The numbers: More than 4.4 million cases of Covid-19 have been recorded worldwide, including more than 302,000 deaths.
In the US: More than 1.4 million cases have been recorded and the death toll stands at over 85,000.
Living with the virus: A WHO official said the novel coronavirus may never go away and may join the mix of viruses that kill people around the world every year.
Australia unemployment: Nearly 600,000 people have lost their jobs in the country as a result of the pandemic, PM Scott Morrison said.
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Our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic has moved here.
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CNN's global town hall has ended
CNN’s global town hall on the coronavirus has now concluded.
Guests on the show, hosted by Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, included medical experts, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and children’s rights advocate Greta Thunberg.
Check the Town Hall tab above to catch up on what happened during the show.
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CNN's Anderson Cooper responds to online criticism over Greta Thunberg's town hall interview
CNN’s Anderson Cooper spent the closing moments of the global town hall discussing some of the criticism the company had received online over climate activist Greta Thunberg’s appearance on the show.
Cooper referenced a Forbes article that discussed Thunberg being included in what some people online claimed was a studio panel when, in reality, the 17-year-old had conducted a taped interview aired during the town hall.
Other Twitter users questioned Thunberg’s qualifications for being included in the show.
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This pandemic is a children's rights issue too, says Greta Thunberg
The coronavirus pandemic is impacting children’s health and standard of living globally, said climate activist and children’s rights proponent Greta Thunberg during CNN’s coronavirus town hall.
Even children who don’t get infected can feel the impact of the coronavirus in other ways, she said. For instance, school meals are many children’s main source of nutritious food – meaning school closures pose a food access threat.
“For many people in the world, they do not have access to clean water or sanitation, to soap, and they don’t even have a house to stay home in. And it’s very hard for many to keep social distancing,” said Thunberg.
She donated prize money to support children: Human Act, a Danish worldwide development organization, recently gave Thunberg $100,000 for her global activism, but she is now directing that money to the UN’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
“We have launched a new campaign to help support UNICEF during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Thunberg said during the town hall.
“And that is because during any crisis it is always the most vulnerable people who are hit the hardest, and that is children, especially in the global south, people in the poorest parts of the world.”
Read more about Greta Thunberg’s CNN town hall appearance:
Activist Greta Thunberg says she had coronavirus-like symptoms. She still hasn't been tested
CNN
Climate activist Greta Thunberg has joined a group of millions of people around the world who have been able to get a coronavirus test.
Despite being unsure if she ever had coronavirus, Thunberg decided to self-quarantine to protect her and her family, she said in an interview aired during CNN’s global town hall Thursday night.
Some insight on Sweden and the pandemic: Sweden has been an outlier during the coronavirus outbreak. The country has not joined many of its European neighbors in imposing strict limits on citizens’ lives, and images of people heading to work on busy streets, or chatting at cafes and bars have raised eyebrows.
Younger children have continued to go to school, although universities and schools for older students have switched to distance learning. Businesses — from hair salons to restaurants — have remained open, although people have been advised to work from home where possible.
On April 7, the government introduced a bill allowing it to act quickly and take decisions on temporary measures where needed. Care home visits were banned from April 1 and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs asked people to refrain from non-essential travel, adding: “Keep your distance and take personal responsibility.”
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MLB is making plans to play in empty ball parks, commissioner says
From CNN's Josiah Ryan
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said this evening the organization is working on plans for a modified season in which games would take place in empty stadiums.
Manfred said he’d spoken to governors in 18 states where the game is played and most expressed hope they’d be able to use the empty parks this summer.
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The US is "still way behind" on testing, former HHS secretary says
US President Trump “does not understand testing at all,” said Kathleen Sebelius, the former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, during CNN’s town hall on the global coronavirus pandemic.
“First, it’s absolutely incorrect we’ve done more testing per capita than anyplace on Earth. We may have more tests, we have more people, but per capita we’re still way behind,” Sebelius said.
So how many tests should be conducted? “The goal with testing is try to identify every case that you can,” said Dr. Richard Besser, the former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Not every case will need to go to the hospital for treatment — but “every case that’s out there could be the spark that starts another outbreak in your community that gets out of control,” he said.
The US is clearly not at that point — and is even facing gaps in testing by race and ethnicity, said Besser, pointing to the difference in impact toward black, Latino, and Native American communities.
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MLB commissioner: "Historically baseball's played a role in the recovery from difficult events"
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said based on the calls, emails and letters the organization is receiving, “people really miss baseball.”
Manfred said MLB is making plans to return to the field with empty stadiums, meaning no fans in the stands.
While that’s not ideal economically, the commissioner said, “our owners are committed to doing that because they feel it’s important that the game be back on the field and that the game be a sign of a beginning to return to normalcy, to American life the way we’ve always enjoyed it.”
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Losses for MLB club owners could reach $4 billion, commissioner says
The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could put Major League Baseball franchises in a $4 billion hole, commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday night during CNN’s global town hall.
Season disrupted: The MLB season, which was set to start on March 26, was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
MLB owners and league management have agreed upon an 82-game regular season, down from the traditional 162 games, according to reports.
Spring training will begin in early to mid-June, and games would resume in early July in ballparks without fans, as long as state legislation and health officials allow, reports say.
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MLB commissioner confident an agreement will be reached with player's union over playing half a season
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is confident that the league will reach an agreement with the player’s association over what they perceive as a pay cut if only half a season is played due to the pandemic.
Some context: MLB owners have finalized a plan that may allow the 2020 season to start on Fourth of July weekend, according to multiple outlets, including the New York Times and ESPN.
The season, which was set to start on March 26, was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. MLB owners and league management have agreed upon an 82-game regular season, down from the traditional 162 games, according to the reports.
Spring training will begin in early to mid-June, and games would resume in early July in ballparks without fans, as long as state legislation and health officials allow, reports say.
In order to proceed with this unprecedented season, all the proposed ideas would need to be agreed upon by the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). An MLB spokesperson told CNN on Monday night that the league plans to present a proposal to the players association Tuesday. No details of the proposal were provided by MLB.
League and team leadership reportedly gathered for their weekly meeting on Monday to discuss plans to get back on the field and the safety and economic conditions that would need to be met to do so.
A March agreement outlined key financial terms regarding how much players would be paid in a shortened season.
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Coronavirus has arrived in Bangladesh camps home to 1 million Rohingya refugees
From CNN’s Bex Wright in Hong Kong
The first known Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in Bangladesh’s refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, said the United Nations on Thursday, citing the Bangladeshi government.
The camps at Cox’s Bazar are home to nearly a million Rohingya refugees, many of whom fled across the border to Bangladesh to escape violence in neighboring Myanmar.
One of the confirmed cases was a Rohingya refugee, and the other was a Bangladeshi citizen who lives in the surrounding area of the camps, said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement.
Bangladesh currently has 18,863 confirmed cases of coronavirus cases with 283 deaths, a tally from Johns Hopkins University shows.
Government response: The Bangladeshi government has suspended most of the services within the densely populated camps in late March, including educational programs and other advocacy work.
Health officials have now begun to treat both patients while isolating and testing other refugees in the camps, the agency said.
Covid in the camps is “a nightmare”: “The first positive case of Covid-19 in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh is the realization of a nightmare scenario,” said Daniel P. Sullivan, a senior advocate for human rights with the US-based organization Refugees International.
Sullivan also stressed the importance of Bangladeshi government’s efforts to ensure open communication as well as more medical resources within the refugee camp to prevent and prepare for further spread.
CNN has reached out to the Bangladeshi government for a comment.
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Georgia is opening back up. Here's what eating out looks like there
One of the restaurants to reopen around the Atlanta area is Le Colonial, which allowed CNN inside to capture what dining looks like during the pandemic.
CNN correspondent Gary Tuchman took a tour of the restaurant during dinner hours to show the social distancing in place. He also spoke with general manager Jake Guyette about how the business is doing financially.
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The US is no longer trying to eliminate the virus -- it's doing damage control, says ER physician
Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician and former Baltimore health commissioner, joined CNN’s ongoing town hall to discuss the United States’ response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The US is no longer focusing on trying to eliminate the virus completely, she said.
Instead, the US has now shifted its strategy to harm reduction – a strategy that asks, if we can’t remove the risk entirely, how can we reduce it?
This means implementing social distancing guidelines during state reopenings, avoiding gatherings even in places like schools, changing ventilation systems and increasing our time outdoors, Wen said.
