' SPAIN / ITALY / USA '

Friday 27th March 2020



Spanish Health Minister:

Spain Virus:

769 Deaths in one day / 65,000 cases



The worst hit

8,215 Deaths so far in Italy


USA 85,991 Virus cases , nearly 1,300 deaths

Italy has reported its highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in one day, with 919 deaths announced on Friday.

It has also surpassed China in the number of confirmed cases, with 86,498 cases compared to China's 81,897, according to Italy's Civil Protection Agency.

Fear not Donald thinks it'll all be much better come Easter. I kid you not

Worldwide death toll surpasses 30,000
The worldwide death toll from coronavirus has surpassed 30,000 according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Italy has recorded the most deaths with the toll standing at 10,023.

Earlier today Spain announced its total number of deaths had reached 5,690.

Worldwide death toll surpasses 30,000
The worldwide death toll from coronavirus has surpassed 30,000 according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Italy has recorded the most deaths with the toll standing at 10,023.

Earlier today Spain announced its total number of deaths had reached 5,690.

Can’t even get my head around those numbers.

I’m sure many of us have regularly been at football matches with the number of deaths Spain has reported there. Unthinkable really.

Combine France, Spain and Italy and you have the amount that go to the CCS every week. It really is shocking when you put figures into visuals.

Italy deaths continue unabated
Italy recorded 756 new deaths in the past 24 hours - bringing the total to 10,779.

What's happening in the US and Canada?

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a formal advisory on Saturday, asking residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to "refrain from nonessential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately".

There are at least 124,686 confirmed cases across the country, with 2,191 deaths. The United States overtook both China and Italy last week for number of reported cases.

On Sunday, top health official Dr Anthony Fauci estimated that 100,000 to 200,000 Americans would die due to the novel coronavirus, with "millions" of infections.

In Canada, there are 5,655 confirmed cases and 61 deaths.

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, says she has received the "all clear" from her physician after testing positive for Covid-19 on 12 March.

France's deaths rise by 292

France has reported 292 new deaths from the coronavirus outbreak, bringing the total to 2,606, AFP news agency reports.

The country has the fifth highest number of deaths in the world after Iran, China, Spain and Italy, figures show.

A Spanish Air Force plane carrying medical supplies donated by the Czech Republic has landed in Madrid.

The aircraft, which touched down at Torrejón air base on Sunday, was stocked up with 10,000 protective medical suits and 90 respirators.

The delivery was organised by Nato at the request of Spain, which has the second highest death toll from the virus in the world.

Another delivery of a similar number of Czech medical suits will be made to Italy on Monday.

Nato, a transatlantic military alliance, thanked the Czech Republic for its "generous bilateral aid", describing its contribution as "solidarity in action".

Spain and Italy are the two worst-affected countries in Europe.

Italy death toll rises by 812

The death toll in Italy has climbed by 812 since yesterday, reversing a two-day decline in daily death tolls.

Italy had recorded its largest daily toll on Friday, with 919 people dying in 24 hours. But this number declined on Saturday and Sunday, with 889 and then 756 new deaths respectively.

The total death toll is now 11,591.

However, the number of new cases rose by just 1,648 - the lowest number of new cases this week. The number of people who've recovered has also gone up to 14,620, with 1,590 recoveries since yesterday.

BBC Rome Correspondent Mark Lowen added that it was "encouraging" that the new infection rate was the "lowest it's been" in Italy since the outbreak began.

The latest from Europe

Italy has had 812 more deaths in the past 24 hours - bigger than yesterday’s rise of 756. In total, 11,591 have died in Italy, the government says. But there is a hopeful sign: there was a 2.2% rise in new infections, less than half yesterday’s 5.4%. Italy reckons the peak will come in just over a week’s time.

Spain’s total of people testing positive has reached 85,195 - higher than that of China, where the outbreak began. Spain is the worst-hit country after Italy, with 7,340 deaths in total. But Foreign Minister Arancha González says the latest national figures show the virus’s upwards curve appears to be flattening out.

Players at Barcelona FC have agreed to take a 70% pay cut during the pandemic and pay contributions to ensure non-sporting staff receive full wages. Catalonia, Madrid and the Basque region are Spain’s virus hotspots.

Hungary’s government now has sweeping emergency powers and can rule by decree. Prime Minister Viktor Orban pledged to act proportionately, but opponents - including human rights campaigners outside Hungary - accuse him of eroding democracy. There is no time limit on these powers, and journalists could face jail if officials dislike their reporting on the crisis.

BREAKING

Italy extends lockdown to 12 April
Italy is extending its lockdown until "at least" 12 April, the country's health minister has said.

It comes as the country's death toll rose to 11,591.

