As of 8 am, April 10, 2020:
World Count
There are now 1,579,690 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 in 176 countries. The United States has the highest number of confirmed cases worldwide, with 457,035, followed by Spain (153,222) and Italy (143,626). In the US, New York now has 151,598 cases, which is higher than any country in the world (aside from America itself). The number of deaths has risen to 94,567. Italy has had the highest number of deaths (18,279), now followed by the US (16,252), and Spain (15,447). 346,780 people worldwide have recovered from Covid-19.
US death forecast lowered to 60,000
Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a senior adviser to the White House, said that the projected death toll from Covid-19 in the US could be as low as 60,000, and not the previously projected 100,000 to 240,000 deaths.
The number would lessen considerably if social distancing is fully observed, Dr Fauci said. “The real data are telling us that it is highly likely that we’re having a definite positive effect by this mitigation things that we’re doing – this physical separation – so I believe we are gonna see a downturn in that. And it looks more like the 60,000 than the 100,000 to 200,000.”
In Saudi Arabia, up to 150 members of the royal family infected
As many as 150 members of the royal family of Saudi Arabia have tested positive for Covid-19, including the senior Saudi prince who is governor of Riyadh, Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is now in intensive care. King Faisal Specialist Hospital is preparing 500 beds for the royal family and others who are close to them, according to information given to the New York Times by a person close to the family. King Salman remains isolated in Jeddah, while Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his ministers are staying at another property on the coast of the Red Sea.
Singapore—Record 287 new cases reported
In Singapore, there are now 1,910 cases of Covid-19, with a record 287 new cases reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (Apr 9). Six people have died and 460 have been discharged from hospital.
Among the new cases, 217 are linked to known clusters, of which 202 cases are connected to clusters at foreign worker dormitories, while 34 were linked to non-dormitory clusters or other cases, according to MOH.
The cluster at Mustafa Centre is linked to clusters at five foreign workers’ dormitories as well as the construction site at Project Glory, according to preliminary investigations. MOH believes that some migrant workers had gone to Mustafa Center and had gotten infected there, ending up infecting their fellow workers, who passed it on to their companions in their dormitories.
At present, 70 percent of new cases are now linked to clusters at the dormitories of foreign workers.
A new cluster has been discovered in another foreign worker dormitory, the Shaw Lodge in Tai Seng, where five cases are linked.
The largest cluster so far is at the S11 Dormitory cluster in Punggol, where there are now 283 cases of Covid-19. Forty-nine cases are now linked to to the cluster at Westlite Toh Guan dormitory, and 25 cases to Toh Guan Dormitory, both of which are at Jurong East. -/TISG