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For Your Information Update on Global Pandemic for Week Ending April 18Number of Cases WorldwideAs of April 18, the worldwide statistics for COVID-19 pandemic as reported by Worldometer were: - Total reported cases: 2,287,323. This is 526,739 more than the total reported on April 11 of 1,760,584. - Total active cases: 1,544,017. This is 286,462 more than the number reported on April 11 of 1,257,555. - Closed cases: 743,306. This is 233,509 more than the number reported on April 11 of 509,797. - Deaths: 157,468. This is 55,983 more deaths than on April 11, when the toll was 101,485. - Recovered: 585,838. This is 190,434 more recoveries than on April 11, when the number was 395,404. There were 86,496 new cases from April 16 to 17. This compares to the one-day increase in cases from April 9 to 10 of 94,625. The disease was present in 210 countries and territories, as was the case the week prior. Of these, 79 had less than 100 cases, as compared to April 11, when there were 83 countries with less than 100 cases. The five countries with the highest number of cases on April 18 are noted below, accompanied by the number of cases and deaths per million population, which permit a more direct comparison between countries, as well as figures from the previous week on April 11: USA: 715,105 (613,375 active; 63,841
recovered; 37,889 deaths) Spain: 191,726 (96,886 active; 74,797
recovered; 20,043 deaths) Italy: 175,925 (107,771 active; 44,927
recovered; 23,227 deaths) France: 147,969 (94,868 active; 34,420
recovered; 18,681 deaths) Germany: 142,569 (52,764 active; 85,400
recovered; 4,405 deaths) The U.S. remains far and away the country with the highest number of cases since achieving this dubious distinction about three weeks ago. Europe, as a whole has about half the worldwide reported cases with about 1,029,214 and overall remains the worst hit region. Cases in Top Five Countries by RegionIn Europe on April 18, the country with the fifth highest number of reported cases after the four listed above, is the UK: UK: 114,217 (98,409 active; recovered NA;
15,464 deaths) Beyond the countries with the highest number of reported cases, other statistics that show the rate of infection and death relative to population show that Belgium, a country of 11.46 million people which, as of April 18, reports 3,208 cases per million and 475 deaths per million, is also relatively hard hit. Switzerland, with 8.65 million people, is also among the European countries with the highest infection and death rates. This week Austria became one of the first European countries to relax its coronavirus measures. News agencies report that with the number of new infections stabilizing, thousands of shops nationwide reopened their doors on April 14 following a one-month lockdown. Small businesses, as well as hardware and gardening stores, are allowed to reopen "but all shoppers are required to wear masks and maintain social distance." Shopping centres, larger stores and hairdressers are set to reopen from May 1, while restaurants and hotels could resume progressively from mid-May, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said. Austria's modified lockdown is in place until the end of April. The number of active cases in Austria peaked on April 3 with 9,334 and as of April 17 the total number of reported cases is 14,595. In Spain, where the number of active cases is said to have nearly plateaued, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on April 13 allowed some workers to return to work, with police and the Red Cross handing out face masks at train stations to commuters, news agencies report. Only a few commuters were seen using Madrid's usually busy public transport, news agencies report. "Some workers in factories and the construction industry were permitted to resume work as the Spanish government looked to restart manufacturing," they report. Retail shops and services are still required to remain closed and white-collar workers still have to work from home. "Experts warned that many companies don't have access to enough health equipment to protect employees." Shops, bars and public spaces are scheduled to stay closed until at least April 26. In Italy, the government is said to have decided to ease restrictions -- while still requiring the same social-distancing and sanitary measures -- after it saw a decline in the number of day-to-day infections, which reached 6,557 cases on March 21 and is now at just under 3,000. The country officially is under a nationwide lockdown until May 4 but news agencies report that bookshops, stationery stores and shops selling baby clothes were allowed to reopen on a trial basis on April 14. Some regional leaders, however, have opted to keep bookstores and stationery shops closed, including the hard-hit northern regions of Lombardy and Piemonte. In France, where the rate of daily infections has yet to peak, President Emmanuel Macron announced on April 13 that the country's lockdown would be extended until May 11, saying that "There is new hope but nothing is won at the moment [...] the epidemic is not under control." From May 11, daycares, schools, colleges and lycées will be "progressively opened" as a priority, he said. However, restaurants, cafes, hotels, museums and cultural sites must stay closed and large festivals and events may only be allowed after mid-July. In Scandinavia, Denmark reopened daycare centres and schools for children from first to fifth grades on April 15. The number of active cases in Denmark peaked on April 10 at 3,799. The rate of new daily cases has been under 200 since April 10, down from a high of 390 on April 7. In contrast, on April 16, Britain extended its lockdown period another three weeks until May 7. People must stay at home unless they are shopping for basic necessities, or meeting medical needs. They are allowed to exercise in public once a day, and can travel to work if they are unable to work from home. The European Commission called on EU countries to coordinate coronavirus exit plans to avoid flareups. