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The number of coronavirus cases exceeds 4 million with more than 276,000 deaths. Here are more updates on the May 9 pandemic:
An elderly woman walks through the Duomo square in Milan, Italy on Monday May 4, 2020.
(AP)
Saturday May 9, 2020
Pakistan lifts blockade amid jump in virus cases
Pakistan has begun lifting the multi-week blockade that was enforced to stem the spread of the virus, as authorities reported another huge jump of 1,637 cases that increased to 27,474 with 24 new deaths.
Army soldiers who attended roadside checkpoints along with police since the end of March, when the closure was imposed, were seen leaving their headquarters in the capital, Islamabad and other parts of the country on Saturday.
The latest development comes two days after Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was ending the phase-out blockade because his government was unable to financially help millions of people who depend on their daily earnings to survive and feed their families.
Khan says he tried to financially help the country’s poor in the midst of the pandemic, but was unable to support all those who lost their jobs due to the blockade.
Khan has so far bowed to pressure from the country’s powerful clerical establishment by allowing mosques to remain open, even as the number of new cases has recently increased.
Thailand reports four new cases, one new death
Thailand reported four new cases and one more death, totaling 3,004 cases and 56 deaths since the outbreak began in January.
A 68-year-old man from Bangkok died, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesman for the Government Center for Covid-19 Situation Management.
Of the new cases, two are from the southern province of Yala, where authorities are aggressively evaluating people due to high infection rates. One was related to previous cases and one had a risk history of public places, he said.
A small number of new cases has prompted Thailand to cautiously allow some companies to reopen after weeks of semi-closure.
Milan is a ticking ‘virus bomb’, virologist warns
Italy’s economic capital Milan is a time bomb of viruses at risk of exploding with residents now free to move after two months under a pandemic shutdown.
Milan is “a little bomb,” said Massimo Galli, head of the infectious disease department at Milan’s famous Sacco hospital.
“We have a large number of infected people returning to circulation,” he said in an interview with the Repubblica newspaper, referring to the relaxation of the closure measures on May 4.
Photographs of young people sitting along Milan’s canals enjoying snacks in the sun, many wearing no masks or abiding by the rules of social distance, were splashed onto the covers of Italy’s leading daily newspapers on Friday.
Galli said it was clear that lowering the blockade “can present problems.”
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala criticized the canal-side behavior as “shameful” and threatened to close the well-known snack area if people persist in ignoring the rules.
The city in the northern Lombardy region is the epicenter of the Italian outbreak, one of the worst in Europe in terms of deaths and infections.
China reports a new case, 15 asymptomatic cases
China reported a new case, unchanged from the previous day, according to data from the national health authority.
A new imported case was registered on May 8, the National Health Commission said in a statement.
The commission also reported 15 new asymptomatic cases for Friday, up from 16 the day before.
China’s total number of cases now stands at 82,887, while the number of deaths remained unchanged at 4,633, the national health authority said.
The press secretary of the vice president of EE. USA Pence tests positive for coronavirus
US Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary tested positive, the White House said, making her the second person working at the White House compound known to test positive for the virus this week.
President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was “not concerned” about the spread of the virus at the White House. However, officials said they were intensifying security protocols for the complex.
Pence’s spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive on Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not the president. She is married to Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s top advisers.
The White House had no immediate comment on whether Stephen Miller had been examined or was still working outside the White House.
Katie Miller had tested negative Thursday, the day before her positive result.
Australia’s largest states stop relaxing Covid-19 blocks
Australia’s most populous states refrained from easing Covid-19 restrictions, even as some states allowed small meetings and prepared to open restaurants in line with the federal government’s three-stage plan to reopen businesses.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison outlined plans to remove most curbs in July in a three-step process to get nearly 1 million people back to work as the country reduced new Covid-19 infections to less than 20 per day with strict locks.
Australia’s total deaths remain just below 100.
The nation’s capital Canberra and some states on Saturday allowed people to start visiting each other again, with indoor and outdoor gatherings, including weddings, of up to 10 people allowed.
In South Australia, outdoor dining in restaurants and cafes will be allowed from Monday for up to 10 people, and in the Northern Territory, pubs, bars and restaurants will reopen next Friday.
