The UK added 3,802 cases today and now has reported a total of 51,608 positive cases of COVID-19. We had in total tested 208,837 people as of 9am this morning.
As of 5pm yesterday, of those hospitalised in the UK, we have lost another 439 people to COVID-19. We now sadly have a total of 5,373 losses of life.
Total cases are: England 42,990, Scotland 3,961, Wales 3,499 and Northern Ireland 1,158. We've so far only reported 135 of the UK's positive testing cases have recovered, but it's more likely to be in the region of 15,000-35,000, so it'll be brilliant when they do report it.
Rep. Of Ireland have 5,364 cases and 174 losses of life.
There have now been 1,323,605 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is now 73,608. Already 277,280 people have recovered.
Mother, Grandma and longest serving British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has addressed her subjects in a special message, just the 4th of her 68 year reign. She reminded us this is a fight, and that we may be apart from loved ones, but it won't be forever.
"We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again."
Boris Johnson is still in hospital and has sent us this message:
"Last night, on the advice of my doctor, I went into hospital for some routine tests as I’m still experiencing coronavirus symptoms. I’m in good spirits and keeping in touch with my team, as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe."
"I’d like to say thank you to all the brilliant NHS staff taking care of me and others in this difficult time. You are the best of Britain. Stay safe everyone, and please remember to stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives."
The UK press conference today was hosted by Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary. He talked about the number of flights the UK have arranged to repatriate British citizens abroad, and the Luxury Cruises - you've not been forgotten.
Professor Angela McLean, Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser, showed us today's graphs. Car travel was lower yesterday, and all other transport remains low, so thank you.
Growth of number of cases is going well because we do seem to have slowed the growth slightly, keep it up.
Hospital admissions are obviously growing, but also look like they are slowing slightly.
Because people in hospital will take a while to become better or unfortunately succumb, the number of losses of life will continue to rise daily for the next few weeks even if no-one else were to catch COVID-19 after March 25th. We simply can't know how well our restrictions are working just yet, but it certainly isn't looking worse than we hoped.
Prof Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer (nice to see him back and looking really well!) reiterated repeatedly to press questions that we are working with the best knowledge and science we have, but can't give exact dates. When asked about whether we will need all of these extra temporary hospital beds, he gave the perfect answer - we've always wanted to have spare beds, that's the best outcome.
I'm with him - every empty bed sitting idle is a great thing. If we never needed any of them then we've won.
The press then repeatedly asked him about Boris' health and ability to run the country. Boris' health is a private matter and we know he's ill, and his cabinet are working very hard in his absence.
{To be honest if they stop dealing with this to faff about with (hopefully very temporary) leadership reshuffles, it probably won't be helpful right at this point and it won't actually change who is having their voices heard.}
The reason almost everyone ends up in hospital with COVID-19 is pneumonia, and with treatment the vast majority recover fairly quickly.
Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has re-registered as a medical practitioner and will work one shift a week while the crisis continues.
The Twelfth of July parades in Northern Ireland have been cancelled.
The WHO press conference today had a special guest, Lady Gaga. She's working with the WHO on their "Together At Home" programme, which has been taking place online and has already raised $35m for the global response to COVID-19.
#TogetherAtHome will feature a very special event, with a very special guestlist including: Billy Jo Armstrong, Chris Martin, Eddie Vedder, Elton John, Alanis Morisette, John Legend, Keith Urban, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and lots more.
Dr Tedros: "Now we’re working with Lady Gaga & Global Citizen to take this concept and make it even bigger, through the “One World: TogetherAtHome virtual global special on Saturday, the 18th of April. I’d like to thank them for their partnership and leadership."
At the US press conference yesterday Trump repeatedly went on about drug hydroxychloroquine, which hasn't even been studied properly yet or approved for use on COVID-19 patients. He has ordered 29m doses and was ridiculously rude to any press asking about how effective it is. Fingers crossed it works eh.
Former McLaren boss Ron Dennis is using his foundation to deliver a million meals to NHS workers in three months.
Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai has been declared a containment zone after 26 nurses and 3 doctors tested positive in a week.
Kenya has banned road, rail and air travel within and out of Nairobi
Chair of New York City Council health committee Mark D. Levine has posted an exasperated thread on Twitter which really is hard reading. He states that only the few patients tested before dying are registered as coronavirus deaths, and cemeteries and mortuaries cannot cope:
"It’s not just deaths in hospitals which are up. On an average day before this crisis there were 20-25 deaths at home in NYC. Now in the midst of this pandemic the number is 200-215. *Every day*."
"Soon we'll start “temporary interment”. This likely will be done by using a NYC park for burials (yes you read that right). Trenches will be dug for 10 caskets in a line."
"It will be done in a dignified, orderly--and temporary--manner. But it will be tough for NYers to take."
Japan did so well for so long, but their attempts to control COVID-19 infections are slipping and rumours are they are already short on medical beds and staff in some hospitals. They have one of the world's oldest populations, with almost 1/3 over age 65.
