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Italy observed a minute of silence for the victims of the coronavirus pandemic as their numbers rose above 12,000.

By Agencies

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Published: Wed 1 Apr 2020, 3:00 PM

Last updated: Wed 1 Apr 2020, 8:59 PM

Death toll from Covid-19 passes 40,000 worldwide
The death toll from Covid-19 has passed 40,000 worldwide, according to the tally from Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering .
As of 2.30 p.m. Eastern Time (1830 GMT), nations and regions have reported a total of 40,708 deaths from Covid-19, along with more than 826,000 confirmed cases, while more than 174,000 people have recovered from the disease, an interactive map maintained by the CSSE showed on Tuesday, reported Xinhua news agency.

US toll at 4,055 passes grim 9/11 mark, prepares for worst
As the number of deaths from coronavirus passed the grim milestone of the toll of 9/11, the US stared at questions about its preparedness and the stark prospects of more than 100,000 people dying in the pandemic.
The number of fatalities due to Covid-19 infections in the US spiked to 4,055 with at least 188,578 confirmed cases on Wednesday. The count of deaths exceeded the 2,977 toll of the terrorist attack on the US, the worst mass death in the US and a post-World War II benchmark for tragedies.
Italy mourns victims as death toll rises over 12,000
Italy observed a minute of silence for the victims of the coronavirus pandemic as their numbers rose above 12,000.
Civil Protection Department Chief Angelo Borrelli confirmed that there were 2,107 new active coronavirus infections compared to Monday, bringing the nationwide total to 77,635 cases, Xinhua news agency reported.
Of those infected, 28,192 are hospitalised, 4,023 are in intensive care and 45,420 are isolated at home, Borrelli said.
The death toll on Tuesday was 837, raising the tally to 12,428 since the pandemic first broke out in northern Italy on February 21.

Coronavirus cases in France reach 52,128, death toll at 3,523
The coronavirus cases in France have reached 52,128, with a death toll of 3,523, General Director of Health Jerome Salomon announced.
In the last 24 hours, 7,578 more people were diagnosed with the Covid-19, which claimed 499 more deaths, the biggest fatalities caused by the virus in one day, Xinhua news agency reported.
Some 5,565 out of the 22,757 patients hospitalised were in critical condition and needed life support, up by 458 from Monday. Meanwhile, 9,444 patients recovered and returned home.
Coronavirus droplets could travel up to 27 feet: MIT scientist
New coronavirus droplets could travel up to 27 feet as a sneeze or a cough results in a turbulent gas cloud that could contain SARS-CoV-2 droplets, an MIT researcher has claimed in a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Lydia Bourouiba, associate professor at MIT and an expert in fluid dynamics, has suggested to revise social distancing of six feet (2 metres) to limit the risk of exposure as well as currently used surgical and N95 masks which "are not tested for these potential characteristics of respiratory emissions".
"Mask efficacy as source control depends on the ability of the mask to trap or alter the high-momentum gas cloud emission with its pathogenic payload. Peak exhalation speeds can reach up to 33 to 100 feet per second (10-30 m/s), creating a cloud that can span approximately 23 to 27 feet (7-8 m)," Bourouiba wrote.
Lockdown cripples online delivery platforms, users helpless
A week into the India's nationwide lockdown and online delivery platforms like Bigbasket and Grofers are still suffering from operational issues along with lack of manpower to even fulfill the orders they accepted before the lockdown came into force from March 24th midnight.
After the assurances from the centre as well as local authorities, online delivery platforms last week assured users of streamlined services in the next 4-5 days but the lockdown has thrown their plans completely out of gear. Grofers currently has a backlog of 500,000 orders.
Several users who ordered before the lockdown are still awaiting for the delivery to reach their doorsteps.
Same issues have crippled Bigbasket which said on Wednesday that they have now increased their server capacities by 50 per cent to handle more traffic which will help in serving more orders. The company said it was working at 10 per cent of its capacity last week and is now operating at 40 per cent of capacity planned.
Scientists identify 8 strains of coronavirus
Even as researchers across the world work overtime to understand evolution of the virus that causes the disease Covid-19, scientists have identified at least eight strains of coronavirus doing the rounds globally.
Over 2,000 genetic sequences of the virus submitted from laboratories across the world to the open-source project Nextstrain.org show how the virus is migrating into new subtypes.
According to a report in National Geographic, the data at the site, including samples from every continent except Antractica, showed the virus is taking on an average 15 days for mutating.
This, however, does not mean that the virus is becoming dangerous. Rather, these mutations are helping scientists understand their behaviour and origin.
China lockdown may have prevented 700,000 Covid-19 cases
Researchers claim that China's control measures during the first 50 days of the novel coronavirus pandemic may have delayed the spread of the virus to cities outside of Wuhan by several days and, by interrupting transmission nationwide, prevented more than 700,000 infections across the country.
The study, published in the journal Science, could be useful to countries that are still in the early phases of the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the findings, the researchers used a unique combination of case reports, human movement data and public health intervention information to investigate the spread and control of Covid-19.
They examined the movements of 4.3 million people out of Wuhan before the travel ban, the types and timing of control measures implemented across the cities of China and the numbers of Covid-19 cases reported each day in every city.
India's Premji foundation donates Rs10 billion
The Azim Premji Foundation has donated Rs10 billion for a comprehensive on-ground response to contain coronavirus outbreak in India, an official said on Wednesday.
Similarly, the foundation was joined by Wipro Ltd with Rs1 billion and Wipro Enterprises Ltd with Rs250 million for this humanitarian endeavour, totalling a donation of Rs11.25 billion.
Delhi's 3rd doctor tests positive, cancer institute shut
Days after two Mohalla Clinic doctors got coronavirus infection, another doctor in the city has tested positive to Covid-19, resulting in shutting down of the Delhi State Cancer Institute for sanitisation.
According to the hospital administration, the doctor got the infection from relatives who returned from abroad.
This is the third case of a doctor getting the infection. Before this, two doctors of the Mohalla Clinic - in Babarpur and in Maujpur - were tested positive for coronavirus.
 


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