A summary of major developments in the coronavirus outbreak across Australia
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Key Australian developments in the global coronavirus outbreak on Thursday include:
Continue reading...The Covid-19 outbreak is forcing politicians and central bankers to set aside ideology and orthodoxy to prevent a global collapse
It is as if the lights have been switched off. The global economy has been plunged into darkness as countries hunker down in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Most recessions develop gradually over time. When the last one started in 2008 it took the Bank of England six months to spot it. This time it is different. Then it was a financial virus, this time it is the real thing. Commentators often say the economy is hitting the wall or is falling off a cliff on the weakest of evidence. Today the cliches are horrifyingly true.
Continue reading...The mountain’s closure is devastating for many in a Himalayan nation that relies heavily on trekkers and climbers
The tiny airport at Lukla, perched on the edge of a mountain high in Nepal’s Himalayas, usually echoes with the roar of propeller planes flying a constant stream of adventure-seekers into the small town, known as the gateway to Mount Everest.
During the peak spring tourist season, tens of thousands of trekkers and mountaineers arrive to test themselves on the popular trek to Everest base camp, and perhaps go on to climb the world’s highest peak.
Continue reading...New South Wales chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant addresses a misconception around paracetamol and the coronavirus crisis. With pharmacies and stores running low on supplies of the painkiller due to hoarding, Chant explained paracetamol only treats symptoms of Covid-19, not the virus itself
Everything that was once an urgent priority has evaporated. What matters right now is people’s health, and their family’s futures
It’s day three of my self-isolation. I returned to Aotearoa New Zealand on Monday night from a long-planned family wedding in Australia, itself book-ended by apocalyptic circumstance. Fires and floods rolled out the red carpet, while rapid global escalation of Covid-19 brought it to a finale.
I had booked flights back directly into Wellington, our capital city, because I’d intended to return immediately to work on Tuesday morning with the sitting of Parliament. Those intentions had been wiped clear on the weekend, with calls between caucus members and staffers confirming all arrivals back into the country would be required to quarantine themselves for a fortnight. To limit further travel, it transpired I’d be locking myself into a Wellington apartment, the opposite end of the North Island from my home of Auckland.
Continue reading...Shops and cultural institutions are closing their doors, workers are being asked to stay at home, and self-employed and casual staff are losing their jobs across the country. Here’s what’s (not) happening in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane after Scott Morrison banned non-essential indoor gatherings of 100 or more people and declared a human biosecurity emergency
Continue reading...Thousands of travellers frantically trying to fly back to Australia after government warning over coronavirus pandemic
• Australia coronavirus live: NSW now has 307 confirmed cases, up 40 since yesterday
More than 170 Australians trapped in locked-down Peru have been advised by the government to find a commercial charter flight to get out of the country.
Some passengers have been able to get on chartered flights to the US, while others have been offered a dedicated charter flight from Lima to Sydney, but at a cost of more than $5,000.
Continue reading...Train and bus services are to be limited as travel is restricted, raising questions for both passengers and operators
More draconian restrictions may be needed in London to stop the spread of the coronavirus, with guidance to avoid non-essential travel and stay home being ignored by some, while confirmed cases of sickness escalate rapidly. The prime minister, Boris Johnson, told his Wednesday press conference that he was prepared to take “further and faster measures” to tackle the disease.
Transport for London (TfL) is now moving to cut the number of trains and buses running throughout the week, most likely to the level of weekend schedules. On Wednesday night it announced it was closing up to 40 stations with no interchange from Thursday onwards. But what are the key issues transport chiefs need to consider when limiting services?
Continue reading...The US president has dismissed accusations that his use of the term 'Chinese virus' to refer to the coronavirus is racist. Speaking at his daily coronavirus taskforce briefing, he said it was 'not racist at all. It comes from China; I want to be accurate.' The World Health Organization has advised against terms that link the virus to China to avoid stigmatisation
The Canadian prime minister has announced the temporary closure for all but essential goods vehicles in an attempt to slow the spread of Covid-19
Continue reading...Belgium is the latest country to go into lockdown, with citizens asked to stay at home and limit contact to their closest family. From noon on Wednesday, all non-essential shops and open-air markets closed and people were expected to work at home
Continue reading...The prime minster has said the government will bring forward emergency legislation to protect private renters from eviction amid the coronavirus pandemic. His comments came after the Labour leader said private tenants were ‘worried sick’ they might not be able to pay their rents if they fell ill
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News of Bernie Sanders assessing his campaign comes after Joe Biden made an overture to Sanders supporters last night.
