Coronavirus latest: Brazil death toll crosses 20,000
- Over 5 million confirmed infections recorded worldwide
- Brazil recorded over 300,000 confirmed cases of the virus, the third-most in the world
- Italy’s death toll may be significantly higher than official numbers, according to its social security agency
Updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT)
03:15 The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 460 on Thursday, bringing the national total to 177,212 infections, the Robert Koch Institute said. The death toll rose by 27 to 8,174.
This is a significant drop from Wednesday, when 797 new cases were reported and 83 people died.
Here are the German figures for recent days:
Thursday, May 21: 460 new cases; 27 new deaths
Wednesday, May 20: 797 new cases; 83 new deaths
Tuesday, May 19: 513 new cases; 72 new deaths
Monday, May 18: 342 new cases; 21 new deaths
Sunday, May 17: 583 new cases, 33 new deaths
Saturday, May 16: 620 new cases; 57 new deaths
Friday, May 15: 913 new cases; 101 new deaths
Thursday, May 14: 933 new cases; 89 new deaths
Wednesday, May 13: 798 new cases; 101 new deaths
Tuesday, May 12: 933 new cases; 116 new deaths
02:49 China’s top economic official announced that Beijing will spend more to revive a national economy battered by the coronavirus, and that the country will set no growth target this year in order to focus on fighting the outbreak.
In his annual report to China’s ceremonial legislature, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the battle against the coronavirus “has not yet come to an end” and called on his country to “redouble our efforts” to revive slowing economic growth.
The government will add 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion, €128 billion) to its deficit in order to meet goals including creating 9 million new urban jobs. Forecasters predict that over 20 million jobs could be lost in China this year.
The promised spending is in line with expectations but pales in comparison to the $1-trillion-plus stimulus packages promised or discussed in the US, Japan, and Europe.
Li said China’s government was not announcing a growth target this year, normally a highly anticipated feature of the annual report, because of the “great uncertainty” surrounding the epidemic.
The coronavirus outbreak began in China in December of last year. The country was one of the first economies to reopen following the outbreak, but has since struggled to revive economic activity.
02:11 US President Donald Trump has said the nation would not shut down again should a second wave of the new coronavirus strike.
“We are going to put out the fires, we’re not going to close the country, we’re going to put out the fire,” Trump said, speaking about a potential second wave.”Whether it’s an ember or it’s a flame we’re going to put it out,” he added.
The president made the remarks while on a tour of an auto manufacturing plant in the midwestern state of Michigan. All 50 US states have now eased lockdown restrictions to some degree. In general, Republican-led states are pushing for a quicker return to normalcy than Democratic-led ones.
Despite the president’s statement, most of the country’s economic shutdowns were decided on by state and local authorities. Decisions about a second shutdown would be theirs as well.
01:48 Australia is seeking an exemption from quarantine requirements set up by the UK government, citing its success in controlling the coronavirus outbreak.
“Australia has led the world in the successful containment of COVID-19, which clearly means that travelers coming from Australia would pose a low risk to the rest of the world,” Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said in a statement.
The UK is planning to enforce a 14-day quarantine for incoming travelers to prevent another coronavirus peak. Details are yet to be finalized. In Australia, the borders are still closed to all non-citizens. All locals are required to quarantine for two weeks when they return. With just over 7,000 confirmed cases, Australia has recorded less than 20 new cases each day.
00:30 US President Donald Trump has said that the US flag will be flown at half-staff over the next three days as the country’s virus-related death toll crosses 95,000.
“On Monday, the flags will be at half-staff in honor of the men and women in our Military who have made the Ultimate Sacrifice for our Nation,” he further tweeted, referring to Memorial Day.
The president’s announcement comes soon after Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, requested that the US flag be flown at half-staff to recognize a “sad day of reckoning when we reach 100,000 deaths.”
It would ”serve as a national expression of grief so needed by everyone in our country,” they added.
00:06 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is looking for plans to end the UK’s reliance on Chinese imports as the world struggles to deal with the virus, The Times newspaper has reported.
Codenamed “Project Defend”, the plans will identify the UK’s economic vulnerabilities to foreign governments as a part of the country’s new approach to national security, which is being led by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
Read more: UK seeks to end reliance on Chinese imports
00:02 Brazil’s death toll from the virus crossed the 20,000-mark with 1,188 deaths registered on Thursday. The country has the third-largest number of coronavirus cases in the world, after the United States and Russia.
With 310,087 confirmed cases, Brazil has recorded 20,047 deaths related to the coronavirus.
Read more: Brazil headed for catastrophe
00:01 Italy’s virus-related death toll in the months of March and April could be almost 19,000 deaths over the current official figure of 32,486, the country’s social security agency has found.
According to the Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (INPS), a new study has found that the original death figures may not be reliable as a total of 156,429 deaths were recorded in March and April. This figure is 46,909 higher than the average number of fatalities recorded between 2015 and 2019 for the same months.
However, only 27,938 coronavirus-related deaths were reported during that period by Italy’s Civil Protection Agency. National statistics are based on this toll, INPS said. The latter is the largest social security and welfare institute in the country.
This is 18,971 more than what is considered normal during this period.
“Given the fact that the number of deaths is quite stable in these times, we can — with necessary caution — attribute a large portion of these deaths during these past two months to the epidemic,” the INPS said.
The institute also mentioned that it was possible that the spike in deaths was not just because of the virus, but also because many people suffering from other illnesses could not get the right healthcare as the systems were overwhelmed.
00:00 Catch up on yesterday’s coronavirus news here: Germany’s Maas warns against ‘radical extremists’ at weekend demos
In reporting on the coronavirus pandemic, unless otherwise specified, DW uses figures provided by the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Coronavirus Resource Center in the United States. JHU updates figures in real-time, collating data from world health organizations, state and national governments and other public official sources, all of whom have their own systems for compiling information.
Germany’s national statistics are compiled by its public health agency, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). These figures depend on data transmission from state and local levels and are updated around once a day, which can lead to deviation from JHU.
see/aw (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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