Live updates from Coronavirus Ireland: 12 more people have died from Covid-19 and 236 new confirmed cases

China and South Korea reported new spikes in coronavirus cases, triggering new concerns in countries where outbreaks had dramatically decreased, and further protests against pandemics erupted in Germany despite the reduction of many blockades in Europe.

In the United States, former President Barack Obama harshly criticized his successor Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as an “absolute chaotic disaster.”

The United States has seen 1.3 million infections and nearly 80,000 deaths in the pandemic, the most in the world by far, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.

Around the world, health officials are eager to see how much infection rates rise in a second wave as nations and states emerge from varying degrees of blockade.

China reported 14 new cases on Sunday, its first double-digit increase in 10 days.

Eleven of the 12 domestic infections occurred in the northeast province of Jilin, prompting authorities to raise the threat level in one of its Shulan counties at high risk, just days after degrading all regions to low risk.

Authorities said the Shulan outbreak originated with a 45-year-old woman who had no recent history of travel or exposure, but that it spread to her husband, three sisters, and other family members.

Rail services in the county were suspended.

“The control and prevention of epidemics is a serious and complicated matter, and local authorities should never be overly optimistic, tired of war or unsuspecting,” said Jilin Communist Party secretary Bayin Chaolu.

Jilin also shares a border with North Korea, which insists that it has no virus cases, to the disbelief of international health authorities.

South Korea reported 34 more cases, as new infections linked to nightclub attendees threaten the country’s profits against the virus.

It was the first time that South Korea’s daily infections exceeded 30 in about a month.

President Moon Jae-in said citizens should not panic or lower their guard, but warned that “the damage to our economy is also colossal.”

Across Europe, many nations were reducing blockages further on Monday, even as they prepared to curb any new infections.

Germany, which managed to push new daily infections below 1,000 before deciding to reduce restrictions, has seen regional spikes in cases involving slaughterhouses and nursing homes.

By Saturday, the country’s public health authority said the new infections were above 1,000 again.

German authorities have expressed concern about the growing number of large protests, including one in the southwestern city of Stuttgart that drew thousands of participants.

Police in Berlin intervened on Saturday after hundreds of people failed to respect social distancing measures in anti-blockade protests in the German capital.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and the governors of Germany’s 16 states last week cleared the way for the reopening of remaining restaurants, hotels and shops.

The country’s soccer league will resume next week, despite several professional players testing positive for Covid-19, and more students will return to school starting Monday.

France, which has a similar number of infections as Germany, but a much higher death toll, is also allowing some younger students to return to school on Monday after nearly two months off.

Attendance will not be compulsory right away, leaving parents to make the difficult decision of whether or not it is safe to send their children to school.

Residents in some Spanish regions will be able to enjoy limited seats in bars, restaurants and other public places starting Monday, but Madrid and Barcelona, ​​the country’s largest cities, will remain closed.

Mandatory quarantine for UK arrivals ‘makes sense’ to stop a second increase

A 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving in the UK should have been introduced a long time ago, but it could help the country now, as it faces a “knife-edge balancing act” that came out of the closure, an expert said. .

The Government is reportedly enforcing mandatory quarantine for all arrivals in the UK in a matter of weeks as part of measures to prevent a second peak of the coronavirus pandemic.

The move is believed to be announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as part of his address to the nation on Sunday night.

Dr. Peter Drobac, an infectious disease doctor and academic at Oxford University, said the idea has merit, but said it will require a lot of planning and infrastructure at a “really fragile” stage.

Crisis in our nursing homes: time to ask the tough questions

Now that the spread of the coronavirus has been contained, questions arise about the country’s preparedness for a crisis that has claimed more than 1,400 lives and infected 22,500.

The shock has given way to a questioning of what just happened. Paul Bell, the Louth County Councilor and organizer for Siptu, has been identified in “mounting anger” among front-line workers. The 42,000 health workers represented by the union in residences, hospitals and other healthcare settings are “beginning to catch their breath,” he says.

“There is a high degree of concern and anger about what happened in nursing homes and residential settings, and the deaths,” he said.

“And many of our members wonder: Why did 6,700 healthcare workers test positive for Covid-19 and why are five of us dead?”

13.15 05/10/2020

Coronavirus Ireland: five health staff members died of disease and more than 3,000 are currently on Covid-related leave