The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus infection with COVID-19 in the world exceeded 1 million 436 thousand, follows from the data of the World Health Organization.

The leader in the number of infected is the United States. For a day in the country there was an increase of 31.7 thousand infected. The total number of infected was 395 thousand people. At the same time, on April 8, a record number of deaths from coronavirus per day was registered in the United States - 1895 people.

According to Johns Hopkins University, New York is the epicenter of the US epidemic. The number of infected in this state has already exceeded the number of infected in all of Italy - more than 159 thousand and 139 thousand, respectively.

Meanwhile, experts concluded that the virus was not brought to New York from Asia, as previously thought, but from Europe. This was reported by the New York Times, citing a study conducted by American scientists from various universities.

“Most (cases. - RT ) are clearly European,” said Mount Sinai Harm van Bakel, a geneticist at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York.

Thus, the ban on entry into the United States from 26 European countries (Schengen states) introduced on March 13 was belated. Moreover, similar restrictions on China were introduced in early February.

Note that US President Donald Trump blamed the spread of the infection on WHO, saying that the organization was unable to warn the world community about the threat of COVID-19 in time. In this regard, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted that Washington is reviewing the amount of funding for the World Health Organization.

Grigory Yarygin, an Americanist, associate professor of the Department of American Studies at St. Petersburg State University, explained to RT that the reason for the high rates in the USA is that the measures "were not taken quite stringent, not universal."

“Of course, it is impossible to generalize, but since the state decision-making system in the USA is extremely complicated, decisions were not taken centrally and promptly, and the speed of making these decisions was reflected in those measures that were ineffective,” the expert explained.

European pandemic

The focus of infection in Europe has moved from Italy to Spain. The number of people infected in the country exceeded 146 thousand people, almost 15 thousand people died.

A record number of deaths from infection per day was recorded in France. As stated on Wednesday evening, April 8, the head of the country's General Directorate of Health Jerome Salomon, the number of victims of COVID-19 in the country is close to 11 thousand people. This figure has risen sharply after the government decided to add to the statistics information on mortality from the virus in nursing homes.

In Italy, a record number of recoveries per day is reported. According to the head of the Italian Department of Civil Protection, Angelo Borrelli, on April 8, 2099 cases of recovery were recorded. In total, 139 thousand people have been infected in the country since the spread of the virus, more than 17.6 thousand became victims of the pandemic.

Despite the decrease in the daily growth of the infected, there is no talk of canceling quarantine in Italy. This was stated by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in an interview with the German edition of Bild. According to him, "scientists and experts advise only if measures are weakened when the situation really gets better."

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
  • Reuters
  • © Yara Nardi

In addition, the Italian prime minister urged not to speculate on the topic of Russian aid. He emphasized that this was a gesture of goodwill on the part of Moscow.

“It is an insult to the Italian government to think that the help we receive from Russia, China or other countries can affect Italy’s geopolitical position. This is a great insult, and not only for me, but also for Vladimir Putin, ”Conte said in an interview with the BBC.

According to him, Putin "never wanted to use this (help. - RT) as a lever of pressure when he showed solidarity with Italy."

Situation in Asia

On April 8, the Chinese authorities completely removed the cordon and allowed them to leave Hubei Province from Wuhan. Since January 23, this settlement has been virtually isolated from the rest of the world due to the outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, the Chinese resumed domestic flights with Hubei.

At the same time, China still continues to register cases of new infections. According to the State Committee on Hygiene and Health Care of the PRC, over the past day, 63 people were infected in the country, while 61 of the total number were imported.

  • Wuhan Province of China
  • AFP
  • © NOEL CELIS

Another country that has managed to stop the explosive spread of the virus is South Korea. But in recent days there has also increased the number of cases of infection brought from abroad. In this regard, it was decided to limit the visa-free regime for 90 countries, including Russia, the Foreign Ministry said.