The term “harm reduction” is sometimes used in the public health response to illicit drug use – for instance, if health officials can’t stop people from taking drugs like heroin, then they can perform harm reduction by making sure the users at least have clean needles to lower the transmission of diseases like HIV and hepatitis.
Of course, it’s not a perfect metaphor – a pandemic is not a choice individuals can make. “But if that’s the hand that we’re dealt, we should do our part and help each other,” Wen said.
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Participant in coronavirus vaccine trial shares his experience and why he did it
Neal Browning, a participant in an FDA-approved coronavirus vaccine trial, speaks during CNN's global town hall.
CNN
Neal Browning saw the “pain that the world is suffering from” and felt he needed to act.
Browning recounted his experience as a participant in a US Food and Drug Administration-approved coronavirus trial Thursday night during CNN’s global town hall.
Browning went on to describe the trial process in great detail, starting with how he was selected.
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We need to be ready for a second wave of infection, WHO health expert warns
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for coronavirus response at the World Health Organization, has warned the virus is resurging in several parts of the world.
Speaking during CNN’s ongoing town hall tonight, she said places that have seen some success in suppressing transmission are now experiencing a second wave of infection, pointing to South Korea, Singapore, and Wuhan – the Chinese city at ground zero for the pandemic.
There are different reasons we’re seeing a resurgence of the virus in these places, she said; in South Korea, a new cluster in Seoul is linked to nightclubs, while Singapore’s outbreak is largely concentrated within migrant worker dormitories.
“But what is really important is that in China, in Korea, in Singapore, they have systems in place to rapidly identify the virus again and rapidly start their contact tracing,” Van Kerkhove said.
The US risks a second wave if it rushes into reopening: Though infection rates are slowing in the United States, individual states should conduct a thorough assessment before reopening, Van Kerkhove said.
“What is the risk of resurgence? Do we actually have this under control? Are we looking hard enough? Do we have surveillance in place? Do we have contact tracers in place? Do we have hospital beds? If the answer is no, then you need to really consider, are we ready to open this up?” she said.
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US Food and Drug Administration issues alert about 15-minute coronavirus test
From CNN's Arman Azad
The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued an alert about “possible accuracy concerns” with the Abbott ID Now coronavirus test, a rapid point-of-care test.
The device can return results in less than 15 minutes, but recent studies have raised concerns over the test’s accuracy – suggesting that it may provide an unacceptable number of false negatives, indicating somebody doesn’t have the virus when they do.
The FDA said the test can still be used and that it’s working with Abbott, the device and drug maker behind the test, to study data. It noted that any issues with the test are not yet understood.
The agency said it was aware of studies reporting accuracy issues with the test, but said those studies may have had limitations, including small sample sizes and potential design biases. People also might not have run the tests properly, the FDA said.
“Moving forward, Abbott has agreed to conduct post-market studies for the ID NOW device that each will include at least 150 COVID-19 positive patients in a variety of clinical settings. The FDA will continue to review interim data on an ongoing basis,” the agency added. “The information gathered from the post-market studies can further help the agency understand the cause or patterns of any accuracy issues and inform any additional actions the company or the FDA should take.”
Abbott disputed the studies that found problems with its test, but said it was making adjustments.
“While we understand no test is perfect, test outcomes depend on a number of factors including patient selection, specimen type, collection, handling, storage, transport and conformity to the way the test was designed to be run. ID NOW is intended to be used near the patient with a direct swab test method,” the company said in a statement.
Abbott said it was “clarifying our product information to provide better guidance to healthcare providers that negative results should be considered in the context of a patient’s recent exposures, history and the presence of clinical signs and symptoms consistent with COVID-19.”
If a patient gets a negative result but looks ill, another test should be run, Abbott said.
“We are also reinforcing proper sample collection and handling instructions. We are communicating this to our customers,” the company said.
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WHO health expert doesn't know how long it will take to develop a coronavirus vaccine
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove.
CNN
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for the Covid-19 response at the World Health Organization, joined CNN’s global town hall Thursday night to discuss a coronavirus vaccine and how it will take to develop.
Van Kerkhove added: “We need to ensure that there’s access to that to everyone on the planet. And so this virus will be with us. We need to find a way to get to that steady state where we can suppress transmission enough, get back to our lives, to get back to living our daily lives.”
The search for a vaccine: As the US sets forth on an unprecedented effort to come up with vaccines in record time — dubbed “Operation Warp Speed” by the Trump administration — scientists are choosing between two methods for testing the vaccine in thousands of people this summer.
One approach is more typical, and involves each company working independently on its own trial, according to two members of the Accelerating Covid-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines group, or ACTIV, which was organized last month by the National Institutes of Health. The second, they said, involves several vaccine developers working in one large trial — an unprecedented method for vaccine development in the US.
“There haven’t been any final decisions as of yet on which approach ACTIV will take,” Renate Myles, a spokesperson for National Institutes of Health (NIH), told CNN in an email.
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Whistleblower wants his original job back, attorney says
From CNN's Josiah Ryan
The attorney for Rick Bright, the federal employee who filed a whistleblower complaint after being removed from his position as the head of the agency in charge of pandemic response, said her client would prefer to return to his original job if possible.
“Ideally he would like his job as BARDA director back,” said Bright’s attorney, Lisa Banks, using the initials for Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which he led. “It’s what he’s best suited for, and it’s what would best serve the American public for sure.”
Banks said that Bright would be willing serve in any capacity in which he can “roll up his sleeves to try to fight this virus and come up with drugs or a vaccine that will let us get back to some semblance of normalcy.”
Bright remains a federal employee and has been transferred to a position at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services.
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Whistleblower Rick Bright has been "preparing for a pandemic his entire career," his attorney says
Dr. Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Thursday, May 14.
He slammed the Trump administration’s coronavirus response and urged lawmakers to listen to the voices of scientists to prevent “unprecedented illness and fatalities.”
Bright’s attorney, Lisa Banks, joined CNN’s ongoing town hall to discuss his testimony.
“He’s been preparing for a pandemic his entire career,” she said. “And when faced with an environment in which politics trumped science, he had to push back. And as he said today, he’s never been a whistleblower before. He’s never had to push back like that or file a complaint. But here he had to because American lives were at stake.”
Here’s some context: Bright had previously led the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), an office under the Department of Health and Human Services. BARDA has been central to the response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Bright was removed from the post on April 21.
Since then, he’s been on a short-term medical leave, said Banks today. When discussing his future role within the National Institutes of Health, Bright learned yesterday he will no longer be working with vaccines, “so it was unclear what job they had in mind for him,” Banks said.
White House declines to have members of coronavirus task force on CNN's global town hall
For the first time in 11 weeks, there will be no member of the White House’s coronavirus task force on CNN’s global town hall.
There hasn’t been a full White House briefing on coronavirus in 17 days, CNN’s Anderson Cooper said.
Cooper added that technology is not an excuse for why no task force member could attend the town hall since “nearly all the medical staff from the task force appeared remotely in front of the Senate on Tuesday.”
“So their computers work. This is just the latest example of the White House trying to put as much distance between the President and this virus as possible,” Cooper said.
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CNN's global town hall on coronavirus will start soon
CNN's Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta
CNN
Climate activist Greta Thunberg and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred will join CNN’s global town hall tonight.
Richard Besser, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Kathleen Sebelius, former Department of Health and Human Services secretary, will discuss the coronavirus pandemic with CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
The town hall starts at 8 p.m. ET.
How to watch: The town hall will air on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español. It will stream live on CNN.com’s homepage and across mobile devices via CNN’s apps, without requiring a cable log-in.
You can also watch on CNNgo, and subscribers to cable/satellite systems can watch it on-demand.
We’ll also be covering it with live updates here.
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Brazil tops 200,000 coronavirus cases
From CNN’s Flora Charner in Atlanta and Shasta Darlington in Sao Paulo
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Brazil has risen to 202,918, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
For the second day in a row, Brazil posted a record number of new cases with 13,944 reported.
There were 844 new deaths registered in the last 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data. The total number of deaths in Brazil from Covid-19 is now 13,993.
What we know: Brazil is currently among the top 10 countries in the world with the highest number coronavirus cases ranking sixth, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. It is the country with the most cases and deaths in Latin America.
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Catch up: Here are the top coronavirus headlines from today
If you’re just tuning in, here are the latest headlines from around the globe:
Global death toll: At least 300,074 people have died from Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of deaths across the world.
