Nearly 2 million cases of nCoV infection worldwide; the pandemic is developing in a complex manner.

Nine more people have been declared recovered.

This morning, April 14th, the Ministry of Health announced that no new patients have been recorded, bringing the total number of patients to 265. Of these, 160 are from abroad (accounting for 60.4%), and the remainder are domestically transmitted infections.

Today, the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases will announce the recovery of 9 more patients, including 8 Vietnamese and 1 foreigner.

The decision on whether or not to continue social distancing will be made on April 15th.

Presiding over the Government's Standing Committee meeting on COVID-19 prevention on April 13, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated that the decision on whether or not to continue social distancing measures would be made on April 15.

At the same time, the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control organized a consultation with local steering committees on the implementation of Directive 16.

As a result, 2 out of 36 localities proposed extending the social distancing period by another week beyond April 15th. Eight localities, including Ho Chi Minh City, proposed extending it until the end of April, and two localities proposed extending it until the end of May. The remaining localities proposed extending social distancing until April 15th.

The Philippines has the highest number of infections in Southeast Asia.

The Philippine Department of Health reported 18 additional deaths and 288 new cases of coronavirus infection on April 13. This brings the total number of deaths, cases, and recoveries in the Philippines to 315, 4,932, and 242.

On the same day, Malaysia reported 134 new cases, bringing the total to 4,817, with only one additional death. This officially puts the Philippines ahead of Malaysia as the country with the most infections in Southeast Asia.

Singapore recorded 368 new Covid-19 cases on April 13, its highest daily increase to date, according to the Ministry of Health. The majority of the new cases are linked to an outbreak in a migrant worker housing complex.

116 South Koreans test positive for Covid-19 again.

South Korean officials say at least 116 patients who had recovered from Covid-19 have tested positive again. The cause of the re-positive test results is still unknown, but South Korean health officials say the virus may have been reactivated in the patients' bodies rather than them being reinfected.

On the same day, Japanese media reported that Tokyo recorded 91 new cases. This figure continues to show a decrease in new infections compared to the 166 new cases on Sunday.

New York "is moving past a dark period"

Speaking at a press conference on April 13 (US time), New York Governor Andrew Cuomo affirmed that "the worst is over" as the graph of new hospitalizations had peaked and begun to level off, while the number of new deaths continued to decline.

According to Governor Cuomo, only 671 New Yorkers died from Covid-19 on April 12, a decrease of 87 from the previous day and the lowest number since April 5.

As of this morning, the United States recorded an additional 1,509 deaths, a slight decrease from the 1,514 deaths reported the previous day. The Director of the US CDC, Robert Redfield, predicted that the Covid-19 pandemic in the US could peak this week.

According to Reuters, on April 13, a total of nine states on the east and west coasts of the United States publicly announced their intention to ease restrictions and gradually reopen their economies.

Greece declares "victory over the pandemic".

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis praised the country's efforts to combat the pandemic on April 13, but said "the fight is still on and everyone must continue to fight together." According to Reuters, the country is preparing for the Orthodox Easter holiday, a time when hundreds of thousands of people flock to homes for family gatherings.

Greece reported 30 new cases on April 13, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 2,145, including 99 deaths.

France extends lockdown until May 11th.

On April 13, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the nationwide lockdown measures, which were scheduled to expire on April 14, would be extended until May 11.

Schools and shops will gradually reopen on May 11, Macron said. But restaurants, hotels, cafes and cinemas will remain closed longer, while people arriving from non-European countries will continue to be denied entry until further notice.

According to Macron, starting May 11th, the authorities will test all individuals exhibiting symptoms of the novel coronavirus, while simultaneously distributing face masks to all citizens.

Increases and decreases in Europe

The number of deaths from the novel coronavirus in Italy surpassed 20,000 on March 14, making it the country with the second-highest death toll in the world after the United States. The country recorded an additional 566 deaths that day, up from 431 the previous day, bringing the national total to 20,465.

However, Italy's daily new infection count fell to 3,153 cases, bringing the total to 159,516. The number of critical cases in the country also decreased for the 10th consecutive day.

Russia recorded 2,558 new infections in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases nationwide to 18,328. This continues to be a record single-day increase for Russia.

President Vladimir Putin said on April 13 that Russia could mobilize resources from the Ministry of Defense to deal with the crisis if necessary.

On the same day, the number of deaths from Covid-19 in the UK surpassed 11,000, after 717 new cases were recorded, bringing the total number of deaths to 11,392.

The latest figures have made the UK the fifth country in the world with the highest number of deaths. A senior scientific adviser to the British government warned that the country risks becoming the hardest-hit in Europe.

The number of deaths from Covid-19 in Spain on April 13th decreased from 619 to 517. The Spanish Ministry of Health stated that this was the smallest daily increase since tracking began. Currently, the country has 17,489 deaths from the coronavirus and 169,496 confirmed cases.

Reportedly, around 300,000 workers in Madrid returned to work on April 13th, mostly in sectors where working from home is not possible, such as construction and some other industries.

Sri Lanka mandates cremation for those who die from COVID-19.

"The bodies of those who died from Covid-19 must be cremated," the Sri Lankan Health Minister declared. However, this requirement faced opposition from Muslim families, who disagreed with cremating their loved ones because Islam prohibits cremation of the deceased.

To date, Sri Lanka has 210 confirmed cases and 7 deaths from Covid-19.

Lan Oanh