Coronavirus: Spain aims to reopen borders to tourism in late June
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Spain aims to reopen borders to tourism in late June
Tourism-dependent Spain aims to reopen borders to visitors around the end of June as its coronavirus lockdown fully unwinds, a minister said on Monday, in a much-needed boost for the ravaged travel sector.
Madrid last week surprised its European Union partners by imposing a two-week quarantine on all overseas travellers and effectively keeping borders closed, saying that was needed to avoid importing a second wave of the COVID-19 disease.
But the move was meant to be temporary and Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos said it would be phased out in parallel with travel being allowed within Spain, whose regions are easing restrictions in different phases.
Merkel: Coronavirus pandemic will be overcome quicker if world works together
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the coronavirus pandemic would be overcome more quickly if the world works together to tackle it, adding that it was necessary to look at whether the World Health Organization’s processes could be improved.
“The World Health Organization is the legitimate, global institution where all the threads come together. Because that is the case we have to keep looking at how we can further improve its functioning,” Merkel said in a video message at a WHO meeting, adding that this included ensuring it has sustainable financing.
Stressing that no country could tackle the coronavirus alone, she also said: “I am convinced we will overcome the pandemic. The more we work together internationally, the quicker we will achieve this.”
Morocco extends coronavirus lockdown to June 10
Morocco is to extend its national lockdown to contain the spread of the new coronavirus until June 10, Prime Minister Saad Dine El Otmani said on Monday.Morocco had confirmed 6,930 coronavirus cases, including 192 deaths, by Monday morning, as the rise of hotspots within families and factories complicates efforts to curb infections.
Outbreak at Chinese-owned factory shows challenges of easing India's lockdown
Chinese smartphone maker OPPO suspended operations at a recently re-opened plant in India after workers tested positive for the coronavirus, an official said on Monday, underlining the challenges of easing a near two-month nationwide lockdown.
The factory, located on the outskirts of capital New Delhi, had received government permission to resume production, the company said on May 7, as part of a gradual relaxation of the shutdown that began on March 25.
OPPO had said it would resume manufacturing with 30 percent of its workforce, but a district official said that when the company tested its workers prior to production restarting, half a dozen people were positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Start 'travel bubbles' for low-risk countries, Heathrow urges UK
Britain should set up “travel bubbles” with low-risk countries to allow the movement of people, instead of bringing in new coronavirus quarantine rules when flights restart, according to Heathrow Airport.
British government ministers have said they plan a 14-day quarantine for most people arriving in the country in the coming weeks to try to prevent a second peak of the pandemic.
Airlines have warned the policy will throttle hopes for a travel recovery.
Heathrow Airport, which before the novel coronavirus grounded planes was the busiest in Europe, said it had been working with the UK Department for Transport on proposals to allow some unrestricted travel.
“The proposal would create ‘travel corridors’ or ‘travel bubbles’ allowing free movement between countries or cities that are very low-risk, but potentially blocking flights from high-risk markets to safeguard public health,” the airport said in a statement.
WHO oversight body backs pandemic review, suggests reforms
The oversight body of the World Health Organization said on Monday that WHO had "demonstrated leadership" in handling the pandemic and that its performance should be reviewed, but "not during the heat of the response" which could prove disruptive.
The independent panel, in its first report covering the period of January-April, suggested WHO reforms including introducing a "stepped level of alerts" before declaring an international emergency so as to get states' early attention.
It also suggested that WHO's 194 member states review the size and surge capacity of WHO's emergencies programme, saying it annual budget of less than $300 million was "too modest".
Vatican, Italy resume public church services as lockdown eases
Pope Francis inaugurated the full reopening of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Monday and Catholic churches across Italy held public Masses for the first time in two months, in the latest easing of coronavirus restrictions.
Francis said a private Mass in a side chapel where St. John Paul II is buried to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the late Polish pope’s birth. John Paul II was made a saint in 2014.
The basilica, which on Friday underwent a sanitising process to make it as cornavirus-free as possible, later opened to the public for Masses by priests on other side altars after the pope had left.
Signs in English and Italian told those entering that they had to keep at least 1.5 metres (five feet) apart, wear masks and sanitize their hands.
Hungary and Slovenia aim to reopen border by June 1: minister
Hungary and Slovenia have agreed on a road map towards a gradual reopening of their border by June 1, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.
