April 3 coronavirus news

A further 932 people have died from coronavirus in Spain, the country's health ministry said on Friday, bringing the country's death toll closer to Italy's world-high total.

Friday's figures mean that 10,935 Covid-19 deaths have been recorded in Spain. It is the second-highest daily number since the pandemic began in Spain, but slightly smaller than the increase announced Thursday.

For several days, however, Spanish health officials have spoken optimistically of reaching the peak of infection.

The Ministry’s data shows there are now 76,262 active cases in Spain, an increase of 2,770 from Thursday – but also the smallest daily rise since March 20.

The Spanish Health Ministry also reports that 30,513 have now recovered from the virus – nearly 4,000 more than the number reported Thursday.

A total of 6,416 people have been admitted to intensive care units since the pandemic began, but the rate of new infections has slowed dramatically compared to the dire situation the country was facing in the middle of March.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has ended her self-quarantine and returned to work at the chancellery, her spokesman Steffen Seibert says.

Merkel went into quarantine two weeks ago after she came into contact with a doctor who later tested positive to coronavirus.

Her third test for the virus came back negative, a government spokesperson told CNN on Monday, after two previous tests that were also negative.

Meanwhile, the UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to come out of self-isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 last week.

A man who worked for the UK's National Health Service (NHS) for 20 years was "neglected" by his employer after he contracted Covid-19 and died, alleges his daughter Tamira Harvey.

Although Thomas Harvey never got a test for Covid-19 before he died, an NHS Trust confirmed to CNN that he had picked up the virus. According to his daughter, the 57-year-old health care assistant was let down by both the hospital where he helped care for recovering stroke patients, and by emergency responders.

Tamira alleges that London's Goodmayes Hospital failed to provide necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to her father. And just a few days before Harvey's death, emergency services "refused" to come to take him to hospital, Tamira says, despite family concerns that he wasn't "breathing properly."

The NHS trust responsible for the hospital where Thomas Harvey worked told CNN on Wednesday that there were no symptomatic patients when he went off work sick. CNN reached out to NHS England via phone and email and has yet to receive a response.

The London Ambulance Service (LAS) said they were "seeing unprecedented demand" for both their 999 and 111 services at this time.

But Tamira remains adamant that the blame for her father's death should ultimately lie in the hands of the UK government.

Boris Johnson's government has been criticized in recent days for the small number of NHS workers who have received tests for Covid-19.

Read more here.

Germany may not have enough hospital beds and ventilators to tackle its coronavirus outbreak, the head of the country's disease control agency warned on Friday.

''I am very happy that the ventilation beds and intensive care capacities have been increased," Lothar Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, told reporters. "Still, I cannot be sure that these capacities are sufficient enough.

"Personally, I have the opinion that they will not be enough and I am happy if I am wrong," Wieler added. "The more ventilators and intensive care beds we have, the more lives we will be able to save and therefore I ask that we continue to ask that we increase the capacities as much as possible.''

Wieler went on to say that he believes ''more people will die of Covid-19 than reported." Germany's mortality has rate increased to 1.2%, and Wieler warned against the assumption that the virus only affects older people -- pointing out that Germany's youngest confirmed death was a 28-year-old woman with a pre-existing condition.

Germany sent 50 ventilators to Spain to help that country battle its coronavirus outbreak, the German health minister said on Friday.

"Especially in times of coronavirus we stick together. We wish the Spanish much strength in these times," Jens Spahn said.

Spain has been battling one of the worst outbreaks of Covid-19 anywhere in the world, passing 10,000 virus-related deaths on Thursday. Only Italy has recorded more fatalities, and only Italy and the United States have had more confirmed cases, according to John Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, a poll has shown that the vast majority of Germans approve of Angela Merkel's response to the outbreak.

About 72% of Germans support the government’s approach, according to the poll by Infratest Dimap. It also shows 93% of respondents approve of the drastic social distancing measures introduced to try to contain the spread of the virus.

