Easing restrictions: New Zealand, Australia and several European countries including Portugal, France, and Greece have loosened, or put forward plans, to ease some of their toughest coronavirus restrictions.
Our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic has moved here.
Link Copied!
Italian region of Calabria to begin relaxation of lockdown measures
From CNN's Valentina Di Donato in Rome
The southern Italian region of Calabria will begin phase two of the relaxation of emergency coronavirus restrictions on Thursday, Gov. Jole Santelli said, signing an order to allow communities to embark on a gradual reopening.
“Starting tomorrow, the reopening of bars, bakeries, restaurants and pizzerias — where tables can be out in the open — will be consented,” Santelli said in a statement Wednesday.
“Movements within your municipality, or to another municipality for individual sports, are allowed…the activity of open-air markets is allowed, including street vending,” she added.
According to the Italian Civil Protection Agency, the region has registered one coronavirus-related death in total.
Link Copied!
More than 12 million Italian workers have requested coronavirus emergency funds
From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite
A total of 12.4 million workers in Italy have asked for emergency funds offered by the government through the “Cura Italia” (Heal Italy) decree.
As of Monday, the National Social Security Institute (INPS) said in a tweet it has received 4,740,000 applications for the 600 euros ($652) Covid-19 indemnity, and 7,730,493 others applied for the wage guarantee funds and for the “ordinary check,” INPS said Tuesday in a statement.
These funds were introduced by the Heal Italy decree on March 17 to “support workers and companies, with the aim that no one will lose their jobs due to the emergency,” the government said on its website.
According to a study by INPS and the Bank of Italy, two-thirds of the 600 euro indemnities were paid out to self-employed workers, and 15.4% to temporary workers. The average age of payees is 46.
This 600 euros indemnity was created for self-employed workers and freelancers who are “almost 5 million people,” the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement.
According to INP, the regions most affected by the payment flow were Lombardy (North Italy), Puglia and Sicily (South Italy), which received almost a third of the subsidies, followed by Emilia Romagna, Veneto (North Italy) and Campania (South Italy).
Link Copied!
Spain should not be too quick to restart tourism industry, government official says
From CNN's Al Goodman, Laura Perez Maestro, Vasco Cotovio and Simon Cullen
A woman looks over Barcelona on April 10, during a national lockdown to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 disease.
Pau Barrena/AFP via Getty Images
Spain, one of the world’s top travel destinations, should not fully restart its tourism industry until the European Union reopens its internal and external borders, a senior Spanish government official said on Wednesday.
Some 200 German owners of holiday homes on Spain’s Mediterranean islands such as Mallorca and Ibiza, wrote to the regional president this month, requesting they be allowed back to their properties as soon as Spain’s lockdown is lifted.
A spokesperson for the Balearic regional government president, Francina Armengol, provided CNN with a copy of the reply she sent to the German homeowners, saying that Spain is working on reopening, but its first priority is “the safety of people and avoiding the expansion of the virus.”
Spain has the second highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, after the United States.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Spain was the world’s second biggest international tourist destination, with 83 million visitors, just behind France, the UN’s World Tourism Organization reported for 2018, the most recent figures available.
The Covid-19 outbreak served a blow to Spain’s tourism sector, which is 12.3% of GDP and accounts for 2.6 million jobs, according to the Tourism Ministry.
Link Copied!
Canada's Trudeau says he won't force meat processing plants to stay open
From CNN’s Paula Newton in Ottawa
Dave Chan/AFP/Getty Images
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that while the food supply chain in Canada faces challenges, he will not force meat processing plants to remain open as President Trump has done.
Canada is facing several Covid-19 outbreaks in meat-processing plants across the country. The most serious situation is in Alberta where two large meat processing plants providing as much at 70% of beef products in Canada have suffered outbreaks.
Cargill shut a large processing plant in High River, Alberta, on April 20 after an employee died of the virus and hundreds more were infected. With more than 700 cases of Covid-19, the Cargill plant is the country’s largest single-site outbreak of the virus.
JBS is operating another meat processing plant in Alberta on reduced hours after dozens were infected at its facility.
Link Copied!
WHO aware of reports of inflammatory syndrome in children
WHO technical lead Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove attends a virtual news briefing on Covid-19 from the WHO headquarters in Geneva on April 6.
AFP/Getty Images
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it is aware of the United Kingdom report about a small number of children with the inflammatory response to Covid-19.
On Wednesday, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead for the coronavirus response said, “We’re looking at this with our clinical network, and in fact our clinical network had a teleconference yesterday which discussed this.”
“There are some recent rare descriptions of children in some European countries that have had this inflammatory syndrome, which is similar to the Kawasaki Syndrome, but it seems to be very rare,” Van Kerkhove said.
Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said clinicians are looking into what is “causing the inflammation that attacks tissue, other than lung tissue.”
“We’ve seen this in the past with many emerging diseases. They don’t necessarily only attack one type of tissue; there can be multiple organs affected and many of you have seen the reports of other organs that have been affected with this disease,” Ryan said.
Link Copied!
Small study in China finds remdesivir did not help coronavirus patients
From CNN's Maggie Fox
Ulrich Perrey/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
One of the first carefully done studies of the antiviral drug remdesivir shows it did not help people recover faster from coronavirus infections. But the study, conducted in China, may have been too small to show clearly whether the drug helps.
The findings of the Chinese study conflict with other hints of the drug’s efficacy coming from other trials – two of them also on Wednesday. One study was from the company that makes the drug and a third study from the National Institutes of Health is expected later on Wednesday.
Experts say it’s going to take a lot more testing and a little longer before it’s clear whether remdesivir can help patients recover from Covid-19 infections.
The study conducted in China was stopped early because there weren’t enough patients, but it indicated that the drug did not work as hoped, the team reported in the Lancet medical journal on Wednesday. Some details of this study were posted last week on the World Health Organization’s website, then removed.
Gilead said earlier on Wednesday that its own study of the drug showed it may work and that patients who took the drug for five days or 10 days saw similar results. Gilead’s study results have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. The study done in China was more carefully designed than Gilead’s study to show whether the drug was helping patients.
The Lancet study was a randomized, placebo controlled study – meaning that patients were randomly given the drug or a dummy treatment and the patients and doctors did not know who was getting what.
The team at China-Japan Friendship Hospital and Capital Medical University in China tested the drug using 237 coronavirus patients in Wuhan.
“Future studies need to determine whether earlier treatment with remdesivir, higher doses, or combination with other antivirals or SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies, might be more effective in those with severe illness,” he added.
The study may not tell anything meaningful. Larger studies enrolling more people, and conducted with careful controls will be needed to tell whether various treatments work.
“The study was well designed—a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter randomized trial—and well conducted, with high protocol adherence and no loss-to-follow up,” John Norrie of the University of Edinburgh, who was not involved in the study, wrote in a commentary.
“We eagerly await the ongoing trials.”
Link Copied!
More than 27,000 people have died from coronavirus in Italy
From CNN's Mia Alberti in Lisbon, Livia Borghese in Rome and Sharon Braithwaite in London
Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images
At least 27,682 people with Covid-19 have now died in Italy since the beginning of the crisis, data from the Italian Civil Protection Agency showed Wednesday.
The number of active cases in the country stands at 104,657. The total number of cases in Italy, including deaths and recoveries, is now 203,591.
More than 20,000 health workers have been infected with coronavirus, according to the National Institute for Health. At least 153 doctors have died of coronavirus, according to the Association of Doctors.
Link Copied!
"What do you want me to do?" Bolsonaro asks as Brazil's coronavirus death toll tops 5,000
From CNN’s Flora Charner and Shasta Darlington
Andressa Anholete/Getty Images
The number of confirmed deaths from coronavirus in Brazil surpassed 5,000, according to the latest numbers released by the country’s health ministry Tuesday.
President Jair Bolsonaro was questioned by reporters about the spike in the death toll during a late night press gaggle outside the presidential residence in Brasilia Tuesday.
Bolsonaro responded, “So what? I’m sorry, but what do you want me to do?” He added that even though his middle name is “Messias,” which translates to Messiah in English, he’s not “a miracle worker.”
He later walked back the comments during the same press conference, saying “I’m sorry for the situation we are currently living with due to the virus. We express our solidarity to those who have lost loved ones, many of whom were elderly. But that’s life, it could be me tomorrow.”
Bolsonaro has dismissed the threats of the pandemic, calling it a “little flu” and defying stay-at-home orders imposed by governors by participating in rallies with supporters and hugging people in local supermarkets and bakeries.
Support for Bolsonaro has eroded amid the pandemic, but according to a poll conducted by Datafolha, 33% of Brazilians still think he is doing a “good job,” compared with 38% who think he is doing a “terrible job” or 26% who think his performance is average.