“Restarting our economies is not possible without restarting international cooperation,” Szijjarto wrote. “Therefore, without jeopardising the protection of health, which is a priority, an easing of restrictive measures imposed at the borders is needed.”
Moderna's experimental Covid-19 vaccine shows promise in early-stage study
Moderna Inc said on Monday its experimental Covid-19 vaccine produced antibodies that could "neutralize" the new coronavirus in patients in a small early stage clinical trial, sending its shares up 25 percent.
The levels of the antibodies were similar to those in blood samples of people who have recovered from Covid-19, early results from the study conducted by the National Institutes of Health showed.
Participants were given three different doses of the vaccine and Moderna said it saw dose-dependent increase in immunogenicity, the ability to provoke an immune response in the body.
In race to Covid-19 drugs, EU may fast track remdesivir sale before US
The European Union may give an initial green light in the coming days for sale of the drug remdesivir as a Covid-19 treatment, the head of its medicines agency said on Monday, fast-tracking the drug to market amid tight global competition for resources.
The United States, which has angered the EU with aggressive tactics in a procurement race during the global pandemic, has yet to issue a similar approval for the drug, made by US pharmaceutical company Gilead.
Demand for remdesivir has been growing as there are currently no approved treatments or vaccines for Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.
Putin says coronavirus situation in southern Russia's Dagestan is difficult
President Vladimir Putin said on Monday the coronavirus situation in Russia’s southern region of Dagestan was particularly difficult and that the mainly Muslim region’s healthcare system was under serious strain.
The Caspian Sea region of Dagestan has reported 3,460 cases of the new coronavirus and 29 deaths, although Russian media reports have suggested the real figures are much higher.
China defends handling of coronavirus, backs review of global response under WHO
China's president called on Monday for an independent review of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic under the World Health Organization once the virus is under control, and defended Beijing's own handling of the pandemic.
In a video message to a virtual meeting of the WHO's decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, President Xi Jinping also pledged $2 billion over two years to help with the Covid-19 response.
During the two-day meeting, health ministers from around the world are expected to back calls for an independent evaluation of the WHO's performance, criticism of which has been led by US President Donald Trump.
Zimbabweans go hungry as coronavirus compounds climate woes
Before the coronavirus outbreak, 7.7 million Zimbabweans faced food shortages after a drought and cyclone in 2019 and patchy rains this year, linked to climate change and worsened by rampant inflation and a foreign exchange shortage.
Now it faces a triple threat of climate breakdown, monetary woes and a new economic crisis caused by the lockdown.
The government’s latest figures show that 8.5 million Zimbabweans are now food insecure, while international aid agencies say up to 45 million people face hunger in southern Africa due to climate-induced food shortages.
The government has promised a food grant of $2.4 billion Zimbabwe dollars ($96 million) targeting 1 million people for six months, without saying where it would get the money.
Buses, autos, cabs can run in Delhi, markets to open but conditions apply
Shops can reopen in Delhi and buses, autos and taxis can run with limited passengers, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday.
He added that the lockdown would be extended till May 31 and markets will open on an odd-even basis but shops selling essential items can open every day, reports the NDTV.
China's Xi says supports WHO probe when Covid-19 controlled
China supports a comprehensive review of the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic led by the World Health Organization (WHO) after the virus that causes the disease is brought under control, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday.
Xi's comments, made during a video speech to the World Health Assembly, come as a resolution pushed by the European Union and Australia calling for a review of the origin and spread of the novel coronavirus gathers international support. The pandemic has killed more than 310,000 people globally.
China had previously opposed calls for such investigations from Washington and Canberra, but Xi signalled on Monday that Beijing would be amenable to an impartial review.
Cafes, churches reopen in Italy, Greece as Spain targets mid-summer revival
Italian shops, restaurants and churches reopened their doors to the spring sun on Monday, Greece welcomed visitors back to the Acropolis, and Spain hoped for tourists to return in summer in cautious steps to ease coronavirus lockdowns.
Italians could once again sip their morning cappuccino at the bar, albeit at a distance from one another, in what Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte admitted at the weekend was a “calculated risk” in rolling back the curbs.
“I haven’t worked for two and a half months. It’s a beautiful, exciting day,” said Valentino Casanova, a barman in Caffe Canova in Rome’s central Piazza del Popolo.
