Health News Roundup: France says coronavirus crisis easing; Spain coronavirus death climb by lowest daily amount and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

France says coronavirus crisis easing, but far from over

The coronavirus situation in France is improving "slowly but surely" and shortages of protective gear such as face masks are easing, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Sunday, although he warned that the crisis was far from over. France - which has recorded close to 20,000 deaths as a result of the pandemic and has the fourth-highest toll in the world - has been in virtual lockdown for nearly five weeks and is due to start lifting some confinement measures from May 11.

Spain coronavirus deaths climb by lowest daily amount in a month

Spain's death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak rose by 410 on Sunday, the lowest daily increase in about a month in one of the world's hardest hit countries, prompting cautious optimism from the government that the figures are on a downward path. The daily increase in deaths was the lowest since March 22. It is far below the highest daily increase - 950 deaths reported on April 2 - in a sign of a slowdown of the spread of the virus after Spain imposed a strict lockdown in mid-March.

Chile, China officials contradict each other over donated ventilators

Chile is expecting China to donate ventilators to help cope with the coronavirus outbreak, a government official said on Sunday, contradicting earlier statements by China's ambassador to the South American country that he was unaware of such a shipment. Chilean Health Minister Jaime Mañalich, speaking to local radio and TV media, reaffirmed that the South American country would receive the machines from China, in line with earlier announcements by government officials that they were waiting on between 500 and 1,000 donated ventilators, critical medical equipment for treating COVID-19.

Canadian coronavirus deaths rise by almost 12% in a day: official data

The total number of people killed by the coronavirus in Canada rose by just under 12% to 1,506 in a day, official data posted by the public health agency showed on Sunday. In a statement posted shortly before 11:00 eastern time (1500 GMT), it said the figure for those diagnosed with the coronavirus had climbed to 33,922. The respective figures on Saturday were 1,346 deaths and 32,412 positive diagnoses.

Coronavirus cases in Peru top 15,000, second highest in Latin America

Peru reported over 15,000 cases of coronavirus on Sunday, the second-highest tally in Latin America, as the disease continues to ravage the economy of the world's No. 2 copper producer. The crisis has paralyzed Peru and left millions without jobs. The central bank has said the economy had been "severely affected" temporarily by simultaneous supply and demand shocks.

U.S. coronavirus death toll rises as cases hit 750,000: Reuters tally

The U.S. death toll from the novel coronavirus rose to more than 40,000 on Sunday, the highest in the world and almost double the number of deaths in the next highest country Italy, according to a Reuters tally. It took the United States 38 days after recording its first fatality on Feb. 29 to reach 10,000 deaths on April 6, but only five more days to reach 20,000 dead, according to a Reuters tally. The United States' toll increased to 40,000 from 30,000 in four days after including untested but probable COVID-19 deaths reported by New York City.

Italy's daily coronavirus death toll hits one-week low

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 433 on Sunday, the lowest daily tally in a week, and the number of new cases also slowed to 3,047 from a previous 3,491, the Civil Protection Agency said. The death toll had risen by 482 on Saturday, down from 575 on Friday.

G20 health ministers hold virtual meeting on coronavirus

Health ministers from the Group of 20 major economies held a virtual meeting on Sunday to work on a joint response to the coronavirus pandemic and will issue a statement, the G20 said. It said a planned virtual news conference was canceled as the health minister of Saudi Arabia, the current G20 chair, had to attend "an urgent COVID-19 KSA (Saudi) taskforce meeting".

Don't reopen yet, governors tell Trump as coronavirus deaths cross 40,000

Governors in U.S. states hardest hit by the novel coronavirus sparred with President Donald Trump over his claims they have enough tests and should quickly reopen their economies as more protests are planned over the extension of stay-at-home orders. New York continued to see hospitalizations decline to 16,000 from a high of 18,000, and the number of patients being kept alive by ventilators also fell. There were 507 new deaths, down from a high of more than 700 a day.

Escape of Ebola patient in Congo sparks fear of further infection

An Ebola flare-up in eastern Congo may spread again after a patient escaped from a clinic, complicating efforts to contain the disease that has infected six people since last week, the World Health Organization said on Sunday. The Democratic Republic of Congo was two days away from declaring the end of the world's second-largest Ebola epidemic when a new chain of infection was discovered on April 10, following more than seven weeks without a new case.