Link Copied!
Switzerland to further ease restrictions May 11
from CNN's Stephanie Halasz and Nadine Schmidt
People queue outside a hair salon in Lausanne on April 27, after Switzerland began easing restrictions imposed to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
The Swiss government will further loosen coronavirus-related restrictions as of May 11.
Shops, cultural and sports institutions, and restaurants will be allowed to open at that date, Switzerland’s Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga said at a press conference in Bern.
Primary and secondary schools can also open as of May 11, Alain Berset from the federal council said at the press conference.
Border restrictions will be eased and public transport will also ramp up at this time.
A third phase of loosening restrictions will happen June 8, under the condition that the coronavirus spread is under control.
Link Copied!
Spain will begin easing restrictions in May but won't mandate face masks
From CNN’s Al Goodman, Vasco Cotovio and Ingrid Formanek
A family walks on a beach in Barcelona, Spain, on April 26, after some lockdown restrictions were lifted.
Sandra Montanez/Getty Images
Spain is working to ease restrictions in the country and officials defined what the “new normal” will look like as the number of new coronavirus cases continues to fall.
Relaxation of Spain’s confinement measures, which have been Europe’s strictest, will be lifted gradually and in phases, Spain’s Director for Health Emergencies Fernando Simón and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.
Small parts of the country will start phase one of easing restrictions on Monday, with the rest joining in May 11. This phase will see some small businesses start operating and allow for individual exercise as well as professional sports training to resume. Senior citizens will also be permitted to go outside in ‘Phase One’.
Deescalation is expected to be complete by the end of June, according to the prime minister.
When asked about the use of masks, Simón said in most cases, it is recommended, but not mandatory.
“Not everyone can wear a mask. People with respiratory problems, with anxiety, athletes will not be able to use it, with children it’s not easy” he explained. “A rule about the mandatory use of masks, with all these exceptions, is complicated,” he said.
Spain is the country with the second highest number of coronavirus infections in the world, suffering from a great economic and social toll from the pandemic.
Link Copied!
Father remembers ER doctor who put her life on the line to take care of Covid-19 patients
From CNN's Carma Hassan and Taylor Romine
Dr. Lorna Breen was not struggling with any emotional difficulties or problems with stress before being on the front lines of battling a pandemic, her father says.
The New York City emergency room doctor who recovered from Covid-19 and continued to treat coronavirus patients died a hero, he says.
The 49-year-old’s father, Dr. Philip Breen, spoke to CNN’s Chris Cuomo Tuesday.
Breen said his daughter contracted the virus and stayed home for just over a week, which in hindsight, he feels wasn’t enough time.
Breen said his daughter was hospitalized until she was determined to be well enough to be out on her own, but she was “clearly not better.”
“As of Sunday, she took her own life because I think she was tired and she was the kind of person, as somebody has very aptly put it, she was like the fireman who runs into the burning building to save another life and doesn’t regard anything about herself. So she has paid the price and she’s been in the trenches,” Breen said.
How to get help: In the US, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also can provide contact information for crisis centers around the world.
Russian PM says "impossible to give an exact date" for reopening borders or lifting Covid-19 restrictions
From CNN’s Nathan Hodge
Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin chairs a meeting via video link in Moscow on April 29.
Alexander Astafyev/TASS/Getty Images
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Wednesday it was “impossible to give an exact date” for lifting of Covid-19 restrictions in Russia, including reopening the country’s borders.
In a meeting of the government’s coordinating council for combating the spread of coronavirus, Mishustin said:
The Russian government previously barred entry to foreigners through April 30 to halt the spread of coronavirus, but Mishustin said he had signed a government decree extending border closings “until the fight against infection is complete and the epidemiological situation improves,” although he did not give further specifics.
Mishustin added that some exceptions would be granted to specialists who maintain specialized equipment needed for manufacturing essential items to fight coronavirus.
Link Copied!
California Governor: "It's not back to normal, it's modified"
From CNN's Stella Chan
The post quarantine school year could see changes such as staggering start times, modified recess times, and no cafeteria for lunch period, said California Governor Gavin Newsom in a taped interview on NBC’s Today show
In order to get the economy going, parents must get back to work, he said.
He warned that people needed to take the next phase seriously to avoid a second wave of infections, after crowds packed beaches over the weekend.
“I’m worried we can erase all the gains in a very short period of time,” he added.
The federal government has been responsive to the state’s requests and does not want to politicize this dire situation because so many lives are at risk.
The Governor emphasizes his reliance on data and reiterated the importance of taking guidelines seriously. He pointed to the packed beaches over the weekend and cautioned that the virus does not take a vacation; if people are not careful, the state could face a second wave of cases.
Link Copied!
When your classroom is a car in a near-empty parking lot
From CNN's Harmeet Kaur
Every Sunday since the coronavirus lockdown started, Stephanie Anstey drives 20 minutes from her home in Grottoes, Virginia, to sit in her school’s near-empty parking lot and type away on her laptop.
Anstey, a middle school history teacher, lives in a valley between two mountains, where the only available home internet option is a satellite connection. Her emails can take 30 seconds to load, only to quit mid-message. She can’t even open files on Google Drive, let alone upload lesson modules or get on a Zoom call with colleagues.
“You just have to plan,” Anstey said. “It’s not a Monday through Friday job anymore.”
So Anstey’s new office is in her car in the corner of the parking lot where the WiFi signal is strongest. She comes herewhen she needs to upload instructional videos, answer emails from students and parents or participate in the occasional video conferencing call. It’s not ideal, she says, but using her slow internet at home is even more frustrating.
Anstey’s predicament casts a new light on a longstanding digital divide that is being made even starker by the coronavirus pandemic.
Pockets of poor connectivity can be found in both small towns and cities, particularly in low-income urban areas. But those living in rural areas and tribal lands are especially likely to have slower speeds, spottier coverage and fewer internet service providers to choose from – forcing people like Anstey to travel to cafes, libraries and parking lots for a reliable connection.
Prince Charles’ wife, the new vice-patron of ballet education organization the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), said she took up the discipline after some initial skepticism.
Believed to be spending lockdown at the couple’s home on the Balmoral estate in Scotland, Camilla was filmed in front of a fireplace topped with a circular mirror.
When asked how she was passing the time, she described it as “very peculiar,” adding that everything in her diary had been “scratched out.”
Of the Prince of Wales, who recently recovered from a mild case of coronavirus, she said: “My husband is a workaholic so he will work wherever he is. He’s sitting at his desk now working away.
“We try and do something for all our charities most days to try and give them a bit of encouragement and just try to lend our support.”
108 UK health and social care workers have died from coronavirus
From CNN's Simon Cullen
Eighty-five National Health Service (NHS) staff and 23 social care workers in the UK have died from coronavirus, says the country’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
The government has faced criticism from many frontline workers over a lack of personal protective equipment.
The UK has recorded more than 160,000 coronavirus cases and almost 22,000 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
Link Copied!
Nearly $1 billion of GE earnings was wiped out by coronavirus
From CNN’s Matt Egan
General Electric’s turnaround has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The conglomerate said Wednesday it burned through $2.2 billion of cash during the first quarter as its jet engine business got slammed by a “rapid decline” in global commercial aviation demand in March.
GE estimated the health crisis wiped out about $900 million of its earnings and hit free cash flow by around $1 billion.
Prior to the crisis, GE was enjoying a comeback driven by efforts to slim down its portfolio, clean up its balance sheet and generate free cash flow by improving its operations. Even GE’s critics credited Culp with saving the company from disaster.
Yet GE’s industrial free cash flow burn rate nearly doubled during the first quarter as the pandemic struck. Its adjusted profit dropped by a deeper-than-feared 62%.
Earnings at GE’s aviation, financial services and renewable energy divisions all fell. GE Power swung to a loss of $129 million. The only division to grow its bottom line was GE Healthcare, which makes MRI machines, CT scans and other medical equipment.
Link Copied!
The world may never recover its thirst for oil
From CNN Business's Julia Horowitz
The world is learning to live with less oil. It may never look back.
The coronavirus pandemic has destroyed demand for gasoline and jet fuelas billions of people stay home, and there’s no guarantee it will ever fully recover despite rock-bottom prices.
The oil industry is bracing for the effects of the crisis to linger.Employees keep working from home. International travel stays scarce. And citizens in once-polluted cities, having become accustomed to blue skies, demand tougher emissions controls.
Such changes would come on top of a push for investors to dump oil assets that had been gaining momentum before the recent price crash. Sustainable energy investments, by comparison,appear to have held up relatively well despite stock market volatility.
