Global coronavirus COVID-19 cases cross 32.4 lakh, death toll over 2.3 lakh

The total number of coronavirus COVID-19 cases across 187 nations spiralled towards 3,249,022 and the death toll stood at 230,804 at 11.45 pm (IST) on Thursday (April 30), even as the battle between humanity and the virus continued to surge.

With the highest numbers both in positive cases and death toll, the US continues to remain the worst-hit with a total of 1,054,261 cases. It is followed by Spain with 239,639 cases, Italy with 205,463 cases, the UK with 172,478 cases, and France with 166,628 cases.

With a massive jump, the US has witnessed the highest death toll across all the nations at 61,717, followed by Italy at 27,967, the UK at 26,842, Spain at 24,543, and France at 24,121. Spain recorded its lowest daily coronavirus death tally in six weeks.

The UK is past the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and is now on the downward slope, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday as he returned to address the 10 Downing Street daily briefing after a gap of nearly five weeks following his coronavirus illness. He then went on to promise to table a comprehensive plan for the next phase in the pandemic fightback and unlocking the economy over time. "I can now confirm that we are past the peak of this disease and we are on the downward slope, and we have so many reasons to be hopeful for the long term," Johnson said.

"We've come under what could have been a vast peak, as though we've been going through some huge alpine tunnel and we can now see the sunlight and the pasture ahead of us. And so it is vital that we do not now lose control and run slap into a second and even bigger mountain," he said, indicating that the strict social distancing measures would not be substantially lifted any time soon. Johnson also paid a "tribute" to his Indian-origin finance minister Rishi Sunak for laying out a range of measures to help struggling businesses cope through the economic lockdown and expressed confidence that the UK economy would "bounce back" from the crisis.

As he released the death toll figure, a rise of 674 deaths from the previous day across hospitals and in the wider community, Johnson also highlighted that the number of hospitalisations and intensive care admissions from the deadly virus had continued their downward slide.
It means that the rate of infection, referred to as 'R', has been "decreasing" but it needs to be kept down by maintaining the social distancing norms in place.

Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy climbed by 285 on Thursday, against 323 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new infections stood at 1,872, down from 2,086 on Wednesday. The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 now stands at the second-highest in the world after that of the United States. People registered as currently carrying the illness declined to 101,551 from 104,657 on Wednesday. There were 1,694 people in intensive care on Thursday against a previous 1,795, maintaining a long-running decline. Of those originally infected, 75,945 were declared recovered against 71,252 a day earlier. 1.355 million people had been tested for the virus against 1.313 million the day before, out of a population of around 60 million.

Spain recorded its lowest daily coronavirus death tally in six weeks on Thursday, but data showing the economy shrank by the widest margin on record in the first three months of the year laid bare the heavy cost of measures to control the outbreak. Spain has had one of the world`s worst outbreaks and in mid-March imposed one of the strictest lockdowns, though officials are confident the worst has passed and want to start easing measures next week.

Across the country, devastated businesses are contemplating how to return to normal in an environment where meticulous hygiene and social distancing will be of paramount importance. "They force us to take measures - but it is impossible to get what they ask for," said Livia Patare, a hairdresser on the Canary Islands who can open on Monday. "Yesterday I went crazy going to pharmacies and establishments looking for gloves."

Beaches and hotels lie empty in the tourism sector that is one of the biggest contributors to the economy. Another big driver, construction and real estate, is at a standstill after only just recovering from the 2008 financial crisis. "This crisis will be worse for hotel workers than in 2009 was for construction. At least then we still had tourism," said Francisco Rullan, who works at a hotel on the holiday island of Mallorca. The number of fatalities related to the coronavirus recorded overnight in Spain fell to 268, the lowest since March 20, according to the health ministry. Cases rose to 213,435 - in a population of 47 million - from 212,917 the day before.