Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the
coronavirus outbreak. Were writing to you out of Singapore this morning, and
will be joined by our colleagues across Asia and London later on today.
Starting off with some better news today. Queen Elizabeth
has called Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, congratulating him on
Australias success in fighting the virus. It comes as Australia prepares to
ease virus restrictions, aiming to re-start the economy and get millions back
to work.
The UKs death toll has passed Italys to become the highest
in Europe and the second highest in the world. According to Johns Hopkins
University (JHU), the UK has 29,501 deaths, while the death toll in Italy stands at 29,315.
Over in the US, President Donald Trump has confirmed that
the coronavirus task force will be winding down, with his VP Mike Pence saying
it could be disbanded within weeks.
The
number of cases worldwide has now exceeded 3.65 million, with the global death toll at 256,928, according to JHU data.
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