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Coronavirus and the forgotten people of Sub-Saharan Africa

31, March 2020

Coronavirus and the forgotten people of Sub-Saharan Africa 0

Donald Trump indicated that keeping the US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic to 100,000 would be a very good job. Prof. Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England stated that if the UK kept its death toll below 20,000, the country would have done very well. From these frightening figures, Cameroon Concord News Group presupposes that these men of authority possess confidential data and facts not available to us all. There are over 784,314 confirmed cases worldwide with 37,638 deaths. Spain and Italy now account for more than 51% of the global fatalities according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Lockdowns in many European and US towns and cities is startling but understandable as experts insist that social distancing is imperative to curbing this global killer. Cameroon Concord News Group is struggling to make sense of this new world order. Like many pandemics of previous generations and centuries, the poor, elderly and the vulnerable always bear the brunt. Covid-19 pandemic is no different. The UK government announced a £330 billion stimulus package to protect its economy, Germany followed with a stimulus package worth over 1.1 trillion euros whilst the US announced a 2 trillion dollar package for its economy. These figures and economic policies designed to protect the economies and citizens of these countries are astounding and imposing but one has to consider how the worlds vulnerable in sub-Saharan Africa would cope during this unprecedented world economic and health emergency.

In many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, testing for the coronavirus is non-existent and the public health information is pitiable. Ravaged by government corruption, unemployment, poor public services and deprived healthcare structures, these vulnerable people are the forgotten potential victims of this pandemic. In many Sub-Saharan African countries, the people live from hand to mouth and the thought of a lockdown without government hand-outs is terrifying. Poverty and a lack of government action will be as lethal as the coronavirus to some of these people. Complacency from the governments and public health officials is the word and a risky strategy.

As the peak of this global health crisis approaches, Cameroon Concord News Group’s concern for the forgotten people of sub-Saharan Africa is candid and established. The World Bank and the IMF have announced financial packages worth $24 billion. This is a step in the right direction but these figures pale in contrast to the rest of the world. If the history of financial packages to Africa is anything to go by, it is pretty obvious that a microscopic fraction of this aid would get to the people who need it most. The vulnerable people of this region are about to face a global killer with anaemic fiscal backing. This media outlet is concerned that the true scale of this disaster in these communities might never be known. When figures of 100,000 deaths in the US and 20,000 in the UK are brandished as successful, we of this publication fear for the poor and vulnerable in Africa.

From the gargantuan stimulus packages designed to ring-fence western economies from the financial consequences of this pandemic, the evidence is overwhelming that there are enough economic resources on this planet for all its occupants to enjoy healthy, progressive and peaceful lives. Cameroon Concord News Group believes that what is lacking is the political will to accomplish that purpose. One thing remains certain, the time has come for sub-Saharan African leaders to realise that the health, education, infrastructure and corruption challenges in their countries will be resolved by them only. Western governments have made political and economic decisions for their people, Sub-Saharan African leaders must learn and emulate. Cameroon Concord News Group believes that this must be one of the lessons to take from this pandemic.

Isong Asu

London Bureau Chief

Spain reports its highest daily coronavirus toll, with 849 new deaths

31, March 2020

Spain reports its highest daily coronavirus toll, with 849 new deaths 0

Once again, Spain hit a new record with 849 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours on Tuesday although health chiefs said the rate of new infections was continuing its downward trend.

After Italy, Spain has suffered the world’s second most deadly outbreak which has now claimed 8,189 lives there. The latest figures came a day after the death toll fell slightly, raising hopes the epidemic could be peaking.

Over the same period, the number of confirmed cases rose to 94,417 after another 9,222 people tested positive: a nearly 11-percent increase.

That figure was seen as a setback after a week in which the rate had been steadily failing, with Monday’s figures having shown a rise of just over 8.0 percent.

“It’s true that today we have a slight increase in the number of cases,” said Maria Jose Sierra, from the health ministry’s emergencies coordination unit.

But the downward trend “is continuing”, she added.

This time last week, the rate of new infections stood at around 20 percent.

Now on day 18 of an unprecedented four-week national lockdown to slow the spread of the virus, Spain has sought to dramatically ramp up testing. It is sourcing kits from around the world in order to test some 50,000 people per day, up from the current 20,000.