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas suggested that a single smartphone app can be used across the European Union to assist member states coordinate when and how to ease coronavirus lockdown rules and ensure safer measures across the bloc. "It's important we don't end up with a patchwork of 27 coronavirus apps and 27 data protection regimes, but coordinate as best as possible," Maas said in an interview on April 14 with Germany's Funke media group. He said such an app would help ease travel and border closures across the EU and also safeguard personal privacy. In Eurasia on April 17: Turkey: 78,546 (68,146 active; 8,631
recovered; 1,769 deaths) Russia: 32,008 (29,145 active; 2,590
recovered; 273 deaths) Kazakhstan: 1,546 (1,182 active; 258
recovered; 5 deaths) Azerbajian: 1,340 (1,064 active; 174
recovered; 66 deaths) Armenia: 1,201 (780 active; 402 recovered;
19 deaths) The number of cases in Turkey has risen considerably in the last week, with a total number of reported cases nearing that of Iran and China, two countries with among the highest number of cases. On April 16, Turkey reported 4,801 cases in the previous 24 hours, the second highest in the world, surpassed only by the U.S. with 5,603 in that same period. Sinan Adiyaman, head of the Turkish Medical Association (TBB), warned that, in contrast to the Turkish Ministry of Health's claims that the infection rate is stabilizing, the scale of the outbreak remained unclear because diagnostic tests only had 55-60 per cent accuracy rates and many patients had died with COVID-19 symptoms, but had been excluded from the death toll. "We receive information based on our members' observations from across the country that the figures for cases and deaths are far higher," Adiyaman said. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on April 14 that outbreaks were growing in Britain and Turkey. "In fact, the WHO prediction is more accurate for Turkey. Because it is too early to say that we have taken control yet, even though health care professionals are working devotedly," Adiyaman said. In West Asia on April 17: Iran: 79,494 (20,472 active; 54,064
recovered; 4,958 deaths) Israel: 12,982 (9,705 active; 3,126
recovered; 151 deaths) Saudi Arabia: 7,142 (6,006 active; 1,049
recovered; 87 deaths) UAE: 5,825 (4,695 active; 1,095 recovered;
35 deaths) Qatar: 4,663 cases (4,192 active; 464
recovered; 7 deaths) In South Asia on April 17: India: 13,385 (11,606 active; 1,777
recovered; 452 deaths) Pakistan: 7,025 (5,125 active; 1,765
recovered; 135 deaths) Bangladesh: 1,838 (1,705 active; 58
recovered; 75 deaths) Afghanistan: 906 (777 active; 99
recovered; 30 deaths) Sri Lanka: 244 (160 active; 77; 7 deaths) In Southeast Asia on April 17: Indonesia: 5,923 (4,796 active; 607
recovered; 520 deaths) Philippines: 5,878 (5,004 active; 487
recovered; 387 deaths) Malaysia: 5,251 (2,198 active; 2,967
recovered; 86 deaths) Singapore: 5,050 (4,331 active; 708
recovered; 11 deaths) Thailand: 2,700 (964 active; 1,689
recovered; 47 deaths) Indonesia experienced a relatively sharp increase in COVID-19 infections, surpassing the Philippines and Malaysia in the past week to now have the most cases in the region. Reuters reported that on April 17 "an Indonesian official said the number of cases could reach 106,000 by July and follows criticism that a low rate of testing has hidden the extent of the spread of the virus. "Indonesia has accelerated testing and Achmad Yurianto, a health ministry official, said on [April 17] 42,000 tests had been performed, up about three-fold in two weeks. "'Transmission is still occurring. This has become a national disaster,' Yurianto told a televised broadcast [...]" NPR reports that "Indonesia, which is the world's fourth most populous country, did not confirm its first cases until March 2. Since then, cases have grown exponentially and on a daily basis, spreading to all 34 provinces across an archipelago of some 17,000 islands. Still, the first lockdown orders weren't issued until over a month later, and the restrictions only applied to the Jakarta capital region and its population of some 30 million. "This week, President Joko Widodo expanded the restrictions to some other parts of the country. He also advised the public to stay home during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts later in April. [... An] estimated 19.5 million people traveled for the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan last year, according to Bloomberg News." Singapore, which