid
March.

In all four cases the mothers were also infected with coronavirus and in three cases showed symptoms immediately before giving birth. The babies only showed mild symptoms and were not in need of ventilation
or treatment in intensive care.

More:

• China’s Wuhan lifts coronavirus lockdown

• Coronavirus: Which countries have confirmed cases?

• Coronavirus testing methods: What you need to know

09:45 GMT – Spain’s death toll surpasses 15,000

Spain’s number of daily coronavirus deaths slowed after two days of increase as 683 people succumbed in 24 hours, taking the country’s total to 15,238, the health ministry said.

Overall detected cases rose to 152,446 from 146,690 on Wednesday, it added.

09:21 GMT – Malaysia reports 109 new cases, 2 deaths

Malaysia reported 109 new coronavirus infections, raising its cumulative total to 4,228 cases as Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy grapples with the highest number of infections in the region.

The health ministry also reported two new deaths, raising the total number of fatalities to 67.

09:10 GMT – Lockdown drives jump in vodka and whisky sales in Russia

Russian retailers have seen a sharp spike in alcohol sales in recent weeks with consumers rushing to buy vodka, whisky and beer at a time when Moscow and other regions have imposed partial lockdowns.

In the last week of March, vodka sales across Russia’s largest retail chains jumped 31 percent in year-on-year terms, while whisky and beer purchases increased 47 percent and 25 percent respectively, Nielsen, a market research firm, found.

Sultan Khamzaev, head of Sober Russia which campaigns to reduce alcohol consumption, said the spike in sales was driven by long holidays, stress, fears that alcohol would run out, and a belief among many Russians that alcohol offers some protection against the new coronavirus.

08:53 GMT – China tackles coronavirus cluster brought from Russia 

The Chinese city of Suifenhe in northeastern Heilongjiang province, which has seen an influx of imported coronavirus cases from Russia in recent days, is building a temporary hospital to treat those who have been infected.

The hospital will provide more than 600 beds and is expected to be completed by April 11. The city, on the Russian border, has already placed residents under lockdown and closed the land border.

08:45 GMT – South Africa’s Ramaphosa defends WHO

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has thrown his support behind the WHO after it came under stinging attack from US leader Donald Trump over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

A statement from Ramaphosa’s office late Wednesday said he “reaffirms his appreciation for the exceptional leadership” of World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “from the very earliest stages of this unprecedented global health crisis”.

Ramaphosa was speaking in his capacity as the current leader of the African Union (AU).

08:20 GMT – UN delivers 90 tons of COVID-19 aid to Venezuela

A plane carrying 90 tons of UN health, water and sanitation aid arrived in Venezuela on Wednesday to help the cash-strapped country fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The shipment includes 28,000 Personal Protective Equipment kits for health workers, oxygen concentrators, pediatric beds, water quality control products and hygiene kits, the UN said.

“This is the first United Nations humanitarian shipment in support of the Venezuela COVID-19 outbreak,” said Peter Grohmann, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Venezuela.

Venezuela, suffering from a crippling economic crisis that has led to shortages of basic food and medicine and forced some five million people to flee the country, has 167 confirmed cases of coronavirus and nine deaths.

07:40 GMT – Vietnam approves $7.6bn tax holiday to help virus-hit businesses

Vietnam has approved a plan to delay the collection of 180 trillion dong ($7.6bn) in taxes and land rent to help businesses hit by the new coronavirus, which has infected 251 people in the country, the government said.

The government will delay the collection of value-added tax, corporate income tax, personal income tax and land rent for five months for various businesses and households, it said in a statement.

07:15 GMT – Taiwan protests against accusations from WHO

Taiwan’s foreign ministry on strongly protested accusations from the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) that it condoned racist personal attacks on him that he alleged were coming from the self-governing island democracy.

On Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused Taiwan’s foreign ministry of being linked to a months-long campaign against him during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At a press briefing, he said he has been personally attacked, including receiving death threats and racist abuse.

06:45 GMT – UK’s Johnson remains stable – minister

The UK Culture Minister said Prime Minister Boris Johnson was stable, and his condition was improving as he engaged with the medical staff tending to him.

Read more here.

06:36 GMT – 103-year-old Italian says ‘courage, faith’ helped beat virus

To recover from the coronavirus, as she did, Ada Zanusso recommends courage and faith, the same qualities that have served her well in her nearly 104 years.

Italy, along with neighbouring France, has Europe’s largest population of what has been dubbed the “super old” – people who are at least 100. As the nation with the world’s highest number of COVID-19 deaths, Italy is looking to its super-old survivors for inspiration.

“I’m well, I’m well,” Zanusso said Tuesday during a video call with The Associated Press from the Maria Grazia Residence for the elderly in Lessona, a town in the northern region of Piedmont. “I watch TV, read the newspapers.”

06:20 GMT – India identifies, seals coronavirus hot spots

Indian authorities have identified and sealed dozens of hot spots in the Indian capital and the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state comprising residential districts to check the rising trajectory of new coronavirus infections.

Government statements late Wednesday said people will be supplied food, medicines and other supplies at their doorsteps and they will not be allowed to leave these areas.

Hello, this is Usaid Siddiqui in Doha taking over from my colleague Kate Mayberry.