It has also ordered millions of euros worth of supplies to support its health care system, on the brink of collapse following the massive influx of seriously ill patients and a growing number of medical staff falling sick with the virus.

Madrid is the worst-hit area, counting 3,609 deaths and 27,509 infections.

The regional authorities there are using a massive exhibition centre and a string of hotels to house the sick, and setting up two temporary morgues for the dead, one inside an Olympic-sized ice skating rink.

Source: AFP

Congo’s ex-President dies of COVID-19

31, March 2020

Congo’s ex-President dies of COVID-19 0

A former president of the Republic of Congo has died after contracting coronavirus. Jacques Joaquim Yhombi-Opango is reported to have died at the age of 81 in a Paris hospital.

His family confirmed that he had underlying health conditions before contracting the virus. He served as president and Prime Minister in the Central African country.

Yhombi-Opango was president of Congo-Brazzaville from April 1977 until he was toppled in February 1979 by the country president Denis Sassou Nguesso.

He spent years in prison till the country introduced multi-party democracy in 1991. He served as Prime Minister under the government of Pascal Lissouba between 1992 and 1997, until a civil war broke out in 1997.

He went into exile in France, before being allowed to return home 10 years later.

Source: Africa News

Lagos in lockdown as Africa virus closures spread

31, March 2020

Lagos in lockdown as Africa virus closures spread 0

Africa’s largest city Lagos was deserted Tuesday after Nigeria locked down its economic hub and shuttered its capital, in the continent’s latest effort to brake the juggernaut of coronavirus.

Businesses were closed, markets abandoned and streets empty as the usually chaotic megacity of 20 million, along with the capital Abuja, shuddered to a halt on the first full day of a two-week shutdown.

Police in protective equipment manned checkpoints, trucks carrying non-essential items were turned back and youths were spotted playing football on a usually traffic-clogged highway.

“It is like putting people in prison,” minibus taxi driver Mutiu Adisa told AFP.

“I don’t know how people can survive for two weeks without working to make money.”

Nigeria embarked late Monday on one of Africa’s most ambitious efforts at social distancing after recording 135 confirmed cases and two deaths.

Enforcing the stay-at-home order in the overcrowded slums of Lagos will be a mammoth challenge as millions of poor depend on their daily earnings to survive.

Officials insist the draconian measures are needed urgently to ward off an explosion in infections that could easily overwhelm the weak health system in Africa’s most populous nation.

“To reduce the number of people with coronavirus, we know they need to stop movement,” 60-year-old engineer Ogun Nubi Victor told AFP.

“But there in no money for the citizens, people are just sitting at home, with nothing to eat.”

In an attempt to ease the pain, Lagos state authorities have pledged to supply basic food rations to some 200,000 of the city’s neediest households.

– Lockdowns and brutality –

Across all of Africa, countries have recorded more than 5,300 cases and 170 deaths, according to a tally compiled by AFP.

Tanzania on Tuesday became the latest nation to record its first fatality from the novel coronavirus.

The numbers have lagged behind those of other continents, and as of Monday, there were still six countries out of 54 in Africa — South Sudan, Burundi, Sao Tome and Principe, Malawi, Lesotho and the Comoros — that had yet to detect a single case.

But experts have repeatedly warned of Africa’s vulnerability, describing its many conflicts, poor sanitation, packed urban slums and under-equipped hospitals as sources of potential catastrophe.

Dozens of countries across the continent have imposed restrictions from night-time curfews to total shutdowns to try to halt the disease.

Uganda on Tuesday was also waking up to lockdown after President Yoweri Museveni ordered his east African nation to shut up shop immediately.

The Republic of Congo was gearing up to follow suit later in the day and Botswana’s president ordered a state of emergency from midnight on Thursday.

But growing reports of brutality from security forces in some nations have highlighted the challenges of enforcing the draconian measures.

The police watchdog in South Africa, on lockdown since last week, said Monday it was investigating an officer for allegedly killing a man who defied the regulations.

The country’s defence minister also condemned “any type of abuse” by security forces after videos on social media showed civilians forced to squat or roll on the ground.

The regional powerhouse, which has the highest numbers of confirmed infections on the continent, will start mass door-to-door screening and testing for infections, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday.

