World Health Organization director-general Dr. Tedros Adhnom Ghebryesus tweeted on Thursday: "We're concerned that in some countries the level of political commitment & the actions that demonstrate that commitment don't match the level of the treat we all face This is NOT a drill, NOT the time to give up, NOT a time for excuses. This is a time for pulling out all the stops. Leadership from the top: We call on country leaders to mobilize their plans, coordinating every part of government, not just the health ministry--security, diplomacy, finance, commerce, transport, trade, information and more--the whole government should be involved."
Total Confirmed Cases: More than 97,800
Total Deaths: More than 3,300
Total Recovered: Over 54,000
Here's What's Happening:
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has announced that the tech company will reject any iOS app related to COVID-19 that is not from a recognized institution like a government or hospital. According to CNBC, four independent developers reported that Apple had rejected their apps, which allowed users to track statistics about the confirmed case spread around the world. Apple explained in a written response that "apps with information about current medical information need to be submitted by a recognized institution."
San Francisco health officials announced that COVID-19 is spreading within the community, since the city's first two cases have no connection to other outbreaks. "We do not know at this point how they were exposed to the virus, which suggests it is spreading in the community," San Francisco public health director Dr. Grant Colfax stated on Thursday. "We expected that to happen and are further investigating the circumstance of these patients' exposure." New York City has also seen signs of community spread as the State's confirmed cases doubled today with some new cases having no connection to other outbreaks.
The U.S. Senate has passed the $8.3 billion emergency package which will help aid vaccine research, and prevention and preparedness efforts if signed into law.
The International Air Transport Association stated on Thursday that the financial impact of the coronavirus on the global air transport industry could cause revenue losses between $63-$113 billion.
A Princess Cruises (NYSE: CCL) ship is again the source of a potential COVID-19 outbreak. The ship was on a two-week trip to Hawaii when it was ordered to return early to San Francisco when a number of passengers and crew had developed flu-like symptoms. The ship is due to arrive next Wednesday for testing.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) have closed their Seattle offices in order to help prevent community spread amongst employees after positive COVID-19 tests from employees. Both companies employee thousands in Seattle.
Tracking the Spread:
Americas: The United States has announced 55 new cases and 1 new death on Thursday. Canada has reported 3 new cases, Brazil announced 5, Ecuador had 3 and Chile had 1. Costa Rica has announced its first case, tracing back to travel to Italy.
Europe: Italy has now become the country with the largest daily increase of new cases and deaths, with the nation reporting 769 new cases and 41 deaths. Germany is also showing concerning numbers, with the nation reporting 283 new cases. France announced 138 new cases and 3 new deaths. Spain reported 54 cases and 1 new death. For the rest of Europe: the Netherlands-44, Sweden-42, the U.K.- 28 and first death, Belgium-27, Switzerland- 25 and first death, Greece-22, Austria-15, Iceland- 9, Norway-8, Ireland-7, Georgia-6, Denmark-5, Slovenia-5, Finland-5, Republic of San Marino-5, Czech Republic- 4, Azerbaijan-3, Portugal-3, Scotland-3, Estonia-3, Hungary-2, Slovenia-1 and Luxembourg-1. Bosnia and Herzegovina have reported their first case.
Middle East: Iran has reported 591 new cases and 15 new deaths, one death being a senior politician. For the rest: Saudi Arabia-3, Bahrain-3,Israel-3, Kuwait-2, Morocco-1, Lebanon-1, Oman-1, Iraq-1 new case and new death. First 7 cases have been reported in Palestine.
Asia: South Korea has reported 47 new cases and 5 new deaths. China announced 139 new cases and 31 new deaths. For the rest: Japan-33, Malaysia-5, Singapore-5, Thailand-4 and Russia-1.
Miscellaneous: South Africa reported its first case, linked to travel to Italy. Egypt reported one new case and New Zealand reported one new case that was linked to a previously confirmed one.