Coronavirus updates As it happens (2020-03-29)
Mar 29, 2020
France's deaths rise by 292
France has reported 292 new deaths from the coronavirus outbreak, bringing the total to 2,606, AFP news agency reports.
The country has the fifth highest number of deaths in the world after Iran, China, Spain and Italy, figures show.
Mar 29, 2020
Vitamin D deficiency: a factor in COVID-19, progression, severity and mortality? – An urgent call for research
It is hypothesised, herein and suggested by others (Watkins, 2020), and in a paper by Grant and Lahore, (Grant et al., 2020) that vitamin D insufficiency may significantly compromise, respiratory immune response function, greatly increasing risk of COVID-19 severity and mortality.
This hypothesis focuses primarily on the contention vitamin D deficiency is the most critical factor in determining the extent, and severity, of COVID-19 infection, progression and outcomes. Further, it is not discussed in depth, but a matter of importance, that obesity reduces vitamin D in plasma, increasing risk of deficiency, and raising supplementation dosage requirements for correction of deficiency in the obese. “Serum 25OHD is inversely correlated with body weight, BMI and fat mass” and “about 20% lower in obese people than normal weight”. (Walsh, et al., 2017) Obesity and related comorbidities increase risk of poor outcomes in influenzas, thus likely the risk of COVID-19.
Mar 29, 2020
Italy deaths continue unabated
Italy recorded 756 new deaths in the past 24 hours - bringing the total to 10,779.
Mar 29, 2020
German state finance minister found dead
By BBC News
The finance minister for the central German state of Hesse has been found dead, police say.
The body of 54-year-old Thomas Schäfer was found on a railway line in town of Hochheim near Frankfurt on Saturday morning.
Investigators presume the CDU politician’s death was suicide based on the circumstances, police said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Mr Schäfer had announced state financial assistance for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic, German media reported.
In a video message, Hesse’s state premier Volker Bouffier reportedly alluded to the challenges Mr Schäfer was facing in dealing with the economic effects of the coronavirus crisis.
Other German politicians have expressed their shock at Mr Schäfer’s death, including CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Mar 29, 2020
New York Governor: state cases surge by 7,195 overnight
By BBC News
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has reported 7,195 new Covid-19 cases across the state, bringing the total of New York cases to 59,513.
New York is now the heart of the US coronavirus outbreak, home to just under half the total cases across the country. As of Sunday, 965 death were linked to the virus across the state.
Nursing homes make up one quarter of these deaths, Cuomo said.
Cuomo said that 76,019 health workers have volunteered to help with the crisis as New York hospitals are pushed beyond capacity.
Naval hospital ship USNS Comfort is set to dock in New York on Monday, to assist with the state's overflow, providing 1,000 beds and federal officials to treat non-coronavirus patients.
The death count will continue to rise, but the "doubling rate is slowing", Cuomo said. "And that is good news."
Hospital beds are set up at the Jacob K Javits Convention Center as New York faces a unmitigated surge in cases. - Getty Images
Mar 29, 2020
Pope's public audiences and blessings suspended as Covid toll increases
With more than 10,000 deaths from coronavirus in Italy, and a small number of infected cases in the Vatican, Pope Francis has stopped all his general audiences and Sunday blessings with the public.
These are held in the official papal library and shown on television and streamed on the Internet for the faithful to be able to see and listen to the pope' messages.
Mar 29, 2020
Soldiers Dispell Threat Allegations
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) have allayed the fears of residents of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region that its officers intend to cause mayhem in the area during the partial lockdown to control the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Mar 29, 2020
COVID-19 Lockdown: Drinking Bars, Night Clubs, Pubs Remain Closed — Gov't Clarifies
Government has clarified that drinking bars, night clubs, pubs, and other similar service providers must be closed down as part of the President’s partial lockdown in selected cities in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Mar 29, 2020
COVID-19: Ghana To Repatriate Guinean Patients
Officials and security personnel are working with their counterparts in West Africa to ensure the repatriation of some 10 Guineans diagnosed with coronavirus in Ghana.
Mar 29, 2020
‘Akpeteshie’ Shops Shut Down
Government through the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has ordered the closure of all drinking bars, night clubs, and pubs within the cities under partial lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.