Coronavirus: Spain registers lowest daily deaths since mid-March
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More than 90% of Tokyo hospital beds for Covid-19 patients filled: government
More than 90 percent of hospital beds secured for Covid-19 patients in Tokyo have already been occupied, the Japanese Health Ministry said on Sunday, underscoring the pressing need to curb the further spread of the new coronavirus.
The ministry said 1,832 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised in the capital as of April 28, or 91.6 percent of the 2,000 beds made available for such patients.
The Tokyo Metropolitan government aims to boost the number of beds for Covid-19 patients to 4,000 eventually.
“There is a possibility that the virus will spread further. It is necessary to bring closer the number of beds from 2,000 to such target quickly,” a Health Ministry official told Reuters.
WHO suspends staff activity in Yemen's Houthi-held areas: document
The World Health Organization (WHO) has suspended staff activity at its hubs in Houthi-held areas of Yemen, a directive seen by Reuters showed, in a move sources said aimed to pressure the group to be more transparent about suspected coronavirus cases. War-ravaged Yemen is divided between the internationally recognised government temporarily based in the south and the Houthi movement that ousted it from power in the capital, Sanaa, in the north in late 2014.
The Saudi-backed government has so far reported 34 cases of the novel coronavirus with seven deaths in the territory it controls, while the Houthis, who control most large urban centres, have recorded just two cases with one death. The WHO directive issued late on Saturday notified staff in Sanaa, in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, in the northern province of Saada and the central province of Ibb that “all movements, meetings or any other activity” for all staff in those areas were paused until further notice.
The WHO did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Three sources told Reuters that the WHO had taken the measure to press the Houthi authorities to report results of tests for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus.
The Saudi-backed government has accused Houthi authorities of covering up an outbreak in Sanaa, a charge the group denies.
Madagascar coronavirus herbal mix draws demand from across Africa despite WHO misgivings
Madagascar is putting its self-proclaimed, plant-based “cure” for COVID-19 on sale and several countries in Africa have already put in orders for purchase, despite warnings from the World Health Organisation that its efficacy is unproven.
Last month President Andry Rajoelina launched the remedy at a news conference, drinking from a sleekly-branded bottle filled with an amber liquid which he said had already cured two people.
On Friday, a Tanzanian delegation arrived in Madagascar to collect their consignment.
The tonic, based on the plant Artemisia annua which has anti-malarial properties, has not undergone any internationally recognised scientific testing. While Rajoelina extolled its virtues, the WHO cautioned it needs to be tested for efficacy and side effects.
Madagascar has been giving away thousands of bottles of “Covid-19 Organics”, developed by the state-run Malagasy Institute of Applied Research.
Lockdowns pile job losses and hunger onto Syrian refugees' plight
Ahmad al-Mostafa can’t afford milk for his baby daughter. A Syrian refugee, he has barely been able to feed his family since Lebanon sank into economic crisis last year. But now, a coronavirus lockdown has made things even worse.
“Nobody will hire us anymore,” said the 28-year-old, who lost his restaurant job a few months ago. He racked up hundreds of dollars in debt at the local minimarket getting food before the owner said he could borrow no more.
“We’re afraid of tomorrow,” he said. “We don’t know what will happen to us.”
His plight echoes that facing many of the 5.6 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, who had scraped by on meagre daily wages but now find even that is denied them as the coronavirus pandemic forces their host countries into shutdown.
Many Lebanese have themselves been hit by a financial crisis that has evaporated jobs and sent prices soaring, and have become less tolerant of the Syrians who have boosted the population by around 1.5 million to some 6 million.
Johnson & Johnson to produce 1 billion coronavirus vaccines by next year
US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson is looking to produce a billion coronavirus vaccines for next year.
The company's Chief Scientific Officer Dr Paul Stoffels made the announcement, reports the CNN.
"We start clinical trials in September and hopefully have data by the end of the year," Stoffels said Sunday on ABC.
He added that the company is "now working towards one billion vaccines for next year."
Johnson & Johnson is upscaling manufacturing and will start producing the vaccine later this year, he said.
Stoffels said: "clinical trials will need to be done to show that it is effective, and that will take some time."
"We will have some vaccine available this year, but it will depend on the authorities – the FDA and others – to decide whether it can be used earlier, before efficacy data are available."
US unemployment rate will get worse, Treasury's Mnuchin says
The staggering US unemployment rate reported by the government on Friday amid coronavirus lockdowns may get even worse, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.
