As of 8 am, May 18, 2020:
Worldwide: 4,687,320 cases, 313,127 deaths, 1,720,446 recoveries
There are now 4,687,320 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 worldwide. There have been 313,127 coronavirus-related deaths. The United States has the highest number of cases, with 1,515,026 infections, followed by Russia (281,752) and the United Kingdom (243,695). The US also accounts for the highest number of deaths out of all countries with infections (89,785), followed by the United Kingdom (34,636) and Italy (31,908).
1,720,446 people worldwide have recovered from Covid-19.
Singapore: 682 additional cases,1 new cluster
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on May 17 that there are 682 new Covid-19 cases in the country. Singapore now has a total of 28,038 confirmed cases. There were 998 more people discharged from hospital, for a total of 9,340 recoveried.
The country’s death count remains at 22, with nine others who had tested positive for Covid-19 dying of other causes.
Singapore also has one new infection cluster at 9 Sungei Kadut Avenue.
Among active cases, 17,466 people are recovering in community facilities. There are 1,210 people under treatment in hospitals, with 16 in critical condition in intensive care units.
India: 4,987 new cases in 24 hours, lockdown extended till end of May
India saw its biggest uptick in cases within a 24-hour period, with nearly 5,000 cases. The country’s number of cases has now exceeded China’s. India’s infection total now stands at 90,927 and the country has a death toll of 2,872.
The Ministry of Home Affairs announced that India will stay under lockdown until the end of May. People are encouraged to work from home, and schools remain shut. They are also only allowed out from 7:00 am till 7:00 pm, and international and domestic air travel has been banned.
South Korea: Phased reopening of schools to start this week
On Wednesday, May 20, some of South Korea’s students will be returning to school, the first of a planned phased reopening. After a new cluster emerged from nightclubs in Seoul’s Itaewon district wherein 168 people have been infected with the coronavirus, it was discovered that some of the people present that night were teachers and students. However, South Korea’s Vice Education Minister, Park Baeg-beom said they have all tested negative for the coronavirus.
“All 51 teachers and students who had been to clubs in the Itaewon area have tested negative and several hundred people who visited the area have been tested. There are 10 confirmed students with the virus who had not visited the Itaewon area but contracted the virus from an instructor at a private academy in Incheon,” the Minister added.
China: 8,000 people now under quarantine in Shulan
Health officials have put at least 8,000 people in Shulan, northern China under quarantine in an attempt to prevent a second wave of widespread infections. Top health expert Dr Zhong Nanshan told CNN that curbing the spread of new cases is still a “big challenge” for China. Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has expressed the need for “more decisive, precise, flexible, and effective measures in regular epidemic prevention and control to avoid further spread of the Covid-19 outbreak.”
Brazil: 4th highest number of cases worldwide
Brazil now has 233,500 confirmed Covid-19 cases and has now overtaken Spain as the country with the fourth-largest number of infections around the globe. The country has reported 15,600 deaths. From May 15 to 16 alone, 14,919 new cases were reported, along with 816 new deaths on May 16.
Peru and Chile are also emerging as Covid-19 hotspots in South America, due to the increasing number of coronavirus infections.—/TISG
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