US president to deploy military to hard-hit states as number of coronavirus infections in the country surpass 300,000.
President Donald Trump warned the United States was entering what could be its “toughest” week yet as the number of coronavirus cases in the country surged past 300,000.
“There will be a lot of death, unfortunately,” he told reporters at the White House on Saturday. “This will be probably the toughest week – between this week and next week.”
More than 8,000 people in the US have died from the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, known as COVID-19. The state of New York, where the virus has killed more than 3,500 people, reported another record in its daily toll, announcing 630 additional deaths on Saturday.
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In hard-hit Italy, the death toll rose 15,362 while Spain reported a total of 11,744 deaths.
Spain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates extended restrictions on movements in a bid to contain the virus, while Kuwait and Georgia reported their first deaths from COVID-19.
Globally the death toll surpassed 60,000, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, and the number of infections rose above 1.1 million.
Here are the latest updates:
Sunday, April 5
01:00 GMT – Guatemala bans domestic travel for Easter
Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei is banning internal travel and spending time at the beach before and during Easter to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.
In a national broadcast on Saturday, Giammattei said travel will only be allowed for work reasons and said sales of alcohol to the public will also be prohibited.
00:41 GMT – Businesses close in New York City as toll surges
With no clear indication as to when they can return to business-as-usual, some bars and restaurants in New York City are boarding up their windows and doors, reports Al Jazeera’s Radmilla Suleymanova.
Laundromats, coffee shops, and even doctor’s offices – open last week as essential businesses – have since closed or cut back on hours.
The sidewalks are scantily peppered with people waiting for their take-out orders – a New York habit even the ugliest of pandemics can’t seem to break. A growing number are clad in pale blue surgical masks and cloth coverings.
Those delivering lunches and dinners on bicycles, unloading packages off trucks and hauling boxes into groceries rule the streets. Once relegated to the shadows, they are now center stage and this city’s lifeline.
00:20 GMT – China reports 30 new cases on mainland
China’s National Health Commission says it recorded 30 new coronavirus in the mainland on Saturday.
The figure includes 25 cases imported from abroad.
00:00 GMT – Trump warns ‘a lot of death’ ahead
Trump is warning the US is facing its “toughest” week in the battle against the new coronavirus amid a rise in the number of infections and deaths.
“There will be a lot of death, unfortunately,” he says.
The US military will soon deploy soldiers and medical personnel to hard-hit states, he says. That includes about 1,000 to New York state.
“We are going to be adding a tremendous amount of military to help supplement the states. Thousands of soldiers, thousands of medical workers, professional nurses, doctors,” he says.
Hello, this is Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives with Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
You can find all the updates from yesterday, April 4 here.
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