Italy infections pass China total

LONDON » Deaths surged in Spain on Friday, troubling new outbreak sites bubbled in the United States, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the first leader of a major country to test positive for the coronavirus that has sickened more than a half-million people worldwide.

Italy, with by far the most deaths from COVID-19, surpassed China and the U.S. to also record the most infections in the world. With numbers rising in the U.S., though, the grim distinction could be temporary.

Johnson’s office said he was tested after showing mild symptoms for the coronavirus and was self-isolating and continuing to lead Britain’s response to the pandemic.

“Be in no doubt that I can continue, thanks to the wizardry of modern technology, to communicate with all my top team, to lead the national fightback against coronavirus,” Johnson said in a video message, adding that he had a temperature and persistent cough.

Several weeks ago, Johnson had pledged he would “go on shaking hands with everybody.”

Johnson, 55, was the first leader of a major nation known to have contracted COVID-19; German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been in isolation since her doctor tested positive for the virus, but her first two tests have been negative.

Earlier this week Britain’s Prince Charles said he had tested positive.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who has been at the forefront of nation’s response to the outbreak, also was confirmed to have the virus.

Britain has 11,658 confirmed cases of the virus, and 578 people have died.

New York woes

New York state, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, reported 100 more deaths in one day, accounting for almost 30% of the 1,300 fatalities nationwide. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the number of deaths will increase soon as critically ill patients who have been on ventilators for days succumb.

“That is a situation where people just deteriorate over time,” Cuomo said.

The White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, Deborah Birx, said counties in the Midwest around Chicago and Detroit are seeing a rapid increase in cases.

On Thursday, Louisiana reported the number of coronavirus cases in the state leaped 28% overnight, and New Orleans is gearing up for a possible overflow at hospitals, with plans to treat as many as 3,000 patients at the city’s convention center if necessary.

Louisiana has surpassed 2,300 people known to be infected, with 86 residents dead from the COVID-19 disease caused by the virus, according to the state health department. A 17-year-old from New Orleans was among the latest deaths, the first in the state of someone under 18, and Gov. John Bel Edwards said it shows “everyone is at risk.”

Washington, D.C., confirmed 36 new cases, raising its total to 267. The district is under a state of emergency, its major attractions closed and White House and Capitol tours canceled. Police have blocked streets and bridges to prevent crowds from coming to see Washington’s blooming cherry blossom trees.

Across the globe

Russian authorities ramped up testing this week after widespread criticism of insufficient screening.

The stay-home order for India’s 1.3 billion people threw out of work the backbone of the nation’s economy. The government announced a $22 billion stimulus to deliver monthly rations to 800 million people.

In China, where the virus was first believed to have started, the National Health Commission on Friday reported 55 new cases, 54 of them imported infections. Once again, there were no new cases reported in Wuhan, the provincial capital where the coronavirus first emerged in December. China is barring most foreigners from entering.

In a phone call Friday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Trump that China “understands the United States’ current predicament over the COVID-19 outbreak and stands ready to provide support within its capacity,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.