In a video following Biden’s wins, Biden said he and Sanders shared common goals on regarding healthcare, inequality and the climate crisis.
“So let me say especially to the young voters who have been inspired by Senator Sanders, I hear you. I know what to stake, [...]
I know what we have to do. Our goal is as a campaign, and my goal as a candidate for president is to unify this party, and then to unify the nation.
The Sanders’s campaign has just issued the following statement via campaign manager Faiz Shakir:
The next primary contest is at least three weeks away. Sen. Sanders is going to be having conversations with his supporters to assess his campaign. In the immediate term, however, he is focused on the government response to the coronavirus outbreak and ensuring that we take care of working people the most vulnerable
Continue reading...Her blend of steel and kindness is praiseworthy but come voting time in September the state of the economy will be the deciding factor
In her short tenure as prime minister, Jacinda Ardern has shown herself to be extremely good in a crisis.
After taking on the leadership of the Labour party just seven weeks before the 2017 general election, Ardern has put together a disparate coalition government, had a baby while in office, dealt with the Christchurch terrorist attacks, guided the nation through a deadly volcano eruption, and now this.
Continue reading...Social network restores posts that were wrongly removed as system went haywire
A Facebook spam filter that went haywire on Tuesday evening and began removing many perfectly acceptable posts was unrelated to coronavirus, the company has said.
All the removed posts have been restored, a Facebook executive said, attributing the removals to an automated system. Despite the fact that many of the removed posts were related to the coronavirus, the company says that was simply a coincidence owing to the fact that so many posts on the site are related to the pandemic.
Continue reading...Camp residents set up mask factory and awareness teams amid fears overcrowding and poor sanitation will spread virus
In some of the most dangerously overcrowded Greek refugee camps, it has become a race against time to raise awareness about Covid-19 and ensure an outbreak does not spread among an already vulnerable population.
In the infamous Moria camp on the island of Lesbos close to 20,000 people live in a space designed for just under 3,000.
Continue reading...We will be the group most affected by this outbreak. Governments must bury austerity and ensure care is adequately staffed and well-resourced
Imagine working in an underfunded, understaffed hospital facing a devastating disease outbreak. Imagine being forced to make impossible choices about who to treat and who to let die. Imagine coming home to your family, knowing you might be putting them at risk.
These are the awful situations we health workers faced in dealing with the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Libera. For me the greatest tragedy is hearing similar stories emerge from colleagues around the world who are up against the coronavirus. It terrifies me to see that developed countries health systems are at breaking point – I hate to imagine what this virus might do to my region next.
Continue reading...Until the mid-1800s, doctors didn’t bother washing their hands – they would go from dissecting a cadaver to delivering a child. Then a Hungarian medic made an essential, much-resisted breakthrough
It felt strange when Boris Johnson emerged from the first Covid-19 Cobra meeting on 2 March and told us to wash our hands while singing Happy Birthday. The preppers among us had panic-shopped while awaiting his pronouncements, and others fretted about vulnerable loved ones, travel plans, the nightmare of simultaneous homeworking and home-schooling, and not being able to work at all. And all our leader had was this?
As one of the few things we can do to significantly stop the spread of coronavirus while out in the infectious world, the new rules for this everyday habit have become the meme du jour. The Killers’ frontman, Brandon Flowers, tweeted a video of himself lathering up while crooning his hit Mr Brightside to 4 million followers. Judi Dench and Gyles Brandreth have posted themselves online reciting The Owl and the Pussycat with sudsy hands. A website for generating handwashing infographics to the song lyrics of your choice has gone viral.
Continue reading...NGOs warn lone children in particular have been effectively abandoned as Covid-19 forces support services to shut
Governments across Europe are facing calls to urgently put into place measures to protect refugees and migrants – in particular lone children – as the coronavirus epidemic sees volunteer numbers plunge and many vital support services close.
On Tuesday, groups working with refugees and unaccompanied children in France and Greece implored the authorities in both countries to provide urgent help to refugees and unaccompanied minors, whom they say have been effectively abandoned by the authorities.
Continue reading...Prime minister Scott Morrison and chief medical officer Brendan Murphy say schools should remain open despite calls to restrict gatherings of more than 100 people. NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian says schools remaining open is the 'best option from a health perspective'
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