The UN Secretary-General has warned coronavirus is the greatest global crisis since the Second World War and confronting pit will bring a recession ‘that has no parallel in the recent past’.
On Tuesday, UN chief Antonio Guterres said at the launch of a report on the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic that there is also a risk the crisis will contribute to ‘enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict.’
Guterres called for a stronger and more effective global response to the pandemic, as cases hit 850,000 with almost 42,000 deaths.
He stressed that this will only be possible ‘if everybody comes together and if we forget political games and understand that it is humankind that is at stake.’
Employees digging graves at Vila Formosa cemetery, in outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil amid coronavirus outbreak
Vila Formosa cemetery, the largest in Latin America and where more than 1.5 million people were buried, had a 30% increase in the number of burials after the beginning of the pandemic
Employees bury a person who died from COVID-19 at the Vila Formosa cemetery, in the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil
‘The magnitude of the response must match the scale of the crisis – large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive, with country and international responses being guided by the World Health Organization,’ the secretary-general said, noting that not all countries are following WHO guidelines.
Guterres also announced the establishment of a COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to support efforts in low- and middle-income countries, with the aim of swiftly enabling governments to tackle the crisis and promote recovery.
The coronavirus is continuing to wreak havoc around the world, with several countries reporting huge rises in cases.
France reported its darkest day yet with a record 499 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours, taking the country’s total death toll to 3,523.
This marks the biggest jump in deaths since the start of the pandemic. France has a total of 52,128 cases of COVID-19, according to official figures.
Traffic police personnel (left and right) wearing coronavirus-themed helmets perform in front of a motorist in Bangalore, India
The coronavirus-themed helmets are part of an Indian campaign to educate the public during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against coronavirus
An empty Paris subway carriage. The coronavirus is continuing to wreak havoc around the world, with several countries reporting huge rises in cases
France reported its darkest day yet with a record 499 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours, taking the country’s total death toll to 3,523
This marks the biggest jump in deaths since the start of the pandemic. France has a total of 52,128 cases of COVID-19, according to official figures
Medical workers take samples from patients at a coronavirus drive-in test centre at the fair grounds in Hanover, Germany
Israeli police troops detain an Ultra Orthodox Jewish man as they enforce a partial Coronavirus lockdown in the Mea Shearim nighborhood
Up to 16 dead have been put into a refrigerator truck at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York. The grim scenes come as medical staff are now loading the the dead by forklift
More than 2,500 Spanish Army soldiers are deployed throughout the country to fight the pandemic
UN chief Antonio Guterres described the pandemic as the biggest threat to the world since the Second World War
A paramedic handles a swab to test for coronavirus at a drive-thru testing site in the northern Israeli city of Tamra
Bangladeshi garment workers make protective suit at a factory amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus disease
There are now 22,757 people hospitalised in France with COVID-19, with 5,565 of them in intensive care, health official Jerome Salomon told reporters in his daily update.
The French death toll includes only those who died in hospital and not those who died at home or in old people’s homes.
New York state now has 75,795 cases of coronavirus – an increase of 9,298 since Monday – and 1,550 have died, Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed on Tuesday as he admitted ‘no one knows’ when the pandemic will end and said the entire country ‘underestimated it’.
Speaking at a wide-ranging press conference on Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo told of how he was unifying the state’s private and public healthcare systems to operate as one before the pandemic ‘apex’ in the state hits.
The workers, in the capital Dhaka, covered their faces with masks as they made protective suits
An employee of a funeral parlor and members of the Military Police are pictured at a cemetery before the burial of a coronavirus victim in Honduras
Members of the Military Police, wearing protective gear, block the entrance to a cemetery in Honduras
People walk as they rush to get to their homes ahead of curfew time during the fifth day of the night curfew in Nairobi, Kenya
People rush home in Nairobi, mixing close together ahead of the night curfew in Kenya’s capital
The number 2 train is packed with passengers at the 125th Street subway station in Harlem despite of the government warning to stay to stay home to prevent the spread of coronavirus in New York
He admitted he does not know when it will come and that data projections he looks at suggest it could happen anytime between seven and 21 days from now.
The death toll across the state of New York rose by 332 overnight and is not yet showing signs of slowing down.
Spain has suffered its darkest day yet of the coronavirus outbreak as the number of new deaths and cases both rose by record amounts.
The country registered 849 new deaths between Monday and Tuesday, taking its total from 7,340 to 8,189 – higher than the 838 it suffered overnight Sunday, which was its previous worst day.
Meanwhile the number of confirmed cases rose by 9,222, taking the total from 85,195 to 94,417. That figure tops the roughly 8,200 cases the country logged between Wednesday and Thursday last week.
Some of the 110 cots available for use to quarantine military personnel who show signs of COVID-19 are staged at a gym at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio
Aerial view of the empty beach as it remains closed to the public, near the Mexico-US border fence in Playas de Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico
Miami Beach is seen completely empty amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus
Spanish Armed Forces in Norena, Spain, on March 30. More than 2,500 Army soldiers are deployed throughout the country to fight the pandemic
These military units can be deployed on the streets in tasks of disinfection of public spaces, control and surveillance, to ensure compliance with the rules that limit freedom of movement
The rise in cases marks a 10.8 per cent increase, putting an end to several days of falling rates and crushing hopes that an end to the contagion might be in sight.
In more positive news, Denmark revealed it could begin lifting lockdown restrictions in April after declaring the contact limits it implemented on March 11 have ‘succeeded’.
The Nordic country, which has reported 77 coronavirus-related deaths, last week extended until after Easter a two-week lockdown to limit physical contact between its citizens that began on March 11.
‘We do see signs that we have succeeded in delaying the transmission of corona in Denmark. The transmission is spreading slower than feared,’ Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.
‘Over the past week the number of hospital admissions has risen slightly slower than the week before and without the explosion in the numbers that we have seen in other countries.’
Employees bury a person who died from COVID-19 at the Vila Formosa cemetery, in the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Iran’s Azadi tower is illuminated with the flags of countries struggling against coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Tehran
A view at night of the lit-up Azadi (Freedom) tower with flags, messages of sympathy from all over the world over the ongoing coronavirus crisis
Italy today saw a near-identical number of coronavirus infections and deaths for a second day – as hopes remain the country is past the worst of the virus.
The death toll climbed by 837 to 12,428, the Civil Protection Agency said, with the daily tally rising, albeit slightly, for a second day running.
The number of new cases was broadly steady, growing by 4,053 against 4,050 yesterday, and bringing total infections since the outbreak came to light on February 21 to 105,792.
Today’s figures show a slight decline in the rate of infections and deaths from the virus indicating the country is starting to recover from the worst of the outbreak.
In Brazil, lorries and labourers moved into the famous Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday to start building a field hospital that will host patients carrying the coronavirus.
The facility, built in the car park surrounding the 80,000 capacity stadium, will have 400 beds and be one of eight temporary facilities set up across Rio de Janeiro state to help deal with an expected influx of coronavirus patients.
The Maracana is one of several football stadiums being used across Brazil as the South American nation battles the virus.
It comes despite despite President Jair Bolsonaro refusing to implement social distancing measures on the grounds they will wreck the economy.