Crowds swarm Stockholm’s waterfront, with some people sipping cocktails in the sun. In much of the world, this sort of gathering would be frowned upon or even banned.Not in Sweden.It doesn’t worry Anders Tegnell, the country’s chief epidemiologist and top strategist in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.The 63-year-old has become a household name in Sweden, appearing across the media and holding daily briefings outlining the progression of the outbreak with a precise, quiet demeanor.As countries across Europe have restricted the movement of their citizens, Sweden stands out for what Tegnell calls a “low-scale” approach that “is much more sustainable” over a longer period.President Donald Trump has suggested that a rising number of COVID-19 deaths indicate Sweden is paying a heavy price for embracing the idea of herd immunity — that is, letting many individuals get sick to build up immunity in the population. He said: “Sweden did that — the herd. They called (it) the herd. Sweden is suffering very, very badly. It’s a way of doing it.”But Swedish Health Minister Lena Hallengren recently told The Associated Press: “We have never had a strategy for herd immunity.”So far, Sweden has banned gatherings larger than 50 people, closed high schools and universities, and urged those over 70 or otherwise at greater risk from the virus to self-isolate.The softer approach means that schools for younger children, restaurants and most businesses are still open, creating the impression that Swedes are living their lives as usual.Yet as Johan Klockar watches his son kick a ball around a field during a soccer practice in Stockholm, the 43-year-old financial analyst says it’s not like that. He and his wife work from home and avoid unnecessary outings. They socialize in a very small circle, and limit their son’s contacts to people he sees at school or soccer practice.”Society is functioning, but I think it’s quite limited,” Klockar said. “Other than this sort of situation — schools, soccer practice — we basically stay at home.”And while most businesses in Sweden are still operating, the economic cost of the pandemic is already being felt. Last week, 25,350 Swedes registered as unemployed, according to the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce — a larger increase than during the 2008 financial crisis.In contrast, just across a narrow strip of sea, neighboring Denmark is already talking about reopening society. They imposed a much stricter lockdown four weeks ago, closing borders, schools and businesses. This week, the prime minister said by acting early, Denmark averted the tragedy that struck hard-hit nations like Italy and Spain, which together have seen at least 37,000 virus-related deaths, and will be ready after Easter for a slow return to normal life that starts with reopening preschools and primary schools.For weeks, the numbers of COVID-19 cases and fatalities were proportionally similar between Sweden and Denmark, but while the economic results of the strict isolation are being felt in Denmark, Sweden’s mortality rate has reached more than 88 dead per million, compared with around 47 dead per million in Denmark.Sweden, with a population of 10 million, has registered 899 deaths, while Denmark, with 5.8 million people, has 273 deaths. Worldwide, the virus has infected a reported 1.8 million people and killed 114,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Still, due to limited testing, different ways of counting the dead and deliberate under-counting by some governments, experts believe those numbers vastly understate the pandemic’s true toll.After a sharp spike in deaths in Sweden, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven proposed an emergency law allowing the quick closure of public venues and transportation if needed. Lofven also warned citizens to prepare for possibly up to thousands of deaths.Nevertheless, Tegnell, the chief epidemiologist, insists that Sweden’s approach still seems to make sense, though he also acknowledges that the world is in uncharted territory with the virus.
He argues that while Sweden might have more infections in the short term, it will not face the risk of a huge infection spike that Denmark might face once its lockdown is lifted.”I think both Norway and Denmark are now very concerned about how you stop this complete lockdown in a way so you don’t cause this wave to come immediately when you start loosening up,” he said.He said authorities know that the physical distancing Swedes are engaging in works, because officials have recorded a sudden end to the flu season and to a winter vomiting illness.Lars Ostergaard, chief consultant and professor at the Department of Infectious Diseases at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, agrees it is too soon to know which approach is best.”Every day a person is not being infected because of the strict lockdown, we are a day closer to a cure,” Ostergaard said, underlining the advantage of the Danish approach. But he acknowledges that the long-term consequences of a locked-down community could also be “substantial.””There is no right or wrong way,” Ostergaard said. “No one has walked this path before, and only the aftermath will show who made the best decision.”
…
Month: April 2020
Japan’s Leader Slammed Over ‘Stay Home’ Shutdown Tweet
Perhaps the best that can be said about a “stay home” Twitter posted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is that it’s given bored copycats sitting at home waiting out the coronavirus ample inspiration.
It certainly appears to have rubbed many people frustrated by Abe’s handling of the crisis the wrong way.
Abe, like U.S. President Donald Trump, has faced accusations his moves to counter the coronavirus were too little, too late. Until late March, Abe’s administration was still insisting the Tokyo Olympics would go ahead as planned in July. It’s now been postponed until July 2021.
Abe declared a month-long state of emergency in Tokyo and six other prefectures deemed at highest risk of an explosion of coronavirus infections just last Tuesday. The government asked people in those areas — later expanded to all of Japan — to stay at home.
But the “stay home” message has incensed many who note most Japanese cannot remain at home because the government’s social distancing policy is voluntary and doesn’t come with compensation for cash-strapped workers.
The video posted on Twitter, on a split screen accompanied by a guitar-playing popular singer, shows Abe sitting at home looking bored. Abe reading a book. Abe cuddling his dog, sipping from a cup and flipping channels with a remote.
“You cannot see your friends or organize drinking parties, but your actions are surely saving many lives,” says the video’s written message. “Everyone please cooperate.”
The sight of Abe, heir to a wealthy political dynasty, in such genteel surroundings hasn’t resonated with families being asked to stay cooped up in cramped apartments and with workers still having to commute since many Japanese companies have been slow to switch to remote work. Some people have lost their jobs or had their salaries cut.
“An elegant tweet despite a national crisis,” blared a headline in the Nikkan Sports tabloid. “Abe the aristocrat!!”
Many on Twitter mocked Abe with their own satirical versions of his poses, including one who did so in the nude, “stay home” messages written in marker on his bare chest and tummy, his privates camouflaged with props including a Chinese lion dance head he cuddled as if it was his pet.
“Who does he think he is?” said one commentator. “He is so out of touch.”
“It was an extremely visual way of understanding the prime minister’s lack of awareness, and I’m just appalled,” tweeted Takanori Fujita, a professor at Seigakuin University who runs a non-profit support group for the homeless, jobless or others in financial difficulties.
Abe’s April 1 announcement that the government would deliver a pair of old-fashioned gauze masks to each of Japan’s 50 million households was received with disbelief by some who thought it was an April Fools’ Day joke.
Abe, who took office for a second time in December 2012, has survived numerous scandals to become Japan’s longest-serving post-World War II prime minister.
Local leaders are pushing him to be more pro-active in fighting the pandemic. Leading the pack is Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, who like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has been holding daily updates, hers on YouTube.
The tug of war between Abe and Koike is more low key than the occasional New York-style sparring between Trump and Cuomo, whose state has been ravaged by the pandemic. The dynamics, also, are somewhat different. In general, Koike shares the same nationalist, conservative policy stance as Abe.
