While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, April 6

New York remains the hardest-hit US state with nearly 600 new deaths on April 5, 2020. PHOTO: REUTERS

US braces for hardest week as coronavirus deaths surpass 9,000

The United States enters one of the most critical weeks so far in the coronavirus crisis with the death toll exploding in New York, Michigan and Louisiana and some governors calling for a national order to stay at home.

New York, the hardest-hit state, reported on Sunday that there were nearly 600 new deaths for a total of 4,159 deaths and 122,000 total cases.

Bodies of victims of Covid-19, the flu-like respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, were stacked in bright orange bags inside a makeshift morgue outside the Wyckoff Heights Medical Centre in Brooklyn, according to photos provided to Reuters.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said new hospitalisations had fallen by 50 per cent and, for the first time in at least a week, deaths had fallen slightly from the prior day, when they rose by 630.

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Queen Elizabeth invokes WWII spirit: We can defeat the coronavirus

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Queen Elizabeth told the British people on Sunday that they would overcome the coronavirus outbreak if they stayed resolute in the face of lockdown and self-isolation, invoking the spirit of World War II in an extremely rare broadcast to the nation.

In what was only the fifth televised address of her 68-year reign, Elizabeth called upon Britons to show the resolve of their forbears and demonstrate they were as strong as generations of the past.

"Together we are tackling this disease, and I want to reassure you that if we remain united and resolute, then we will overcome it," the 93-year-old monarch said in the address from her Windsor Castle home where she is staying with her husband Prince Philip, 98.

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Italy starts to look ahead to 'phase two' as coronavirus death toll slows

Italy reported its lowest daily Covid-19 death toll for more than two weeks on Sunday as authorities began to look ahead to a second phase of the battle against the new coronavirus once the lockdown imposed almost a month ago is eventually eased.

The toll from the world's deadliest outbreak reached 15,887, almost a quarter of the global death total, but the rise of 525 from a day earlier was the smallest daily increase since March 19, while the number of patients in badly stretched intensive care units fell for a second day running.

Sunday's figures added to growing signs the tough restrictions on movement and public gatherings imposed across the country on March 9 were having an effect in containing the epidemic, but officials have been desperate to avoid a letup.

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20,000 Muslim worshippers quarantined in Pakistan after major search

Pakistan has quarantined 20,000 worshippers and is still searching for tens of thousands more who attended an Islamic gathering in Lahore last month despite the worsening coronavirus pandemic, officials said Sunday.

Authorities said they want to test or quarantine those who congregated at the event held by the Tablighi Jamaat - an Islamic missionary movement - between March 10-12 over fears they are now spreading Covid-19 across Pakistan and overseas.

More than 100,000 people went to the meeting, organisers said, undeterred by government requests for it to be cancelled as the virus hit the country.

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Emirates seeks billions in loans after coronavirus hit

Emirates is seeking to raise billions of dollars from loans after the coronavirus forced the airline to ground its passenger fleet, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The carrier is reaching out to local and international banks, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Dubai's government last week stepped in to shield the airline and said it would receive unspecified financial aid.

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