The “unprecedented” exercise will be launched in the next few days, with at least 10,000 field workers deployed across the country of 57 million people, he said in an address to the nation.

“We are now entering a new phase in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic,” Ramaphosa said.

Source:  AFP

Social distancing for ‘six months or more’ may be needed to avoid second wave of coronavirus

31, March 2020

Social distancing for ‘six months or more’ may be needed to avoid second wave of coronavirus 0

After England’s deputy chief medical officer warned on Sunday that the UK’s coronavirus lockdown could last for “six months or more”, experts say that prolonged social distancing measures – if not full-blown confinements – may well be necessary and that some permanent changes to behaviour are likely.

As the UK braced for its second week under lockdown following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s March 23 announcement of unprecedented curbs on peacetime public life, England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jenny Harries set out a medium-term timeline for how the British government might renew restrictions aimed at supressing the coronavirus.

Containment measures must stay in place at the end of the original three-week lockdown period, she said at the British government’s daily coronavirus briefing on March 29: “We must not then suddenly revert to our normal way of living; that would be quite dangerous. If we stop, then all of our efforts will be wasted and we could potentially see a second peak.”

“So I think three weeks for review,” Harries continued. “Two or three months to see whether we’ve really squashed it, with about three to six months ideally, and lots of uncertainty in that, but then to see at which point we can actually get back to normal. It is plausible that it could go further than that.”

Two years of restrictions?

Britain is not the only country whose government has warned that coronavirus containment measures will be extended beyond their initial period. Europe’s worst-affected country and the first on the continent to impose a lockdown, Italy has said that its confinement measures could be extended to July 31 despite their crippling economic effects.

Germany’s disease control and prevention agency, the Robert Koch Institute, declared earlier in March that – in an “extreme situation” – restrictions on public life to combat the coronavirus could stay in place for as long as two years until a vaccine is ready for use.

“Some kind of distancing will likely be necessary for at least six months,” William Hanage, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard University, told FRANCE 24. “The distancing measures already in place are stopping the establishment of new cases. Those already infected should be resolved for better or worse in two months, after which the goal will be to prevent the surge we have seen in the first wave happening again.”

The German health institute’s idea that two years of restrictions could be necessary to deal with the coronavirus presents a “fairly likely” scenario, Hanage said, adding that it “depends on what is meant by restrictions; two years of the current state is unlikely, but two years without large gatherings is another thing”.

Of course, completely stopping the transition of the disease would make lockdowns and social distancing unnecessary. This could be achieved one of three ways, explained Greg Gray, a professor and medical epidemiologist at Duke University School of Medicine, in an interview with FRANCE 24.

First, “through a massive, worldwide, safe and effective vaccine programme”. Second, through the “massive employment of some other effective prophylaxis against transmission”, such as effective lockdowns, “combined with intense contact tracing to stop transmission networks”. Or third, “when a large proportion of the human population becomes immune due to infection (known as herd immunity) and the epidemic burns out”. Until then, he said, “the virus will likely continue to circulate wherever it finds new susceptible people to infect”. 

Only the second option – lockdowns and tracing transmission networks – appears to be feasible in the short term.

Paradoxically, lifting restrictive measures earlier may be most suitable in relatively hard-hit nations, Gray said.

“As the virus has hit the UK and Italy very hard, these countries may see [herd immunity] sooner than most other countries.”

As a result, “six months (of restricted movement) may be reasonable for the UK” while “two years may be reasonable for Germany if transmission remains low”.

Coronavirus will ‘change our way of life’

By minimising the number of people who contract the coronavirus, lockdowns protect the most vulnerable. However, they do not make people immune. Consequently, scientists expect the virus to resurge when restrictions are lifted. For example, the Imperial College London study – famous for having persuaded Johnson and US President Donald Trump to adopt tougher approaches against the coronavirus – predicted that if confinement measures end after five months, a second wave of infections would emerge in late autumn.

In light of that, “most epidemiologists believe that once the social distancing is relaxed, it needs to be accompanied by widespread testing and isolation of infected persons for 14 days”, Charles Horsburgh, a professor of epidemiology at Boston University, told FRANCE 24.

While governments will need to deploy mass testing and contact tracing,  experts say that people will also need to modify their behaviour to prevent fresh outbreaks.

