Tuesday, 21 April 2020

World coronavirus dispatch: Lockdowns go into June; US halts immigration

Even as nations in the East are being cautious, some others, mainly in Europe, think the worst has passed for them and are looking to ease restrictions – read these and more in today’s dispatch
President Donald Trump speaks during a coronavirus task force briefing at the White House. Photo: PTI
It looks like lockdowns in some country will go on for longer than they were thought to. The city-state of Singapore, having seen a spike in cases in the past two days, has extended its lockdown till June 1. This is the first time any country has officially extended its lockdown into June. Singapore’s lockdown was supposed to end on May 3.
Even as countries in the East are being more cautious, some others, particularly in Europe, think the worst has passed for them and are looking to ease restrictions. Some have even lifted their lockdowns partially. Read more here.
Let’s look at the global statistics:
Total confirmed cases: 2,531,804
Change over previous day: 73,928
Total deaths: 174,336
Total recovered: 665,458
Nations hit with most cases: US (804,194), Spain (204,178), Italy (183,957), France (156,495) and Germany (148,007).
Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center
Governments vow to keep food supply chains running: A group of nearly 50 governments, including those in the European Union, Canada, Japan and Brazil, is preparing to sign a pledge to ensure food supply chains remain orderly and officials exercise restraint with any trade restrictions. Read more here.


In times of pandemic, China is testing digital currency: China’s central bank confirmed on Tuesday that it had started to test a digital currency in four cities. Cash is already a rare sight in China because of popular services like Alipay and WeChat Pay. Without an official name, the new currency is referred to internally as “DC/EP” or “digital currency/electronic payment”, and China says it should be ready for use by the Beijing Winter Olympics, 2022. Read more here.

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