Italy was first put in lockdown three weeks ago today.

BREAKING

Spain sees record death toll in 24 hours
Spain has recorded 849 new deaths related to coronavirus, the highest number in 24 hours in the country since the outbreak began.

The national death toll is now at 8,189, according to the health ministry.

Spain is the worst-hit country in Europe after Italy.

Anyone who ever though Trump was fit for office may want to re-think that assessment

All he's worried about on twitter, even now, is his ratings and not the thousands dying in his country.

it's worrying for all countries but really concerning that the US seems to have a President who is, and has continually been, in denial.

About three out of four Americans are now, or about to be, under some form of lockdown, as more states tighten measures to fight the coronavirus.


Maryland, Virginia, Arizona and Tennessee became the latest states to order citizens to stay at home, meaning 32 of 50 states have taken such steps.

Meanwhile governors are quarrelling with President Donald Trump about the availability of testing kits.

The US has more than 163,000 confirmed virus cases and more than 3,000 deaths. It surpassed Italy last week as the country with the highest number of people suffering from Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

New York City is the worst-hit place in America, with 914 confirmed fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Girl of 12 is 'Europe's youngest victim'

A 12-year-old girl is thought to be the youngest victim in Europe of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We have today a difficult message to announce, emotionally it's a difficult moment because it involves a child," virologist Emmanuel André said on Tuesday. "It's a rare event and we're very distressed by it."

The girl had a fever for three days but her condition then worsened. She has not been named but her school in Ghent is said to be in close contact with her parents as well as other pupils' families. Belgium has lost 705 people to the pandemic and has almost 5,000 more in hospital.

A 14-year-old died in Portugal and a girl of 16 called Julie died last week in Paris. While the elderly are by far the most vulnerable to Covid-19, the latest death in Belgium is evidence of all ages being at risk.

BREAKING

Italy death toll is 837 in past 24 hours
Italy has confirmed 837 more deaths from coronavirus, taking the country’s total to 12,428 - the highest toll in the world.

There are 2,107 new infections compared with Monday's figure of 1,648. The official total now is 77,635 cases. But the rate of new infections was higher four days ago.

Italy's government says 15,729 people have recovered from the virus. But among the dead were 66 doctors.

BREAKING

France’s deaths rise by 499 in 24 hours
France has recorded 499 new hospital deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 3,523, its director of health has said. This is the highest daily rise in such deaths since the outbreak began.

Health agency director Jérôme Salomon told a news conference that the number of cases had risen to 52,128 from 44,550 in the same period.

He said a total of 5,565 patients had been placed in intensive case, a rise of 588 in 24 hours.

France is one of five countries, including the US, China, Italy and Spain, to have surpassed the threshold of 3,000 deaths.

France is not yet counting deaths outside hospitals, so the total number of deaths could potentially be higher.

What’s happening in rest of Europe?

Briefly away from the UK government press conference, Italy has reported another 766 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities since the pandemic began there to 14,681. The number of deaths is only slightly higher than on Thursday and the 2,339 new infections are down on recent days,

In other developments:

For the second day in a row, there have been more than 900 deaths in Spain;10,935 people have died of Covid-19 since the outbreak began. With 117,710 cases It has had some 2,000 fewer cases than Italy

In France, the government has revealed that a total of 884 care home residents have died of Covid-19, as care homes across Europe struggle under the pandemic. Separately, two French doctors have sparked outrage after calling for coronavirus vaccines to be trialled in Africa

In Norway, the unemployment rate has risen to its highest ever level, with 14.7% of the population classed as either partially or fully unemployed

Slovakia is due to begin widespread testing among the Roma (Gypsy) community. The government says 1,500 Roma have recently returned from abroad

Germany has said it will allow 40,000 seasonal workers to enter the country to harvest asparagus, despite a travel ban

Italy's deaths go above 15,000 but infections stabilise

Italy has confirmed 681 more deaths from the coronavirus, taking the country’s total to 15,362. The reported number has been falling gradually in the past eight days and the number of new infections appears to have stabilised too,

There were 2,886 new infections reported in the past 24 hours, making a total of 88,274 current cases. In total 20,996 people have recovered from the virus. Both Spain and Italy have seen over 124,000 cases.

BREAKING

Italy daily deaths lowest in two weeks
There has been some positive news coming from Italy, which has reported more deaths from Covid-19 than any country.

In Sunday's briefing, the head of Italy's Civil Protection said that 525 people had died in the previous 24 hours - the lowest daily figure since 19 March.

He added that there had also been a drop in the number of people in hospital or requiring intensive care.

Almost 129,000 people have been infected since the outbreak reached Italy, and a total of 15,887 have died.

