VI
EN
Vietnam reports no new cases; 15 patients test negative in their first test.
According to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on May 1st, no new COVID-19 cases were recorded this morning. This marks the 15th consecutive day without community transmission in Vietnam. Currently, 15 patients undergoing treatment have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 at least once.
According to the report of the Treatment Subcommittee - National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, as of now, Vietnam has had 219 patients declared recovered/discharged from hospital. The remaining 51 COVID-19 patients are currently being treated at 9 medical facilities, including 40 patients at central-level hospitals; most patients are in stable condition.
Russian media calls for applying Vietnam's success to combat COVID-19.
According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Moscow, the Russian newspaper "Arguments & Facts" published an article on April 30 titled "Why Vietnam was able to handle the Covid-19 pandemic from the very beginning." The article asks whether Russia can apply the lessons of Vietnam's success in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The article emphasizes that with 96 million people on an area of only 331,700 square kilometers.2Vietnam has a very high population density and is by no means a small country like Singapore. In principle, like Italy, the Covid-19 pandemic should have forced tens of thousands of Vietnamese people to be hospitalized, but this did not happen.
The newspaper also emphasized that while Vietnam may not be known for its modern healthcare system like Japan or South Korea, the government is not hesitant to allocate funds for it.
This may have been a lesson learned from the 2003 SARS outbreak in Vietnam, which resulted in 63 infections and 5 deaths. Although the number of Covid-19 cases was not high, the Vietnamese government concluded that the chain of transmission needed to be broken as quickly and by all means possible.
According to the newspaper "Arguments and Facts," it can be said that Vietnam "crushed" Covid-19 right from its inception.
Kidun Park, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Vietnam, assessed that Vietnam has been successful in the fight against Covid-19, and stated that the early response to the pandemic was a key factor in this success.
Globally, the number of infections surpasses 3.3 million, with one more country succumbing to COVID-19.
According to worldometers.info, as of 8:00 AM on May 1st (Vietnam time), the world has recorded over 3.3 million cases of acute respiratory disease Covid-19 and more than 234,000 deaths due to the disease.
The United States remains the leading country in terms of both cases and deaths from the pandemic. Currently, the country has recorded over 1.09 million cases and approximately 63,000 deaths, after reporting more than 2,000 additional deaths in the past 24 hours.
On April 30th, Tajikistan became the latest country to succumb to the COVID-19 respiratory disease. The Tajik Ministry of Health announced that the country had recorded its first 15 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of these, five were in the capital Dushanbe and ten in the Sughd province, which borders Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Thus, the disease has now appeared and spread in 211 countries and territories worldwide.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has contracted Covid-19.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on April 30 that Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has been diagnosed with COVID-19. He received the COVID-19 test results while at work. On the morning of April 30, he chaired a virtual government meeting.
Mr. Mishustin, who was appointed Prime Minister of Russia in January after Dmitry Medvedev resigned, 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 currently self-isolating and has temporarily suspended his duties as prime minister, according to state television channel Rossiya 24. President Putin has signed a decree appointing First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov as acting prime minister.
The number of deaths in Spain is the lowest in six weeks.
The Spanish Ministry of Health announced on April 30 that it had recorded an additional 268 deaths due to Covid-19, the lowest number since March 20, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 24,543.
Spain currently has the fourth highest number of deaths from Covid-19 in the world, after the US, Italy, and the UK. The number of infections in the country increased by 516 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 213,435.
The Czech Health Minister affirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic is under control.
On the same day, Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtech affirmed that the COVID-19 outbreak in the country was under control and that the government would continue to cautiously reopen the economy.
The Czech Republic has recorded fewer than 100 new cases for eight consecutive days. The number of hospitalized patients in the Czech Republic has decreased from a peak of 446 on April 9th to 348 on April 29th. The total number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the Czech Republic are 7,581 and 227 respectively. The infection rate has fallen to 0.7. The Ministry of Health forecasts the number of infections by the end of May to be between 7,900 and 9,700 cases.
These positive developments have prompted the Czech government to begin allowing shops and services to reopen. Speaking at a press conference, Minister Vojtech stated that the easing of restrictions has not led to negative trends. Therefore, the government will continue to reopen the economy cautiously.
According to the plan, most activities will resume from May 11th to May 25th. The stores will have an area of up to 2,500 square meters.2Schools will reopen from May 4th. However, schools will not fully reopen until September, and the government will still require people to wear masks in public places and prohibit large gatherings.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Russia and Belarus has reached record highs.
Russia's COVID-19 task force announced that as of noon on April 30, the country had recorded its worst day since the pandemic began, with 7,099 new infections, bringing the total number of cases to 106,498.
In the past 24 hours, Russia also recorded 101 additional deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities from the disease to 1,073. Meanwhile, 1,333 more people have recovered, raising the total number of recovered cases to 11,619.
Moscow remains the city with the highest number of new virus infections in a single 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 in a single day, bringing the total number of virus infections nationwide to 13,181.
Previously, the Belarusian Ministry of Health predicted that the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country would occur in late April and early May.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the Netherlands has exceeded 39,000.
The Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) reported on April 30th that the country had recorded 514 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases nationwide to 39,316. The RIVM also confirmed 84 new deaths due to Covid-19, raising the total number of fatalities nationwide to 4,795.
The institute noted that the actual number of infections may be even higher.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared that the UK has passed the peak of the pandemic.
On April 30, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the country had now passed the peak of the Covid-19 respiratory disease outbreak, and pledged to present a roadmap for lifting nationwide lockdown measures next week.
In his first press conference since recovering from Covid-19, Prime Minister Johnson pledged to present “a range of options” next week on easing lockdown restrictions. However, he insisted any changes would be based on data and scientific advice. He urged the British public to continue adhering to current regulations to prevent the spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, the UK government's top scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, said the Covid-19 infection rate in the country is currently below 1, with the number of patients requiring hospitalization and intensive care remaining low.
Despite this, the UK recorded an additional 674 deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. The country now has the third highest number of Covid-19 deaths in the world with nearly 27,000, after the US and Italy.
Brazil could become the new epicenter of the pandemic in the coming weeks.
According to updated figures as of the morning of May 1st, Brazil has recorded 85,380 positive cases of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, an increase of 7,218 cases in 24 hours, including 5,901 deaths, higher than even China, where the disease originated. Latin America's largest economy now also leads the region in both the number of infections and deaths from Covid-19.
Amidst the ongoing and complex pandemic, disagreements between Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and state governments regarding the response to Covid-19 are exacerbating the situation and threatening to turn Brazil into a new global epicenter in the coming weeks.
From the moment the SARS-CoV-2 virus began spreading in the community in Brazil, experts warned of the potential for large-scale outbreaks, advising authorities to take drastic measures to combat this "invisible enemy."
However, President Bolsonaro has consistently defended the view that this is a media "exaggeration" campaign to undermine national development programs, while also treating Covid-19 as merely a common flu and exaggerating public concerns.
Singapore: Over 500 new cases in one day.
According to Reuters, Singapore's Ministry of Health reported 528 new cases of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, on April 30, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 16,169. The total number of deaths from Covid-19 in Singapore remains at 14. The number of patients who have recovered is 1,180.
Thailand increases testing
On April 30, Thailand confirmed 7 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection causing Covid-19, but no additional deaths. This marks the fourth consecutive day that the daily number of new Covid-19 cases in Thailand has been in single digits.
To date, Thailand has recorded a total of 2,954 COVID-19 patients nationwide, including 54 deaths.
According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Bangkok, Thailand's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will increase the number of Covid-19 tests for high-risk groups, such as healthcare workers, immigrants, and new prisoners, in line with the government's efforts to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
According to CDC Director Suwannachai Watanayingcharoenchai, the CDC hopes to conduct at least 5,000 tests per million people by next month. The CDC will identify potentially infected individuals in migrant worker communities, densely populated urban areas, and hospitals.
Areas prioritized for testing include the capital Bangkok, Samut Sakhon, and three provinces in southern Thailand.
New York takes strong action against social distancing violations.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said it would no longer issue warnings to those violating social distancing rules after thousands marched down Bedford Avenue in South Williamsburg for the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Mertz, a prominent Jewish religious leader. The NYPD issued 12 summonses to those who violated the rules, including individuals who failed to comply with police instructions regarding social distancing.
New York State issued a ban on large gatherings on March 22nd, as part of a series of social distancing measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the NYPD has mostly only issued warnings and fines to violators, with few cases resulting in detention or arrest.
New York State remains the epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak in the US, but the latest figures show that the number of new cases and deaths is leveling off. On April 30, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state had recorded its lowest number of Covid-19 deaths 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. Under this regulation, starting May 6, the New York City subway system will cease nighttime service (from 1 AM to 5 AM) to allow for disinfection.
Governor Cuomo added that New York State will need an "army" of approximately 6,400 to 17,000 people in the near future to participate in contact tracing of individuals who have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in order to limit new outbreaks.
US intelligence agencies: SARS-CoV-2 was not created by humans!
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued a statement saying that the US intelligence community believes the virus causing Covid-19, first discovered in China, was not man-made or genetically modified.
This view aligns with previous statements made by the WHO, which asserted that all current evidence indicates SARS-CoV-2 originated in 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 causing COVID-19 was not man-made or genetically modified," the ODNI said in a statement. "The IC will continue to examine intelligence information and data to determine whether the pandemic began through contact with infected animals or was the result of a laboratory accident in Wuhan."
The statement was released at a time when numerous conspiracy theories emerged claiming that the novel coronavirus was developed by Chinese scientists and leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.
According to CNN, many officials with access to U.S. intelligence reports and analyses have said for weeks that they do not believe the above theories.
The US administration plans to impose sanctions on China on multiple fronts.
CNN reports that the Trump administration is planning long-term measures to punish China on multiple fronts over the Covid-19 pandemic, further straining already deteriorating relations between the two sides.
CNN, citing multiple government sources, reported that there is currently a desire to use a range of tools, including sanctions, canceling U.S. debt obligations, and developing new trade policies, to make China and all other parties understand where the responsibility lies.
"We have to get the economy moving again, we have to be careful about how we do it," a U.S. administration official said, "But we will find ways to show the Chinese that their actions are unacceptable."
