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Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Saturday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and has mild symptoms.

Guaido said on his Twitter account that he is in isolation and expressed concern about the number of infections in the country.

“I want to express my solidarity with the thousands of Venezuelans suffering during the pandemic,” Guaido wrote on Twitter. “Today we all have a relative or acquaintance affected by COVID-19.”

Dozens of countries have backed Guaido as interim president of Venezuela following Maduro’s re-election in 2018 in a vote Western governments called a sham.

The opposition leader added that he considered the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines to Venezuela urgent.

Venezuela has received 700,000 doses, of which 500,000 were donated by China’s Sinopharm and the rest are Russia’s Sputnik V. Opposition leaders are separately negotiating to buy vaccines via the COVAX program using funds frozen in the United States.

Venezuela’s official figures as of Saturday showed 155,663 cases of coronavirus and 1,555 deaths, though opposition critics say the actual figure is likely higher due to limited testing//Reuters

Spectacular: 5,000 pack Barcelona rock concert after COVID tests - US news

Music fans in Barcelona hugged, danced and sang along at a sold-out rock concert on Saturday night after taking rapid COVID-19 tests in a trial that could revive the live music industry in Spain and beyond.

Some 5,000 fans at the show for Spanish indie band Love of Lesbian had to wear masks but social distancing was not required in the Palau Sant Jordi arena.

“It was spectacular. We felt safe at all times. We were in the front row and it was something we’d missed a lot,” said publicist Salvador, 29, after the show. “We are very proud to have had the chance to take part in this. We hope it’ll be the first of many.”

In surreal scenes after a year of social distancing, fans danced up close to one another, but the sea of faces covered in masks showed that things were not quite back to normal.

Health controls at the entrance delayed the start of the concert, but could not dampen the celebratory spirit.

“Welcome to one of the most exciting concerts of our lives!” lead singer Santi Balmes told the crowd to a roar of cheers.

The government-approved concert served as a test for whether similar events will be able to start up again.

“It will be safer to be in the Palau Sant Jordi than walking down the street,” concert co-organiser Jordi Herreruela told Reuters earlier on Saturday.

Pre-concert testing at three Barcelona locations was carried out by 80 nurses wearing full personal protective equipment. Some people winced as nurses swabbed their noses.

By midday, three out of 2,400 people already screened had tested positive and one had come into contact with a positive case, said Dr. Josep Maria Libre, a doctor who oversaw the testing. They were unable to attend the concert and would get a refund.

Attendees received their antigen test results in 10 to 15 minutes via an app on their phones. The test and a mask were included in the ticket price.

“I believe today we have made one thing a reality which is to show the world that culture is safe,” said Ramon, a 49-year-old fan//Reuters

French COVID-19 patient numbers rise again, adding to pressure for new lockdown - medical express 

The number of patients with coronavirus in French intensive care units rose on Saturday to a new high for this year, increasing the pressure to impose new restrictions that President Emmanuel Macron says will probably be needed. France had 4,791 ICU patients being treated for COVID-19, up from 4,766 on Friday, health ministry data showed.

The numbers are approaching a peak recorded in mid-November during the second wave of the virus, although last spring, when France imposed its first lockdown, saw a peak of more than 7,000.

Doctors say intensive care units in the worst-hit regions could become overwhelmed.

The government’s commitment to keeping schools open has been called into question due to rising case numbers among students and opposition from teachers, who are threatening to walk out.

Spain said on Saturday it would require people arriving by land from France to show a negative coronavirus test result.

Macron this week defended his decision not to impose a third full lockdown, but said further restrictions would probably be needed.

Three additional regions, including the Rhone department around Lyon, on Saturday joined other regions including Paris in closing non-essential stores and restricting travel. Police were out in Paris, Nice and other cities enforcing the rules.

The government is also trying to speed up a stuttering vaccination campaign.

France expects to receive 3 million doses of vaccines this week, rising to 4 million a week in a month’s time, junior industry minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told Europe 1 radio.

As of Saturday, more than 7.7 million people had received a first dose of vaccine, the health ministry said.

France’s COVID-19 death toll, at almost 95,000, is the eighth-highest in the world//Reuters

A general view of the city shrouded in smog after a sandstorm, in central Beijing, China - CNBC

The Chinese capital Beijing woke on Sunday (Mar 28) morning shrouded in thick dust carrying extremely high levels of hazardous particles, as a second sandstorm in two weeks hit the city due to winds from drought-hit Mongolia and northwestern China.

Visibility in the city was reduced, with the tops of some skyscrapers obscured by the sandstorm, and pedestrians were forced to cover their eyes as gusts of dust swept through the streets.

The China Meteorological Administration issued a yellow alert on Friday, warning that a sandstorm was spreading from Mongolia into northern Chinese provinces including Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Liaoning and Hebei, which surrounds Beijing.

The meteorological office said the recent sandstorms to hit Beijing originated from Mongolia, where relatively warmer temperature this spring and reduced rain resulted in larger areas of bare earth, creating favourable conditions for sandstorms.Beijing might face more sandstorms in April due to the unfavourable weather this year, the meteorological office said//CNA