Vietnam has no new cases, 15 patients have first negative test results
On May 1, the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control announced that as of this morning, no new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded. Thus, for 15 consecutive days, Vietnam has had no cases of community transmission. Currently, 15 cases among the patients being treated have tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus at least once.
According to the report of the Treatment Subcommittee - National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, up to now, Vietnam has had 219 patients declared cured/discharged from hospital. The remaining 51 Covid-19 patients are currently being treated at 9 medical examination and treatment facilities, of which 40 patients are at central hospitals; most of the patients are in stable health.
Russian newspaper calls for applying Vietnam's success to fight COVID-19
According to a VNA correspondent in Moscow, the Russian newspaper “Arguments and Events” published an article on April 30 titled “Why Vietnam was able to handle the Covid-19 pandemic from the very beginning”. The article asked the question: can Russia apply Vietnam’s successful lessons in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic?
The article emphasizes that with 96 million people in an area of only 331,700 km2, Vietnam is very densely populated and is by no means a small country like Singapore. In principle, like Italy, the Covid-19 pandemic would have forced tens of thousands of Vietnamese to be hospitalized, but this has not happened.
The newspaper also emphasized that although Vietnam is not famous for its modern healthcare system like Japan or South Korea, the government of this country does not hesitate in financial matters.
This may have been learned from the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Vietnam, which resulted in 63 cases and 5 deaths. Although the number of Covid-19 cases was small, the Vietnamese government still came to the conclusion that the chain of infection needed to be stopped as quickly as possible and by any means possible.
According to the newspaper "Argument and Facts", it can be said that Vietnam has "strangled" Covid-19 right from the beginning.
The World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Vietnam - Mr. Kidun Park assessed that Vietnam has been successful in the fight against Covid-19, and said that early response to the pandemic was the key factor leading to success.
Global infections surpass 3.3 million, another country "falls" to COVID-19
According to the website worldometers.info, as of 8:00 a.m. on May 1 (Vietnam time), the world recorded more than 3.3 million cases of Covid-19 acute respiratory infection and more than 234,000 deaths due to the epidemic.
The US remains the world leader in the number of cases and deaths from the pandemic, with more than 1.09 million cases and about 63,000 deaths recorded after more than 2,000 deaths in the past 24 hours.
On April 30, Tajikistan became the latest country to succumb to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tajikistan's Ministry of Health announced that the country had recorded its first 15 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including 5 in the capital Dushanbe and 10 in Sughd province, which borders Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Thus, the epidemic has now appeared and spread in 211 countries and territories worldwide.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has Covid-19
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on April 30 that Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin had been diagnosed with Covid-19. He received the Covid-19 test result while at work. On the morning of April 30, he chaired an online government meeting.
Mr Mishustin, who was appointed prime minister in January after Dmitry Medvedev resigned, has played a leading role in Russia's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Mishustin has informed President Vladimir Putin about his condition. He is now in self-isolation and has temporarily suspended his duties as prime minister, according to state TV channel Rossiya 24. President Putin has signed a decree appointing First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov as acting prime minister.
Spain's death toll lowest in 6 weeks
The Spanish Ministry of Health announced on April 30 that it had recorded 268 more deaths from Covid-19, the lowest level since March 20, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 24,543.
Spain now has the fourth-highest number of Covid-19 deaths in the world, after the US, Italy and the UK. The number of infections in the country has increased by 516 in the past 24 hours, to 213,435.
Czech Health Minister affirms COVID-19 epidemic has been controlled
On the same day, Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtech affirmed that the Covid-19 epidemic in the country has been controlled and the government will continue to cautiously reopen the economy.
The Czech Republic has recorded fewer than 100 new cases for eight consecutive days. The number of hospital admissions in the Czech Republic has decreased from a peak of 446 on April 9 to 348 on April 29. The total number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the Czech Republic is 7,581 and 227, respectively. The infection rate has decreased to 0.7. The Ministry of Health forecasts that the number of cases will be between 7,900 and 9,700 by the end of May.
These positive developments have prompted the Czech government to begin allowing the reopening of shops and services. Speaking at a press conference, Minister Vojtech said that the easing of measures has not led to negative trends. Therefore, the government will continue to cautiously open the economy.
Most operations are scheduled to resume from May 11 to May 25. Stores with an area of up to 2,500 m2will reopen from May 4. However, schools will not fully reopen until September and the government will still require people to wear masks in public places and ban large gatherings.
COVID-19 cases in Russia and Belarus hit record high
Russia's Covid-19 prevention and control steering committee said that as of noon on April 30, the country recorded its worst day since the outbreak of the pandemic with 7,099 new infections, bringing the total number of infected people to 106,498.
In the past 24 hours, Russia also recorded 101 more deaths, bringing the total number of patients who died from the epidemic to 1,073. Meanwhile, 1,333 more people recovered, bringing the total number of cured cases to 11,619.
The capital Moscow remains the city with the most virus infections in one day with 3,093 cases.
On the same day, the Belarusian Ministry of Health announced that the country had recorded 973 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection causing Covid-19 within one day, bringing the total number of virus infections nationwide to 13,181 people.
Previously, the Belarusian Ministry of Health predicted that the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country would fall in late April and early May.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the Netherlands exceeds 39,000 people
The Dutch Institute for Public Health (RIVM) said on April 30 that the country had recorded 514 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases nationwide to 39,316. RIVM also confirmed 84 new deaths from Covid-19, bringing the total number of deaths nationwide to 4,795.
