BEAUMONT, Texas — Key updates for Sunday, April 12, 2020:
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes public statement after leaving ICU.
- The head of the European Union’s executive branch suggests people hold off booking summer vacations.
- South Korea reported 32 new cases of the virus over the past 24 hours.
- Venezuela’s president extended its nationwide quarantine.
- Look back at the Saturday, April 11 blog at this link.
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Latest local & Texas updates:
Here are the latest updates from around Southeast Texas, Texas, Louisiana and some from the world (all times are local Central Daylight Time)
April 12, 2020, 2:49 p.m.-- Beaumont confirms its fifth coronavirus-related death. The man was between the ages of 41 and 50.
April 12, 2020, 2:30 p.m. -- Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation Sunday extending the disaster declaration for all Texas counties an additional 30 days, the governor's office confirmed.
The declaration, originally issued March 13, applies to all Texas counties and gives the state access to funds and others critical resources needed to combat COVID-19.
The confirmed number of coronavirus cases in the United States was more than 529,000 just after midnight ET on Sunday, according to the count by Johns Hopkins University. There have been over 20,600 deaths in the U.S. and 32,000 recoveries.
The U.S. has overtaken Italy for the highest death toll in the world. About half of the deaths happened in New York state, but concern is growing over the spread of the virus into the nation’s heartland. Hot spots are appearing in the Midwest, including nursing home deaths in Indiana and Iowa and deaths at the Cook County Jail in Chicago.
Globally, confirmed infections have risen above 1.77 million. There were more than 108,000 deaths and 404,000 recoveries worldwide.
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Pope celebrates joy of Easter amid sorrow of virus, alone
Catholics around the world are marking a solitary Easter, forced to celebrate the most joyful day in the Christian calendar largely alone amid the sorrowful reminders of the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic.
Normally, St. Peter’s Square would be awash in fresh flowers on Easter Sunday. There would be tulips and orchids in a riot of color to underscore Easter’s message of life and rebirth following Christ’s crucifixion.
This year, the cobblestoned piazza is bare with police barricades blocking those who would normally flock to hear the pope's blessing. Pope Francis was to instead celebrate Easter Mass inside the largely empty basilica and deliver his speech from in front of the tomb of St. Peter.
British Prime Minister says he owes life to health staff
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he owes his life to the staff at the National Health Service who treated him for COVID-19.
Johnson has made his first public statement since he was moved out of intensive care at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, saying he “can’t thank them enough. I owe them my life.”
The 55-year-old Johnson was diagnosed with COVID-19 more than two weeks ago, becoming the first world leader confirmed to have the illness.
His coronavirus symptoms at first were said to have been mild, including a cough and a fever.
He was admitted to St. Thomas’ Hospital last Sunday after his condition worsened and was transferred to the intensive care unit the following day, where he received oxygen but was not put onto a ventilator.
He spent three nights there before moving back to a regular ward on Thursday.
EU official suggests holding off on summer trips
The head of the European Union’s executive branch is suggesting that people hold off on booking summer vacations for now, pointing to uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
Most planes are currently grounded and many countries have put wide-ranging travel restrictions and warnings in place. Some nations are considering first steps out of weeks-long shutdowns of public life but much of Europe is near a standstill.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tells Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper she "would advise waiting with such plans.”
She added in an interview published Sunday that “no one can make reliable forecasts for July and August at the moment.”
Japanese health care facilities stretched thin
Japanese health care facilities are getting stretched thin amid a surge in coronavirus patients.
The Japanese Association for Acute Medicine and the Japanese Society for Emergency Medicine, representing such professionals, issued a joint statement recently warning about a “collapse of emergency medicine,” which may lead to the collapse of medicine overall.
The statement said many hospitals were turning away people rushed by ambulance, including those suffering strokes, heart attacks and external injuries. Some people who were turned away later turned out to have the coronavirus.
Masks and surgical gowns were running short, the statement said.
Japan has nearly 7,000 coronavirus cases and about 100 deaths, but the numbers are growing. The government has declared a state of emergency, asking people to stay home.
South Korea continues downtrend in new cases
South Korea reported 32 additional cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, a continued downward trend in new infections in the country.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Sunday the additional cases increased the country’s total to 10,512.
It says 7,368 of them have been recovered and released from quarantine and that 13,788 are under tests to determine whether they’ve contracted the virus.
The center says that South Korea’s death toll from the coronavirus increased by three to 214.
Venezuela extends quarantine additional 30 days
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro has extended a nationwide quarantine for another 30 days to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus throughout the crisis-stricken South American nation.
Maduro announced the measure Saturday, the same day a fourth shipment of medical supplies arrived from China to fight the virus. So far officials say 175 people in Venezuela have fallen ill and nine have died from the virus.
Medical workers say Venezuela is vulnerable given the rampant malnutrition and poor condition of hospitals that lack basic supplies such as soap and water. Once it was first detected, officials quickly ordered its 30 million residents to stay home, also suspending schools and international flights.