Tiger at the Zoo tests positive for the coronavirus | France’s death toll slows but virus still hits hard

A tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York city of the US has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The 4-year-old female Malaysian tiger, Nadia, had developed a dry cough and was tested “out of an abundance of caution,” the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo said in a statement.

The diagnosis was confirmed by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories. It is the first confirmed COVID-19 case in a tiger, according to the USDA.

Several tigers and lions at the zoo showed symptoms of a respiratory ilness, the USDA said.

The tiger who tested positive is believed to have become infected by a zoo employee. The tiger first began to show symptoms on March 27, the USDA said. – Kevin Stankiewicz

France’s death toll slows but coronavirus still hits hard

NEW : Illustration of the hospital la Pitie Salpetriere in Paris – 02/05/2019

France’s daily death toll from the novel coronavirus fell in the past 24 hours and admissions into intensive care also slowed, the health ministry said on Sunday, thanking citizens for largely respecting a lockdown to halt the spread of the virus.

The health ministry data showed that 357 people died from COVID-19 in hospitals, compared with 441 in the previous 24 hours, taking the total toll in hospitals to 5,889.

It said that 2,189 people had died in nursing homes since March 1, taking France’s total death toll to 8,078.

“These data confirms that the epidemic is ongoing in the country, and continues to hit hard,” the ministry said.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in France since the start of the epidemic rose by 2.7% or 1,873 to 70,478, the ministry said in daily update of the situation.  – Reuters