But like Cuomo, Koike is articulate and to the point. She does not stray from facts, and she has one mission: to protect Tokyo.
The day after Abe announced the Olympics postponement, Koike raised the alarm over surging cases in the capital, which accounts for about a fifth of all Japanese business activity and is the hub of a wider metropolitan area that is home to about a third of all Japanese.
As of Sunday, Japan had 114 coronavirus deaths and 7,255 confirmed cases, not including 712 from a cruise ship that was quarantined near Tokyo for weeks. Tokyo prefecture alone has a total of 2,068 cases.
Koike, who is facing a July election, successfully lobbied Abe to include in his shutdown requests nightclubs, pachinko parlors, game centers and internet cafes — all considered likely hot spots for spreading the virus. She didn’t win a concession on shutting barber shops and beauty salons.”Izakaya” Japanese-style pubs are merely being asked to close at 8 p.m. instead of in the wee hours.
Abe and other leaders have resisted closures, wary of the likely damage to the economy. Abe’s government said it wanted to wait two weeks before deciding whether to call for shutdowns of nonessential businesses. Koike went ahead with business closures beginning Saturday, promising to pay small businesses 500,000 yen ($4,600) in compensation, and those with multiple outlets 1 million yen ($9,200).
…
Fauci Comments on US Virus Response Seem to Draw Trump’s Ire
Social restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus could have saved lives if they’d been started earlier, and when they’re eased new cases are certain to arise, said the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, seeming to draw the ire of President Donald Trump.
Trump, who has been chafing at criticism that he didn’t do enough early on to fight the virus, reposted a tweet that referenced Fauci’s comments and that said “Time to #FireFauci.” The Republican president again pointed to his decision in late January to restrict travel from China, writing, “Sorry Fake News, it’s all on tape. I banned China long before people spoke up.”
Fauci said Sunday that the economy in parts of the country could have a “rolling reentry” as early as next month, provided health authorities can quickly identify and isolate people who will inevitably be infected. Fauci also said he “can’t guarantee” that it will be safe for Americans to vote in person on Election Day, Nov. 3.
When asked on CNN if earlier action on social distancing and “stay at home” policies could have saved lives, Fauci responded in part: “It’s very difficult to go back and say that. I mean, obviously, you could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives. Obviously, no one is going to deny that. But what goes into those kinds of decisions is complicated.”
Trump’s tweet referencing Fauci was one of several that Trump posted on Sunday that defended his handling of the virus outbreak and blamed others for missteps.
Rather than flipping a switch to reopen the entire country, Fauci said a gradual process will be required based on the status of the pandemic in various parts of the U.S. and the availability of rapid, widespread testing. Once the number of people who are seriously ill sharply declines, officials can begin to “think about a gradual reentry of some sort of normality, some rolling reentry,” Fauci said.
In some places, he said, that might occur as soon as May. “We are hoping that, at the end of the month, we could look around and say, OK, is there any element here that we can safely and cautiously start pulling back on? If so, do it. If not, then just continue to hunker down,” Fauci said. Whenever restrictions ease, Fauci said, “we know that there will be people who will be getting infected. I mean, that is just reality. ”
Social distancing guidelines from Trump are set to expire April 30.
Trump is eager to restart the economy, which has stalled because most Americans are under orders to “stay at home” to help slow the virus’ spread.
But governors will have a lot to say about when to ease restrictions in their states, and the leaders of Maryland and New Jersey indicated Sunday that they are not likely to do so until widespread testing is available.
“The question is how fast we can get enough tests up to speed in order to help us get to the point where we are able to do all of those things,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said. He said he has set no “artificial deadline.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the risks of reopening too soon are dangerously high. “And I fear, if we open up too early, and we have not sufficiently made that health recovery and cracked the back of this virus, that we could be pouring gasoline on the fire, even inadvertently,” Murphy said.
Increased testing would allow authorities to identify, isolate and trace the contacts of people who are newly infected, Fauci said.
Trump continues to deny ongoing problems with the coronavirus testing that’s available, including shortages and long wait times for people to learn results. He’s also resistant to the idea of more widespread testing, saying last week that “it’s unnecessary” and that “vast areas of our country don’t need this.”
Other scientists have echoed Fauci’s call for a gradual reopening, where restrictions can be ramped up or down.
Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the University of Washington institute that created widely cited projections of virus-related deaths, said studies show that lifting restrictions at the end of this month would lead to a rebound in the number of infections. Because states don’t really have the capability to deal with a big volume of new cases, he said, “by July or August we could be back in the same situation we are now.”
Speaking about the prospects of Americans physically going to polling places in November, Fauci said he hopes voting in person can take place.
“I believe that if we have a good, measured way of rolling into this, steps towards normality, that we hope, by the time we get to November, that we will be able to do it in a way which is the standard way,” he said.
“However — and I don’t want to be the pessimistic person — there is always the possibility, as we get into next fall, and the beginning of early winter, that we could see a rebound,” he said.
The U.S. has the most confirmed cases and deaths of any nation, more than 555,000 and more than 22,000, respectively, according to Johns Hopkins University. In hard-hit New York, the number of deaths topped 700 for six straight days, but the increase in people who are hospitalized is slowing, in a hopeful sign.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
Fauci was on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Hogan appeared on ABC’s “This Week.” Murray was on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Murphy was on CNN and CBS.
…
COVID-19 Cases Near Zero in Taiwan, But Restrictions Remain
Taiwan is reporting just one to six new COVID-19 cases per day. Schools, offices and restaurants are operating all but normally. But the island’s government is expected to wait until the global pandemic improves before easing restrictions that have helped contain the spread of the virus but hurt a big swathe of the economy.Just one new case surfaced on April 5. Every other day since March 26, Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center has reported two to six new cases with no threat of a widespread community outbreak. Monday’s case total reached five, bringing the overall count to 393 including six deaths and 114 recoveries.FILE – People wear face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, March 31, 2020.Officials will probably keep enforcing disease control measures until the crisis overseas gets better, said Huang Ching-tai, a professor and doctor in the infectious diseases department of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Continued enforcement would help ensure no one flies in with the virus and spreads it around, he said.“Taiwan’s situation presently counts as being pretty good, and we all feel relaxed, but to look at the whole world’s situation, there’s no obvious letting up,” Huang said.“So actually, if we’re ok now, to ensure that tomorrow and next day are just as good for us, we need to keep up our cautiousness and not neglect it,” he said. “We don’t really want to consider saying the epidemic has been lifted.”Control measures include a temporary ban on foreign visitors and required 14-day quarantine for all arrivals including transit passengers. Most of Taiwan’s cases are citizens who flew back from infected countries. Schools in Taiwan check students daily for signs of fever and restrict extracurricular activities. Shops, banks and office complexes are asking customers to stay 1.5 meters apart or wear facemasks — which are universal in Taiwan anyway. Indoor events must not exceed 100 people.FILE – Youths wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the new coronavirus walk on a street in Taipei, Taiwan, March 30, 2020.Taiwan has kept its caseload low compared to many Asian neighbors by stopping flights early on from infected parts of China, the coronavirus origin, and tracing the contacts of confirmed patients.The government’s Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung declined to say Monday when Taiwan might lift restrictions but said the island has entered a “stable stage” and an “observation period”. Invention of a COVID-19 vaccine would be a plus, he added.“How we can stabilize the health situation and let everyone trend back to a normal life is something we’re always thinking about,” Chen said.Taiwan’s service industry is struggling under the control measures and losing more business as people hesitate to go out, said Liang Kuo-yuan, president of the Polaris Research Institute research organization in Taipei.FILE – A vendor wears face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus and waits for customers at a night market in Taipei, April 8, 2020.In the food, beverage and lodging industry, 2,693 people were put on unpaid leave in the final two weeks of March, more than any other sector, according to Ministry of Labor figures.Companies that organize events are doing little business, partly due to the ban on indoor meetings of more than 100 people. Tourism operators are seeing no clients from normal sources such as Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia due to the curb on foreign visitors. Taiwanese scared to go out take business away shops and restaurants.Consumers worry someone could fly into Taiwan and spark a wider outbreak, Liang said, and local media have fanned those fears. Government rules on facemasks and social distancing scare people further, he added.“Some types of businesses will probably get better, for example if a department store is big and has a lot of space, then people will dare to shop there,” Liang said. “But if you say a restaurant, if it’s inside a packed room, then I believe it still won’t be liked.”