However, the states of New South Wales and Victoria, which account for more than half of the country’s population and nearly two-thirds of the country’s Covid-19 cases, plan to outline plans to ease trade restrictions just next week. .
The US surveillance agency USA Says whistleblower should be reinstated
A US government surveillance agency. USA He recommended the temporary reinstatement of a whistleblower who says he was removed as director of a government investigative office because he expressed concern about the virus’s preparation, his lawyers said.
The United States Office of Special Advice (OSC) made a “threshold determination” that the Trump administration illegally branded disease expert Rick Bright because it “made protected disclosures in the best interest of the American public,” attorneys for Bright in the statement.
The CSO recommendation is not binding on management.
Bright’s complaint could eventually be referred to the Merit Systems Protection Board, a court that hears complaints of retaliation from federal government employees.
Pfizer to Outsource Drug Production, Focus on Coronavirus Vaccine
Pfizer Inc said it is in talks to move more of its drug production to outside contractors as it prepares for large-scale production of an experimental vaccine to prevent Covid-19, if it is safe and effective.
The American drug maker is leveraging its network of around 200 outside contractors, including Catalent Inc, Lonza Group AG, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, to play a bigger role in the production of some of its existing drugs, Mike McDermott, President Pfizer Global Supply Chain, told Reuters in an interview.
Pfizer did not specify which companies within its network are in active talks about the production change.
Ghana registers more than 500 cases in industrial facilities
More than 500 workers at an industrial facility in Ghana have tested positive for the virus, the country’s health service said, as total cases rose nearly 30% in a single day.
The health service did not name the facility, where it said in a statement that 533 of 1,300 workers had tested positive. The total number of cases in Ghana increased to 4,012, including 18 deaths, from 3,091 on Thursday.
That represents the highest total number of cases in West Africa, although Ghana has also done by far the majority of testing in the region.
Brazil reaches new record for daily deaths
Brazil registered 10,222 new confirmed cases and 751 deaths, the health ministry said.
Daily fatalities broke the previous record of 615 on Wednesday.
Overall, Brazil has registered 145,328 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and 9,897 deaths.
Mexico reports 1,906 new cases, 199 deaths
The Mexican Ministry of Health reported 1,906 new confirmed cases and 199 additional deaths, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 31,522 and 3,160 deaths.
However, the government has said that the actual number of infections is significantly higher than confirmed cases and that deaths are also higher than official figures show.
Kuwait and Sudan extend Covid-19 curfews
Kuwait and Sudan extended curfews as part of efforts to combat the pandemic.
Kuwaiti government spokesman Tariq Al Mazram said the restriction lasted until May 30.
The Gulf nation has 7,208 confirmed virus cases, with 47 deaths and 2,466 recoveries.
Sudan extended its curfew in Khartoum province for 10 days starting May 9, according to the head of the National Emergency Health Committee, Siddiq Tawer.
A curfew was declared in the province from April 18 for three weeks.
Sudan confirmed 1,111 Covid-19 cases with 59 deaths and 102 recoveries.
Yemen Deploys 10,000 Soldiers to Ensure Curfew
In Yemen, 10,000 soldiers were commissioned to ensure the implementation of a night curfew in the southern province of Hadhramaut, according to a statement from the Hadhramaut Governorate press office.
The decision was made to provide security and suppress a revolt as a result of riots and protests against the curfew in some parts of the province.
Virus cases increased to 34 in Yemen with seven deaths and one patient recovered.
Turkey recovers about 800 citizens
More than 800 Turkish citizens were repatriated on Friday from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of an Ankara initiative amid the pandemic.
A specially organized Turkish Airlines flight with 195 Turks from the UAE landed in the Black Sea province of Samsun.
Separately 280 Turks were evacuated from Kuwait and landed in Sivas province.
And a total of 302 were brought from the Netherlands and sent to a dormitory in Ankara, where they will be subjected to a 14-day quarantine.
Following routine health checks, passengers arriving from the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait were quarantined in dormitories in Tokat and Sinop provinces.
Turkey has repatriated nearly 70,000 citizens from 107 nations, following instructions from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
