Summary
- The global death toll from coronavirus has passed 65,000. There are more than 1.2 million known cases of infection but more than 245,000 people have recovered, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally
- In Australia, the death toll stands at 35 and there are 5687 confirmed infections. There are 2580 cases in NSW
- The US Surgeon General has warned Americans to brace for "the hardest and the saddest week" of their lives, saying: "This is going to be our Pearl Harbour moment, our 9/11 moment"
- The Ruby Princess remains off the coast of NSW as 250 crew await test results. Police have launched an investigation into the cruise ship fiasco
- NSW Police have charged two people in Sydney with breaching social-distancing laws
Spain's death toll rises - but the pace is slowing
The rate of new coronavirus infections and deaths in Spain slowed again on Sunday as the country, suffering from one of the world's worst outbreaks of the pandemic, began its fourth week under a near-total lockdown.
Deaths from the highly infectious COVID-19 respiratory disease rose to 12,418 on Saturday - the second highest worldwide after Italy. However, the toll of 674 people who died during the past 24 hours was down from Saturday's 809, and well below Thursday's daily record of 950, the Health Ministry said.
A temporary field hospital has been set up in a convention centre in Madrid, Spain.Credit:AP
Sunday's rise represented a 6 per cent increase in total deaths, about half the rate reported a week ago.
The total number of registered infections rose to 130,759 from Saturday's 124,736.
"The data from this week and today confirms the slowing down of infections," Health Minister Salvador Illa said. "The data confirms that confinement is working."
He said one million testing kits were to arrive in Spain on Sunday and Monday and would act as "rapid screening" in places such as hospitals and nursing homes, part of an effort to pinpoint the true extent of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles said the data was "encouraging and hopeful".
Reuters
US Surgeon General warns of impending '9/11 moment'
US Surgeon General Jerome Adams has offered some of the starkest warnings yet as he braced Americans for the worsening fallout from the new coronavirus, warning "this is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans' lives, quite frankly".
The number of people infected in the US has exceeded 300,000, with the death toll climbing past 8400. More than 3500 of those deaths are in the state of New York.
US Surgeon General Jerome Adams says the situation in the US is set to get worse this week.Credit:AP
Much of the country is under orders to stay home, and federal officials said they had seen signs that people were listening to the message about social distancing. But the Trump administration is also emphasising that the worst is yet to come for many communities.
"This is going to be our Pearl Harbour moment, our 9/11 moment, only it's not going to be localised," Adams said on Fox News Sunday. "It's going to be happening all over the country. And I want America to understand that."
White House medical experts have forecast that between 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could be killed in the pandemic, even if sweeping orders to stay home were followed. President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that there were "very horrendous" days ahead.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
A few US states have declined to order residents to stay home. Adams was asked on NBC's Meet the Press if they should join the rest of the country.
"Ninety percent of Americans are doing their part, even in the states where they haven't had a shelter in place," Adams said. "But if you can't give us 30 days, governors, give us, give us a week, give us what you can, so that we don't overwhelm our healthcare systems over this next week."
AP
Scotland's Chief Medical Officer apologises for holiday home visit
Scotland's Chief Medical Officer has apologised after she broke travel restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic by visiting her second home.
Dr Catherine Calderwood confirmed that she had visited her second home in Fife with her husband twice in the past week, in breach of her own advice to avoid travel.
"I did not follow the advice I'm giving to others, I'm truly sorry for that," she said.
Dr Calderwood said she had seen comments calling her a "hypocrite" and that what she had done was "irresponsible".
"What I did was wrong, I am very sorry - it will not happen again," she added.
The BBC reported that Dr Calderwood had received a police warning.
Pope holds Palm Sunday Mass without the public
Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Mass without the public because of the coronavirus pandemic, which he said should focus people's attention on what was most important - using one's life to serve others.
Francis sounded subdued as he led the first of several solemn Holy Week ceremonies that will shut out rank-and-file faithful from attending, as Italy's rigid lockdown measures forbid public gatherings.
Pope Francis celebrates Palm Sunday Mass inside St Peter's Basilica. Credit:AP
Normally, tens of thousands of Romans, tourists and pilgrims, clutching olive tree branches or palm fronds, would have flocked to an outdoor Mass led by the pontiff. Instead, Francis celebrated Mass inside St Peter's Basilica, which seemed even more cavernous than usual because it was so empty.
Besides his aides, a few invited prelates and nuns were present, sitting solo in the first pews and staggered far apart to reduce the risks of contagion. A male choir, also practising social distancing, sang hymns, accompanied by an organist.
AP
Britain threatens to ban all outdoor exercise
Britain will have to impose further restrictions on outdoor exercise if people flout lockdown rules designed to curb transmission of the coronavirus, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.
