• A volunteer sprays disinfectant in Shwedagon Pagoda compound as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Yangon. AFP
    A volunteer sprays disinfectant in Shwedagon Pagoda compound as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Yangon. AFP
  • A U.S. Army soldier walks inside a mobile surgical unit being set up by soldiers from Fort Carson, Col., and Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) as part of a field hospital inside CenturyLink Field Event Center in Seattle. AP
    A U.S. Army soldier walks inside a mobile surgical unit being set up by soldiers from Fort Carson, Col., and Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) as part of a field hospital inside CenturyLink Field Event Center in Seattle. AP
  • Face masks for wedding dresses, tailored by fashion designer Friederike Jorzig are seen in her wedding dress shop, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Berlin, Germany. REUTERS
    Face masks for wedding dresses, tailored by fashion designer Friederike Jorzig are seen in her wedding dress shop, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Berlin, Germany. REUTERS
  • Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and Russia's ambassador in Venezuela Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov, touch their elbows while wearing masks due to coronavirus disease while (COVID-19) outbreak at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela. REUTERS
    Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and Russia's ambassador in Venezuela Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov, touch their elbows while wearing masks due to coronavirus disease while (COVID-19) outbreak at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela. REUTERS
  • U.S. President Donald Trump listens stands in front of a chart labeled “Goals of Community Mitigation” showing projected deaths in the United States after exposure to coronavirus as 1,500,000 - 2,200,000 without any intervention and a projected 100,000 - 240,000 deaths with intervention taken to curtail the spread of the virus during the daily coronavirus response briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. REUTERS
    U.S. President Donald Trump listens stands in front of a chart labeled “Goals of Community Mitigation” showing projected deaths in the United States after exposure to coronavirus as 1,500,000 - 2,200,000 without any intervention and a projected 100,000 - 240,000 deaths with intervention taken to curtail the spread of the virus during the daily coronavirus response briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. REUTERS
  • Two cruise ships are anchored offshore past a lifeguard tower in Miami Beach, Fla. AP
    Two cruise ships are anchored offshore past a lifeguard tower in Miami Beach, Fla. AP
  • Workers carry a coffin of a victim of the COVID-19 coronavirus during a funeral in Jakarta. AFP
    Workers carry a coffin of a victim of the COVID-19 coronavirus during a funeral in Jakarta. AFP
  • Kievskaya metro station in Moscow, amid the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. AFP
    Kievskaya metro station in Moscow, amid the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. AFP
  • A staff member of the Ministry of Health measures the temperature of drivers and passengers during the testing of the COVID-19 Coronavirus on the highway in Nakuru, Kenya. AFP
    A staff member of the Ministry of Health measures the temperature of drivers and passengers during the testing of the COVID-19 Coronavirus on the highway in Nakuru, Kenya. AFP
  • Fitness coach Sebastien Manko gives a lesson from the street to ederly people attending from the balconies of their retirement home in Bordeaux. AFP
    Fitness coach Sebastien Manko gives a lesson from the street to ederly people attending from the balconies of their retirement home in Bordeaux. AFP
  • A military police officer from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), checks on a homeless man who overdosed, while on patrol in the streets of Hillbrow, Johannesburg. AFP
    A military police officer from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), checks on a homeless man who overdosed, while on patrol in the streets of Hillbrow, Johannesburg. AFP
  • Yassin Hussein Moyo’s relatives and friends proceed to bury Yassin’s body at Kariokor Muslim Cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya. AFP
    Yassin Hussein Moyo’s relatives and friends proceed to bury Yassin’s body at Kariokor Muslim Cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya. AFP
  • A New York City Police officer (NYPD) takes a selfie while in the middle of the street in an almost empty Times Square, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in New York City, U.S. REUTERS
    A New York City Police officer (NYPD) takes a selfie while in the middle of the street in an almost empty Times Square, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in New York City, U.S. REUTERS
  • Two ring necked parakeets, normally fed by tourists, peck at an apple left on a spike by locals in Hyde Park, as the lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak continues in London. AP
    Two ring necked parakeets, normally fed by tourists, peck at an apple left on a spike by locals in Hyde Park, as the lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak continues in London. AP
  • A worker cleans an empty avenue a day after the emergency decree in Mexico City, Mexico. EPA
    A worker cleans an empty avenue a day after the emergency decree in Mexico City, Mexico. EPA

World

Coronavirus reaches one million cases in three months

The UAE has confirmed 210 new cases

The National

April 03, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

The number of coronavirus cases has reached one million in just over three months.

Among those cases there have been more than 51,000 deaths. More than 210,000 patients have recovered.

China first informed the World Health Organisation about coronavirus on December 31, and it has since spread to most nations and regions.

