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Coronavirus world live updates: WHO issues warning to nations hoping to lift coronavirus restrictions

As Australia eyes a future with looser coronavirus restrictions, global health authorities have issued a warning to countries hoping to rush back to normal.

Victoria Craw and Megan Palin
less than 2 min read
April 13, 2020 - 10:17PM
Can an 'immunity passport' ease coronavirus lockdowns?

Health authorities have issued a warning to countries hoping to ease coronavirus restrictions, reminding them of the virus' slow withdrawal.

“While COVID-19 accelerates very fast, it decelerates much more slowly. In other words, the way down is much slower than the way up,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference at the organisation’s Geneva headquarters on Monday. 

“That means control measures must be lifted slowly and with control. It cannot happen all at once.”

Dr Tedros said the WHO had been focused on the comparison between countries hoping to lift social restrictions and others beginning to implement them.

"In both cases, these decisions must be based first and foremost on protecting human health, and guided by what we know about the coronavirus and how it behaves. Since the beginning, this has been an area of intense focus for WHO," he said.

"As we’ve said many times before, this is a new virus and the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus. We’re all learning, all the time and adjusting our strategy, based on the latest available evidence. We can only say what we know and we can only act on what we know."

MORE: Follow the latest on coronavirus here

The global number of COVID-19 cases has reached more than 1.8 million with 114,000 deaths.  This week the UK and US could see their pandemic numbers peak, while some European countries have started to ease lockdown conditions. 

Follow our live, rolling coverage below.

Live Updates

WHO warns nations against easing coronavirus restrictions

World Health Organisation officials have issued a warning to countries optimistic they could drop coronavirus restrictions soon.

“While COVID-19 accelerates very fast, it decelerates much more slowly. In other words, the way down is much slower than the way up,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference at the organisation’s Geneva headquarters on Monday. 

“That means control measures must be lifted slowly and with control. It cannot happen all at once.”

Coronavirus is highly contagious, spreads quickly and is 10 times deadlier than the 2009 flu pandemic, WHO warned.

“Control measures can only be lifted if the right public health measures are in place, including significant capacity for contact tracing,” Tedros said. 

WHO laid out a checklist for countries hoping to ease coronavirus restrictions.

  • Transmission of the virus should be controlled
  • Health system capacities and surveillance are in place to detect, test, isolate and treat treat every COVID-19 case and trace every contact
  • Outbreak risks are minimised in special settings like health facilities and nursing homes nursing homes
  • Preventive measures in essential workplaces – such as schools and other important areas
  • The risk of importing the disease from abroad should be under control
  • Communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to adjust to the “new norm"

France extends lockdown

Emmanuel Macron has announced the lockdown on France will be extended for another month to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

The French President said the protective measures would remain in place until at least May 11, adding that progress has been made but the battle has not yet been won.

Acknowledging his country had not been sufficiently prepared early on to face the challenges posed by the outbreak of the coronavirus, Mr Macron said the unprecedented restrictions put in place were showing results.

“The epidemic is starting to slow down. The results are there,”Mr Macron said in a televised address.

“Thanks to your efforts, every day we have made progress.

“But our country was not sufficiently ready for this crisis.

"We will all draw all the consequences."

Mr Macron’s comments came as France ended a fourth week under lockdown, with residents ordered to stay at home except to buy food, go to work, seek medical care or get some exercise on their own.

After a relentless increase until the first week of April, the number of patients in French hospitals’ intensive care units has started to decline, prompting health authorities to call a plateau in the deadly epidemic.

But if French hospitals are just about coping, helped by a massive effort to transfer patients by plane, helicopter or even high-speed train from hospitals in the east and Paris to the west, nursing homes have been overwhelmed.

By Monday, the coronavirus had claimed 14,967 lives in France – the fourth- highest death toll in the world – with more than 98,076 confirmed cases, according to official figures.

Officials said that 6821 patients were currently in intensive care units, down from 6845 on Sunday.

Mr Macron said that by May 11, France would be able to test anyone presenting COVID-19 symptoms.

Schools and creches would progressively re-open, he said.

The French government has faced accusations of failing to address a shortage of masks and testing kits.

