TIG Post

Tag: Coronavirus

  • Coronavirus: Disinfectant firm warns after Trump comments

    A leading disinfectant producer has issued a strong warning not to use its products on the human body after Donald Trump suggested they could potentially be used to treat coronavirus.

    Reckitt Benckiser, which owns Lysol and Dettol, said “under no circumstance” should its products be injected or ingested.

    President Trump faces a backlash over his comments at a briefing on Thursday.

    Disinfectants are hazardous substances and can be poisonous if ingested.

    Even external exposure can be dangerous to the skin, eyes and respiratory system.

    Mr Trump’s comments have been heavily criticised by doctors and have generated a huge online response. They have provoked hundreds of thousands of comments and caused well-known cleaning brands to trend on social media.

    Reckitt Benckiser, which also owns the brands Vanish and Cillit Bang, said its products should not be administered “through injection, ingestion or any other route”.

    “Our disinfectant and hygiene products should only be used as intended and in line with usage guidelines. Please read the label and safety information,” the company said in a statement.

    What did President Trump say? During Thursday’s White House coronavirus task force briefing, an official presented the results of US government research that indicated coronavirus appeared to weaken faster when exposed to sunlight and heat.

    The study also showed bleach could kill the virus in saliva or respiratory fluids within five minutes, and isopropyl alcohol could kill it even more quickly.

    Mr Trump then hypothesised about the possibility of using a “tremendous ultraviolet” or “just very powerful light” on or even inside the body as a potential treatment.

    “And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute,” he said. “And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?

    “Because you see it gets in the lungs and does a tremendous number on them, so it’d be interesting to check that,” he said.

    In a statement, the White House press secretary said the president had “repeatedly” told Americans to consult doctors about coronavirus treatment.

    “Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines,” Kayleigh McEnany said.

    His comments have dominated social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit since Thursday night.

    Many compared his idea to a dangerous viral trend in 2018 where people ate Tide laundry detergent pods.

    Lysol, which is one of the America’s best known cleaning brands, has been named in tweets at least 125,000 times since the White House news conference.

    Owners Reckitt Benckiser said they issued their statement on Friday “due to recent speculation and social media activity”.

    What’s the medical reaction been?

    Doctors warned that the president’s suggestion could have fatal results.

    “This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible and it’s dangerous,” Dr Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist and global health policy expert, told NBC news. “It’s a common method that people utilise when they want to kill themselves.”

    “Inhaling chlorine bleach would be absolutely the worst thing for the lungs,” pulmonologist John Balmes told Bloomberg News. “The airway and lungs are not made to be exposed to even an aerosol of disinfectant.

    “Not even a low dilution of bleach or isopropyl alcohol is safe. It’s a totally ridiculous concept.”

    This is not the first time that Mr Trump’s medical advice has generated controversy and criticism.

    He has previously hyped a malaria medication, hydroxychloroquine, despite a lack of clinical evidence it helps treat Covid-19 and some concerns it can even be detrimental.

    Source: bbc.com

  • U.S. coronavirus deaths top 49,000, averaging 2,000 lives lost a day: Reuters tally

    U.S. coronavirus deaths topped 49,000 on Thursday as the number of lives lost in April rises by an average of 2,000 a day, according to a Reuters tally.

    At that rate, U.S. deaths will reach 50,000 no later than Friday.

    The total number of U.S. cases was approaching 860,000 with many states yet to report on Thursday.

    U.S. cases rose by over 30,000 on Wednesday, the biggest increase in five days but in line with an average of 30,000 new cases a day in April, according to a Reuters tally.

    Across the country, state officials say there remain bottlenecks in testing capacity, shortages of materials such as swabs used for taking samples and not enough workers to contact- trace infections.

    In addition to a staggering death toll, unemployment claims soared on Thursday and reaffirmed the grim economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Over 26.5 million Americans have sought unemployment benefits over the last five weeks, confirming that all the jobs gained during the longest employment boom in U.S. history have been wiped out as the novel coronavirus savages the economy.

    A Reuters/Ipsos survey this month showed a bipartisan majority of Americans want to continue to shelter in place to protect themselves from the coronavirus, despite the impact to the economy.

    Source: reuters.com

  • U.S.’s Mnuchin considers lending program for struggling oil companies

    Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he is considering a government lending program for U.S. oil companies looking for federal aid as they cope with a devastating plunge in prices, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

    Oil prices have crashed as demand has shrunk due to lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic.

    “One of the components we’re looking at is providing a lending facility for the industry. We’re looking at a lot of different options, and we have not made any conclusions,” Mnuchin told Bloomberg News in an interview bloom.bg/2xTUBFK.

    U.S. crude oil futures collapsed to trade in negative territory for the first time in history on Monday, as desperate traders paid to get rid of barrels amid a dearth of storage space.

    Last week, Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette told Reuters he was working with Mnuchin to roughly double the size-limit on loans available to mid-tier U.S. energy companies under the recently passed CARES Act stimulus package to $200 million-$250 million.

    Crashing oil prices have prompted shale companies to slash spending and halt drilling activity.

    President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he asked his cabinet to devise a plan to inject cash into the ailing U.S. oil-drilling industry.

    Source: reuters.com

  • Nestle first-quarter sales beat estimates as consumers hoard pet food, coffee

    Nestle (NESN.S) reported a 4.3% rise in organic sales growth for the first quarter, the food giant said on Friday, as consumers filled cupboards with Purina pet food and Nescafe coffee to prepare for lockdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

    Nestle said it is launching a 500 million Swiss franc ($511.77 million) program to help the cafes and restaurants it supplies during the new coronavirus crisis, by extending payment terms and suspending rental fees for coffee machines.

