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International News (601)
April
France to extend lockdown as virus deaths soar in Europe, US
Written by nuke
France said Wednesday it would extend a lockdown aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus as the death toll soared across Europe and the US -- and experts warned the looming global recession could be the worst in decades.
As quoted by AFP.com (08/4) governments are grappling with how to balance public safety against the devastating economic impact of stay-at-home orders that have erased millions of jobs in a matter of weeks. More than 80,000 people worldwide have died in the virus crisis, which has sent the global economy spiralling and forced billions of people to remain at home as much as possible.
As the economic downturn starts to bite, health experts stressed that any premature loosening of restrictions could accelerate the spread of a contagion that has already infiltrated nearly every country.More than 80,000 people worldwide have died in the virus crisis, which has sent the global economy spiralling and forced billions of people to remain at home as much as possible//AFP
April
Global trade will plunge by up to a third in 2020: WTO
Written by nuke
Global trade could plummet by a third this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the World Trade Organization said Wednesday, warning the deepest recession "of our lifetimes" could be on the horizon.
As quoted by AFP.com (08/4) WTO chief Roberto Azevedo told reporters in a virtual briefing from Geneva that COVID-19 has completely upended the global economy and with it international trade. He said the global trade body was projecting that "trade in 2020 will fall steeply in every region of the world, and basically across all sectors of the economy.
The WTO acknowledged that there was huge uncertainty around how the economic crisis around the pandemic, which has infected more than 1.4 million people globally and killed nearly 83,000, would unfold. Stressing that the situation was first and foremost a health crisis, Azevedo warned that "the unavoidable declines in trade and output will have painful consequences for households and businesses, on top of the human suffering caused by the disease itself//AFP
April
Germany has compiled a list of actions, including the obligation to wear masks in public, barring public meetings and tracking the chain of infection, after quarantine of the region ended on April 19. As reported by Reuters, the proposal, which is contained in the draft action plan that is compiled by Ministry of Home Affairs’ documents and seen by Reuters recently, stated that such measures must be able to maintain the number of infected people. Even when social activities gradually allow to be implemented. Thus, there must be a mechanism to track the contact history of people who are positive for COVID-19 within 24 hours after diagnosis. If that can be done, schools will be reopened and strict border controls will be relaxed//ANT
April
The United Nations calls for a global ban on wildlife markets. This is important to be implemented to prevent the emergence of a pandemic in the future. Acting Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention for Biological Diversity, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema said countries must prevent future pandemics by banning "wet markets" that sell wild and dead wild animals for human consumption. Mrema when interviewed by the Guardian recently said it would be good to ban the live animal market as did China and several countries. But banning the wild animal market can also open up the possibility of illegal wildlife trade. Some species are on the verge of extinction due to this practice. Mrema believes that there really needs to be an alternative solution to overcome this situation//REP
April
CDC director downplays coronavirus models, says death toll will be 'much lower' than projected
Written by nuke
One of the nation’s top public health officials suggested Monday that because Americans are taking social distancing recommendations “to heart,” the death toll from the novel coronavirus will be “much, much, much lower” than models have projected.
“If we just social distance, we will see this virus and this outbreak basically decline, decline, decline. And I think that's what you're seeing,” said Robert Redfield, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control.
Redfield’s remarks on Monday to AM 1030 KVOI Radio in Tucson, Arizona, struck a rosier tone than some other recent predictions. On Monday morning, for example, the U.S. Surgeon General equated the coming week’s fallout to the attacks on Pearl Harbor. But officials on the White House task force have said they believe that even with a tough week ahead, the numbers in some places suggest that social distancing is working and could provide a reprieve eventually. National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Disease Director Anthony Fauci said he was very interested in data in New York that the number of admissions to intensive care and intubations in the last three days had started to level off//ABCNEWS
April
Coronavirus: Africa will not be testing ground for vaccine, says WHO
Written by nuke
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has condemned as "racist" the comments by two French doctors who suggested a vaccine for the coronavirus could be tested in Africa. As quoted by BBC.com ( 07/4), Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated Africa can't and won't be a testing ground for any vaccine. The doctors' remarks during a TV debate sparked outrage, and they were accused of treating Africans like "human guinea pigs". One of them later issued an apology. When asked about the doctors' suggestion during the WHO's coronavirus briefing, Dr Tedros became visibly angry, calling it a hangover from the "colonial mentality"// BBC
April
Coronavirus: Boris Johnson Moved to Intensive Care as Symptoms Worsen
Written by Ani HasanahApril
Cyclone Harold : Superstorm hits Vanuatu after killing 27 in Solomons
Written by nuke
A cyclone bringing winds of 135mph (215km/h) has arrived in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu. Cyclone Harold is a category five storm - the most severe - and has already killed 27 people in the neighbouring Solomon Islands. The victims were swept off a ferry that defied cyclone warnings. Vanuatu, home to around 300,000 people, is already in a state of emergency because of the coronavirus - and is awaiting general election results. The storm is particularly affecting Sanma province, home to the country's second biggest city, Luganville. Although there have been no injuries reported, photos showed roofs blown off buildings and power lines brought down. Some people took shelter in caves.
