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Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
Live map: Global spread of coronavirus
Source: Johns Hopkins University
Global Covid-19 caseload tops 140.6 million
The overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 140.6 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 3 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
In its latest update on Sunday morning, the University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 140,433,831 and 3,008,043, respectively.
The US is the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 31,627,701 and 566,893, respectively, according to the CSSE. In terms of infections, India follows in the second place with 14,526,609 cases.
The other countries with more than two million confirmed coronavirus cases are Brazil (13,900,091), France (5,321,176), Russia (4,640,537), the UK (4,401,176), Turkey (4,212,645), Italy (3,857,443), Spain (3,407,283), Germany (3,139,683), Argentina (2,677,747), Poland (2,675,874), Colombia (2,636,076), Mexico (2,299,939) and Iran (2,215,445), the CSSE figures showed.
In terms of deaths, Brazil comes second with 371,678 fatalities.
Germany to mourn 80,000 victims
Germany will hold a national memorial service on Sunday for its 80,000 victims of the coronavirus pandemic, sharing the pain of grieving families and those who died alone because of Covid curbs.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will join an ecumenical service in the morning at Berlin’s Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, a memorial against war and destruction. They will later attend a ceremony at the capital’s Konzerthaus, where the president will make a speech.
With pandemic curbs still in force restricting the number of people who can attend, the ceremonies will be broadcast live on public television.
Regional leaders urged citizens to join in the remembrance including by lighting candles by their windows from Friday to Sunday.
Sunday’s ceremony comes as health authorities warn that many more will succumb to the virus, as Germany struggles to put down a vicious third wave gripping the country.
Europe’s biggest economy had come out of the first wave relatively unscathed but has struggled to take decisive action to end the current one fuelled mainly by the more contagious British variant.
Merkel’s government is seeking greater powers to impose tougher measures such as night-time curfews, in a bid to circumvent Germany’s powerful regional authorities, some of whom have resisted implementing tough restrictions. Merkel urged swift and decisive action.
France to impose quarantine on arrivals
France will impose a 10-day quarantine on arrivals from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and South Africa over concerns about variants of the coronavirus, the prime minister’s office announced Saturday.
Although flights from Argentina, Chile and South Africa will not be suspended, all arrivals from those countries will have to submit to the quarantine or face fines.
New Covid variants: #France to impose quarantine on arrivals from four countries https://t.co/TwFmQup3iU
— Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 18, 2021
Chinese mainland reports 16 new imported cases
The Chinese mainland on Saturday reported 16 new Covid-19 cases, all of which are imported, the National Health Commission said in its daily report on Sunday.
Of them, four each were reported in Guangdong and Shaanxi, two each in Shanghai and Sichuan, and one each in Inner Mongolia, Fujian, Henan and Yunnan, Xinhua news agency reported.
One new suspected Covid-19 case arriving from outside the mainland was reported in Shanghai, according to the commission. No new deaths related to Covid-19 were reported.
Africa’s confirmed cases pass 4.4 million
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Africa has reached 4,408,245 as of Saturday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU), said the death toll from the pandemic stood at 117,378, while 3,951,191 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease, Xinhua news agency reported.
South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Ethiopia and Egypt are among the African countries with the most cases in the continent, according to the Africa CDC.
UK records another 2,206 Covid cases, 35 deaths
Another 2,206 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,385,938, according to official figures released on Saturday.
The country also reported another 35 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,260. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua news agency reported.
More than 32.6 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.
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