Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:
World sees largest daily rise in cases
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over, after 106,000 new cases were recorded worldwide over the past 24 hours – the most in a single day so far. The WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the virus was spreading in poorer countries, just as wealthier nations were emerging from lockdown.
Spain reports lowest Covid-19 toll in over two months
Spain’s daily death toll from the novel coronavirus was 48, its health ministry said on Thursday, marking the first time it has dipped below 50 since 16 March.
Apple launches Covid-19 contact tracing in latest iOS update
The Silicon Valley giant has launched a Covid-19 exposure notification feature in the latest update of its iPhone operating system. The software will offer health authorities a way to build apps that can alert people about corona-positive users they have come into contact with, while preserving their anonymity.
US jobless claims total climbs towards 40m
The total number of initial unemployment benefit claims filed in the US since mid-March is now over 38 million, or over a fifth of the US workforce. It is the ninth week in a row in which millions of US citizens signed on for welfare benefits, having lost their jobs in the lockdown.
East Africa facing ‘triple menace’ of floods, locusts and Covid-19
East Africa is facing a “triple menace” of mutually exacerbating disasters, as ongoing heavy rain hampers attempts to deal with swarms of locusts in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, the Red Cross says.
Cases on the rise in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has reported its highest daily increase in coronavirus cases, as it begins cleaning up after the fiercest cyclone to hit the country since 1999 - 1,773 more people tested positive for the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 28,511.
No capacity for Covid-19 patients in Afghanistan’s hospitals
Afghanistan’s health ministry said it has run out of hospital beds for Covid-19 patients in most parts of the war-torn country, as the capital Kabul recorded its second worst day of the crisis.
Russia’s death toll passes 3,000
The official coronavirus death toll in Russia passed 3,000 on Thursday, as a US transport plane made its way to deliver ventilators to help treat Russian patients severely ill with Covid-19.
Wuhan city bans eating wild animals
The Chinese city where the first coronavirus cases were recorded has officially banned eating wild animals. According to the Wuhan municipal government it is now prohibited to eat, hunt or breed wild animals, including terrestrial animals deemed as protected, as well as those that exist in the wild or are bred.