"There is lots of damage in Sanma, they lost lots of buildings," Jacqueline de Gaillande, chief executive of Vanuatu Red Cross, told Reuters.
The Vanuatu meteorology department recorded winds of 135mph in Sanma but said gusts - which are less sustained - were reaching 145mph (235km/h). A major international effort was needed after the last category five storm - Cyclone Pam - hit Vanuatu in 2015. Although Vanuatu has no confirmed Covid-19 cases, it declared a state of emergency last month, soon after the country voted in a general election. The counting of the votes was live-streamed, as social distancing rules made it difficult to have enough observers in one room//BBC
April
Coronavirus: Boris Johnson 'still in charge' despite hospital admission
Written by nuke
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is "still very much in charge of the government" despite spending the night in hospital with coronavirus, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has said. The PM was taken to a London hospital on Sunday evening with "persistent symptoms" - including a temperature - for a series of routine tests. It is said to be a "precautionary step" taken on the advice of his doctor. Johnson, 55, tested positive for coronavirus 10 days ago. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will chair Monday morning's coronavirus meeting in his place, Jenrick said.
Jenrick told BBC Breakfast that he hope that as a result of these tests the prime minister will be able to come back to Downing Street as soon as possible.
Although Downing Street insist the PM is still in charge, if the medics insist he needs to rest and recuperate then he may well have to take a step back for a period of time. In the UK we no longer have a deputy prime minister - the last one was Nick Clegg under David Cameron. Technically, Dominic Raab - as first secretary of state - would be expected to step up. His position as foreign secretary, however, does not put him at the centre of the fight against coronavirus. It would seem likely therefore that the two figures who would be expected to take a key role would be Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
At the moment the focus is on "flattening the curve" and reducing the level of infections and admissions to hospital. The day-to-day decisions are therefore likely to depend much more on the advice of the scientists and officials. The really big decisions are some way off - when it is hoped the prime minister will have recovered//BBC
April
20,000 worshippers quarantined in Pakistan after major search
Written by Wenny ZuliantiPakistan has quarantined 20,000 worshippers and is still searching for tens of thousands more who attended an Islamic gathering in Lahore last month despite the worsening coronavirus pandemic, officials said Sunday.
Authorities said they want to test or quarantine those who congregated at the event held by the Tablighi Jamaat -- an Islamic missionary movement -- between March 10-12 over fears they are now spreading COVID-19 across Pakistan and overseas.
More than 100,000 people went to the meeting, organizers said, undeterred by government requests for it to be cancelled as the virus hit the country.
In northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, authorities have so far quarantined 5,300 Tablighis or Islamic preachers who attended the Lahore meeting.
"Health officials are conducting tests for coronavirus and some of them have tested positive," Ajmal Wazir, a spokesperson for the region, told AFP on Sunday.
Wazir said thousands of Tablighis from his province were stranded in other regions because of the closure of major highways across the country.
About 7,000 have been quarantined in the central Punjab city Lahore, while in southern Sindh province up to 8,000 Tablighis have been quarantined, government officials said.
Dozens more have been forced to self-isolate in southwestern Balochistan province.
The Tablighi mosques and the movement's other places of worship were shut down or marked as quarantine centers at the end of March.
At least 154 worshippers who went to last month's Jamaat had tested positive for coronavirus, with two fatalities, authorities told AFP.
Coronavirus has killed at least 45 people in Pakistan but with only limited testing available, observers worry the number is far higher.
Tablighi Jamaat is considered one of the world's largest faith-based movements, with millions of followers, particularly in South Asia, and sends preachers to countries to spread Islam's ideas.
Numerous foreign nationals attended this year from countries including China, Indonesia, Nigeria and Afghanistan, organizers said.
About 1,500 foreigners are now quarantined in Pakistan, but others left the country without being tested.
Gaza's health ministry confirmed last month its first two cases of coronavirus were Palestinians who had attended the gathering.
Pakistan's science minister Fawad Chaudhry earlier expressed exasperation that the event had gone ahead, blaming the "stubbornness of the clergy".
Organizers said they cut the gathering short following advice from the authorities, however at the time they said it was due to rainy weather.
Similar Tablighi Jamaat congregations held in Malaysia and India during the coronavirus pandemic have been blamed for spreading the virus to other nations.
