MADRID: As governments are putting in further energies to slow down the Corona disease, more than 20,000 lives have been lost in its increasing toll.
A nurse at the La Paz University Hospital was deeply struck by grief as she recounted how people died overnight without the chance of seeing their family or friends for the last time. Another worker told AFP that people burning with fever waited hours on end for their turn in the waiting room.
The European viral impact is at its deadliest in Spain after Italy with more dead than there were in China. During the past 24 hours the Spanish death count reached 3,400 after 738 more people died. The government there has announced a package of $467 million (432 million euros) to bring in medical supplies from Beijing.
Italy now has 7,503 dead which is the highest number worldwide. In France the pandemic has taken 1,330 lives with train and metro services running as low as possible.
France, Italy and Spain along with six other EU nations want Germany and Netherlands to get the central European bank to lower borrowing costs but northern EU states are worried about pooling debt with big spenders. Although EU leaders said they were going to bring forth an unprecedented recovery plan to tackle the pandemic threat on Thursday.
Across the Atlantic a $2.2 trillion public relief bill showed signs of making it through Congress with stock markets going up after the news.
There are over 30,000 virus infections in New York. President Trump said the city has a few “tough weeks” ahead but the government would soon decide when other parts of the country not under threat can be opened up. He said he would be getting a recommendation in the matter as soon as Easter.
The United States has at least 65,700 cases and 942 people have died.
Whereas the UN Secretary General has said there is no other way to stop the pandemic other than a combined global effort. He has appealed to the world’s rich for $2 billion to make hope for the poor.
The virus first came to light in China three months ago and according to an AFP report the total death toll from 182 territories and countries is now 20,800.