The United States has registered more than 732,190 infections, including at least 38,664 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The death toll from coronavirus infection in Spain has topped 20,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
According to the JHU live-tacker, more than 2,328,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, resulting in over 160,000 fatalities. The pandemic has hit the US worse than any other country.
Out of the 16 new cases, nine are imported. According to the Commission, China now has 82,735 confirmed coronavirus cases. The country's death toll is 4,632; over 77,000 COVID-19 patients have been released from hospitals.
As a result of this increase, the total number of cases of the coronavirus disease registered globally stood at more than 2.1 million as of 08:00 GMT. The death toll now stands at 146,088, WHO stated.
TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - More than 150 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and a further six people have died from the disease in Israel since a statistical update earlier on Saturday morning, Israel’s Ministry of Health announced.
According to figures published at 20:00 local time [17:00 GMT], a total of 13,265 people have now contracted the disease since the start of the outbreak in Israel, a rise of 158 throughout the day.
The COVID-19 death toll in Israel now stands at 164, after six more deaths were confirmed.
According to the ministry, the number of patients currently receiving intensive care treatment has declined, as has the number of people on ventilators. A total of 3,456 people have recovered after contracting the disease in Israel.
As of Saturday morning, the case total stood at 13,107, and the death toll was 158.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also said that he would ask parliament to extend the coronavirus lockdown through 9 May.
According to the AFP tally, collected by the agency from national health officials and the World Health Organisation, Europe is the worst-hit continent by the coronavirus pandemic, with a total of 100,501 fatalities out of 1,136,672 confirmed cases.
ANKARA (Sputnik) - A ban on entry and exit into 31 provinces in Turkey has been extended for 15 days as the coronavirus disease continues to spread throughout the country, the Interior Ministry announced on Saturday.
The internal border restrictions were applied by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on April 3, and include the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Antalya.
“The ban on entry and exit by land, air and sea for 31 provinces is extended for 15 days, starting from Saturday at midnight,” the ministry said in a statement.
As of Friday, Turkey’s Health Ministry has registered more than 78,000 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,700 people.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Donald Trump have discussed response measures to combat the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak during phone talks on Saturday, South Korea’s presidential Blue House stated.
According to a statement published on the Blue House’s official social media channels, the US president noted the “spirit of alliance” between the two countries and thanked Seoul for offering assistance to Washington during the outbreak.
“Both sides agreed to continue cooperation in combating the COVID-19 epidemic,” the statement read.
Additionally, Moon and Trump also agreed to offer North Korea humanitarian assistance amid the ongoing outbreak. Earlier in the day, Radio Free Asia reported that authorities in North Korea have told citizens at public lectures that cases of the coronavirus disease have been identified in the country.
Trump also congratulated Moon on a “big victory” in Wednesday’s parliamentary elections. Moon’s Democratic Party won 163 seats in South Korea’s 300-member National Assembly.
The telephone conversation between the presidents of South Korea and the United States was the second in less than a month.
ANKARA (Sputnik) - Turkish health workers have detected 3,783 coronavirus cases in the past day, taking the total tally to 82,329 with 121 more deaths making a total of 1,890, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Saturday.
This way, Turkey has overtaken Iran to become the worst affected Middle Eastern country in the number of infections, although Iran has a significantly higher death toll which surpassed 5,000 on Saturday.
More than 40,000 coronavirus tests were conducted over the past day, according to the health minister, and over 1,800 people have so far recovered from the virus.
Turkey is poised to overtake China soon in the number of infected, where the current total stands at 83,786, according to the Johns Hopkins University dashboard.
Turkish authorities have avoided imposing a nationwide lockdown, but instead restricted movement between cities and suspended all education, sports and public gatherings.
PARIS (Sputnik) - France’s COVID-19 death toll reported in the country’s hospitals and care facilities has risen to 19,323 after 642 deaths were registered in the preceding 24 hours, the national public health agency announced on Saturday.
The daily increase to the death toll is a significant decline from the 761 deaths announced by public health officials in Friday’s daily statistical update.
“Since March 1, we are mourning 19,323 deaths related to COVID-19 in France: 11,842 in hospitals and 7,481 in care facilities,” the agency said in a statement.
A further 2,569 cases of the coronavirus disease have been reported in France over the preceding 24 hours, raising the overall total since the start of the outbreak to 111,821, health authorities announced.
The number of patients undergoing intensive care treatment after contracting the disease has fallen for the tenth day in a row, the agency stated. A total of 5,833 people remain in intensive care units.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian citizens who sought to leave the UK amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak have departed on an evacuation flight from London to Moscow, the Russian Embassy in the UK said on Saturday.