Countries across the world, at different stages in the pandemic, are wrangling with the decision on when to ease restrictions, weighing the threat to life and the threat to economic survival. Tourism is a major earner for Italy, Greece and Spain as the summer approaches.
Without human touch, Britain-EU Brexit talks struggle to find harmony
Stumbling through video calls, the long-troubled Brexit talks are heading for a new crisis as coronavirus health restrictions bar the intense face-to-face meetings that have proven crucial in pulling the negotiations back from the brink.
With increasingly frustrated British and EU negotiators trading barbs over each other’s “ideological approach” and “lack of understanding” of the consequences of Britain’s departure from the bloc, talks on a new trade pact between the estranged allies have made virtually no progress in recent months.
Officials and diplomats on both sides forecast tensions will rise before a June 30 deadline, raising questions for companies over future trade between the world’s fifth-biggest economy and its biggest trading bloc which accounted for about 650 billion pounds a year before the coronavirus crisis.
Acropolis sparkles in the sun as Greek tourist spots reopen
Greece reopened the Acropolis, museums and other major tourist attractions as the coronavirus lockdown eased in bright sunshine in Athens on Monday.
Quarantine restrictions are gradually being lifted — access to beaches was allowed on Saturday amid a heatwave and churches welcomed worshippers on Sunday.
“I visited the Acropolis today, a world monument that continues to inspire with its marbles shining under the sun,” Greece President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said after a walk at the ancient ruins, one of the most visited tourist sites in the world.
Workers wearing masks and plastic face shields were on site to inform the few foreign tourists of the social distancing regulations, which require visitors to remain 1.5 metres apart.
#IndonesiaWhatever: Indonesians vent online over virus response
A flood of criticism of the Indonesian government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and the behaviour of many Indonesians has appeared on social media under a hashtag that translates as #IndonesiaWhatever.
The posts followed online comments by a doctor and social media influencer, Tirta Mandira Hudhi, who was outraged by the easing of a flight ban that led to passengers inundating a Jakarta airport late last week and ignoring guidelines on social distancing. On his Instagram account, the doctor posted a picture of himself in full personal protective equipment, holding a sign with the words “Indonesia? Whatever. Do what you like!”
By Monday, the post had drawn more than 400,000 likes and the hashtag #IndonesiaTerserah was among the top trending on Instagram and Twitter.
Indonesia has the highest Covid-19 death toll in East Asia outside China, but was slower than neighbours to impose restrictions to curb the virus and is already discussing when to relax them.
Thai traffic back to gridlock as coronavirus measures ease
Cars, trucks and motorcycles jostled on Monday in a return of the Thai capital’s familiar gridlock as commuters headed back to work in the second phase of easing coronavirus restrictions to get the economy back on track.
As snarl-ups grew in Bangkok’s notoriously congested streets, travelers headed to its northern bus terminal to get out to the provinces for the first time since March, most sitting beside empty seats, in line with social distancing rules.
“I’ve been waiting to go home for many months. I’m glad to finally be able to do so,” said Ratchari Maneenop, 22, who was heading to her home province of Loei in the northeast.
Thailand reported three new coronavirus infections on Monday, taking confirmed cases to 3,031 since January, with 56 deaths.
What did eight weeks and $3 trillion buy the US in the fight against coronavirus?
Unemployment checks are flowing, $490 billion has been shipped to small businesses, and the US Federal Reserve has put about $2.5 trillion and counting behind domestic and global markets.
Fears of overwhelmed hospitals and millions of US deaths from the new coronavirus have diminished, if not disappeared.
Yet two months into the United States' fight against the most severe pandemic to arise in the age of globalization, neither the health nor the economic war has been won. Many analysts fear the country has at best fought back worst-case outcomes.
Australia welcomes growing support for Covid-19 inquiry at WHO meeting
A resolution pushed by the European Union and Australia calling for a review into the origins and spread of the novel coronavirus has the support of 116 countries at the World Health Assembly, almost enough for it to pass, a document showed.
The resolution on the coronavirus will be put forward on Tuesday if it gains backing from two-thirds of the 194 members of the assembly, the governing body of the World Health Organization.
China has strongly opposed calls for an international investigation into the pandemic but appeared more amenable to the resolution on Monday.
A copy of the draft resolution seen by Reuters on Monday showed support from 116 members was locked in, although Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said negotiations were going on and she did not want to pre-empt the outcome.
