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Cases of infection with the new coronavirus continue to surge throughout the world, and restrictions put in place by governments to contain the pandemic have confined one billion people to their homes in different countries.
The following are the latest on the coronavirus epidemic around the globe.
As many as 300,000 infections have been confirmed across the globe while the number of worldwide fatalities has exceeded 13,000.
Italy, the world’s hardest hit country, recorded a jump in its death tally from the viral infection on Saturday. Fatalities jumped by 793 to 4,825 in the largest one-day rise since the contagion emerged in Italy a month ago.
Confirmed cases of infection also rose to 53,578 from 47,021, the Civil Protection Agency said Sunday.
Cuban doctors, nurses rush to help fight virus in Italy
Italy requested Cuba to send a brigade of doctors and nurses to its worst-hit northern region of Lombardy, which, according to health officials, remains in a critical condition with 3,095 deaths and 25,515 cases.
Cuba sent a team of 36 doctors, 15 nurses, and a logistic expert to the country on Saturday night.
Cuba has already sent “armies of white robes” in recent days to combat the spread of the virus to several countries, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Suriname, and Grenada.
But this was the first time Cuba was sending an emergency contingent to a European country.
Cuban doctors were in the front lines in the fight against cholera in Haiti and against the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in the 2010s.
The country has 8.2 doctors for every 1,000 people, one of the highest rates in world, according to the World Bank.
Russia sending military medics to Italy
The Russian army is also sending medical help to Italy on Sunday, after receiving an order from President Vladimir Putin, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The ministry said military transport planes would deliver eight mobile brigades of military medics, special disinfection vehicles, and other medical equipment to Italy.
Putin offered his support and help to Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte during a phone call on Saturday, the Kremlin said.
Russia itself has reported one death and 306 infections, most of them in Moscow.
Spain: Worst yet to come
The coronavirus death toll in Spain, meanwhile, reached 1,326 on Saturday, from 1,002 the day before, and the number of infected people rose to 24,926, from 19,980.
The Spanish government, however, warned that “the worst is yet to come,” but promised to do whatever was needed to combat the epidemic.
A total of 5,000 people have so far died of the infection across Europe, with Italy, Spain, and Germany reporting steep rises in both infections and deaths.
UK predicts jump in numbers
In the United Kingdom, a total of 5,018 have been infected with the virus, while 233 patients have succumbed to the disease.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that Britain’s National Health Service could be “overwhelmed” by the virus like Italy’s health system in just two weeks.
“The numbers are very stark, and they are accelerating. We are only a matter of weeks – two or three – behind Italy,” he said.
Increase in US cases as widespread shutdowns enforced
In America, 26,900 people have tested positive and 348 people have died of the novel coronavirus.
Almost 1 in 4 Americans were obliged to close up shop and stay at home on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Republican and Democratic leaders are still working on reaching a deal to pump over $1 trillion into the economy on top of the hundreds of billions of dollars in fiscal and monetary stimulus that have already been used to support the world’s largest economy.
China sees rise in imported cases
China, where the virus first emerged in December last year, said the imported cases of the disease continued to rise.
The National Health Commission reported 46 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday.
China has drastically reduced the number of locally transmitted cases. After four consecutive days of zero such cases, health officials reported the first local transmission on Saturday.
The latest figures bring mainland China’s total cases to 81,054, with 3,261 deaths, including six on Saturday.
The central province of Hubei, where the outbreak first emerged, reported its fourth straight day of no new cases.
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