Coronavirus: Latest from around the world - Friday, May 15

The confirmed death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic has surpassed 300,000. 

Confirmed infections now number almost 4.5 million, but new research out of France suggests that could be less than one-tenth the true number.

Here are the latest developments from around the world overnight.

Europe

COVID-19 contact-tracing apps must only be used during the pandemic and will need to be automatically de-activated once the crisis is over, EU justice commissioner Didier Reynders said on Thursday (May 14) in a bid to allay concerns over state surveillance.

Italy

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy have climbed by 262 against 195 the day before, while the daily tally of new cases rose to 992 from 888 on the prior day. It was the largest number of deaths in one day since May 7.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 now stands at 31,368, the third-highest in the world after those of the United States and Britain.

The number of confirmed cases amounts to 223,096, the fifth-highest global tally behind those of the United States, Spain, Britain and Russia.

Pope Francis joined an inter-faith day of prayer on Thursday to call on God to end the coronavirus pandemic, brushing aside criticism from ultra-conservative Catholic groups, with one accusing him of associating with "infidels".

A multi-faith committee formed after the pope's historic visit to the Arabian Peninsula last year came up with the proposal that Christians, Muslims and Jews pray, fast and perform charitable works on Thursday.

"May God have mercy on us and put an end to this tragedy, this pandemic, as well as the pandemics of hunger, war, and children without an education. This we ask as brothers and sisters, everyone together," Francis tweeted.

France

A study led by the Pasteur Institute says a mere 4.4 percent of the French population - or 2.8 million people - have been infected by the novel coronavirus, much higher than the official count of cases but way too low to achieve so-called "herd immunity".

In a study published on Wednesday in the journal Science, researchers say the infection rate in the worst-hit parts of France - the eastern part of the country and the Paris region - is between 9 percent and 10 percent on average.

"Around 65 percent of the population should be immune if we want to control the pandemic by the sole means of immunity," the study says.

"As of a consequence, our results show that, without a vaccine, the herd immunity alone will not be enough to avoid a second wave at the end of the lockdown. Efficient control measures must thus be upheld after May 11," researchers say.

France's overall death toll from the virus rose to 27,074 on Wednesday, the fifth highest in the world, and total number of cases officially stood at 177,700, the seventh-highest total.

France has announced measures worth €18 billion to support its tourism sector, which has been hammered by the coronavirus crisis and resulting shutdown in beaches, leisure attractions and hotels.

Nearly 90 million foreign tourists visited France in 2019, making it the most visited country in the world, according to government data. Tourism accounts for almost eight percent of the country's 2.3 trillion euro economy.

Empty streets in London.
Empty streets in London. Photo credit: Getty

United Kingdom

London's 'Square Mile' financial district said it will close some streets to cars to create more space for pedestrians and cyclists so that workers can observe social distancing when the coronavirus lockdown is lifted.

The financial district is home to the Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange and Lloyd's of London insurance market, and many of its pavements are too narrow for the 522,000 people who work there to maintain safe social distancing, a report for City of London Councillors said.

Hungary

Hungary's government could retract the emergency powers obtained to fight the coronavirus in late June, depending on the evolution of the pandemic, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff says.

In March, Orban secured an open-ended right to rule by decree to fight the epidemic, which drew criticism from rights groups, several European Union member states and the European Commission.

Orban said the special powers could be withdrawn by parliament - where his Fidesz party holds a two-thirds majority - at any time.

Under the legislation, anybody deemed to be deliberately spreading false information that could upset people or hinder the fight against the novel coronavirus could face up to five years in jail.

Turkey

A Turkish football player confessed to murdering his five-year-old son in hospital where the child was under treatment for coronavirus symptoms.

Cevher Toktas took his son Kasim to a children's hospital in northwestern province of Bursa on April 23 and stayed as an attendant on his son's side who was taken under treatment for cough and high fever.

Later in the day, Toktas called the doctors saying his son was having difficulties in breathing. The child was rushed to the intensive care unit but could not be rescued. Doctors ruled he died of coronavirus.