Thiscould mean that global demand never returns to its 2019 record high, a scary prospect for oil companies and their employees from Texas to Western Europe, and countries such as Russia, Nigeria or Iraq that depend heavily on selling crude.
The threat of a second wave of infections in the fall also looms for producers. Prices have already plunged to their lowest levels in decades as producers grapple with excess supply and the worst demand shock in history.
Before the pandemic, analysts predicted that the peak in oil demand would occur around 2040 due to the rise of electric cars, increased energy efficiency and a switch to alternative sources. But the coronavirus has forced manyassumptions about the future of oil to be scrubbed.
Germany advises against international travel until at least June 14
From Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
The Franz-Josef-Strauss airport is pictured in Munich, Germany, on April 28.
Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images
Germany is advising against all international trips until at least June 14, the country’s foreign minister Heiko Maas announced Wednesday.
Maas told reporters the country “could not advise travel without worries” and that Germany is coordinating with its European neighbouring countries on the global travel warning.
Maas issued Germany’s official warning against tourist travel around the world on March 17.
The foreign minister said Germany had repatriated 240,000 tourists from all over the world to Germany in the last four weeks, adding: ”We won’t be running another one of these (repatriations) this summer.”
Link Copied!
Juventus striker tests positive for Covid-19 for fourth time in six weeks
From CNN’s Valentina di Donato in Rome and Aleks Klosok in London
Juventus' Argentine forward Paulo Dybala is pictured during the UEFA Champions League match between Lyon and Juventus at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium in Decines-Charpieu, France, on February 26.
Franck Fife/AFP/GEtty Images
Juventus striker Paulo Dybala has tested positive for the coronavirus for the fourth time in six weeks, a source close to the player has told CNN.
The source said: “He is doing well now, he has no symptoms and is even training. Now he is waiting for the results of the latest two swabs.”
It is unclear, though, when each of Dybala’s tests took place
CNN has contacted Juventus for comment.
The Argentine striker announced on Instagram on Saturday 21 March that he and his girlfriend Oriana Sabatini had contracted Covid-19 after his first test.
On Friday, March 27, Dybala spoke to Juventus’ official YouTube account about his experience of contracting the disease: “I developed strong symptoms, but today I already feel much better.
“Now I can move better, walking and trying to train. I could hardly breathe, I couldn’t do anything after five minutes. My muscles ached. Fortunately, Oriana and I are better now.”
Dybala was one of three Juventus stars to contract the virus, along with Italian defender Daniele Rugani and French midfielder Blaise Matuidi.
The club announced earlier this month that both Rugani and Matuidi had made full recoveries after their swab tests came back with negative results.
Link Copied!
Airbus reports $522 million loss in first quarter due to coronavirus outbreak
From CNN's Chris Liakos
Europe’s biggest planemaker, Airbus, has reported a huge loss as coronavirus hits its business. The firm reported a net loss of €481 million ($522 million) for the first three months of the year compared to a profit of €40 million ($43 million) for the same period last year, the company said in its results Wednesday.
Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes fell 49% and revenues declined 15% year on year, as it delivered 40 fewer aircraft than a year earlier.
In an internal letter to employees last week he had warned the company is “bleeding cash.”
Rival Boeing is reporting earnings later today.
Link Copied!
Potential vaccine being tested in Germany will start US tests "shortly" and could "supply millions" by end of year
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin and CNN Health's Jacqueline Howard
A biotech company in Germany has begun its first human trials of a potential Covid-19 vaccine.
BioNTech
A German company working with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has begun human trials of a potential Covid-19vaccine that could supply millions by the end of the year, according to the two firms.
Pfizer says it will begin testing the experimental vaccine in the United States as early as next week, and says a vaccine could be ready for emergency use in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Mainz-based BioNTech reported that the first cohort of participants had been given doses of the potential vaccine, BNT162, in a Phase 1/2 clinical study in Germany.
No information on the results is currently available. BioNTech said around 200 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 55 years old would be given doses ranging from 1µg (microgram) to 100µg to find the optimal dose for further studies.
“In addition, the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine will be investigated,” added the biotech company.
Pfizer and BioNTech plan to initiate trials for BNT162 in the US upon regulatory approval, expected shortly, the statement said.
The German Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedical Drugs approved the trial – the country’s first clinical trial for a vaccine against Covid 19 – on April 22.
“The two companies plan to jointly conduct clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine candidates initially in Europe and the U.S., across multiple research sites,” Pfizer announced in its first quarter report, published online Tuesday.
Pfizer isn’t the only group with a potential Covid-19 vaccine in the works. Last week, scientists at Oxford University’s Jenner Institute in the United Kingdom began testing its vaccine on humans Thursday and, depending on the trial results, could be ready as early as September. Officials say that more than a half-dozen vaccine programs are in the clinical trial phase and more than 80 are in preliminary phases.
Link Copied!
Beijing to lower coronavirus emergency response from highest level
From CNN's Shawn Deng in Beijing and Isaac Yee in Hong Kong
Beijing will lower its coronavirus emergency response from the highest level starting on April 30, according to the Beijing Municipal Health Commission. The capital will move from the country’s highest designation of “level one” to “level two,” out of a three-tier system.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission said that despite the downgrading of the emergency response level, prevention and control work will not be relaxed.
Under the lowered emergency response level travellers arriving in Beijing from “low-risk areas” within China will no longer have to be quarantined for two weeks upon arrival and people staying in hotels in Beijing will no longer have to undergo nucleic acid testing. However, the Commission added that the 14-day quarantine still applies to all international travellers arriving in Beijing from overseas, according to state-run CGTN.
Beijing has not reported any new cases of locally transmitted Covid-19 for 13 days.
Link Copied!
Newport Beach votes to keep beaches open with additional enforcement
From CNN's Madeline Holcombe and Sarah Moon
People are seen gathering on the Corona del Mar State Beach in Newport Beach, California on April 25.
Michael Heiman/Getty Images
The Southern California city of Newport Beach voted on Tuesday in a City Council meeting to keep its beaches open. But additional reinforcements will enforce social distancing to protect against the coronavirus pandemic.
An ordinance was proposed to close the city’s beaches for the next three weekends to avoid the overcrowding seen this past weekend, but council members did not end up voting directly on the agenda items during the meeting. Instead, Councilman Kevin Muldoon made an alternate motion to deny the item, which passed on a 5-2 vote, according to the city’s public information manager.
Increased police and lifeguard presence will actively enforce social distancing.
The majority of the city’s council members expressed a strong desire to keep most public beaches, parks and open spaces accessible for the mental health and physical well-being of residents, according to a statement.
The vote comes as many states prepare to begin loosening restrictions and phase out stay-at-home orders. California has begun allowing scheduled surgeries, but does not have an end date for its orders.
Volkswagen takes $3 billion coronavirus hit but still expects to make profit this year
By CNN Business's Hanna Ziady
An employee works on a production line after Volkswagen's Wolfsburg Plant reopened on April 27, in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Swen Pförtner/Pool/Getty Images
Volkswagen still expects to post an operating profit this year despite the “unprecedented crisis” triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, which slammed sales and earnings in the first quarter.
The world’s largest carmaker said Wednesday that first-quarter operating profitplummetedto €904 million ($978 million) from €3.9 billion ($3.3 billion) a year ago, as vehicle sales fell. It warned that profit for the full year would be considerably below 2019, but still positive.
Volkswagen, which also owns the Audi, Porsche and Seat brands, said group vehicle sales fell 25% to 1.9 million.Deliveries to customers were down 23% at 2 million.
Carmakers have had to contend with a slump in demand for vehicles and huge disruption to their operations, as measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic shut down factories and keep customers at home. Ford on Tuesday posted a $1.9 billion loss for the first quarter, warning that this would balloon to $5 billion in the current quarter.
Most countries have taken measures to protect against the spread of Covid-19 — enforcing stay-at-home orders, closing nonessential businesses and advising people to wear protective gear and keep a safe distance from one another.
Many of those guidelines still apply. But beaches are beginning to reopen. Some students are returning to classrooms. Stores are opening their doors for the first time in several weeks.
It remains to be seen whether these relaxations might lead to an increase in cases. But life is far from returning to normal.
Pence flouts Mayo Clinic policy on masks -- which is to wear one
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
Vice President Mike Pence, center, visits Dennis Nelson, a patient who survived the coronavirus and was going to donate blood, during a tour of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, on Tuesday, April 28.
Jim Mone/AP
When Vice President Mike Pence walked into the Mayo Clinic on Tuesday, he wasn’t wearing a face mask.
Everyone else in the building was, according to reporters who were traveling with him. After all, it has been the policy at the renowned Rochester, Minnesota, facility since April 13. They even say they’ll provide one.
