Coronavirus Pandemic: UK PM tests positive
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the first major world leader to test positive for the coronavirus yesterday as the death toll from the pandemic crossed 25,000.
In a grim milestone, the United States overtook China as the country with the most coronavirus cases, while seeing an unprecedented amount of newly unemployed amid fears of a global economic meltdown.
On the economic front, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva yesterday said the pandemic has driven the global economy into a downturn that will require massive funding to help developing nations,.
"It is clear that we have entered a recession" that will be worse than in 2009 following the global financial crisis, she said in an online press briefing.
And Africa's economic powerhouse South Africa yesterday became the latest nation on the continent to start life under lockdown as it reported its first COVID-19 deaths.
Johnson, whose country has seen more than 11,600 declared coronavirus cases and 578 deaths, said he had developed mild symptoms over the previous 24 hours and was self-isolating after testing positive. His Health Secretary Matt Hancock also tested positive for the virus.
Spain reported that its death toll had hit 4,858 after 769 people died in 24 hours, a record one-day figure for fatalities and far higher than in Italy, which counted 662 deaths in its last daily update on Thursday night.
Europe has suffered the brunt of the coronavirus crisis in recent weeks, with millions across the continent on lockdown and the streets of Paris, Rome and Madrid eerily empty.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe warned that France -- reeling from the deaths of more than 1,600 people including a 16-year-old girl -- was facing difficult days ahead.
"We find ourselves in a crisis that will last, in a health situation that will not improve any time soon," Philippe said.
But focus is turning from Europe to the United States, where the number of known infections reached almost 86,000 on Friday, higher than both China and hard-hit Italy.
US President Donald Trump, who has been accused of downplaying the enormous scale of the crisis, spoke by telephone with China's Xi Jinping who said the two countries needed to "unite to fight" the pandemic.
"China has been through much & has developed a strong understanding of the Virus. We are working closely together. Much respect!" Trump tweeted after the call.
The warm words were in contrast to weeks of finger pointing between the two countries, especially the White House's repeated references to "the Chinese virus".
The coronavirus first emerged in China late last year before spreading globally, with 539,360 declared cases registered in 183 countries and territories.
Beijing managed to contain its spread with lockdowns and quarantines and its epicentre Wuhan is in the process of easing severe movement restrictions in place for two months.
China was also readying to bar entry to foreigners out of concern over a surge of imported cases, highlighting the difficulty of containing a virus in a globalised world.
Three billion people around the world have been told to stay indoors, as health care systems even in the most developed nations are stretched to breaking point.
Medical workers have been having to make difficult choices.
"If I've got five patients and only one bed, I have to choose who gets it," Sara Chinchilla, a paediatrician at a hospital near Madrid, told AFP.
"People are dying who could be saved but there's no space in intensive care."
Even with lockdowns implemented around the world, researchers at Imperial College London said Thursday the global death toll could be staggering.
Their model shows 1.86 million people could die, with nearly 470 million infected this year.
Failure to act swiftly in imposing lockdowns and strict social distancing could make those numbers far higher, they warned.
The lockdowns and other measures are wreaking havoc on the global economy, with fears of a downturn worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Leaders from the Group of 20 major economies held crisis talks by video link on Thursday, announcing a $5 trillion financial rescue package "to counteract the social, economic and financial impacts of the pandemic".
Announcements of unprecedented stimulus measures have helped markets bounce back after a brutal month, but people around the world are bracing for economic hardship.
The United States reported that 3.3 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week -- by far the highest number ever recorded.
Retail workers in particular have suffered as many countries shutter non-essential business, while airlines and the global tourism industry have been dealt devastating blows.
The World Tourism Organization said Friday it expected tourist arrivals to fall by 20-30 percent this year, with losses of $300 billion-450 billion in international tourism receipts.
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