April 7 coronavirus news

Ninety-four doctors have died of coronavirus, the Italian association of doctors said Tuesday. Twenty-six nurses have also died after contracting the virus, the press officer of the Italian federation of nurses said, adding that there were 6,549 infected nurses in total.

As of Monday, the total number of healthcare workers infected by coronavirus is 12,681, according to the Italian Institute of Health.

Protective equipment shortage: A lack of proper protective gear has made contagion inside healthcare facilities a contributor to the rampant spread of the virus. Some of the best health structures in Europe are in northern Italy, but they were pushed to near collapse with the sheer number of Covid-19 patients in need of urgent care.

A school district in Missouri has suspended the home delivery of meals to students following the deaths of two school bus drivers.

The Ferguson-Florissant district serves students in a northeastern suburb of St. Louis.

One driver who supported food distribution at McCluer North High School died after testing positive for coronavirus, said a letter from the district Superintendent Joseph Davis.

The second driver died after a prolonged illness unrelated to coronavirus -- but had symptoms of the virus before death, according to the letter.

A third staff member who also works at McCluer North High School has also tested positive for the virus, Davis said.

The suspension will last through April 10, and is meant to keep students, families and the employees of the district safe, the letter said.

Read more here:

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A Missouri school district has suspended meal delivery to students after one bus driver diagnosed with coronavirus and a second showing symptoms died

The US coronavirus death toll is nearing 11,000 as the country prepares for what the President said will be a "difficult" week and a half.

But White House officials say they are encouraged by parts of the country that leaned in heavily to social distancing measures and are now seeing a slowdown in the rate of growth of cases.

There are now more than 368,000 cases in the US, according to Johns Hopkins University.

"I don't think anyone has ever mitigated the way I've seen people mitigate right now. It's never happened in this country before. I am optimistic. Always cautiously optimistic," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Read more about the situation in the US here:

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While US nears 11,000 deaths, White House remains optimistic about early effects of social distancing measures

The mayor of Paris says that from Wednesday, people wishing to exercise outdoors in the French capital will have to do so before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. local time.

Anne Hidalgo and the Paris prefecture of police took this decision to reinforce the city's containment restrictions and limit the risks of spreading the coronavirus, they say.

Outbreak worsens: France has not yet reached the peak of its coronavirus outbreak, according to health minister Olivier Veran, who said "we are still in a worsening phase of the epidemic."

Deaths have spiked dramatically in the country -- 833 people died from the virus within 24 hours, Veran said yesterday.

France is nearing 99,000 cases of coronavirus, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. Some 8,911 people have died, the figures show.

Children diagnosed with coronavirus in the US typically have mild cases, the Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention said in a report released Monday.

Cases in children make up less than 2% of reported cases in the US, according to the report.

It analyzed 149,760 laboratory-confirmed cases in the US between February 12 and April 2.

Of the 149,082 cases in which an age was reported, only 2,572, or 1.7%, were children younger than 18 years old, the report said.

Symptoms such as cough and fever were not reported as often in the pediatric cases as in adults, and children also seem to have a lower rate of hospitalizations for the virus, according to the report.

Read more takeaways from the CDC report here:

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Most cases of coronavirus in children are mild but severe cases have been reported, CDC says

There are at least 368,449 cases of coronavirus in the US, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.

The US death toll from the virus is nearing 11,000, as the country prepares for what the President has warned will be a "difficult" week-and-a-half -- according to Johns Hopkins' tally, 10,993 people have died. 

The total includes virus cases in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all repatriation cases.

Wyoming is the only state not to have reported a death from coronavirus.

A likely underestimate: Health experts warn that the national count of Covid-19 deaths in the US may be an underestimate, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread.

Reporting data can lag by an average of one to two weeks, according to the latest guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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US coronavirus death count likely an underestimate. Here's why

The UK's Queen Elizabeth II has marked World Health Day by paying tribute to the “vitally important” role played by health workers.

“In testing times, we often observe that the best of the human spirit comes to the fore; the dedication to service of countless nurses, midwives and other health workers, in these most challenging of circumstances, is an example to us all,” she said in a statement.

The Queen says she and her family send their “enduring appreciation and good wishes” to all health workers for their “selfless commitment and diligence”.

Her comments follow a rare televised address on Sunday, in which the monarch called for unity in the face of the pandemic.

The 93-year-old monarch's son and heir, Prince Charles, tested positive for coronavirus last month, and spent time in self-isolation as a result, but has since recovered.

Iran is in talks with other countries about exchanging prisoners amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to Mahmoud Abbasi, the Deputy Justice Minister for Human Rights and International Affairs.

Abbasi said 2,600 Afghan convicts were “prepared to leave for their countries, and some Central Asian states have agreed to exchange prisoners,” according to IRNA. He added that the prisoner exchange was justifiable within “the framework of humanitarian policies of Iran.”

Here's some background: Iran has the highest reported number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the Middle East, with more than 60,000 cases and a death toll of more than 3,700.

The country has temporarily released tens of thousands of prisoners in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.

German officials warned today that the country should expect to see a rise in coronavirus deaths because of outbreaks in care homes and assisted living facilities.

There will likely be no letting up of new cases in the coming days, warned the president of the Robert Koch Institute, a federal government research agency.

There were 3,834 new cases and 173 deaths yesterday, the institute said.

That brings the national total to 103,375 cases and 1,810 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

These figures don't reflect the number of active cases, as many patients have since recovered and been discharged from hospital; rather, it represents the total number of infections since the pandemic began.

Germany has enough intensive care unit beds: Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute, said the country has sufficient ICU capacity for the time being.

"I am happy about each bed and each ventilator,” he said. However, he cautioned that capacity could run out in the future.