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Vietnam officially announces the epidemic.
At noon on April 1st, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc officially signed a decision declaring a Covid-19 epidemic nationwide.
Accordingly, the outbreak began on January 23, 2020 – the date the first case was recorded. The outbreak occurred nationwide, caused by a new strain of coronavirus. The decision also clearly states that the nature and severity of this disease is classified as Group A, posing a global pandemic risk and transmitted through the respiratory tract from person to person.
The Prime Minister's decision to declare a nationwide epidemic will spur the country's epidemic prevention and control efforts to be more decisive, and localities will have to invest appropriately in epidemic control and prevention activities.
China unexpectedly locks down 600,000 people.
600,000 residents of Giap district, Ha Nam province, are currently under lockdown after four positive cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in a hospital in the area.
According to the South China Morning Post, curfew-like measures took effect on March 31. Residents in the district needed a special permit to leave their homes and had to have their temperature checked and wear masks before making any trips.
First case detected in India's largest slum.
According to India Today, the country of 1.3 billion people has recorded its first case of coronavirus infection in the Dharavi slum, in Mumbai, Maharashtra state. The patient is a 56-year-old man who has been hospitalized. Approximately 8 to 10 members of his family are currently in quarantine.
To date, India has recorded nearly 2,000 cases of infection, including 59 deaths.
Dharavi, spanning 613 hectares and home to 1.5 million people, is the largest slum in India and also the largest in Asia. Mumbai is a hotspot for the spread of Covid-19 in India, accounting for over 50% of the more than 320 infected people in Maharashtra state.
Singapore has recorded 1,000 cases of COVID-19.
According to Reuters, Singapore confirmed 74 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 on April 1st, bringing the total number of infected patients in the Southeast Asian nation to 1,000. This also marks the highest daily increase in new infections in Singapore.
The Singapore Ministry of Health stated that, among the 74 patients, 20 were "imported" cases and 54 were locally transmitted infections.
121 Countries Ask South Korea for Support with COVID-19 Testing Kits
Twelve 121 countries have requested South Korea's assistance in providing SARS-CoV-2 virus testing kits, as world leaders face immense pressure from the increasingly complex fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Previously, South Korea's large-scale testing campaign was credited with helping to slow the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a country that once had the second-highest outbreak after China. A South Korean Foreign Ministry official stated, "We have received numerous requests from various countries, as we have learned lessons from the initial outbreak. These requests continue to increase."
According to the official, South Korea has established a task force to determine how it can provide assistance, either through exports or humanitarian aid. Several South Korean companies that manufacture SARS-CoV-2 virus test kits have already signed contracts to supply numerous US states and other countries, including Italy.
US: the first country to have more than 200,000 infections.
According to updated figures on the morning of April 2nd, the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the US has reached 214,639, an increase of 26,109 compared to the previous day. Thus, the US has become the first country in the world to have more than 210,000 cases of Covid-19.
The death toll from Covid-19 in the US is now recorded at 5,099, an increase of 1,046 in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the number of recoveries is 8,878, and the number of critically ill patients is 5,005.
On April 1st, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a statewide curfew and ordered residents to stay home to prevent the spread of the virus.
The US evacuates thousands of sailors from aircraft carrier.
AFP reported on April 2nd that the US Navy is evacuating thousands of sailors from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam, after the ship's captain warned that the Covid-19 pandemic was threatening the lives of those on board.
The ship, carrying 4,865 crew members, currently has 93 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on board, according to NPR.
Speaking from Washington, acting US Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said that nearly 1,000 sailors on board had been evacuated and that number would increase to 2,700 in the coming days.
However, they need to keep around 1,000 sailors on board to maintain operations. "We cannot and will not evacuate all the sailors from the ship. This ship carries a lot of weapons, ammunition, expensive aircraft, and a nuclear reactor," Modly said.
Brazil reports its first case of COVID-19 among indigenous people.
On April 1st, the Brazilian Ministry of Health announced that the country had recorded its first case of SARS-CoV-2 infection among indigenous people, bringing the total number of positive cases in the country to 5,717 to date.
According to official reports, the patient is a 19-year-old man from the Kokama tribe living in the Santo Antonio do Içá district, near the border with Colombia in Manaos state. He works in healthcare and traveled through several indigenous villages in the area before returning home with symptoms of fever, sore throat, and chest pain.
Earlier, Brazilian health authorities had also confirmed four positive cases of SARS-CoV-2 in the same district, including a doctor, which is an indication that the virus may be beginning to spread in indigenous communities living in remote areas.
Currently, Brazil has approximately 300 tribal groups with about 850,000 people living in various regions across the country.
Spain surpasses 100,000 infections.
According to official figures, the country has had the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, second only to Italy and the United States. Meanwhile, Spain's death toll currently ranks second globally with 9,387 deaths.
In the past 24 hours, Spain also set a grim record with 923 new deaths. To date, Spain has a total of 104,118 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including 9,387 deaths and 5,872 in critical condition.
Spain has the highest number of infections and deaths in Europe in the past 24 hours.
He will increase testing.
On April 1st, the British government announced it would increase Covid-19 testing amid criticism that the country was conducting too few tests, according to Reuters. While Germany tests around 500,000 people a week, the UK is currently only able to test 12,750 a day. The British government said it aims to double that number by mid-April.
Currently, testing in the UK focuses on suspected cases and those already hospitalized.
The UK recorded its highest daily death toll from Covid-19 on April 1st, with 563 cases, bringing the total number of deaths to 2,352.
Germany extends strict measures.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that Germany will extend social distancing measures until April 19 to slow the spread of the virus, and the government will reassess the situation after Easter on April 12.
"We are seeing some small effects from the current measures, but we are still far from reaching our goals," Markel explained.
Germany has closed schools, shops, restaurants, playgrounds, and many companies have temporarily suspended production to cope with Covid-19, but the number of new infections and deaths in the country continues to rise.
Climate change summit postponed.
The British government announced that the United Nations climate change summit COP26, scheduled to take place in Glasgow, UK in November 2020, has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Originally, around 30,000 people, including 200 world leaders, were to attend the 10-day conference for crucial discussions on preventing global temperature rise.
The UK government said the date for the conference in 2021 is tentatively scheduled to be announced later.
WHO supports North Korea in preventing the spread of the disease.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) will provide $900,000 in aid to support North Korea's efforts to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.
Previously, the WHO, along with other international organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and the International Red Cross, had provided North Korea with medical equipment, virus testing kits, and other necessary related supplies.
To date, North Korea has not reported any COVID-19 cases.
The UN calls on the international community to unite in the fight against COVID-19.
On April 1, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the Covid-19 pandemic the “most serious crisis” the world has faced since World War II, emphasizing that the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus is “attacking the very core of society.”
Mr. Guterres called on the international community to respond more decisively in line with the current urgency of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He emphasized: “We are facing a global health crisis unlike any other in the 75-year history of the United Nations. It is deadly, inflicting suffering and causing widespread anxiety. But more importantly, the Covid-19 pandemic is attacking the very core of human society.”
Source: Government Information