“This virus has and will continue to change our way of life, our traditions and our human-to-human interactions,” Gray said.

Some changes are already palpable. Face masks, already common in Asia, can now also be seen in Western cities; and in France, the traditional bise – a kiss on each cheek to greet family, friends and colleagues – has become taboo.

Permanent change is on the cards, Lynn Goldman, dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, told FRANCE 24. “It could well be that there are fewer people shaking hands and kissing; elbow bumps could become the norm as a form of greeting and I think face masks might become more normal too.”

Source: France 24

UK coronavirus death toll surpasses 1,400 as Prince Charles leaves isolation

30, March 2020

UK coronavirus death toll surpasses 1,400 as Prince Charles leaves isolation 0

The number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus in the United Kingdom rose to 1,408, according to figures released on Monday. This was a daily increase of 180, a smaller rise than the previous set of numbers.

The figures were accurate up to 5pm local time (1600 GMT) on March 29.

There were a total of 22,141 positive cases as of 9am local time (0800 GMT) on March 30, the health ministry said.

The new figures came as British heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, who had tested positive for coronavirus, emerged out of seven-day self-isolation on Monday. His spokesman said he was in good health.

Last week, his Clarence House office revealed that Charles, 71, had been tested after displaying mild symptoms of the virus and had been in self-isolation at his Birkhall home in Scotland, where he continued to work.

Buckingham Palace has previously said that Queen Elizabeth, who left London for Windsor Castle on March 19 along with her 98-year-old husband, Philip, is in good health.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

Moscow goes into lockdown, urges other regions to take steps to slow coronavirus

30, March 2020

Moscow goes into lockdown, urges other regions to take steps to slow coronavirus 0

Moscow on Monday imposed a lockdown in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus as Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin asked regional authorities to make similar preparations.

The enforcement of the tough new rules, which were suddenly announced by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin late Sunday, coincide with the beginning of a “non-working” week declared by President Vladimir Putin last week.

The order came days after Sobyanin, a close Putin ally, urged Muscovites to avoid public places, non-essential travel and walks due to the coronavirus epidemic – a recommendation many ignored amid a spell of unusually warm weather over the weekend.

“It is obvious that not everyone heard us,” Sobyanin wrote on his website as he announced the tighter quarantine measures, warning the authorities would steadily tighten control over compliance with the new rules.

Empty streets, strict measures

On Monday, the streets of Moscow were deserted following the closure of all non-essential shops, including restaurants and cafes, but traffic was still seen on the roads in the city centre.

“I ask regional heads to work on the introduction of quarantines similar to the one introduced in Moscow,” Prime Minister Mishustin said at a government meeting.

The new restrictions apply to all of the city’s residents, regardless of age.

Muscovites will only be allowed to leave their homes in cases of a medical emergency, to travel to jobs judged essential, and to shop for food or medicines.

People will be allowed to take out trash and walk their dogs within a 100-metre (330-foot) radius of their homes.

The new isolation rules, which will be policed by a vast system of facial-recognition cameras in Moscow, come into force as Russia closes its borders as part of increasingly stringent measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Scepticism about official data

Russia has so far got off more lightly than many European countries with nine deaths and 1,534 cases, more than 1,000 of which are in Moscow. Russia recorded 270 new coronavirus infections in the past day.

But some doctors have voiced scepticism about the accuracy of the figures given what they say has been the patchy nature and quality of testing, allegations that the authorities deny.

According to a survey by the Levada Center, only 16 percent of Russians fully trust official information about the coronavirus, while 24 percent said they did not trust it at all.

Russia has halted international flights, closed its borders, announced a non-working week from this weekend, and shuttered shops and entertainment venues in Moscow and some other regions.

The head of Russia’s Orthodox Church on Sunday exhorted believers to pray at home, urging people to adhere strictly to authorities’ instructions “before someone dies in our families”.

“Refrain from visiting churches,” Patriarch Kirill said, even though Orthodox services went ahead, including one led by him. Mosques in Muslim majority Chechnya cancelled Friday prayers, Russian news agencies reported.

