BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
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BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke over phone with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Thursday night, saying China believes that under Putin's strong leadership, Russia will certainly stem the spread of COVID-19 at an early date.
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WASHINGTON -- The number of initial jobless claims in the United States totaled 5.2 million last week as the COVID-19 fallout ripples through the workforce, following staggering figures of over 6 million in the previous two weeks, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.
In the week ending April 11, the number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits decreased by 1.37 million to 5.25 million, raising the four-week total to more than 20 million amid mounting economic fallout from COVID-19.
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LONDON -- The death toll of those hospitalized in Britain who tested positive for the novel coronavirus hit 13,729 as of Wednesday afternoon, a daily increase of 861, the Department of Health and Social Care said Thursday.
As of Thursday morning, 103,093 people in Britain tested positive for COVID-19, said the department.
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MADRID -- Both the numbers of new cases and deaths from COVID-19 have risen in the past 24 hours in Spain, according to data released by the country's Health Ministry on Thursday.
The death toll in Spain increased to 19,130 after 551 patients inflicted with COVID-19 died in the last 24 hours.
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NEW DELHI -- India on Thursday received a total of 500,000 COVID-19 rapid testing kits from two different Chinese companies, confirmed the Indian Council of Medical Research Director Raman Gangakhedkar.
Addressing at a regular COVID-19 press briefing, he said that these testing kits would be used in surveillance in the hotspots and not for initial diagnosis.
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HELSINKI -- The Finnish Ministry of Finance on Thursday predicted that the Finnish economy would shrink by 5.5 percent this year, but a worse alternative would mean a 12-percent drop.
In its primary prognosis, the ministry believed the major decline in the Finnish gross domestic product (GDP) would be seen during the ongoing Q2, but then growth would resume. For 2021 and 2022, the ministry forecasts a 1.3-percent growth.
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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday expanded the state of emergency beyond seven prefectures to the entire nation in an attempt to curb the COVID-19 outbreak.
With the declaration extended to cover all 47 prefectures, Abe also said the government will provide cash handouts of 100,000 yen (930 U.S. dollars) to each citizen.
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CAIRO -- Egypt received on Thursday the first batch of China's anti-coronavirus materials including 20,000 N95 masks, 10,000 protective suits and 10,000 testing kits for COVID-19.
When receiving the materials at the airport, Mohamed Shawky, undersecretary of Egyptian Health Ministry, expressed his "appreciation to the Chinese side for the aid and its support for Egypt amid the ongoing difficult conditions." Enditem
