
A COVID-19 analyzer and related equipment are scheduled to arrive in the Falkland Islands over the weekend, which means the prospect of much faster testing of the Islands' swabs for potential virus contagion, and without having to send them to the UK.

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday pressed China to allow inspectors into sensitive laboratories, voicing concern about their security amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

World Health Organization on Wednesday warned that the coronavirus crisis would not end any time soon, with many countries only in the early stages of the fight, as the global death toll surpassed 180,000.

The Falkland Islands government announced on Wednesday a support program for wool producers and their unsold clip in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. For that purpose, it has authorized the Department of Natural Resources to develop a program to purchase the unsold wool, in a one-time offer, with the price set at March 20.

Britain's government plans to test a sample of 20,000 English households for COVID-19 in the coming weeks to try to establish how far the disease has spread across the country.

Two cats in New York have become the first pets in the United States to test positive for the new coronavirus but there is no evidence pets can spread the virus to humans, according to US health authorities.

The true extent of Britain's COVID-19 death toll was more than 40% higher than the government's daily figures indicated as of Apr 10, according to data that put the country on track to become among the worst-hit in Europe.

The Falkland Islands government reported on Tuesday that the latest test results received by KEMH have shown one positive case for COVID-19 out of 18 swabs tested. The positive was for an individual at Mount Pleasant Complex, who is in isolation as part of the on-going MPC arrangements for dealing with cases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that all available evidence suggests that the novel coronavirus originated in bats in China late last year and it was not manipulated or constructed in a lab.

South Georgia remains free from COVID-19. The government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, GSGSSI, have implemented strict procedures to minimize the risk of exposure to the staff at South Georgia, and work continues in as normal a fashion as possible on the island.