…
Somalia Imposes Nighttime Curfew
Somalia has recorded a second death from Coronavirus and has reacted by imposing a nighttime curfew in the capital city, Mogadishu. The Somali government has imposed a nighttime curfew in the capital where the country’s first two deaths from CoronaVirus have been recorded. Commander of the police General Abdi Hassan Mohamed has said the curfew will be effective starting April 15, and will be in place in the hours between 8:00pm and 5:00am local time. No date has been set for lifting the curfew. The curfew will affect traffic and businesses. It will not affect shops that are selling dry foods, hospitals and pharmacies, officials say. The curfew came on the day the country recorded its second death from Corona Virus. The victim was a regional parliamentarian and Minister of Justice for Hirshabelle state administration. Khalif Mumin Tohow fell ill in the town of Jowhar, 90 kilometers north of Mogadishu in late March. Hirshabelle state Minister of Health Muhiyadin Mukhtar Moallim told the VOA Somali Service that Tohow showed all the symptoms of Covid19 on April 2. He was then transported to Mogadishu for treatment where he died on Sunday. He was 69. The government has also reported four new Covid19 cases, bringing the total number in the country to 25.
…
North Korea Says it Will Boost Anti-Virus Efforts
North Korea says it will intensify its efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The rubber stamp Supreme People’s Assembly received a report Sunday about the regime’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report Monday by the state-run KCNA. Photographs released by KCNA showed hundreds of lawmakers sitting near each other without wearing protective face masks. North Korea has reported no cases of novel coronavirus infections since it began spreading across the border in neighboring China, the epicenter of the virus. The government in Pyongyang put thousands of people, including foreign diplomats, under quarantine. The report was released a day after supreme leader Kim Jong-il met with his State Affairs Commission in Pyongyang, according to KCNA. Kim has reportedly made several personnel changes to the country’s high-ranking decision-making body over the weekend, including the addition of Ri Son Gwon, a former senior army commander who was promoted to foreign affairs minister earlier this year.
…
Storms Leave 6 Dead in Southeastern US
Severe storms that moved across the southeastern United States on Sunday left at least six people dead. The storms brought heavy rain and strong winds, with multiple tornadoes in Mississippi and Louisiana. The six dead were reported in Mississippi where Governor Tate Reeves said, “This is not how anyone wants to celebrate Easter.” The threat spreads to the east Monday, with the National Weather Service again warning of the potential for strong tornadoes, damaging wind and flash flooding.
…
Spain Allowing Some Workers to Return to Jobs
Spain is loosening some of its coronavirus restrictions Monday with workers in the manufacturing and construction sectors allowed to go back to work. With the threat of spreading the virus still present, companies are required to provide employees with protective equipment and make sure they maintain the recommended two meters of spacing from other workers. Spain has been one of the hardest-hit countries with more than 165,000 confirmed cases and 17,000 deaths. Much of the country has been on lockdown for about a month. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Sunday the pandemic is a threat not only in terms of its impacts on health, but also economically and socially. “Therefore, the response requires combining measures that prevent contagion, that allow the recovery of our health system and that at the same time prevent paralysis and the collapse of our economy with the harmful effects it may have on employment in our country,” Sanchez said. The balance between how long to keep in place stay-at-home measures and when to send people back to work to restore economic function is one being weighed by governments all over the world. South Korea’s Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Monday officials were discussing potential new guidelines that would keep in place social distancing rules while allowing some “economic and social activity.” Couples enjoy the view while practicing social distancing during the global spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at an observatory near “N Seoul Tower” located atop Mt. Namsan in Seoul, South Korea, April 7, 2020.South Korea has seen its number of daily new cases steadily fall, with the government reporting Monday 25 new cases. U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled his desire for economic activity to return to normal as soon as possible. His administration has advised people to stay home if they can through the end of the month, while the governors of most of the country’s 50 states have gone further and ordered lockdowns with exceptions for activities such as exercise and grocery shopping. Top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a CNN interview Sunday that he thinks some of those measures could be lifted as early as next month. “We are hoping that, at the end of the month, we could look around and say, OK, is there any element here that we can safely and cautiously start pulling back on? If so, do it. If not, then just continue to hunker down,” Fauci said. He added that a key piece will be the ability to quickly identify anyone who becomes infected, isolate them, and track down who they have been in contact with, and that any reopening efforts would depend on the specific situation in different parts of the country. As of early Monday, there were 1.85 million confirmed cases worldwide, with 114,000 deaths, according Johns Hopkins University statistics. The United States accounted for more than 550,000 cases.
