Global death toll exceeds 175,000
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say at least 176,323 people have died and at least 2,553,853 have been infected worldwide since the outbreak began.

The figures are likely to significantly underestimate the scale of the pandemic due to suspected underreporting and differing testing regimes.

US suffers more than 2,500 additional deaths
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 776,093 cases; an increase of 29,468 from its previous count. It has also said the number of deaths has risen by 2,675 to 41,758.

The CDC tallies are as of 20 April and compared with a day earlier. The figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.

US Senate passes near-$500bn relief bill
The US Senate unanimously passed legislation providing nearly $500bn (£406bn) in additional federal aid to help small businesses hurt by the pandemic and to aid hospitals dealing with large numbers of seriously ill patients.

The bill now goes to the House of Representatives where it could be voted upon as soon as Thursday.

Nigerian president seeks prisoner release
Muhammadu Buhari has asked Nigeria’s chief judge to free inmates who have been awaiting trial for six years or more to ease overcrowding as the virus spreads.

A statement quotes Buhari as saying 42% of Nigeria’s 74,000 or so prisoners are awaiting trial. He urged Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad to reduce that number “since physical distancing and self-isolation in such conditions are practically impossible”.

Trump aims immigration ban at those seeking permanent residence
The executive order banning immigration to the United States will apply narrowly to those seeking permanent immigration status, Trump says. An official had said it would have a timeframe of 30 to 90 days and be renewable.

Britain misses out on millions of masks
The UK government has missed opportunities to secure at least 16m face masks for NHS staff in the past four weeks, it emerges, amid growing frustration from companies who say Britain is losing much-needed equipment to other countries.

Italy considers regularising people working without permission
The Italian government is considering regularising people working in its agricultural sector without proper documentation, as fruit and vegetable crops in the country risk rotting in the fields due to the lockdown.

UK hospital deaths rise by 823
The Department for Health and Social Care published the latest UK hospital death figures. There were 823 new deaths, taking the total to 17,337. Official figures also show Covid-19 fatalities in care homes in England and Wales more than quadrupled in a week, rising to 1,043.

Vaccine trial to begin
The UK’s health secretary, Matt Hancock, said a team from the University of Oxford would begin trialling a vaccine on people from Thursday. He said the government had made £20m available to the team to accelerate their efforts, which were first announced last week, as well as making £22m available to researchers at Imperial to support their phase-two trials.

Italy records first significant fall in infections
Italy reported 534 new deaths on Tuesday, 80 more than on Monday, bringing the death toll to 24,648. But the number of people currently infected with the virus fell by 528 to 107,709, the first significant fall since the outbreak began. Italy’s total cases to date, including victims and survivors, rose by 2,727 to 183,957.

Guardian News