Headline News

11, April 2020

Coronavirus pandemic hits aid work, funding across sub-Saharan Africa ⁰

Desperately needed aid for millions of people across sub-Saharan Africa is under threat as the deadly coronavirus pandemic sweeps a continent already facing a volley of crises.

In some cases social distancing measures and border closures are preventing workers from distributing aid.

In others, funding is under threat as agencies scramble to pool resources to fight the fast-ballooning COVID-19 outbreak on the continent.

Cameroon’s polio vaccination campaign has been suspended, while in Chad a measles vaccination programme has been postponed.

In Niger and Burkina Faso, where hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by jihadist violence, flights bringing in humanitarian aid have been put on hold.

In the Central African Republic, where most of the territory is under the sway of armed groups, supplies of chlorine, needed to provide safe drinking water, are running low.

“Some programmes have slowed down or been temporarily suspended, but most humanitarian operations are continuing,” said Julie Belanger, head of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for West and Central Africa.

“We are focusing on activities that are vital for survival, but we are also adapting our way of working,” Belanger told AFP.

The United Nations says about 76 million people in sub-Saharan Africa need aid to survive and protect their health.

The coronavirus pandemic could further threaten populations on the continent, which so far has at least 12,700 recorded cases and more than 650 deaths, according to an AFP tally Friday.

Organisations are quickly learning to change how they work to prevent the virus from spreading further.

In Niger, for instance, food handouts are being distributed in small groups in order to keep social distancing, said Jean-Noel Gentile with the UN’s World Food Programme.

“To reduce the frequency of food distribution, we are handing out two or three months of rations each time,” he said.

‘Humanitarian corridors’

One fear that NGOs and governments have is that aid workers travelling to isolated areas could bring the coronavirus with them.

In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the first case of the virus registered in Goma was that of a Nigerian aid worker.

Masks, gloves and protective clothing are required by some organisations — but the crucial gear is hard to find in many countries.

“This is already difficult enough in France — you can imagine how it is in the furthest reaches of the Central African Republic,” said Isabelle Robin of the French charity Action Against Hunger (ACF).

The closure of borders and restrictions on movement inside countries are additional obstacles to delivering aid.

As a result, NGOs everywhere are attempting to negotiate with authorities in Africa to allow “humanitarian corridors” or exemptions for their personnel.

Money worry

But of all the problems for humanitarian work right now, “the biggest is financial”, said a UNICEF official in the DRC, pointing to the fact that donor attention lies elsewhere at the moment.

The United Nations has launched a $2 billion (1.83 billion euro) “global humanitarian response plan” on coronavirus, much of it earmarked for Africa.

Though Africa has not been hit as badly as most of the rest of the world, the pandemic is a growing threat, given the continent’s weak healthcare systems, entrenched poverty, poor sanitation and crowded slums.

There are concerns that funds received to deal with problems existing before the outset of the pandemic may now have to be rerouted.

That could be a harmful approach.

“It’s important that we don’t forget other needs,” said Maaike Hersevoort, head of the Doctors Without Borders mission in the Central African Republic, pointing to an outbreak of measles there.

‘Extreme distress’

In western and central Africa, the number of people needing aid has increased — even before the coronavirus hit the continent.

There are 44 million people in need this year, six million more than in 2019, according to UN projections.

In the Sahel region, food insecurity levels are rising and there are fears for the next harvest following a poor rainy season.

“We are especially concerned for the children, who become more vulnerable to illness when they are malnourished,” said Robin from ACF.

More generally, wellbeing in Africa could be hit by tough measures to stem the spread of COVID-19 — lockdowns mean that millions of people are unable to work, and thus likelier to sink further into poverty.

“We must not lose sight of the mid- and long-term impact of this crisis,” said Bruce Biber of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Central African Republic.

“People have already been under great pressure for years, so it takes very little to push them into a state of extreme distress.”