…
Bunnies to the Rescue as Virus Hits Belgian Chocolatiers
Master chocolatier Dominique Persoone stood forlorn on his huge workfloor, a faint smell of cocoa lingering amid the idle machinery — in a mere memory of better times. Easter Sunday is normally the most important date on the chocolate makers’ calendar. But the coronavirus pandemic, with its lockdowns and social distancing, has struck a hard blow to the 5-billion-euro ($5.5-billion) industry that’s one of Belgium’s most emblematic. “It’s going to be a disaster,” Persoone told The Associated Press through a medical mask. He closed his shops as a precautionary measure weeks ago, and says “a lot” of Belgium’s hundreds of chocolate-makers, from multinationals to village outlets, will face financial ruin. For the coronavirus to hit is one thing, but to do it at Easter — when chocolate bunnies and eggs are seemingly everywhere — doubles the damage. Yet amid the general gloom Belgians are allowing themselves some levity for the long Easter weekend. Some producers, like Persoone’s famed The Chocolate Line, offer Easter eggs or bunnies in medical masks, while the country’s top virologist has jokingly granted a lockdown pass to the “essential” furry workers traditionally supposed to bring kids their Easter eggs. For young and old here, Easter Sunday usually means egg hunts in gardens and parks, sticky brown fingers, the satisfying crack of an amputated chocolate rabbit’s ear before it disappears into a rapt child’s mouth. “People love their chocolates, the Easter eggs, the filled eggs, the little figures we make,” said chocolatier Marleen Van Volsem in her Praleen shop in Halle, south of Brussels. “This is really something very big for us.” The country has an annual per capita chocolate consumption of six kilograms (over 13 pounds), much of it scoffed during the peak Easter period. “It is a really big season because if we don’t have this, then we won’t … be OK for the year,” Van Volsem said. Persoone makes about 20% of his annual turnover in the single Easter week. This year, reduced to web sales and pick-ups out of his facility in western Belgium while his luxury shops in tourist cities Bruges and Antwerp are closed? “2% maybe, if we are lucky — not even.” Guy Gallet, chief of Belgium’s chocolate federation, expects earnings to be greatly reduced across the board this year. One of Belgium’s top chocolate producers Dominique Persoone stands in one of his production rooms with no workers, at his Chocolate Line warehouse in Bruges, Belgium, Friday, April 10, 2020.He said companies that sell mainly through supermarkets are doing relatively well but firms depending on sales in tourist locations, restaurants or airport shops “are badly hit.” Persoone has a firm local base of customers but knows how tourists affect the books of so many chocolatiers. “Of course, we won’t see Japanese people or Americans who come to Belgium for a holiday,” he said. “I am afraid if we do not get tourists anymore it will be a disaster, even in the future.” For most people, the coronavirus causes mild to moderate symptoms such as fever and cough. But for some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause pneumonia and in some cases death. The immediate challenge is to keep the Easter spirit — and the chocolatiers’ craft — alive in these trying times. A big part is humor and the use of medical masks made of white chocolate is an obvious one. Persoone puts them on eggs. “It is laughing with a hard thing. And on the other hand, we still have to keep fun, no? It is important to laugh in life.” Genevieve Trepant of the Cocoatree chocolate shop in Lonzee, southeast of Brussels, couldn’t agree more. And like Persoone, who donated sanitary gel no longer needed in his factory to a local hospital, Trepant also thought of the needy. That’s how the Lapinou Solidaire and its partner the Lapinou Confine — the Caring Bunny and the Quarantined Bunny, both adorned with a white mask — were born. Customers are encouraged to gift Trepant’s 12-euro ($13) bunnies to local medical staff to show their support. Part of the proceeds go to charity. One of the country’s top coronavirus experts also knows the medical virtues of laughter. Professor Marc Van Ranst told Belgian children that their Easter treats weren’t at risk. Tongue well in cheek, he told public broadcaster VRT that the government had deeply pondered the issue of delivery rabbits’ movements in these dangerous times. The rabbits bring — Santa-like — eggs to the gardens of children, roving all over Belgium at a time when it is forbidden for the public at large. “The decision was unanimous: it is an essential profession. Even the police have been informed that they should not obstruct the Easter bunny in its work,” he said. There was a proviso, though. “Rabbits will deliver to the homes of parents, not grandparents,” who are more at risk from COVID-19, Van Ranst said.
…
The Howling: Americans Let it Out from Depths of Pandemic
It starts with a few people letting loose with some tentative yelps. Then neighbors emerge from their homes and join, forming a roiling chorus of howls and screams that pierces the twilight to end another day’s monotonous forced isolation. From California to Colorado to Georgia and New York, Americans are taking a moment each night at 8 p.m. to howl in a quickly spreading ritual that has become a wrenching response of a society cut off from one another by the coronavirus pandemic. They howl to thank the nation’s health care workers and first responders for their selfless sacrifices, much like the balcony applause and singing in Italy and Spain. Others do it to reduce their pain, isolation and frustration. Some have other reasons, such as to show support for the homeless. In Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis has encouraged residents to participate. Children who miss their classmates and backyard dogs join in, their own yowls punctuated by the occasional fireworks, horn blowing and bell ringing. “There’s something very Western about howling that’s resonating in Colorado. The call-and-response aspect of it. Most people try it and love to hear the howl in return,” said Brice Maiurro, a poet, storyteller and activist who works at National Jewish Health. The nightly howl is a primal affirmation that provides a moment’s bright spot each evening by declaring, collectively: We shall prevail, said Dr. Scott Cypers, director of Stress and Anxiety programs at the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. It’s a way to take back some of the control that the pandemic-forced social isolation has forced everyone to give up, Cypers said. “The virus’ impact is very different for everyone, and this is a way to say, ‘This sucks,’ and get it out in a loud way,” Cypers said. “Just being able to scream and shout and let out pent-up grief and loss is important. Little kids, on the other hand, are really enjoying this.”FILE – In this March 9, 2020, file photo, the full moon rises behind the Statue of Liberty in New York. From California to Colorado to Georgia and New York, Americans are taking a moment each night at 8 to howl to thank the nation’s health workers.Maiurro and his partner, Shelsea Ochoa, a street activist and artist, formed the Facebook group Go Outside and Howl at 8 p.m. The group has nearly half a million members from all 50 U.S. states and 99 countries since they created it as Colorado’s shelter-in-place order went into effect last month. “We wanted to do this mostly because people are feeling isolated right now,” said Ochoa, 33, who works at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. “I think it hit on something others needed.” Why howling? In California, friends and family of Ochoa’s would howl at sunset; in Brazil, where she lived recently, residents would cheer at sunset. Maiurro, who also works at National Jewish Health, and fellow poets would howl at the moon during back-alley poetry readings in Boulder. “There’s no wrong way to do it,” said Ochoa. “People can subscribe any kind of meaning they want to it.” The couple suggest different themes for the evening howls, such as a recent “The Day of I Miss You.” Health care workers are grateful for the support — and the nightly moment’s relief from the stresses of their work. Jerrod Milton, a provider and senior vice president of operations at Children’s Hospital Colorado, makes it a point to step outside at 8 p.m. each evening. “It not only inspires me with a sense of solidarity and appreciation, but it makes me laugh a little each day,” Milton said. “I cannot tell the difference between the howls coming from fellow humans and those instinctively coming alongside from our canine neighborhood companions.” In downtown Los Angeles, thousands of people yell, scream, cheer, applaud and flash lights from their apartment balconies and windows, thanks in large part to Patti Berman, president of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, who promotes the ritual conceived by council communications director Marcus Lovingood. “I never believed it would take off like this,” said Berman, who in her 70s is staying inside her apartment in deference to the health concerns of her family. Berman’s concerns are for the homeless on LA’s Skid Row, the struggling family-owned small businesses, the people she’s used to meeting and helping face-to-face in her 15 years on the council. “These people are my stakeholders and my job — and this is where the howl comes in — is to let them know that we haven’t disappeared. To preserve the human contact,” she said. Organizers say restoring and keeping that contact through such extreme adversity will be an achievement to look back upon when the crisis eventually passes. “When people look back on this and with so many sad stories, hopefully they’ll also remember this as one of the good things,” Ochoa said.
