International coronavirus dispatch: Trump warns of 'toughest' weeks ahead

From US President Donald Trump warning about the toughest weeks ahead, to Greece quarantining its second migrant camp, and the UAE is ramping up its stimulus, read these and more in today's dispatch

US President Donald Trump started his briefing on Saturday by stating, “there will be a lot of death, unfortunately”. The number of people infected in the US has exceeded 300,000, with the death toll going past 8,400 — more than 3,500 of those in the state of New York alone. Meanwhile, there has been growing evidence that Italy’s official death toll vastly understates the real total figures, because of the number of people who are dying at home. Here is a round-up of important coronavirus pandemic reports from across the globe.

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total confirmed cases: 1,216,422

Change over the previous day: 77,215

Total deaths: 65,711

Total recovered: 252,538

Nations hit with most cases: US (312,245), Spain (130,759), Italy (124,632), Germany (96,108), and France (90,853).

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Trump says ‘toughest’ weeks ahead as coronavirus spreads: US President Donald Trump warned that the country could be headed into its ‘toughest’ weeks yet as the coronavirus death toll mounted, but at the same time he expressed growing impatience with social distancing guidelines and said he was eager to get the country reopened and its stalled economy back on track. Read more here.

Death at home — the unseen toll of Italy's coronavirus crisis: Italy’s official death toll reached 15,362 on Saturday, almost a third of the global total, but there is growing evidence that this vastly understates the real total because many people are dying at home. Read more here.

Singapore reports highest daily coronavirus cases: Singapore on Sunday reported its highest daily increase in coronavirus cases, as infections rose among foreign workers housed in massive dormitories. Authorities said that 120 additional cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 1,309 in the city-state. Of the new cases, only four patients had recent travel history, officials said at a briefing. Read more here.

Nearly 3,000 released from Sri Lanka prisons: More than 2900 prisoners have been released from overcrowded prisons in Sri Lanka as the Indian Ocean island nation has stepped up its efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Sri Lanka has been under a countrywide curfew since March 20. Five people have died due to the virus and the total number of confirmed cases has risen to 166. Read more here.

Greece quarantines second migrant camp after Covid-19 case confirmed: Greece was the main gateway into the European Union for more than a million people fleeing conflict in 2015-16. More than 110,000 of these people currently live in migrant facilities across the country — 40,000 of them in overcrowded camps on five islands. Greece has quarantined a second migrant facility on its mainland after a 53-year-old man tested positive for the new coronavirus, the migration ministry said on Sunday. Read more here.

UAE amps up stimulus, unveils new aid package: The United Arab Emirates is unlocking new aid and slashing banks’ reserves requirements as the coronavirus pandemic shuts down much of the economy. The central bank presented measures that it said would release 61 billion dirhams ($16.6 billion) to support lending to the economy and banks’ liquidity management. According to the new central bank governor, the additional measures announced on Sunday would effectively relieve the pressure on financial institutions, allowing them to continue to carry out their crucial role as the backbone of the economy. Read more here.

New Zealand PM chastises ‘idiots’ ignoring lockdown as cases top 1,000: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern said lockdown might have prevented thousands of cases but called for even better compliance. The country, which has been in a lockdown since 25 March, has now recorded 1,039 confirmed cases, and one death. Read more here.

Specials

Germany’s devolved logic is helping it win the coronavirus race: As the coronavirus crisis tests the resilience of democracies around the globe, Germany has gone from cursing its lead-footed, decentralised political system to wondering if federalism’s tortoise-versus-hare logic puts it in a better position to brave the pandemic than most. Read more here.

When and how does the coronavirus pandemic end? The answer depends in large part on uncertainties about the novel coronavirus that causes the disease, including whether you can get it more than once and how quickly the world’s scientists might produce a vaccine. The cost and benefits of a prolonged shutdown and what different countries can afford, from both economic and political standpoints, are factors, too. Read more here.

‘Code Blue’: A Brooklyn ICU fights for each life in a coronavirus surge: Nearly every patient was on a ventilator. Some were in their 80s, some in their 30s. Medical workers were falling fast and had to be resourceful — “the alternative”, one said, “is death”. This long read in the New York Times elucidates the battle fought by doctors to save lives and do more than is required. Read the full story here.