Covid-19: Global cases surpass 304,000; Italy records 800 new deaths

Covid-19: Global cases surpass 304,000; Italy records 800 new deaths

PanARMENIAN.Net - Italy ordered all but the most essential businesses to close until April 3, tightening a lockdown against the coronavirus, after nearly 800 people died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, on Saturday, March 21, Al Jazeera reports.

Nearly 13,000 people around the world have now died from the disease, according to data collected by the Johns Hopkins University in the US. More than 304,500 people have been diagnosed with the infection, while nearly 92,000 have recovered.

France has recorded 112 coronavirus deaths in a day, taking its total to 562, the health ministry said on Saturday, France 24 says.

There have been 14,459 confirmed cases, the ministry said in a statement.

According to a report from Reuters, the Spanish government said on Saturday it would do whatever was needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic and warned that “the worst is yet to come” after the national toll surpassed 1,300 deaths and reached close to 25,000 cases.

The second-worst outbreak in Europe showed no sign of slowing as the death toll jumped by more than 300 from the previous day. Intensive care units are filling up in some hospitals.

Coronavirus cases in Germany passed 20,000. So far 70 people have died from COVID-19 across the country, Deutsche Welle reports.

Several German states have imposed lockdown measures, and government officials say they are monitoring citizens' behavior on Saturday to assess whether tighter restrictions are needed.

In Portugal, the death toll doubled. Twelve people have now died of COVID-19 there, while more than 1,200 people are infected. Portugal declared a state of emergency last week.

For a fourth consecutive day, China reported an increase in the number of cases imported from overseas, mostly from Chinese people returning home.

The country recorded 46 new cases, all but one coming from outside China, amid a drastic reduction in the number of domestically transmitted infections.

Turkey's confirmed cases of coronavirus rose to 947, and the number of dead to 21, the health minister said on Saturday.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said some 2,953 tests had been conducted in the previous 24 hours.

South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 98 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the national total to 8,897.

On Sunday, March 22, India is attempting the world’s biggest social-distancing exercise. But for now, it will only last for 14 hours, according to CNN.

It's the latest attempt by the government to stall the rapid spread of Covid-19. It could also indicate that the government is testing the waters on whether an official curfew could actually be imposed across the country.

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