Source: AFP

11, April 2020

Why Dr Fontem Neba is a symbol of the Ambazonia Resistance ⁰

The Wedge in our Struggle

My people, there are a number of things the enemy has done to us through these fellows to systematically disrupt our struggle or restoration quest.

1. They killed trust in leadership by propping up dishonest guys in our midst. The act of smearing honest people and making them look untrustworthy is by far the deepest cut. Crooks have become our reference point. No wonder, we no longer trust anyone. Those who can drive this struggle have crumbled under the bullets of unverified calumny. So, when a good idea comes from them, we pull up the smear and use the stench to disqualify its proponent, then the bad guy continues to shout “Feeloo ambazoonians”. No plan on how to move forward except bannings and sowing division. Simple tactic!

2. Disunity among the leadership, so that no constructive action can be taken against LRC. They only agree when the action will not favour us. See the Swiss initiative. They were already exposing our fighters to the Swiss and pushing everyone into their luggage when the plan leaked and the trip by the LGA chairmen to Switzerland was aborted. That was a massive brainwashing scheme that would have brought our liberation struggle crashing. And they were just happy to go and see Switzerland, not knowing that it was a satanic plot.

4. Egotism and the love for money have driven a wedge between us and our goal. Why would someone remind anyone offering to mediate about money owed him by LRC at this time? Why would someone even place a financial precondition for holding talks? Why would someone lie that he has the largest force on the ground and use that to position himself as a power broker before the Swiss? Why would a group of people decide, against expert advice, to sign away to the Swiss their right to a multilateral mediation format? Why would SCian politicians accept Swiss money to go from UK, Canada to the US advertising the Swiss initiative to the exclusion of the European institute for peace (an EU funded organisation)? These questions beg for answers.

4. Disrupting fund raising projects is a major scheme to render the struggle bankrupt, apart from embezzlement. Every time a seemingly viable fundraising initiative is laid out, they too will do theirs and distract the public that is already weary of bickering. They cause the public to transfer their stigma on it, and when the momentum dies down, they abandon theirs. See the bonds, the pins and other financial ideas.

5. Disinformation and Misinformation of the masses. Using their very loud megaphone, they distort every notion of good. Points 1-4 above have been achieved through the alphabet TV and paid social media activists. Some of them puts out their write-ups using the name of some of these activists in exchange for a fee. They deceive the people at home about non-existent diplomatic moves and breakthroughs and distort international relations concepts. It’s like a veil of darkness cast over our people’s heads.

5. The lure of power and the desire to exercise corrupt influence . Even some of the IG converts in the diaspora are easily brainwashed because of the temptation of corruption. Many of them see themselves as an emerging Bulu/Beti clan when we restore our independence. So, they use that to make their communities and families believe that as future ministers and LG chairmen in SC, they will have more benefits and influence than others – greed! Let them show us the blue print or the strategy that will take us to Buea.

6. Killing or disarming our own fighters cannot be excused on any grounds. Is it surprising that we have lost more of our elite soldiers to our own bullets than to LRC? After commissioning Nambere to eliminate some of his peers, it was time to do away with him so that all traces could be wiped. But he preferred to surrender to the enemy than to succumb to the bullets of his own people. He confided his ordeal to those who were ready to listen. This is a familiar scenario which the RFs do not yet understand. Many who sensed danger have fled the resistance because they don’t know when the order for their execution will come. Others have been captured because their position was deliberately leaked to the enemy. Who does that? Does the mass execution of the Bui 23 tell us anything?

In all

I have travelled round this country and have met different people who have complained about the manner in which they were robbed in broad day light and lamented the general state of things. They told me how they were harangued into donating thousands of dollars for diplomatic trips which never happened. In others, Ngwa Irene personally went there and collected $12000 cash and when the community asked for a receipt it became a brawl. Some communities have not recovered from the financially induced coma caused by these buccaneers.