France’s tourism plan: French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced an “unprecedented” 18 billion euro (or about $19.4 billion USD) plan to support the country’s tourism industry. Under the plan, tourism businesses will be eligible for grants of up to 10,000 euros (about $10,781 USD). There are also government-guaranteed loans totaling 6.2 billion euro (about $6.7 billion USD).
Coronavirus antibodies: Only 5% of people in Spain have developed coronavirus antibodies so far, according to preliminary results of an epidemiological study by the government.
Travel in Europe: It will be “months not weeks” before there is a return to normal travel within the European Union, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told parliament.
Japan’s state of emergency: Japan lifted its state of emergency for 39 of its 47 prefectures on Thursday evening, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced in a briefing.
Later on CNN: Join us for CNN’s global town hall on the coronavirus pandemic. It starts at 8 p.m. ET. Today’s guests are Richard Besser, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kathleen Sebelius, former US Department of Health and Human Services secretary, Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball, and climate activist Greta Thunberg.
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More than 300,000 people have died worldwide from coronavirus
Northern Ireland announces first steps in easing lockdown
From CNN's Peter Taggart in Belfast
First Minister Arlene Foster at the Northern Ireland Executives daily press update on the response to the Covid-19 crisis in the Long Gallery, Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Belfast, on March 25.
Liam McBurney/PA Images/Getty Images
Northern Ireland will take its first steps in easing lockdown restrictions on Monday, First Minister Arlene Foster announced at a daily news conference in Belfast on Thursday.
From next Monday, “on the basis of the latest scientific and medical advice” garden centers and household recycling facilities can reopen with social distancing measures, with marriage ceremonies for the terminally ill also allowed to take place, Foster said.
The first lockdown changes in the Republic of Ireland are due to be confirmed on Friday.
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Health workers in Spain hold two minutes of silence for colleagues killed by COVID-19
From CNN’s Mia Alberti
Healthcare professionals hold a two minutes silence in Vall d'Hebron Hospital in memory of the deceased health workers by Covid-19 in Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain, on May 14.
David Zorrakino/Europa Press/Getty Images
Health workers across Spain observed two minutes of silence in honor of all their colleagues who have died since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Across the country health professionals stood silently in front of hospitals, care homes and health centers in silence. On social media, videos and photos of the vigils were posted along with the hashtags #NiUnFacultativoMenos (Not one professional less) or #UnSilencioYUnaPalabra (One silence and one word).
So far, 50,088 health workers have been infected with the virus in the country, according to Spain’s Health Ministry on Thursday. 48 doctors have died according to the General Council of Official Medical Colleges, the Spanish doctors’ professional body (CGCOM) earlier this week. The Spanish government has not given an official figure on the number of deaths among health workers.
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Italian prime minister critical of European Union's tourism plan
From CNN’s Mia Alberti, Livia Borghese and Valentina DiDonato
Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte makes a statement to journalists in Cremona, Italy, on April 28.
Marco Mantovani/Getty Images
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has criticized the European Union’s proposed tourism plan to allow special so-called green corridors between countries within the bloc, which could see Italy cut off from summer tourist destinations.
The suggested tourism corridors would allow certain countries with low or sharply declining Covid-19 infection rates to open up to a select few destinations until borders are fully reopened.
“[Tourism] cannot be conditioned by bilateral agreements or we will be out of the European Union, we will never permit it”, he added, underlining that tourism represents up to 13% of Italian GDP.
Conte’s comments come as the EU is debating whether to permit the so-called “green corridors” or “travel bubbles” between countries according to their epidemiological situation.
Conte said he has told the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, that these “corridors” would mean the “destruction” of the EU’s single market.
The losses on the Italian tourism sector due to the coronavirus could be around 120 billion euros ($130 billion) until the end of the year, according to the Italian Confederation of Enterprises ‘Confcommercio’. Up to 420,000 jobs and 270,000 businesses in trade and tourism are also at risk.
The Italian government has allocated 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) to support the tourism and culture sector in its 55 billion euro ($60 billion) stimulus package to help the country recover from the economic hit of coronavirus crisis.
This includes tax cuts for business owners, a 500€ ($540) vacation bonus for families with an income under 40,000 euros to travel inside of Italy, and extending hotel vouchers valid from 12 to 18 months, the Minister of Tourism, Dario Francheschini announced on Thursday.
CLARIFICATION: This post has been updated to indicate Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was critical of the European Union’s plan, which could allow special so-called green corridors.
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Coronavirus may have killed over 22,000 in care homes in England and Wales, study says
From CNN’s Max Ramsay in London
There have been more than 22,000 excess deaths among care home residents in England and Wales as a direct or indirect result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report from London School of Economics (LSE) academics. This is more than double official figures for Covid-19 deaths among care home residents.
The study, published on Tuesday by two academics at LSE’s Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, found that by May 1 there had been “in excess of 22,000 deaths of care home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic” in England and Wales, which is 54% of all excess deaths.
This calculation was based on the total excess mortality in care homes of 19,038, and adjusted by 15%, based on an assumption from Care Quality Commission data that 15% of all deaths of care home residents are found to happen in hospitals.
The study found official data on deaths in care homes directly attributed to coronavirus underestimates the impact of the pandemic, as it does “not take account of indirect mortality effects of the pandemic and/or because of problems with the identification of the disease as the cause of death”.
The UK’s Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday that 8,314 deaths involving Covid-19 had taken place in care homes up to May 8 in England alone. On May 8, UK Department of Health figures reported there had been 31,241 total deaths from coronavirus in hospitals in the UK.
The Office for National Statistics noted that deaths among care home residents was in recent days becoming a larger proportion of total deaths, with 40% of coronavirus deaths occurring in care homes in the “most recent days” up to Tuesday.
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Moscow is launching a free mass antibody testing program
From CNN’s Mary Ilyushina in Moscow
A nurse collecting blood of a patient at the Moscow branch of Israel's Hadassah Medical Center at the Moscow International Medical Cluster at Skolkovo Innovation Center, on Thursday, April 23. Hadassah Medical Moscow does express tests for COVID-19 antibodies.
Vladimir Gerdo/TASS/Getty Images
Russia’s capital is launching a large coronavirus screening program starting May 15th, the city’s mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced in a blog post.
Sobyanin said the city currently performs 40,000 coronavirus tests a day, but in order to establish the real infection rate and determine when to lift quarantine restrictions, the authorities plan to test the population for antibodies.
A random selection of 70,000 Moscow residents will get invites via email or text every few days to get an antibody test done in one of the thirty clinics across the city, authorities said.
Testing will be carried out using enzyme immunoassay method, that detects IgM antibodies, a marker of coronavirus infection, and immunoglobulin G, a marker of immunity to the infection.
According to Sobyanin, weekly data will be published online and will be used to make “executive decisions” as to whether to ease or tighten restrictions in a city which has been under quarantine for two months.
Moscow is Russia’s worst-hit city with over 130,000 cases, although Sobyanin has said the total number of people infected is likely higher, based on previous screening studies.
“Premature removal of restrictions carries a real risk of a second pandemic,” Sobyanin said in his statement Thursday. “Unjustified delays will also hit people in the strongest way.”
On Wednesday, Moscow’s health department hit back at media reports that cast doubt on the city’s low mortality rates, with just 1,290 fatalities recorded. Health officials said the released data was “absolutely open,” but acknowledged that only deaths that were found through postmortem autopsy to have been caused directly by coronavirus complications were counted.
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Up to 100 UK children could have contracted inflammatory disease linked to coronavirus
A 14 year old child in London has died of what is now called “multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children” and cases have been found in the US and Europe. The syndrome resembles another childhood condition known as Kawasaki disease which typically affects children under the age of five.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health called it an “extremely rare condition” in a statement to CNN, adding they expect to have a better idea of the extent of the illness next week.
British researchers at Evelina London Children’s hospital said on Wednesday they had treated more than 20 children, all fit and well, with symptoms bearing resemblance to a severe form of Kawasaki disease. Their initial findings were published in a study in the Lancet. While the new syndrome also involves inflammation, infectious disease experts say it is different from Kawasaki disease. Symptoms include persistent fever, rash, red eyes, inflammation and poor function in one or more organs.
In late April, Britain’s National Health Service sent an “urgent alert” to doctors saying they had seen cases of atypical Kawasaki disease that could be linked to coronavirus.