at the beginning of the pandemic was being lauded as a model country for containment of the outbreak, has seen a rapid increase in cases since April 10. It recorded an all-time high number of new cases on April 16 with 728, whereas the daily rate of new cases had been under 100 until April 4. The vast majority of new cases are amongst foreign workers who live in cramped and substandard living conditions. In data posted by Singapore's Ministry of Manpower in 2019, there were 1,399,600 foreign workers in the country, almost 25 per cent out of a total population of 5.7 million. On March 22, the group Transient Workers Count Too warned that employers' practices were leaving foreign workers vulnerable to infection. The group stated: "With COVID-19 now expected to be a danger for many more months, preparedness for various scenarios is key. One possibility is that a cluster breaks out at a foreign worker dormitory. [...] "Currently, foreign workers are housed 12 to 20 men per room in double-decker beds. They are transported to work on the back of lorries sitting shoulder to shoulder. Neither of these conditions conforms with social distancing. "The risk of a new cluster among this group remains undeniable." The group also reported that some employers impose large fines if workers do not show up for work, while others refuse to grant time off for more than one or two days for medical reasons. The Guardian reported on April 17 that "Nine dormitories, the biggest of which holds 24,000 men, have been declared isolation units by officials, while all other buildings accommodating the city-state's 300,000 [construction] workers have been placed under effective lockdown. The restrictions, an attempt to reduce further transmission, have left the dormitories even more crowded than usual as only essential workers are permitted to leave." Regarding living conditions, the Guardian reports that "While migrants were being served food so that they did not use shared kitchens, the quality of meals was poor and lacking in nutrition. In some cases 100 men were sharing five toilets and five showers." Mohan Dutta, a professor at Massey University in New Zealand, who has interviewed 45 migrant workers in Singapore since the outbreak began, said many feared an outbreak was inevitable due to the conditions. "Participants told me that even up until Monday [April 13] they don't have access to soap and adequate cleaning supplies," he said. In East Asia on April 17: China: 82,692 (116 active; 77,944
recovered; 4,632 deaths) South Korea: 10,635 (2,576 active; 7,829
recovered; 230 deaths) Japan: 9,231 (8,106 active; 935 recovered;
190 deaths) Taiwan: 395 (223 active; 166 recovered; 6
deaths) China's Hubei Province on April 17 issued a "Notice on the Correction of the Number of New Coronary Pneumonia Cases Diagnosed and the Number of Diagnosed Deaths in Wuhan" in which it reported 1,290 additional deaths that had not been previously counted and reported, bringing the total number of deaths in Wuhan from 2,579 to 3,869, an increase of 50%, as the result of a revision by the Wuhan New Coronary Pneumonia Epidemic Prevention and Control. As part of this revision, 325 additional cases in Wuhan were also added. Separately, China's National Health Commission (NHC) reported 26 new cases (and no deaths) in its daily report. Japan is the exception to the overall trend of very limited numbers of new cases in East Asia. The number of cases in Japan nearly doubled in the past week, while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a nationwide state of emergency on April 16 until at least May 6, upgraded from April 8, when a state of emergency was declared in six out of 47 prefectures. Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of Japan's emergency measures, said expanding the state of emergency to the whole country was "necessary" before the Golden Week holidays that start in late April. These are four national holidays that fall within the space of seven days, the last of which is on May 6. On April 17, the government announced that it will offer a cash payment of 100,000 yen (U.S.$930) to every resident. Finance Minister Taro Aso said the government hoped to start payments in May. Deutsche Welle reported on April 15 that "Nine of Japan's 47 prefectures are close to filling all the emergency hospital beds set aside for coronavirus cases, according to national broadcaster NHK, including Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka [...]. "The city government of Osaka on [April 14] issued a plea for residents to donate waterproof coats to hospitals as health workers are running out of protective clothing, an indication that the coronavirus is spreading faster than anticipated and provoking further criticism of the central government's response. [...] Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui said doctors and nurses at a number of hospitals are forced to wear trash bags when they treat patients. The city has requested donations of unused raincoats and asked local manufacturers of similar clothing to step up production and sell equipment to the city at fair market rates." In North America on April 18: USA: 715,105 (613,375 active; 63,841
recovered; 37,889 deaths) Canada: 32,412 (20,523 active; 10,543
recovered; 1,346 deaths) Mexico: 6,875 (4,204 active; 2,125
