Corona footprint haunts US

New York, April 1

The Covid deaths crossed 4,000 in the US on Wednesday, a number higher than the ghastly 9/11 terror attacks in the country, even as the top health experts projected that the pandemic could kill between 1,00,000 and 2,00,000 Americans.

According to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Centre, more than 4,000 persons in the US have died due to the virus and nearly 1,90,000 have been infected by it.

China, which is the epicentre of the virus, witnessed 3,310 deaths. Globally, there are nearly 8,60,000 confirmed cases and over 42,000 people worldwide have died so far. At 82,294 cases, China now has the fourth highest number of COVID-19 cases.

Britain on the other hand reported 563 daily coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, the first time the national toll has exceeded 500, bringing the total fatalities to 2,352, according to official figures. Some 29,474 people have now tested positive, an increase of 4,324 over the previous day.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “The combination of the two facts and the risk that it contributes to enhanced instability, enhanced unrest and enhanced conflict are things that make us believe that this is, indeed, the most challenging crisis we have faced since the WWII and the one that needs a stronger response”. —Agencies

N95 medical masks from Singapore to reach US soon

Washington: The first N95 medical masks to reach the US since February are arriving by plane and ship this week, with trucks standing ready to speed them to Covid hot spots around the country. In recent days, 24 pallets of the masks arrived at the port of Los Angeles, sent from a 3M factory in Singapore. The Federal Emergency Management Agency flew 1,30,000 of the special masks on a cargo plane that arrived at John F Kennedy International Airport from Southeast Asia. PTI

Italy, Spain bear the brunt of the crisis

Accounting for three in every four deaths on the continent, the tally of Italy hit another grimmilestone with 727 deaths in the past 24 hours. Spain, the second most affected country reported a record 864 deaths in 24 hours, pushing the country’s number of fatalities past 9,000.

Iran hits out at US as death toll passes 3K

Iran’s death toll from the virus has passed 3,000, the health ministry said, as President Hassan Rouhani accused Washington of missing a “historic opportunity” to lift sanctions. Tensions between the arch-foes have soared since Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear agreement in 2018.

Pak has over 2,000 positive cases

The total number of confirmed Covid cases in Pakistan rose to 2,039, with 26 deaths reported across the country. The country’s eastern Punjab province and southern Sindh province were the worst-hit areas with 708 and 676 cases respectively.