“The reported numbers are probably going to get worse before they get better,” Mnuchin told the Fox News Sunday program.
The unemployment rate surged to 14.7 percent in April, the Department of Labor reported.
That shattered the post-World War Two record of 10.8 percent touched in November 1982.
Mnuchin indicated the White House was talking about more fiscal measures to ease the economic pain from the pandemic. But, Mnuchin said the federal government did not want to bail out states that were “poorly” managed. The White House is pushing for a payroll tax cut, he added.
White House talking to Congress about more coronavirus economic relief, Kudlow says
The White House has begun informal talks with Republicans and Democrats in Congress about next steps on coronavirus relief legislation, a top economic adviser to President Donald Trump said on Sunday.
“It’s not that we’re not talking. We are. It’s just informal at this stage,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told ABC’s “This Week” program. “We’re collecting ideas for next steps, which will undoubtedly be data-driven.”
Kudlow said that he joined a Friday conference call with lawmakers from both parties in the House of Representatives and planned to do the same on Monday with members of the Senate.
Prince Charles thanks post workers for keeping Britain connected in crisis
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla have written to Britain’s postal workers to thank them for their role in helping families and friends keep in touch during the coronavirus lockdown.
Britons have been unable to meet their loved ones for nearly seven weeks as part of government measures to try to control the spread of the virus, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson set to announce only a very limited easing of the lockdown in a televised address later on Sunday.
In a letter addressed to “everyone at Royal Mail” and dated May 5, the heir to the throne and his wife said many people had taken to writing to those from whom they were separated. Royal Mail is a former monopoly that provides letter and parcel deliveries to more than 30 million businesses and households.
“The incredible value of what you do has never been more important,” the couple said in the letter, which was posted on Twitter by their office on Sunday.
Five players test positive for coronavirus - La Liga
Five players in Spain’s top two divisions have tested positive for Covid-19 since clubs began testing players and staff members last week, organising body La Liga said in a statement on Sunday.
La Liga said the players would remain at their homes where they would continue individual training before being tested again “in the next few days” to determine whether they can return to their club’s training ground.
Many clubs including champions Barcelona have returned to individual training as part of the second stage of La Liga’s four-phase protocol for getting back to activity after play was halted in early March due to the pandemic.
Real Madrid are due to resume training for the first time in two months on Monday, while La Liga has said it hopes matches will resume, without spectators, by June.
Swiss back-to-school angst illustrates worries around easing lockdowns
Getting children back into classrooms may seem like a reassuring step toward normalcy after weeks of coronavirus lockdown but for some parents in Switzerland like Audrey Razama, it’s a source of anxiety.
Swiss schools start reopening on Monday and Razama’s 5-year-old daughter is due to join classmates. Razama, from the western town of Vevey, is instead opting for home schooling, worried that her daughter could bring home the virus and infect her younger sister, who has a heart murmur.
Last month, parents in Denmark experienced similar angst: schools re-opened to many empty desks. France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States are also planning education reboots.
Switzerland, which has recorded more than 30,000 cases of the coronavirus, with 1,500 deaths, is loosening its lockdown as the outbreak eases, like other countries in Europe. Swiss health officials say young children rarely experience severe Covid-19 symptoms and seldom infect others.
Preschoolers return as Israel further eases coronavirus curbs
Israel partly reopened nurseries and kindergartens on Sunday, increasing the number of children who have returned to daycare as part of efforts to revive the economy as coronavirus worries subside.
Israel shut down the educational system in mid-March as contagions spiked. With the new case rate levelling out, classes resumed last week for the first three and last two grades of school, freeing up parents to go back to work.
As with school pupils, preschoolers were allowed back with enhanced hygience requirements and group sizes capped - 17 for nurseries, 18 for kindergartens - to allow for social distancing.
Worldwide coronavirus cases hit four-million mark
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide has topped the four million mark, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University.
Global death toll has also risen to above 277,000, reports the BBC.
The US accounts for almost a third of confirmed cases, and over a quarter of deaths.
Experts warn the true number of infections worldwide is likely to be far higher, with low testing rates in many countries skewing the data.
The charts below show the steep rise in cases since March and which states in the US have been most affected by Covid-19.
UK deaths 'could exceed 100,000 if lockdown relaxed too quickly'
Scientific advisers to the UK government have reportedly warned that the country could suffer more than 100,000 deaths by the end of the year if lockdown measures are relaxed too quickly.
The Sunday Times reports that the government was warned about the potential death toll early last week, reports the BBC.