recovered; 546 deaths) Despite the terrible levels of infection and deaths in the U.S., widespread layoffs in the medical system are taking place, due to the private profit motive on which the system is based. The New York Times reported on April 3, "As hospitals across the country brace for an onslaught of coronavirus patients, doctors, nurses and other health care workers -- even in emerging hot spots -- are being furloughed, reassigned or told they must take pay cuts. "The job cuts, which stretch from Massachusetts to Nevada, are a new and possibly urgent problem for a business-oriented health care system whose hospitals must earn revenue even in a national crisis. Hospitals large and small have canceled many elective services -- often under state government orders -- as they prepare for the virus, sending revenues plummeting. "That has left trained health care workers sidelined, even in areas around Detroit and Washington, where infection rates are climbing, and even as hard-hit hospitals are pleading for help. [...] "[T]he Department of Veterans Affairs is scrambling to hire health care workers for its government-run hospitals, especially in hard-hit New Orleans and Detroit, where many staff members have fallen ill. The department moved to get a federal waiver to hire retired medical workers to beef up staff levels. "But even as some hospitals are straining to handle the influx of coronavirus patients, empty hospital beds elsewhere carry their own burden. [...] "Governors in dozens of states have delivered executive orders or guidelines directing hospitals to stop non-urgent procedures and surgeries to various degrees. Last month, the United States surgeon general, Dr. Jerome M. Adams, also implored hospitals to halt elective procedures. "That has left many health systems struggling to survive." USA Today reported on April 2 that "By June, an estimated 60,000 family practices will close or significantly scale back, and 800,000 of their employees will be laid off, furloughed or have their hours reduced as they see a decline in business during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a HealthLandscape and American Academy of Family Physicians report released [April 2]. "That represents 43 per cent of the nearly 1.9 million people employed at family medicine offices, including receptionists, medical assistants, nurses, physicians, billing staff and janitors. "The figure doesn't include reductions at hospitals and specialty clinics that also feel the pinch." The Washington Post reported on April 9 that "Remaining front-line workers face longer hours, and some have seen their pay cut and benefits reduced. "For hospitals already in bad financial shape before the outbreak, the loss of income has raised doubts about their ability to keep treating patients. [...] "These experiences reflect the losses across the entire health-care system given the cancellation of nonessential procedures, analysts said. A typical hospital system with 1,000 beds and the ability to perform outpatient surgeries is predicted to lose around $140 million -- half its operating revenue -- over a three-month period, the Advisory Board, a consulting firm, reported this week. "Further complicating problems has been the need to finance the purchase of additional equipment to protect staff and prepare for coronavirus patients. "Facilities have spent large sums to create negative air pressure rooms, so infected patients can be effectively isolated from those who have not contracted the virus. Many have also set up drive-through clinics and tent facilities, further depleting their coffers, the [Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services] found [in an April 3 report]. [...] "As part of the stimulus package enacted last month, the federal government has allocated $100 billion to hospitals and some other health providers to help offset lost income, pay for the construction of temporary facilities and retrofits and to buy equipment and supplies. "But health-care executives and analysts doubt that will be sufficient. That $100 billion pot is about equal to total hospital industry revenue per month, according to the Advisory Board. Hospitals expect to be treating COVID-19 patients for several months to come." In Central America and the Caribbean: on April 17: Panama: 4,016 (3,809 active; 98 recovered;
109 deaths) Dominican Republic: 3,755 (3,344 active;
215 recovered; 196 deaths) Cuba: 862 (664 active; 171 recovered; 27
deaths) Costa Rica: 642 (564 active; 74 recovered;
4 deaths) Honduras: 442 (391 active; 10 recovered;