“Only some cases “get very, very sick. So parents need to be aware, but I don’t think they need to be too concerned,” Viner said. Some older teenagers suffering from this disease appear “really washed out and tired,” potentially after having coronavirus. British researchers are working to establish the exact prevalence of the syndrome, he said.
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Brazil's president says lockdowns are "the path to failure"
From Shasta Darlington in Sao Paulo
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro talks to the press in front of the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, on May 13, 2020. Photo: DIDA SAMPAIO/ESTADAO CONTEUDO (Agencia Estado via AP Images)
Dida Sampaio/Estadao Conteúdo/Agencia Estado/AP
Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro warned that more restrictive social isolation measures would break the country and said there wouldn’t be enough money to pay public sector workers.
Bolsonaro said quarantine measures already introduced by many governors across the country were making the crisis worse. “Brazil is turning into a country of poor people.” He warned, “there won’t be enough money to pay public sector workers.”
On Wednesday evening, the Health Minister reported that the number of confirmed cases had risen 11,385 from the day before - a new record high for a day. Brazil’s total number of cases is now 192,081 and 13,276 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Brazil has the 6th highest number of coronavirus cases in the world. It stands behind the US, Russia, UK, Spain, and Italy, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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Moscow says "other causes" account for 60% of suspected coronavirus deaths
From CNN’s Mary Ilyushina in Moscow and Nathan Hodge
A staff member in a protective suit works in a hospital for Covid-19 patients in Moscow on May 8.
Gavriil Grigorov/TASS/Getty Images
Moscow’s health department said authorities conducted autopsies on 100% of suspected coronavirus victims and confirmed that 639 people died directly of coronavirus complications in April, in a statement on Wednesday.
The health department hit back at media reports saying it was under-reporting Covid-19 fatalities, saying its data was “absolutely open,” but acknowledging that it only counts deaths that were found through postmortem autopsy to have been caused directly by coronavirus complications.
“In other cases, it’s impossible to put Covid-19 as the cause of death,” the health department said, acknowledging the April spike in mortality rates.
City health officials argue that a mandatory autopsy is performed on all patients with suspected coronavirus to establish diagnosis and cause of death “in contrast with the practice in most other countries,” adding, “post-mortem diagnoses and causes of death recorded in Moscow are therefore extremely accurate, and mortality data is completely open. It is impossible to name the cause of death as Covid-19 in other cases.”
Some background: CNN and other news outlets reported this week that Moscow saw a surge in mortality in April, according to civil register’s data. The city registered 11,846 death certificates that month, which is about 20% higher compared to a ten-year average of 9,866 deaths.
The statistics in the Russian capital have come under scrutiny as observers note the comparatively low overall number of deaths in Russia — a total that currently stands at 2,305 according to Johns Hopkins University — even as the country takes second place in the world for the number of confirmed cases, over a quarter of a million.
Russia has the second-highest number of cases behind the US, and Moscow is the country’s worst hit-city. According to official statistics, Moscow has reported at least 1,290 deaths out of an official total of more than 130,000 cases recorded as of Thursday, although Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has said the total number of people infected is likely higher, based on screening studies.
The statement from the Moscow health authorities argued that even if all mortality figures for April in Moscow were adjusted to attribute more cases to coronavirus, the overall mortality rate from Covid-19 infections would be far lower than the official mortality rates in New York and London.
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Only 5% of people in Spain have coronavirus antibodies, government study suggests
From CNN's Mia Alberti, Al Goodman, and Claudia Rebaza
A doctor takes a coronavirus antibody test on April 30 in Sevilla, Spain.
Luna Flores/Europa Press/Getty Images
Only 5% of people in Spain have developed coronavirus antibodies so far, according to preliminary results of an epidemiological study by the government, which were announced on Wednesday evening.
The study also revealed that 87% of all participants who have tested positive using the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) for Covid-19 had developed antibodies.
The preliminary results of the study show the prevalence of antibodies is higher in people who said they had more than five symptoms of coronavirus (14.7%)than in people who said they had just three to five symptoms (8%). The study still has two more rounds of tests to conduct.
“Those people that reported a sudden loss of sense of smell, among them the prevalence [of antibodies] was 43%. Overall, of all positives we found in the study, 26% are people with no symptoms”, Pollán added.
Pollán also said the study detected a five times bigger presence of antibodies in the populations of the territories with the most coronavirus cases, such as in Spain’s capital Madrid, compared to areas with fewer cases. The data also shows the level of antibodies was very “similar in men and women” and among adults.
The study is based on 60,983 participants, who are a representative sample of the population. They are split into two groups across Spainfor the search of antibodies.
Spain, one of the hardest-hit countries in the world by coronavirus, has been under a state of emergency since March 14. As infection rates have declined, the government is slowly lifting strict home confinement, in some parts of the country. It is looking to this study to help guide its future re-opening of activities and the economy, officials have said.
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France unveils "unprecedented" plan to save its tourism industry
From CNN's Pierre Bairin and Simon Cullen
Stacked chairs are seen inside a closed restaurant in Paris on May 4.
Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced an “unprecedented” 18 billion euro (or about $19.4 billion USD) plan to support the country’s tourism industry.
Under the plan, tourism businesses will be eligible for grants of up to 10,000 euros (about $10,781 USD). There are also government-guaranteed loans totaling 6.2 billion euro (about $6.7 billion USD).
Philippe said cafés and restaurants in green zones – where the coronavirus epidemic is not as bad – would reopen on June 2 as long as the situation doesn’t deteriorate.
For Paris and other areas in red zones, a decision to reopen cafés and restaurants would be made during the week of May 25.
He also thanked the tourism industry for guaranteeing that full refunds would be given for cancellations related to coronavirus.
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Normal travel in Europe is "months not weeks" away, Irish prime minister says
From CNN's Tiff Gault and Simon Cullen
A man walks through the Dublin Airport on May 1.
Brian Lawless/PA Images/Getty Images
It will be “months not weeks” before there is a return to normal travel within the European Union, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told parliament on Thursday.
He said Ireland was committed to preserving the EU’s policy of allowing citizens to travel, study and work elsewhere in the continent.
“While these rights may be restricted for a time due to the pandemic and public health emergency, it is our policy to resume normal travel for business, leisure, study and visits to friends and relatives as soon as it is safe to do so, but not before,” he said.
“This is something the European Commission is currently working on,” the prime minister said.
Varadkar said anyone arriving at Irish ports or airports must self-isolate for 14 days unless they meet the criteria for an exemption.
His remarks come a day after the European Union unveiled an action plan to get its internal borders reopening, safely fire up its hospitality sector and to revive rail, road, air and sea connections that have been strangled during the pandemic.
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State of emergency lifted for most of Japan
From CNN’s Yoko Wakatsuki in Tokyo
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe leaves after a press conference at his official residence in Tokyo, on Thursday, May 14.
Akio Kon/AP
Japan lifted its state of emergency for 39 of its 47 prefectures on Thursday evening, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced in a press briefing.
Tokyo, Osaka, and six urban prefectures will remain under the legislation, with the government assessing their status on May 21.
The Japanese PM said he could end the emergency order ahead of its May 31 expiration date for most of the country because he was confident in Japan’s containment efforts.
According to the latest numbers from Johns Hopkins University, Japan has 16,049 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 678 deaths.
Abe said he will draw up the second round of a supplemental budget to boost financial support for employees and business owners.
Japan’s initial state of emergency was declared on April 7. This applied to seven urban prefectures and involved a non-enforceable recommendation by central government to limit the country to only basic economic activity.
On April 16, Abe announced the state of emergency was expanded nationwide as its coronavirus cases continued to grow and, on April 30, was extended to May 31.
He asked the public to remain vigilant and gradually resume social activities while adopting a “new lifestyle” of practicing social distancing, working from home and avoiding high-risk activities.
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It's just past 1 p.m. in London and 8 a.m. in New York. Here's what you may have missed
Medical workers collect samples in a mobile COVID-19 testing unit in Adygea, Russia, on Wednesday, May 13.
Igor Onuchin/TASS/Getty Images
Coronavirus has infected more than 4.3 million people worldwide, with its global death toll closing in on 300,000.
Here are the latest headlines:
UK reports 100% accurate antibody test: Britain has approved a coronavirus antibody test developed by pharmaceutical company Roche and is now working towards acquiring enough kits for widespread testing.