…
Italy Reports Lowest Number of New COVID Deaths in 3 Weeks
Italy is reporting its lowest number of new coronavirus deaths in three weeks and officials say hospitalization, including the number of patients admitted to intensive care, are also down. Italy has been Europe’s COVID-19 hot spot with more than 156,000 confirmed cases overall. But some Italian experts say the actual number may be much higher because of the high rate of fatalities in nursing homes where many of the patients were not tested before they died. The Associated Press, which has kept its own count, reports the number of coronavirus deaths in U.S. nursing homes has jumped since the start of April to more than 3,300. But just like Italy, the true number may never be known because of patients dying before they could be tested. Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House COVID task force believes testing in facilities for the elderly should be a priority. “We need to really ensure that nursing homes have sentinel surveillance. And what do I mean by that? That we’re actively testing in nursing homes, both the residents and the workers, at all times,” Birx said. Back in Europe, France is also reporting a drop in coronavirus deaths and Spanish officials are letting construction and other industrial workers return to their jobs on Monday after a two-week shutdown. But Spanish stores, except pharmacies and food stores, will continue to be closed and anyone who can work from home are still being told to do so. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu handed in his resignation Sunday after a two-day coronavirus-related curfew across the country took Turks by compete surprise.Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu delivers a speech in Ankara, Oct. 3, 2019.The government announced the curfew late Friday just two hours before it was to go into effect, sending thousands of Turks pouring into the streets and packing stores to stock up. Many left their houses without face masks. “Responsibility for implementing the weekend curfew decision, which was aimed at preventing the epidemic, belongs entirely to me,” Soylu tweeted. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to accept Soylu’s resignation. Turkey has ordered only scattered lockdowns since the coronavirus pandemic reached there. “Our most important sensibility is the continuation of the supply of basic needs and ensuring the uninterrupted continuation of production to support exports,” Erdogan said last week. “Turkey is a country which in all conditions and circumstances must maintain production and ensure that the wheels (of production) carry on turning.” The government has urged people to avoid too much mobility and carry out what Erdogan has called your “own state of emergency.” But he has said stronger measures would be taken if the outbreak in Turkey does not subside. In New York City, there is still no decision on whether to keep public schools closed for the rest of the academic year. The city has the nation’s largest public school system. Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have been squabbling over who must make the decision. De Blasio says the decision is his and said schools will stay shut. Cuomo says he is the one to decide. “We won’t open schools one minute sooner than they should be opened but we won’t open schools one minute later than they should be opened either,” the governor said Sunday. The city school system has been conducting virtual classrooms for the last month, but some school officials say some teachers and students are having a hard adjusting. The Sri Lankan government is ordering that anyone who died or suspected of dying of coronavirus be cremated “for the purpose of prevention of any potential biological threat.” The order is certain to upset the island’s minority Muslims who say under Islamic law, bodies must be buried, not burned. But the head of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Rauff Hakeem, is asking Muslims to remember that these are not ordinary times on Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka or anywhere else. Israel’s former chief rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron has died of the coronavirus. He was 79. He served as chief rabbi for Sephardic Jews from 1993 until 2003. Despite his involvement in a scandal surrounding fraudulent college degrees for police officers, he remained a popular and respected cleric, “His essence was wisdom, tolerance and love for the people and the country,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Coronavirus has also claimed the life of another prominent 79 year old –British comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor. He was best known as a member of the Goodies comedy team and the BBC radio panel game I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue.
…
Too Early to Tell When Life Will Be Back to Normal in the US
The FDA commissioner says the models show the United States is close to the peak of the coronavirus outbreak, with federal social distancing guidelines due to expire at the end of April. But exactly when the economy will be back up again is still too early to tell. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has more
…
Fears of ‘Wild West’ as COVID-19 Blood Tests Hit the Market
Blood tests for the coronavirus could play a key role in deciding whether millions of Americans can safely return to work and school. But public health officials warn that the current “Wild West” of unregulated tests is creating confusion that could ultimately slow the path to recovery.More than 70 companies have signed up to sell so-called antibody tests in recent weeks, according to U.S. regulators. Governments around the world hope that the rapid tests, which typically use a finger-prick of blood on a test strip, could soon ease public restrictions by identifying people who have previously had the virus and have developed some immunity to it.But key questions remain: How accurate are the tests, how much protection is needed and how long will that protection last.The blood tests are different from the nasal swab-based tests currently used to diagnose active COVID-19 infections. Instead, the tests look for blood proteins called antibodies, which the body produces days or weeks after fighting an infection. The same approach is used for HIV, hepatitis, Lyme disease, lupus and many other diseases.Because of the relative simplicity of the technology, the Food and Drug Administration decided to waive initial review of the tests as part of its emergency response to the coronavirus outbreak.Right now, the tests are most useful for researchers studying how the virus has spread through the U.S. population. The government said Friday it has started testing 10,000 volunteers. The White House has not outlined a broader plan for testing and how the results might be used.With almost no FDA oversight of the tests, “Right now it’s a wild west show out there,” said Eric Blank of the Association for Public Health Laboratories. “It really has created a mess that’s going to take a while to clean up.”“In the meantime, you’ve got a lot of companies marketing a lot of stuff and nobody has any idea of how good it is,” he said.Members of Blank’s group, which represents state and local lab officials, have urged the FDA to revisit its lax approach toward the tests. That approach essentially allows companies to launch as long as they notify the agency and include disclaimers. Companies are supposed to state that their tests have not been FDA-approved and cannot rule out whether someone is currently infected.Last week, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement that the agency will “take appropriate action” against companies making false claims or selling inaccurate tests.During an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Hahn expressed “concern” that tests being sold “may not be as accurate as we’d like them to be.”“What we don’t want are wildly inaccurate tests,” he said. “That’s going to be much worse, having wildly inaccurate tests than having no test.”Dr. Allison Rakeman of New York City’s Public Health Laboratory says some local hospitals are assuming the tests, which are listed on FDA’s website, “have been vetted, when they have not.”The danger of faulty testing, Rakeman says, is that people will mistakenly conclude that they are immune or are no longer spreading the virus.“Then somebody goes home and kisses their 90-year-old grandmother,” said Rakeman. “You don’t want to give someone a false sense of security.”For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.For many infections, antibody levels above a certain threshold indicate that the person’s immune system has successfully fought off the virus and is likely protected from reinfection. For COVID-19, it’s not yet clear what level of antibodies render patients immune or how long immunity might last.Adding to the confusion is the fact that both legitimate companies and fraudulent operators appear to be selling the kits. Distinguishing between the two can be a challenge.Officials in Laredo, Texas, reported this month that some 2,500 antibody tests set for use at a local drive-thru testing site were likely frauds. City officials had ordered what they were told were “FDA-approved COVID-19 rapid tests,” from a local clinic. But when they checked the test’s accuracy, it fell well below the range promised, the city said in a statement.Examples of U.S. companies skirting the rules appear online and in emails sent to hospitals.Promotional emails sent to hospitals and reviewed by The Associated Press failed to include required disclaimers. Some kits sold on websites promote themselves as “FDA-approved” for home testing. The agency has not yet approved any COVID-19 home test. The blood tests have to processed by a lab.“If you see them on the internet, do not buy them until we can give you a test that’s reliable for all Americans,” said Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, at a recent briefing.20/20 BioResponse is one of dozens of U.S. companies selling the tests to hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices. The Rockville, Maryland-based company imports the tests from a Chinese manufacturer but CEO Jonathan Cohen says his company independently confirmed its performance in 60 U.S. patients. He estimates the company has shipped 10,000 tests and has had to limit orders due to demand.He said antibody tests are not a “panacea but they’re not garbage either.”Cohen called them “a tool in the toolbox that will have some value along with other tests.”The company’s test is registered on the FDA website and includes all the required disclaimers.To date, the FDA has only authorized one COVID-19 antibody test from North Carolina diagnostics company Cellex. The agency used its emergency powers, meaning a formal review is still needed.The White House has also tried to temper expectations for the tests, while still promising that millions will soon be available.Dr. Brett Giroir, the federal health official overseeing U.S. testing, told reporters a week ago that the FDA and other agencies are working to confirm the accuracy of the antibody tests.“We’re going to be very careful to make sure that when we tell you you’re likely immune from the disease … the test really said that,” Giroir said.
