International

Italy’s virus deaths jump to 636 after big drop

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy’s coronavirus death toll shot up on Monday from its lowest level in more than two weeks and officials sounded a more cautious note than earlier about a possibly easing of restrictions. The civil protection service said the daily number of official COVID-19 deaths rose to 636 on Monday from 525 the day before. Sunday’s toll was the lowest since March 19. It also represented a drop of 23 percent from […]

New York governor extends shutdown to April 29

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday extended a shutdown in the epicenter of America’s deadly coronavirus pandemic until near the end of the month. Cuomo said the COVID-19 death rate in the state was “effectively flat” for the past two days but announced that schools and non-essential businesses must stay shut until April 29. “Now is not the time to be lax,” he told reporters, adding that fines […]

France heading for worst recession since WWII: minister

  PARIS, France (AFP) — France is facing its deepest recession since the end of World War II because of the widespread lockdown to stem the coronavirus crisis, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned Monday. “The worst growth figure in France since 1945 was -2.2 percent in 2009, after the financial crisis of 2008. We will probably be very far beyond -2.2 percent” this year, Le Maire told a Senate panel. That figure was subsequently […]

Coronavirus threatens nearly 20 million African jobs: study

  ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) — Millions of lost jobs, mounting debt woes and plunging remittances are among the economic hardships African countries can expect because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the African Union said in a study published Monday. “Nearly 20 million jobs, both in the formal and informal sectors, are threatened with destruction on the continent if the situation continues,” said the study, which noted that countries relying heavily on tourism and oil production […]

US navy captain fired for voicing virus concern tests positive: report

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US naval commander whose widely publicized plea for help for his coronavirus-affected crew led to his dismissal has reportedly himself tested positive for the disease. Captain Brett Crozier’s COVID-19 test result was reported Sunday by the New York Times, just hours after US Defense Secretary Mark Esper defended the captain’s firing. Esper told ABC that Navy Secretary Thomas Modly had “made a tough decision, tough call” in deciding to […]

UK Prime Minister in hospital as queen says united effort will defeat virus

  by Phil HAZLEWOOD Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was taken to hospital on Sunday after failing to shake off coronavirus symptoms, as Queen Elizabeth II said a united effort would defeat the outbreak. The government announced within an hour of the monarch’s rare special address to the country and Commonwealth nations that Johnson had been admitted for further tests as a precaution. Johnson, 55, had been […]

Spain sees third daily drop in coronavirus deaths

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain saw its third consecutive daily decline in the number of people dying from the coronavirus pandemic as the country recorded another 674 fatalities on Sunday. The health ministry said total deaths were now 12,418, the highest in the world after Italy, since the pandemic emerged in China in December. The 674 fatalities, which were sharply down on the record 950 declared on April 2, represented an increase of 5.7 percent […]

Haiti reports its first coronavirus death

  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — Haiti on Sunday reported its first novel coronavirus death, a 55-year-old man who had underlying health conditions. The health ministry said the man suffered from diabetes and hypertension. He was one of only 21 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus in Haiti, a demographically young country where over half those diagnosed with the disease have been under age 45. Only 218 tests for the new coronavirus have been carried out […]

France reports lowest daily virus toll in a week, total now 8,078

PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Sunday reported 357 coronavirus deaths in hospital in 24 hours, the lowest daily increase in a week, bringing the country’s toll to 8,078. The tally included 5,889 patients who died in hospital and 2,189 people in old age homes and other medical facilities, a government statement said. It said there were now 28,891 people with coronavirus in hospital in France — up 748 from the day before — with […]

Ecuador VP apologizes after virus corpses left on streets

  QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — Ecuador’s vice president Otto Sonnenholzner has apologized after scores of bodies were left on the streets of Guayaquil as the coronavirus ravages the horror-struck port city. Residents had published videos on social media showing abandoned bodies in the streets in the Latin American city worst hit by the pandemic. Authorities collected at least 150 corpses from streets and homes earlier this week, but did not confirm how many of the […]

Coronavirus pandemic ‘amplifying’ poverty in UK

  by Jean-Baptiste OUBRIER Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The coronavirus pandemic is increasing poverty in Britain, where levels are already high after a decade of austerity triggered by the global financial crisis, according to experts. Official data shows that more than 14 million people in the UK are classed as living in poverty, or nearly one-quarter of the population. Some 4.2 million children are poor, or around 30 percent of the […]

130 Hong Kong police to be quarantined after colleagues infected with COVID-19

HONG KONG, Chinaa (AFP) — About 130 of Hong Kong’s frontline riot police officers will be sent to quarantine camp after two of their colleagues were confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus, a police source told AFP late Saturday. A 46-year-old sergeant, stationed in the city’s Kowloon West region, was confirmed to be infected early on the same day. He was deployed in a crowd control operation during a protest on Tuesday. Another officer, […]