Pence was told of the new rules before he visited, the clinic said on Twitter, a post that was subsequently deleted. “Mayo Clinic had informed @VP of the masking policy prior to his arrival today,” it had written.
But as he visited a blood and plasma donation center inside the building, Pence was bare-faced.
Others in the room – including Dr. Stephen Hahn, the Food and Drug Administration head – wore coverings.
Pence did avoid shaking hands; he elbow-bumped instead with doctors and officials.
France will be divided into red or green zones as coronavirus lockdown is eased
From CNN's Eva Tapiero in Paris
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe speaks during a debate on the French government's plan to exit from the lockdown situation at the French National Assembly in Paris on April 28.
David Niviere/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
France is to be divided into red or green zones as the nation’s lockdown is eased, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Wednesday as he presented plans for the next phase of coronavirus measures.
All departments – which are administrative regions in France – will be given designations of red or green, depending on three criteria:
Number of new cases over a period of seven days
Regional intensive care units capacity
Efficiency in local testing and tracing
A red department means “lockdown relaxation will take a more strict form,” Philippe said at France’s National Assembly.
“The Director General of Health will present the map every evening with the results, department by department,” said Philippe.
France has recorded more than 169,000 cases and almost 24,000 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
Link Copied!
South Africa's painful past HIV failures is helping the country to fight Covid-19
From CNN's David McKenzie and Brent Swails
When US President Donald Trump mused recently about injecting household disinfectants as treatment for Covid-19 in the White House briefing room, South Africans were reminded of their own dark past.
Two decades ago, the country’s health minister announced that beetroot or garlic could treat HIV/AIDS.
South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki at the time falsely claimed that HIV treatments could be poisonous, so he kept proven, life-saving antiretrovirals (ARVs) from those in need.
In all, South Africa’s official AIDS denials and misinformation cost the lives of more than 300,000 people, according to several studies.
It is the memory of that past failure, South African health officials say, that is driving their fight against this new virus and it is the considerable resources they have since built up against HIV, that could provide their best weapon in fighting Covid-19.
Young activists are fighting for coronavirus hazard pay for their essential employee parents
From CNN's Madeline Holcombe
The next generation is stepping into the forefront of the fight to protect essential employees in the coronavirus pandemic.
College students Yolian Ogbu and Victory Nwabufo have teamed up with the National Children’s Campaign to launch a movement demanding universal hazard pay and personal protective equipment for all coronavirus essential employees in the US. And it’s all happening virtually under the hashtag #YourWorkersMyFamily.
The US Department of Labor defines hazard pay as “additional pay for performing hazardous duty or work” that is “not adequately alleviated by protective devices.” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed last week that hazard pay for frontline workers be included in a federal stimulus plan.
Ogbu and Nwabufo said their effort has garnered support from essential workers, their families, unions and organizations. It will take the form of online story sharing and digital strikes that tweet-bomb decision-makers calling for paid sick leave, hazard pay and PPE. The campaign will culminate on Friday, International Workers’ Day, when many organizations are planning strikes of their own, they said.
Couple married for 73 years died 6 hours apart -- both from coronavirus
From CNN's Christina Maxouris
Mary and Wilford Kepler died beside each other at a Wisconsin hospital after 73 years of marriage.
Courtesy Kepler Family
Mary Kepler and her husband, Wilford, died hours apart after a lifetime together.
The pair were in a Wisconsin hospital after contracting coronavirus, according to CNN affiliate WTMJ. Family members are unsure how the two were infected, the affiliate reported.
Because they both had the disease, they were able to stay together in their last moments – something most coronavirus patients can’t do with their loved ones. Family members across the nation have had to say their final goodbyes over FaceTime or in texts read as overwhelmed medical institutions have restricted visitors to help slow the virus’s spread.
The couple, who had been together for 73 years, had beds next to each other and got to say “I love you” to each other one last time before they died Saturday, their granddaughter Natalie Lameka told the affiliate.
The two were like the family’s “glue that holds us together,” their granddaughter said, and while losing them hurts, knowing they never had to part makes the pain a little easier.
“It was definitely hard,” she told the news station. “But it was bittersweet.”
Mary Kepler died six hours after her husband, the affiliate reported.
People with eating disorders have suffered all their lives. Now they're struggling even more
From CNN's Aleesha Khaliq
Cara Lisette.
Cara Lisette has spent more than half her life battling anorexia. Now under the coronavirus lockdown, she says she is also fighting to find the few foods she considers “safe” to eat.
Her treatment program was closed down for 12 weeks after the UK government announced its lockdown. She says, without that help, “I’m just having to wing it at home by myself.”
The coronavirus pandemic has left Lisette and many others suffering with eating disorders facing new challenges and exacerbated pre-existing problems for others.
Support groups estimate that some 1.25 million people in the UK are living with an eating disorder. In the US, that number could be as high as 30 million.
Eating disorder charities in the US and UK say they’ve seen significant increases in people contacting their services during the lockdowns.
“Everyone who is contacting us is talking about coronavirus and how that’s impacting their eating disorders,” says Tom Quinn, spokesperson for UK eating disorder charity Beat.
UK needs "significant" number of farm workers to replace Europeans unable to travel
From CNN's Simon Cullen
A farmer uses a tractor as he ploughs a field in Retford, near Lincoln in eastern England on April 20, as life in Britain continues during the nationwide lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
Thousands of British people will be needed to work on UK farms because coronavirus has prevented many European workers from traveling, the country’s Environment Secretary George Eustice said.
Eustice said that a “significant number” of people will be needed and suggested that the gap could be filled with people who have been furloughed.
Link Copied!
Military disinfecting Portuguese classrooms as schools prepare to open on May 18
From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio
A shuttered school in Cascais, Portugal, is pictured on April 14 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Pedro Fiúza/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Portuguese military has begun disinfecting schools across the country with the aim of reopening them to students in their final two years of high school, the Portuguese Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Around 400 service members from the three military branches will be involved in the operation that will involve around 800 schools.
According to state broadcaster RTP, students in 11th and 12th grade in the Portuguese system will be allowed to return to school on May 18.
School associations and teachers unions have called on the government to provide them with personal protective equipment and clear guidelines from health authorities before they resume classes, but said in an open letter on Tuesday that they have yet to receive the necessary support.
Link Copied!
A Dutch flower farm spelled out a special message for tourists missing the annual tulip blooms
From CNN's Leah Asmelash
Every year, tourists descend on the Netherlands to revel in the bright and colorful tulip fields. But with coronavirus putting many travel plans on hold, visitors have been notably absent this year.
That’s why Dutch Daffodils, a Dutch family flower farm, and Tulips in Holland, a travel blog dedicated to the tulips in the Netherlands, teamed up to create a special message for those sad about missing the flowers this year.
“We headed the tulips a bit earlier to write this message. From our families to yours!” Dutch Daffodils wrote in a Facebook post, with “See You Next Year” written in the flowers, along with a heart. “We hope that this brighten your day a bit and we hope to see you next year! Much love!”
Link Copied!
Hong Kong airport brings in cleaning robots and disinfection booth
From CNN's Tamara Hardingham-Gill
Cleaning robots, temperature checks and antimicrobial coatings could soon become synonymous with airport trips.
Hong Kong airport has provided a glimpse into what international airport procedures might look like once we’re traveling again – and a lot of disinfection technologies are involved.
Officials at the Asian destination’s international airport claim it is the first in the world to trial a live operation of CLeanTech, a full-body disinfection booth.
How it works: Those passing through undertake a temperature check before entering a booth for the 40-second disinfection and sanitizing procedures. The individual is also sprinkled with sanitizing spray for “instant disinfection” inside the booth, which is kept under negative pressure, to prevent cross-contamination.
Kills viruses on clothing: According to the airport authority, the inside of the facility contains an antimicrobial coating that can remotely kill any viruses and/or bacteria found on clothing, and the body, by using photocatalyst advances along with “nano needles.”
Is it in operation? While CLeanTech is at present only being used on staff who undertake public health and quarantine duties for passenger arrivals, the fact that it’s being trialed at one of the world’s busiest airports suggests facilities like this may be used more widely in the near future.
Watch:
Link Copied!
Many German companies fear for their existence under lockdown, survey finds
From Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
Chairs are stacked on the tables of a cafe in Berlin's Kreuzberg district on April 27, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
David Gannon/AFP/Getty Images
Almost a third of German companies say they can only survive for a maximum of three months under coronavirus lockdowns, a new survey has found.
According to the Institute for Economic Research (IFO), a Munich-based think tank, many companies see their existence threatened by the coronavirus crisis.