Germany has implemented a "contact ban," rather than a full nationwide lockdown. It has seen more than 84,000 confirmed cases, but its reported fatalities -- just over 1,100 -- have been lower than other major European countries.

The fortress town of Zahara de la Sierra in southern Spain is used to fending off enemies. The Moors and Christians fought over it in medieval times, and it was sacked by the French in 1812. Now its formidable position high above the Andalusian countryside has suddenly become an invaluable asset once more.

On March 14, Zahara cut itself off from the outside world as the coronavirus spread its tentacles across Spain. The mayor, 40-year-old Santiago Galván, decided to block all but one of the town's five entrances. Galván acted the day that Spain's "state of alarm" came into force.

In Zahara, however, there has not been a single recorded case of Covid-19 among its 1,400 inhabitants. "It has been more than two weeks, and I think that's a good sign," Galván told CNN.

The mayor's drastic steps have the full support of the townspeople, and especially the elderly. Nearly a quarter of Zahara's inhabitants are older than 65; there are more than 30 residents in an old people's home. Towns and villages nearby have seen infections and several coronavirus fatalities.

Read more about the town here.

A mob in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh pelted frontline healthcare workers with stones as they tried to treat a patient who was suspected of contracting the novel coronavirus, a police official said.

Doctors in India fighting the virus have been subject to danger and discrimination, as some in the public fear health-care workers could themselves bring the virus into their communities and contribute to its spread.

The incident took place Wednesday, when two doctors and three community health workers were attacked in the city of Indore.

Katdare said the team only sustained minor leg injuries. The team eventually returned to the same area Thursday to continue screening for coronavirus.

Arrests made: Four people have been arrested, local police said.

Harinarayanchari Mishra, the deputy inspector general of Indore police said at a news conference Thursday that authorities are taking the incident "very seriously" and plan to make more arrests.

"The remaining are being identified through video footage, we will take action against them," he said.

The accused have been booked for assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty and obstructing a public servant in discharge of functions, Mishra said. 

A growing problem: Government officials and allies of medical workers have called upon citizens to stop attacking the very people who have dedicated their lives to saving others.

Medical staff in New Delhi say they have been ostracized and discriminated against by their communities due to fears that they may be infected after working with coronavirus patients. Some doctors have even reported being evicted, or faced threats that their electricity will be cut off.

The top US general in South Korea says that he does not believe North Korea’s claim it has no cases of novel coronavirus. 

“How many? I couldn’t tell you but I do know by their actions that for about 30 days in February, early March, that their military was locked down and they took draconian methods on their border crossings and in their formations.”

North Korea has not reported any coronavirus infections, but it borders two of the most heavily affected countries in the region -- China and South Korea.

While the 16th USFK-related coronavirus infection was reported yesterday, Abrams said the military force has managed to keep that number low.

“We've seen the worst but now is not the time to get complacent. Our worst is frankly not that bad," Abrams said.

Watch:

Libya’s National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said in a statement Thursday that the country has reported its first Covid-19 related fatality.  

The patient was an 85-year-old woman, who tested positive for the virus after her death.

The United Nations has called on the warring parties in Libya's civil conflict to cease hostilities in order to focus on stopping the virus' spread. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Libya said the country needs about $12.5 million to help pay for isolation units, personal protective equipment, lab reagent detection kits and training for healthcare workers.

British health minister Matt Hancock said he believes that those who have recovered should continue practicing social distancing rules, as more research is needed to understand how immunity works with this particular strain of coronavirus.

Hancock and Prime Minister Boris Johnson both tested positive for the virus last month.

“The advice is it’s highly likely that I’m now immune or have a very high level of immunity, but it’s not certain,” Hancock told BBC Radio on Friday. “And so I -- like everybody else who’s been through it -- am social distancing.”

Hancock said the issue of immunity -- and therefore the antibody test -- will become increasingly important as the UK government looks to wind back the restrictions it has put in place to curb the pandemic.