PM gets more tests as British cases jump

Johnson's hospital stay underscores stakes, but Italy, Spain see progress

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday he was undergoing routine tests for coronavirus symptoms but was in good spirits and in touch with his team.

"On the advice of my doctor, I went into hospital for some routine tests as I'm still experiencing coronavirus symptoms," Johnson said on Twitter. "I'm in good spirits and keeping in touch with my team as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe."

Johnson, 55, who had been isolating in Downing Street after testing positive on March 27, was taken to hospital on Sunday night, his office said in a statement, calling it "a precautionary step".

A total of 47,806 cases have been confirmed in the United Kingdom as of Sunday morning, a significant increase of 5,903 on the prior day, according to the Department of Health and Social Care. The death toll stood at 4,934.

Medical staff in the UK continue to raise concerns over a lack of personal protective equipment, or PPE. In a statement on Friday, the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing, and unions Unite and Unison all called for the government to coordinate efforts to produce protective equipment that "millions of key workers desperately need to keep safe during the health crisis".

Encouraging signs

Europe recorded 555,809 infections and 44,955 deaths as of Sunday, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. But European nations most ravaged by the new coronavirus on Sunday reported encouraging signs.

Italy reported 525 deaths on Sunday, the lowest one-day total since 427 deaths were registered on March 19.

"We cannot let our guard down, but the trend" is positive, Angelo Borrelli, the head of Italy's Civil Protection Department, said on Sunday. Italy had registered 128,948 infections and 15,887 deaths by Sunday.

In Spain, the pace of coronavirus deaths slowed again on Monday as 637 patients died over 24 hours, taking the total to 13,055, the government said. The number of deaths has been falling each day since Thursday's peak of 950, according to the health ministry. Total cases increased to 135,032 on Monday from 130,759 the previous day.

Germany's confirmed coronavirus infections rose by 3,677 in the latest 24-hour period to 95,391 on Monday, the fourth straight drop in the daily rate of new cases, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases. The death toll stood at 1,434 on Monday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said lockdown measures will be extended to April 19.

In the Netherlands, the daily number of new cases and deaths are also decreasing, according to the country's National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.

The number of infections grew by 253 to 6,875 on Sunday, the lowest daily figure in two weeks, and the number of deaths for the latest reported day was 115, bringing the total to 1,766.

In Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that President Vladimir Putin will continue to work remotely for at least one more week.

Peskov stressed the decision was not linked to the revelation that the head doctor of the Moscow hospital treating coronavirus patients, Denis Protsenko, had become infected. The doctor had been in contact with Putin on March 24.

Russia is administering about 34,000 to 37,000 coronavirus tests a day and the rate of testing would be increased, the Russian chief sanitary doctor Anna Popova said. Russia has reported 6,343 infections and 47 deaths as of Monday, according to health authorities.

Chen Yingqun in Beijing, Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.