“A special Aeroflot flight between Moscow and London, organized for the evacuation of UK citizens from Russia, took place on April 18. A number of Russian citizens are flying back from London to Moscow, having found themselves in a particularly difficult situation in the UK, requiring urgent repatriation to their homeland for humanitarian reasons,” the embassy said.
Upon arrival in Moscow, Russian citizens will be subject to a period of quarantine in accordance with current guidelines.
#Covid19 #coronavirus - Deserted Venetian lagoon - @esa https://t.co/yZkOCYcQc3 pic.twitter.com/1JFyfKs5Ko
— Jerome OLLIER (@JeromeOLLIER) April 15, 2020
"We understand the impact this has on our service members and their families. However, this is a necessary measure to keep our people safe and our military ready," Undersecretary of Defence for Personnel and Readiness Matt Donovan told reporters in a conference call.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Singapore has risen by an unprecedented 942 cases to reach 5,992 cases overall, according to the Health Ministry’s daily update.
The update also shows that 23 remain in critical condition and 11 people have died altogether, with no fatalities or deteriorating health over the past 24 hours, as of noontime in the Southeast Asian city state (04:00 GMT).
At the same time, 740 people have been discharged with complete recoveries, according to the health authorities.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Canada and the United States have agreed to extend border restrictions that limit non-essential travel for another 30 days as COVID-19 continues to spread in both countries, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday.
“I want to start today by confirming that Canada and the United States have agreed to extend by another 30 days the border measures that are currently in place. This is an important decision and one that will keep people on both sides of the border safe,” Trudeau said during a press briefing.
The land border between the two countries has been closed for all non-essential travel since 21 March, as a means of curbing the spread of the coronavirus disease. Exemptions are made for freight transport, and those traveling for emergency response and public health purposes.
Before Saturday’s announcement, the restrictions on the Canada-US border were set to expire on Tuesday.
NEW DELHI (Sputnik) - Twenty-one navy officers have tested positive for coronavirus in India’s Western Command navy headquarters in Mumbai, media reported Saturday.
According to news agency ANI, additional tests awaiting results may see the number grow higher.
“The COVID-19 positive patients include 20 sailors of INS Angre, a shore establishment at Mumbai. Most of these are asymptomatic and have been traced to a single sailor who was tested positive on 07 April," Navy spokesman Commander Vivek Madhwal said.
All the patients lived in closed quarters in one accommodation block which has been out under a containment regime, the spokesman added.
"There are no cases of infection onboard ships and submarines,” Mandhwal said, according to the agency.
More than half of the 120 people who lived in the same quarters have so far been tested.
India is currently under the world’s largest lockdown, with 1.4 billion people ordered to stay indoors until at least 3 May.
The subcontinent currently counts nearly 15,000 total confirmed cases of coronavirus with over 480 deaths.
The Health Ministry of Portugal reported 663 new cases of infection over a day, which brings the total number to 19,685.
The death toll grew by 30 people, reaching 687 in total. Over 600 patients in Portugal have recovered.
The north of the country, the city of Porto and its surrounding region, remains the most heavily affected with upward of 11,700 confirmed cases and 393 deaths.
On Tuesday, the country's Interior Minister Eduardo Cabrita announced the border crossing with Spain would remain closed until at least 15 May.
The country has reported 304 new cases and seven new fatalities.
LONDON (Sputnik) - The number of hospital deaths from COVID-19 in the United Kingdom has reached 15,464 with an additional 888 deaths counted over the past 24 hours, the Department of Health and Social Care said Friday.
This is a slight uptick in casualties from the previous day, when 847 people were reported dead.
The health authority also reported 5,526 new cases of infection had been confirmed as of 10:00 GMT, taking the total to 114,217.
The United Kingdom only counts the number of coronavirus patients who died of the disease in hospitals, leaving many to speculate the true death toll may be much higher.
The health authorities also share no data on recovered patients.
The match was held on 11 March at the same time that the World Health Organisation officially named coronavirus as a pandemic.
"It didn't make any sense that 3,000 Atletico fans could travel to Anfield at that time", Jose Luis Martinez-Almedia said. "It was a mistake... I think even at that time there should have been more caution".
TBILISI (Sputnik) - Georgia has registered 15 new COVID-19 cases and the total number of people infected reached 385, the government's website monitoring the spread of the virus said on Saturday.
"Confirmed coronavirus cases - 385; recoveries - 84; fatal cases - 3," the website read.
Tbilisi separately counts Georgian citizens who were infected abroad and evacuated for medical treatment. Georgia has so far brought home two COVID-19 carriers from Armenia and one from Turkey. Almost 5,000 people are quarantined and 519 under medical supervision.