Russia reports nearly 10,000 new cases of Covid-19: The country recorded 9,974 new cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours. Russia has the second-highest number of confirmed cases in the world after the US, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
Hong Kong aims to test 860 people as new cluster grows: Officials will try to test the residents of two apartment buildings, after a couple and their granddaughter were diagnosed with Covid-19.
China expands testing over virus resurgence fears: Health officials said Thursday that they would step up coronavirus testing after two provinces in the northeast of the country reported new locally transmitted cases this week.
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France warns pharmaceutical giant against giving US first doses of Covid-19 vaccine
From Pierre Bairin and Simon Cullen, CNN
Sanofi headquarters in Paris, France, on Thursday, February 6.
Marlene Awaad/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The French government has said it would be unacceptable for global pharmaceutical company Sanofi to reserve the first doses of a Covid-19 vaccine for the US market.
Sanofi is a France-based company. A month ago it signed a letter of intent with British multinational GSK to develop a vaccine for Covid-19.
At the time, the companies said they planned to initiate Phase I clinical trials in the second half of 2020 and, if successful, aimed to complete the development required for availability by the second half of 2021.
Deputy Finance Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said she contacted Sanofi on Wednesday, after reading comments from the CEO suggesting that the US market would be prioritised once a Covid-19 vaccine was developed.
Sanofi says its cooperation with the US’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will allow it to initiate production as soon as possible.
The company said it was exploring similar opportunities within Europe.
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Global oil demand forecast slightly improves as lockdowns ease, says International Energy Agency
The McKittrick oil field in California on Wednesday, April 29.
Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Global oil demand is likely to increase slightly during 2020 as lockdowns are gradually eased around the world, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Better than expected mobility across the countries which form the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has also helped increase demand, it said.
The IEA has now revised upward its global oil demand outlook for 2020.
The organization now expects oil demand to fall by 8.6 million barrels per day in 2020 instead of 9.3 million barrels per day which was the estimate in its previous forecast, published in April.
This is still sharply down on demand from 2019 and marks a record drop in global oil demand.
The IEA noted that economic activity was beginning a gradual but fragile recovery but warned that major uncertainties remain.
“The biggest is whether governments can ease the lockdown measures without sparking a resurgence of Covid-19 outbreaks,” it said.
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Hong Kong aims to test more than 800 people as new local cluster grows
From CNN's Isaac Yee
Sanitation workers disinfect an apartment building in Hong Kong, on May 13.
Zhang Wei/China News Service/Getty Images
Hong Kong will try to test around 860 people living in two apartment buildings for coronavirus, after a third locally transmitted case of Covid-19 was identified as part of a new cluster in the city.
On Wednesday, a 66-year-old woman and her five-year-old granddaughter were confirmed as the first two locally transmitted coronavirus cases in 22 days. The pair do not live together.
The new case, confirmed on Thursday, is the 66-year-old woman’s husband.
Hong Kong’s Housing Authority said it would distribute deep throat saliva sample kits to all residents living in the same buildings as the couple and their granddaughter by the end of Thursday.
Participation in the testing is voluntary according to Dr. Chuang Shuk Kwan from the city’s Center for Health Protection.
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More than 84,000 people have died from coronavirus in the US
From CNN's Joe Sutton
Refrigerated trucks functioning as temporary morgues for coronavirus victims are seen at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in New York City on May 6.
Justin Heiman/Getty Images
At least 84,136 people have died in the US from coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University’s latest tally. The organization said 1,390,764 cases had been recorded across the country.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
The US currently has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world.
CNN is tracking Covid-19’s spread across the US here.
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Fish at Australian aquarium "moping around" as crowds stay away
A fish swims in a tank at the Cairns Aquarium in Australia.
Seven Network
Fish at an aquarium in Cairns, Australia, are lonely and “moping around” as they lack interactions with visitors during the pandemic, staff told CNN affiliate Seven Network.
Australia banned public gatherings and non-essential travel in late March but the outbreak is now considered broadly under control. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a three-step plan to reopen the country’s economy by July.
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UK health body approves coronavirus antibody test
From CNN's Max Ramsay and Lindsay Isaac
A lab technician holds a rackpack for Roche’s new coronavirus antibody test at a development lab in Penzberg, Germany, on May 4.
Peter Kneffel/picture alliance/Getty Images
Britain has approved a coronavirus antibody test developed by pharmaceutical company Roche and is now working towards acquiring enough kits for widespread testing.
UK health officials determined the tests were “highly specific,” with an accuracy of 100%, in an independent evaluation, Public Health England (PHE) said in a statement to CNN.
Scientists believe antibodies provide a degree of immunity from future coronavirus infection, though it has not been determined how long such immunity lasts.
Edward Argar, a UK health minister, said Roche’s test “appears to be extremely reliable” and “has the potential to be a game changer” in a television interview with the BBC.
The British government had entered discussions with Roche about acquiring the tests, Argar said. He added that the government was not in a position to roll out the tests yet, but was working on distributing them as quickly as possible.
Roche has previously said its antibody test can provide a result in approximately 18 minutes. It is an in vitro test, using human serum and plasma drawn from a blood sample, and must then be run in a Roche analyser.
The company’s antibody test has also been authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration.
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China to expand coronavirus testing to prevent resurgence in cases
From CNN's Isaac Yee in Hong Kong
A medical worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) collects samples from a teacher for nucleic acid testing for the coronavirus at a primary school in Taiyuan, China, on Wednesday, May 13.
Zhang Yuan/China News Service/Getty Images
Health officials in China said Thursday that they will be stepping up coronavirus testing and screening countrywide amid growing concern of a domestic rebound in cases.
The announcement comes after both Jilin and Liaoning provinces in the northeast of the country reported new locally transmitted cases this week.
Earlier on Thursday, Chinese state media reported that the city of Wuhan, ground zero for the Covid-19 pandemic, had begun a “10-day battle” to test all 11 million of its citizens for coronavirus after the public health authorities identified six locally transmitted cases.
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The UK's 4 countries take a divided approach to coronavirus crisis
Analysis from CNN's Luke McGee in London
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives on Downing Street after leaving the House of Commons in London, England, on Wednesday, May 13.
On Sunday night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the country from 10 Downing Street in a recorded message, announcing his plan for the UK to emerge from lockdown.
He called on millions of people to return to work, and gave a rough outline of when schools and shops might reopen over the comings months. He also shifted his government’s core message from the simple “Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives” to the more ambiguous “Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives.”
But before Johnson’s message was even broadcast, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon delivered her own address. In doing so, she revealed the uncomfortable reality that Johnson has little practical power over the people living in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Since the late 1990s, Westminster has ceded much power to legislative bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, allowing devolved governments to set domestic policy in areas such as health and education.
So it is little surprise that Sturgeon was confused when Johnson began talking about the opening of schools, among other things, on Sunday night. “Discussing schools, for example, he used year group terms that don’t even make sense in Scotland. It wasn’t at all clear in the statement what guidance applied to the whole UK and what applied to England specifically,” says Nicola McEwen, professor of territorial politics at the University of Edinburgh.
Sources inside Downing Street have told CNN that Johnson himself thought the message was confusing. “Filming was a total nightmare. He was stopping and starting, asking to change bits, complaining about the length, saying it was all too complex,” said one government source who was not permitted to speak on the record.
Russia reports nearly 10,000 new cases of Covid-19
From CNN's Darya Tarasova in Moscow and Nathan Hodge
A woman wears a protective mask and gloves while shopping in a supermarket in Moscow on Wednesday.
Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images
Russia recorded 9,974 new cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, the country’s coronavirus headquarters said in a statement today.
That marks the first time in 12 days that the country has reported fewer than 10,000 new daily cases.
Russia has officially reported 252,245 total cases of coronavirus. The country has the second-highest number of confirmed cases in the world after the United States, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
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How coronavirus-related stress takes a toll on your body
From CNN's Sandee LaMotte
The constant stress of living in the age of coronavirus is affecting more than your mental health and emotional coping abilities. It’s likely taking a toll on your body as well.
“We’re living in a sea of stress hormones every day,” said stress management expert Dr. Cynthia Ackrill, an editor for “Contentment” magazine, produced by the American Institute of Stress.
Designed to keep you functioning throughout the day, cortisol levels are meant to rise in the morning and decrease as the day lengthens. The hormone’s purpose is to maintain blood sugar levels to keep your brain and muscles functioning and suppress non-vital systems like digestionthat might drag your energy down.
