In densely populated townships and cities, the army and police have been patrolling the streets to enforce strict measures to curb the spread of coronavirus
All photographs by Jérôme Delay for AP
Continue reading...Category Archives: Coronavirus outbreak
‘Crime against humanity’: Trump condemned for WHO funding freeze
Timing of move during Covid-19 crisis is deplored by UN chief and experts who say it will cost lives
Leading health experts have labelled Donald Trump’s decision to cut funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “crime against humanity” and a “damnable” act that will cost lives.
The move also drew a rebuke from the head of the United Nations, who said the WHO was “absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to win the war against Covid-19”.
Continue reading...‘It’s about leadership’: Ardern takes 20% pay cut over coronavirus – video
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has announced she and her ministers along with public service CEOs will take a 20% pay cut for six months. ‘If there was ever a time to close the gap between different positions, it's now,’ Ardern said during a coronavirus press update. She said the the move was to acknowledge New Zealanders who have lost jobs, taken pay cuts or who were reliant on wage subsidies during the Covid-19 outbreak. ‘And while it in itself won’t shift the government’s overall fiscal position, it is about leadership’, she said. The pay cut will not affect frontline public-sector workers such as nurses, police and health care professionals.
Trump turns against WHO to mask his own stark failings on Covid-19 crisis
Dishonest decision to pull funding from World Health Organization will endanger public health
Donald Trump’s declared suspension of funding of the World Health Organization in the midst of a pandemic is confirmation – if any were needed – that he is in search of scapegoats for his administration’s much delayed and chaotic response to the crisis.
The US is the WHO’s biggest donor, with funding over $400m a year in both assessed contributions (membership fees) and donations – though it is actually $200m in arrears.
Continue reading...Amazon fires two employees who condemned treatment of warehouse workers
User experience designers Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa say they lost their jobs after circulating a petition about Covid-19 risks
Amazon has fired two employees after they publicly denounced the company’s treatment of warehouse workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
The user experience designers Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa said on Tuesday they had been fired after internally circulating a petition about health risks for Amazon warehouse workers during the Covid-19 crisis. Costa had worked at the company for more than 15 years and Cunningham had been an employee for more than five.
Continue reading...Trump spoiling for a fight over reopening economy, says Cuomo – video
The New York governor has brushed off Donald Trump's claim that the president has the ultimate say on when and how to reopen the economy. Andrew Cuomo says Trump's assertion is inaccurate and unconstitutional, adding: 'There are many things you can debate in the constitution because they are ambiguous. This is not one of those things that is ambiguous.'
Continue reading...Concerns over Polish government tightening abortion laws during Covid-19 crisis
With street protests now an impossibility, human rights groups fear that Poland’s conservative government will push through ‘dangerous legislation’
Poland’s parliament will this week discuss a controversial proposal to tighten abortion laws in the country, as opposition politicians and women’s rights groups warn that the country’s conservative government may use the distraction of the coronavirus pandemic to push through the legislation.
Poland already has some of the strictest legislation in Europe on abortion, and previous attempts to tighten the laws further were abandoned after mass protests in 2016. The proposal comes from a citizen initiative, and it is unclear if the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party will support it, but president Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, has said he would sign the law if it reaches his desk.
Continue reading...Trudeau warns Canada’s coronavirus shutdown likely to remain for weeks
Prime minister said ‘we’re going to have to remain vigilant’ until vaccine is found as infections climb across the country
Justin Trudeau has warned that Canada’s economic shutdown is likely to remain in place for weeks, as coronavirus infections continue to climb across the country.
“I know people are interested in when things will go back to normal. The reality is, it’s going to be weeks still,” the prime minister said on Tuesday. “It is going to be important to get our economy going – but we’re going to have to remain vigilant until such a time as a vaccine is found.”
Continue reading...One year after Notre Dame fire, officials struggle to keep restoration on track
Cathedral can still be repaired by 2024, says general, but decisions must be made fast
The army general in charge of rebuilding Notre Dame has said it is still possible for the cathedral ravaged by fire exactly one year ago on Wednesday to reopen in 2024 as pledged by Emmanuel Macron, if everyone “rolls up their sleeves”.
Jean-Louis Georgelin insisted unexpected delays in work to restore the 13th-century cathedral to its previous glory – including the coronavirus lockdown – need not derail the five-year deadline.
Continue reading...Food rations to 1.4 million refugees cut in Uganda due to funding shortfall
World Food Programme announce 30% relief reduction, as farms and businesses shut in Covid-19 lockdown, fuelling hunger fears
Food rations have been cut to more than 1.4 million vulnerable refugees in Uganda by the World Food Programme (WFP) because of insufficient funds.
Announcing a 30% reduction to the relief food it distributes to refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from neighbouring South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi, the WFP in Uganda warned that further cuts could follow.
Continue reading...‘I feel fear and guilt’: an NHS junior doctor on the effect of getting Covid-19
Rosie Hughes has tested positive for the coronavirus that has killed so many of her patients
I am a junior doctor. In the past few weeks I have seen dozens of people die from Covid-19. I am 25 years old. I’ve been working in the NHS for just over eight months at a major metropolitan hospital. When my colleagues and I decided to apply for medical school six years ago, we knew that we were signing up for a challenge. We were under no illusion that it would be an easy ride. But I don’t think any of us imagined that we would be on the frontline of a pandemic less than a year into our careers.
I have cared for patients from admission until death and I have held their hands when they have been too breathless to speak. I have fought hard for a patient to be considered for ventilation despite knowing that they didn’t meet the criteria. I stayed with them after my shift had ended, gowned and gloved, and watched them take their last breaths, knowing that a few months ago they might have stood a chance. I ring families to tell them that their loved one who came into hospital for something totally unrelated now has coronavirus and will not survive.
