• There were 1,991,562 confirmed cases (766,47 new) globally, and 130,885 people (7,875 new) have lost their lives by 10:00 CET April 16, according to the daily COVID-19 situation report released by the World Health Organization.
• The Chinese mainland reported 26 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday, according to the National Health Commission on April 17. And 15 of them were imported cases, bringing the total number of its kind to 1,549. Also on Thursday, 66 new asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were reported on the mainland.
• Xinhua reported that China has released a guideline on community-based prevention and control against the COVID-19 epidemic, ordering targeted and precise measures according to the specific risk level of the epidemic situation.

Xinhua reported that China has released a guideline on community-based prevention and control against the COVID-19 epidemic, ordering targeted and precise measures according to the specific risk level of the epidemic situation. For low-risk communities or communities with zero cases reported, management measures targeting inbound travelers and returning personnel should be strengthened, and closure measures should be lifted in such communities. Medium-risk communities should optimize their control measures, stepping up the management of close contacts of confirmed cases and discharged patients returning to their communities. The guideline asked communities with a high risk of infection to strictly enforce containment measures and limit public gatherings while ensuring the centralized procurement and supply of living materials for community residents.

Staff members check residents' health QR code at the entrance of Chucai community in Wuchang District of Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, April 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Li He)

There were 1,991,562 confirmed cases (766,47 new) globally, and 130,885 people (7,875 new) have lost their lives by 10:00 CET April 16, according to the daily COVID-19 situation report released by the World Health Organization. According to the report, no new country/territory/area reported cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

The Chinese mainland reported 26 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday, according to the National Health Commission (NHC) April 17. And 15 of them were imported cases, bringing the total number of its kind to 1,549. Also on Thursday, 66 new asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were reported on the mainland. At the same time, ten were confirmed of being infected with the virus and 50 were discharged from medical observation, according to the NHC. A total of 1,038 asymptomatic-infected patients were still under medical observation. The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,367 by the end of Thursday, including 1,081 patients who were still being treated, altogether 77,944 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,342 people who died of the disease.

By Thursday, altogether 1,017 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 395 in Taiwan including six deaths. A total of 485 patients in Hong Kong, sixteen in Macao and 155 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.