…
Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau Volcano Shoots Ash, Lava
Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano spewed a column of ash 500 meters (1,640 feet) into the sky in the longest eruption since the explosive collapse of the island caused a deadly tsunami in 2018, scientists said Saturday.Closed-circuit TV from Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation showed lava flares Friday night.The agency said that the volcano was continuously erupting until Saturday morning. A level 2 alert status remained in place, the second-highest on a scale of four.There were no casualties reported. The 2018 eruption caused a tsunami along the coasts of Sumatra and Java, killing 430 people.Anak Krakatau, which means Child of Kratakau, is the offspring of the famous Krakatau volcano, whose monumental eruption in 1883 triggered a period of global cooling.
…
Greece Fears Turkey Plans to Send Streams of Migrants Infected with Coronavirus to Europe
Greek forces are on heightened alert as reports have surfaced that Turkey is preparing to push through a fresh wave of migrants to Europe. Officials in Athens say, they fear that refugees infected with the coronavirus may be among the new wave of asylum seekers.Greek government officials contacted by VOA say the heightened alert follows intelligence reports showing Turkish authorities moving refugee groups from remote inland areas to Turkey’s western shores, where smugglers could secretly ferry then to Greek islands less than a few kilometers away.They say Greece’s coastguard, Air Force and Navy are increasing patrols along the Aegean waterway that divides Greece and Turkey… anticipating what they call an organized attempt by Ankara to push through thousands of asylum seekers to Europe.Whether that push will include migrants infected by the coronavirus remains unclear, officials told VOA.But on Sunday, leading Greek media reported that Turkey was in fact considering such a plan… hoping to exert fresh pressure on Europe to extract added financial aid for hosting nearly 4 million Syrian refugees and sparing the continent a fresh migration crisis.Relations between Athens and Ankara have been strained since Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced earlier this year that he would no longer block migrants and refugees from seeking entry to Europe.He rescinded that order late last month, moving tens of thousands of migrants who had amassed along the Greek-Turkish land border to secluded camps to cslow the spread of the coronavirus in his country.Turkey, though, has publicly vowed to open its border anew to migrants once it manages to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.That’s a threat officials in Athens are not underestimating.
…
Turkish Minister Resigns Over Criticism of Weekend Lockdowns
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu resigned late Sunday, taking responsibility for a poorly timed announcement of a weekend coronavirus curfew that prompted thousands of people to rush into the streets.Soylu is one of the most senior figures in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. In a statement posted on his Twitter account, Soylu said: “Responsibility for implementing the weekend curfew decision, which was aimed at preventing the epidemic, belongs entirely to me.”The 48-hour lockdown of 31 cities was announced just two hours before it took effect on Friday night. Thousands of people ran out to stores to stock up on goods, many without wearing mandatory face masks. Images of large, closely-bunched crowds sparked criticism of the government’s planning for the lockdowns.Soylu, who was appointed interior minister in August 2016, said his “countless experiences should not have led to such scenes.”Turkey reported 4,789 more virus cases for a total of 56,956, including 1,198 deaths, as of Sunday.Soylu, 50, joined Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party in 2012, having switched from the center-right Democrat Party. Since then, he has risen to be viewed by some as a potential successor to Erdogan and as a rival of the president’s son-in-law, Finance Minister Berat Albayrak.
…
Sudan Bans Inter-City Passenger Travel in Bid to Halt Coronavirus
Sudan announced on Sunday that it was banning all passenger road transport between cities and deploying emergency laws to ensure compliance with measures aimed at stopping the spread of the new coronavirus.The number of confirmed cases in Sudan is low — just 19 people have tested positive including two who died — but officials struggling with an economic crisis and a severely weakened health system are eager to forestall widespread transmission of the illness.Transitional authorities that took power after the overthrow of former President Omar al-Bashir one year ago have imposed a 12-hour curfew, shut down schools, universities and clubs, and banned gatherings.Compliance with the measures has been uneven.Those violating the restrictions, breaking quarantine rules, hiding information or impeding medical treatment could now face criminal prosecution under emergency laws, a statement from the prime minister’s office said.The ban on private and commercial passenger vehicles traveling between cities and states takes effect immediately, according to a statement from the ruling sovereign council.
…
Stay Home – Australians Urged to Continue COVID-19 Social Distancing
Australian officials say the Easter holidays will be a critical part of efforts to contain the coronavirus. While the curve of new infections continues to flatten, officials have warned against complacency. Much of Australia is in lockdown, and the state of Victoria has extended its state of emergency for another month.Officials have a grim message: Stay at home. Australians have been told not to attend religious services or congregate with extended family and friends for Easter or Passover this holiday weekend. Traveling for vacations has also been prohibited, and extra police patrols have been deployed to ensure compliance. Many beaches remain closed, as have pubs, cafes and cinemas.In New South Wales state, senior officers have said that going away for Easter was not a valid reason to leave the house, and fines do apply.In his Easter message, Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged the community to do the right thing.“Easter in Australia will be different this year, as it will be all around the world,” he said. “It is still true that we will be able to gather together in our immediate family, but there will not be the opportunity for that extended family gathering, special times I know, as well as going off to church and our religious services. The coronavirus means this Easter will be different and we will be staying at home, and it is important because we cannot undo the tremendous progress we have made together in recent times. So this Easter we are staying at home. Do not travel. Do not go away.”Freedoms in Australia are restricted as never before as it confronts the pandemic. The federal government has banned Australians from flying overseas. Citizens returning home must go into mandatory quarantine in a hotel for 14 days, often supervised by the military.Repatriation flights are helping Australians who have been trapped overseas. This weekend groups have returned from India and a cruise liner off South America.Medical experts say the closure of Australia’s borders, mass testing for COVID-19 and strict physical distancing measures are working. The government has warned, however, it was “very dangerous and unrealistic” to loosen restrictions on movement ahead of medical advice.The economic impact of COVID-19 continues to hit. There are fears that some universities could collapse as fees from lucrative international student enrollments dry up. In response, officials have guaranteed there will be no funding cuts to Australia’s universities under a financial relief package for higher education.So far, Australia has more than 6,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Fifty-nine people have died with the virus.