The survey found that if lockdown measures were to remain in place for extended periods of time, many companies would find it impossible to continue operations.
29.2% of companies surveyed would survive for a maximum of 3 months
52.7% would survive for a maximum of 6 months
Link Copied!
Samsung warns Covid-19 will hurt smartphone sales. But the work-from-home revolution is here to stay
From CNN's Sherisse Pham
Samsung is warning that the months ahead will be painful as the coronavirus pandemic disrupts global supply chains, hurts smartphone demand and complicates the adoption of 5G technology.
But the South Korean conglomerate also says the crisis has sparked a fundamental change in how people live – and predicted that the world’s reliance on digital services is here to stay as millions of people hunker down at home.
The company on Wednesday reported operating profit of 6.45 trillion won ($5.3 billion) for the three-month period ending in March, up 3.5% compared to the same period a year earlier and in line with analysts’ expectations. Revenue rose 5.6% to 55.3 trillion won ($45.4 billion). Net profit slid 3.2% to 4.88 trillion won ($4 billion).
Last quarter’s uptick might be short lived, though, and the company warned that the pandemic is already causing uncertainties for large parts of its business. Because of the volatility, Samsung is not giving a full-year forecast.
China to hold major meeting after 2-month delay in signal that coronavirus is under control
From CNN's Nectar Gan
China announced today that it will hold the country’s biggest annual political meeting in May following a two-month delay, the strongest signal yet from the Chinese government that it considers the novel coronavirus outbreak to be under control.
The annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislative body, is usually held in early March. This year, it was postponed for the first time due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The announcement is a symbolic display of confidence by Beijing that it has successfully contained the coronavirus, which was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December.
The highly choreographed meeting of the rubber-stamp parliament will see nearly 3,000 delegates from around the country gathered in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, unveiling the country’s key economic targets, approving budgets, and passing legislation in sessions that last for about 10 days.
Allowing thousands of people to travel to the Chinese capital and sit side by side for days in an indoor setting would have been unthinkable two months ago, when much of the country was under varying types of restrictive lockdown measures intended to stop the fast-spreading virus.
Beneath the surface, however, fears about a potential second wave of infections remain high.
A woman wearing a mask takes a picture with her phone in the Alimos suburb of Athens, Greece, on Tuesday, April 28.
Petros Giannakouris/AP
Travelers will be welcome to visit Greece this summer but social distancing rules will remain in place to keep people safe from coronavirus, Greek tourism minister Harry Theocharis said.
Theocharis said that Greece has welcomed tourists for “more than 50 years” and “we want to continue showing the hospitality that we’re very much known for.”
He added that tourists should feel safe in Greece as the country would take strict precautions.
“Greece is a safe country and in many cases much safer – I’m sorry to say it – than your own country,” he told the BBC, Britain’s public broadcaster.
Theocharis said he hopes “health technology” will be more advanced by the time the summer season starts to allow a safer travel experience.
Link Copied!
It's just after 9 a.m. in Paris and 4 p.m. in Tokyo. Here's the latest developments
A woman wearing a mask walks in front of "Le Moretti" by French artist Ryamond Moretti in La Défense district near Paris, France, on April 27.
Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
The novel coronavirus has now infected more than 3.1 million people and killed over 217,000 worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest on the pandemic:
PPE and testing shortages: US health officials from FEMA and HHS told lawmakers that states continue to face shortages of personal protective equipment and coronavirus testing supplies – contradicting President Donald Trump.
Major political event back on: China will hold its annual meeting of the National People’s Congress on May 22, after the unprecedented decision to postpone it amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Australia secures 10 million tests: A mining magnate secured a deal on behalf of the Australian government for 10 million coronavirus tests and pathology equipment. It will mark a 20-fold increase in the country’s testing capability.
Rare disease found in US child: US doctors say they may have seen a possible complication of coronavirus in a young child: a rareinflammatory condition called Kawasaki disease. Britain’s National Health Service sent analert to doctors Sunday saying they had seen similar cases.
Chest radiation study: In a small pilot study, researchers are exploring whether low-dose chest radiation therapy may improve lung function in certain critically ill Covid-19 patients, according to the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta.
Men could be more affected: A small study in China may support the idea that men get sicker and are more likely to die from coronavirus than women. But it does not necessarily reflect what has happened elsewhere in the world.
Faulty masks: 30,000 reusable masks sent to pregnant women in Japan may be defective, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, with complaints that they are stained and dirty.
USS Theodore Roosevelt: Sailors from the coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier will begin returning to the ship in the next 24 to 48 hours for the first time since they were moved ashore because of Covid-19, according to a defense official.
Masks in the sky: United Airlines and American Airlines will begin to provide masks to passengers beginning in early May. It follows an announcement from Jet Blue on Monday saying all passengers will be required to wear a face covering during travel from May 4.
Link Copied!
Rare inflammatory syndrome seen in US child with Covid-19
From CNN Health’s Jen Christensen, Michael Nedelman, and from Simon Cullen
US doctors say they may have seen a possible complication of coronavirus infection in a young child: a rareinflammatory condition called Kawasaki disease.
Britain’s National Health Service sent analert to doctors Sunday saying they had seen cases of atypical Kawasaki disease that could be linked to coronavirus.
A team atStanford Children’s Hospitalsaid they had, also. They described the case of a6-month-old girl admitted to the hospital with the disease and later also diagnosed with coronavirus.
What is Kawasaki disease? It’s a rare childhood illness that causes the walls of the blood vessels in the body to become inflamed and can limit blood flow to the heart. It is usually treatable and most children recover without serious problems, but it can be deadly.
What causes it? No one knows what causes Kawasaki disease, but some studies have pointed to a link between viruses or a bacterial infection.
The US case: The child was initially diagnosed with a viral infection, the Stanford team said, and later tested positive for Covid-19. On the second day she had a fever and a blotchy rash. A chest x-ray showed a small white spot in her mid-lung, the team reported in the journal Hospital Pediatrics. The baby’s symptoms appeared to be Kawasaki disease and she was treated. Two weeks after she was discharged, the baby had no respiratory symptoms and is doing well.
Further research: The authors of the study suggest that since the coronavirus is new, and not all symptoms in children are known, scientists will want to further research the potential association of Kawasaki Disease with Covid-19.
Dr. Brad Segal, who worked on the case, said the team was surprised when the test came back positive for Covid-19. “In hindsight, looking at it, it’s not entirely shocking that this association was possible,” he said, adding that Kawasaki disease itself is often preceded by a respiratory or gastrointestinal illness.
Segal doesn’t believe they have seen any other cases of Kawasaki associated with coronavirus at his hospital. He thinks that if this is a complication associated with the coronavirus then it is most likely uncommon.
For further explanation of Kawasaki disease, read our coverage here:
Trump still seems to not understand how bad the coronavirus crisis is
Analysis from CNN's Stephen Collinson
Three months in – after a million infections, nearly 60,000 US deaths and a potential economic depression – it’s still unclear whether US President Donald Trump grasps the gravity of the coronavirus crisis.
Trump’s leadership in the worst domestic crisis since World War II has consistently featured wrong, ill-informed and dangerous decisions, omissions and politically fueled pivots.
Such comments are typical of Trump’s consistent habit of blaming others for his own poor judgments. For the record, senior Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official Nancy Messonnier warned on February 27 that it was inevitable the disease would reach the US and could be “bad.”
The President’s deflections on Tuesday are typical of his wider political method of evading responsibility by bending the truth and of creating distractions.
But in the depths of the current disorientating times, the deeper liabilities of the President’s political approach are being exposed. A hostility to details, a resistance to accepting the advice of experts and for learning the messy intricacies of a crisis that interrupted his own narrative in election year.
More than 6,000 people have now died of Covid-19-related symptoms in Germany, the country’s center for disease control, the Robert Koch Institute, said today.
At least 202 people died in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 6,115.
The country is seen as one of the most successful in dealing with the pandemic because it has managed to keep its death toll relatively low in relation to confirmed cases.
The total number of confirmed infections now stands at 157,641, while around 120,400 people have recovered.
Virus reproduction rates: Germany also managed to slow down the reproduction rate of infections to 0.9 after it rose to 1 on Tuesday.
That means every person infected in Germany on average is infecting less than one other person and the virus is being pushed back.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has previously warned that if the number – also known as the R0 value – rises above 1, the country’s health system would eventually be overwhelmed.
Face masks: The new numbers come after the city state of Berlin became the final jurisdiction in Germany to make wearing face coverings in stores mandatory.
Avoiding a new surge: Merkel and top virologists have warned the country risks a new spike in infections if physical distancing measured are relaxed too much.
Link Copied!