On May 4, Toktas went to a police station and confessed to suffocating the child to death with a pillow in hospita, telling police he killed his son because he hadn't love Kasim since the day the child was born. Toktas said he pressed a pillow on Kasim who was lying on his back for 15 minutes as the child tried to fight back. After the boy stopped moving he lifted the pillow and called for help to draw any suspicions away.

Americas

United States

A whistleblower who was removed as director of a government research office because he raised concerns about coronavirus preparedness will testify before a US House of Representatives panel.

The House committee on energy and commerce's health subcommittee on Thursday will hear from Rick Bright, who until last month served as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, which is responsible for developing drugs to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

"Science - not politics or cronyism - must lead the way to combat this deadly virus," Bright said.

He is to testify two days after leading US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci warned a Senate committee that a premature lifting of lockdowns could lead to additional outbreaks of the deadly coronavirus. President Donald Trump blocked Fauci from testifying to the Democratic-controlled House.

In a whistleblower complaint filed with a government watchdog last week, Bright said he warned about the virus in January and was met with hostility.

US President Donald Trump is "very disappointed" in China over its failure to contain the novel coronavirus, saying the worldwide pandemic cast a pall over his US-China trade deal.

The coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan, China, in December and was spreading silently as Washington and Beijing signed a Phase 1 trade deal hailed by the Republican President as a major achievement.

"I'm very disappointed in China," the Republican President said. "They should have never let this happen. So I make a great trade deal and now I say this doesn't feel the same to me. The ink was barely dry and the plague came over. And it doesn't feel the same to me."

Under the Phase 1 deal signed in January, Beijing pledged to buy at least US#200 billion in additional US goods and services over two years while Washington agreed to roll back tariffs in stages on Chinese goods.

A Chinese state-run newspaper has reported that some government advisers in Beijing were urging fresh talks and possibly invalidating the agreement. Trump said again he was not interested in renegotiating.

Peru

Hospitals in Peru's Amazon region are struggling under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic with some doctors saying the hospital system has "collapsed."

The department of Loreto is reporting some 2037 COVID-19 cases with 14 health care professionals losing their lives to the disease.

Doctor, Enrique Sicchar, said the system is in a state of "catastrophe" with just 13 to 15 doctors healthy enough to care for the entire hospital which has some 300 patients daily, he said.

Canada

Canadians should accept the world will change even if a vaccine is found and the coronavirus pandemic ends, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday, urging people to adjust to a new normal that will require modified behaviour.

World Health Organization emergencies expert Mike Ryan said on Wednesday that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could become endemic like HIV and "may never go away".

Asia

China

Residents in Wuhan braved pouring rain in queues of more than an hour to take part in a government-led exercise to test the city's 11 million people for the novel coronavirus, a scale health experts describe as unprecedented.

"Even though there weren't any new cases in a while it seems Wuhan continues to have asymptomatic patients. Everyday there's a few," said Zhu Fangmin, 43, who stood in a queue of more than 60 people. "It's very likely these people could be around us so this wide-scale examination will put people's mind at ease," she said.

Bangladesh

The novel coronavirus has been detected in one of the camps in southern Bangladesh that are home to more than a million Rohingya refugees, officials said on Thursday, as humanitarian groups warned that the infection could devastate the crowded settlement.

Migrants carrying their belongings walk past graffiti on a road depicting the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Mumbai.
Migrants carrying their belongings walk past graffiti on a road depicting the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Mumbai. Photo credit: Getty

Japan

The International Olympic Committee expects to bear costs of up to $US800 million ($A1.2 billion) for its part in the organisation of the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics..

In March, the IOC Committee and the Japanese government decided to delay the Games, due to start this July, until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has lifted a state of emergency in large parts of the country but says it will remain in place in Tokyo until the novel coronavirus is contained.

Abe has lifted the emergency in 39 of Japan's 47 prefectures but left it in force in the capital and in the second-largest urban area of Osaka as he tries to cushion the economic blow while stopping the virus.

