The Latest: WHO: Worldwide record 350,000 new daily cases
GENEVA — The World Health Organization reports a worldwide record of 350,000 new daily coronavirus cases.
The U.N. health agency says the confirmed daily high of 350,766 cases surpasses by nearly 12,000 a record set earlier this week. That tally includes more than 109,000 cases from Europe.
British scientists reported the coronavirus outbreak is doubling every few weeks. French hospitals are running out of ICU beds. Spain declared a state of emergency in Madrid because of soaring cases.
WHO’s emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan acknowledged the worldwide surges, saying “there are no new answers.” He says although the agency wants countries to avoid punishing economic lockdowns, governments must ensure the most vulnerable people are protected and take measures toward that end.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— President Trump credits antibody drug for quick recovery
— Spain declares state of emergency in Madrid to contain surge
— As virus fills French ICUs anew, doctors ask what went wrong
— British government will announce more support for businesses to retain staff in the coming months if they are forced to close because of lockdown restrictions.
— President Donald Trump says he wants to try to hold a campaign rally in Florida on Saturday, despite his recent COVID-19 diagnosis.
— Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas’ top public health official warned the state is “losing the battle” against the coronavirus and reported another record increase in new cases.
The state Department of Health and Environment says Kansas reported 1,855 new cases since Wednesday, an increase of 2.9%, to bring the total for the pandemic to 65,807.
The state reported another 40 COVID-19-related deaths, increasing the confirmed total to 763. Twenty-six of those were reported Thursday in Shawnee County, where the local health department reviewed previous death certificates from the Topeka area.
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MADRID — Spain’s Health Ministry has reported 12,788 new cases of the coronavirus.
Madrid remains the hardest-hit region, with 2,256 confirmed cases in the previous 24 hours. The second highest was Aragón (487).
The Spanish government on Friday declared a state of emergency in Madrid, where special restrictions on movement are in place.
Spain has more than 860,000 confirmed cases, the highest in Europe. It has nearly 33,000 deaths, the third-highest total in Europe after Britain and Italy.
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ROME — Italy recorded one of its highest single-day totals of coronavirus infections, adding 5,372 cases and 28 more deaths.
Hard-hit Lombardy, the onetime European epicenter of the pandemic, added 983 cases and southern Campania added 769.
Campania’s spike in cases has alarmed public health officials, given the region is less equipped to handle a surge in cases than the prosperous north. The regional governor has defended the measures the region has taken to date, but experts warning Italy’s center-south still isn’t prepared for a second wave.
The head of the Italian association of hospital anesthesiologists, Alessandro Vergallo, tells news agency ANSA that intensive care beds could be filled in Campania and the Lazio region around Rome within a month if new restrictions aren’t adopted.
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LONDON — The British government will pay two thirds of the salaries of workers in companies that close because of coronavirus restrictions expected to take effect next week.
Treasury chief Rishi Sunak responded to calls from businesses, local leaders and unions to provide a financial package to prevent mass job losses in pubs and restaurants in parts of northern England.
The U.K. has more than 42,600 confirmed deaths, the highest in Europe and No. 5 in the world. It’s likely more because of a lack of testing early in the pandemic, and the British government changing in July how it counts deaths – only those within 28 days of a COVID-19 diagnosis.
The latest daily figures published Friday showed 13,864 new cases. Though down from the previous day’s 17,540, its nearly double from a week earlier.
The daily death toll rose to 87, the highest since early July, for a confirmed total of 42,769.
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TORONTO — The Ontario government says its prohibiting indoor dining in restaurants and bars in Toronto and Ottawa for 28 days starting on Saturday.
The measures include closing gyms and theaters after Ontario registered a record 939 coronavirus cases on Friday.
Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams says the measures wouldn’t have been necessary if more people had followed public health guidelines by wearing masks and keeping a social distance.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada experiencing a second wave of the coronavirus.
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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says doctors have told him that he could’ve become very ill with COVID-19 and credits an experimental antibody drug for helping him recover.
Trump told Rush Limbaugh in his call-in radio show on Friday that he was not in “great shape” and “might not have recovered at all.”
But the president says one day later, he was fine. Health experts say there is no way for the president or his doctors to know whether the drug was effective.
Trump says he is trying to get federal health officials to quickly approve an emergency use authorization from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which provides the antibody drug.
He adds it just “wiped out the virus,” which he says has killed five friends.
Health experts say it’s not a cure, but experimental antibody drugs like those are among the most promising therapies being tested. They aim to help the immune system fight the coronavirus. However, they are still in the testing phase and their safety and effectiveness are not yet known.
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NEW YORK — Fans of Broadway will have to wait a little longer for shows to resume, until at least late May.
Although an exact date for various performances to resume has yet to be determined, Broadway producers are now offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased for shows through May 30.
Broadway theaters abruptly closed on March 12, knocking out all shows — including 16 that were still scheduled to open — and scrambling the Tony Award schedule. Producers, citing health and city authorities, previously extended the shutdown to Jan. 3.
Actors’ Equity Association, the national union that represents actors and stage managers, has urged lawmakers to include arts funding and loans to help those who work in the live performing arts.
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LONDON — Dr. Kate O’Brien, the World Health Organization’s director of immunization, says even though fast-track approval processes have been started for COVID-19 vaccines, no shots will be approved unless they can demonstrate minimum levels of efficacy and safety.
