Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing - April 16, 2020

ANKARA (AA) – Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic and other news in Turkey and around the world.

Turkey confirmed 115 more deaths from the novel coronavirus in the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 1,518.

In Germany, five more Turkish nationals have died from the virus, local authorities said.

The Turkish Red Crescent said it aims to reach 10 million people both in Turkey and across the globe during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as the novel coronavirus continues its grip worldwide.

Turkey’s parliament ratified a bill Thursday that was prepared by the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party to alleviate the effects of the virus on economic and social life.

The parliament also passed a bill meant to protect from violence the people on the fight’s frontline, its healthcare workers.

As part of the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, Turkey is imposing quarantines on 227 residential areas in 58 provinces, the Interior Ministry said.

Separately, Turkey released the first batch of prisoners after the parliament ratified a penal reform law to stem the spread of coronavirus in jails.

Meanwhile, Britain once again thanked Turkey for sending the second batch of medical equipment for the fight against the epidemic.

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) sent aid packages to both Lebanon and Palestine to fight the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

- Coronavirus across globe

The global death toll from the novel coronavirus crossed the 137,000 mark, while the number of cases passed 2 million, according to a running tally by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. Additionally, more than 512,000 people have recovered from the COVID-19 virus worldwide.

The U.S. has passed its peak on new coronavirus cases, President Donald Trump said, while the death toll in the country surpassed the 30,000 mark, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Vice President Mike Pence said a viable antibody test is expected to get approval in the coming days, as the country is the worst-hit one globally from the pandemic.

The worst-hit countries in Europe by the new coronavirus, Italy and Spain, are planning to return to normal life gradually as the daily death toll and confirmed new cases wind down.

Italy reported 578 new deaths from the virus, fewer than the previous day, bringing the total number of fatalities to 21,645, said Civil Protection head Angelo Borrelli.

After one month of lockdown, Spain confirmed 523 more deaths, pushing the total number of official fatalities up to 18,579, according to the Ministry of Health.

For France, coronavirus numbers moved in a positive direction as both the number of those in hospital and those in intensive care dropped, said Jerome Salomon, director-general of health.

For its part, Belgium will prolong confinement measures until May 3, federal Prime Minister Sophie de Wilmes announced, while nearly 2,500 new coronavirus cases -- a major spike compared to recent figures -- were registered in Belgium over the past 24 hours, health authorities announced.

Germany is set for an extended coronavirus lockdown of two more weeks until May 3, after Chancellor Angela Merkel and premiers of federal states agreed on a roadmap to gradually ease restrictions, while the number of deaths in Germany from the coronavirus has surpassed those reported by China.

British health authorities announced that the U.K.-wide death toll from coronavirus rose 761 in the last 24 hours, for a total of 12,868 fatalities.

In the Netherlands, the coronavirus death toll has crossed 3,000 and confirmed cases now climbed to over 28,000, authorities announced.

At least 3,388 new cases of the virus were reported in Russia over the past 24 hours, authorities said, bringing the total number to 24,490.

With 94 new deaths reported in Iran, the death toll rose to 4,777, state media said.

The number of novel coronavirus cases in Israel has risen to 12,501 with 131 deaths, according to its Health Ministry said.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia said that 74 million people lack access to basic hand-washing facilities to prevent the spread of the coronavirus outbreak in Arab nations.

Several Arab countries reported increase in cases and deaths from the coronavirus as the region continued to grapple with the pandemic.

The Philippines now suffers from the highest number of coronavirus cases in southeast Asia, as the country reported 5,223 cases with 335 fatalities, while 295 patients have recovered.

The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan rose to almost 6,000, with 107 confirmed deaths, the country’s Health Ministry said.

In the Africa continent, more than 1,200 new coronavirus cases have been registered in 52 countries, taking the total tally to 16,285, according to an official.

A 75-year-old Lebanese elderly died in Guinea from the coronavirus, becoming the first death in the country, according to local media.

Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord has declared a 10-day curfew starting Friday to fight the novel coronavirus.

- Economic impacts of pandemic

Measures against the novel coronavirus pandemic, such as health expenditure, tax, and spending supports for people and firms, will have $3.3 trillion of fiscal cost directly, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.

Sub-Saharan Africa is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis from the coronavirus pandemic, the IMF warned in its latest Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Managing the healthcare and economic crisis of COVID-19 costs around €3 trillion ($3,3 trillion) for Europe, according to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.

Facing down the coronavirus pandemic, finance officials from the G20 economies agreed to support a time-bound suspension of debt service payments for the poorest countries that request forbearance.

New Zealand announced pay cuts for top public officials, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, for six months to cushion the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

- Politics, sports

Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz failed to form a coalition government after missing a midnight deadline.

South Korea held parliamentary elections amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Tour de France has been postponed due to the pandemic.

Lower football leagues in Scotland ended in response to the outbreak.

Galatasaray's head coach Fatih Terim tested negative for the new coronavirus after receiving a positive test late last month.

Tottenham Hotspur allocated its stadium's parking lot for COVID-19 tests.

English football club Arsenal announced it would continue payments to casual workers despite the suspension of Premier League fixtures.

Juventus players Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi recovered from COVID-19, the Italian football club announced.

- Conflict and refugee report

Turkish fighter jets “neutralized” four PKK terrorists as part of a counter-terrorism operation in northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry said.

A Turkish soldier was martyred in a terrorist attack in northern Iraq, the ministry also said.

Turkish security forces neutralized two PKK terrorists in an air operation in the southeastern Sirnak province.

Turkish and Russian troops conducted fourth joint ground patrol in northwestern Syria in line with the Moscow agreement, said the ministry.

More than 300 members of the oppressed Rohingya ethnic group who tried to flee to Malaysia through the risky sea route were rescued off southern Bangladesh Wednesday night, local media reported.

The first group of unaccompanied refugee children was relocated from Greek islands, the European Commission said, adding twelve children between the ages of 11 and 15 were taken from Lesvos, Samos and Chios to Luxemburg, and 50 more will be transferred to Germany this coming weekend.

An Israeli drone targeted a vehicle carrying members for the Lebanese Hezbollah group near the Lebanese-Syrian borders, a Hizbollah source said.

Fayez al-Sarraj, head of Libya’s UN-recognized government, said he won’t resume negotiations with warlord Khalifa Haftar, accusing him of exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to launch a new offensive against the government.

One child was killed and three others were injured in an attack by militias loyal to warlord Haftar on civilian settlements in Libya's capital Tripoli.