British PM in intensive care as virus toll soars
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
was moved to intensive care Monday when his condition worsened in a battle with
the coronavirus, as the death toll from the pandemic hit grim new highs in
Europe and the United States.
Johnson, the most prominent victim
yet of the pandemic, deputized his foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, to stand in
for him, but remained conscious according to Downing Street.
The setback came as the death toll
from the virus jumped in Western Europe and soared past 10,000 in the United
States -- taking the global toll above 73,000, out of more than 1.32 million
confirmed cases.
In somber warnings from both sides of
the Atlantic, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the European Union was
facing its "biggest test," while US officials said Americans should
prepare for an ordeal comparable to the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Signs of a possible turnaround in
Europe -- where daily virus tolls have been falling -- were dampened by a
record new surge of 833 deaths in France on Monday, as well as 636 in Italy.
"We have not reached the
end," said France s health minister, Olivier Veran.
Admitted to hospital 10 days ago,
Britain s 55-year-old prime minister has not been able to shake the
disease.
Johnson was transferred into
intensive care as the country s death toll topped 5,000 -- an increase of
400 in a day.
"Over the course of this
afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and, on the advice
of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the
hospital," said a Downing Street statement.
US President Donald Trump was one of
many world leaders who expressed concern, saying "Americans are all
praying for his recovery."
- Light at the end? -
US officials referred cautiously to
the first glimmers of hope that the pandemic can be got under control.
Trump spoke again of seeing
"light at the end of the tunnel," while New York Governor Andrew
Cuomo, whose state is at the epicenter of the crisis, said that for the first
time the growth rate there was flat.
Nevertheless, the United States has
the world s highest number of recorded cases and things are sure to get
worse in coming days.
"This is going to be the hardest
and the saddest week of most Americans lives, quite frankly," US
Surgeon General Jerome Adams told Fox News. "This is going to be our Pearl
Harbor moment, or 9/11 moment."
Cuomo extended a statewide shutdown,
warning: "Now is not the time to be lax."
- Critical situation -
The pandemic has reached almost every
corner of the planet, confining nearly half of humanity to their homes and
turning life upside down for more than four billion people, according to an AFP
tally of populations under some form of lockdown.
The UN Security Council will hold its
first coronavirus crisis talks on Thursday -- by videoconference -- ending
weeks of divisions among the five permanent members, diplomats said.
With the ink barely dry on a $2
trillion economic rescue package passed by Congress, Trump said he favored
another massive spending program, again roughly at $2 trillion, but this time
targeting infrastructure projects.
"We built the greatest economy
in the world. I ll do it a second time," he said.
Japan announced an imminent state of
emergency and a trillion-dollar stimulus package of its own.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the
country s hospitals face a "critical situation" with a rapid
increases of new infections.
Italy likewise unveiled a record 400
billion euro ($430 billion) stimulus to help businesses hurt by a month-long
national lockdown
Speaking one day ahead of a key
eurozone finance ministers conference on a joint economic rescue plan,
Merkel called for strength.
"In my view... the European
Union stands before the biggest test since its founding," she warned.
"Everyone is just as affected as
the other, and therefore, it is in everyone s interest, and it is in
Germany s interest for Europe to emerge strong from this test," she
said.
Italy, France and Spain want to
establish common debt facilities -- "coronabonds" -- to cushion the
economic impact of the virus.
But the richer northern nations have
resisted the calls -- with Germany and the Netherlands in the lead -- fearing
their taxpayers will be left to pay.
- India hospital locked down -
In India, the world s second
most populous country after China, a major private hospital in economic hub
Mumbai was shut down after 26 nurses and three doctors tested positive, amid
complaints from staff that they had been told to work without adequate safety
gear.
India has so far recorded 4,000
coronavirus cases among a population of 1.3 billion, but experts warn the real
number is likely to be far higher, given the lack of testing.
Yet another cruise ship was snared in
the health crisis, with more than 80 passengers and crew testing positive for
the cornoavirus aboard an Australian liner off South America.