March 27 coronavirus news

Italy has not reached the peak of coronavirus contagion, director of Italy's National Health Institute Silvio Brusaferro said Friday during a press conference.

Brusaferro said that Italy "has not reached the peak [of contagion], we have signs that the curve is slowing down which make us assume that we are close to this. We expect that we could reach the peak these coming days. We are not in a descending phase, but the growth is slowing down."

"If we had to decide today, I consider inevitable the extension of the measures, because we are not in a markedly declining phase, we are still in a containment phase," Franco Locatelli, president of the National Health institute said referring to the government containment measure that are in force till April 3. 

Both Locatelli and Brusaferro are part of the technical and scientific committee that advises the government on the measures to take to stop the spread of the virus.

Floor debate on the economic stimulus bill has started in the US House.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in his opening remarks that it will be an “unusual” but “critical” session. 

There are now up to three hours of debate, and a vote is expected around noon. 

The Senate approved the package on Wednesday. The legislation represents the largest emergency aid package in US history and the most significant legislative action taken to address the rapidly intensifying coronavirus crisis, which is overwhelming hospitals and grinding much of the economy to a halt.

Trump has indicated he will sign the measure.

Matt Hancock, the UK's Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has tested positive for coronavirus, he confirmed in a video posted to Twitter on Friday.

"Following medical advice, I was advised to test for #Coronavirus," Hancock said in a statement published to Twitter.

"I've tested positive. Thankfully my symptoms are mild and I’m working from home & self-isolating," he added.

Earlier today, UK Prime minister Boris Johnson said that he has tested positive for coronavirus.

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Negotiators from the UK and the European Union will hold a joint committee meeting via video conference on Monday, Boris Johnson's spokesman told reporters Friday.

Johnson said earlier today that he has tested positive for coronavirus.

There was an exchange of texts between the two sides, the spokesman said, adding he was not aware of any specific talks having taken place

From the UK’s point of view, there is no change in the timetable. 

The Brexit transition period is scheduled to end at the end of the year.

Forty five doctors who tested positive for coronavirus have died in Italy, the Italian Association of Doctors said Friday.

The death toll comes after there was an urgent call for medical protective equipment from Filippo Anelli, the president of the association, on Thursday.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 6,000 health workers have been infected by coronavirus as of Thursday, according to the Italian National Institute of Health.

The European Space Agency published new images showing sharp reductions in pollution over several major cities in Europe due to the coronavirus crisis. 

The data is based on observations by the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite, and show dramatic declines in the levels of nitrogen dioxide concentrations over Paris, Milan and Rome, compared to average concentrations a year ago.

The measurements were taken over 10 days to even out changes in the weather, which affect the concentration of nitrogen dioxide. NO2 forms when fossil fuels such as coal, oil, gas or diesel are burned.

Certain coronavirus "hot spots" in the United States are expected to see the pandemic hit even harder next week, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said on CBS.

"The virus and the local community are going to determine the timeline. It's not going to be us from Washington, DC. People need to follow their data, they need to make the right decisions based on what their data is telling them," Adams added.

He said the US has seen a significant increase in testing, which is "good news."

"We're approaching a million tests. We're trying to give people the data so that they can make informed decisions about where they are on their timeline and what they should be doing," he said.

During a White House briefing yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence said that "in partnership with commercial labs across America, this morning we received word that 552,000 tests have been performed and completed all across the United States." 

Adams also said Friday that as the coronavirus pandemic continues, each region in the United States might experience differences in case numbers and deaths.

"Everyone's curve is going to be different," Adams said. "New York is going to look different than Boise, Idaho or Jackson, Mississippi, or New Orleans."

A 101-year-old man who tested positive for coronavirus has been released from hospital, Gloria Lisi, the deputy mayor of Rimini, Italy, said in a statement Thursday.

The man, referred to as "Mr. P" in the statement, was born in 1919 — in the middle of another tragic world pandemic.

Mr. P. was hospitalized in Rimini last week after testing positive for Covid-19. 

Rimini registered 1,189 coronavirus cases as of Thursday, according to the Italian Civil Protection Department.