41 deaths) Cuba now has 21 medical brigades, comprised of some 1,200 people, assisting the local efforts of 20 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America and the Caribbean fight the pandemic. At the same time the U.S. blockade continues to impact Cuba's capacity to look after the well-being of its people. The Director General of Latin America and the Caribbean of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Relations, Eugenio Martínez Enríquez, reported in his official Twitter account that the U.S. company Vyaire Medical Inc. bought IMT Medical and Acutronic, the supplier of ventilators to Cuba, and announced the suspension of ties with Cuba, because "the corporate guideline we have today is to suspend all commercial relations with Medicuba." The Vice President of Medicuba Luis Silva reported that Cuba tried to acquire medicine and supplies with 60 firms in the U.S. of which only two replied, including Bayer, with which an agreement was signed that could not be executed, due to the prohibition issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, with the justification that, supposedly, its licence to do so had expired. On April 1, Cuba's Ambassador to China, Carlos Miguel Pereira, denounced that the blockade had prevented the Chinese company Alibaba from bringing humanitarian aid to Cuba to fight COVID-19. On March 22, Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba and the foundation that bears his name, announced that 2 million masks, 400,000 rapid diagnostic kits and 104 respirators would be sent, in addition to equipment such as gloves and protective suits, to 24 countries in Latin America, including Cuba. However, as Ambassador Pereira noted, the U.S. transport company declined to fulfill its contract at the last minute using the argument that the regulations that comprise the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed against the destination country, prevented it from doing so. Cubans have not forgotten that in 1981, a major epidemic of dengue hemorrhagic fever hit Cuba, which it attributed to U.S. biological warfare, that killed 158 people, 101 of them children. The impossibility of acquiring fumigation equipment from the United States on time caused a greater delay in controlling the disease, resulting in a significant increase in the number of cases and deaths. The fact that the blockade continues to endanger Cuban lives, especially during a global pandemic, underscores the criminal and genocidal nature of the U.S. blockade and the urgency that it be brought to an end immediately. To that end, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations were convened by Barbados for an emergency videoconference meeting on April 15 where they called for U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba to be lifted, saying "All countries must be part of the global effort to combat COVID-19." CARICOM also condemned the U.S. decision to suspend its funding of the WHO: "It is unfortunate that the resources of the WHO are under threat, in days that demand unity in leading the fight against the pandemic." The health situation, food security and protection of the elderly from disease in the region were also addressed. In general, "the region has responded quite well to the pandemic," the Caribbean Public Health Agency Executive Director Dr. Joy St. John said at the meeting. According to Dr. St. John, the early implementation of measures in the region helped to contain the virus. But a more coordinated approach is needed to address the next phase of the pandemic. CARICOM will consider a proposed protocol on the reopening of borders. Once the decision is taken, all Member States will at the same time adhere to this proposal. The countries also agreed that the inter-regional transport of people and goods by air and sea will also be scrutinized, making particular reference to the operations of regional air carriers. In South America on April 17: Brazil: 30,891 (14,913 active; 14,026
recovered; 1,954 deaths) Peru: 12,491 (6,097 active; 6,120
recovered; 274 deaths) Chile: 8,807 (5,403 active; 3,299
recovered; 105 deaths) Ecuador: 8,225 (6,984 active; 838
recovered; 403 deaths) Colombia: 3,233 (2,539 active; 550
recovered; 144 deaths) There has been a sharp increase in the number of
cases in Peru in the past week, giving it the
second highest number of cases in the region in
the past week, displacing Ecuador, where despite a
relatively small increase in the number of cases
in the past week, the number of active cases and
deaths continues to rise. Ecuador has by far the
highest rate of deaths per million in the region
at 23. This number reflects official reports that
for weeks have been widely believed to be a gross
underestimate, given the collapse of the hospital
and undertaking/funeral services in the hard-hit
port city of Guayaquil in Guayas province, with
bodies remaining for days in the homes where
people have died. In Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro stated on April 15 that his administration aims to carry out 10 million tests for COVID-19, "with the help of the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization, China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba." He added that Venezuela has carried out 250,123 tests so far and has the interim goal of performing one million tests. On April 14, Communication Minister Jorge Rodriguez reported that Venezuela has conducted the most screening for COVID-19 in Latin America, figures which are verified by Johns Hopkins University. As of April 17, Venezuela has 204 cases (84 active; 111 recovered; 9 deaths), with a rate of 7 cases per million and 0.3 deaths per million. In Africa on April 17: Egypt: 2,673 (1,881 active; 596 recovered;
196 deaths) South Africa: 2,605 (1,654 active; 903
recovered; 48 deaths) Morocco: 2,528 (2,122 active; 273
recovered; 133 deaths) Algeria: 2,268 (1,137 active; 783
recovered; 133 deaths) Cameroon: 996 (810 active; 164 recovered;