…
ICRC Fears COVID-19 Will Compound Suffering of Conflict-Ridden Libya
The International Committee of the Red Cross is calling on Libya to ensure delivery of humanitarian aid while maintaining preventive measures in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.In a statement issued in Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, the ICRC expressed deep concern that “hundreds of thousands of Libyans are caught in an intensifying conflict as COVID-19 threatens to spread and debilitate the country’s fragile health system.”Libya and the Libyan people “need more support and resources to face this challenge,” the statement said.Enforcement of curfews and border closures to curb the spread of the disease, although important as preventive measures, are creating new challenges for the delivery of humanitarian aid and keeping supply chains for food, medicine, and basic needs open.“Authorities must ensure that delivery of humanitarian aid is facilitated while maintaining preventive measures such as physical distancing, or those who depend on it will suffer tremendously,” the statement said.For its part, the ICRC is providing medical supplies to hospitals and primary health care facilities in the country and is delivering other medial items to health workers on the front line. The ICRC is also sending food and household items to people in need. Its water and sanitation teams are working with local authorities to increase access to clean water in many areas affected by the conflict and to improve sanitation by supporting sewage-processing facilities.
…
Fauci: ‘Extraordinary Risk’ of Further COVID Spread If US Reopens Too Soon
The top U.S. infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned Sunday there is an “extraordinary risk” of the further spread of the ravaging coronavirus if the United States is reopened to business and a sense of normalcy too quickly on May 1, as President Donald Trump is considering.Fauci told CNN, “It’s not going to be a light switch” to regenerate U.S. commerce as government recommendations for safe distancing between people end on April 30.He held out hope that “at least in some ways” the country could return to work and routine day-to-day activities next month, but said it is likely to be different in various parts of the country.That depends, he said, on the number of coronavirus cases in specific communities and whether testing has shown that large majorities of people are not infected.Even with precautions, he said, “We know people will be getting infected. That’s just reality.”The U.S. coronavirus death toll has topped 20,000, the highest total of any country, with more than 534,000 confirmed cases. Current U.S. models predict that 60,000 or more could die in the country by July.Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn speaks during a coronavirus task force briefing at the White House, April 4, 2020, in Washington.Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn told ABC’s “This Week” show, “The models do show that we are very close to the peak,” but cautioned, “This has been a really fast-moving outbreak, so we really have to take this day by day.”As for the May 1 date, Hahn said, “It is a target and obviously we’re hopeful about that target, but I think it’s just too early to be able to tell that we see light at the end of the tunnel. I think it’s just too early for us to say whether May 1 is that date.” A third expert also expressed the need for caution in reopening the country.Dr. Christopher Murray, the director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, told CBS’s “Face the Nation” show that the number of coronavirus cases would increase again if the social distancing measures and closures were relaxed May 1.”We don’t think the capability in the states exists yet to deal with that volume of cases and so by July or August we could be back in the same situation we are in now” if there was premature reopening of the country, Murray said.Trump, mindful of the death toll and the fact that 17 million U.S. workers have lost their jobs in the last month, has said almost daily that he wants to reopen the country as soon as possible, with economic advisers pointing to the May 1 date as a target. But he says he will also listen to health experts on whether that is too soon.He has called the choice between two imperatives — protecting the health of Americans and restarting the world’s largest economy — the biggest decision of his life.Trump had originally called for reopening the country by Sunday, envisioning churches filled with worshipers on the Christian holy day of Easter. But he backed off as health experts, including Fauci, warned that reopening the country too quickly would lead to more coronavirus deaths.U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Good Friday event for Easter in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, April 10, 2020.Trump marked the day with a Twitter video message to U.S. Christians, wishing them a Happy Easter. But he noted how different the day would be nationwide, with most state governors ordering their residents to stay at home and Trump recommending that Americans practice physical distancing from others by at least two meters through the end of April.“In many cases,” he said, “we’ll be separated physically only from our churches. We won’t be sitting near, next to each other, which we’d like to be, and soon will be again. But right now, we’re keeping separation; we’re getting rid of the plague. It’s a plague on our country like nobody’s ever seen.”“But we’re winning the battle,” Trump said. “We’re winning the war. We’ll be back together in churches right next to each other. Celebrate, bring the family together like no other. We have a lot to be thankful for. Happy Easter everybody.”Most U.S. churches kept their doors closed for Easter, but some defied state bans on large gatherings and held services.Trump in January, February and half of March minimized the severity of the coronavirus threat after the first outbreak in China before declaring a national emergency. On several occasions, he said there were few cases in the U.S. and that the disease would quickly dwindle to nothing.Workers wearing personal protective equipment bury bodies in a trench on Hart Island, Thursday, April 9, 2020, in the Bronx borough of New York, April 9, 2020.Some Trump advisers warned him of the advancing threat.Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that “obviously” the country’s response could have been better.“It would have been better if we had a head start,” he said. “Often the recommendation (of scientists and medical experts) is taken, sometimes it is not.”He said the country’s high death toll “may have been a little bit better” if the U.S. had moved quicker toward social distancing and stay-at-home edicts.Fauci said he hopes that the U.S. voters will be able to vote in person at polling stations on Nov. 3 in the U.S. presidential election between Trump and the Democratic candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden.“I can’t guarantee it,” he said. “There’s always the possibility we could have a rebound” in a resurgence of the coronavirus.But if so, he said, “Hopefully we would respond better.”
