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WASHINGTON – China said on Friday that more people died in Wuhan in its COVID-19 crisis than originally thought.
Wuhan, the epicenter of contagion in China, increased its death toll by more than 50 percent.
Health officials said in a statement that 1,290 other people died in the outbreak, bringing the total to 3,869 people.
Officials also increased the number of confirmed cases by 325 to a total of 50,333 cases.
The statement said there were a number of reasons for the “data discrepancies,” including that the increase in patients simply “overwhelmed the medical facility and the admission capacity of the medical institution,” and some people who died at home were not included. in the original count.
Foreign health officials were skeptical of initial reports of cases and deaths from the massive Asian nation, saying China’s statistics were low compared to other countries.
There are now more than 2 million confirmed cases of COVID worldwide and nearly 150,000 deaths, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that while children appear to be safe from the “most serious symptoms” of COVID-19, their lives “are totally overturned.”
He called on countries to “protect our children and safeguard their well-being.” He said millions of children miss school and the food they depend on at school.
Blocking populations around the world also means, he said, that children confined to their homes can be “victims and witnesses of domestic violence and abuse.”
On Thursday, United States President Donald Trump said the safety and health of Americans would be the top priority in his administration’s move to reopen the country.
Trump and his coronavirus team revealed their plan for a gradual reopening of the country and the return of Americans to work. He said some parts of the country are ready to reopen and that at least 29 states will be ready to reopen “very soon.” The decision will be left to state governors and local leaders, he said.
His announcement came hours after Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser extended the city shutdown for another two weeks until May 15. She said the measure will remain in effect until the number of new cases steadily decreases for two weeks.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of COVID-19 infections caused by the coronavirus continues to grow in the United States with more than 677,000 cases through Thursday and almost 35,000 deaths.
New York State accounts for a third of US cases. USA Health officials say the coronavirus curve in the US USA It is flattening, but the epidemic is far from over.
On Thursday, the President of the European Commission gave a “sincere apology” to Italy, the epicenter of Europe’s COVID contagion, for not offering help at the start of the country’s outbreak.
“Too many were not there,” said Ursula von der Leyen to the European Parliament, “when Italy needed it.”
Luigi Di Malo, Italy’s foreign minister, said von der Leyen’s apology was
“An important act of truth.”
Some countries in Europe are also making plans for a gradual return of their citizens to normal life, despite the continuing increase in confirmed cases and deaths worldwide. German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to allow the reopening of some schools starting May 4, following similar plans in Denmark, Italy, Austria and Spain. Merkel said some stores could reopen next week.
The WHO said Thursday that it will issue guidelines to countries next week on how they can ease the restrictions that were imposed in response to the pandemic and contain the spread of the deadly virus.
But in countries where the crisis continues to grow, governments are forced to implement tougher measures.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday declared a state of emergency for the entire country, extending a partial state of emergency on April 7 that covered Tokyo and six other regions. He said the new measure will remain in effect until May 6, with the intention of reducing traffic during the Golden Week holiday season, which begins in late April and runs through early May.
In Britain, Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, who replaces Prime Minister Boris Johnson while recovering from COVID-19, announced Thursday that the country’s national shutdown has been extended for at least three weeks.
In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country is not yet ready to loosen the restrictions. He urged Canadians to be patient, saying they are still “several weeks away.”
Also on Thursday, the White House released the administration’s action plan to support the international effort to fight COVID-19, fighting the outbreak at its source. The plan includes a comprehensive package of services to support US international partners. That “is based on current, substantial and lasting global health and humanitarian assistance from the US government of more than $ 170 billion abroad in the past 20 years,” according to the Casa statement. Blanca.
The announcement comes a day after Trump faced international criticism for suspending funding for the World Health Organization as he is dealing with a major global health crisis.
Trump blamed the organization for failing to inform the world of the threat of the coronavirus pandemic in a timely manner.