I challenge all those hiding in WhatsApp groups or FB, wearing aliases to come to a public debate to explain their plan for the restoration, if there is any, and stop using subterfuge to deceive our people. If you cannot diagnose a disease, then you cannot treat it.

Denying these facts is denying, like LRC, that our people don’t have any problem. “Any man who does not know, and knows that he does not know is willing to learn; teach him. Any man who does not know, and knows not that he does not know is a fool; shun him”. We should now understand why for two years we have been spinning in the same spot and claiming that we are on course. Having run out if arguments, they claim that it is because some people don’t use the name “Ambazonia” and so it affects the struggle. 😫 Lame excuse! With all what is going on, ask yourselves again, are these people truly taking us to Buea or to Golgotha?

Yours in the struggle

Fontem Neba

Scholar & Freedom Fighter

11, April 2020

US becomes first country to record over 2,000 coronavirus deaths in one day ⁰

The United States on Friday became the first country to record more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in one day, with 2,108 fatalities in the past 24 hours, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.

The US has now recorded over 18,680 deaths and is closing in on the toll of 18,850 dead in Italy, which has seen the most fatalities so far in the global pandemic.

America is also approaching half a million confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 501,000 as of Saturday morning an increase of 35,098 in the past 24 hours.

Globally, there have been nearly 1.7 million confirmed cases, with the death toll topping 100,000 on Friday.

New York state, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, along with the neighboring states of New Jersey and Connecticut, were recording some of the worst outbreaks in the country, even as public health authorities expressed optimism that the pace of infections appeared to be slowing.

As of Saturday, the New York City metropolitan area had 5,820 coronavirus deaths, counting for more than half the nation’s fatalities.

The US is on track to overtake Italy as the country with the highest number of dead, though the true figures on infections and lives lost around the world are believed be much higher because of limited testing, government cover-ups and different counting practices.

With many Americans celebrating the Easter holiday on Sunday, the top US infectious disease expert warned that it is too early to relax restrictions on Americans.

“Now is no time to back off,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

The social distancing guidelines have taken a toll on the U.S. economy. Some economists are forecasting job losses of up to 20 million in April, raising questions about how long business closures and travel restrictions can be sustained.

(Source: Agencies)

11, April 2020

New York health workers hold vigil for colleagues who died in virus fight ⁰

Clutching flowers, candles and photos, New York hospital workers paid tribute to colleagues who have died from the coronavirus since the beginning of the epidemic that has ravaged the city with a modest ceremony in the freezing cold Friday.

Standing in front of the Mount Sinai Hospital Group in Manhattan, with a heart drawn in electric candles on the sidewalk and letters spelling out the word “HOPE”, they made short speeches remembering the nurses, doctors and other hospital workers who fell victim to the virus.

Many clutched photographs of the deceased.

“We are here to honor, to pray and remember our fallen heroes,” said nurse Joanne Mee Wah Loo to the small group of people who came to pay tribute despite the chill wind.

No one knows exactly how many caregivers have died since the beginning of the epidemic in New York City, the most affected metropolis in the US, with nearly 95,000 people infected and more than 5,800 dead.

But was at Mount Sinai that Kious Kelly, the first New York nurse known to die of coronavirus, passed away at the end of March.

“He was a good person, a hard worker, he loved what he was doing,” says Lenore Leiba, a nurse who knew him and attended this tribute.

“It is important to celebrate his life, their lives, and who they really were. They were not worried about their lives, they were thinking of others.”

– ‘Inhumane’ –

Tirzah Caraballo, surgical pathologist secretary at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, came to honor Christine Hunt, who died last Sunday after 35 years as a receptionist at the hospital.

“She was our mom, our friend, our sister,” Caraballo said.

“She was denied a mask because she was a secretary. And this is why she’s no longer with us.”

In the early days of the pandemic, she explained, administrative staff were not allowed masks as they were reserved for nurses and doctors.

