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Millions of Europeans emerged with relief from the closure of the coronavirus on Monday, with Italy hit as the exit from the longest blockade in the world, reports AFP.
At least 3.5 million people are known to have been infected, but United States President Donald Trump offered the hope of ending the pandemic and said he believed there would be a vaccine by the end of the year.
The search for a cure was given new impetus when the European Union organized a telethon for world leaders to raise € 7.5 billion to discover a Covid-19 vaccine. About 248,000 people have died since the coronavirus emerged in China late last year and spread worldwide, thanks to the network of air routes that, in normal times, keep the modern world going.
Blockades imposed on half the planet have derailed economies, and politicians are now grappling with how to get the wheels spinning again without causing a second wave of infections.
Italy, second only to the United States in its Covid-19 death toll and the first to impose a national blockade, was cautiously emerging in the spring sunshine on Monday, with construction sites and factories resuming work.
Restaurants reopened for takeout orders, but bars and ice cream parlors will remain closed. The use of public transport is discouraged and everyone should wear masks in interior public spaces.
Group launched to challenge Trump
AFP reports that a political action committee has been launched to counter false and misleading statements about United States President Donald Trump’s coronavirus pandemic with a broad tech-infused social media campaign.
Defeat Disinfo, which started last week, plans to use “a sophisticated set of tools that allows us to detect misinformation just as it begins to go viral on social media,” according to a statement.
It also aims to promote the “true contrary narrative” about Covid-19 with tweet-by-tweet responses to limit the impact of inaccurate information.
Curtis Hougland, chairman of the committee and head of a technology company that has worked to counter online propaganda from Russia and Islamic State extremists, said artificial intelligence would play a role in the effort.
The technology “uses techniques such as natural language processing and machine learning classifiers to determine the emotions, themes and messages that predictively encourage conversation,” Hougland said.
He said this technology “was incubated and tested on the front line of ISIS propaganda” and has been updated for the latest initiative.
The committee is not aligned with any candidate, but argues that Trump “is denying the facts about his administration’s coronavirus response,” adding that “we are holding him accountable.”
The running of the bulls ends in Lagos, Nigeria
Africa’s largest city, Lagos, Nigeria, returned to work Monday at the end of a five-week coronavirus lockdown, reports AFP.
In the metropolis of 20 million, where exuberance and poverty live side by side, the relief of being able to earn money once again was almost palpable, despite the growing number of Covid-19 in Nigeria.
All of the shops appeared to be open, the parking lots were full, and the street vendors selling cold drinks, grilled meat, and vegetables were throwing their products in the corners as before.
Seychelles returns to normal
Life in the Seychelles began to return to normal on Monday when authorities relaxed containment measures, with no new cases of coronavirus registered in nearly a month and only 11 people infected on the island, reports AFP.
The country closed on April 8, two days after the last case of the virus was recorded, shutting down non-essential services and prohibiting all movement other than grocery shopping.
A few days later a night curfew was added to the measures.
The restrictions applied to Mahe, the main island, as well as to the second and third most populous islands of Praslin and La Digue.
On Monday, most companies were allowed to reopen and people once again moved freely and went to work, few of whom wore a mask.
The authorities have asked citizens, however, to maintain social distancing measures and remain vigilant.
The absence of tourists has led the Seychelles rupee to drop 30% against the US dollar and the euro in recent weeks.
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