22 deaths) As of April 17, there are 19,398 cases in Africa, roughly double the number of cases a week earlier. Egypt has overtaken South Africa with the highest number of cases in the past week, On April 13, the African Union informed that "As part of the efforts to strengthen Africa's response and preparedness in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, the African Union Commission through the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have jointly designed a program to support on-going efforts in Africa. "The joint program aims to coordinate COVID-19 response to recovery efforts along with Member States, Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) as well as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Faith-based Organizations (FBOs) to ensure coordinated cooperation and communication and to adopt a holistic approach. The four joint interventions areas are: - Regional coordination and building of
synergies; "These areas are aligned with both the Africa CDC's mandate and the continental strategy on COVID-19 preparedness and response as well as the UNDP's regional approach on response to recovery. "Specific focus on surveillance; laboratory; counter-measures guidance; health care preparedness; risk communications and social engagement; supply-chain management continues to be led by the Africa CDC." Africa CDC on April 14 informed that "The first United Nations 'solidarity flight' left Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today from where it will transport vital medical cargo to all countries in Africa, where supplies are desperately needed to contain the spread of COVID-19. "The WHO cargo was transported by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and includes face shields, gloves, goggles, gowns, masks, medical aprons, and thermometers, as well as ventilators. "The cargo also includes a large quantity of medical supplies donated by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Jack Ma Foundation Initiative to reverse COVID-19 in Africa. The African Union, through the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is providing technical support and coordination for the distribution of the supplies." WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros noted that "The Solidarity Flight is part of a larger effort to ship lifesaving medical supplies to 95 countries." The WHO cargo includes one million face masks, as well as personal protective equipment, which will be enough to protect health workers while treating more than 30,000 patients across the continent. The WHO Africa region reports that countries' experience dealing with Ebola and Influenza is being brought to bear on the COVID-19 pandemic. It gives the example of Tanzania, and states, "Tanzania is tapping into the skills of health workers already knowledgeable in infectious disease control, established influenza sentinel surveillance system and repurposing facilities to tackle the new virus. "When the tenth Ebola outbreak erupted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2018, Tanzania trained 2,400 health workers. Training sessions initially planned for Ebola were reviewed to include COVID-19. More than 300 of them have now been retrained to join the frontline ranks of the country's COVID-19 battle. "In regions that had been identified as being at high risk of Ebola, rapid response teams were formed and trained, and authorities identified isolation areas at specific health facilities in each district and health workers trained to manage those units and handle suspected cases. The health workers and the resources are now proving critical in COVID-19 response. "In addition, structures such as isolation units in district health facilities set up for Ebola preparedness are now being turned into COVID-19 units. All the country's 26 regions have been instructed to designate isolation areas for potential COVID-19 infection, while health worker training in patient triage for Ebola readiness now counts among the assets in curbing the spread of the new coronavirus. [...] "WHO Tanzania is working with the Ministries of Health in mainland Tanzania and in Zanzibar to build the capacity of health workers on clinical care, improving infection prevention, laboratory testing and other prevention measures. A total of 182 facilities have been designated to be able to isolate and treat COVID-19 in all district councils. The government has also identified 26 regional referral facilities to be capacitated to provide critical care. Most of the referral facilities already have staff trained in advanced care for Ebola, which included critical care. [...] "The government has also intensified public health education, working with WHO, UNICEF, religious leaders and telecommunications firms to provide facts and debunk rumours about COVID-19." In Oceania on April 17: Australia: 6,523 (2,639 active; 3,819
recovered; 65 deaths) New Zealand: 1,409 (582 active; 816
recovered; 11 deaths) Guam: 135 (5 deaths) French Polynesia: 55 New Caledonia: 18 (4 active; 14 recovered) (With files from Worldometers,
WHO, teleSUR, Granma, Prensa Latina, Reuters, NPR,
USA Today, Washington Post, New York Times,
Guardian, Ahval, Deutsche Welle, Africa CDC,
Prensa Latina, Colombia Reports, Brasil de Fato)
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