Worldwide virus deaths near 20,000
India’s 1.3 billion people, about onesixth of the Earth’s population, found themselves under lockdown amid the global coronavirus spread Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin postponed a nationwide vote on proposed constitutional amendments that could enable him to extend his hold on power.
And in Spain, the death toll eclipsed that of China, where the outbreak began. Spain is now second only to Italy in the number of dead, with over 3,400.
“If we are not already at the peak, we are very close,” said Fernando Simón, head of Spain’s health emergency coordination center. “I cannot say that we have reached it.”
Even once the numbers crest, it would be “counterproductive” to think about relaxing restrictions anytime soon, he said.
More than 435,000 people worldwide were infected, and the number of dead closed in on 20,000, according to the running count kept by Johns Hopkins University. More than 100,000 have recovered.
In the U.S., infections were climbing rapidly and had passed the 60,000 mark, with deaths topping 800. Top White
House aide Eric Ueland announced a massive, $2 trillion economic agreement in a Capitol hallway shortly after midnight after days of haggling.
Relief that U.S. politicians have reached a deal on economic support pushed world stock markets up Wednesday. Indexes in Europe and Asia rose a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its best day since 1933.
With Americans’ lives and livelihoods hanging in the balance, Trump said he “would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter,” on April 12. But that statement sharply contradicted health officials’ calls for tighter restrictions on people’s movements. Scientists and other politicians in the U.S. have warned that the worst is yet to come.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his state’s infections are doubling every three days, threatening to swamp the city’s intensive care units. The state had 26,000 infections and more than 200 deaths as of Wednesday.
“One of the forecasters said to me: ‘We were looking at a freight train coming across the country,’ ” Cuomo said. “We’re now looking at a bullet train.”
In Spain, deaths shot up by more than 700 in a day. The country said it is buying $467million of medical supplies from China, including 500 million masks, 5.5 million fast test kits and 950 ventilators.
Spanish media reported that 23 residents of a Madrid retirement home died from COVID-19 or symptoms related to the virus. The home’s management said it had been pleading for more staff and supplies, including virus tests, after 55 of its workers had been forced to take medical leave.
India reported only about 450 cases because of limited testing, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned that if he didn’t act now, the virus could set the world’s largest democracy back decades.
India is home to the second-largest number of people living in extreme poverty.