Coronavirus latest: More than 75,000 deaths in the US
– The global death toll from COVID-19 has risen to nearly 270,000, while more than 3.8 million people are known to have been infected.
– Australia will begin easing social distancing measures in a three-step process, says PM Scott Morrison
– Up to 190,000 people in Africa could die if measures to contain the coronavirus fail, the WHO warns.
– When asked by DW whether he has contacted German Chancellor Angela Merkel for advice during the pandemic, US President Donald Trump said: “Our countries communicate.”
Updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT)
03:30 Australia will be easing social distancing restrictions in a three-step process, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday. The country has seen a drastic slowdown in the number of new COVID-19 cases. States and territories will have the freedom to decide when to begin implementing each stage.
The country had shut down its borders, but is considering opening trans-Tasman transport with New Zealand. Morrison said he did not see international travel returning in the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, in Japan, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said that more prefectures were reporting zero new cases on a daily basis. He added that the state of emergency could soon be lifted for those regions.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump spoke on Friday, agreeing to cooperate on measures to prevent coronavirus.
“Two leaders exchanged views on each country’s COVID-19 situation, steps to prevent further spread of the virus, development of medicine and vaccines and measures for reopening the economies,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
Read more: Coronavirus crisis changing Japan’s work culture
02:40 Germany reported 1,209 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, bringing its total to 167,300, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute. The country’s death toll rose by 147 to 7,266.
01:45 Germany’s constitutional and administrative courts are being flooded with cases against the country’s COVID-19 restrictions, the Funke Media Group reported on Friday.
Over 1,000 emergency appeals have been filed in Germany against coronavirus restrictions, the German Association of Judges told the newspaper group. Over 60 cases have been registered so far in Berlin alone — with new ones coming in every day.
Most of the cases target measures limiting travel, protests and religious services as well as mask requirements and rules for reopening shops.
“This indicates that the general acceptance for wide-reaching coronavirus restrictions is dwindling and the desire for relaxing measures is growing,” judges’ association head Sven Rebehn said.
00:57 The United States recorded 2,448 new coronavirus deaths over the the past 24 hours, bringing its total number of fatalities to 75,543, according to figures from the Johns Hopkins University.
The US is the world’s hardest-hit country by the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 1.2 million confirmed cases.
00:44 Brazil Economy Minister Paulo Guedes warned that the pandemic might cause food shortages and broader production problems if lockdown measures continued. “Within about 30 days, there may start to be shortages on [store] shelves and production may become disorganized, leading to a system of economic collapse, of social disorder,” he said.
Guedes had joined a protest organized by business leaders against the Supreme Court decision to overturn President Jair Bolsonaro’s efforts to halt measures taken by some states to implement social distancing. Bolsonaro himself participated in separate protests in the capital, Brasilia.
The biggest economy in Latin America, Brazil is also the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the region. Brazil’s Health Ministry said the country has 135,106 confirmed cases, with 9,146 deaths. Experts believe that the rate of testing is low, and the true numbers could be much higher.
00:06 Between 83,000 and 190,000 people in Africa could die from the novel coronavirus if measures to curb the pandemic are not put in place, according to a new study from The World Health Organization (WHO).
The research by WHO Africa is based on modeling in 47 countries covering a total population of 1 billion people, the UN health agency said in a statement.
Africa’s weak health infrastructure, high poverty rate and conflict instability makes it particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. The virus has thus far been slow to take hold on the continent, but the WHO warned that the region could see a slower, prolonged outbreak.
WHO Africa chief Matshidiso Moeti told reporters that “while COVID-19 likely won’t spread as exponentially in Africa as it has elsewhere in the world, it likely will smolder in transmission hotspots.”
“COVID-19 could become a fixture in our lives for the next several years unless a proactive approach is taken by many governments in the region,” she added.
Read more: COVID-19: A threat to peace efforts in Africa
00:00 Catch up on yesterday’s coronavirus news: ‘We communicate with Germany,’ Trump says
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.
rs,tg/dr (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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