As of 8 am, May 6, 2020:
World count: 3,618,325 cases, 253,381 deaths, 1,184,145 recoveries
There are now 3,618,325 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 worldwide. There have been 253,381 deaths. The United States has the highest number of cases, with 1,229,409 infections, followed by Spain (218,011) and Italy (211,938). The US also accounts for the highest number of deaths out of all countries with infections (71,735).
1,184,145 people worldwide have recovered from Covid-19.
UK overtakes Italy as country with second-largest number of deaths
The United Kingdom, which has a total of 194,990 coronavirus infections, now has the second-largest number of deaths (29,427) out of all the countries where Covid-19 has spread. The UK has surpassed Italy’s death toll (29,315), which was the hardest-hit European country when infections spread to that continent.
Singapore: 632 additional cases, 9 more clusters identified
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on May 5 that there are 632 new Covid-19 cases in the country. Singapore now has a total of 19,410 confirmed cases, with an additional 62 discharged from hospital. A total of 1,519 individuals have recovered. Eighteen people have died.
A Bangladeshi national, age 44, died of a heart attack on May 5. He had been confirmed positive for the coronavirus on April 29 at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, where he was admitted for a heart attack on the same day.
MOH identified nine new infection clusters: 60 Benoi Road in Jurong, 100A Central Boulevard in the Central Business District, a construction site at Clementi N2C3, 1 North Coast Drive in Woodlands, 31 Sungei Kadut Loop, 9 Tech Park Crescent in Tuas, 80 Tuas Avenue 1, 15 Tuas View Close and 131 Tuas View Square.
US: Death toll predicted to double to 134,000
The death toll in the United States may now reach 134,000, twice as many as earlier announced. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington has said that this many people could die of the coronavirus in the US by August. The increase in predicted deaths is due to eased social distancing rules in a number of states of late, including Florida, Colorado, Indiana, Nebraska and South Carolina, which have relaxed restrictions in order to boost the flagging economy.
IHME director Dr. Christopher Murray said, “The challenge for us all is to figure out what’s the trajectory of relaxing social distancing on a measured pace that will protect us from big increases or even a full-scale resurgence.”
White House coronavirus task force official Dr Deborah Birx has said that even with social distancing, projections show between 100,000 to 240,000 American deaths.
Hong Kong: Social distancing restrictions to ease starting May 8
Social distancing measures will begin to be relaxed in Hong Kong from Friday (May 8) and onwards, announced Chief Executive Carrie Lam. Hong Kong is perceived to have defeated its second wave of coronavirus cases, with the number of infections decreasing steadily. From Friday on, eight people will be allowed to gather instead of the previous four. Some commercial centers will begin reopening as well, with people required to continue to wear masks. Some schools in Hong Kong will be reopening by May 27.
France: Doctors find patient infected with Covid-19 from last December
France may have seen its first coronavirus case in December of last year, based on a test performed on one patient. This means the virus was circulating around Europe earlier than believed. The team at Groupe Hospitalier Paris Seine in Saint-Denis wrote in a study that “Covid-19 was already spreading in France in late December 2019, a month before the official first cases in the country.”
The sample that tested positive was of a 42-year-old man born in Algeria, who lived in France and had last travel to Algeria the previous August. He had not travelled to China, and one of his children had also fallen ill with symptoms similar to Covid-19.—/TISG
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