BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The novel coronavirus has infected more than 1.4 million people worldwide as the global death toll from COVID-19 exceeded 82,000 on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
By 0330 GMT on Wednesday, the death toll worldwide stood at 82,119 as the global tally of cases reached 1,430,141, while more than 301,130 people have recovered, an interactive map maintained by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering showed.
MORE DEATHS
Nearly 2,000 people infected with the novel coronavirus have died in the United States in the last 24 hours, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University as of 0030 GMT Wednesday.
The record daily count of 1,939 deaths brings the total in the United States to 12,722, a figure coming close to those in such worst-hit countries as Italy and Spain, whose death toll stood at 17,127 and 13,798, respectively.
The U.S. state of New York lost 731 lives to COVID-19 from Monday to Tuesday, bringing the state's death toll to 5,489 while marking the deadliest 24 hours yet since the pandemic took hold, said Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday.
"Behind every one of those numbers is an individual, is a family, is a mother, is a father, is a sister, is a brother. So a lot of pain again today for many New Yorkers, and they're in our thoughts and prayers," said Cuomo at his daily briefing on coronavirus.
In Europe, the COVID-19 death toll continued to climb with the number in France jumping by over 1,417 to 10,328, making France the third country in Europe to pass the 10,000-mark, after Italy and Spain.
With over 17,000 fatalities, Italy still has, by far, the world's highest COVID-19 death toll.
By Tuesday, Italy has registered a total of 17,127 deaths out of 135,586 cases, according to figures from the Civil Protection Department.
In neighboring Spain, there were daily increases in both new cases and deaths over the past 24 hours. A total of 140,510 cases were reported, up by 5,478 while deaths rose by 743 to 13,798, health authorities said.
As Britain reported 55,242 cases as of Tuesday, a Downing Street spokesman said Tuesday night that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is spending a second night in intensive care in the hospital, where he is being treated for COVID-19, and that he is in "stable" condition.
The prime minister was moved to intensive care at St. Thomas' Hospital in London on Monday night following a worsening of symptoms. He has received oxygen treatment but has not required a ventilator so far.
LOCKDOWN ENDED
On Wednesday, there is also good news in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The megacity of Wuhan in the central Chinese province of Hubei lifted outbound travel restrictions after almost 11 weeks of lockdown, imposed to stem the COVID-19 outbreak.
More than 55,000 passengers are expected to leave by train on Wednesday, about 40 percent of whom are heading to the Pearl River Delta Region.
No new cases of COVID-19 were reported Tuesday in Hubei, the provincial health commission said Wednesday.
The commission said Hubei had 670 asymptomatic patients under medical observation by Tuesday, after 50 cases were ruled out while 30 new patients were reported.
The Hubei Province has so far reported 67,803 cases in total, including 50,008 in Wuhan.
Shortly after midnight at Wuchang Railway Station, more than 400 passengers jumped on train K81 heading for Guangzhou in the south, the first train leaving Wuhan after the lockdown was lifted.
What's more, 276 passenger trains will leave Wuhan for Shanghai, Shenzhen and other cities.
Railway authorities are requiring passengers to scan health codes and have their temperatures checked when entering the stations and wear masks to reduce the risk of infection.
Meanwhile, Wuhan Tianhe International Airport started resuming domestic passenger flights. The airport is expected to see more than 200 inbound and outbound flights on Wednesday.
On Jan. 23, Wuhan declared unprecedented traffic restrictions, including suspending the city's public transport and all outbound flights and trains, in an attempt to stem the epidemic.