Small study in China indicates men may be more likely to die from coronavirus than women
From CNN Health’s Jen Christensen
A Chinese commuter wears a protective mask while riding through a nearly empty intersection during the afternoon rush hour on March 6, in Beijing, China.
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
A new study may support the idea that men get sicker and are more likely to die from coronavirus than women.
It’s a small study, done in China, and does not necessarily reflect what has happened elsewhere in the world. But it supports an early observation about Covid-19 when it first started spreading in China: men were more likely to die than women.
The method: A team at Beijing Tongren Hospital and Wuhan Union Hospital studied 43 patients directly and the records of just over 1,000 others.
What they found: Men and women seemed to get the disease at the same rate, but men were more than twice as likely to die, the team found. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, gives little other detail.
People who were older and those with more underlying health conditions fared worse than younger and healthier patients, the researchers found.
More research needed: The authors concluded that the male gender is a risk factor for worse outcomes of Covid-19, regardless of age and underlying health conditions. They said this will need to be studied with a larger group of patients to determine if it is accurate, although some earlier studies have noted a similar trend.
Other factors could be at play: Scientists will also want to look at data from patients in other countries since there are demographic elements that could be a factor. In China, for example, 50% of men smoke, compared to 5% of women, according to earlier research, and smoking is thought to be tied to more severe cases of the disease. The study also does not explain why men fare worse with this disease.
Link Copied!
New Zealanders were so eager to eat burgers after restrictions eased that police had to enforce crowd control
From CNN's Julia Hollingsworth
Customers queue up for the "drive-thru" at a McDonald's restaurant on the first day of the easing of restrictions in Wellington on April 28.
Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images
Police in New Zealand enforced crowd control measures at a popular fast food outlet after large numbers of people rushed to buy burgers following a relaxing of the country’s lockdown measures.
The country eased into level 3 restrictions on Monday and for many, it was a chance to finally eat the fast food they had been craving.
Long lines for take-out: Under the new restrictions, limited number of restaurants and cafes have been permitted to reopen. According to state-owned broadcaster TVNZ, that resulted in long queues of cars at KFC and McDonald’s “drive-thru” outlets in Auckland, the country’s biggest city.
And at one Auckland burger joint, the crowds were so large that the police were called.
“Day one of re-opening saw our BurgerFuel stores inundated with a stampede of customers, way beyond what we had anticipated,” a spokesperson for BurgerFuel said in a statement.
Breaking the rules: New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said police had recorded 104 breaches in the first 18 hours of the level 4 rules being lifted. There had also been 742 complaints of businesses not complying, with most of the complaints relating to a lack of social distancing measures being in place.
Mining magnate secures 10 million coronavirus tests for Australia
From CNN's Sol Han and Helen Regan
Cars queue up for free drive-through coronavirus tests at Bondi Beach in Sydney on April 22.
Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images
Australia has announced what it calls a groundbreaking partnership that secures 10 million Covid-19 test kits and pathology equipment supplied by Chinese company Beijing Genomic Institute (BGI).
So far, Australia has completed 500,000 tests. The additional 10 million tests will be distributed across the country from now until the end of the year and “equates to an almost 20 fold increase in testing,” the government said in a statement.
The partnership is between the Australian government, the Minderoo Foundation – owned by mining magnate Andrew Forrest – and private pathology providers.
Forrest, the former CEO of Fortescue Metals and one of Australia’s richest men, secured the tests on behalf of the Australian government in a deal worth $320 million Australian dollars ($209 million), according to CNN affiliate Nine News.
The test kits and equipment will be supplied by the Beijing Genomic Institute (BGI), Thermo Fisher and Tecan.
Link Copied!
A woman in labor needed to get to hospital in another state. One problem: a trench had been dug at the border
From CNN's Esha Mitra and Manveena Suri in New Delhi
Migrants from Andhra Pradesh state attempting to return to their native villages on foot are moved on trucks to a government facility during a lockdown in Hyderabad, India, on Tuesday, April 14.
Mahesh Kumar A./AP
A pregnant woman in southern India who went into premature labor had to hold onto a bamboo pole and be carried by villagers across a trench that had been dug to keep coronavirus out.
Local administrations in two states bordering Andhra Pradesh state have built walls and trenches to prevent cars and people crossing state lines as concerns mount over rising cases of the virus amid a nationwide lockdown.
Andhra Pradesh has reported at least 1,259 cases, including 31 deaths.
The pregnant woman, from a remote tribal area of Andhra Pradesh, had been referred to a specialist hospital in neighboring Odisha state, where an ambulance was waiting for her.
But the trench prevented her from walking across the state border, according to Saikanth Varma, a project officer with the Andhra Pradesh Tribal Welfare department.
The Andhra Pradesh Tribal Welfare department has raised the issue with district officials in Odisha who have told the local body to immediately fill the trench.
The woman gave birth to a healthy baby and is currently in isolation as a precaution.
Border walls: At Andhra Pradesh’s southern border, three walls ranging from 3 feet to 6 feet high were built along the border with Tamil Nadu state to control traffic amid the lockdown.
A temporary wall built on Sunday was removed the next day, said Ganesh Shekhar, sub-collector of Vellore district in Tamil Nadu. The decision to build the walls was taken by local district officials and not by the state government, Shekhar added.
India lockdown: On March 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a three-week nationwide lockdown, which has since been extended until May 3. Modi is yet to make an official announcement on a further extension.
Several chief ministers are in favor of an extension following a video conference with Modi on Monday, according to CNN affiliate News 18.
Link Copied!
Small pilot study looks at low-dose chest radiation for Covid-19 patients
From CNN Health's Mark Lieber and Nadia Kounang
In a small pilot study, researchers are exploring whether low-dose chest radiation therapy may improve lung function in certain critically ill Covid-19 patients, according to a news release from the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta.
There are currently five critically ill patients enrolled in the phase I/II clinical trial, with an additional five patients to be added in another group.Those enrolled are given a single treatment of low-dose chest radiation and are followed through a one-week observational period.
Century-old idea: The study was inspired by the historical use of chest radiation to treat pneumonia over 100 years ago, before the development of antibiotics and other modern medicine, Khan said.
Investigators hope that those who receive the therapy will see improved pulmonary functioning with a decreased need for mechanical ventilation.
What is radiation therapy? It refers to the use of high-energy beams to induce cell damage by destroying the genetic material that cells need to grow and divide. At high doses, radiation can cause severe tissue destruction and is used to shrink or destroy tumors as part of cancer treatment, according to Mayo Clinic.
But at lower levels, radiation actually reduces inflammation by decreasing the production of certain chemicals called cytokines that are central to the inflammatory process, according to Khan.
Link Copied!
Father remembers ER doctor who died by suicide: "She was in the trenches ... as people were dying around her"
Dr. Lorna Breen had recovered from Covid-19 and continued to treat coronavirus patients.
“I just want people to know how special she was,” he added.
Lorna Breen told her father that her colleagues were putting in 18-hour days and sleeping in hallways, and that ambulances couldn’t get in because it was so busy.
She worked in the emergency department and had been on the front lines for weeks, handling the onslaught of cases, her father said. New York City has been the US’ pandemic epicenter, recording nearly 300,000 cases and more than 22,000 deaths as of Tuesday.
Breen said his daughter contracted the virus and stayed home for just over a week, which in hindsight, he feels wasn’t enough time.
During her final 12-hour shift, Breen said his daughter “went down in the traces like a horse that had pulled too heavy a load and couldn’t go a step further and just went down, and so she went down.”
Breen said his daughter was not struggling with any emotional difficulties or problems with stress prior to this.
He remembers his daughter as a salsa dancer, a nursing home volunteer, and a snowboarder.
US health officials say states continue to face shortages of PPE and testing -- contradicting Trump
From CNN's Manu Raju
Officials from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services told lawmakers that US states continue to face shortages of personal protective equipment and coronavirus testing supplies, according to a news release from the House Oversight Committee.
What FEMA and HHS officials have said contradicts US President Donald Trump’s insistence there is enough PPE and testing supplies available to states, chairwoman Carolyn Maloney said.
30,000 reusable masks sent to pregnant women in Japan may be defective: report
By CNN’s Emiko Jozuka in Tokyo
A Japan Post employee opens a box of face masks, which will be distributed to residents to help fight the spread of the coronavirus, in Tokyo on April 16.
Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s campaign to distribute free, reusable cloth masks amid chronic shortages has been met with complaints that they are stained and dirty.
The number of damaged masks intended for pregnant women in Japan had risen to 30,000 out of 500,000 by Tuesday, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
The masks are being dispatched in order of priority, with pregnant women at the top of the list, and are part of a wider plan to send two reusable cloth masks to roughly 50 million households in the country.
