narvikk/iStock(NEW YORK) — A global pandemic of the novel coronavirus has claimed the lives of at least 14,808 people in the United States.
The United States is among the worst affected countries, with more than 432,000 people diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Worldwide, more than 1.48 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and over 88,500 of them have died since the virus emerged in China back in December. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding the scope of their nations’ outbreaks.
Italy has, by far, the world’s highest death toll — over 17,600.
Here’s how the news is developing Thursday. All times Eastern:
5:32 a.m.: ‘We have reached the peak,’ Spain’s prime minister says
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Thursday that the government would soon start relaxing the national lockdown measures that were put in place to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“We have reached the peak and now the de-escalation begins,” Sanchez told Spanish Parliament, noting that the process would be “gradual.”
“The climb has been difficult, as the descent will also be,” he said.
Spain is among the worst affected countries in the global pandemic, with more than 148,000 people diagnosed with COVID-19. At least 14,792 people have died from the disease there, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
3:58 a.m.: USNS Mercy crew member tests positive for COVID-19
A crew member aboard the USNS Mercy hospital ship moored in Los Angeles has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
U.S. Navy Lt. Andrew Bertucci told ABC News the crew member “is currently isolated aboard the ship, and will soon transfer to an off-ship isolation facility where they will self-monitor for severe symptoms.”
“This will not affect the ability for Mercy to receive patients,” Bertucci said in a statement late Wednesday. “The ship is following protocols and taking every precaution to ensure the health and safety of all crew members and patients on board.”
After docking in the Port of Los Angeles last month, the USNS Mercy began treating non-coronavirus patients from area hospitals to help free up resources for COVID-19 patients.
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