She acknowledges there are now masks for everyone. “Yes, things have improved since, but we lost so many. It shouldn’t have been a decision of who gets a mask and who doesn’t. That’s inhumane,” she said.

The ceremony didn’t last long. It began at 7:00 pm (2300 GMT), the time when the applause for the caregivers in New York City resounded.

A fire truck stopped and several firefighters took the time to applaud, as well as a few passers-by. Forty minutes later, it was over.

“Thank you for coming,” said Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, president of the New York State Nurses Association, who attended the ceremony. “We hope we don’t have to do this again.”

Source: AFP

11, April 2020

COVID-19: African community targeted in China crackdown ⁰

Africans in southern China’s largest city say they have become targets of suspicion and subjected to forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines and mass coronavirus testing as the country steps up its fight against imported infections.

China says it has largely curbed its COVID-19 outbreak but a recent cluster of cases linked to the Nigerian community in Guangzhou sparked the alleged discrimination by locals and virus prevention officials.

Local authorities in the industrial centre of 15 million said at least eight people diagnosed with the illness had spent time in the city’s Yuexiu district, known as “Little Africa”.

Five were Nigerian nationals who faced widespread anger after reports surfaced that they had broken a mandatory quarantine and been to eight restaurants and other public places instead of staying home.

As a result, nearly 2,000 people they came into contact with had to be tested for COVID-19 or undergo quarantine, state media said.

Guangzhou had confirmed 114 imported coronavirus cases as of Thursday — 16 of which were Africans. The rest were returning Chinese nationals.

It has led to Africans becoming targets of suspicion, distrust and racism in China.

Several Africans told AFP they had been forcibly evicted from their homes and turned away by hotels.

“I’ve been sleeping under the bridge for four days with no food to eat… I cannot buy food anywhere, no shops or restaurants will serve me,” said Tony Mathias, an exchange student from Uganda who was forced from his apartment on Monday.

“We’re like beggars on the street,” the 24-year-old said.

Mathias added that police had given him no information about testing or quarantine but instead told him “to go to another city”.

Police in Guangzhou declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

A Nigerian businessman said he was evicted from his apartment earlier this week.

“Everywhere the police see us, they will come and pursue us and tell us to go home. But where can we go?” he said.

– Growing tensions –

Other Africans said the community had been subject to mass COVID-19 testing even though many had not left China recently, and placed under arbitrary quarantine at home or in hotels.

China has banned foreign nationals from entering the country and many travellers are being sent into 14-day quarantines either in their own accommodation or at centralised facilities.

Thiam, an exchange student from Guinea, said police ordered him to stay home on Tuesday even after he tested negative for COVID-19 and told officers he had not left China in almost four years.

He believes the measures are specifically and unfairly targeting Africans.

“All the people I’ve seen tested are Africans. Chinese are walking around freely but if you’re black you can’t go out,” he said.

Denny, a Nigerian trader evicted from his flat on Tuesday, said police moved him to a hotel for quarantine after he spent several days sleeping on the streets.

“Even if we have a negative test result, police don’t let us stay (in our accommodation) and they don’t give a reason why,” he said.

– ‘Crazy fear’ –

The infections in Guangzhou have sparked a torrent of abuse online, with many Chinese internet users posting racist comments and calling for all Africans to be deported.

Last week a controversial cartoon depicting foreigners as different types of trash to be sorted through went viral on social media.

“There’s just this crazy fear that anybody who’s African might have been in contact with somebody who was sick,” said David, a Canadian living in Guangzhou who did not want to give his full name.

China’s foreign ministry acknowledged this week that there had been some “misunderstandings” with the African community.

“I want to emphasise that the Chinese government treats all foreigners in China equally,” said spokesman Zhao Lijian on Thursday, urging local officials to “improve their working mechanisms”.

The complaints in Guangzhou contrast with a welcome reception to Chinese efforts in battling the coronavirus across the African continent, where Beijing this week donated medical supplies to 18 countries.

