Coronavirus latest updates: Confirmed cases near 1.8 million; Pope urges world not to yield to fear

Coronavirus latest: at a glance

A summary of the biggest developments in the global coronavirus outbreak

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Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:

Confirmed cases near 1.8 million

Statistics provided by the Johns Hopkins University Covid-19 tracker show that there were 1,777,666 confirmed cases around the world, with 108,867 deaths. The worst affected countries were the US (529,951 cases, 20,608 deaths), Spain (163,027 and 16,606 ), Italy (152,271 and 19,468), France (130,730 and 13,832) and Germany (125,452 and 2,871).

Trump to decide on ending restrictions ‘reasonably soon’

Donald Trump has said that reopening parts of the US for working life will be one of the toughest decisions he ever makes, and he’ll be making it “reasonably soon”. Speaking on Fox News, Trump said: “I think it’s going to be the toughest decision I ever made and hopefully the most difficult I will ever have to make. I hope I’m going to make the right decision. I will be basing it on a lot of very smart people, a lot of professionals, doctors and business leaders. There are a lot of things that go into a decision like that. And it’s going to be based on a lot of facts and instincts.”

Pope urges world not to yield to fear

“Easter offers a message of hope in people’s darkest hour,” Pope Francis said at a late-night vigil Mass in an empty St Peters Basilica on Saturday. “Do not be afraid, do not yield to fear: this is the message of hope,” said the Pope. The Pope was preparing to break with centuries of tradition and livestream his Easter Sunday mass to allow the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics celebrate their holiest holiday.

Moscow hospitals under stress as Russia’s toll grows

 A “huge influx” of coronavirus patients has started to put a strain on hospitals in Moscow as Russia’s death toll rose to more than 100. Moscow and many other regions have been in lockdown for nearly two weeks to stem the contagion, but hospitals in the capital are still being pushed to their limit, the Kremlin said. On Saturday, dozens of ambulances queued outside a hospital handling coronavirus cases. Russia has reported 13,584 cases, and authorities said on Saturday that 12 new deaths in the last day had pushed the toll to 106.

Elderly may need to isolate for whole year: EU chief

Elderly people may have to be kept isolated until the end of the year to protect them from the coronavirus, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has said. “Without a vaccine, we have to limit as much as possible contact with the elderly,” she told the Germany daily Bild. “I know it’s difficult and that isolation is a burden, but it is a question of life or death, we have to remain disciplined and patient.”

Warning on China’s ‘debtbook diplomacy’

As the coronavirus pandemic causes global economic devastation, China could take control of debt-struck nations’ assets at an accelerated rate, or it could boost its soft diplomacy by forgiving debt. The choice has been laid out by the authors of a Harvard report on a Chinese tactic dubbed “debtbook diplomacy”, and comes amid calls for G20 nations to endorse a year-long debt moratorium for the poorest countries.

China reports 99 new cases, no deaths

Mainland China has reported 99 new cases on Saturday, of which all but two were imported. The country’s national health commission said no one had died from the virus on Saturday. The two local cases were in Heilongjiang, China’s northernmost province, which borders Russia. Of the 97 imported cases recorded, 43 were in the city of Shanghai. There were no new cases reported in Hubei, the province where the outbreak began.

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Covid-19 like a ‘ninja’: researchers

A world-first Hong Kong University study has found the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 reproduces three as fast as the virus behind Sars. According to a report in the South China Morning Post, the study on infected lung tissue donated by coronavirus patients discovered that Sars-CoV-2 could replicate about 100 times within 48 hours, compared to the Sars virus peaking at about 10-20. The new virus also induced slower immune and inflammatory responses, it said. “The virus is like a ninja, replicating inside the body with lower interferons and inflammatory response,” said researcher Jasper Chan Fok-woo.

Mother of Assange’s children appeals for his release

The partner of Julian Assange has pleaded for him to be released from prison on bail over fears he could contract Covid-19. Stella Moris, who also revealed the couple have two children, aged one and three, said Assange had been in poor health for months and there were now genuine fears that the coronavirus was spreading the London’s Belmarsh prison where he is being held, awaiting an extradition hearing. One prisoner has died and a number of prison officers are off sick with suspected Covid-19, Assange’s friends have claimed.