Bangladesh sees single-day highest 21 deaths from Covid-19, 1,602 new cases
Bangladesh today confirmed highest single-day 21 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 1,602 new cases of infection testing 9,788 samples in the last 24 hours.
With this, the death toll from the deadly virus rose to 349 and the number of total infections stood at 23,870. Some 212 patients recovered during this time, The Business Standard reported.
Singapore confirms 305 new coronavirus cases
Singapore’s health ministry confirmed 305 new coronavirus cases on Monday, the smallest increase in over a month, taking its tally of infections to 28,343.
The ministry cautioned that the lower number of cases was partly due to fewer tests being processed as one testing laboratory was reviewing its processes following an earlier apparatus calibration issue, Reuters reported.
India Covid-19 cases over 5,000, a one-day record
India recorded 5,242 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours - the highest spike the country has seen so far, just as the government has begun to ease restrictions.
With this, the total number of cases stands at 96,169, with around 56,000 active infections, BBC reported.
While the lockdown is slated to end on 31 May, some non-essential shops and businesses have begun to reopen, and buses have been allowed to operate across cities and towns, and even cross state borders if they have permission.
Easing the lockdown is seen by some as essential for India's battered economy to recover - job losses have crossed 120 million.
US records 820 new coronavirus deaths in 24 hours
The United States on Sunday recorded 820 new coronavirus fatalities in the previous 24 hours, but the country’s total death count neared 90,000, a Johns Hopkins University tracker reported.
The latest toll, marked at 8:30pm (0030 GMT Monday), was the lowest since 776 daily deaths were recorded on May 10, but the count ranged as high as 1,894 in subsequent days, AFP reported.
According to the real-time tracker by Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins, the United States has 1,486,376 cases of novel coronavirus.
That figure and the death toll are by far the world’s highest.
Coronavirus deaths in Spain fall to two-month low under 100
Spain on Sunday reported 87 coronavirus deaths over a 24-hour period, the first time in two months that the daily toll has dropped below 100.
The number came a day before Spain is to further relax lockdown measures across the country, except in Madrid and Barcelona, AFP reported.
“For the first time in a long time we are below 100, which is good news,” said the head of the emergency health centre Fernando Simon.
At the height of the current outbreak in early April, Spain counted 950 deaths in one day.
Spain remains one of the countries hardest hit by the virus with a total of 27,650 deaths, the health ministry reported on Sunday. The number of confirmed cases is more than 231,000.
South Africa reports 24-hour record of 1,160 new virus cases
South Africa on Sunday reported 1,160 new coronavirus infections, the highest daily number since the first case was recorded in March, data released by the health ministry showed.
“As of today, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa is 15,515 with 1,160 new cases identified in the last 24 hour cycle of testing,” said the ministry statement, AFP reported.
The Western Cape province, popular with tourists, accounted for nearly 60 percent of the national numbers.
The numbers of deaths rose by three to 263 from Saturday.
Africa’s most industrialised economy has the highest numbers of infections in Africa, followed by Egypt which has so far recorded 11,719 Covid-19 cases, including 612 deaths.
The country has been under a lockdown since March 27 and has embarked on an aggressive mass-testing strategy with 460,873 tested so far.
But some health experts are beginning to see the limits of the country’s lauded mass screening strategy, with results taking up to two weeks to come through.
China reports seven new coronavirus infections
China reported seven new confirmed coronavirus cases for May 17, up from five a day earlier, the country’s health authority said on Monday.
Of the new cases, the northeastern province of Jilin, currently in a partial lockdown due to a flare-up in infections, reported two confirmed cases, Reuters reported.
That takes the total number of new infections in Jilin to 33 since the first case of the current wave was reported on May 7.
The financial hub of Shanghai reported one new locally transmitted case for May 17, its first since late March.
The other four new cases in the mainland involved infected travellers arriving in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia from overseas.
In mainland China, the total number of confirmed cases stood at 82,954 as of May 17, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,633.
China also reported 18 new asymptomatic cases on May 17, versus 12 the day before.
China does not include people who test positive but show no symptoms such as a fever in its tally of confirmed infections.
Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 2 to 174,355
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 2 to 174,355, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday.
The tally showed no further deaths due to the virus. The reported death toll remained at 7,914, Reuters reported.