"There is very limited room for manoeuvre," an unnamed scientific adviser said
UK PM Boris Johnson will make a speech to the nation on Sunday evening and is expected to set out a "roadmap" for easing the restrictions.
Turkey may lift transaction ban on foreign banks, but investigation will continue: Anadolu
Turkey’s banking watchdog may lift a transaction ban it imposed on BNP Paribas, Citibank and UBS if they fulfil their lira liabilities but an investigation into the three banks will continue, its head said on Sunday according to the state-owned Anadolu news agency.
On Thursday, Anadolu reported Turkish regulators had launched legal actions against London-based financial institutions over allegations they bought large sums of foreign currency and then defaulted on Turkish lira liabilities to weaken the currency.
Shortly after, the BDDK banking watchdog said it had imposed a lira transaction ban on the three banks as they had not fulfilled their Turkish lira liabilities in due time. It said then the ban would be maintained until further notice and would include transactions with the banned banks’ group banks that operate in other countries.
China refutes 24 'lies' by US politicians over coronavirus
China has issued a lengthy rebuttal of what it said were 24 "preposterous allegations" by some leading US politicians over its handling of the new coronavirus outbreak.
The Chinese foreign ministry has dedicated most of its press briefings over the past week to rejecting accusations by US politicians, especially Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, that China had withheld information about the new coronavirus and that it had originated in a laboratory in the city of Wuhan.
A 30-page, 11,000-word article posted on the ministry website on Saturday night repeated and expanded on the refutations made during the press briefings, and began by invoking Abraham Lincoln, the 19th century US president.
Spain registers lowest daily coronavirus deaths since mid-March
Spain registered its lowest daily number of coronavirus deaths since mid-March on Sunday, as half the population prepared for an easing of one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns.
Emergency Health Chief Fernando Simon said in a press conference that the daily death toll of 143 down from 179 on Saturday was the lowest since March 18.
“We continue with the downward trend reported in recent days,” he said.
Overall deaths rose to 26,621 from 26,478 on Saturday and the number of diagnosed coronavirus cases rose to 224,390 from 223,578 the day before, the Health Ministry said.
In Japan, world's longest-running TV cartoon show switches to re-runs as coronavirus halts production
Millions of Japanese viewers of the world’s longest-running animated cartoon TV show will have to make do with re-runs from next week after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted production, Fuji Television Network said on Sunday.
Aired every Sunday since 1969, the “Sazae-san” show features the everyday ups and downs of suburban Japanese housewife Sazae and her extended family, is a household name for many generations. It can still attract around 10 percent of the viewing audience, according to some estimates, for its 30-minute slot at 6.30 pm on Sundays.
The show, adapted from four-frame comic strips by late author Machiko Hasegawa, was acknowledged by Guinness World Records in 2013 as the longest-running animated series, a title that had previously been attributed by the record-keeping organisation to US show “The Simpsons”.
Hospitals treating Covid-19 in Mexican capital quickly filling up
Coronavirus patients were being turned away from hospitals in the Mexican capital on Saturday, as both public and private medical facilities quickly fill up and the number of new infections continues to rise.
Of the 64 public hospitals in the capital’s sprawling metro area designated to receive patients sick with Covid-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the virus, 26 are completely full, according to city government data.
A vinyl banner on the fence of the Ignacio Zaragosa public hospital in the city’s poor Iztapalapa district said it had no more beds for new coronavirus patients.
Kyrgyzstan to ease coronavirus restrictions
Kyrgyzstan will end the toughest restrictions it introduced to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, such as curfews, and allow certain businesses to reopen from Monday, the Central Asian nation’s government said on Sunday.
The former Soviet republic will in the meantime keep in place lockdown regulations barring travel between provinces, the cabinet said.
Among the businesses allowed to reopen from May 11 are providers of maintenance, cleaning and financial services, lawyers, property and tourist agents, as well as some non-food retailers.
Kyrgyzstan, which borders China, has confirmed 1,002 Covid-19 cases, of which 12 have died and 675 people have recovered.
UK sent coronavirus tests to United States for processing: minister
Britain had to send coronavirus tests to the United States to be processed after a problem at one of its laboratories, housing minister Robert Jenrick said on Sunday.
The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported 50,000 test samples were sent on chartered flights to the United States last week.
Asked about the report during an interview on Sky News, Jenrick said: "There was an issue with one of the labs and we put in place our contingency plan, which was to take some of the tests to the United States for the tests to be processed."
"That was exactly in line with the detailed plans the Department for Health had made in advance," he added.