– AAP

Trump will not fire Anthony Fauci despite #FireFauci retweet

Donald Trump won’t fire top coronavirus taskforce member Anthony Fauci despite sharing a tweet with the hashtag #FireFauci, a spokesman said on Monday.

Mr Trump earlier retweeted a supporter’s call to #FireFauci after a New York Times article quoted the health expert saying the president was slow to react to the pandemic.

“Sorry Fake News, it’s all on tape. I banned China long before people spoke up,” Mr Trump wrote in response to claims he "could have saved more lives" if he listened to medical experts earlier.

Democrats on Monday urged Mr Trump not to fire Dr Fauci, who has been director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. But White House principal deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley today described the discussion as "ridiculous".

"President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci,” he said.

"The President's tweet clearly exposed media attempts to maliciously push a falsehood about his China decision in an attempt to rewrite history.

“It was Democrats and the media who ignored Coronavirus choosing to focus on impeachment instead, and when they finally did comment on the virus it was to attack President Trump for taking the bold decisive action to save American lives by cutting off travel from China and from Europe. Dr Fauci has been and remains a trusted advisor to President Trump.”

According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, Dr Fauci is one of the most widely respected public figures during the crisis, with a 78 percent approval rating, compared to 59 percent for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and 46 percent for Mr Trump, The NY Post reports.

Dr Fauci last month said the US testing system was failing and pushed back on Mr Trump’s advocacy of a malaria drug to treat virus symptoms. He said Sunday that an earlier shutdown of the country could have saved lives.

Representative Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the House oversight committee, claimed Mr Trump was "lashing out at Dr Fauci for speaking the truth”.

“In times of crisis, we need voices of reason and sound medical advice from experts," Ms Maloney tweeted.

“Silencing Fauci and other medical professionals only does a disservice to the American people.”

Fellow oversight committee member Raja Krishnamoorthi wrote, “Dr. Fauci has been a voice of reason and fact throughout this pandemic. The idea that anyone, much less the President of the United States, would threaten him for doing his job is inexcusable.”

Some Democrats used the hashtag #SaveFauci on Monday.

“How we handle COVID-19 requires facts. Science. Medical expertise. Experience. Not political influence. That person is Dr Fauci. #SaveFauci,” Michigan Representative Debbie Dingell wrote.

Dr Fauci is expected to attend today's White House's daily coronavirus press briefing.

Politico reports the doctor intends to set the record straight about his relationship with Mr Trump and his opinion on when it is safe to lift coronavirus stay-at-home orders that have shuttered much of the US economy.

Italy's virus toll tops 20,000

The number of people who have died from coronavirus in Italy has hit more than 20,000 on Monday.

The 566 new deaths reported by the civil protection service takes Italy’s fatalities total to 20,465 — officially second in the world behind the United States.

However the number of critically ill patients dropped for the tenth consecutive day.

UK records 11,329 deaths

The UK government said another 717 people who tested positive from coronavirus have died in hospitals, taking the British total to 11,329.

The daily increase is the third decline in a row but could be complicated by differences in reporting over the Easter long weekend.

The UK is the fourth European country to record more than 10,000 deaths along with Spain, Italy and France.

Britain was put into lockdown on March 23 and the government is expected to extend the restrictions later this week.

UK PM Boris Johnson has tested negative for the virus and is recovering at his Chequers retreat after being discharged from intensive care.

A makeshift morgue at Wanstead Flats in East London.

Neighbouring countries take different approach

Two incredibly different approaches to the coronavirus pandemic are being played out in neighbouring countries, Sweden and Denmark, at the same time.

Sweden has been an anomaly for not restricting movements of citizens in what chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, calls a “low-scale” approach designed to be more sustainable long term.

Schools, restaurants and businesses remain open with only large gatherings and those over 70 or with health conditions urged to isolate. Pictures show Swedes sipping drinks at the waterfront in behaviour that would get them fined elsewhere.

It's a stark contrast to neighbouring Denmark where a strict four-week lockdown has suppressed case numbers and is now tentatively being lifted.

So far the different approaches have seen Sweden’s mortality rate nearly double Denmark's, at 88 dead per million, compared with around 47 dead per million. Sweden, with a population of 10 million, has registered 899 deaths, while Denmark, with 5.8 million people, has 273 deaths.

