Coronavirus 15 May: at a glance
Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:
Global death toll passes 302,000
The global toll from Covid-19 has passed 300,000, with nearly 4.5 million people infected. According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, at least 302,452 people have now died as a result of the outbreak. The institution says it has counted 4,443,597 confirmed cases worldwide. It’s important to point out that the actual death toll is believed to be far higher than the tally compiled from government figures.
China marks one month with no new coronavirus deaths announced
China has gone a month without announcing any new deaths from the coronavirus. The National Health Commission reported four new cases of the virus on Friday, all local cross-infections in the northeastern province of
Jilin where a cluster of uncertain origin has been detected in recent days. The last time the commission reported a death was on 14 April.
Trump threatens to cut China ties
US President Donald Trump signalled a further deterioration of his relationship with China over coronavirus, saying he has no interest in speaking to President Xi Jinping at the moment and going so far as to suggest he could cut ties with the world’s second largest economy. Chinese state media has responded saying his comments are “lunacy”.
Trump visits a mask distribution centre without wearing a mask himself
Donald Trump toured a mask distribution centre in the political swing state of Pennsylvania on Thursday but without wearing a mask himself. Trump, who is running for re-election
in November, has resisted wearing a mask in public despite his administration’s guidance to Americans to wear them and new White House rules requiring staff to wear them at work.
Mexico sees record one-day increase in cases
Mexico’s health ministry on Thursday confirmed 257 additional coronavirus deaths and 2,409 new infections, the biggest one-day rise in cases since the pandemic began.The new infections brought confirmed coronavirus cases to 42,595 and 4,477 deaths in total, according to the official tally.
Brazil confirmed cases pass 200,000
The number of cases in Brazil passed 200,000 on Thursday.The country now has 202,918 confirmed cases, with 13,944 added in last 24 hours, according to health ministry.The tally means it is the sixth-worst-affected country worldwide in terms of cases, according to John Hopkins data.844 new deaths were reported in last 24 hours, bringing the total to 13,993.
South Korea, China and Japan health ministers to hold video conference
The health ministers of South Korea, China and Japan will get together by video conference on Friday to discuss ways to work together in the global campaign against the novel coronavirus, South Korean officials said. The meeting is the first between top health officials of the East Asian neighbours since the outbreak emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
Doctors in Italy and France report spike in rare inflammatory syndrome linked to coronavirus
Doctors in northern Italy,one of the areas hardest hit by coronavirus, and in France have reported spikes in cases of a rare inflammatory syndrome in young children that appears similar to one reported in the US, Britain and Spain, according to a report in the Lancet.The condition shares symptoms with toxic shock and Kawasaki disease including fever, rashes, swollen glands and, in severe cases, heart inflammation.
Covid-19 reaches refugee camps in Bangladesh
A Rohingya man has become the first person to test positive for Covid-19 in the vast refugee camps in Bangladesh that is home to almost one million people. Local health coordinator Abu Toha Bhuiyan initially said two refugees had been put into isolation. The World Health Organization later said one case was of a Rohingya man, and the other was of a local man who lived near the camp and was being treated at a clinic inside the area.
36 million Americans are now unemployed
Another 3 million Americans filed for benefits, bringing the country’s total unemployed to 36 million. The latest figures from the Department of Labor show the rate of claims is slowing but the record-breaking pace of layoffs has already pushed unemployment to levels unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.