The total number of coronavirus cases across the world has climbed to 2.7 million, and the death toll has reached 190,743. On the positive side, 738,274 people have been recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Here are the top 10 global developments this morning:
1. The US nears 50,000 virus fatalities after 3,176 deaths in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins
2. Brazil recorded 407 deaths from the coronavirus in 24 hours, the highest daily toll since the start of the pandemic, the Health Ministry said.
3. The World Health Organization said Europe was seeing an “unimaginable human tragedy” at its care homes, where deaths from the coronavirus accounted for up to 50% in some countries.
4. The US House of Representatives approved a $484 billion coronavirus relief bill, funding small businesses and hospitals and pushing the total spending response to the crisis to an unprecedented near $3 trillion.
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5. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the army would be sent in to help Ontario and Quebec provinces combat coronavirus outbreaks at long-term care facilities hardest-hit by the pandemic.
6. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government will allow a partial reopening of the economy on May 1, with travel restrictions eased and some industries allowed to operate under a five-level risk system.
7. The big-ideas TED Conference said it was allocating prize funding this year to a project aimed at tackling pandemics like the COVID-19 outbreak and related health initiatives.
8. Mainland China reported six new coronavirus cases as of end-April 23, down from 10 reported a day earlier, putting the total number of COVID-19 infections at 82,804.
9. Australian shares traded flat on Friday as investors held their bets while they fretted over the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic and worried that an antidote may not be imminent.
10. US President Donald Trump has favoured safe and phased reopening of the American economy, which has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.
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