The United States has become the first country to record more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in one day, with 2,108 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University report.
The US has now recorded 18,775 deaths and is closing in on the toll of 18,849 dead in Italy, which has seen the most fatalities so far in the global pandemic.
On Friday, the global Covid-19 death toll topped 100,000 as Easter weekend celebrations around the world kicked off in near-empty churches with billions of people stuck indoors to halt the spread of the pandemic.
The U,S has reached over half a million confirmed cases of Coronavirus, with 503,177 on Saturday morning .
Extraordinary measures have seen businesses and schools closed in a desperate bid to halt the virus’s spread, and the IMF has warned that the world now faces the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
More than 102,000 people have died of Covid-19 virus with over 1.7 million infections globally, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker, with nearly 70% of the fatalities in Europe.
With more than half a million reported infections, the US already has more coronavirus cases than any other country in the world.
President Donald Trump, however, said that with the US infection trajectory “near the peak” and social distancing working well, he was considering ways to re-open the world’s biggest economy as soon as possible.
He acknowledged the risk of higher death tolls if businesses restart too soon.
“But you know what? Staying at home leads to death also,” Mr Trump added, pointing to the massive economic suffering for millions of Americans.
It is unclear when that will be possible, with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo saying millions in the state – the hardest hit in the country – will have to be tested before it can reopen.
The World Health Organization has warned that prematurely lifting lockdown restrictions – affecting more than half the planet’s population – could spark a dangerous resurgence of the disease.
Easter celebrations that would normally see churches packed with parishioners were replaced by an eerie emptiness on Friday.
Even hallowed traditions have been revamped – Pope Francis will livestream his Easter message from the seclusion of his private library.
“We have to respond to our confinement with all our creativity,” the pontiff said. “We can either get depressed and alienated… or we can get creative.”
Worshippers in Germany embraced social distancing orders to celebrate Good Friday at a drive-in service in Dusseldorf.
“It was a sad feeling at first,” Catholic priest Frank Heidkamp told AFP, as hundreds gathered in a parking lot.
In Muslim-majority Pakistan, the Christian underclass is facing unemployment because of the pandemic this Easter, and many are wondering how they will survive.
“My kids asked me for new Easter dresses and shoes but I have told them we are not going to have Easter this year,” said Aamir Gill, a cleaner who was fired without severance days after the virus crisis took hold in Pakistan.
More than four billion people are confined to their homes as governments worldwide have imposed never-before-seen measures to halt the virus, which first emerged late last year in central China.
Governments in Europe are under pressure to strike a balance between keeping people safe and keeping already battered economies stable.
“Lifting restrictions too quickly could lead to a deadly resurgence,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said yesterday.
Some countries, especially in Asia, are worried about a possible second wave of infections imported from travellers as life creeps back to normal.
Glimmers of hope may be emerging in some countries.
Spain, the third-hardest-hit country, saw its lowest 24-hour toll in 17 days, after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the “fire started by the pandemic is starting to come under control”.
In UK – where the government has resisted calls to ease lockdown measures – spirits were lifted on Friday when Prime Minister Boris Johnson showed signs of recovery after three days in intensive care.
“The prime minister has been able to do short walks, between periods of rest,” a Downing Street spokesman said.
The pandemic has shaken the global economy, and the International Monetary Fund – which has $1 trillion in lending capacity – said it was responding to calls from 90 countries for emergency financing.
Source : RTE
