Global goal to flatten the curve as coronavirus cases, deaths keep rising

Update Global goal to flatten the curve as coronavirus cases, deaths keep rising
The worldwide number of confirmed corona cases hovered around 2 million on Monday, April 13, and will continue to rise. (AFP)
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Updated 15 April 2020
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Global goal to flatten the curve as coronavirus cases, deaths keep rising

Global goal to flatten the curve as coronavirus cases, deaths keep rising
  • Curfews continue to be extended and lockdowns widened
  • Global goal to flatten the curve and save more lives sooner, than later

DUBAI: The numbers keep rising, the amount of people infected by the coronavirus is up, lives lost – again on the increase, their relatives unable to mourn in a way they might have hoped.

The amount of businesses impacted by lockdowns accelerates at an alarming rate, people waiting to see if they still have jobs, entire industries facing an uncertain future.

Curfews continue to be extended, lockdowns that were previously localized, widened across entire nations as governments around the world fight to contain the spread of COVID-19 – the goal, to flatten the curve and save more lives sooner, rather than later.

Tuesday, April 14 (All times in GMT)

18:56 - US President Donald Trump will hold a video teleconference with G7 leaders on Thursday to coordinate national responses to the coronavirus pandemic, the White House said.

16:33 - The Cannes Film Festival will not be held this year in “its original form” due to the coronavirus, organizers said on Tuesday.
The festival will nevertheless be made “real” in 2020, “in a way or another,” they added in a statement.
The film festival, one of the largest in the world, was initially due to take place from May 12-23.

16:13 - Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 602, up from 566 the day before, posting a second consecutive daily increase, but new infections slowed to 2,972 from 3,153, seeing the smallest daily tally since March 13.

15:25 - Jordan will not allow public worship in mosques during the holy month of Ramadan that begins next week as part of measures to stem the spread of coronavirus, the religious affairs minister said.
Mohammad Khalaylah said evening prayers known as Taraweeh, a main part of the religious observance of the month-long fasting, would be banned.

12:51 - G7 finance leaders agreed on the need to provide financial and technical assistance to emerging economies battling with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said.
12:45 - The COVID-19 death toll in hospitals across the United Kingdom rose to 12,107 as of 1600 GMT on April 13, up by 778 on the day before, the health ministry said.
"302,599 people have been tested of which 93,873 tested positive," the health ministry said.

10:52 – Bahrain confirmed 161 new COVID-19cases, bringing the total to 1,522 people.

10:31 – Qatar reported 197 new coronavirus cases; the number of patients is now at 3,428.

10:02Oman froze all salary promotions for government workers amid coronavirus pandemic and told all state-owned companies to review their expenditures including salaries and benefits.

09:46 – Iran’s total number of infected cases with new coronavirus reached 74,877, while the death toll is now at 4,683, a health ministry official said.




A scientist works in a laboratory on coronavirus testing kits just outside Tehran, Iran on April 11, 2020. (AP)

09:45Spain’s overnight death toll from the coronavirus rose to 567 on Tuesday from 517 a day earlier, while the country reported its lowest increase in new cases since March 18.

09:36 – Morocco said there were 75 new coronavirus cases; total cases now at 1,838.

09:34 – Lebanon confirmed nine new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 641 cases.

09:25 – Kuwait said an elderly woman died of coronavirus, bringing the number of people who died from COVID-19 to three. New recoveries meanwhile reached 26, bringing the total to 176 recovered patients. There were also 55 new cases, bringing the country’s caseload to 1,355 people.

09:12Malaysian health authorities reported 170 new coronavirus cases, raising the cumulative total to 4,987 as the country nears a full month in partial lockdown.

09:02 – The Lebanese government has said it will consider another round of repatriation flights for its nationals stranded abroad because of travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

08:18 – The Philippine health ministry reported 20 more deaths linked to the new coronavirus and 291 more cases.

07:07 – Oman reported 86 new coronavirus cases, bringing the Sultanate’s caseload to 813.

07:05 – Kuwait confirmed 26 new coronavirus recoveries, bringing the total to 176 recovered people.

06:56 – Oman’s Ministry of Manpower has suspended the country’s third semester for students, as part of its efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19

06:01 – The number of people who died of coronavirus in Israel has reached 117, authorities reported.

05:48 – India on Tuesday extended until May 3 a nationwide lockdown for its 1.3 billion people as the number of coronavirus cases crossed 10,000 despite a three-week shutdown. READ THE STORY




Indian police personnel and civic volunteers stop a vehicle at a checkpoint during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown in Siliguri on April 13, 2020. (AFP)

04:39 – Robert Koch Institute said confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose to 125,098, while deaths reached 2,969.

04:36 – Thailand reported 34 new coronavirus cases, one fatality.

03:34Kuwait will undertake a major repatriation effort for its nationals stranded overseas beginning April 19 after Cabinet officials earlier approved protocols on how to bring them home.

03:33 – Beijing has virtually walled itself off to outsiders with drastic measures to protect China’s seat of power against the threat of a second wave of coronavirus infections from other regions. READ THE STORY

02:23 – The International Monetary Fund said it would provide immediate debt relief to 25 member countries under its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to allow them to focus more financial resources on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

01:09 – The United States recorded 1,509 coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University as of 00:30 GMT Tuesday. The number of fatalities was similar to the previous day’s toll of 1,514. The outbreak has now claimed the lives of at least 23,529 people in the US, the most of any country.

00:54France extended its nationwide lockdown for another month in a bid to halt the coronavirus pandemic, as other hard-hit countries considered easing their measures with hopes rising that death rates may soon plateau.

Monday, April 13 (All times in GMT)

19:27 – The UAE health ministry confirmed the detection 398 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 4,521. The ministry also announced the death of three patients as a result of COVID-19. This brings the number of lives lost to 25.

19:03 – Jordan’s Minister of Health Sa’ad Jaber confirmed two coronavirus cases, bringing the caseload to 391 across the Kingdom. Jaber also announced the recovery of 14 patients.

18:16 – Saudi Arabia reported 472 new cases, bringing the accumulative number of COVID-19 infections in the Kingdom to 4,934 cases. The COVID-19 death toll reached 65. However, the number of cured cases reached 805.