MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2020) World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that the global number of COVID-19 cases was likely to reach 1 million in the next few days, with 50,000 fatalities. According to Johns Hopkins University's real-time tracker, the global COVID-19 count has already reached 911,308, with 45,497 deaths.
The Republic of the Congo and Oman have reported the first COVID-19 deaths.
Germany's number of confirmed coronavirus cases has increased by 5,453 to 67,366, and the death toll has risen by 149 to 732 in the past 24 hours, the Robert Koch Institute said on Wednesday.
France's number of COVID-19 cases has increased by nearly 4,861 to 56,989, and the death toll has exceeded 4,000, Jerome Salomon, the head of the national public health service, said on Wednesday.
The United Kingdom has registered 4,324 coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of people infected to 29,474, the government said on Wednesday, adding that the death toll has climbed to 2,352.
Italy's coronavirus death toll has increased by 727 to 13,155 over the past 24 hours, and the number of new cases has surged by 2,937 to 80,572, Angelo Borrelli, the head of the national Civil Protection Department, said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Italian town of Ferrera Erbognone in the province of Pavia, which is right in the area where the coronavirus outbreak started in Italy, has mysteriously avoided COVID-19 cases so far, and its citizens are going to voluntarily submit blood tests to let a research center study the phenomenon, La Nuova Ferrara newspaper reported.
Turkey has confirmed more than 2,100 new COVID-19 cases, which brought the total to 15,679, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Wednesday, adding that 63 patients have died over the past 24 hours, with the death toll surging to 277.
Canada's number of COVID-19 cases has increased by 1,593 to 9,017 over the past 24 hours, and the death toll has grown by 16 to 105, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
Mainland China has registered 36 new coronavirus cases, seven fatalities and 130 asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers over the past 24 hours, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday. A Wuhan resident who earlier this month flew into China from the UK before traveling home has been confirmed to be infected with the COVID-19 virus, making the patient the first imported case for the initial epicenter of the epidemic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Wednesday into Federal law a bill enabling the cabinet to declare a nation-wide state of emergency in the country. He also signed into laws bill on criminal and administrative liability for violating quarantine and spreading fake information about COVID-19.
Zambia has closed the gates to Victoria Falls, the world's largest waterfall, indefinitely, as part of measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oliver Kandyata, regional manager of the National Heritage Conservation Commission, said on Wednesday.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc declared on Wednesday COVID-19 to be a national epidemic of a "Class A infectious disease" per the law on the prevention and control of infectious diseases, according to the official government news portal, VGP.
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on Wednesday enacted law amendments that allow state bodies to access people's cellphone location data to contain the coronavirus epidemic, as the COVID-19 case count surpassed 570. The work of public transport, with the exception of railroad and taxi, stops in Armenia as part of measures against COVID-19, Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan said.
The United States is looking into imposing new restrictions for travel from Brazil and other countries turning into hot spots of the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump said during a press briefing.
The executive body of the Eurasian Economic Union announced a three-month ban on essential food exports to ensure a stable supply amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Israel Aerospace Industries company, known for manufacturing unmanned aircraft and missiles, is now launching the production of artificial lung ventilation devices together with the Inovytec medical company, the Israeli Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
The Russian Finance Ministry has reserved 1.4 trillion rubles ($17.75 billion) for the coronavirus fight and anti-crisis measures, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Wednesday. The Russian cabinet will allocate 150 billion rubles for supporting the national employment, the prime minister added. Apart from that, 171 billion rubles is reserved in the Russian budget for restructuring budget credits.
The first train departing from the Chinese province of Wuhan after the restoration of railroad travel will carry to Europe, through Russia, masks, spare car parts, electronic equipment and other goods, the United Transport and Logistics Company - Eurasian Rail Alliance said on Wednesday.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has implemented large-scale urgent measures to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian citizens in need amid the coronavirus pandemic, sending 18 trucks with�food, hygiene products and medication there, the communication coordinator of the ICRC delegation in Ukraine, Sanela Bajrambasic, has said in an interview with Sputnik.
A fourth plane with humanitarian aid from China to assist Ukraine in countering the coronavirus epidemic arrived in Kiev on Wednesday, the Ukrainian Health Ministry said.
The US is expecting Russia to deliver a planeload of personal protection equipment and medical supplies amid the� coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday, a senior US administration official told Sputnik.
Russian medical teams together with their Italian counterparts have begun setting up a hospital for COVID-19 patients in the Lombardy city of Bergamo, one of the hotbeds of the novel coronavirus epidemic in Europe, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
Turkey on Wednesday sent a military transport aircraft with medical cargo to Italy and Spain, which have become the worst-affected European countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.
The International Monetary Fund said it would provide Honduras $143 million to combat the coronavirus disease� under the current arrangement.
Eight medications that are registered in Russia are currently being tested on whether they can be used in the treatment of COVID-19, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Wednesday.
Russia's Vektor center has developed a system aimed at detecting antibodies in the blood of those recovered from COVID-19, Golikova said on Wednesday.
WHO Health Emergencies Programme Executive Director Mike Ryan said Wednesday that medicinal foods like ginger were good for general health but had no proven ability to cure the new coronavirus disease.
Over 1 million Israeli citizens, or nearly a quarter of the population, have lost their jobs as a result of the restrictions imposed by the government in light of the COVID-19 pandemic,� the Globes business news portal, reported on Wednesday, citing the Israel National Employment Service.
As many as 320,615 workers at enterprises with more than 20 employees are discussing cuts with their employers, the Finnish Economy and Employment Ministry said on Wednesday.
Crude prices recorded their worst ever quarter, losing as much as 66 percent, as lockdowns forced by the coronavirus pandemic and the collapse of OPEC's production pact led to a perfect storm for oil demand.
A special app called Social Monitoring will allow law enforcement in Moscow to check whether patients who are being treated for COVID-19 at home are complying with self-isolation orders, thereby ensuring the safety of others, the press service of the Moscow Department of Information Technologies told Sputnik.
An app with QR codes to help monitor any breaches of self-isolation in Moscow is ready, it will launch after the relevant decree of the authorities, the head of the city government's IT department, Eduard Lysenko, said Wednesday.
At least eight European countries have joined efforts to launch a coronavirus contact tracing app initiative that will be compliant with the European Union's tough privacy law and collect encrypted proximity history based on Bluetooth signals between cellphones, according to the initiative's official website.
The third Grand Slam tennis tournament this year, Wimbledon-2020, has been canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic, organizers said on Wednesday. This is the first Wimbledon cancellation since World War II.
Russia's Industry and Trade Ministry decided to postpone International Industrial Trade Fair Innoprom, which was due in 2020 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, until July 2021.
