As of 8 am, April 14, 2020:
World count approaches 2 million
There are now 1,911,407 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 in 177 countries. The United States has the highest number of confirmed cases worldwide, with 581,974, followed by Spain (170,099) and Italy (159,516).
There have been 118,854 deaths worldwide. The US has the highest number of deaths at 23,227, out of all the countries with confirmed cases, followed by Italy, with 20,465 deaths, and Spain, with 17,756 deaths.
446,860 people have recovered from Covid-19.
Governor of New York says the worst is over
In the United States, where New York has been the hardest hit with coronavirus infections, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared on Monday (Apr 13) that the “worst is over,” based on the lower number of recent hospitalisation rates. However, he warned against a premature lifting of restrictions. He added, “I believe we can now start on the path to normalcy.“ Over 10,000 people have died of Covid-19 in New York as of Monday.
Spain partially lifts lockdown, hundreds of thousands back at work
Around 300,000 workers were back at work in Madrid on Monday due to a partial lifting of the country’s lockdown restrictions, now in its second month. Jobs in sectors that are not able to arrange for work from home, such as manufacturing and construction, have resumed. But restaurants, malls, and other non-essential businesses remain closed.
France extends lockdown till May 11
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that the country’s lockdown would be extended to May 11. The country, which has so far had nearly 100,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 14,967 deaths, has been in lockdown since March 17. Although President Macron said the outbreak was “starting to slow down”, he announced there would not be a re-opening of schools until May 11, and that restaurants, hotels, cinemas, museums, and other establishments would remain closed until mid-July.
China sees spike in cases from Russian returnees
China, where the coronavirus originated, has seen an uptick in new cases due to returnees from Russia. Citizens who have come back from Russia, fleeing the rising number of coronavirus infections there, compose half of the 98 new imported cases in the country. China now has 108 new cases, its highest number since March 5.
Singapore— record high of 386 new cases reported on April 13, 4 new clusters identified, 1 more death
In Singapore, a record high of 386 new cases were reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH). The country’s total now stands at 2,918. There are 26 additional people who have recovered from Covid-19, for a total of 586.
Among the new cases, 280 are linked to known clusters, “of which the vast majority are Work Permit holders in the dormitories,” according to MOH, and 94 are still pending contact tracing.
The ninth death from Covid-19 in Singapore has also been reported, a 65-year-old Singaporean male who died from complications from the infection. He had been a confirmed case on April 9.
The country’s largest cluster is now the S11 Dormitory @ Punggol, which has 222 more cases, bringing the total to 586. There are also four new clusters in the country: CitiWall at Kaki Bukit Crescent, ABC Hostel at Jalan Kubor, Tech Park Crescent dormitory and Kranji Dormitory.
MOH also said that one of the earliest clusters of the infection, the private dinner function at SAFRA Jurong on February 15 has now been declared closed since there have been no new infections from that cluster for two incubation periods (28 days). —/TISG
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