But when triggered by a stressful occurrence, cortisol levels suddenly spike, and can take hours to dissipate. If that stress is constant, those levels don’t drop, leading to cortisol malfunction and a disease-causing boost in inflammation.
If you’re genetically at risk or you already have an inflammatory condition, today’s constant stress may well trigger or worsen your symptoms.
American pilot dies in plane crash while attempting to deliver Covid-19 tests to remote Indonesian village
From CNN's Leah Asmelash
An American pilot died when her plane malfunctioned while she was on her way to deliver Covid-19 rapid test kits to a remote Indonesian village, officials said.
Joyce Lin, 40, had just taken off Tuesday morning, leaving the airport in Sentani, in Papua province, in a Kodiak aircraft. She was a missionary with the Mission Aviation Fellowship, serving as a pilot and an information technology specialist.
Lin was attempting to fly to Mamit, in the Papua highlands, in an effort to bring test kits to the local clinic. Within minutes of takeoff, she reported an emergency.
The aircraft fell into Lake Sentani, and divers confirmed she did not survive, according to the MAF. She was the only one aboard the plane. The MAF said it is working with local authorities to investigate the incident.
Lin had worked in Indonesia for two years, and joined the MAF after more than a decade of work as a computer specialist.
It's just past 9 a.m. in Rome and 5 p.m. in Sydney. Here's what you should know if you're just tuning in
The novel coronavirus has infected more than 4.3 million people worldwide, bringing countries to a standstill. The global death toll is closing in on 300,000.
Here are the latest headlines:
Job losses mount in Australia: Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday that nearly 600,000 people in the country have lost their jobs as a result of the financial impact of the pandemic. He said the number was “shocking” but somewhat anticipated.
Mass evacuations: Indian authorities said they will help bring home a further 30,000 citizens stranded abroad due to the pandemic. Some 8,500 of 14,800 citizens registered to leave in the first phase of the operation have already returned.
A spike in Chile: The Chilean health ministry said that 2,660new cases of coronavirus were recorded in the country on Wednesday – the highest number in a single day.
Covid-19’s dire effects: Researchers reported Wednesday that the novel coronavirus can go far beyond the lungs and can attack organs throughout the body, including the heart, liver, brain, kidneys and intestines. The findings could help explain the wide range of symptoms caused by Covid-19 infection.
Italy spending billions: The Italian government has unveiled a $60 billion stimulus package to help the country recover from the economic impact of the crisis. Some of the money will go to the country’s beleaguered health care sector to help it prepare for a potential second wave.
Brazil’s epidemic: The country’s health ministry said Wednesday that it recorded 11,385 new cases of the virus in a 24-hour period – the highest spike in a single day. Brazil has recorded more than 190,000 cases, the sixth-highest total in the world.
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Fewer than 1,000 Covid-19 patients in Germany are on ventilators
From CNN's Frederik Pleitgen in Berlin
There are now fewer than 1,000 Covid-19 patients breathing with the help of ventilators in Germany, according to the country’s central register of intensive care capacities.
The data from Germany’s Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive and Emergency Medicine shows that 1,353 Covid-19 patients are currently in intensive care beds, and of those, 924 are on ventilators.
Maintaining sufficient intensive care capacities is a cornerstone of Germany’s strategy to combat the disease.
Germany has 32,466 intensive care beds to treat Covid-19 patients, according to the country’s intensive care register. There are currently 15,000 active cases, authorities in the country say.
A total of more than 174,000 people have contracted the virus in Germany, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, 7,861 of whom have died.
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Nearly 600,000 people in Australia have lost their jobs during the pandemic
People queue outside a benefits payment center in Sydney on March 23.
Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday that nearly 600,000 people in the country have lost their jobs as a result of the financial impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic, a number he called “shocking, although not unanticipated.”
Morrison said that although the rate of infections is decreasing in Australia, the country should prepare for further economic hardship.
Nearly 7,000 people in Australia have been infected by the virus, killing 98, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Last week, Morrison announced a three-step plan to reopen the country if infections continue to trend downward.
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The city at coronavirus ground zero is trying to test all 11 million residents in 10 days
From journalist Alexandra Lin in Hong Kong and Steven Jiang in Beijing
A medical worker takes a swab sample from a man to be tested for coronavirus in Wuhan, China on May 14.
Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images
Health officials in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where Covid-19 emerged at the end of last year, have started a 10-day screening effort to curb any new local epidemic by testing all of its citizens, according to the state-run Global Times newspaper.
Following an emergency notice that was issued on Monday, testing started on Wednesday; people who are classified as “high risk” will be tested first, according to the Global Times.
The city is home to around 11 million people.
Global Times cited a document from the health commission of Wuchang district, saying that “the testing period will last from Wednesday to May 20.”
District health authorities were advised to complete forms for residents, which show “personal information of residents, personal ID, phone numbers, address, whether they have tested before and if they belong to a “key cluster,” according to the Global Times.
Wuhan health authorities announced on Tuesday that all city residents would be targeted for large-scale testing, following the detection of six new cases in a local residential community last weekend. Priority for testing will be given to key groups and older communities with dense and fluid populations.
Wuchang district health authorities told Global Times that they have set up both indoor and outdoor sites for testing, and are asking each community to keep organized and avoid gatherings, with different time slots for testing.
Global Times reported that since Tuesday, around 70,000 people in Wuhan had undergone nucleic acid tests.
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Woman gives birth, then walks 99 miles with her newborn baby
From CNN's Swati Gupta and Rob Picheta
The baby girl was born on May 5 with India under nationwide lockdown measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Courtesy of Kavita Kanesh
A pregnant woman traveling through India by foot interrupted her journey to give birth and then kept walking for another 160 kilometers (99 miles) with her newborn baby.
The woman, whose identity is unknown to CNN, was walking with her husband and their four other children from the city of Nashik, in Maharashtra, to the town of Satna in the adjoining state of Madhya Pradesh.
The family had left Nashik because they had no place to live and the country’s coronavirus lockdown had left them without any means to earn money, according to Kavita Kanesh, an official in Madhya Pradesh.
Somewhere along the trip, the woman stopped and gave birth to a baby girl. A few days later, she was stopped by Kanesh at a checkpoint in their home state.
The baby was born on May 5, four days before they reached the checkpoint, Kanesh said.
Kanesh said she arranged for the woman to be taken to a quarantine facility and receive medical treatment.
Thousands of migrant workers have attempted to leave Indian cities and return to their villages since the country’s coronavirus restrictions came into effect.
Due to widespread closures of public transport, some have been forced to make the journeys on foot.
India has so far recorded more than 78,000 coronavirus cases and 2,551 deaths, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University.
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India plans to bring 30,000 stranded citizens home in a single week
From CNN's Vedika Sud in New Delhi
Indian Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri, center, arrives to attend a ministerial plenary at the Wings India 2020 international exhibition at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad, on March 14.
Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images
Indian authorities said they will evacuate 30,000 more citizens stranded abroad due to the novel coronavirus pandemic – the second phase of a massive operation to bring Indians home from across the world.
Indian Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the citizens will return from 31 countries across 149 flights during the week of May 16 to May 22.
A total of 8,500 citizens had already returned home of the 14,800 Indians registered to travel on 64 flights in the first phase of the operation, Puri said. More flights were underway, he added.
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Studies find that Covid-19 can infect intestines, kidneys and other organs
From CNN Health's Maggie Fox
The novel coronavirus can infect organs throughout the body, including the lungs, heart, liver, brain, kidneys and the intestines, researchers reported Wednesday.
Two separate reports suggest the virus goes far beyond the lungs and can attack various organs – findings that can help explain the wide range of symptoms caused by Covid-19 infection.
The findings might help explain some of the puzzling symptoms seen in coronavirus patients. They include blood clots that cause strokes in younger people and that clog dialysis machines, headaches and kidney failure.
Covid-19 is classified as a respiratory virus and is transmitted through respiratory droplets, but it can also sometimes cause diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Researchers have found evidence of the virus in the stool of patients, and warn that it can be transmitted via what’s known as the fecal-oral route.
South Korea reports 12 more Covid-19 cases tied to nightclubs in Seoul
From CNN's Yoonjung Seo in Seoul, South Korea
People wait in line to test for coronavirus at a virus testing station in the nightlife district of Itaewon in Seoul on May 12.