About 60 percent of Russia’s 144 million people consider themselves Orthodox Christians. But fewer than usual went to church on Sunday and some were wearing masks, according to media reports.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

Southern Cameroons prisoners of conscience and the threat of COVID-19

30, March 2020

Southern Cameroons prisoners of conscience and the threat of COVID-19 0

Today, the world is faced with another global menace similar to the Spanish Flu of 1918 which killed almost 50 million people the world over between 1918 and 1919. This is the CoronaVirus or Covid-19 which originated in the Wuhan District of China in December 2019.

In a media briefing on March 11th, 2020, World Health Organization Director General, Dr Tedros A.G said the agency had characterized the Covid-19 as a pandemic. A pandemic, according to Britannica is an outbreak of infectious disease that occurs over a wide geographical area that affects a significant proportion of the world’s population, usually over the course of several months or years.

The new Corona Virus (Covid-19)is affecting 199 countries and territories around the world. It has so far infected more than 721,412 people across the world, killing 33,965 (March 30th, 2020 statistics from cnn.com). The geometrical patterns in the growth of Covid-19 is alarming as it has left so many health experts and scientists confused as to the way forward. It is a collective fight that needs every hand on deck. The number of infected cases and deaths around the world is expected to rise during the first quarter of April 2020 as speculated by health experts in the United Kingdom.

On March 6th, 2020, the Cameroun’s Minister of Public Health, Dr Manaouda, announced the first case of Covid-19 in Yaoundé. The measures taken by the government of Cameroun to contain the virus from spreading further were not stringent enough as the airports were left open for many people from infected Countries abroad to fly in undetected. The numbers of infected cases are now on a steady rise. In a recent tweet on March 29th, 2020, the Public Health Minister made known the number of Covid-19 infected cases in Cameroun; 139 and counting.

The same conditions and fears described by Human Rights Activist Jennifer Gonnerman in the article “Chesa Boudin on His Incarcerated Father and the Threat of the Coronavirus in Prisons” are very visible in the jails in Cameroun where more than 1000 Southern Cameroons Prisoners of Conscience have been held following the Southern Cameroons Conflict where President Paul Biya declared war on November 30th,2017.These prisons which span from Yaoundé, Douala, Buea, Baffoussam, Yoko etc are a breeding ground for the Covid-19 owing to it’s poor sanitation, lack of portable water, scanty or no medical aid,no testing device, prison warders from the outside world who mingle freely with the detainees  and most important of all are the overcrowded nature of the prisons leaving thousands of detainees touching and mingling with each other at very close range.

It’s for these reasons that Human Rights Watch and the United Nations Human Rights Commission have picked on the situation of detainees in Cameroun and the world over respectively. Michelle Bachelet,in a statement at the Geneva UNHRC head office described in a few words the situation that these prisoners of conscience face as the global Covid-19 pandemic surges on.

“In many countries, detention facilities are overcrowded, in some cases dangerously so. People are often held in unhygienic conditions and health services are inadequate or even non-existent. Physical distancing and self-isolation in such conditions are practically impossible”

Prisons and jails are amplifiers of infectious diseases such as COVID-19, because the conditions that can keep diseases from spreading – such as social distancing – are nearly impossible to achieve in correctional facilities. The Yaoundé Central Prison where I’m currently serving a 12 year sentence on trumped up charges and politically motivated reasons fit squarely in this category.

The Prison built in 1968 to host 1000 inmates is home to about 5000 detainees (that’s five times the number) amongst who are more than 200 Southern Cameroons Prisoners of Conscience. This overcrowding influences the appropriation of space and the power structures within the prison, in a context where the prisoners are unevenly divided between the 14 quarters of the Kondengui Maximum Prison. These more than 5000 detainees share less than 20 filthy latrines doted in the various quarters from 1 to 14. In the event of the virus spreading inside the prison, no medical care will be possible and the death rate will be alarming. The prisoners are piled on top of each other; it’s impossible to keep any safe distance. The Yaoundé Central Prison is a volcano ready to explode if just a rumour of one positive case of Covid-19 is left to circulate within the prison walls.

Human rights organizations like the National Commission of Human Rights (NCHR), Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA), The Central African Human Rights Defenders Network (REDHAC) and a host of others who know the situations of these prisons very well should be pressing on for an amnesty to be given to these detainees before one of the detainee is infected with the Covid-19. It is their responsibility to do more before these overcrowded prisons are suddenly transformed into a mortuary.

