The coronavirus pandemic hasn't weakened but, on the opposite, gained momentum. Iceland has made a shocking statement: one of the COVID-19 patients is infected with two types of the virus, which means that the coronavirus has mutated. The second strain is rather contagious.
Italy (69 176), the United States (55 225), Spain (42 058), Germany (32 991) and Iran (24 811) continue to suffer from the fastest spread of the coronavirus.
In Italy, 6,820 people have died due to COVID-19. Medical experts, however, say the infection is slowing down in the country. Monday became the day with the lowest number of new coronavirus cases.
According to Angelo Borrelli, head of the Civil Protection Service, the quarantine measures are becoming effective. Yesterday, the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that fines for quarantine violation will increase from 400 to 3,000 euros.
The United States, on the other hand, is experiencing a very rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 infected people. When asked if the U.S. has the potential to become the new epicenter of the pandemic, Margaret Harris, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization, said, “We are now seeing a very large acceleration in the numbers of cases from the United States — so it does have that potential. We cannot say that that is the case yet, but it does have that potential."
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County reported that a child died of the coronavirus. It marked the first underage COVID-19 death in the United States. The kid lived in the city of Lancaster near the Mojave Desert, which is in the north of Los Angeles.
At the same time, Donald Trump reiterated his goal to open up the U.S. by Easter (April 12).
“Wouldn’t it be great to have all the churches full?” Trump asked in his interview with Fox News. “You’ll have packed churches all over our country … I think it’ll be a beautiful time.”
In Spain, the pandemic has reached its peak. Madrid is rapidly approaching the same number of cases that were registered in Lombardy, the most coronavirus-affected region of Italy. Nevertheless, Spanish authorities believe that Wednesday will serve as the highest point of the infection's spread. Then, the numbers will start to decline. Their assessment is based on the correlation between the maximum incubation period of the virus (14 days) and the start of Spain's measures to isolate citizens -- including the closing of schools across the country.
In France, 1,100 people have died from the coronavirus so far. In the past 24 hours, there were 240 deaths.
Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, the country has introduced a two-month emergency situation, but it could be terminated ahead of schedule.
Now a person who goes out without a valid reason faces a fine of 135 euros. If it repeats within two weeks, the fine is 1,500 euros.
In addition, the markets are prohibited and the delivery rules have changed: direct contact between people is excluded, and parcels should be left at the door of the recipient. Churches may remain open, but any public meetings are prohibited. An exception is made for funeral ceremonies if there are no more than 20 people present.
In Britain, the number of deaths from the coronavirus has increased to 422. The authorities called on healthy people to volunteer to help the British healthcare system.
India has introduced strict quarantine measures on March 25. Citizens are now banned from leaving their homes unnecessarily.
Only shops, pharmacies, hospitals and banks are operating in the country. One can leave the house only in case of urgent need. Quarantine violations may lead to a fine or even a prison sentence.
India has reported 557 cases of the coronavirus. 10 people have died. India has a population of over 1.3 billion people. It is the second most populous country in the world.
Meanwhile, 117 bus lines were opened in Wuhan, China, after a two-month quarantine. All restrictions are supposed to be fully lifted on April 8.
The photos show a passenger taking a temperature and then scanning a QR code through the Health Code application. This system helps to track the movement of all residents in the city and rapidly identify who came into contact with the infected. Today, China is lifting quarantine in Hubei province. Three regional airports have already resumed their work.
The situation in Ukraine
As of March 25, a total of 113 cases were reported in the country. The first cases have been reported in Volyn, Odessa, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions.
Within the last 24 hours, 29 new coronavirus cases have been registered in Ukraine.
Coronavirus has been reported in the following Ukrainian regions:
Volyn region - 1 case (detected in the last 24 hours);
Zaporizhia region - 2 cases (detected in the last 24 hours).
Dnipropetrovsk region - 2 cases;
Donetsk region - 1 case;
Zhytomyr region - 2 (1 lethal) cases;
Ivano-Frankivsk region - 5 (1 lethal) cases;
Kyiv - 31 cases ( 2 detected in the last 24 hours).
Kyiv region - 22 cases (7 detected in the last 24 hours)
Lviv region - 2 cases;
Luhansk region - 1 (detected in the last 24 hours)
Odessa region - 1 (detected in the last 24 hours)
Ternopil region - 4 cases (2 detected in the last 24 hours);
Chernivtsi region - 38 (1 lethal) cases, 13 of which were detected in the last 24 hours;
Cherkasy region - 1 case.
Also, the first coronavirus infected patient died in Ternopil region. He was a 68-year-old resident of the Monastyr district, originally from the village of Kovalivka. He was in contact with a priest, who was the first infected in the region.
There is some good news - a pregnant woman from Irpen, who was diagnosed with coronavirus infection on Tuesday, March 24, gave birth to a healthy child. The mother's condition is satisfactory.
The mother will be transferred to the infection ward today, while the newborn boy will be quarantined.
