British PM Boris tests +ve for Covid-19

Madrid, March 27 : British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the first major world leader to test positive for the coronavirus on Friday as Spain saw a record number of deaths from the pandemic that is threatening millions around the world.

In a grim milestone, the United States overtook China as the country with the most coronavirus cases, while seeing an unprecedented amount of newly unemployed amid fears of a global economic meltdown.

And Africa’s economic powerhouse South Africa on Friday became the latest nation on the continent to start life under lockdown as it reported its first Covid-19 deaths.

Johnson, whose country has seen more than 11,600 declared coronavirus cases and 578 deaths, said he had developed mild symptoms over the previous 24 hours and was selfisolating after testing positive.

Spain reported that its death toll had hit 4,858 after 769 people died in 24 hours, a record one-day figure for fatalities and far higher than in Italy, which counted 662 deaths in its last daily update on Thursday night. Although the figures showed a daily increase of nearly 8,000 new infections, the uptick comes as Spain moves to dramatically increase its rate of testing, ordering millions of new kits from around the world. Despite the increase, the rate of new infections appears to be slowing, registering a

14 percent increase compared with 18 percent.

Europe has suffered the brunt of the coronavirus crisis in recent weeks, with millions across the continent on lockdown and the streets of Paris, Rome and Madrid eerily empty.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe warned that France — reeling from the deaths of more than 1,600 people including a 16-yearold girl — was facing difficult days ahead.

“We find ourselves in a crisis that will last, in a health situation that will not improve any time soon,” Philippe said. But focus is turning from Europe to the United States, where the number of known infections reached almost 86,000 on Friday, higher than both China and hard-hit Italy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi swiftly sent a “get well” message to his British counterpart on Twitter, hailing him as a “fighter” and expressing confidence he would “overcome this challenge as well”.

Mr Modi tweeted, “Dear PM @BorisJohnson You’re a fighter and you will overcome this challenge as well. Prayers for your good health and best wishes in ensuring a healthy UK.”