In March, the authorities declared a state of emergency until April 21 in a bid to stop the spread of COVID-19, which was later extended until May 10. The Georgian government also suspended exit from and entry to the country's four largest cities, including the capital of Tbilisi, for at least 10 days starting from April 15.
Meanwhile, neighboring Armenia has so far confirmed 1,248 COVID-19 cases, including 19 related fatalities.
According to the country's Health Ministry, 705 patients are currently receiving treatment and a total of 11,796 people have been tested for the disease.
In a bid to curb the pandemic, the Armenian authorities declared a state of emergency from March 16 to May 14.
TOKYO (Sputnik) - The total number of coronavirus cases in Japan topped 10,800 on Saturday with 255 new infections confirmed, media reported citing health authorities.
According to public broadcaster NHK, 222 people have succumbed to the disease while the illness of 211 can be classified as critical.
The 10,816 total includes the 712 people who were infected aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in February and 1,657 people who have been discharged with recoveries, NHK reported.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month declared a nationwide state of emergency after initially declaring it in six of the worst infected provinces.
This morning, British Transport Police in London paid tribute to Detective Constable John Coker, who died on Friday aged 53 after contracting the #coronavirus disease.
— IanBroughall (@IanBroughall) April 18, 2020
The father of three, who was based at Euston railway station, had been taken ill on 22 March. pic.twitter.com/MTNVhHfBmr
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Spain has registered 565 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, making up a total of 20,043 deaths, the Spanish Health Ministry said in its daily update on Saturday, adding that the total number of confirmed cases has increased by over 4,500 to 191,726.
Nearly 75,00 patients have been discharged with complete recoveries and about 97,000 cases remain active, the ministry's data shows.
Spain currently ranks third in terms of coronavirus-related fatalities after Italy and the United States and second in terms of active COVID-19 cases.
In recent days, the number of daily new cases of the coronavirus in Spain has been declining, prompting health authorities to believe that the country has gone through the peak of the pandemic.
Spain has extended the high alert regime due to the COVID-19 pandemic through 26 April.
The government of Chhattisgarh state is set to buy high-quality Covid-19 rapid testing kits from a South Korean company based in India, the state’s health minister confirmed today.
The South Korean company has been identified as lowest bidder in the market, with a price of INR 337 per kit.
The minister extended his gratitude to the ambassador of South Korea and the Indian ambassador in South Korea for making the deal possible.
The state plans to ramp up random testing to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
This is all due to our continuous & fruitful interactions with Hon'ble Ambassador of South Korea & our Indian Ambassador in South Korea. Well done team Chhattisgarh! (2/2)
— TS Singh Deo (@TS_SinghDeo) April 17, 2020
TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran’s official statistics continue to show a deceleration in coronavirus infections and deaths although the total number of cases on Saturday exceeded the 80,000 mark while the death toll topped 5,000, according to adviser to the country's health minister Alireza Vahabzadeh.
"[Over the past 24 hours] 1,374 new cases of the coronavirus were detected. To date, a total of 80,868 cases of the infection have been reported. Unfortunately, over the past 24 hours, 73 people have died. To this date, 5,031 people have died", Vahabzadeh wrote on Twitter.
The health official added that nearly 57,000 people have recovered.
The death toll has for five days in a row been below 100, and the number of new cases is way off the peak of March 30, when over 3,100 new cases were confirmed in a single day.
۳۰ فروردین/
— علیرضا وهابزاده (@vahabzadeh_ali) April 18, 2020
۱۳۷۴ بیمار جدید مبتلا به کرونا در کشور شناسایی شد
مجموع بیماران مبتلا به کرونا در کشور به ۸۰۸۶۸ نفر رسید.
متاسفانه در طول ۲۴ساعت گذشته، ۷۳ مبتلا جان خود را از دست دادند.
تا امروز ۵۰۳۱ نفر از بیماران، جان باختهاند.
تا امروز ۵۵۹۸۷ نفر از بیماران، بهبود یافتهاند.
TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - The number of people diagnosed with the coronavirus in Israel has increased by over 250 to 13,107 within the past 24 hours, while the death toll has risen to 158, the Israeli Health Ministry said on Saturday.
According to the health authorities, the number of those in critical condition has dropped to 167 with 118 others receiving lung ventilation.
So far, a total of 3,247 people in Israel have been cured of the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Palestine has confirmed its third COVID-19 related death, according to the Ma'an news agency.
The media reported that a 78-year-old Palestinian woman died in a hospital in East Jerusalem.
Earlier in the day, Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases registered by the authorities has increased by six to 418 over the past 24 hours, 105 of them in East Jerusalem.
Russia has registered 4,785 coronavirus cases in past 24 hours, bringing the total to 36,793, the response center said Saturday.
