Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Spain's PM to seek longer but more flexible lockdown

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday he would ask parliament for a 15-day extension until May 9 of the lockdown imposed in one of the world's worst coronavirus' outbreaks, but said the restrictions would be more flexible. "We have left behind the most extreme moments," Sanchez said at a press briefing. But he added: "These achievements are still insufficient and above all fragile. We cannot put them at risk with hasty solutions". Italy's daily coronavirus death toll lowest since April 12

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 482 on Saturday, the lowest daily increase since April 12, while the number of new cases was stable at 3,491, the Civil Protection Agency said. The death toll had risen by 575 on Friday, up from 525 the day before, with 3,493 new cases recorded. French coronavirus deaths top 19,000, though increase slows

France registered 642 more deaths from coronavirus infections on Saturday, although fatalities increased at a slower pace for the third day running and a downward trend in the number of people in hospital continued. France has the world's fourth-highest tally of deaths from the outbreak with 19,323, after the United States, Italy and Spain. New York Governor sounds optimistic note as coronavirus numbers improve

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday that a recent drop in hospitalizations and other improving metrics indicated the state may be past the peak of its coronavirus crisis and on a path toward stabilizing its battered healthcare system. Cuomo's cautiously upbeat report at a daily briefing came as the daily death toll across the state, the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, dropped to 540 on April 17, down from 630 a day earlier and the lowest in more than two weeks. U.S. CDC reports 690,714 coronavirus cases, 35,443 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 690,714 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 29,002 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 2,394 to 35,443. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on April 17, compared with its count a day earlier. (https://bit.ly/2IVY1JT) Number of coronarivus cases in Egypt passes 3,000

Egypt confirmed 188 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the total to 3,032, according to a health ministry statement. Nineteen new deaths caused by the illness were reported, raising the total to 224. Back to work protests resume in coronavirus-battered U.S.; New York may be past the worst

Texas on Saturday became the latest U.S. state hit by a protest largely from supporters of President Donald Trump anxious to get back to work, while the governor of New York said his coronavirus-battered state may finally be past the worst of the health crisis there. New York, epicenter of the U.S. epidemic, on Saturday reported another 540 coronavirus-related deaths for April 17, the lowest daily tally since April 1. While that was down from 630 a day earlier, it still represented hundreds more families who lost a loved one to COVID-19, the highly contagious illness caused by the virus, in a single day in one state. Adherence to social distancing spurs dip in projected U.S. coronavirus deaths

Better-than-expected social distancing practices have led an influential research model to lower its projected U.S. coronavirus death toll by 12%, while predicting some states may be able to safely begin easing restrictions as early as May 4. The University of Washington's predictive model, regularly updated and often cited by state public health authorities and White House officials, projected on Friday that the virus will take 60,308 U.S. lives by Aug. 4, down from 68,841 deaths forecast earlier in the week. UK government faces mounting criticism over protection clothing shortages

Doctors and health workers criticised the British government on Saturday for suggesting that personal protective equipment (PPE) worn while treating patients infected with coronavirus could be re-used, as supplies run low across the country. Britain is at or near the peak of a health crisis in which more than 15,000 people have died - the fifth highest national death toll of a pandemic linked to at least 150,000 deaths worldwide. Coronavirus handling shows Greece no longer "black sheep" of Europe: PM

Greece is no longer the black sheep of Europe, having shown discipline and resilience in its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. He also said in the interview published on Saturday he was certain his move to impose restrictions early to contain the virus was right, despite the impact on the economy of a country that only emerged from its international bailouts in 2018.