“When China engages Africa it’s the central government that does that, but when it comes to immigration enforcement that happens at the local level,” said Eric Olander, managing editor of the China Africa Project.

“That explains why there’s an inconsistency in the more upbeat messaging we hear about Chinese diplomacy on the continent and the increasingly difficult realities that African traders, students and other expatriates face in their day-to-day lives in China.”

Source: AFP

10, April 2020

WHO warns of ‘deadly resurgence’ of coronavirus if restrictions hastily lifted ⁰

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of a “deadly resurgence” of the new coronavirus if countries hurriedly lift the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the pathogen.

“I know that some countries are already planning the transition out of stay-at-home restrictions. WHO wants to see restrictions lifted as much as anyone,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a virtual press conference in Geneva on Friday. “At the same time, lifting restrictions too quickly could lead to a deadly resurgence. The way down can be as dangerous as the way up if not managed properly.”

The WHO chief added that the organization was working with countries “on strategies for gradually and safely easing restrictions.”

The virus has infected more than 1.6 million people globally since it first emerged in China in December last year, according to an AFP tally. The number of deaths is rapidly approaching 100,000.

Meanwhile, Tedros welcomed signs that the spread of the virus was slowing in the worst-hit European countries of Italy, Spain, France, and Germany.

But he reported an “alarming acceleration” of the epidemic in some other countries, highlighting Africa.

“We are now seeing clusters of cases and community spread in more than 16 countries” in Africa, he said.

Africa’s poor healthcare systems have been a main concern for experts, who believe the epidemic could spread far greater in the continent than it has in many other places.

Source: Presstv

10, April 2020

UK: Prime Minister Johnson up and walking as virus death toll rises by record 980 ⁰

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was back on his feet in his recovery from COVID-19 on Friday, while his fellow Britons were told to resist the temptation of going out in the spring sunshine over Easter as the coronavirus death toll rose to nearly 9,000.

The prime minister’s rapid health decline shook the country earlier this week, but he came out of three nights of intensive care at St Thomas’ Hospital on Thursday. He was admitted to the hospital on Sunday after his symptoms persisted.

A spokesman for Johnson said the prime minister, 55, was back on a hospital ward as he continued his recovery, which was said to be at an early stage.

“I was told he was waving his thanks to all of the nurses and doctors he saw as he was moved from the intensive care unit back to the ward,” the spokesman said. “The hospital said that he was in extremely good spirits last night.”

His Downing Street office said later that Johnson had been able to do short walks, between periods of rest, as part of the care he was receiving.

“He has spoken to his doctors and thanks the whole clinical team for the incredible care,” a spokesman said.

Johnson was the first world leader to be hospitalised with the coronavirus, forcing him to hand control to foreign minister Dominic Raab just as Britain’s coronavirus outbreak worsened drastically.

In the prime minister’s absence, the government must consider if and when it can end restrictions on movement. Raab said on Thursday it was too early to make a decision because the country had not yet reached the peak of the outbreak.

The UK coronavirus death toll rose by 980 to 8,958 people as of 1600 GMT on April 9, health minister Matt Hancock said on Friday – the fifth highest in the world.

Although Johnson’s condition was improving, it was unclear how long he would be incapacitated.

His spokesman said his recovery was only just beginning and he would take advice from his medical team.

“He must rest up,” his father, Stanley Johnson, told BBC radio. “You cannot walk away from this and go straight back to Downing Street and pick up the reins without a period of readjustment.”

Johnson’s pregnant fiancee, Carrie Symonds, who has also had coronavirus symptoms, tweeted a rainbow picture – in support of healthcare workers – along with hand-clapping emojis.

Lengthy lockdown

The government says it will have a better idea by next week of whether the lockdown has succeeded in reducing infections and hospital admissions.