"In the last 24 hours, 4,785cases of COVID-19 infection were registered in 79 regions in Russia. In Russia, cumulatively, 36,793 cases (+ 15.0 percent) of coronavirus infection were registered in 85 regions" the center said.
Of the new cases, 2,649 were registered in Moscow, 427 in Moscow region, 139 in St. Petersburg.
The doth toll rose by 40 new cases, bring the total number of fatalities to 313. Meanwhile, 467 people have recovered in the past 24 hours, with total 3,057 having been discharged.
The temporary restrictions imposed in Moscow on April 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic are being extended until May 1, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Saturday.
"The time limits imposed on 13 April this year are extended until 1 May 2020," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
The mayor added that along with COVID-19 patients, people with viral respiratory infections would also receive free medicines in Moscow.
"The program is expanding to provide free medicines to Muscovites who are being treated at home. Along with COVID-19 patients, citizens with symptoms of the viral respiratory infections will receive free medicines," Sobyanin noted.
He added that according to doctors, in the current environment, the probability that coronavirus is mistaken for common SARS is very high, so adequate treatment should be started immediately.
Next, according to Sobyanin, digital passes do not apply to freight transportation in Moscow, they will be based on previously issued permits.
The mayor added that this norm guaranteed the stability of the city’s supply of food, medicines and other necessary goods and materials.
Meanwhile, five large metropolitan clinics have currently suspended their COVID-19 operations, they will be in reserve.
"I suspended the transfer of five large clinics to the regime of working with coronavirus, which was supposed to happen from April 20. These clinics will be on standby and will continue to provide regular medical care, which is also very important," Sobyanin said.
According to the Moscow official, the effect of preventing an explosive increase in COVID-19 cases has been achieved, this is the first and important victory, but the fight has not ended, the epidemic has not receded.
The work of the bike rental system in Moscow will also not be suspended, according to Sobyanin's decree.
The number of people infected with the new coronavirus in Kyrgyzstan has grown by 17 to 506 within the past 24 hours, the country's COVID-19 response center told Sputnik on Saturday.
"As of April 18, 2020, 17 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been registered in Kyrgyzstan," the response center's spokesperson said.
The list of infected people includes 116 doctors among others.
The death toll from the coronavirus in Kyrgyzstan stands at five people, while 13 other patients are in critical condition.
Kyrgyzstan has declared a state of emergency in several cities, including the capital of Bishkek, in light of the pandemic.
Germany has registered 3,609 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, and the total tally reached 137,439, the Robert Koch Institute said on Saturday.
According to the institute, 242 new deaths related to the coronavirus were confirmed in the past day, and the overall death toll reached 4,110.
In Germany, 85,400 people have fully recovered since the start of the outbreak, including over 3,600 recoveries over the past 24 hours.
According to the update, the southern state of Bavaria is the most affected with 36,881 cases, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia with 28,006 cases and Baden-Wurttemberg with 27,258 cases. The German capital city of Berlin has so far confirmed 5,066 COVID-19 cases.
Russian and Italian military specialists have disinfected retirement homes in two settlements in the Italian region of Lombardy within the past 24 hours, the Russian Defenсe Ministry said on Saturday.
“Russian military experts, together with the military personnel of the radiation, chemical and biological protection unit of the Italian armed forces disinfected three retirement homes in the towns of Grumello del Monte and Castelli Calepio in Lombardy, the Republic of Italy,” the ministry said.
In total, Russian and Italian military personnel have sanitized retirement homes in more than 60 settlements in the Lombardy region.
Earlier this week, the Defenсe Ministry said that Russian and Italian military medics had so far received 31 patients at a field hospital in Bergamo, one of the most affected cities in Lombardy. Over 200 Russian and Italian medical professionals are providing round-the-clock treatment at the field hospital, which has 142 beds.
The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March. To date, more than 2.2 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 154,000 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Italy is one of the worst-hit countries by the coronavirus, with over 172,000 confirmed cases and more than 22,000 fatalities.
Thailand has registered 33 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 2,733 Taweesin Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the national coronavirus response center, said on Saturday, adding that no new deaths were reported in the given period.
"Today, 33 new infections have been registered in Thailand and not a single death, the absence of fatalities is happening for the first time in a few days," Visanuyothin said at a briefing.
The total number of people infected with COVID-19 in Thailand reached 2,733 and the number of coronavirus-related fatalities remains 47. Meanwhile, 1,789 people have fully recovered from the disease.
"I must note that the proportion of deaths from the total number of cases in Thailand is 1.7 percent, much lower than in many other countries where this figure varies between 3.5 percent and 4 percent," the health official added.
