As of 8 am, April 15, 2020:
World count
There are now 1,961,965 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 in 177 countries. The United States has the highest number of confirmed cases worldwide, with 610,097, followed by Spain (172,752) and Italy (162,488).
There have been 125,476 deaths worldwide. The US has highest number of deaths, 25,649, out of the countries with confirmed cases, followed by Italy, with 21,067 deaths, and Spain, with 18,165 deaths.
471,971 people have recovered from Covid-19.
Singapore— 334 new cases reported on April 14, 1 more death, 5000 foreign workers to be tested in next few days
In Singapore, 334 new cases were reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on April 14. The country’s total now stands at 3,252. There are 25 additional people who have recovered from Covid-19, for a total of 611.
A nurse and a doctor are among the new Covid-19 patients. The nurse worked at Singapore General Hospital. She tested positive on April 13. Two of her family members are also Covid-19 patients. The doctor works at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and became symptomatic on April 9. He is now under treatment at NCID.
A 70-year-old male has become Singapore’s 10th coronavirus death. He was diagnosed on March 6, and died of complications due to the coronavirus infection on April 14. He had been one of the attendees at the February 15 dinner at Safra Jurong.
Around 5000 foreign workers will be tested for the coronavirus over the next few days in order to curb the spread of Covid-19. Over 1,500 of them were already tested over the weekend, according to the multi-agency task force tackling the outbreak.
Masks now mandatory in Singapore
It is now required to wear face masks while out and about in Singapore. The only exceptions to this new rule are children under the age of two and individuals doing strenuous exercises. Those who do not comply will be slapped with a $300 fine, announced National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.
President Trump to stop US funding of WHO
United States President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday (Apr 14) plans to halt US funding of the World Health Organization (WHO), saying its role in “severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus” must be reviewed. Mr Trump blamed the WHO for a “20-fold” increase in global cases of Covid-19.
The Philippines has highest number of cases in SEA
The Philippines now has the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 patients in South East Asia, with 5,223 infected individuals. The country now has 335 coronavirus-related deaths, including many frontline health workers. President Rodrigo Duterte announced in a recent press conference that he sees “no end in sight” for the lockdown he put the country under starting from March 14.
India extends lockdown to May 3
Prime Minister Narendra Modi admitted that the decision to extend the country’s lockdown to May 3 will deal a heavy blow to India’s economy, with millions of people set to lose their jobs. He said in an address on Tuesday, “We have to pay a high price. but compared to the lives of Indians there can be no comparison.”—/TISG
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