The institute noted that the actual number of infections could be even higher.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared that Britain has passed the peak of the epidemic.
On April 30, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the country has now passed the peak of the Covid-19 epidemic, and pledged to release a roadmap to lift nationwide lockdown measures next week.
In his first press conference since recovering from Covid-19, Prime Minister Johnson pledged to set out “a range of options” for easing lockdown restrictions next week. However, he insisted any changes would be based on data and scientific advice. He urged Britons to continue to follow the current rules to prevent the spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, the UK government's chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, said the country's Covid-19 infection rate is currently below 1, with the number of patients requiring hospitalisation and intensive care remaining low.
Despite this, the UK still recorded 674 more deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. The country now has the third highest number of deaths from Covid-19 in the world with nearly 27,000 people, behind only the US and Italy.
Brazil could be the world's new epicenter in the coming weeks.
According to data updated as of the morning of May 1, Brazil has recorded 85,380 positive cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus, an increase of 7,218 cases within 24 hours, including 5,901 deaths, higher than China where the disease originated. Latin America's largest economy is also currently leading the region in both the number of infections and deaths due to Covid-19.
In the context of the complicated and uncontrolled epidemic, disagreements between Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and state governments on how to respond to Covid-19 have made the situation even more chaotic and threatened to turn Brazil into a new epicenter of the world in the coming weeks.
From the moment the SARS-CoV-2 virus began spreading in the community in Brazil, experts warned of the possibility of large outbreaks, recommending that the government take drastic measures to deal with this "invisible enemy".
However, President Bolsonaro has always defended his view that this is a campaign to "exaggerate" the issue raised by the media to sabotage the country's development programs, and at the same time considers Covid-19 just like a common flu and public concerns are excessive.
Singapore: More than 500 new cases per day
According to Reuters, Singapore's Ministry of Health said the country recorded 528 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus causing Covid-19 on April 30, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 16,169. The total number of deaths due to Covid-19 in Singapore is still 14. The number of cured patients is 1,180.
Thailand increases testing capacity
On April 30, Thailand confirmed 7 more cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection causing Covid-19, but no additional deaths. This is the 4th consecutive day that the number of new Covid-19 cases recorded per day in Thailand is in the single digits.
So far, Thailand has recorded a total of 2,954 Covid-19 patients nationwide, including 54 deaths.
According to a VNA correspondent in Bangkok, Thailand's Department of Disease Control (CDC) will increase the number of Covid-19 tests for at-risk groups, such as medical staff, immigrants and new prisoners, in line with the government's efforts to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
CDC Director Suwannachai Watanayingcharoenchai said the agency hopes to conduct at least 5,000 tests per million people next month. The agency will identify people at risk of infection in migrant worker areas, crowded communities in major cities and hospitals.
The localities focused on testing include the capital Bangkok, Samut Sakhon, and three provinces in southern Thailand.
New York takes strong action against violations of social distancing
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said it would no longer issue warnings to people who violate social distancing rules after thousands of people marched down Bedford Avenue in South Williamsburg for the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Mertz, a prominent Jewish rabbi. The NYPD issued 12 citations, including those who did not follow police instructions to stay away from social distancing.
New York State has issued a ban on mass gatherings since March 22, part of a series of social distancing measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the NYPD has mostly stopped at the level of warning and administrative fines for violators, with few cases of detention or imprisonment.
New York State remains the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in the US, but the latest figures show that the number of new cases and deaths is slowing down. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on April 30 that the state recorded the lowest number of deaths from Covid-19 in a month. The government has decided that the entire New York City subway system must be disinfected every 24 hours after operation to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the above regulations, from May 6, the New York City subway system will stop operating at night (from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.) to ensure disinfection work.
Governor Cuomo added that in the coming time, New York state will need an "army" of about 6,400 - 17,000 people to participate in tracing the contact history of people who have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to limit new outbreaks.
US intelligence agency: SARS-CoV-2 is not man-made!
The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued a statement saying that the US intelligence community believes that the Covid-19 virus first detected in China was not man-made or genetically modified.
This view coincides with statements made by WHO previously when the organization affirmed that all current evidence shows that SARS-CoV-2 originated from animals in China late last year and was not created in a laboratory.
"The U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) agrees with the general position that the virus that causes COVID-19 was not man-made or genetically modified," the ODNI said in a statement. "The IC will continue to examine intelligence and information to determine whether the pandemic began through contact with infected animals or was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan."
The announcement comes amid a spate of conspiracy theories that the novel coronavirus was developed by Chinese scientists and leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.
According to CNN, many officials with access to US intelligence reports and analysis have said for weeks that they do not believe the above hypotheses.
The US administration plans to punish China on many fronts.
CNN reported that the Trump administration is planning a long-term plan to punish China on multiple fronts for the Covid-19 pandemic, further straining the already deteriorating relationship between the two sides.
CNN cited multiple sources in the administration as saying that there is a desire to use a variety of tools, including sanctions, canceling US debt obligations and developing new trade policies to make China and everyone else understand where the responsibility lies.
“We have to get the economy moving again, we have to be careful how we do it,” said one US administration official. “But we will find ways to show the Chinese that their actions are unacceptable.”
