Coronavirus update: world cases at 4.34million, EU to reopen borders
Nearly 4,342,354 people worldwide are infected with the new coronavirus according to the latest John Hopkins University survey as the European Union is reopening its borders.
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The respiratory illness, which is caused by a new coronavirus, has also killed over 292,893 people.
More than 83,000 of the fatalities were reported in the United States, which has some 1,408,639 confirmed cases.
The United Kingdom, trailing America, has 32,692 deaths.
Here is the latest about the pandemic from around the world:
As the pandemic has halted almost all travel across Europe, the European Union (EU) is set to push for border restrictions to be gradually lifted.
The executive arm of the EU, the European Commission, will on Wednesday recommend to restart travel around the continent in order to revive tourism, which normally contributes almost one-tenth of the EU’s economic output.
At least 17 countries, out of the 27 members of the EU, have put emergency border controls in place to contain the viral epidemic.
The virus, however, continues to threaten the continent as many nations have lifted their domestic restrictions.
In Germany, the known cases have increased by 798 to 171,306, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday.
The reported death toll also rose by 101 to 7,634.
Sweden, with 27,272 confirmed cases and 3,313 deaths, has now allocated an additional 226 million dollars to care for the elderly, who have accounted for more than half of its deaths from COVID-19.
The government said Tuesday the funds would be used for the education and training of 10,000 employees for care homes.
The program will operate in 2020 and 2021.
Sweden has so far resisted a full lockdown, relying on its citizens to follow social distancing guidelines.
The death rate in the country, however, is about 32 per 100,000, comparing to the roughly 9 in neighboring Denmark and 24 in the US.
In Russia, the spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, has tested positive for COVID-19.
“I have fallen ill. I am receiving treatment,” he said on Tuesday.
Peskov, who is the fifth senior official to contract the virus in Russia, said he last met President Putin in person over a month ago.
Meanwhile, Russia has now moved up to the third place in terms of confirmed cases after the US and Spain.
Russia’s registered cases rose by 10,899 over the last 24 hours, reaching 232,243.
But with 2,116 deaths, Russia has so far registered one of the lowest mortality rates in the world.
