Australia, New Zealand Ease Lockdowns As New Cases Fall; Texas Reports Promising Drop: Live Updates
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Mon, 04/20/2020
Summary:
Japanese hospitals turn away non-COVID-19 patients
Russia outbreak continues to accelerate
Demonstrators demand economies reopen now in Denver, Austin
NYC Mayor delivers daily update
South Korea reports clusters as reopening continues
Kudlow says Trump’s May 1 reopening goal is “aspirational”
Small Marin County town hopes to test every resident
NRA says 2/3rds restaurant workers in US have lost their jobs
Australia, New Zealand begin easing lockdowns
Turkey passes China in total ‘confirmed’ cases
Bolsonaro joins crowds of protesters demanding reopening in Brazil
Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic, Norway, India among countries reopening right now
Saudi Arabia, Qatar see alarming rise in new cases
Prince Philip issues rare statement praising frontline workers
US sees 20% drop in cases
Italy reports slight rise in deaths, drop in cases
UK reports 450 new deaths
NYC reports another drop in hospitalizations
1/5th of world is taking first steps toward reopening economies
Merkel urges more ‘caution’ as Germany begins to reopen
“Corona curve” shows outbreak “over the hump”
Belgium reports 1,487 new cases
UK business furlough scheme flooded with applications
Mnuchin praises Shake Shack for giving back ‘PPP’ money
French foreign minister slams China over propaganda
German newspaper slams Beijing for “exporting” virus
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Update (1400ET): Roughly one week after declaring their plans to extend lockdown measures, Australia and New Zealand have done an about-face and are now beginning the process of reopening their economies as the number of new cases slows to a trickle.
The NYT described their plans as “careful and calibrated.”
Australia and New Zealand announced plans on Monday to ease lockdown restrictions as both countries have managed so far to control coronavirus outbreaks, reporting just a few new infections each day.
Careful and calibrated, the plans include a return to school for some children in the coming weeks as well as allowances for slightly more business activity, more freedom to exercise outdoors and the potential for gatherings of more than two people.
In Sydney, a few beaches reopened for exercise on Monday, leading to the return of surfers. In Maroubra, a coastal southern suburb, lifeguards used megaphones to warn surfers, runners and swimmers to stay physically distanced.
Many residents who spoke with the NYT expressed tremendous relief.
“I’m just kind of laughing,” said Paul Beswich, 55, one of many residents who welcomed the chance to go for a swim. “I’ve lived here all my life, and we’ve always been told that if you’ve got a virus, go flush it out in the water. Now we can.”
Both countries “benefited from early prevention methods” but also they just really never saw that many cases, for reasons that to some still don’t seem entirely clear.
In the US, the number of confirmed cases in the US had surpassed 766,000 as of early Monday afternoon.
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Update (1330ET): Italy reported 2,256 new cases of coronavirus and 454 new deaths over the last 24 hours on Monday, for a total of 181,228 cases and 24,114 deaths. While the country saw a slight rise in deaths day over day, the number of new cases (along with the total number tested) declined, as did the number of patients hospitalized, and the number of patients intubated. Meanwhile, in the UK, officials reported 4,676 new cases of coronavirus and 449 new deaths, for a total of 124,743 cases and 16,509 deaths.
France reported a batch of new fatalities and cases on Monday that brought the countrywide death toll above 20k, joining a small club of nations – including the US, Italy and Spain – with more than 20k confirmed deaths from COVID-19.
In the US, Texas reported a 20% slide in new cases day over day to just 535 for the entire state of 29 million.
After reporting a drop in deaths earlier, New York State reported roughly 4,800 new cases on Monday, bringing its total to 247,512 cases, only one-third of the US total, a rapidly shrinking share for a state that once represented more than half of all cases in the country.
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Update (1140ET): New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo just gave the world one more reason to celebrate, as US stocks head back into the green, as he reported fewer than 500 deaths in New York State – a state that’s been home to nearly half of the nation’s deaths – over the last 24 hours.
Holding a briefing with updates on #Coronavirus. Watch Live: https://t.co/BbGBb0ZK63
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 20, 2020
Here’s the chart:
