no new cases in 24 hours
On the morning of April 9, the Ministry of Health announced that no new cases of Covid-19 were recorded. This is also the first time in the past month that our country has had no new infections within 24 hours.
The number of Covid-19 cases to date is 251. Of these, 126 have been declared cured and discharged from the hospital. It is expected that today, Can Gio Covid-19 Hospital will announce the recovery of two patients, patient 203 and patient 234, both of whom were diagnosed after returning from abroad.
Donald Trump thanks Vietnam for 450,000 protective suits
Early on the morning of April 9, US President Donald J. Trump announced on his Twitter account that he had received the first shipment of more than 450,000 protective suits made in Vietnam.
"This morning, 450,000 protective suits landed in Dallas, Texas. This was made possible thanks to the cooperation of two great American companies, DuPont and FedEx, and our friends in Vietnam. Thank you!" - President Trump tweeted.
China suddenly blockades a border city
According to SCMP, Chinese authorities on April 8 locked down the city of Suifenhe, Heilongjiang province after a spike in Covid-19 cases, all of whom were people returning from Russia. 25 people infected with Covid-19 were discovered after returning from the Russian city of Vladivostok.
Suifenhe authorities also said 86 other people returning from Russia were identified as suspected cases and were being placed under medical supervision.
Foreigners stranded in Thailand get automatic visa extensions
The Thai government has approved a proposal to automatically extend visas for all foreigners who arrived in the country legally and were stranded due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Accordingly, all those who arrived in Thailand before the country banned foreigners from entering will not need to go to visa extension centers as usual. Those in this category and whose visas have expired will be extended until April 30.
In addition, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (Thailand) launched a home testing campaign for suspected Covid-19 cases, in the context that the whole country has recorded up to 2,369 cases of the disease (as of April 8).
Bangkok is the area with the most infections in Thailand.
Many Indian states have made wearing masks mandatory.
Many states and major cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai, with hundreds of millions of people, have made it mandatory to wear masks when leaving the house, according to AFP news agency.
In New Delhi, authorities have made it mandatory for people to wear quality masks when going out, including in cars, at work or in offices. Masks must be three-layer or cloth. India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, and the cities of Mumbai, Thane and Pune in Maharashtra have also made similar rules.
Outbreak in foreign worker area in Singapore
Singapore's Ministry of Health said on April 8 that it recorded 142 new cases on the same day - the highest increase since the outbreak began in the country, bringing the total number of infections to 1,623. Of the new cases on April 8, 40 were linked to a dormitory for foreign workers, the Ministry of Health added.
In Malaysia, health officials said on April 8 that the country had 156 new cases of coronavirus infection and 2 deaths in the past 24 hours.
Philippines will test 10,000 samples per day
On April 8, the Philippine Ministry of Health recorded 106 new cases of coronavirus and 5 new deaths. The total number of coronavirus infections in the country is now 3,870 cases with 96 deaths. The Philippines said it will test about 10,000 Covid-19 samples per day for the next 3 months.
The Philippine National Stadium is being converted into a quarantine facility that will be operational next week, with the facility gradually expanding to accommodate 2,000 patients at a time, according to the Phil Star newspaper.
Indonesia restricts activities in the capital Jakarta
Starting April 10, Indonesia’s capital Jakarta will ban gatherings of more than five people, reduce service capacity by 50%, and limit public transport hours from 6am to 6pm daily. Meanwhile, private vehicles are still allowed to enter and exit the capital area, but the number of people per vehicle will be limited.
The Indonesian Ministry of Health on April 8 recorded 218 new cases of coronavirus infection and 19 new deaths. Indonesia's total number of coronavirus infections is 2,956 cases and the total number of deaths is 240.
Record high death toll, flags fly at half-mast in New York
New York on April 8 recorded 779 more deaths from the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, becoming the day with the most deaths in the epicenter of the US. The total number of deaths in New York state as of April 8 reached 6,298, forcing Governor Cuomo to request that flags be flown at half-staff across the state.
Previously, Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed concern about the death rate among Hispanic and African American communities being twice as high as that of white Americans - showing the gap in economic conditions as well as access to health services for these groups. Mayor de Blasio affirmed that the city will make efforts to support public hospitals more so that the poor have the opportunity to be treated when infected with SARS-CoV-2.
US blocks export of medical equipment
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on April 8 that they will seize all exports of critical medical protective equipment, amid the Covid-19 outbreak in the country. After seizing, FEMA will consider which items are kept for domestic use and which are allowed to be exported. FEMA's regulations on seizure and inspection of exported goods will be in effect from April 10 to August 10.
The statement was made after Donald Trump activated the Defense Production Act.
At the same time, the US also authorized pharmacies to perform Covid-19 tests, according to AFP. Health Secretary Alex Azar said the move would allow pharmacies to play a larger role in the fight against the disease alongside health workers. The authorized tests will include antibody tests to determine whether a person has recovered from the disease.
Number of infections increases, SOUTH AFRICA increases testing
The South African Ministry of Health announced on April 8 that the country recorded 96 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections in Africa's most developed country to 1,845. This is also the highest number of cases in a day since South Africa began implementing a nationwide lockdown on March 27.
To date, South Africa has tested 63,776 people for SARS-CoV-2. It is expected that the country will increase its testing capacity from about 5,000 people/day to 15,000 people/day by mid-April and 30,000/day by the end of April.
Russia records record number of new infections in one day
According to Reuters news agency on April 8, Russia recorded 1,175 new cases of coronavirus, a record number in a single day. The total number of coronavirus infections in this country is now 8,672 cases.
This is the second consecutive day that Russia has had more than 1,000 new infections.
In Germany, in the past 24 hours, the number of coronavirus infections increased by 4,003 people, and the number of deaths increased by 254 people.
UK: Death toll continues to rise at record high, Prime Minister's health is stable
The number of deaths from the coronavirus in the UK on April 8 continued to increase by a record 938 cases, bringing the total number of deaths from the coronavirus in the country to 7,097. The number of infections in this country is currently recorded at 60,733.
On the same day, the British Finance Minister said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still in the intensive care unit (ICU), but "is improving and can sit up in bed".
France extends lockdown
France will extend its nationwide lockdown until April 15. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the lockdown measures were helping contain the spread of the virus and it was not yet time to lift restrictions.
In another development, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle had to stop its mission in the North Sea and return home after detecting about 40 suspected cases of Covid-19 on board. A team of epidemic experts from the French military medical force was brought on board to check the health of the 1,760 crew members.
Funeral homes in Sweden are severely overloaded.
According to RT, hospitals in the two Swedish cities of Gothenburg and Stockholm were recently forced to rent ice rinks and refrigerated containers as temporary morgues, as funeral homes became overloaded due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
At the same time, in the city of Solna, Karolinska University Hospital decided to requisition the cold food storage room in the canteen to store bodies.
Claes Ruth (Karolinska University Laboratory) said the current situation is “dire”, as the number of deaths exceeds the morgue's storage capacity.
This overcrowding is happening in all hospitals in Sweden.
European Commission urges Schengen countries to extend travel restrictions
On April 8, the European Commission (EC) urged European Union (EU) member countries to maintain travel restrictions within the Schengen area until at least May 15 to slow the spread of the pandemic.
According to Mr. Margaritis Schinas, European Commissioner in charge of improving living standards, all Schengen member countries must implement social distancing measures well to limit interactions in the community and slow the spread of the virus.
In addition, the EU also needs to restrict non-essential travel from third countries to support the above efforts.
