/Coronavirus live updates: Global cases pass 1.6 million

Coronavirus live updates: Global cases pass 1.6 million

Spain extends state of emergency for second time

Spanish lawmakers voted Thursday evening to extend state of emergency measures until April 26, as the country battles the coronavirus outbreak.

The measures prolong the state of emergency for a second time in Spain, which has the world’s second-highest coronavirus death toll, and also included economic and labor decrees to help alleviate the crisis.

The outbreak has led to a near-collapse of Spain’s health system as the country reported more than 15,000 deaths  as of Friday, according to an NBC News tally. The daily rate of infection, however, has started to slow

As Spanish citizens will now be under compulsory lockdown for a total of six weeks, the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that he may need to ask for a third extension to prolong measures until May.

Tokyo imposes further social restrictions in face of virus

Tokyo set in place further restrictions on Friday, as part of its battle to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Theaters, sports facilities and places of assembly will be closed, while bars and restaurants will have limited opening times, governor Yuriko Koike told a press conference. The measures are part of the country’s ongoing month-long state of emergency announced April 7.

“From our point of view, this is a matter of life and death for Tokyoites,” said Koike. “We’ve been receiving reports on a daily basis that the medical capacity of the city is getting stretched thin.” 

Tokyo’s lockdown is not compulsory but rather requests the public to refrain from leaving their homes.

Australia’s crackdown on Easter travel amid coronavirus

Australia will deploy helicopters, set up police checkpoints and hand out hefty fines to deter people from breaking travel bans during the Easter weekend, officials warned Friday, even as the spread of coronavirus slows across the country.

With places of worship closed, bans on public gatherings and non-essential travel limited to combat the spread of the virus, Australians have been told to stay home during the Easter public holidays.

“Police will take action,” New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys told reporters, adding that police had issued almost 50 new fines for breaches of public health orders in the previous 24 hours. Police have also said they will block roads and use number plate recognition technology to catch those infringing the bans.

Celebrities say ‘thank you’ to Britain’s healthcare workers

U.S. singer Billie Eilish, actor Hugh Grant and author Stephen Fry were among the celebrities who took part in a video thanking Britain’s National Health Service and staff, Thursday evening.

The video is part of what is becoming a weekly ritual across Britain that sees people standing on door steps and hanging out of windows to cheer and applaud health care workers, as they continue to manage the coronavirus outbreak.

Yemen confirms first coronavirus case

Yemen has recorded its first confirmed case of coronavirus on Friday, the country’s supreme national emergency committee tweeted

The patient is being treated and is in a stable condition in the ⁧‫⁩ Hadhramaut governorate, the national emergency committee for the disease said. The case in the war-torn country has stoked fears that an outbreak could devastate an already crippled health care system. 

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels declared a cease-fire this week on humanitarian grounds to prevent the spread of the pandemic — possibly paving the way to a peace agreement.

A nun prays in front of the closed door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a place where Christians believe Jesus Christ was buried, during a lockdown following government measures to help stop the spread of the new coronavirus, during Holy Thursday in Jerusalem’s old city, Thursday, April 9, 2020.Ariel Schalit / AP

Trump allies reportedly think briefings hurt more than help

More men than women are testing positive

WASHINGTON — Men are not getting tested as much for the coronavirus as women.

Yet, when men do get tested, a higher percentage test positive for the virus.

Dr. Deborah Birx used the numbers to remind men “about the importance of health care” during a briefing Thursday at the White House.

So far, Birx says, 56 percent of the people tested for COVID-19 are female, and 16 percent of them tested positive for the virus.

But for men, 23 percent tested positive.

Birx made a plea for men experiencing symptoms that could be a result of the virus to get tested, saying “we appreciate you engaging in that.”

Birx serves as the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator.

Oakland, California, to close 74 miles of city streets to cars, inviting walkers, runners and cyclists instead

OAKLAND, Calif.— This Bay Area city will join a growing list of others around the country that are closing streets to cars in favor of increased pedestrian and bicycle traffic during the COVID-19 crisis, an official said Thursday.

“We’ll announce an emergency measure that allows Oakland residents more space to walk, bike and run safely through their neighborhoods, and we’re calling it the Oakland Slow Streets” Alexandria McBride, the city’s chief resilience officer, told a town hall meeting held via Zoom video conference.

McBride said Oakland will open up 74 miles of car-free streets and will begin rolling out the program Saturday.

Other cities, including St. Paul, Minnesota, and Philadelphia, have taken similar measures, and several other U.S. cities are discussing the possibility. By one count, Oakland’s road closure is the largest by far of any American city during the pandemic.

HHS reverses course on funding for local coronavirus testing sites

The Department of Health and Human Services late Thursday reversed its decision to end federal support on Friday for community-based coronavirus testing sites around the country.

Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that states will now be able to choose whether they want to transition to managing the testing programs themselves or continue with federal assistance.

“In this instance, we wanted to at least give them the option to take control of that. But, we will continue to resource them with personnel, supplies, and any other support they need going forward,” he said at the daily White House coronavirus briefing. 

The availability of widespread testing remains scarce in the U.S., and public health officials have called it a failure of the administration’s coronavirus response.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told NBC News in a statement Thursday that the federal government “will continue working closely with states, and their respective FEMA regions, to determine whether sites want to continue as they are now, with direct federal supervision and manpower, or transition to full state control.”

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