“We’ve started already to see plateauing,” said epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, a professor at Imperial College in London, who has helped to shape the government’s response.

It will take several more days for the pace of deaths to drop and more weeks to draw definitive conclusions that could allow restrictions to be lifted, he added to BBC radio.

Britons are putting up with a third week of stringent restrictions, during which police have assumed new powers to fine people who leave home unless on essential work or seeking food and medicines.

The four-day Easter break began on Friday with bright sunshine, and authorities were on the lookout for those tempted out to see family and friends.

Scotland’s chief medical officer has already resigned after flouting her own advice to stay at home, and a senior minister was under pressure on Friday after newspapers said he travelled to a second home outside London and visited his parents.

“For clarity – my parents asked me to deliver some essentials – including medicines,” housing minister Robert Jenrick tweeted in defence, adding that he had left London to return to his family home.

“We are confident that he complied with the social distancing rules,” Johnson’s spokesman said.

(REUTERS)

10, April 2020

Football: Barcelona deny corruption after six board members resign ⁰

Barcelona have denied what the club describes as “serious and unfounded accusations” of corruption after a former vice-president claimed someone “had put their hands in the till”.

Emili Rousaud was one of six board members to resign on Thursday night as Barca continue to be embroiled in political crisis under their current president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

All six resigning board members called for the 2021 presidential elections to be brought forward in a joint letter published on Friday by the newspaper La Vanguardia.

In an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, Rousaud discussed the social media controversy that rocked the club in February, when Barcelona were accused of hiring a company called I3 Ventures to discredit opponents of Bartomeu online, including players like Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique.

“If the auditors tell us the cost of these services is 100,000 euros and we have paid one million, it means someone has put their hand in the till. I have no evidence and I cannot say who,” Rousaud told the programme RAC1 on Friday.

Barcelona responded with an official statement that read: “In the light of the serious and unfounded accusations made this morning by Emili Rousaud, ex-vice president of the club, in different interviews with the media, FC Barcelona categorically denies any activity that can be described as corruption and therefore reserves the right to any legal action that may correspond.”

Bartomeu terminated the club’s contract with I3 Ventures in February. He said the company had been hired only to monitor posts on social media and announced an internal audit to investigate any irregularity.

“The analysis of the monitoring services of social networks is being subjected to an independent audit by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), which is still ongoing and, therefore, without any conclusions,” Barcelona’s statement added.

Rousaud had been appointed as a club vice-president in January and was seen as a leading candidate to succeed Bartomeu, who cannot stand again when the presidential elections come round next year.

Instead, Rousaud has quit, citing frustrations with the club’s management, along with fellow vice-president Enrique Tombas, as well as directors Silvio Elias, Josep Pont, Jordi Calsamiglia and Maria Teixidor.

Bartomeu has overseen a string of political spats in recent months being played out in public, with Messi also involved.

Messi reacted angrily in January to Eric Abidal, the club’s technical secretary, suggesting the players were to blame for the sacking of Ernesto Valverde and last month, the Argentinian criticised the club’s handling of negotiations with the squad over pay cuts.

Those remaining swiftly addressed the resignations from the board. “The resignations of the members of the board of directors announced over the last few hours have come about due to a reorganisation of the board put forward by president Josep Maria Bartomeu and which will be completed in the next few days,” the statement added.

Source: AFP

10, April 2020

Facebook unveils information centres in Cameroon, Nigeria, 15 others ⁰

Social media platform, Facebook is expanding its Coronavirus Information Centre to 17 more countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria.

The others include Benin Republic; Burkina Faso; Cameroun; Cape Verde; Chad; Cote d’ Ivoire; Ethiopia and Gabon.The rest are Guinea; Kenya; Mali; Mauritania; Senegal; Seychelles; the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Togo.

The centres form part of the organisation’s efforts to help the global fight against COVID-19 by providing people with the latest news from trusted health authorities as well as resources and tips to stay healthy and support the society.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Centre is featured at the top of News Feed that provides a central place for people to keep informed about the epidemic.

