COVID-19: Global deaths top 160,000

The total number of deaths related to the new coronavirus has reached 160,717, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University tally.

The United States accounts for the highest number of fatalities worldwide, and has so far reported 38,835 fatalities, of which 13,517 were from the US epicentre of New York City, the data showed.

Italy has the second-highest number of deaths, reporting 23,227 fatalities while Spain’s death toll currently stands at 20,639, reports CNBC, citing Hopkins’ data.

China says there were 16 new cases of COVID-19
China’s National Health Commission said Sunday that there were 16 new diagnosed cases of COVID-19, of which nine came from those returning from overseas. The country, where the new coronavirus was first reported in the city of Wuhan, has reported 4,632 deaths and 82,735 cases so far.

There were 44 new asymptomatic infections, where people tested positive for the coronavirus but showed no symptoms. China started reporting asymptomatic cases in April. Factories and businesses are re-opening again after weeks of lockdown in varying degrees throughout the mainland. A slew of economic data on Friday showed that consumers are still wary of spending as the country reported its first quarterly GDP contraction since at least 1992.

South Korea reports first single digit increase in new cases for the first time in 2 months
South Korea reported 8 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed. It was the first single digit daily increase for the first time in two months, according to Reuters. That brings the total number of reported cases in the country to 10,661.There were 2 additional deaths reported, bringing the total fatalities in the country to 234.

Singapore reports a record high of 942 cases
Singapore added another 942 new coronavirus cases as of morning on April 19, bringing the total number of cases in the city-state to 5,992. It was the highest number of cases recorded in a single day for the Southeast Asian nation.

Of those infected, 4,162 were from dormitories housing foreign workers, data from the Ministry of Health showed. The men are typically from other Asian nations and most of them work in the construction sector. The country has reported 11 deaths related to Covid-19.

Since April 7, Singapore has been under new “circuit breaker” measures aimed at cutting down transmissions. Those measures include shutting down of schools and restriction of movements except for essential and urgent matters including buying food and groceries, seeking urgent medical help and exercising at safe distances.

(Source: Reuters, Johns Hopkins University, CNBC)

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