A non-profit developmental aid organisation will build a 1,200 bed makeshift hospital in the parking lot of the museum of maritime science, and a state of emergency is to be declared in 7 prefectures (including Tokyo and Osaka) for around a month.
Italy have extended their lockdown until 13th April.
Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez has announced:
- All businesses will close Apr 10 - 12 (Easter weekend), including supermarkets, banks, restaurants. Gas and pharmacies can operate.
-Grocery workers and customers should wear face masks.
(Somehow 2 days just doesn't seem quite enough...).
There are now over 8,900 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the African continent.
209 countries and territories have now reported cases, the most recent 5 are Falkland Islands, Papua New Guinea, Saint Pierre Miquelon, South Sudan and Timor-Leste.
A tiger at the Bronz Zoo has tested positive for COVID-19. Several other large cats are said to have a dry cough and symptoms of respiratory infection, but all are only mildly affected. They are believed to have caught it from a keeper who was asymptomatic at the time. The Bronx Zoo has its own molecular bio lab which is capable of PCR testing for COVID-19 - but probably not rated for human testing.
We know COVID-19 can pass from humans to animals (and the reverse or we wouldn't have it at all!) but have yet to find out the extent. A pre-print study (not yet checked by peers):
"found that SARS-CoV-2 replicates poorly in dogs, pigs, chickens, and ducks, but efficiently in ferrets and cats. We found that the virus transmits in cats via respiratory droplets."
This may have implications, especially for cats, and scientists on Twitter have suggested that until we find out more, you limit contact with animals who are not part of your household, and possibly those who are.
The good news is they're pretty unanimous in thinking it's much harder for your cat to infect you, than it is for you to infect your cat, and highly unlikely the cat would become very ill.
The United Arab Emirates has extended its night-time curfew indefinitely to disinfect public areas. People have to remain at home from 8pm until 6am.
Lost Their Fight:
UK NHS nurse Liz Glanister
The Netherlands, like Sweden, have decided to treat their population "like adults" and let them control their own behaviour. Although bars, cafes, schools and other educational facilities are shut, and people are asked to work from home and observe distancing, they aren't legally obliged, and are accepting herd immunity as a by-product of their measures. Prime Minister Mark Rutte previously said:
"We can delay the spread of the virus and at the same time build up population immunity in a controlled manner."
It's risky. Fingers crossed it doesn't go very wrong.
Justin Trudeau says Canada is increasing domestic production of PPE, but conversations with the U.S. continue and both sides 'benefit tremendously' from cross-border trade. He says he's looking forward to speaking with Donald Trump in the coming days.
After the US intercepted Canada's delivery of equipment from 3M a couple of days ago, I'll bet he is...
Our numbers are good today, both cases and losses of life lower than yesterday. One number doesn't make a pattern, and they were reported late, which is often followed by a higher number next day (I think sometimes they hang on for authorities to report and then give in), however, it's still got to be a good thing.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said they will begin loosening lockdown measures on April 14th, but people should still remain at home until the beginning of May.
Celebrities of all ages and genres have take to social media to wish Boris a speedy recovery.
American celebrities of all ages and genres have take to social media to send Donald Trump messages. Motley Crue's drummer Tommy Lee has shared a message written by author Craig Allen Wilkins which starts "Dear F#&@¥€$ Lunatic" - and goes downhill from there very fast.
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern has addressed some very serious issues for younger people:
"You'll be pleased to know that we consider both the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny to be essential workers."
She did go on to mention that they will be very busy with their own families and may not have chance to visit everyone, so if you could colour an Easter egg to put in the window for children to spot, then children in your community can still have an egg hunt. (Hopefully sh'ell forgive me for making her letter suitable for children everywhere).
Some people. People from countries and cultures all around the world, all in the same battle with the same virus as us:
USA 352,083 (+15,410) 10,366 (+750)
Spain 135,032 (+3,386) 13,169 (+528)
Italy 132,547 (+3,599) 16,523 (+636)
Germany 101,178 (+1,055) 1,612 (+28)
France 98,010 (+5,171) 8,911 (+833)
China 81,708 (+39) 3,331 (+2)
Iran 60,500 (+2,274) 3,739 (+136)
UK 51,608 (+3,802) 5,373 (+439)
Turkey 30,217 (+3,148) 649 (+75)
Switzerland 21,652 (+552) 762 (+47)
Belgium 20,814 (+1,123) 1,632 (+185)
Netherlands 18,803 (+952) 1,867 (+101)
Canada 15,853 (+341) 293 (+13)
Austria 12,280 (+229) 220 (+16)
Portugal 11,730 (+452) 311 (+16)
Brazil 11,516 (+262) 506 (+20)
S. Korea 10,284 (+47) 186 (+3)
Israel 8,611 (+181) 56 (+7)
Sweden 7,206 (+376) 477 (+76)
Russia 6,343 (+954) 47 (+2)
Australia 5,795 (+45) 41 (+4)
Norway 5,760 (+73) 74 (+3)
India 4,693 (+404) 129 (+11)
UAE 2,076 (+277) 11 (+1)
New Zealand 1,106 (+67) 1
Puerto Rico 513 (+38) 21 (+1)
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