Quality check underway: Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Japanese health minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters the safety of the masks would be checked.
Public backlash: Earlier in April, Abe’s mask proposal attracted outrage and mockery online, with the hashtag “Abe’s mask” and “screw your two masks” trending on Twitter.
Many dubbed the policy “Abenomask policy” as satirical memes showing well-known cartoon characters sharing one mask between four family members popped up online.
This post has been updated to reflect the number of damaged masks.
Link Copied!
Angry mob attacks police at cremation of suspected coronavirus patient
From CNN's Esha Mitra in New Delhi
Villagers threw stones at police at a cremation ground in northern India on Monday when the body of an elderly woman suspected to be a coronavirus patient was brought there for her last rites, according to a senior police official.
Police officers used batons and fired shots in the air to disperse the crowd. A total of 30 people from Chand Pura village in Ambala district of Haryana state were arrested, said Abhishek Jorwal, superintendent of police in the district.
According to Jorwal, the villagers were unhappy that someone who was not from their village was being cremated on their grounds and might spread infection.
The postmortem report revealed that the woman did not have coronavirus.
Similar incident: Earlier this month, a mob threw stones at an ambulance carrying the body of a doctor who succumbed to the virus in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu state in southern India.
Members of the ambulance crew and family and friends of the doctor were injured when they took the body to the burial ground, according to Dr. Rajan Sharma, president of the Indian Medical Association. Chennai police arrested 20 people on April 19 in connection with the incident.
Link Copied!
South Korea reports 9 new coronavirus cases
From CNN's Sophie Jeong
South Korea reported nine new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, according to the South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Among the new cases, five are imported.
South Korea reported that two more people died from coronavirus on Tuesday, raising the national death toll to 246.
Some 68 recovered cases have been discharged from isolation, bringing the national total of recovered cases to 8,922.
The total number of coronavirus cases recorded in South Korea is 10,761.
Link Copied!
China's model of control has been blamed for virus crisis, but for some it's looking increasingly attractive
Analysis from CNN's James Griffiths
Numerous Western politicians, particularly on the right, have blamed China’s government and political system for causing the current global crisis.
Many have continued to hammer phrases such as “China flu” or “Wuhan virus,” despite warnings that such terms could lead to increased hostility against Asians.
But for some, the Beijing model is not necessarily looking so bad. China, despite being where the virus first emerged, has coped with the ensuing pandemic far better than many other countries, even though those countries had a longer warning time and greater chance to prepare.
The crisis has also highlighted the benefits of a strong government and centralized planning, while exposing the limitations of private industry to respond quickly, particularly in the health caresector.
In the United States, which is often held up – for better or worse – as the example par excellence of a Western democracy, the alternative to the Chinese model appears to be somewhat chaotic.
Sailors will start to return to virus-stricken US Navy aircraft carrier
From CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr
Sailors from the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt will begin returning to the aircraft carrier in the next 24 to 48 hours for the first time since they were moved ashore because of Covid-19, according to a defense official.
The official said that returning sailors could do so after testing negative for the virus twice in a 24-hour period, but the source declined to say how many sailors would be in the initial return.
The sailors have been ashore in Guam as part of a massive effort to evacuate all of the ship’s nearly 5,000 troops and ensure they are virus-free through testing.
These initial returning sailors will replace several hundred who had been left aboard to operate essential functions to keep the ship running, including manning the nuclear plant and providing safety and security.
Fall in cases: As of Tuesday, the ship had fewer positive cases than the day before for the first time. There were 940 cases, compared with 955 on Monday, reflecting an increase in the number of sailors who have recovered.
China will hold major annual political gathering on May 22 after 2-month delay as virus outbreak eases
From CNN’s Nectar Gan in Hong Kong
In this March 5, 2019 file photo, a Chinese paramilitary policeman stands guard at Tiananmen Square during the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing, China.
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
China will hold its annual meeting of the National People’s Congress on May 22, after the unprecedented decision to postpone it amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The full session of the NPC – a gathering of the country’s nearly 3,000 national legislators – was originally scheduled to open on March 5.
On Tuesday, China reported 22 new cases of coronavirus and no new deaths.
What is the NPC? The National People’s Congress is the country’s rubber-stamp parliament. Until this year, the annual plenary session – one of the biggest events on the country’s political calendar – had not been delayed or suspended since the end of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1970s.
It went ahead as scheduled in 2003 amid the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, which originated in China and hit the country hard. SARS eventually spread across the world to infect more than 8,000 people, killing at least 774.
Link Copied!
Australian PM says country has not reached success despite low coronavirus case numbers
From Anna Kam in Hong Kong and Jaide Garcia in Atlanta
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivers an address during the Anzac Day commemorative service at the Australian War Memorial on April 25, in Canberra, Australia.
Alex Ellinghausen/Pool/Getty Images
Australia has recorded a low number of coronavirus cases to date, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison said this does not mean success for the country.
Morrison encouraged citizens to download the CovidSafe app, a voluntary coronavirus contact tracing app that’s designed to help health authorities trace people who may have come into contact with someone who has Covid-19.
Since its launch of Sunday, about 2.8 million people have downloaded the app, Morrison said.
Australia has recorded at least 6,744 coronavirus cases, including 89 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
A pug called Winston may be the first dog in US to test positive for coronavirus
From CNN's David Williams
Sydney McClean holds her pug, Winston, while a researcher swabs the dog's mouth for a coronavirus test.
Courtesy Heather McClean
A North Carolina family’s pug may be the first dog in the United States to test positive for coronavirus, according to researchers.
Three members of the McClean family contracted Covid-19 last month. Sydney McClean, the couple’s daughter, was the only family member to never show any symptoms.
The family found out their dog, Winston, tested positive for the virus too after they participated in a Duke University study about Covid-19 aimed at trying to find potential treatments and vaccines.
“His (Winston’s) amount of virus that we detected was very low, suggesting that he would not be a likely mechanism or vector of transmission of virus to either other animals or to, to humans in these households,” said Chris Woods, the principal investigator of the study.
Experts have stressed that there is no evidence that pets play a part in transmitting coronavirus.
Japan reported 273 new coronavirus cases and 13 deaths nationwide on Tuesday, the country’s health ministry said.
That brings the total number of infections to 14,564, including 402 deaths. The total includes 712 cases and 13 deaths linked to the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
The number of confirmed cases of the virus in Japan has spiked in the past month – dashing hopes that the government’s initial virus response had succeeded in controlling its spread.
On Monday, Japan reported 191 new coronavirus cases and 199 the day before.
How does India, a country of 1.3 billion people, have around 1,000 coronavirus deaths?
From CNN's Julia Hollingsworth
Less than a month ago, India’s future looked dire.
Experts predicted that the country could expect millions of coronavirus cases. Doctors warned that India needed to prepare for an onslaught of cases that could cripple the country’s ill-equipped health system.
Onlookers worried that the virus could spread like wildfire through India’s slums.
But so far, the world’s second-most populous country appears to have avoided the worst.
As of Tuesday, India had reported 31,360 coronavirus cases and 1,008 deaths, or about 0.76 deaths per million. Compare that to the United States, where the number of deaths per million is more than 175.
Some experts say that India’s relatively positive numbers suggest the country’s nationwide lockdown to halt the spread of Covid-19 could be working – for now.
But the reality behind India’s numbers is more complicated – and experts caution that it is too early for India to congratulate itself.
Las Vegas casino union leader calls for every worker to be tested before reopening
D. Taylor, president of UNITE HERE, during a town hall meeting with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders at the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 on December 10, 2019, in Las Vegas.
Krystal Ramirez/Las Vegas Sun via AP
The head of the union representing tens of thousands of casino workers in Las Vegas says all of those employees should be tested before the casinos are allowed to reopen.
“Nobody should have to choose between your life and your job. That’s what we’re being asked to do here,” said D. Taylor, President of UNITE HERE, the labor organization that includes the Vegas branch of the Culinary Workers Union.
Earlier Tuesday, the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas put out a set of rules it’s committed to follow when it restarts operations.
It includes temperature screenings of all employees and guests, social distancing and face masks to be provided to guests who choose to wear one.
But Taylor said the union wants the government to set consistent guidelines that all casinos must follow.
“We’re not going to rely on companies to do the right thing,” said Taylor. We’ve already seen what meatpacking companies have done throughout the United States.”
2 major US airlines will provide masks for passengers beginning in early May
From CNN's Pete Muntean and Brian Rokus
A pilot walks by United Airlines planes as they sit parked at gates at San Francisco International Airport on April 12 in San Francisco.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
United Airlines and American Airlines will begin to provide masks to passengers beginning in early May.