It includes real-time updates from national health authorities and global organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) as well as helpful articles, videos and posts about social distancing and containment of the virus.

Facebook explained yesterday that users could opt in to follow the centre to get notifications and see updates in their News Feed from official government health authorities.

According to the company’s Head of Public Policy, Africa, Kojo Boakye, “we have built the information centres, in collaboration with national health partners, to ensure that people can get access to information from trusted health sources.”

Source: The Guardian

10, April 2020

UK: Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves ICU, receiving ‘close monitoring’ ⁰

Prime Minister Boris Johnson left intensive care on Thursday evening as he continues to recover from COVID-19, but he remains under close monitoring in hospital, his office said on Thursday.

Johnson, 55, was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital on Sunday evening with a persistent high temperature and cough, and was rushed to intensive care on Monday where he spent three nights receiving treatment.

“The prime minister has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery,” a spokesman from his office said in an emailed statement.

“He is in extremely good spirits.”

Johnson was the first world leader to be hospitalized with the coronavirus, forcing him to hand control of the world’s fifth-largest economy to foreign minister Dominic Raab just as Britain’s outbreak approaches its most deadly peak.

Raab tweeted that the improvement in Johnson’s condition was “the news we all wanted to hear”. US President Donald Trump described it as “great news”.

Johnson’s ongoing recovery prompted a small rise in the value of sterling against the dollar GBP=.

However, the government statement did not give any details on when Johnson may be able to resume leadership, and Raab – speaking before the latest announcement – had stressed the importance of allowing the prime minister to focus on recovery.

No further updates on Johnson’s health were expected on Thursday.

Raab is deputizing for Johnson during the most stringent shutdown in Britain’s peacetime history. Earlier he told a news conference it was too early to end the lockdown because Britain had not reached the peak of the outbreak yet.

The UK death toll in hospitals from coronavirus now stands at 7,978, a rise of 881 on the day but a smaller increase than the 938 seen in Wednesday’s data.

Government spending

With Johnson absent and the death toll still mounting, the British government is wrestling with two major issues – how to finance a vast increase in state spending to support the shuttered economy, and when to start easing lockdown measures.

With the economy facing potentially the worst hit since World War Two, the government said it had expanded its overdraft facility with the Bank of England.

The central bank has agreed temporarily to finance government borrowing in response to COVID-19 if funds cannot immediately be raised from debt markets, reviving a measure last widely used during the 2008 financial crisis.

The BoE said it was a short-term measure and both it and government said any borrowing from the Ways and Means facility – effectively the government’s overdraft with the Bank – would be repaid by the end of the year.

The government has made pledges costing tens of billions of pounds to support businesses and workers hit by the virus. On Thursday, the government said an additional 1.2 million claims for welfare payments had been filed since March 16.

Raab said the peak of the virus outbreak had yet to be reached and that the government would not be able to say more about the duration of the lockdown until late next week, once experts have had chance to analyze data on how well it is working. It was introduced last month.

“The measures will have to stay in place until we’ve got the evidence that clearly shows we’ve moved beyond the peak,” he said.

While Johnson’s condition was improving, the likely length of his recovery remained unknown, with some political commentators saying there was a power vacuum in his absence.

Raab said on Thursday he had the power to make “necessary decisions” in the prime minister’s absence and that government will continue to follow the strategy set out by Johnson. He said cabinet could take decisions collectively.

The United Kingdom is entering what scientists say is the deadliest phase of the outbreak, with deaths expected to continue to rise over the Easter weekend.

But in a sign the shutdown measures were working, health officials have said the number of coronavirus infections and hospital admissions had begun to show signs of flattening.

Police said they would be taking tougher action to do just that before the four-day Easter holiday weekend because many people were continuing to ignore the ban on social gatherings.

(Source: Reuters)