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Global Covid-19 death toll tops 60,000; US situation grim

LONDON, April 4, 2020

The number of deaths across the globe due to the novel coronavirus Covid-19 has reached 60,874, with 11,34,418 infections being recorded globally on Saturday, according to a new tally from Johns Hopkins University.
 
The US on Friday set a new record for the number of Covid-19 deaths in one day with 1,480 dead, the most of any country since the pandemic began. That topped the record set by the US the previous day with 1,169 deaths. The number of infections in the country has surpassed 226,000.
 
Washington DC, the national capital, has emerged as an area of “developing concern” along with the states of Colorado and Pennsylvania and the cities of Chicago in Illinois and Detroit in Michigan based on new cases and deaths, according to the White House coronavirus task force. 
 
New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Louisiana, Connecticut continue to report high incidence.
 
New York state remains the worst hit with 103,000 cases, a tenth of the world total of 1 million cases, and 2,935 deaths. 
 
New York City, which alone accounted for 1,867 deaths, is faced with an additional crisis of the shortage of medical supplies, and officials have warned of empty racks by this weekend.
 
Worse may be coming as a quarter of global infections are in the US, where US President Donald Trump has warned of a “very, very painful” first two weeks of April, reported CNN. The US has over 277,000 confirmed case, more than any country.
 
Hardest-hit Italy recorded 766 new deaths but its infections rose by just four percent, the lowest increase yet, according to the civil protection service.
 
“It’s true that the latest figures, as high as they are, give us a little bit of hope,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.
 
“But it is definitely much too early to see a clear trend in that, and it is certainly too early to think in any way about relaxing the strict rules we have given ourselves,” she added.
 
Spain, another epicenter of global outbreaks, has recorded more than 110,000 cases and 10,003 deaths, the report added.
 
Prosperous countries have borne the brunt of the disease, but there are fears of an explosion among the world’s most vulnerable living in conflict zones or refugee camps.
 
“The worst is yet to come,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, referring to countries such as Syria, Libya and Yemen. “The Covid-19 storm is now coming to all these theaters of conflict.”
 
The world economy has been pummeled by the virus and associated lockdowns, with the US economy shedding 701,000 jobs in March — its worst showing since March 2009 in the wake of the subprime banking crisis. Even more dire figures are expected for April.
 
India prepares for long battle
 
A total of 2,902 Covid-19 cases have been reported in India so far and cases have risen by 601 since Friday. 
 
As many as 1,023 Covid-19 positive cases found in 17 states have been traced to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday, underlining that about 30 per cent of the total coronavirus cases in the country are linked to "one particular place".
 
Joint Secretary in the ministry Lav Agarwal said in the daily media briefing that the rate of doubling of Covid-19 cases in India is pretty less as compared to other countries.
 
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had yesterday praised citizens for their resilience in a televised speech as the nation entered its tenth day of a three week long lockdown intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
 
"The discipline and spirit of service you have displayed during this period is unprecedented," said Modi of the difficulties faced by many during the unprecedented country-wide restrictions.
 
"Today, when millions of people are inside their homes, some of us might wonder how will they fight this battle against coronavirus alone ... But please remember, none of us are alone. The strength of 1.3 billion Indians is with and every one of us," the Prime Minister added.
 
To mark the national fight against the coronavirus outbreak, Modi has asked Indians under lockdown to switch off all lights at home at 9 pm tomorrow (April 5) and light candles or diyas - or use the flashlights on their mobile phones.
 
"At that time, if you have turned off all the lights of your homes, and each one of us in all directions has lit a diya, we will experience the superpower of light, clearly illuminating the common purpose we are all fighting for," he said.
 
With Maharashtra, Telangana, and Delhi reporting several new cases of the deadly virus infection, government officials said the numbers have risen in last few days mostly due to the Tablighi Jamaat event that took place in the national capital earlier in March and which was attended by thousands of its followers.
 
As Covid-19 infections continued to spread, India today released a comprehensive strategy that leaves nothing to chance in the fight against the pandemic, should there be a massive outbreak nationwide.
 
As of 9 am GMT on Saturday, Indian officials said 68 patients had succumbed to the disease and 183 patients had been cured and discharged from hospitals.
 
In preparing the comprehensive strategy to deal with the eventuality of a "large outbreak," India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is, however, drawing lessons from the global experience of dealing with the pandemic.
 
The Ministry’s 20-page containment strategy, referred to at his daily Coronavirus briefing by Agarwal, sets out five scenarios from the current travel transmission stage to the worst case of India "becoming endemic to Covid-19."
 
There is a strategic approach set out in the document for each scenario. These include large scale geographic quarantine, punitive legal action to prevent any gathering of people and epidemiological intelligence as trigger for action.
 
The document also sets out in great detail the institutional mechanisms from the very top at the Union Cabinet level to that of district Collectors for dealing with a massive crisis and through all the five scenarios.
 
A major step the Modi-government is taking is that "All suspect/confirmed Covid-19 cases will be hospitalised and kept in isolation in dedicated hospitals/hospital blocks. Persons testing positive will remain hospitalised till such time as two of their samples are tested negative as per discharge policy."
 
"The objective of this plan is to stop the chain of transmission, thus reducing the morbidity and mortality due to Covid-19," the ministry added.

Spain, another epicenter of global outbreaks, has recorded more than 110,000 cases and 10,003 deaths, the report added.




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