The government of Cameroun recently took measures to curb the spread of the virus, including shutting down schools, closing borders, banning mass gatherings, and encouraging people to follow hygiene rules but these measures are not stringent enough to combat this global threat.

The Cameroun’s prisons, which are notably overcrowded, keeping social distance, practicing self-isolation, and taking basic measures such as hand washing are just not possible with hundreds of detainees crammed in the same small cell. The Prison administration under the leadership of Hamadou Madi recently took measures such as limiting the number of visitors into the inner court yard of the prison, obliging visitors to put on face masks and disinfecting the entire prison but these measures too are not enough to guarantee the safety of the detainees who still come in contact with the Prison Warders from the outside world on a minute by minute basis. The idea of social distancing or self isolation is farfetched in these prisons especially those in the town of Yaoundé which according to statistics from the Country’s Ministry of Public Health is the most infected town.

This fight against the Covid-19 is the fight of our lives and every hand is needed to stop it before it ravages humanity as we all know. The UN Human Rights Commissioner beckoned on state authorities to examine ways to release those particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, among them older detainees and those who are sick, as well as low-risk offenders because the detention facilities in many countries are severely overcrowded, making detainees and staff particularly vulnerable to catching the deadly new coronavirus. Amid fears that the coronavirus will carve a deadly path through prisons and jails, some countries are heeding to the Michelle Bachelet’s clarion call by releasing thousands of inmates. Ethiopia’s president, last week released over 4,000 prisoners in an effort to prevent overcrowding in prisons and contain the spread of the coronavirus.

By Penn Terence Khan

Yaounde Central Prison

Global updates: Over 722,000 now infected with coronavirus, nearly 34,000 dead

30, March 2020

Global updates: Over 722,000 now infected with coronavirus, nearly 34,000 dead 0

The new coronavirus has now killed 33,997 people and infected 722,435 others worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Italy continues to be a prime hotspot for the viral infection. The pandemic has already brought the entire world to a standstill, with governments and people putting up fights to save more lives and reduce the costs of the malady.

The following is a glance at the latest developments related to the pandemic.

Italy’s deaths decrease

Italy says the number of deaths from the disease fell for the second consecutive day on Sunday.

According to the country’s Civil Protection department, 756 people died on Sunday, bringing the total to 10,779. The Sunday toll was 133 smaller than that of Saturday.

Still, the overall tally is more than a third of all the deaths from the virus worldwide.

The total number of confirmed cases in Italy also rose to 97,689 on Sunday, from a previous 92,472.

It was the lowest daily rise in new cases since Wednesday.

The country, however, is still bracing for the peak. And restrictions on all but essential activities that were due to expire on Friday will be officially extended.

“The measures that were due to expire on April 3 inevitably will be extended,” said Regional Affairs Minister Francesco Boccia. “I think that it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to talk of re-opening (schools and production sites).”

According to Italian media, the restrictions could last for a further two weeks until about April 18.

Spain’s death toll passes 6,800

Spain, the second worst-hit nation in Europe, has approved a strengthening of measures to curb the spread of the outbreak, which killed 838 people on Sunday.

The total number of fatalities reached 6,803, and the confirmed cases 80,110.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday night that all non-essential workers had to stay home for two weeks. The measure would last from March 30 to April 9.

Spain has already been on near-total lockdown for three weeks.

Local German finance minister kills self over outbreak’s economic toll

In Germany, the finance minister of Hesse State, Thomas Schafer, who was a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, has killed himself, reportedly due to becoming “deeply worried” about the outbreak’s economic toll on the country.

Governor Volker Bouffier said Sunday that Schafer, 54, had become consumed with how to handle the fact that the coronavirus crisis was sending global markets into free fall.

He said the minister had been concerned about “whether it would be possible to succeed in fulfilling the population’s huge expectations, particularly of financial help.”

Schaefer had held his position for a decade.

Germany has had the lowest fatality toll from the coronavirus in the world, with a total number of 541 deaths; but it has the fifth-largest infection tally, with 62,435 confirmed cases.

China continues to see drop in cases, president urges firms to reopen

China reported a drop in new COVID-19 cases for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday.

Officials said on Monday that 31 new coronavirus cases had been recorded on Sunday, including one locally transmitted infection, dropping from the 45 cases reported a day earlier.