But experts in Sweden believe it will not face the inevitable spike once a lockdown is lifted.

“I think both Norway and Denmark are now very concerned about how you stop this complete lockdown in a way so you don’t cause this wave to come immediately when you start loosening up,” said Tegnell.

Danish disease expert Lars Ostergaard said it is too soon to tell which approach is best.

“Every day a person is not being infected because of the strict lockdown, we are a day closer to a cure,” he said. “There is no right or wrong way.”

“No one has walked this path before, and only the aftermath will show who made the best decision.”

– With Wires

New York state death toll passes 10,000

The COVID-19 death toll in New York state has passed 10,000, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

Cuomo said 671 people had died in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities in the state to 10,056. Nearly 7000 of those have been in New York City, according to data from John Hopkins University.

There have been more than 558,000 cases of COVID-19 across the US with increasing pressure to relieve the lockdown as more than 10 million people sign up for unemployment benefits.

Meanwhile, there are fears US President Trump could have the nation's top doctor, Anthony Fauci, in his sights after he retweeted calls for him to be fired made by a Republican congressional candidate.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on whether Trump is unhappy with Fauci, AP reports.

Dr Fauci has become a popular figure in the fight against coronavirus and has corrected Trump on his claims. He had been asked by CNN about whether the White House should have shut down the country earlier but said a number of doctors were involved in the decision.

“Obviously, it would have been nice if we had a better head start, but I don’t think you could say that we are where we are right now because of one factor,” Fauci said. “It’s very complicated.”

Iran's death toll reaches 4585

Iran's coronavirus death roll has risen to 4585, with 111 deaths overnight, a health ministry official has tweeted, adding the total number of infected cases had reached 73,303 in the most-affected Middle Eastern country.

“Fortunately 45,983 of those infected with the virus have recovered … There were 1617 new infected cases in the past 24 hours,” tweeted Alireza Vahabzadeh, an adviser to Iran’s health minister.

Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state TV that 3877 of those infected with the new coronavirus were in critical condition.

– Wires

Ardern sends sweet message to Nurse Jenny

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has revealed she sent a message to Jenny McGee on Facebook, after the intensive care nurse was namechecked by Boris Johnson for helping save his life.

On Sunday Mr Johnson released a message after being discharged from hospital thanking the healthcare workers who tended to him. He singled out "Jenny from New Zealand" and "Luis from Portugal" who sat by his bedside when "things could have gone either way."

On Monday, the NZ leader paid tribute to healthcare workers around world including 35-year-old Jenny and said she had used the "informal tactic of finding her on Facebook and sending her a Facebook message" to give her New Zealand's support.

"We have thanked our frontline health workers in New Zealand many times and rightly so but I wanted to add an acknowledgement that many, many Kiwis work in health care around the world," Ms Ardern said.

"They show the same commitment, same care, same work ethic that they do here. We are all very proud of them, especially you Nurse Jenny."

Jenny McGee works at St Thomas' hospital in London.

Ms Ardern said she hadn't received a reply and did not expect to given how busy she would be. However Jenny's parents and brother have spoken of their pride in her.

''She would give the same level of care to whoever it is that's in that bed needing care and that's what we're so proud of," father Mike McGee said. ''She says 'my job is to get people well and get them back home again' and she does her best.''

Mum Caroline said she was "very professional" and "doesn't spill things". "It really wasn't until he was out of intensive care until she actually told us," she said,

"She said she had just had a most surreal time in her life, something she will never forget. And that she had been taking care of Boris."

300,000 return to work in Spain

Up to 300,000 people have returned to work in Spain for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown as the number of new cases began to ease.

In Madrid, around 300,000 returned to work after the lockdown which began last month. Previously only people in 'essential' jobs were able to travel to work, whereas factory and construction workers are now able to resume.

On Monday, Spain's Health Ministry recorded 3477 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, taking the total to 169,496 and showing a significant decline in the number of new cases that had reached up to 8000 per day.

Spain also reported 517 new deaths taking its total to 17,489. The restrictions will be released in an "incremental and careful way," according to Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez.

The state of emergency and lockdown has been approved by parliament to last until April 25.

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