Reuters Health News Summary

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. 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. CDC reports 720,630 coronavirus cases in U.S., 37,202 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday reported 720,630 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 29,916 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,759 to 37,202. The CDC tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus, was as of 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) on Saturday, compared with its count a day earlier. (https://bit.ly/2IVY1JT) Mexico registers 8,261 confirmed coronavirus cases, 686 deaths

Mexican Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Sunday that Mexico has registered a total of 8,261 confirmed coronavirus cases and 686 deaths. That is up from 7,497 cases and 650 deaths as of Saturday. China reports 12 new mainland coronavirus cases on April 19, eight imported

China reported 12 new confirmed coronavirus cases on April 19, down from 16 a day earlier, with no new deaths, the country's health authority said on Monday. Of the total, eight were imported, down from nine on the previous day, the National Health Commission said in its daily bulletin. 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 acknowledge health systems' vulnerability to pandemics: statement

Health ministers from the Group of 20 major economies discussed weaknesses in health systems that made the world vulnerable to the coronavirus outbreak and other pandemics, a statement said after a virtual meeting on Sunday. The Saudi G20 secretariat said that the ministers shared their national experiences, addressed necessary actions to improve preparedness and discussed systemic weaknesses exposed by the pandemic. More U.S. protests call for lifting coronavirus restrictions as governors push back

Protests flared in U.S. states on Sunday over stay-at-home orders while governors disputed President Donald Trump's claims they have enough tests for the novel coronavirus and should quickly reopen their economies. An estimated 2,500 people rallied at the Washington state capitol in Olympia to protest Democratic Governor Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order, defying a ban on gatherings of 50 or more people.