With four new deaths on Sunday, the cumulative death toll in mainland China reached 3,304, and the infection figure now stands at 82,149.

This has prompted the government to urge businesses and factories to reopen for a recovery.

President Xi Jinping said that his government would adjust support policies for small and medium-sized firms promptly as the situation developed to protect them from the impact of the coronavirus epidemic.

Chinese firms should actively resume operations and production even as coronavirus prevention efforts continue, Xi said on Sunday.

South Korea cases rise steadily

South Korea on Monday reported 78 new COVID-19 cases, indicating a fairly steady rate of infections.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the national tally stood at 9,661, while the death toll rose by six to 158.

President Moon Jae-in held an emergency meeting with economic policymakers to discuss financial support for the public. He is expected to announce details of the measures later on Monday.

Australia tightens measures

Australia has tightened physical distancing measures as the total number of infected cases reached 3,984 along with 18 deaths nationwide.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned that no more than two people should gather in any one spot outside households.

The government said it would use fines and the threat of jail to enforce the new rule.

Canada declares state of emergency

Canada on Sunday declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces and ordered people to stay home.

The number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 6,320 on Sunday, while the death toll climbed to 65.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday that his government was “prepared for all kinds of different situations” but was not planning for the moment to use troops to help combat the outbreak.

“We are not closing the door to any scenario,” he said, however.

Source: Presstv

France steps up coronavirus evacuations from packed hospitals

30, March 2020

France steps up coronavirus evacuations from packed hospitals 0

France staged its largest evacuation of coronavirus patients to date from hospitals in the hard-hit east on Sunday, increasing efforts to free up intensive care units as officials warned of an influx of serious cases in the coming days.

Two specially equipped high-speed trains carried 36 patients from Mulhouse and Nancy to hospitals along France’s western coast, where the outbreak has been limited so far.

Dozens of hospital workers, flanked by police and soldiers standing guard, spent hours installing four patients in each wagon in an operation that began before dawn.

“We have to free up beds, it’s absolutely crucial…. We’re still seeing an increase in patient numbers,” said Francois Brun, head of emergency services at the regional hospital in nearby Metz.

The evacuations came as Germany sent a military plane for the first time to Strasbourg to transport two patients to a hospital in Ulm.

Around 80 French patients have been hospitalised in Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg, European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin told France Inter radio.

France has been evacuating dozens from the east over the past week, hoping to stay ahead of a crisis that Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has warned will only worsen over the next fortnight.

Overall, more than 4,600 coronavirus patients are in intensive care in France, many with severe respiratory problems requiring ventilators that officials worry could soon be in short supply.

Philippe said at the weekend the government was racing to have 14,000 intensive care beds available soon, compared with just 5,000 before the outbreak began in January.

On Sunday the national health service reported 292 new coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 2,606.

The daily toll was below the 319 deaths reported on Saturday, but the figures include only deaths reported in hospitals, and not at retirement homes or assisted-living facilities.

Also Sunday the housing ministry announced it would commandeer 5,000 hotel beds to house homeless people during the crisis.

– ‘Battle is only starting’ –

Officials fear the virus may spread quickly at the country’s roughly 7,000 retirement homes, and several have already announced dozens of deaths.

Those figures will start to be reported this week, the prime minister said on Sunday, warning that “the battle is only starting.”

“This war will probably be won on the basis of intensive care beds, and our ability to strategically use all our intensive care resources on the national level,” said Marie-Odile Saillard, director of the Metz regional hospital.

National health service chief Jerome Salomon said 359 more people were placed in intensive care on Sunday.

“This is the most important number to keep track of because it reflects the strength of the epidemic,” he said at his daily briefing.

The government has ordered a billion face masks, mainly from China, but warned that surging worldwide demand for protective equipment means they might not arrive soon enough for medical workers currently facing shortages.

A plane from China carrying 5.5 million masks and other equipment arrived in Paris on Sunday, though the government has admitted it needs 40 million masks each week for health workers alone as the outbreak rages.

“Our first Boeing 777 Cargo has just landed at #ParisCDG with close to 100 tonnes of medical equipment on board, including more than 5 million masks,” Air France tweeted.

France has been on lockdown since March 17 in a bid to limit the contagion, a situation it has extended until at least April 15.

Source: AFP

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