…
COVID-19 Changes Easter Observances
Christians around the world are celebrating Easter Sunday, but their observances are different this year because of COVID-19.Instead of going to church, many are participating in virtual observances of one of Christianity’s holiest of days as much of the world has been ordered to stay home to curb the tide of the virus.Pope Francis will livestream his Mass from the Vatican.Some defiant U.S. ministers, however, have said they are inviting worshippers to come to their churches, even though their cities have a shelter in place order and have banned large gatherings.The U.S. is leading the world in cases and deaths due to the virus. The Johns Hopkins Resource Center reports the U.S. has more than half a million cases and more than 20,000 deaths.To help stem the spread of the virus in hard-hit New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city’s public schools would remain closed through the end of the school year for the 1.1 million children in the city’s system.De Blasio said the decision was “painful” but said, “I can also tell you [it] is the right thing to do. It will clearly help us save lives.”However, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said later that de Blasio did not have the authority to close the schools.The World Health Organization said Saturday that it was examining reports of recovered COVID-19 patients testing positive again in South Korea as they were about to be discharged from hospitals.Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters the virus might have been “reactivated” in 91 patients instead of their being reinfected.WHO said in a statement, “We are aware of these reports of individuals who have tested negative for COVID-19 using PCR [polymerase chain reaction] testing and then after some days testing positive again.”The organization said it was “closely liaising with our clinical experts and working hard to get more information on those individual cases.”South Korean health officials said epidemiological investigations were underway to determine the causes of the apparent reactivations.As WHO and countries throughout the world grapple with containing the pandemic, the coronavirus continues its spread as billions of people on lockdown celebrate Easter weekend from their homes.There were more than 1.76 million cases and more than 108,000 deaths worldwide – in 193 countries — as of Saturday afternoon, according to Hopkins’ statistics.U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that deciding when to reopen the country would be “the biggest decision I’ve ever had to make” and that he would weigh the pros and cons of the decision with his health and economic advisers.What was not clear, however, was whether all the states would follow what Trump said. Trump did not officially close down the country, leaving each governor, instead, to decide for his or her state.Trump has said he would like the country opened up again on May 1, despite a warning from the WHO Friday that lifting lockdown measures too quickly could trigger a “deadly resurgence” of the coronavirus.Trump acknowledged Friday the possibility of higher death tolls if businesses reopened too soon, saying, “But you know what? Staying at home leads to death also.”Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious-diseases expert, told CNN that “the virus kind of decides whether it’s appropriate to open or not.” He cautioned that moving too early could result in another surge of infections.The nationwide lockdown in Argentina that was set to end on Sunday has been extended to April 26. President Alberto Fernandez made the announcement Saturday, when he also said travel restrictions would be eased in some areas in coming days.As the virus spreads and death tolls climb, many public health experts throughout the world believe fatalities are much higher than has been reported, because postmortem testing has been limited. Some COVID-19 deaths were not attributed to the disease, they think, and other deaths go unreported because of homelessness and other factors.China continued to report low numbers of new cases of the virus Friday, saying Hubei province, where the virus originated, logged zero new cases, while the rest of China recorded 46 new cases.A Chinese study suggested that coronavirus particles can travel up to 4 meters from infected patients. The WHO recommends that people stay at least 1 meter away from someone who is sneezing, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a distance of about 2 meters.The study, published Friday in the CDC publication Emerging Infectious Diseases, was conducted February 10 to March 2 in two hospitals in Wuhan.A study conducted in the U.S. by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that sneezes and coughs could spread the virus more than 8.2 meters.
…
Assange’s Partner Reveals They had 2 Children and Urges Bail
Julian Assange’s partner revealed Sunday that she had two children with him while he lived inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and she issued a plea for the WikiLeaks founder to be released from prison over fears for his health during the coronavirus pandemic.Assange has been imprisoned at London’s Belmarsh prison since police dragged out of the embassy a year ago. He is awaiting a May 18 hearing on his extradition to the United States, where he faces espionage charges over the activities of WikiLeaks.In a video uploaded onto YouTube, Stella Moris said she met Assange in 2011 when she helped out his legal team and that they got together four years later. Moris says their children are 3-year-old Gabriel and 1-year-old Max.Moris said in a statement last month in support of Assange’s bail application that she had gone “to great lengths to shelter our children from the climate that surrounds him.” Assange respected her wish for privacy, she wrote in the statement dated March 24 and seen by The Associated Press.“My close relationship with Julian has been the opposite of how he is viewed, of reserve, respect for each other and attempts to shield each other from some of the nightmares that have surrounded our lives together,” she said.Moris said she decided to make the statement a day after the British government put the country under lockdown, because “our lives are on the brink and I fear that Julian could die.” She worried about the coronavirus taking root in the prison and Assange’s “increased risk of exposure.”Jennifer Robinson, counsel to Assange and Wikileaks and a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, said Moris had “not taken this decision lightly, having fiercely protected her family’s privacy for many years.””She wanted to speak in support of Julian’s bail application given the grave risk to his health in prison during the COVID pandemic and the judge refused her anonymity.”The extradition hearing is fixed for May 18 after a judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court rejected calls for an adjournment until September over what Assange’s legal team said were “insuperable” difficulties preparing his case because of the virus pandemic.
…
UK’s Johnson Released from Hospital
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was released from a London hospital Sunday after being treated in intensive care for the novel coronavirus. But the prime minister will not immediately return to work, according to a statement from his office, which added that he would continue his recovery at his country residence. Johnson was admitted to St. Thomas’ hospital in London one week ago, ten days after he tested positive for the coronavirus. “I can’t thank them enough. I owe them my life,” Johnson said of the National Health Service staff at the hospital Sunday — his first public comments since being transferred out of intensive care. As Johnson recovers, foreign secretary Dominic Raab has been filling in. In multiple messages on social media, 10 Downing Street has wished Britons a happy Easter Sunday, reminding them that churches remained closed and lockdowns are still in effect. Meanwhile, Britain faces grim projections that their country could be the worst affected in Europe by the coronavirus. The death toll in Britain climbed to 9,875 over the weekend, with over 900 deaths reported on Saturday.
…
New Ebola Case in DR Congo Sets Back Hoped for End to Epidemic
The World Health Organization says it remains committed to ending the Ebola outbreak in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo following discovery of a new case of the disease days before DRC authorities had hoped to declare the epidemic over. An Ebola epidemic is declared over after two incubation periods or 42 days have passed without a confirmed case of the disease. After 52 days without a case of Ebola, a 26-year old man died of the disease in the city of Beni. WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says this is not welcome news, but adds it was not unexpected. “We have been preparing for, and expecting, more cases. Unfortunately, this means the government of DRC will not be able to declare an end to the outbreak on Monday, as hoped. But WHO and all partners remain on the ground and committed as ever to working with the government, under the leadership of the government and with affected communities and other partners to end the outbreak,” he said. WHO reports 3,456 cases of Ebola, including 2,276 deaths since the outbreak was declared August 1, 2018. This is the second-worst outbreak, after the historic 2014 epidemic in West Africa, which infected more than 28,000 people, killing 11,300. The head of WHO’s health emergency committee, Michael Ryan, says the positive news to emerge from this setback is that the international operation tracking the Ebola epidemic was on the alert and responded quickly. “Every day, we investigate 2,600 alerts across the two affected provinces still. We take thousands of samples every single week and we will continue that active surveillance right the way through. We will just have to go again for another 42 days,” said Ryan. WHO reports efforts are underway to find everyone who may have been in contact with the infected person. It says everyone will be offered the protective vaccine and their health status will be monitored. It says the international response team will continue to trace and track every case in North Kivu and Ituri provinces until this epidemic is brought to an end.
…