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
South Korean authorities have identified another 12 locally transmitted infections of Covid-19 linked to nightclubs in the capital Seoul.
Authorities are particularly worried that the virus was widely transmitted when people started returning to the bars and clubs of the Itaewon nightlife district from the end of April.
A total of 131 positive cases have emerged in this cluster since May 6, according to the South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The KCDC has conducted 35,000 tests – 15,000 alone on Wednesday – in an attempt to quickly trace and contain this outbreak.
Anonymous testing: The government is urging citizens who visited the area from April 24 through May 6 to get tested and is allowing people to remain anonymous. Some of the clubs where the virus spread are frequented by members of South Korea’s LGBT community, which sparked a backlash against gay people in local media and lead some to fear they would be outed.
The government of the local city of Incheon, which borders Seoul, said that 14 of the 131 cases are linked to one private academy instructor who visited clubs in Itaewon. The patient initially hid his movement but his GPS location tracking revealed his place of work in Incheon, a city bordering Seoul.
Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said earlier that Incheon city announced it would pursue legal action against the tutor and if found guilty, he could be punished with up to two years in prison.
A total of 10,991 infections and 260 deaths have now been reported in the country, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally. The KCDC said Thursday that 29 cases were identified in the previous 24 hours, 26 of which were locally transmitted.
Read more about how the club outbreak stoked homophobia:
At least 21,030 new coronavirus cases and 1,763 deaths were reported in the United States on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
That brings the country’s total to at least 1,390,406 recorded infections and 84,119 fatalities as a result of contracting the virus.
The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
CNN is tracking US coronavirus cases here:
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This experiment shows just how quickly a virus like Covid-19 can spread
From CNN's Lauren M. Johnson
A viral video from Japan aims to show how easily germs and viruses can spread in restaurants when just one person is infected.
The experiment simulates the atmosphere at a buffet restaurant or on a cruise ship. It was conducted by the public broadcasting organization NHK in conjunction with health experts.
The video shows 10 people coming into the restaurant, with one singled out as the “infected” person. Each participant goes about the buffet as they normally would, not considering a potential contamination.
At the end of the video, the participants are cast under black lights illuminating where the “infection” has spread.
The substance, used to signify the germs, can be seen on food, serving utensils and platters, and even on the faces of some of the participants.
3 new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases reported in northeastern China
From journalist Alexandra Lin in Hong Kong
Three new locally transmitted coronavirus cases have been recorded in northeastern China, the country’s National Health Commission said on Thursday.
One of the cases was found in Jilin province, which has been under partial lockdown since a new cluster of infections emerged over the weekend. The other two cases were reported in neighboring Liaoning province.
Nationwide, 12 new asymptomatic cases were identified on Wednesday.
Mainland China’s total numbers:
82,929 confirmed cases
78,195 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital
4,633 deaths
712 asymptomatic patients under medical observation
101 active cases
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More than 60,000 crew members are stuck onboard 91 cruise ships in US waters and ports
From CNN's Joe Sutton
Passengers may not be cruising the oceans, but around 61,100 crew members are currently stuck onboard 91 cruise ships in US waters and ports, according to the Coast Guard.
Many cruise ships are stuck due to regulations imposed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following outbreaks that occurred on ships.
Read more about how the pandemic is affecting cruise ship employees:
Rare cases of inflammatory syndrome rose among children in Italy after pandemic hit, study finds
From CNN Health's Jacqueline Howard
The coronavirus pandemic has been tied to an increased incidence of an inflammatory syndrome among children in Italy in a new study, and the researchers warn that similar outbreaks of this rare but serious illness can be expected in other nations.
The study, published in the medical journal The Lancet on Wednesday, found cases of the syndrome appeared to increase 30-fold in the Bergamo province of Italy shortly after the coronavirus pandemic spread to the region.
The syndrome, now frequently referred to as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, resembles another childhood condition known as Kawasaki disease.
Dr. Lucio Verdoni of the Hospital Papa Giovanni XXIII in Bergamo and colleagues studied the cases of children diagnosed with Kawasaki disease at the hospital between January 1, 2015 and April 20, 2020.
The patients were divided into two groups: one group represented those diagnosed in the five years preceding the coronavirus pandemic and the second group represented those diagnosed after Covid-19 hit the region.
The data showed that the incidence rate of Kawasaki disease diagnoses was about 0.3 per month before the coronavirus pandemic, and then 10 per month afterwards between March and April of this year – a very large increase.
Kawasaki disease involves inflammation in the walls of medium-sized arteries and can damage the heart. The new syndrome also involves inflammation, but infectious disease experts say it is different from Kawasaki disease. Symptoms include persistent fever, inflammation and poor function in one or more organs.
Dr. Jeffrey Burns of Boston Children’s Hospital and other experts told CNN Wednesday that the condition appears to be a post-viral syndrome that may develop several weeks after a Covid-19 infection.
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Chile confirms more than 2,600 Covid-19 cases in a single day
From CNN Chile's Christopher Ulloa in Santiago, Chile, and CNN’s Tatiana Arias in Atlanta
Medical staff of the San Jose Hospital transfer a patient to an emergency room on Wednesday in Santiago, Chile.
Claudio Santana/Getty Images
The Chilean health ministry said that 2,660 new cases of novel coronavirus were recorded by authorities inside the country on Wednesday – the highest number in a single day since the pandemic began.
A total of 34,381 people have been infected by the virus in Chile, 346 of whom have died, according to the ministry.
Chilean health minister Jaime Mañalich said that the spike prompted authorities to place the capital of Santiago and some of its surrounding areas under a seven-day mandatory quarantine, which President Sebastian Piñera said will start Friday.
Additionally, all press staff assigned to the Presidential palace of La Moneda will be completing a preventive 14-day stay-at-home order, after a member of the media tested positive for coronavirus, Piñera’s office said on Wednesday.
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It's just past 10 p.m. in Mexico City and noon in Seoul. Here's the latest on the pandemic
A health official wearing protective gear sprays disinfectant to help reduce the spread the coronavirus ahead of school reopening in a cafeteria at a high school in Seoul, South Korea on Monday, May 11.
Lee Jin-man/AP
The novel coronavirus has infected more than 4.3 million people worldwide, bringing countries to a standstill. Here are the latest headlines:
Global death toll edges toward 300,000: At least 297,197 people have been killed by Covid-19 around the world, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. A total of at least 4,347,015 people have been infected by the virus.
Italy spending billions: The Italian government has unveiled a $60 billion stimulus package to help the country recover from the economic impact of the crisis. Some of the money will go to the country’s beleaguered health care sector to help it prepare for a potential second wave.
Virus lingers: Droplets generated by people talking while infected with the novel coronavirus could remain in the air for several minutes, potentially triggering new infections, according to researchers.
Brazil’s epidemic: The country’s health ministry said Wednesday that it recorded 11,385 new cases of the virus in a 24-hour period – the highest number in a single day. Brazil has recorded more than 190,000 cases, the sixth-highest total in the world.
Living with the virus: The novel coronavirus may never go away and may just join the mix of viruses that kill people around the world every year, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization health emergencies program, said Wednesday.
Mexico announces plan to reopen: The country’sgovernment will enact a voluntary, three-phased plan to slowly reopen the economy, starting Monday.
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Expect more cases of syndrome possibly linked to coronavirus in children, doctors warn
From CNN Health's Maggie Fox
Parents, hospitals and clinics should expect to see more cases of a mystifying condition that seems to be affecting children after a bout with Covid-19, doctors said Wednesday.
The condition, called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, appears to be a post-viral syndrome, said Dr. Jeffrey Burns, a critical care specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital who has been coordinating a global group of doctors who compare notes on the condition.
It has affected at least 100 children in the United States, most of them in New York. But doctors in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan and elsewhere have also reported cases.
Symptoms include: Persistent fever, inflammation and poor function in organs such as the kidneys or heart. Children may also show evidence of blood vessel inflammation, such as red eyes, a bright red tongue and cracked lips.
Not all of the affected children have tested positive for the coronavirus, but reports from Europe and from several cities in the United States show a link.
“There seems to be delayed responses to Covid infections in these kids,” said Dr. Moshe Arditi, a pediatric infectious diseases expert at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Burns believes more cases will turn up as Covid-19 affects more people. It’s a rare condition, but rare consequences of viral infections are seen more often when millions of people are infected.