United said masks will be available for passengers on domestic and international flights but it won’t be compulsory to wear them.
American Airlines said it would provide masks “as supplies allow.”
On Monday, Jet Blue announced it will require all passengers to wear a face covering during travel starting on May 4.
Link Copied!
Dozens of coronavirus cases connected to US primary election voting
From CNN's Chris Boyette
Elections Chief Inspector Mary Magdalen Moser runs a polling location in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in full hazmat gear as the Wisconsin primary kicks off despite the coronavirus pandemic on April 7.
Derek R. Henkle/AFP/Getty Images
At least 52 people in Wisconsin who said they voted in-person or worked the polls for the US state’s April 7 primary election have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Several of those people reported other possible exposures as well, Jennifer Miller, a department spokeswoman said.
The state’s decision to hold in-person elections in the middle of a pandemic was roundly criticized by candidates and health experts, and turned into a bitter partisan battle.
Link Copied!
It's just past 9:30 p.m. in New York and 7 a.m. in New Delhi. Here's the latest on the pandemic
A utility worker watches the US Navy's Blue Angels and the US Air Force's Thunderbirds conduct "a collaborative salute" to honor those battling the coronavirus pandemic with a flyover of New York and New Jersey, on Tuesday, April 28.
Charles Sykes/AP
The novel coronavirus has now infected more than 3.1 million people and killed nearly 217,000 worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
If you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments:
US cases surpass 1 million: With at least 1,012,399 known Covid-19 infections, the United States accounts for nearly a third of cases officially recorded worldwide, as some states take their first steps toward reopening.
US meat plants must stay open: President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that mandates meat processing plants must stay open, an official said. Some of the largest processing plants in the country have been forced to stop operations after thousands of employees tested positive for the virus.
Russia braces for tough phase: The country will “face a new and grueling phase of the pandemic,” President Vladimir Putin said in a televised statement. He also acknowledged shortfalls in personal protective equipment for Russian medical workers. Russia has surpassed both Iran and China in its number of confirmed cases.
Countries easing lockdowns: New Zealand, Australia and several European countries including Portugal, France, and Greece have loosened, or put forward plans, to ease some of their toughest coronavirus restrictions.
Mike Pence mask controversy: The US vice president has come under fire for not wearing a face mask while touring the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Pence said he didn’t wear one because he’s tested for coronavirus regularly.
Unrest in Lebanon: Tensions continue to flare in Lebanon as violent protests against economic hardship erupted again in Tripoli and other cities in defiance of a coronavirus lockdown.
Airline layoffs: British Airways has announced a restructuring and redundancy plan that could lead to layoffs for up to 12,000 staff.
Link Copied!
Hungry protesters are back on the streets in Lebanon
From CNN’s Ghazi Balkiz in Beirut and Tamara Qiblawi
Anti-government protesters set fires to block roads during a protest against the deepening financial crisis, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, April 28.
Hussein Malla/AP
Tensions continue to flare in Lebanon as violent protests against economic hardship erupted again in Tripoli and other Lebanese cities on Tuesday, according to local and state media.
In defiance of a coronavirus lockdown, protesters in Tripoli threw Molotov cocktails at the central bank, set dumpsters on fire and hurled rocks and firecrackers at security forces. In turn, security forces responded with rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the protesters, who numbered in the hundreds.
At least seven people were taken to nearby hospitals and 15 others were treated at the scene, the Lebanese Red Cross said on its Twitter account.
Covid-19 restrictions worsen financial crisis: Lebanon’s economy, like many others around the world, was brought to a screeching halt by a government-imposed lockdown designed to stop the spread of coronavirus. But the restrictions have further exacerbated the country’s deep and long-running financial crisis.
Since a popular uprising gripped the country late in 2019, its currency has dropped and it defaulted on its debt for the first time. Now, after nearly two months of lockdown, food prices are soaring and the Lebanese lira is in free fall.
Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, the World Bank projected that 45% of people in Lebanon would be below the poverty line in 2020. Now, the government believes that up to 75% of people are in need of aid, Social Affairs Minister Ramzi Musharrafieh told CNN.
China reported 22 new cases of novel coronavirus and no new deaths on Tuesday, according to the National Health Commission.
The new infections include 21 imported cases and one local case from Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong and Macau in southeast China.
In addition to the new cases, 26 asymptomatic cases were also reported. Some 993 asymptomatic patients remain under medical observation around the country. China previously did not include those patients not showing symptoms in some of its tallies.
The total number of confirmed cases to date is 82,858, the NHC said.
Of those confirmed cases, 77,578 patients have recovered and been discharged.
The country’s official death toll stands at 4,633.
Link Copied!
Trump signs executive order keeping meat processing plants open
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order, which aides said earlier would fall under the Defense Production Act, that mandates meat processing plants must stay open, an official says.
It comes after some US companies, such as Tyson Foods, were considering only keeping 20% of their facilities open. The vast majority of processing plants could have shut down – which would have reduced processing capacity in the country by as much as 80%, an official familiar with the order told CNN.
By signing the order, Trump has declared these plants as a part of critical infrastructure in the US.
Some of the largest processing plants in the US have been forced to cease operations temporarily after thousands of employees across the country have tested positive for the virus.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union estimated that 20 meatpacking and food processing workers have died so far.
Coronavirus antibody tests have "really terrible" accuracy, researcher says
From CNN's Elizabeth Cohen
Some antibody tests, which check for prior Covid-19 infection, had high rates of false positives in screenings performed by a consortium of California laboratories, according to a recently released report.
A false positive means someone would be told they’d already had coronavirus when they had not – a potential danger as people could then think they were immune to the virus when they’re actually still vulnerable.
Of the 12 antibody tests that were studied by the COVID-19 Testing Project, one of the tests gave false positives more than 15% of the time, or in about one out of seven samples. Three other tests gave false positives more than 10% of the time.
“That’s terrible. That’s really terrible,” said Dr. Caryn Bern, one of the authors of the study that looked at the 12 tests. She said while it’s unrealistic to think all tests will be 100% accurate all the time, their false positive rates should be 5% or lower, or ideally 2% or lower.
The COVID-19 Testing Project is a consortium of researchers and physicians at the University of California San Francisco, the University of California Berkeley, the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, and the Innovative Genomics Institute.
Link Copied!
US officials were part of WHO delegation to China earlier this year -- but they did not go to Wuhan
From CNN's Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler
US officials were part of the World Health Organization delegation that traveled to China in the early weeks of the Covid-19 outbreak, but they were not part of the group that traveled to Wuhan, a State Department spokesperson said.
It is unclear why the US officials did not travel to the city at the center of the outbreak. CNN has reached out to the State Department for clarity.
While in Wuhan, the WHO delegation visited the airport, a hospital, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, including one of their labs.
They did not visit the Wuhan Institute of Virology, according to a WHO visit summary. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in mid-April that “we still have not had Western access to that facility so that we can properly evaluate what really has taken off all across the world and how that began.”
Although the State Department acknowledged that Americans were part of the WHO delegation, Pompeo has repeatedly called out China for denying requests from the Trump administration to allow American scientists on the ground.
“This President and this administration worked diligently to work to get Americans on the ground there in China, to help the World Health Organization try to get in there as well. We were rebuffed,” Pompeo said on Thursday. “The Chinese government wouldn’t let it happen, indeed just the opposite of transparency.”
Link Copied!
Canada says its epidemic growth rate is slower than in most countries but death rate continues to spike
From CNN’s Paula Newton in Ottawa
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer
CTV Network
Canada released a new epidemic snapshot Tuesday and updated modeling that shows its epidemic growth rate is slower than in most countries, including the United States, but also shows a death rate higher than earlier predicted.
Canadian public health officials say the epidemic growth is slowing. About a month ago it was doubling every three days but is now doubling every 16 days.
However, Canada is now reporting nearly 3,000 deaths from Covid-19, much higher than originally predicted.
“We are seeing the tragic paradox of the epidemic playing out,” said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer during a presentation of the new modeling Tuesday.
Canada is currently dealing with hundreds of outbreaks in long-term care homes throughout the country. Government statistics released Tuesday show that 79% of deaths across the country are related to outbreaks in care centers.
“Outbreaks in long-term care and seniors’ homes are driving epidemic growth in Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia and are responsible for the majority of all deaths in Canada,” Tam said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that while Canada was flattening the curve, distancing measures and some closures would remain in place for some time.
“We’re in the middle of the most serious public health emergency Canada has ever seen and if we lift measures too quickly, we might lose the progress we’ve made,” Trudeau said during a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday.
Link Copied!
More than 1 million coronavirus cases have been reported in the US
