Latest on the coronavirus: Global cases pass 1.8 mln

ANKARA

In this March 17, 2020, file photo, people line up to enter a shop to buy supplies in Barcelona. (AP File Photo)

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide passed 1.8 million on April 13 as the pandemic swept across the globe.

Johns Hopkins University's website showed over 114,251 people have died from the virus.

The total number of people recovered from COVID-19 reached passed 434,703, according to the data.

Americas

• The United States recorded 1,514 deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic over the past 24 hours, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University as of April 12
• The number of fatalities was lower than the previous day's toll of 1,920. The outbreak has now claimed the lives of at least 22,020 people in the U.S., the most of any country.
• The U.S. also leads the world by far in the number of confirmed infections, with 555,313 by the Baltimore-based university's count.
• Americans spent Easter Sunday on lockdown as the U.S. toll from the pandemic surpassed 21,300 deaths and more than half a million confirmed cases.
• The United States needs to ramp up testing for the coronavirus as the White House considers when and how to lift stay-at-home restrictions and lockdowns, U.S. health experts said.
• Mexico reported on April 12 442 fresh cases and 23 new deaths, bringing the country's total to 4,661 cases and 296 deaths.
• El Salvador's congress extended a national emergency law that allows the government to prolong certain health measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Europe

• Italy recorded the lowest number of new coronavirus deaths in three weeks, saying 431 people died in the past day to bring its total to 19,899. It was the lowest day-to-day toll since March 19.
• More than 4,000 people tested positive as Italy began its fifth week under nationwide lockdown, continuing a general flattening in its infection curve.
• Italy crossed the 1 million virus test mark on April 12, doubling the number of tests since the end of March. Overall, 156,363 people have been confirmed as positive, though officials note that the true number of infected could be as much as 10 times that, particularly in hard-hit Lombardy.
• The overall death toll in France from the coronavirus has risen to nearly 14,400, but for the fourth day in a row, slightly fewer people were admitted into intensive care 35 fewer giving health officials a reason to grasp for good news.
• April 12’s statistics issued by the Health Ministry confirm the country is reaching a “very high plateau” and reflect initial signs that nearly four weeks of confinement and the “drastic reduction in contacts” are producing an effect, a statement said.
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson left hospital and thanked staff for saving his life from COVID-19, but his government was forced to defend its response to the pandemic as the national death toll passed 10,000.
• Pope Francis called for global solidarity in fighting the pandemic and its economic fallout, urging the relaxation of international sanctions, debt relief for poor nations and ceasefires in all conflicts.
• Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on April 12 any further loosening of the country's lockdown restrictions would depend on more progress in the fight against the coronavirus, a day before some companies plan to reopen their doors.
• Spain’s overnight death toll from the infection rose for the first time in three days on April 12, to 619, health ministry data showed, bringing the cumulative toll to 16,972. Confirmed cases increased by around 2.6% to 166,019.
• Asia and the Pacific
• China reported the highest number of new daily coronavirus cases in nearly six weeks, driven by a rise in infected travellers arriving from overseas and underscoring challenges Beijing faces in preventing a second wave of COVID-19.
• A total of 108 new coronavirus cases were reported on April 12, up from 99 a day earlier and marking the highest number of cases since 143 cases were reported on March 5.
• Chinese cities near the border with Russia said they would tighten border controls and quarantine measures on arrivals from abroad after the number of imported cases of COVID-19 hit a record high.
• Russia on April 12 reported 2,186 new cases, the largest daily increase since the start of the outbreak. The number of cases reached 15,770 as of April 12, while deaths rose to 130.
• Indonesia imposed curbs on public transport ahead of the annual exodus to home villages that marks the end of the Muslim fasting month, seeking to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the world's fourth most populous country.
• India said its hospital network is adequately prepared to tackle the spread of the virus, with over 100,000 beds ready to cater to a potential surge in patient numbers.
• Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prompted an angry response from some Twitter users after sharing a video of himself lounging on a sofa with his dog, drinking tea and reading, along with a message telling people to stay at home. As of April 12, Japan had 7,255 confirmed cases, as well as 712 other cases from a cruise ship quarantined earlier this year.
• South Korea's vice health minister has pleaded people to maintain alertness amid a slowing coronavirus spread, saying a quick return to pre-COVID-19 normalcy is “virtually impossible” considering a constant threat of new transmissions.
• South Korea on April 13 reported 25 fresh cases of the new coronavirus, its 12th day in a row of below 100 cases, as infections continue to wane in the worst-hit city of Daegu.
• Thailand reported 28 new coronavirus cases and 2 new deaths on April 13. Of the new cases, 18 are linked to previous cases, 7 without connection to old cases, and 3 are Thai nationals who had traveled to South Sulawesi province, Indonesia for a religious gathering last month.
• New Zealand recorded its fifth death from COVID-19 but only 19 new cases on April 13 as the rate of fresh infections continues to show signs of diminishing.

Middle East and Africa

• Iran's death toll from COVID-19 has risen by 117 in the past day to 4,474, health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said on April 12. The Islamic Republic has recorded 71,686 cases of the new coronavirus which causes the disease, Jahanpur said.
• Thousands of displaced Syrians have begun moving back to their homes in war-torn Idlib province despite the risk of renewed conflict, some driven by fear that the coronavirus could wreak havoc on crowded camps near the Turkish border.
• Israel's former chief rabbi Eliahou Bakshi-Doron, who was known for promoting interfaith dialogue, died on April 12 of the new coronavirus, the Shaare Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem said.
• African ambassadors in China have written to the country's foreign minister over what they call discrimination against Africans as the country seeks to prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus.
• South Africa, which banned the sale of all alcohol and cigarettes under a lockdown that triggered a wave of lootings of liquor shops, said on April 12 it had caught police officers who were complicit in illegal alcohol sales.

Economic fallout

• Global shares fell as investors braced for more signs of economic damage from the pandemic, although a landmark deal by OPEC and its allies to slash output helped oil prices climb in volatile trade.
• The U.S. economic recovery will likely be a "long, hard road" in which some parts of the economy will periodically shut down and restart, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said on April 12.
• South Korean exports for the first 10 days of April tumbled as COVID-19 upended global supply chains and knocked demand. Asia's fourth-largest economy is considered a bellwether for world trade.
• Smithfield Foods, the world's biggest pork processor, said it will shut a U.S. plant indefinitely due to a rash of coronavirus cases among employees and warned the country was moving "perilously close to the edge" in supplies for grocers.
• India and other South Asian countries are likely to record their worst growth performance in four decades this year due to the pandemic, the World Bank said.
• JPMorgan Chase Co, the largest lender in the United States by assets, is raising borrowing standards this week for most new home loans as the bank moves to mitigate lending risk stemming from the coronavirus disruption.