April 16 coronavirus news

Coronavirus lockdowns have played a role in causing pollution levels to drop significantly across Europe over the past month, the European Space Agency (ESA) has said.

Nitrogen dioxide levels are down around 50% in some cities, the agency said on Thursday, noting that the fall coincides with the “strict quarantine measures implemented across Europe."

The improvements in air quality were particularly clear in France, Spain and Italy, all of which have had severe lockdowns in place for several weeks.

Paris saw a dramatic drop of 54% in nitrogen dioxide concentrations when comparing the period April 13 to March 13 to the same time in 2019.

Madrid, Milan and Rome all saw decreases of around 45%.

Nitrogen dioxide concentrations vary widely day to day owing to the fluctuations of emissions, as well as variations in weather conditions, the agency also said, admitting there is a “weather-induced variability,” which makes it difficult to “draw conclusions based only on daily or weekly measurements."

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The Spanish region of Catalonia may have twice the official number of deaths reported so far by the Spanish government, according to new data from the region’s department of health.

Funeral homes have reported a total of 7,097 coronavirus deaths in Catalonia up to Wednesday, which includes the regional capital Barcelona. But available data from the Spanish Health Ministry had total coronavirus deaths in Catalonia at 3,756 up to Wednesday morning.

Of these 7,097 deaths, 1,810 people died in elderly people’s homes. CNN has previously reported that a large number of deaths in these facilities were being unreported in national figures.

The regional health department explained in a statement that these increases were a result of new counting methods that now include deaths in people’s residences and at nursing homes. Previously the figures only included deaths in hospital. 

The number of coronavirus infections could also be 55,000 higher than previously reported in the region. While the Spanish government figures show 36,505 total confirmed cases in Catalonia, the region’s department of health says there are 39,375 positive cases confirmed by diagnostic testing and a further 55,457 cases of people with symptoms, but only diagnosed by a medical professional.

Barcelona, Spain’s second-largest city, is one of the regions worst-affected by Covid-19.

The Spanish government has previously explained that their figures are compiled from data submitted by regional health departments.

The South Korean government is fighting “with all its might to overcome this national crisis,” according to a statement by President Moon Jae-in as his party was expected to celebrate a landslide victory in parliamentary elections.

The election attracted the highest voter turn out in 28 years, despite being held during the coronavirus pandemic.

Early results from Wednesday's vote suggest that Moon's Democratic Party has won 180 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly, boosting the party's total by 60. Full results are expected on Thursday.

If early results are correct, it will be the biggest win by any party since the current democratic constitution was established in 1987.

Moon said the world had "marveled" at the election.

The statement also called the pandemic an “unprecedented national crisis” and thanked the people for “giving strength to our government” in its battle against Covid-19.

"Though we must face this unprecedented national crisis, we will boldly go forth, trusting our people. And we shall win."

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China says there is no proof of Covid-19 originating from a Chinese laboratory, which CNN reports US intelligence and national security officials are currently investigating.

Speaking Thursday at the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s daily media briefing, spokesman Zhao Lijian said:

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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the current baseline coronavirus restrictions will remain in place for at least four weeks as the government tries to meet a set of guidelines to deal with the pandemic.

Morrison laid out three guidelines that his government will try to achieve before it can begin to consider easing restrictions:

Australia has confirmed 6,462 cases of Covid-19 and 63 deaths, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University.

The country's Department of Health says it has so far conducted 374,500 tests across the country and does not have widespread community transmission.

If you're just joining us, here's the major developments since our last catch-up.

European Council President Charles Michel says the EU must must learn from the coronavirus pandemic “to improve our preparedness, and our coordination.”

"We must develop a more resilient system of governance, while upholding the principles of solidarity, unity and the fundamental values of freedom, rule of law at the heart of the EU," Michel tweeted Thursday.

He also said that the EU has to continue to promote multilateralism and "assist our partners, be it our immediate neighbours or our African partners."

South Korea's ruling party is expected to have won by a landslide in a parliamentary election that attracted the highest voter turnout in 28 years, despite being held during the coronavirus pandemic.

What the results show: Early results from Wednesday's election suggest that President Moon Jae-in's Democratic Party has won 180 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly, boosting the party's seats by 60. Full results are expected on Thursday.

If early results are correct, it will be the biggest win by any party since the current democratic constitution was established in 1987.

How many people voted: The election -- which was the first nationwide vote held in a country with a significant coronavirus outbreak -- was also remarkable for its turnout.

The country saw a turnout of 66.2% -- the highest in a parliamentary election since 1992, when there was a 71.9% turnout. More than a quarter of the country's 44 million voters cast their ballot early for Wednesday's election -- a record proportion of early voters.

Moon's response to the virus: The coronavirus has infected more than 10,500 people in South Korea. But the government has won praise for its handling of the crisis, and already more than 7,500 people in the country have recovered.

Prior to the election, Moon's coronavirus response boosted his approval rating, according to Gallup Korea surveys.

An election -- with a difference: Voters wore masks and gloves, polling booths were disinfected, and people spaced out as they queued up to vote. While election campaigns in the country are often festive, featuring K-pop style dance troupes, this election season was more sedate. Candidates wore gloves and face masks as they campaigned on the streets of Seoul.

Read more here:

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The UK will likely have to maintain social distancing until a coronavirus vaccine is available, said epidemiologist Neil Ferguson in an interview with the BBC on Thursday.

Ferguson is a professor at Imperial College London who advises the British government on its coronavirus response.

"We have relatively little leeway, if we relax measures too much then we'll see a resurgence of transmission."

What others are saying: Ferguson's words mirror what researchers in the United States have also projected.

The US may have to endure social distancing measures -- such as stay-at-home orders and school closures -- until 2022, according to researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who published their findings in the journal Science on Tuesday.

That is, unless a vaccine or better therapeutics become available, or we increase our critical care capacity. In other words, 2022 is one scenario of many.

But those findings directly contradict research being touted by the White House that suggests the pandemic may stop this summer.