Britain to quarantine travellers for 14 days, UK airlines body says
The British government has told airlines it will introduce a 14-day quarantine period for most people arriving from abroad to try to avoid a second peak of the coronavirus outbreak, an association representing the airlines said on Saturday.
Airlines UK, which represents British Airways, easyJet and other UK carriers, said the move required "a credible exit plan" and should be reviewed weekly. Airport operators said it could have a "devastating" impact on the aviation industry and the broader economy.
The quarantine plan was first reported by The Times newspaper, which said Prime Minister Boris Johnson would announce on Sunday that passengers arriving at airports and ports, including Britons returning from abroad, would have to self-isolate for a fortnight.
India issues guidelines for post-lockdown factory restarts after fatal gas leak
India has issued guidelines to ensure the safe restart of manufacturing facilities, after a weeks' long nationwide lockdown aimed at stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The guidelines come days after a gas leak killed 11 people and hospitalised 800 others at a plant in southern India operated by a subsidiary of South Korean petrochemicals maker LG Chem Ltd.
The cause, and whether it was related to the restart process, is being investigated.
Coronavirus spread accelerates again in Germany
New coronavirus infections are accelerating again in Germany just days after its leaders loosened social restrictions, raising concerns that the pandemic could once again slip out of control.
The Robert Koch Institute for disease control said in a daily bulletin the number of people each sick person now infects - known as the reproduction rate, or R - had risen to 1.1. When it goes above 1, it means the number of infections is growing.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, bowing to pressure from leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states to restart social life and revive the economy, announced on Wednesday measures that included more shop openings and a gradual return to school. At the same time, she launched an “emergency brake” to allow for the reimposition of restrictions if infections pick up again.
Malaysia reports 67 new coronavirus cases with no new deaths
Malaysian health authorities on Sunday reported 67 new coronavirus cases, bringing the cumulative total to 6,656
The health ministry reported no new deaths, with total fatalities at 108.
Spain's coronavirus daily death tolls falls again on Sunday
Spain’s daily death toll from the coronavirus fell to 143 on Sunday, down from 179 the previous day, the health ministry reported.
It marks the lowest daily death toll since mid-March.
Overall deaths rose to 26,621 from 26,478 on Saturday and the number of diagnosed cases rose to 224,390 from 223,578 the day before, the ministry said.
Russian coronavirus cases above 200,000
The Russian authorities said on Sunday they had recorded 11,012 new cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 209,688.
Russia’s coronavirus taskforce said 88 people had died in the past day, pushing the national death toll to 1,915, Reuters reported.
Russian coronavirus cases overtook French and German infections this week to become the fifth highest in the world.
Indonesia's coronavirus infections top 14,000
Indonesia reported 387 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, taking the total number to 14,032, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.
The Southeast Asian country also reported 14 more people have died from Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, bringing total to 973, Yurianto said. Meanwhile, 2,698 people have recovered, Reuters reported.
More than 113,452 people have been tested, he said, adding that many areas across the country are still showing fluctuating number of new infections.
Philippines reports 184 new coronavirus cases, 15 more deaths
The Philippines’ health ministry on Sunday confirmed 184 new coronavirus cases, taking the Southeast Asian nation’s total reported infections to 10,794.
Fifteen more deaths related to Covid-19, the disease caused by the new virus, were recorded, bringing the toll to 719, while 82 patients have recovered to bring total recoveries to 1,924, it said in a bulletin, Reuters reported.
Bangladesh reports single-day highest 887 new coronavirus cases, 14 deaths
Bangladesh today confirmed 14 more deaths from the novel coronavirus and single-day highest 887 new cases of infection testing 5,738 samples in 36 labs in the last 24 hours.
With this, the death toll from the deadly virus rose to 228 and the number of total infections stood at 14,657, The Business Standard reported.
Malaysia extends curbs on movement, businesses to June 9
Malaysia's government extended the time frame for movement and business curbs by another four weeks to June 9, amid a gradual reopening of economic activity stunted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this week, businesses were allowed to resume business as usual, albeit under strict health guidelines, after having to close shop for two months as health authorities worked to contain the pandemic. Malaysia has so far reported 6,589 cases with 108 deaths, Reuters reported.
Singapore reports 876 new coronavirus cases, taking total to 23,336
Singapore registered 876 new coronavirus infections, its health ministry said on Sunday, taking the city-state’s total to 23,336 cases.