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: cases worldwide near 2 million as Trump repeats WHO funding threat
UK daily deaths likely to rise this week; France to ease lockdown starting 11 May
- Putin warns Russia faces ‘extraordinary’ crisis
- Trump turned a briefing into a presidential tantrum
- UK coronavirus updates – live
- Coronavirus latest: at a glance
- See all our coronavirus coverage
The Slovak government will release a plan next Monday on when and how shops will reopen after forced closures due to the spread of the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Igor Matovic said on Tuesday.
Reuters reports him as saying that Slovakia aims to protect the 70% of the economy that is running from being affected by the spread of the virus and the reopening of retail will be cautious.
The European commission is urging EU states to coordinate as they begin to ease lockdown measures, warning that failure to do so could result in new spikes of the coronavirus epidemic.
Several EU states have announced plans or have already begun to relax restrictions imposed to contain the outbreak, as pressure grows to revive their battered economies.
It is time to develop a well-coordinated EU exit strategy. The exit strategy should be coordinated between the Member States, to avoid negative spillover effects.
Continue reading...Coronavirus UK live: Lockdown could shrink GDP by 35% and see unemployment rise by 2m, says OBR
Coronavirus lockdown in the UK could last at least another month, as Dominic Raab says country has not passed the peak
- Coronavirus latest: at a glance
- Coronavirus global updates – live
- UK missed three chances to join EU scheme to bulk-buy PPE
- Medical unions warn UK stock of protective gowns is critically low
From BBC Newsnight’s Lewis Goodall
NEW: OBR publishes an economic scenario (not forecast) for what might happen to the UK economy as a result of #Covid19. It assumes a 3 month lockdown.
Unemployment: ⬆️by 2 million.
GDP (2020) ⬇️ 13% in 2020.
If so, would be the worst economic contraction for a century.
Here is an excerpt from the report published by the Office for Budget Responsibility today looking at what impact the coronavirus lockdown could have on the economy. It says GDP could fall by 35% in the second quarter of the year.
Here is an extract.
In addition to its impact on public health, the coronavirus outbreak will substantially raise public sector net borrowing and debt, primarily reflecting economic disruption. The government’s policy response will also have substantial direct budgetary costs, but the measures should help limit the long-term damage to the economy and public finances – the costs of inaction would certainly have been higher ...
We do not attempt to predict how long the economic lockdown will last – that is a matter for the government, informed by medical advice. But, to illustrate some of the potential fiscal effects, we assume a three-month lockdown due to public health restrictions followed by another three-month period when they are partially lifted. For now, we assume no lasting economic hit.
Continue reading...The coronavirus ‘propaganda’ video Trump played to media – video
Donald Trump has used a press briefing on coronavirus to play a propaganda-like video praising his record on the pandemic. Prior to playing the video, which comprised clips from his preferred network, Fox News, the president said: ‘Most importantly, we’re going to get back on to the reason we’re here, which is the success we’re having.’
- Trump claims 'total authority' and attacks media in chaotic briefing
- Wounded by scrutiny, Trump turns briefing into tantrum
Can you get coronavirus twice? – video explainer
A serious concern since the emergence of Covid-19 has been whether those who have had it can get it a second time – and what that means for exiting this crisis.
The Guardian's science correspondent Hannah Devlin looks at how our bodies fight coronavirus when infected, how we develop immunity and if we can get reinfected with Covid-19
Continue reading...US for-profit healthcare sector cuts thousands of jobs as pandemic rages
Health workers are facing layoffs, furloughs and cuts to salaries and schedules in response to declines in revenue
Maureen Zeman was a registered nurse for 29 years at a hospital in San Jose, California, before she was laid off with dozens of other nurses despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Dozens of states across the US have issued orders to halt elective medical procedures as part of emergency shutdowns to curb the spread of Covid-19. As a result, hospitals and medical treatment clinics across the US are implementing layoffs, furloughs, and cuts to salaries and work schedules in response to declines in revenue.
Continue reading...Australian government plans to bring in mobile phone app to track people with coronavirus
Coalition wants to introduce app within fortnight as part of pandemic ‘road out’ strategy but PM says easing of restrictions still many weeks away
Australia soon will adopt a sophisticated mobile phone app that tracks coronavirus victims and the people they come in contact with.
The federal government wants to introduce the app, now being used in Singapore, within a fortnight and will outline the plan to premiers during the next meeting of the national cabinet on Thursday.
Continue reading...Parents of nurse who treated Boris Johnson ‘exceptionally proud’ – video
The parents of a New Zealand nurse working in the NHS who cared for Boris Johnson while he was in hospital with coronavirus have said they are ‘exceptionally proud’ of their daughter. Jenny McGee’s parents, Mike and Caroline, said: ‘She has told us it doesn't matter what patient she's looking after, this is what she does and I just find it incredible.’
- NHS nurse from New Zealand 'blown away' by Boris Johnson's thanks
- Boris Johnson leaves hospital as he continues recovery from coronavirus
Heathrow passenger demand expected to plunge by 90% in April
Airport’s forecast comes as numbers shrank by 52% in March after Covid-19 lockdown
Heathrow airport expects passenger traffic to plunge by 90% in April, as demand is mainly limited to airlines focusing on repatriating citizens stranded abroad during the coronavirus outbreak.
The airport said passenger numbers had already tumbled by 52% to 3.1 million in March, compared with a year earlier, after the UK government advised against all but essential travel. Meanwhile, the total number of flights landing and taking off at Heathrow – covering passenger planes and cargo – fell 35% to 25,798.
Continue reading...Coronavirus in Cuba – in pictures
Cubans can go out only if strictly necessary and always wearing a protective mask
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