Daily COVID-19 pandemic roundup: April 28

(Update: Includes WHO, UN, US, Turkey, Russia, Latin America, Caribbean)

Miami Desk, Apr 28 (efe-epa).- Here’s a roundup of stories around the world related to the novel coronavirus pandemic:

WHO: The World Health Organization on Tuesday reported that 202,597 people have died worldwide from Covid-19 with 2.95 million confirmed cases of coronavirus detected so far, an increase of 73,278 in the past 24 hours.

UNITED NATIONS: The UN said Tuesday that confinement measures and other consequences of the coronavirus pandemic could result in millions of unwanted pregnancies due to the difficulties of many women around the world in getting access to contraceptives. The UN Populations Fund calculated that over a six-month quarantine period, combined with problems getting contraceptives, some 7 million unwanted pregnancies in low- and medium-income nations could result.

US: President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is planning to demand that all travelers to the US be tested to determine if they are infected with the coronavirus before boarding their flights, in particular travelers from Latin America.

US: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was set to announce the reopening of parks, marinas and golf courses, starting Wednesday, so that state residents could get out of their homes for leisure purposes. DeSantis accompanied President Donald Trump at a White House press conference on the virus emergency, with the pair praising each other for their respective actions during the crisis, and the governor said that Florida’s reopening would be methodical, slow and unhurried.

US: The state of New Jersey, the second hardest-hit in the US, reported a record 402 Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 6,442 of the state’s confirmed 113,856 cases.

TURKEY: Turkish Airlines announced Tuesday that it will suspend all domestic and international flights until May 28, that is through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began last Friday.

RUSSIA: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday the extension of the nationwide quarantine until mid-May to try and halt the rapid spread of the coronavirus, with the country now ahead of China and Iran in terms of its number of confirmed cases. Russia has reported 93,558 cases so far.

CUBA: Cuba’s “active investigation” plan to detect people infected with the coronavirus includes thousands of medical students going door to door each day to find people showing possible symptoms of the virus.

CUBA: Cuban health authorities reported that 1,437 confirmed coronavirus cases have been detected on the island so far and 58 people have died.

BRAZIL: Brazilian scientists have found genetic material from the coronavirus in certain locations within the Rio de Janeiro sewer system, that state being one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. The find was unprecedented in Brazil and came during a study by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Latin America’s largest medical research center, to determine how the virus spreads.

BRAZIL: The Brazilian Health Ministry on Tuesday reported that the Covid-19 death toll now stands at 5,017, and the number of confirmed virus cases at 71,886. The daily death toll of 474 is the highest so far during the pandemic.

BRAZIL: The Brazilian government on Tuesday extended by 30 days the prohibition on foreigners entering the country by air, the move coming at a time when the number of virus cases and deaths are both climbing rapidly.

ARGENTINA: The Argentine government is planning to allocate 5.6 percent of the country’s GDP between April and June to economic assistance efforts to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The assistance package of both direct and indirect subsidies will total some 1.7 trillion pesos ($25 billion).

COSTA RICA: Costa Rica said Tuesday that 705 confirmed coronavirus cases have been detected nationwide, and six people have died.

CARIBBEAN: Jamaica, with a total of 364 confirmed coronavirus cases, is the Caribbean country with the most cases so far, while Martinique stands out in the region for its proportionately high death toll of 14, double that of Jamaica. Guadeloupe is the third hardest-hit country in the region with 149 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 12 deaths, and Trinidad & Tobago has tallied 116 cases and 8 deaths.

THAILAND: The state of emergency in Thailand has been extended for a month until May 31, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha announced on Tuesday, giving the government absolute power as per a decree invoked on Mar. 26 to issuing lockdown orders including the nighttime curfew, prohibiting social gatherings and interprovincial travel to curb the spread of Covid-19.