Japan has reported 16,120 coronavirus cases, not counting infections on a cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama port, and 697 deaths, according to public broadcaster NHK.

While Japan has avoided the kind of explosive outbreaks seen in the United States and elsewhere, its testing has also been among the lowest, at 188 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests per 100,000 people, compared with 3159 in Italy and 3044 in Germany. Hardest-hit Tokyo has conducted just 50,000 tests, of which about 5000 were positive.

Malaysia

Muslim-majority Malaysia will ease a ban on mass prayers in mosques starting from Friday and before this month's Eid festival as the government gradually relaxes curbs that have helped rein in the coronavirus.

The news follows last week's reopening of many businesses in Malaysia, which has a tally of 6819 infections and 112 deaths. It comes before the Eid holiday that ends the fasting month of Ramadan and falls on May 24.

The capital, Kuala Lumpur, is among Malaysia's federal territories that will allow prayers by congregations limited to 30 or fewer, said Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, the religious affairs minister.

Africa and the Middle East

Yemen

Yemen's Saudi-backed government on Thursday reported the first cases of novel coronavirus in the southern province of Al Dhalea, underlining fears that the infection had found a foothold in the war-torn country.

South Africa

South Africa will assign levels of lockdown restrictions for each of the country's roughly 50 districts, depending on the number of active coronavirus infections there, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Thursday.

The National Coronavirus Command Council, the government body overseeing efforts to contain the virus, will review the restrictions for each district every two weeks, Mkhize added, saying the country was moving away from a "one-size-fits-all" approach.

South Africa has recorded 238 coronavirus deaths, with 12,739 confirmed cases. Almost 70 percent of the cases are from the Western Cape and Eastern Cape.

Economic fallout

World stock markets have fallen for a third day running after a sobering warning from the World Health Organisation that the coronavirus may never go away.

The head of the Federal Reserve quashed talk of US interest rates going negative to kickstart investment and new outbreaks of the virus in South Korea and China and some dour assessments of the global economy aroused concern too.

Europe's main bourses sank 1.5 percent in early moves on Thursday as traders once again took shelter in safe-haven government bonds.

"The path ahead is both highly uncertain and subject to significant downside risks," the Fed Chair Jerome Powell said of the economy, as he warned of a recession worse than any since World War II.

Asian markets had followed Wall Street lower overnight with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares finishing down 1.3 percent and Japan's heavyweight Nikkei closing 1.75 percent in the red.

China has reimposed movement restrictions near its borders with North Korea and Russia after a new outbreak was detected there and South Korea is working to contain an outbreak centred around bars and nightclubs in Seoul.

Medical developments

Mental health concerns

A mental illness crisis is looming as millions of people worldwide are surrounded by death and disease and forced into isolation, poverty and anxiety by the pandemic of COVID-19, United Nations health experts said on Thursday.

Kidney problems

More than a third of patients treated for COVID-19 in a large New York medical system developed acute kidney injury and nearly 15 percent required dialysis, US researchers say.

"We found in the first 5,449 patients admitted, 36.6 percent developed acute kidney injury," said study co-author Dr Kenar Jhaveri, associated chief of nephrology at Hofstra/Northwell in Great Neck, New York.

Acute kidney injury occurs when the kidneys fail and become unable to filter out waste.

Of those patients with kidney failure, 14.3 percent required dialysis, Jhaveri said in a phone interview.

The study is the largest to date to look at kidney injury in COVID-19 patients. It may be helpful, Jhaveri said, as other hospitals face new waves of patients with the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that has infected more than 4.3 million people and killed more than 300,000 globally.

Epidemic of teeth-grinding

Nearly two months of confinement because of the COVID-19 crisis has made people grind their teeth more, a French dentist said on Thursday.

Christophe Weill said he stayed in touch with his patients while they were staying at home. He said an unusual number of them called for pains in the jaw joints, a symptom of bruxism - a pathology linked to the excessive grinding or clinching of teeth.

Reuters / Newshub.