Total confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world jumped to more than 1,250,000, with deaths rising to over 68,400, according to a Reuters tally.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, click here.
AMERICAS
U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States was seeing a “leveling-off” of the coronavirus crisis in some of the hot spots, even as a senior official warned the country was entering the “hardest” week of the crisis.
A tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City tested positive, in the first known case of COVID-19 in an animal in the United States or a tiger globally.
Over 336,000 people have tested positive and more than 9,500 have died in the United States, according to a Reuters tally.
Deaths in Canada has jumped by just over 20% to 258 in a day, officials said on Sunday, while Ottawa offered full-time jobs to reservists in the armed forces.
Panama on Sunday said total cases stood at 1,988, a rise of 187 cases from a day earlier. The number of deaths increased by eight to 54.
Mexico said total cases were 2,143, an increase of 253 cases from a day earlier. The number of deaths rose by 15 to 94.
Barbados on Sunday reported its first virus-related death.
Haiti on Sunday reported its first death, with 21 confirmed cases of the respiratory disease.
Brazil’s lower house of Congress approved a constitutional amendment for a “war budget” to separate coronavirus-related spending from the government’s main budget and shield the economy as the country surpassed 10,000 confirmed cases.
EUROPE
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital for tests on Sunday after showing persistent symptoms of the coronavirus, 10 days after testing positive.
Queen Elizabeth told the British people on Sunday that they would overcome the outbreak if they stayed resolute in the face of lockdown and self-isolation.
Britain will have to impose more curbs on outdoor exercise if people flout lockdown rules, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.
France’s daily death toll fell in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday. Data showed 357 people died in hospitals, compared with 441 in the previous 24 hours, taking the total toll in hospitals to 5,889.
Italy’s health minister outlined plans for broader testing and beefed-up health services as part of a package of measures that would follow a future easing of the country’s lockdown.
The rate of new infections and deaths in Spain slowed again as the country, one of the worst hit by the pandemic, began its fourth week under a near-total lockdown.
Ireland Prime Minister Leo Varadkar re-registered as a medical practitioner and will work one shift a week to help out during the coronavirus crisis.
Pope Francis marked a surreal Palm Sunday in an empty St. Peter’s Basilica, urging people living through the pandemic not to be so concerned with what they lack but how they can ease the suffering of others.
Scotland Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood resigned on Sunday after she flouted her own advice to stay at home by travelling to her second home on two successive weekends.
ASIA
Mainland China reported 39 new cases on Sunday, all but one of them imported from abroad, up from the 30 reported a day earlier. The National Health Commission said 78 new asymptomatic cases had been identified by the end of Sunday, compared with 47 the day before. Only one new death was recorded on April 5.
South Korea reported fewer than 50 new cases for the first time since its Feb. 29 peak. The country reported 47 new infections, taking the tally to 10,284. The death toll rose by three to 186.
Thailand reported 51 new cases and three more deaths. Thailand has confirmed 2,220 cases and 26 fatalities since the outbreak in the country in January.
Turkey’s death toll has risen by 73 to 574 in the last 24 hours, with new confirmed cases jumping by 3,135 to total 27,069.
India is restricting the export of most diagnostic testing kits, as coronavirus cases topped 3,350 on Sunday. The country is under a three-week nationwide lockdown.
Carnival Corp’s troubled Ruby Princess cruise liner, the biggest single source of Australia’s 5,687 COVID-19 cases, docked at a port on Australia’s east coast on Monday to help remove crew who need urgent medical treatment and to refuel the ship to send it away.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
About 20 million jobs are at risk in Africa as the continent’s economies are projected to shrink this year due to the impact of the pandemic, according an African Union study.
Dubai imposed a two-week lockdown and Saudi Arabia sealed off parts of the Red Sea city of Jeddah as Gulf states tightened measures in big cities.
Franciscan friars wearing surgical masks and gloves made house calls in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, delivering olive branches to Christians who are self-isolating.
The United Arab Emirates will reinforce its stockpile of strategic goods and waive residency visa fines for the rest of the year in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
Oil prices skidded after Saudi-Russian talks to cut output were delayed, while stocks jumped as investors were encouraged by a slowdown in coronavirus-related deaths and new cases.
British consumer confidence has recorded its biggest fall in more than 45 years, a survey showed on Monday, as a widening shutdown of the economy to slow the spread of the coronavirus hammered households’ financial hopes.
The Bank of England will not resort to irreversibly printing money in order to fund a surge in government spending as it tries to shield Britain’s economy, its governor Andrew Bailey said.
The job losses suffered in March as the U.S. economy shut down were widespread but still were disproportionately felt in a handful of employment sectors and by women, the young and the less educated.
SPORTS
FIFA is getting ready to deal with complaints and appeals over wage cuts for players, producing guidelines for clubs and football bodies looking to cut costs during the stoppage caused by the pandemic, an internal document seen by Reuters showed.
(Reuters)