She noted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently said it would require at least two months of follow-up safety data before licensing a vaccine and advanced trials were designed so researchers could examine data at certain points before the trial’s completion to know if the vaccine works.
Dr. Alejandro Cravioto, the group’s chair, says careful monitoring of any COVID-19 vaccines used in broad immunization programs was critical.
He says there’s a need to “follow the safety of these vaccines for a longer time once they start being used in this much more massive way.” He calls for surveillance systems to be reinforced in countries to evaluate the vaccine’s impact on COVID-19 deaths and other factors.
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LONDON — Buckingham Palace says the Countess of Wessex is self-isolating at home after contact with someone who later tested positive for the coronavirus.
The palace says the 55-year-old Countess Sophie hasn’t experienced symptoms but is following relevant government guidelines. Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones married Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, in 1999.
The royals have been touched by the pandemic in the past. Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, tested positive for the coronavirus in March.
Charles, 71, recovered and described himself as one of “the lucky ones” with only mild symptoms.
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MADRID — Spain’s government has declared a state of emergency in Madrid so that it can resume partial restrictions on movement there that were struck down by a court.
The government announced the measure after an emergency Cabinet meeting Friday to decide what to do about the Madrid region, which is witnessing one of Europe’s most concerning coronavirus clusters.
The region’s 14-day infection rate of 563 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents is more than twice Spain’s national average of 256 and five times the European average rate of 113 for the week ending Sept. 27.
The national government had ordered police in Madrid to fine people if they leave their municipalities without justification. The measure covers 4.8 million residents in Madrid and nine suburban towns.
But the Madrid regional government opposes the national government’s restrictions in the capital, saying they are draconian and hurt the economy. Madrid’s regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, says her more moderate measures are enough to fight the virus.
A Madrid court on Thursday upheld the regional government’s legal challenge, saying the national government’s imposition of restrictions violated people’s fundamental liberties.
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BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting with the mayors of Germany’s largest cities as coronavirus cases rise in metropolitan areas.
Germany’s disease control center reported 4,516 new cases overnight Friday. Merkel’s meeting by video conference with 11 mayors will discuss slowing the spread of the virus.
Germany won plaudits for its early containment. However, many cities have reached the critical warning level of 50 new infections per 100,000 residents. Berlin’s figure is at 51 per 100,000 residents, while Bremen is 53.9, followed by Cologne (49.8)and Essen (48.4), according to the Robert Koch Institute.
Overall, German has confirmed 314,660 cases and 9,589 deaths, a toll one-fourth of Britain and one-third of Italy.
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PARIS — Intensive care wards across France are filling up again with COVID-19 patients. Doctors are scrambling to create new ICU beds elsewhere to accommodate the sick.
The COVID-19 patients now occupy 40% of ICU beds in the Paris region, and more than a quarter of ICUs nationwide, after infections among young people spread to vulnerable populations.
National health agency figures and doctors at multiple hospitals say France hasn’t added significant ICU capacity or the staff needed to manage them since the pandemic’s first wave. That’s despite France being among the hardest-hit nations in the spring.
The COVID-19 patients now occupy 1,427 ICU beds nationwide — a figure that has doubled in less than a month. France’s overall ICU capacity is 6,000.
The government defends its management of the virus crisis, and President Emmanuel Macron says it’s a question of “organization” and not resources.
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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Coronavirus infections in Slovakia have hit a record high for the third straight day, reaching almost 1,200 in a day for the first time.
The Health Ministry says the day-to-day increase of those infected reached 1,184 on Thursday, up from the previous record of 1,037 set a day earlier.
In reaction to the record numbers, the government announced Friday that it will deploy 267 service members to help health authorities with contact tracing, conduct tests and distribute protective equipment.
Prime Minister Igor Matovic said more restrictive measures will be imposed next week if the surge doesn’t slow down over the weekend.
Slovakia has had 16,910 reported cases since the start of the pandemic, with 57 deaths.
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MOSCOW — Russia has reported more than 12,000 new coronavirus infections, its highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic.
The government task force dealing with the outbreak says the 12,126 infections reported Friday took the country’s total close to 1.3 million.
Russia has the world’s fourth-largest number of reported cases since the pandemic began. It has also reported 22,000 deaths.
Russian authorities insist there is no immediate plan to impose a second lockdown in the country, which has lifted most virus-related restrictions imposed in the spring.
But authorities in Moscow, which has seen a quick rise in new cases with 3,701 infections reported over the past 24 hours, have encouraged businesses to have at least one-third of their employees work from home and recommended that the elderly self-isolate at home. This month’s school holidays in the capital were extended from one to two weeks.
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PRAGUE — New reported coronavirus infections in the Czech Republic were their highest for a third straight day, registering another 5,394 cases.
The new cases take the country’s total since the pandemic began to more than 100,000.
The government has responded by imposing further restrictive measures to contain the surge, some of them becoming effective on Friday and others on Monday.
Among them, all theaters, cinemas, zoos, museums, art galleries, fitness centers and public swimming pools will be closed for at least two weeks.
Also, all indoor sports activities will be banned. Outdoors, only up to 20 people will be allowed to participate in sport activities, a measure that will badly hit professional competitions such as soccer leagues.
Restaurants and bars will have to close at 8 p.m. and only four people will be allowed at one table.
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