BREAKING

France daily death toll drops
France has reported 357 deaths from coronavirus in the past day, down from Saturday's toll of 441.

The country, which has been in lockdown for three weeks, now has a total of 5,889 deaths in hospital from the virus. Some 2,189 people have also died in nursing homes, officials said, taking the total death toll to 8,078.

The country has 90,864 confirmed cases.

2 weeks on from the start of this thread and small but good steps from SPAIN and ITALY - Reported today ...

The latest from Europe

Europe is starting an unprecedented Easter weekend under lockdown, but there are some hopeful signs amidst all the grim news.

Spain recorded its lowest number of daily coronavirus deaths in 17 days, though the figure - 605 - could be incomplete because of the public holiday, analysts say. That brings Spain's official total to 15,843. From Monday the lockdown - one of the strictest in the world - will be slightly eased: builders and some other non-essential workers can go back to work, the government says. On public transport people will get masks to wear, and the social-distancing rules remain in force

The tight lockdown in Italy also appears to be working: its latest 24-hour death toll is 570, continuing a declining trend. Still, Italy has the world's highest overall total: 18,849. Officials say the number who have recovered from Covid-19 is now 30,455

BREAKING

US death figures overtake Italy

There have now been 19,701 deaths reported by the US, according to John Hopkins University. That compares to 19,468 reported by Italy's government.

Regardless of which country has reported a greater number of deaths, it is a tragedy for both.

Italy and France see deaths rise but ICU patients drop

Italy’s coronavirus-related deaths increased by 619 on Saturday, bringing the total toll to 19,468. That death toll is now second to that of the US, which, according to the respected John Hopkins University tally, is the highest in the world.

The number of people who have tested positive has reached 152,271 in Italy, an increase of 4,694, or 3.1%. day on day. On a positive note, there were 116 fewer people in intensive care with Covid-19 than the previous day.

In France, meanwhile, the total death toll rose to 13,832, with 353 more deaths in hospitals and 290 in care homes.

But for a third consecutive day, the number of patients in intensive care with Covid-19 dropped, with 121 fewer cases compared to Friday’s figures.

France’s director of health, Jérôme Salomon, described the drop in intensive care numbers – the biggest yet – as a “ray of sunshine”.

Medical officials see the number of intensive care patients as an indicator of the pressure on health systems.

Spain reports rise in daily death toll

The number of daily reported deaths from coronavirus in Spain rose by more than 100 on Sunday following a nearly three-week low on Saturday.

Spain's health ministry reported 619 deaths, up from 510 on Saturday as a three-day run of declines came to an end.

The country's total death toll from the virus climbed to 16,972 from 16,353, the ministry said in a statement.

Overall cases rose to 166,019 from 161,852.

Italy sees lowest daily death toll for three weeks

Italy has reported 431 new coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, the lowest number in more than three weeks, as experts express hope that the country's strict lockdown is working.

Sunday's death toll is Italy's the lowest since 19 March, when 427 virus-related fatalities were recorded.

The number of people in intensive care with Covid-19 continues to drop in Italy as well, with 38 fewer than the previous day, bringing the total to 3,343.

"The data show that measures are having an impact," Professor Luca Richeldi, a scientific adviser to the Italian government, said at a news conference on Sunday.

There have now been 19,899 deaths and 156,363 confirmed infections in total since the epidemic began in Italy, Europe's worst-affected country.

On Saturday, the US total of virus-related rose above 20,000, surpassing Italy's total.

Spain: cases and deaths fall, as lockdown eases

Guy Hedgecoe

Freelance journalist

New Spanish data released on Monday showed 517 people had died in the previous 24 hours, compared with 619 recorded on Sunday. The number of new confirmed new cases also fell.

The figures came as Spain allowed builders, factory workers and others unable to work from home to return to work, provided they follow strict safety guidelines. It was a return to normality of sorts for some non-essential workers.

On the Madrid metro and at bus and railway stations, police handed out face masks to commuters. But even at rush hour, use of Madrid’s transport system was much lower than normal.

Antonio Álvarez, a self-employed manual worker, described it as a relief to be able to resume work on the digging of a swimming pool on a private property near the capital.

“I think the restrictions so far have worked. If they hadn’t implemented them it would have been disastrous,” he said.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Spain has risen by almost 5,100 in 24 hours to reach 177,633 - the country's highest single-day rise in infections in five days.

However, the daily death toll has fallen slightly, with 523 new deaths recorded.

More than 18,500 people have died with coronavirus so far in Spain.

The new figures were released as Prime Pedro Sánchez told parliament that life would not return to normal until a vaccine is found.

Earlier this week Spain began to ease some of its restrictions, with manufacturing and construction among the sectors allowed to resume work, subject to strict safety guidelines.