Most children are not seriously affected by the syndrome, Burns said. Most don’t even need treatment in the intensive care unit, he said, although a small number have died. “We do have proven treatments that we can use and are using,” he said. They include blood thinners and immune modulators.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing a Health Alert Network notification to send to doctors across the country, an agency spokesman confirmed. Burns said the World Health Organization is also working to define the syndrome and alert doctors so they will know what to look for and how to treat it.
While the syndrome has features in common with Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome, it’s different, Burns and Arditi both said. It will be important to study, because the response could help explain why children are so much less likely to be severely affected by Covid-19 than adults are.
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Italy has approved a $60 billion stimulus package to help battle the financial hit from coronavirus
From CNN's Livia Borghese in Rome
A banner reading "Without government aid, we cannot reopen on May 18. Thousands of employees at risk" is seen at a shop window on Tuesday in Rome.
Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images
The Italian government has approved a 55 million euros ($60 billion) stimulus package to help the country recover from the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis.
The plan will offer financial assistance directly to families and businesses, while also helping the construction, health care, education, culture, retail, hospitality and tourism industries
A total of $27.6 billion will be allocated to support a worker’s layoff fund – which will be extended longer than the maximum length of nine weeks – and other employment-related measures, including a $650 bonus for freelancers workers.
The government is also spending $3.5 billion to shore up its national health care system in the event of a second wave of Covid-19 inside the country.
That money will be used to hire 9,600 new nurses and increase ICU capacity by 115%.
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Coronavirus could remain in the air for more than 8 minutes after talking
From CNN Health's John Bonifield
Droplets generated by people talking while infected with the novel coronavirus could linger in the air for several minutes, potentially triggering new infections, according to researchers.
A new estimate by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Pennsylvania finds that talking loudly for one minute in a confined space could generate at least 1,000 “speech droplets” containing Covid-19 particles.
Those droplets could remain in the air for more than eight minutes, according to the study published Tuesday in the open-access journal PNAS.
According to other research, that could be enough to generate an infection if someone inhaled them.
To conduct the experiment, the researchers had a person repeat the phrase “stay healthy” into a port connected to an enclosure, simulating a closed, stagnant air environment.
The phrase was chosen, the researchers said, because the “th” in the word “healthy” efficiently generates speech droplets.
The researchers then used a laser to watch what happened to the person’s speech droplets after exiting the mouth.
Large droplets shrunk as they partially evaporated and hung in the air.
Based upon the researchers’ observations, they concluded, in real life such particles could be inhaled by others and cause new coronavirus infections.
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Brazil records more than 11,000 coronavirus cases in a single day
From CNN's Shasta Darlington in Sao Paulo and Claudia Dominguez in Atlanta
Members of the military clean at at a health clinic in Sao Goncalo, Brazil on Wednesday.
Luis Alvarenga/Getty Images
Brazil’s Ministry of Health said Wednesday that it recorded 11,385 new cases of the novel coronavirus in a 24-hour period – the highest number in a single day in the country since the pandemic began.
Authorities there also reported 749 Covid-19 related fatalities.
The country has recorded 188,794 total cases, the sixth-highest in the world, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
A total of 13,149 people in Brazil have been killed by the virus.
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Coronavirus may "never go away," WHO official says
From CNN's Jacqueline Howard
WHO health emergencies program director Michael Ryan speaks during a coronavirus news briefing in Geneva on March 11.
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
The novel coronavirus may never go away and may just join the mix of viruses that kill people around the world every year, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization health emergencies program, said Wednesday.
“I’m not comparing the two diseases but I think it is important that we’re realistic. I don’t think anyone can predict when or if this disease will disappear,” Ryan added.
With a vaccine, “we may have a shot at eliminating this virus but that vaccine will have to be available, it will have to be highly effective, it will have to be made available to everyone and we’ll have to use it,” Ryan said. “This disease may settle into a long-term problem or it may not be.”
Yet the future of coronavirus does not have to be all doom and gloom, according to WHO infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove.
“The global community has come together to work in solidarity,” Van Kerkhove said. “We have seen countries bring this virus under control. We have seen countries use public health measures.”
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed Van Kerkhove’s sentiments on Wednesday and added, “We should all contribute to stop this pandemic.”
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Children in Turkey allowed out for the first time in more than a month
From CNN's Gul Tuysuz
Children play in a park on May 13 in Ankara, Turkey.
Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images
Children under the age of 14 were allowed to go outside on the street on Wednesday for the first time since the Turkish government announced a lockdown for the age group in early April.
The children were allowed out for four hours, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. local time.
Turkey has opted for an age-specific lockdown prohibiting people over the age 65 and below the age of 20 from leaving their homes. People in the 15 to 20 age group will be allowed out on Friday.
Turkey started slowly lifting some restrictions on Monday.
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Europe "will not just go back to business as usual soon," top EU leader says
From CNN’s Niamh Kennedy in Dublin and James Frater in London
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wears a face mask during a plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels on May 13.
Aris Oikonomou/AFP/Getty Images
The European Commission president on Wednesday outlined a plan to fund European recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, while warning that “we will not just go back to business as usual soon.”
The recovery instrument will be focused on those member states who have been most affected and where needs are the greatest, the European Union’s top leader said, adding that the money for the recovery plan will be on top of the existing EU budget and will also be managed through rules of the budget.
That will give European lawmakers full scrutiny over how the money is managed and spent. Parliamentarians expressed concern last week over using rules where the Parliament would only “be informed” of decisions made on the recovery funds.
Von der Leyen did not mention exact numbers, but said she wants to present an “ambitious” relaunch plan for Europe.
In the plan presented by the EU leader, recovery will be financed across three pillars:
The bulk of the money will be spent in the first pillar which will, “focus on supporting Member States to recover, repair and come out stronger from the crisis”
Pillar two is for “kick-starting the economy.” The aim, the Commission hopes, is to make Europe more strategically resilient in key industries such as in the pharmaceutical sector.
The third pillar will bolster areas that have been critical to the bloc’s response such as the RescEU fund which has delivered humanitarian aid to EU member states as well as countries like the Central African Republic.
Hear more:
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Belgium to open museums and some school classes on May 18
From CNN’s Mia Alberti in Lisbon
Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes after a news conference on Wednesday, May 13, in Brussels.
Eric Lalmand/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Belgium will move forward with the second phase of its reopening plan on May 18, when some school classes for primary and secondary students will resume and museums will be reopened under certain conditions, the prime minister announced Wednesday.
Wilmes also announced that some other services, such as hairdressers or beauticians, could also reopen but only through appointments and the mandatory use of masks for both the customers and staff. Local authorities might also choose to reopen markets with a maximum of 50 food stalls.
Most shops opened across Belgium on Monday.
Sporting events have been suspended until July 11. There is still no reopening date for restaurants and bars.
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Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro tests negative for coronavirus
From CNN’s Shasta Darlington in Sao Paulo
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro attends a news conference in Brasilia on May 7.
Andressa Anholete/Getty Images
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tested negative for coronavirus in three separate exams that were released to the public on Wednesday afternoon.
Supreme Court Justice Ricardo Lewandowski released the test results.
The three tests were administered between March 12 and March 17 after Bolsonaro returned from a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump in Florida and many in his entourage tested positive.
The release of the exams brings an end to a prolonged standoff in which Bolsonaro had refused to make tests public despite repeated legal rulings. The first request came from Brazilian newspaper Estado de S. Paulo and made its way up in the courts.
In the three tests released on Wednesday, Bolsonaro uses code names, but the ID numbers match his.
Bolsonaro handed over the tests to the Supreme Court.
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Italian soccer votes to resume on June 13
From CNN's Valentina di Donato
Italy’s Serie A soccer clubs held a vote Wednesday to resume the season starting on June 13, pending government approval.
A statement from the league said games would only resume “in accordance with the decisions of the Government and in compliance with the medical protocols to protect players and all involved personnel.”
This announcement follows Italian sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora’s declaration at the House of Representatives today, which confirmed that the government and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) have agreed to allow the league to resume training starting May 18.
Spadafora added that “in the case that a player is positive, the team needs to be in quarantine for 14 days.”
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France's coronavirus death toll surpasses 27,000
From CNN's Ya Chun Wang
France recorded another 83 fatalities due to coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the country’s death toll to more than 27,000, according to a statement from the country’s health ministry.
The country has recorded more than 178,000 cases of Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.