"I don't want to have to take away exercise as a reason to leave home ... if too many people are not following the rules," he told the BBC.
"At the moment the vast majority of people are. But people should not break the rules because that would mean that the virus spreads more and we then might have to take further action."
Police officers ask people to move on in Greenwich Park in London on Sunday.Credit:AP
It came as the UK recorded another 621 deaths from the coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the total to 4934.
There were fears that warm spring weather on Sunday could encourage Britons to head to parks. London's Lambeth Council closed Brockwell Park on Sunday after it said many people had gathered in large groups there on Saturday.
Hancock said it was "unbelievable" to see a small minority flouting the government's advice to maintain social distancing.
If people did not follow the rules, which allow people to walk, run or cycle outdoors once a day but not sunbathe, he said he would have to ban exercise of all forms outside the home.
Reuters, Bloomberg
Singapore quarantines 20,000 workers after record rise in cases
Singapore reported 120 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, by far its highest daily rise, and quarantined nearly 20,000 migrant workers in their dormitories.
Of Sunday's new cases, 116 were locally transmitted and many were linked to two dormitories that house migrant workers, who will have to stay in their rooms now for 14 days.
Seats inside a shopping mall in Singapore are marked to prevent people sitting too close to each other.Credit:Getty Images
The number of new cases is a 60 per cent increase over the 75 reported on Saturday, which was the previous biggest daily rise. Singapore has reported a total of 1309 infections and six deaths from the novel coronavirus.
Tens of thousands of blue-collar foreign workers live within close quarters in various dormitories in Singapore. They form a significant part of the labour force, working in sectors from construction to cleaning.
The spike in cases comes two days before the country will begin closing schools and most workplaces for a month as part of tighter restrictions to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
Singapore was one of the worst-hit countries when the virus first spread from China in January, but a strict surveillance and quarantine regime helped stem the tide. Recent spikes in locally transmitted cases have, however, raised fresh concerns.
Reuters
Scott Morrison's approval rating surges: poll
Scott Morrison has recorded the highest approval ratings for a national leader in more than a decade as he steers a path through the coronavirus pandemic, according to Newspoll.
The Prime Minister has the highest satisfaction rating since Kevin Rudd at the height of the global financial crisis in 2009, the poll for The Australian shows.
Scott Morrison, pictured, leads Anthony Albanese as the preferred prime minister.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Morrison leads Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese by 53 to 29 as the preferred prime minister.
The government also has returned to a dominant electoral position, rising two points to 42 per cent in the primary vote to Labor's 34 and leading Labor 51 to 49 on a two-party preferred basis.
The poll found wide support for the JobKeeper program, with 90 per cent of Coalition voters backing it, followed by 88 per cent of Greens voters and 84 per cent of Labor supporters.
AP
US 'wasted months' before preparing for virus pandemic
As the first alarms sounded in early January that an outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China might ignite a global pandemic, the Trump administration squandered nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment.
A review of federal purchasing contracts shows federal agencies waited until mid-March to begin placing bulk orders of N95 respirator masks, mechanical ventilators and other equipment needed by front-line healthcare workers, The Associated Press reports.
A relieved hospital worker steps outside the emergency room at Elmhurst Hospital Centre in Brooklyn.Credit:AP
By that time, hospitals in several states were treating thousands of infected patients without adequate equipment and were pleading for shipments from the Strategic National Stockpile. That federal cache of supplies was created more than 20 years ago to help bridge gaps in the medical and pharmaceutical supply chains during a national emergency.
Now, three months into the crisis, that stockpile is nearly drained just as the numbers of patients needing critical care is surging. Some state and local officials report receiving broken ventilators and decade-old dry-rotted masks.
"We basically wasted two months," Kathleen Sebelius, health and human services secretary during the Obama administration, told AP.
AP
Ruby Princess to dock south of Sydney
Good morning and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, both in Australia and from around the world.
We'll begin with a recap with some of the major developments from Sunday:
- There are now 5687 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Australia - an increase of 3 per cent, or 139 cases, since Saturday. Ninety-one people are in intensive care, and 33 are on ventilators
- There have been 35 Australian deaths from the virus. An eleventh Ruby Princess cruise ship passenger died in Queensland on Sunday
- The Ruby Princess will be the subject of a criminal and coronial investigation. The ship is waiting off the Sydney coast and will dock south of the city on Monday
- Two people in Sydney were charged with breaching social-distancing laws at the weekend, and 18 infringement notices were issued across NSW
- Health authorities in all states are warning people not to travel for Easter, as Australia shows positive early signs of flattening the curve of new infections
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