Rome: Italy has logged a shocking spike in its already staggering coronavirus death toll, with officials warning the peak of the crisis was still days away, as the global infection rate surges relentlessly upwards. With more than 300,000 people infected in Europe alone, the disease shows few signs of slowing, and has already cast the world into a recession, economists say.
In the US, which now has more than 104,000 COVID-19 patients, President Donald Trump invoked wartime powers Friday to force a private company to make medical equipment, as the country’s overburdened healthcare system struggles to cope.
It came as Italy recorded almost 1,000 deaths from the virus on Friday — the worst one-day toll anywhere since the pandemic began.
In one bright spot, infection rates in Italy continued their recent downward trend. But the head of the national health institute Silvio Brusaferro said the country was not out of the woods yet.
Spain too said its rate of new infections appeared to be slowing — despite also reporting its deadliest day. Europe has suffered the brunt of the coronavirus crisis in recent weeks, with millions across the continent on lockdown and the streets of Paris, Rome and Madrid eerily empty.
In Britain, the two men leading the country’s fight against the coronavirus — Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Health Secretary Matt Hancock — both announced on Friday they had tested positive for COVID-19. “I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus,” Johnson wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, other countries across the world were bracing for the virus’s full impact, with AFP tallies showing more than 26,000 deaths globally.
The World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa warned the continent faced a “dramatic evolution” of the pandemic, as South Africa also began life under lockdown and reported its first virus death.
However, two months of almost total isolation appeared to have paid off in China’s Wuhan, as the Chinese city of 11 million people where the virus first emerged partially reopened.
Since January, residents have been forbidden to leave, with roadblocks installed and millions subjected to dramatic restrictions on their daily life.
But on Saturday people were allowed to enter the city, and most of the subway network restarted. Some shopping centres will open their doors next week.
In the United States, known infections jumped past 104,000, the world’s highest figure, with 1,711 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
But as Europe and the US struggle to contain the pandemic, aid groups have warned the death toll could be in the millions in low-income countries and war zones such as Syria and Yemen, where hygiene conditions are already dire and healthcare systems are in tatters. (AFP)
