A summary of the biggest developments in the global coronavirus outbreak
US passes 1 million confirmed cases
The country, by far the world’s worst affected, reaches the milestone of 1 million confirmed cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The US death toll is now at more than 57,000 people.
Confirmed deaths in Brazil exceed known Chinese toll
Brazil’s total number of confirmed deaths overtakes the WHO’s figure for China as cases accelerate in Latin America’s biggest country.
The Brazilian health ministry reports 474 more deaths in a 24-hour period, taking the total to 5,017 – more than the known figure in China, where the virus was first reported and where there have been at least 4,643 deaths so far, according to the WHO.
UK reports 586 more deaths
The heath secretary, Matt Hancock, says the country has suffered 586 more deaths, bringing the total death toll in British hospitals to 21,678. In the UK government’s daily briefing, Hancock says that the government will publish daily figures for the number of deaths in care homes and in the community from Wednesday onwards.
Known global death toll exceeds 215,000
According to the Johns Hopkins researchers, at least 3,090,844 people have been infected worldwide and at least 215,063 have died since the outbreak began. The numbers are likely to be significant underestimates due to suspected underreporting and differing testing and recording systems around the world.
Portugal to end state of emergency
The country’s president announces that its state of emergency will end at the weekend. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa says the third such 15-day period will end at midnight on Saturday and “we hope it will not be necessary to use it again in the future”.
Spain outlines ‘plan for transition to normality’
The Spanish government sets out details of its lockdown strategy, as the country’s daily death toll continues to decline and the rate of contagion falls.
The plan proposes a transition in four phases, each lasting approximately two weeks, without setting a specific date when bars and restaurants can reopen or sporting and other events can resume.
12,000 BA staff face redundancy
British Airways sets out plans to make as many as 12,000 of its staff redundant due to the global collapse in air travel caused by the pandemic.
The airline’s chief executive, Álex Cruz, has told its 42,000 staff the company “must act decisively now to ensure that British Airways has a strong future” and that more than one in four jobs must be cut.
Streamed films to be made eligible for Oscars
Films released on streaming platforms only will be eligible for Academy Awards next year because of the pandemic’s disruption to the industry, the organisers of the Oscars say.
The change, announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, follows the closure of cinemas across the US. Previously, a movie had to have been screened in a cinema in Los Angeles for at least seven days to be eligible for Oscar consideration.
Courtesy: The Guardian