05:45 GMT –

I will be handing over the blog to my colleagues in Doha shortly.

A brief summary of this morning’s developments:

The US and UK both suffered their highest number of deaths from COVID-19 in a single day as global confirmed cases rose to 1.5 million. Flags were being flown at half-mast in New York, the worst-affected US state.

There are glimmers of hope in countries including South Korea and New Zealand where confirmed infections appear to be slowing.

In a deepening spat with the World Health Organization, Taiwan has rejected claims by WHO chief Tedros Adhanon Ghebreysus that it used racial slurs against him.

The first case of coronavirus has also been found among Amazon’s isolated Yanomami people. Brazil says a 15-year-old boy was diagnosed with the disease and is in hospital.

05:40 GMT – Fujifilm starts phase II clinical trial for Avigan in US COVID-19 patients

Japan’s Fujifilm is moving to the second phase of its clinical trial in the United States for its Avigan anti-flu drug.

The trial will involve about 50 patients at three hospitals in Massachusetts.

Fujifilm announced the third phase of the clinical trials in Japan on March 31. Favipiravir, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Avigan, has a “mechanism of action that prevents the propagation of viruses”, the company says.

05:30 GMT – Pakistan starts giving cash grants to low-income families

Pakistan will start distributing cash grants worth Rs12,000 ($70) to low-income families on Thursday, reports Al Jazeera correspondent Asad Hashim.

About 35 million people registered for the payment, according to Sania Nishtar, a senior government official. After verification, about 12 million people (one person for each household) were found to be eligible for the one-time grant.

Pakistan currently has 3,713 confirmed cases of coronavirus. At least 62 people have died. 

05:10 GMT – UN calls on Southeast Asian nations to protect health of migrants

The UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia is calling on countries around the region to do “everything they can” to protect the health of migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Migrants in detention facilities should be released, forced returns suspended and “firewalls” erected between healthcare and immigration, the Bangkok-based office said.

“Migrants are an integral part of our communities, and only by including them fully will we be successful in overcoming COVID-19,” Regional Representative Cynthia Veliko said in a statement.

04:40 GMT – Keep out: Remote Indigenous communities sealed off in Australia

Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are more likely than other Australians to suffer from chronic diseases, which puts them at greater risk from COVID-19.

As part of the country’s shutdown, remote communities in Australia’s vast interior have also been shut down to protect those who live there. Nick Rodway wrote this story for Al Jazeera. 

04:30 GMT – First case found among Yanomami people in Brazil

Brazil’s health minister Luiz Henrique Mendetta says the first case of coronavirus has been diagnosed among the Yanomami people in the Amazon.

The patient, a 15-year-old boy, is in intensive care in hospital.

Mendetta said the discovery was “very worrying”. 

04:10 GMT – Positive signs in New Zealand after two weeks of lockdown

New Zealand has recorded its lowest number of new coronavirus cases in nearly three weeks, reporting just 29 new cases in the past day, the fourth successive daily drop. 

The country is halfway through a month-long national lockdown.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also announced stricter border measures requiring all returning nationals to go into a managed quarantine facility for two weeks. Previously, returning nationals with no symptoms of COVID-19 were allowed to isolate themselves at home.

04:00 GMT – South Korea sees continued slowdown in coronavirus

South Korea’s latest coronavirus update shows the outbreak there continues to slow.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement on Thursday there were 39 more cases, bringing the total to 10,423. The number of deaths rose by four to 204.

Testing, combined with isolation and monitoring, have helped South Korea get control of the virus. The government has also deployed technology to help in the fight including alerts to people’s smartphones to advise them of cases nearby and potential hotspots.

Al Jazeera’s Kelly Kasulis has written about the potential privacy issues – not to mention fatigue – created by the alerts.  You can read more here.

03:20 GMT – China tackling coronavirus cluster in northeastern province

Cases of coronavirus brought into China from overseas have reached their highest level in two weeks, with the northeastern province of Heilongjiang rushing to build a new hospital as more cases are brought in from Russia.

The National Health Commission reported 63 new cases on Wednesday, with 61 of those coming from overseas. That is the highest since March 25.

The country has imposed strict quarantine rules on anyone arriving in China from overseas.

The number of confirmed cases in New York state is now approaching 150,000.

23:55 GMT – US CDC advises precautions for essential workers 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US has released new guidance for people working in essentials areas such as healthcare and food suppliers who have been within 1.8 metres (six feet) of someone with a confirmed or suspected case of the coronavirus.

CDC Director Robert Redfield says the employee can return to work as long as they take their temperature before they go to work, wear a face mask at all times and practise social distancing.

Redfield said the employees should continue to stay home if they are sick. He also said employers should take the worker’s temperature before allowing them to come back to work.

23:40 GMT – Brazil president says country to buy materials for hydroxychloroquine

Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro says hydroxychloroquine, which is usually used for malaria, is saving the lives of people with COVID-19 and that Brazil will import raw materials from India to manufacture the drug.

Scientists say there is no conclusive evidence on the drug’s efficacy in treating COVID-19.

Twitter has previously deleted posts by Bolsonaro touting hydroxychloroquine.

—-

I’m Kate Mayberry in Kuala Lumpur with Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Read all the updates from yesterday (April 8) here. 

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