As leaders desperately try to stop the virus, governments have put in place lockdowns of varying degrees, from no movement out of a region to social distancing, where people are told to keep 2 metres apart.

Air travel grounded

Saudi authorities tightened a curfew in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah on Thursday to 24 hours a day to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Emirates airline, has been given approval by the UAE to begin flying a limited number of passenger flights.

Etihad Airways will continue to offer such services, and from April 5 will operate a regular flight to some countries, starting with Seoul Incheon.

Global air travel as been severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic as countries took measures to stop the spread of the disease.

The UAE confirmed 210 new cases on Thursday evening and two more deaths for a total of 1,024 patients. Ninety-six have fully recovered.

In Italy, large tracts of the country’s north have been no-go areas as the death toll closes in on 14,000 and in Spain another 10,000 have died.

In the US, with 5,620 deaths, New York has suffered the most with 1,374.
Across the sporting world, it has postponed or cancelled almost every major event, including horse racing, football, tennis and the Olympics.

  • An elderly Palestinian woman displays a model of a microscopic view of coronavirus in a nursing home that stepped up preventive measures to protect patients amid concerns about the spread of the disease, in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on April 2, 2020. Reuters
    An elderly Palestinian woman displays a model of a microscopic view of coronavirus in a nursing home that stepped up preventive measures to protect patients amid concerns about the spread of the disease, in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on April 2, 2020. Reuters
  • Palestinian employees build a disinfection chamber for local health centres, at a local garage in the West Bank city of Hebron, on April 2, 2020. EPA
    Palestinian employees build a disinfection chamber for local health centres, at a local garage in the West Bank city of Hebron, on April 2, 2020. EPA
  • Saeb Erekat, Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and chief Palestinian negotiator, talks to reporters about the recent Israeli elections in the West Bank city of Ramallah on March 3, 2020. AFP
    Saeb Erekat, Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and chief Palestinian negotiator, talks to reporters about the recent Israeli elections in the West Bank city of Ramallah on March 3, 2020. AFP
  • A Palestinian boy sells cleaning tools and sanitisers amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus, at Beach refugee camp in Gaza City on April 2, 2020. Reuters
    A Palestinian boy sells cleaning tools and sanitisers amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus, at Beach refugee camp in Gaza City on April 2, 2020. Reuters
  • Elderly Palestinians attend an awareness lesson on coronavirus in a nursing home in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on April 2, 2020. Reuters
    Elderly Palestinians attend an awareness lesson on coronavirus in a nursing home in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on April 2, 2020. Reuters
  • Palestinian Groom Malik Abu Ghazaleh and his bride Afnan Salah receive flowers from a Palestinian security officer during their wedding without any guests, in the West Bank city of Hebron, on April 2, 2020. Palestinian Authority restrictions forbid gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. EPA
    Palestinian Groom Malik Abu Ghazaleh and his bride Afnan Salah receive flowers from a Palestinian security officer during their wedding without any guests, in the West Bank city of Hebron, on April 2, 2020. Palestinian Authority restrictions forbid gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. EPA
  • A Palestinian woman holds the Palestinian flag during clashes with Israeli soldiers at Qusra village near the West Bank city of Nablus, on March 2, 2020. Israeli settlers attacked Qusra and Aqraba villages, razing tracts of the Palestinian lands in both villages, according to Palestinian sources. EPA
    A Palestinian woman holds the Palestinian flag during clashes with Israeli soldiers at Qusra village near the West Bank city of Nablus, on March 2, 2020. Israeli settlers attacked Qusra and Aqraba villages, razing tracts of the Palestinian lands in both villages, according to Palestinian sources. EPA
  • Palestinians manufacture protective coverall suits to shield against coronavirus, in a small sewing factory in Gaza City, on March 30, 2020. EPA
    Palestinians manufacture protective coverall suits to shield against coronavirus, in a small sewing factory in Gaza City, on March 30, 2020. EPA
  • Workers pack food supplies to be distributed and delivered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to the homes of Palestinian refugees as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus, in the northern Gaza Strip on March 31, 2020. Reuters
    Workers pack food supplies to be distributed and delivered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to the homes of Palestinian refugees as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus, in the northern Gaza Strip on March 31, 2020. Reuters
  • TOPSHOT - Ahmed Sawi, a Palestinian fitness and bodybuilding trainer, uses alternative tools during a training session at his home in Gaza City, amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus, on April 1, 2020. AFP
    TOPSHOT - Ahmed Sawi, a Palestinian fitness and bodybuilding trainer, uses alternative tools during a training session at his home in Gaza City, amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus, on April 1, 2020. AFP
MATCH INFO

Europa League final

Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports

Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

  • In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
  • Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
  • Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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