COVID-19: UpdateGlobal COVID-19 Deaths Pass 70,000; More Nations Emerge as Hot Spots

Published 7 April 2020

As the pace of new illnesses and deaths showed more signs of easing in European hot spots such as Italy and Spain, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) yesterday following his hospitalization yesterday. Led mainly by ongoing heavy activity in the United States and Europe, the global total climbed to 1,341,907 yesterday from 184 countries, including 74,169 deaths.The latest country to report its first case is South Sudan, which has a population of 11 million.

As the pace of new illnesses and deaths showed more signs of easing in European hot spots such as Italy and Spain, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) yesterday following his hospitalization yesterday.

Led mainly by ongoing heavy activity in the United States and Europe, the global total climbed to 1,341,907 yesterday from 184 countries, including 74,169 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins online dashboard. The latest country to report its first case is South Sudan, which has a population of 11 million.

WHO Offers Mask Guidance; Lady Gaga Announces Broadcast
At yesterday’s WHO briefing, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said the agency has been evaluating the wider use of medical and nonmedical masks for COVID-19 and yesterday issued guidance and criteria to help countries decide whether to recommend them to the public. He said the WHO is worried that the use of medical masks in the general population could further shrink the supply of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.

Tedros said that research on the use of nonmedical masks is limited. “There is no black-or-white answer and no silver bullet,” he said. “Masks alone cannot stop the pandemic. Countries must continue to find, test, isolate, and treat every case and trace every contact.”

However, he said that countries could consider recommending nonmedical masks for settings in which handwashing and physical distancing are difficult, such as in cramped living conditions. If used, they should be worn safely and properly; the WHO offers advice on how to put on, take off, and dispose of masks. Tedros also suggested that countries considering masks for the general population study their effectiveness to better inform the rest of the world.

Also at the WHO telebriefing, entertainer Lady Gaga yesterday announced a One World: Together at Home broadcast for April 18 to support the WHO and frontline healthcare workers. Organized by Global Citizen, a humanitarian organization, and curated by Lady Gaga, the event will feature appearances by an international line-up of musicians and comedians.

European Developments
CIDRAP reports that in Europe yesterday, the two biggest hot spots—Spain and Italy—both reported more than 3,000 new cases, but both saw more signs of declining cases.

In Italy, health officials extended lockdowns until after Easter and are outlining what the next phase of the outbreak response might look like, Reuters reported.