The vast majority of the newly infected people are migrant workers living in dormitories, the health ministry said in a statement. Three are permanent residents, Reuters reported.
China reports first coronavirus case in Wuhan since April 3 among 14 new infections
China's National Health Commission reported 14 new confirmed coronavirus cases on May 9, the highest number since April 28, including the first for more than a month in the city of Wuhan where the outbreak was first detected late last year.
While China had officially designated all areas of the country as low-risk last Thursday, the new cases according to data published on Sunday represent a jump from the single case reported for the day before. The number was lifted by a cluster of 11 in Shulan city in northeastern Jilin province, Reuters reported.
Japan looks to lift coronavirus emergency in some areas ahead of May 31 deadline
Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Sunday the government is looking to lift the state of emergency in "many of 34 prefectures" that are not among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic before the nationwide deadline of May 31, Reuters reported.
Deadly fire at Moscow hospital treating virus patients
A fire at a Moscow hospital treating patients infected with coronavirus has forced the evacuation of about 200 people, killing one patient.
News reports said the fire at the facility in the northern part of the city has been extinguished, reported Al Jazeera.
Thailand reports five new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
Thailand reported five new coronavirus cases but no deaths on Sunday, bringing the total to 3,009 cases and 56 deaths since the outbreak started in the country in January.
However, there are four more infected people from the resort island of Phuket, who will be included in figures to be reported on Monday, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesman for the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, Reuters reported.
Of the new cases reported on Sunday, two were linked to previous cases and three had travelled abroad, he said.
Slowing numbers of new cases have prompted Thailand to allow some businesses to reopen after weeks of semi-lockdown.
South Korea reports 34 new coronavirus cases, highest in a month
South Korea reported 34 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the highest daily number in a month, after a small outbreak emerged around a slew of nightclubs that a confirmed patient had visited.
Of the new cases, 26 were domestically transmitted infections and eight were imported cases, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said, Reuters reported.
Sunday’s total was the highest since April 9. After battling the first major epidemic outside China, South Korea posted zero or very few domestic cases over the past 10 days, with the daily tally hovering around 10 or less in recent weeks.
The resurgence followed a small but growing coronavirus outbreak centred around a handful of Seoul nightclubs, which a man in his late 20s had visited before testing positive for the virus.
US adds 1,568 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours
The United States recorded 1,568 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 78,746, according to the latest real-time tally reported by Johns Hopkins University at 8:30pm Saturday (0030 GMT Sunday).
The country — hardest hit by the pandemic in terms of the number of fatalities — has now confirmed a total of 1,309,164 cases, the Baltimore-based school reported, AFP reported.
France records 80 new virus deaths, lowest daily toll in a month
French health officials on Saturday announced another 80 deaths from the new coronavirus, the lowest figure recorded over 24 hours since early April.
The figures for those in intensive care also fell, with 38 people admitted for critical care, FP reported.
The death toll in France now stands at 26,310, one of the Europe’s highest.
Global coronavirus cases exceed four million
More than four million confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported across the world, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University.
The global death toll has also risen to above 277,000, BBC reported.
The US remains the worst-hit country, accounting for over a quarter of confirmed cases and a third of deaths.
China reports 14 new coronavirus cases, high-risk area resurfaces
China’s National Health Commission reported 14 new confirmed coronavirus cases on May 9, the highest number since April 28 and up from only one case a day earlier, according to data published on Sunday.
Of the new cases, two were imported infections. The remaining 12 confirmed cases were locally transmitted, including 11 cases in the northeastern province of Jilin, Reuters reported.
Newly discovered asymptomatic cases were at 20, the highest since May 1 and up from 15 a day earlier, according to the health commission.
No new deaths were reported, it said.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country reached 82,901 as of May 9, while the total death toll from the virus stood at 4,633, it said.
On Sunday, Jilin province raised the coronavirus risk level of Shulan city from medium to high after a cluster of 11 cases were confirmed in Shulan.
The move came after all areas in China were considered low-risk on Thursday.
Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 667 to 169,218
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 667 to 169,218, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.
The reported death toll rose by 13 to 7,395, the tally showed, Reuters reported.
Rare syndrome tied to Covid-19 kills three children in New York
Three children in New York have died from a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to the novel coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday, a development that may augur a pandemic risk for the very young.
Both Cuomo and his counterpart in the neighboring state of New Jersey also spoke on Saturday about the pandemic's growing toll on mental health, another factor on the minds of governors as they weigh the impact of mounting job losses against health risks in moving to loosen restrictions on daily life, Reuters reported.