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MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Masks became mandatory on public transport Monday as Spain took its first tentative steps towards a commercial reopening with small businesses accepting customers by appointment and restaurants prepping food for takeaway. Spain’s population of nearly 47 million have been confined to their homes for more than 50 days as the country sought to curb the spread of the deadly virus which has so far claimed 25,428 lives according to official figures. […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean students will return to school starting next week, officials said Monday, as the country seeks a return to normal life after a significant drop in new coronavirus cases in recent days. Schools were shut in early March as South Korea endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the disease, and at one point, it was the second-worst hit nation on the planet after mainland China. But it […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out his plan to ease a nationwide coronavirus lockdown next Sunday, media reports said, as new guidance emerged on how to maintain social distancing in workplaces. Stay-at-home orders imposed in late March are up for review on Thursday in Britain, one of the worst hit countries in the COVID-19 pandemic, but the government has already said the measures will be eased only gradually. […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Novel coronavirus deaths in the United States climbed by 1,450 in the past 24 hours, a tally by Johns Hopkins University showed Sunday, bringing the total number of fatalities to more than 67,600. The Baltimore-based university had recorded more than 1.15 million cases in the country as of 8:30 pm Sunday (0030 GMT Monday), with 67,674 deaths. The United States has by far the highest death toll of any country […]
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada will invest CAN$240 million (US$170 million) to develop virtual care and mental health tools for residents to better cope with the consequences of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday. The funds will be used mainly to create new digital platforms and applications to give Canadians “strategies to manage stress or support from a procurement professional,” Trudeau said. It will also aim to strengthen online virtual care […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The head of the maker of remdesivir, an anti-viral shown to reduce recovery times in COVID-19 patients, said Sunday the company has been exporting the drug and is making it available to patients in the United States through the US government. Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O’Day said the company is donating its entire existing supply of the drug — 1.5 million vials, enough to treat 100,000 to 200,000 patients. “We […]
by Ella IDE and Dmitry ZAKS Agence France Presse ROME, Italy (AFP) — Stir-crazy Italians will be free to stroll and visit relatives for the first time in nine weeks on Monday as Europe’s hardest-hit country eases back the world’s longest nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Four million people — an estimated 72 percent of them men — will return to their construction sites and factories as the economically and emotionally shattered country tries to get back […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s government prepared Monday to extend its nationwide state of emergency to the end of May as it braces for a lengthy battle against the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared an initial month-long state of emergency for Tokyo and six other regions on April 7, later expanding it to cover the entire country. It is to expire on Wednesday, but Abe is expected to announce an extension to May […]
by Phil HAZLEWOOD Agence France Presse The British government on Sunday said the easing of coronavirus lockdown measures was likely to be gradual, as it announced a further rise in the overall death toll. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to unveil the government’s plans in coming days, after announcing the country had passed the peak of the virus. According to the latest figures, 28,446 people have now died after testing positive for COVID-19, up […]
by Brian KNOWLTON Agence France Presse Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday stepped up a US campaign to hold China accountable for the spread of the deadly coronavirus, asserting there is “enormous evidence” the virus originated in a laboratory in the city of Wuhan. The high-security bio-containment facility, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, has called such claims “impossible”. Pompeo, speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” did not elaborate on what he also described as “significant […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy reported 174 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday, its lowest toll since 168 fatalities were registered when the country’s stay-at-home orders were imposed on March 10. The Mediterranean country’s toll on the eve of its first easing of lockdown measures on Monday officially stands at 28,884 dead, second only to the United States. The 1,389 new infections were also the lowest since the first week of March. Italian Prime Minister […]
by Anna SMOLCHENKO Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Sunday reported a new record daily rise in coronavirus infections as the number of confirmed cases surged past 130,000. As some European countries were looking to gradually lift restrictions, officials in Moscow — the epicentre of the contagion in Russia — urged residents to stay home despite glorious weather. With the number of cases rising by several thousand each day, Russia is […]