    The KitKat chocolate and Nescafe coffee maker also said it was keeping its outlook for the year, which targets continued improvement in organic sales growth – a measure which strips out currency and acquisition effects – and a higher underlying operating profit margin.

    Analysts on average were expecting a 3.0% increase in first-quarter underlying sales growth, according to company-supplied estimates.

    Total sales for the three months to the end of March fell 6.2% to 20.8 billion Swiss francs ($21.30 billion) mainly due to divestitures of its Skin Health and U.S. ice-cream business last year.

    The Vevey, Switzerland- based company also said it was launching a strategic review of its struggling Yinlu peanut milk and canned rice porridge businesses in China. The businesses generated sales of 700 million Swiss francs last year.

    Increased at-home consumption and stockpiling in North America in March because of government-imposed lockdowns lifted demand for Purina Pet care and Hot Pockets frozen food, Nestle said.

    In Europe, Middle East and North Africa (EMENA), more consumers reached for Maggi noodles and plant-based products from its Garden Gourmet brand. Both regions posted organic sales growth above 7%.

    In contrast, underlying sales in Asia fell 4.6% as customers in China held off restaurant visits and shopping trips during much of the quarter.

    Peer Unilever (ULVR.L) (UNA.AS) reported flat underlying sales growth in the first quarter and ditched its full-year sales targets on Thursday, as the coronavirus outbreak knocked consumption in its emerging markets.

    Source: reuters.com

  • Coronavirus: Trump suggests injecting disinfectant as treatment

    US President Donald Trump has been lambasted by the medical community after suggesting research into whether coronavirus might be treated by injecting disinfectant into the body.

    He also appeared to propose irradiating patients’ bodies with UV light, an idea dismissed by a doctor at the briefing.

    Another of his officials had moments earlier said sunlight and disinfectant were known to kill the infection.

    Mr Trump’s own public health agencies warn against bleach as a medicine.

    What did President Trump say?

    During Thursday’s White House coronavirus task force briefing, an official presented the results of US government research that indicated coronavirus appeared to weaken more quickly when exposed to sunlight and heat.

    The study also showed bleach could kill the virus in saliva or respiratory fluids within five minutes and isopropyl alcohol could kill it even more quickly.

    William Bryan, acting head of the US Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, outlined the findings at the news conference.

    While noting the research should be treated with caution, Mr Trump suggested further research in that area.

    “So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous – whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light,” the president said, turning to Dr Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response co-ordinator, “and I think you said that hasn’t been checked but you’re going to test it.

    “And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside of the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you’re going to test that too. Sounds interesting,” the president continued.
    “And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?

    “So it’d be interesting to check that.”

    Pointing to his head, Mr Trump went on: “I’m not a doctor. But I’m, like, a person that has a good you-know-what.”

    He turned again to Dr Birx and asked if she had ever heard of using “the heat and the light” to treat coronavirus.

    “Not as a treatment,” Dr Birx said. “I mean, certainly, fever is a good thing, when you have a fever it helps your body respond. But I’ve not seen heat or light.”

    “I think it’s a great thing to look at,” Mr Trump said.

    A journalist at the briefing questioned whether Mr Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks could spread dangerous disinformation to Americans.

    What’s the reaction?

    Doctors warned the president’s idea could have fatal results.

    Pulmonologist Dr Vin Gupta told NBC News: “This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible and it’s dangerous.

    “It’s a common method that people utilise when they want to kill themselves.”

    Kashif Mahmood, a doctor in Charleston, West Virginia, tweeted: “As a physician, I can’t recommend injecting disinfectant into the lungs or using UV radiation inside the body to treat COVID-19.

    “Don’t take medical advice from Trump.”

    John Balmes, a pulmonologist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, warned that even breathing fumes from bleach could cause severe health problems.

    He told Bloomberg News: “Inhaling chlorine bleach would be absolutely the worst thing for the lungs. The airway and lungs are not made to be exposed to even an aerosol of disinfectant.

    “Not even a low dilution of bleach or isopropyl alcohol is safe. It’s a totally ridiculous concept.”

    Mr Trump has previously hyped a malaria medication, hydroxycloroquine, as a possible treatment for coronavirus, though he has stopped touting that drug recently.

    This week a study of coronavirus patients in a US government-run hospital for military veterans found more deaths among those treated with hydroxychloroquine than those treated with standard care.

    Reacting to the president’s remarks on Thursday evening, Joe Biden, his likely Democratic challenger in November’s White House election, tweeted: “UV light? Injecting disinfectant? Here’s an idea, Mr President: more tests. Now. And protective equipment for actual medical professionals.”

    What’s the US government’s advice?

    Only this week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans to be careful with cleaning products as sales of household disinfectants soar amid the pandemic.

    “Calls to poison centres increased sharply at the beginning of March 2020 for exposures to both cleaners and disinfectants,” found the agency’s weekly morbidity and mortality report.

    The US Food and Drug Administration has warned against ingesting disinfectants, citing the sale of bogus miracle cures that contain bleach and purport to treat everything from autism to Aids and hepatitis.

    The agency’s website says: “The FDA has received reports of consumers who have suffered from severe vomiting, severe diarrhoea, life-threatening low blood pressure caused by dehydration, and acute liver failure after drinking these products.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Merkel warns coronavirus crisis ‘still just the beginning’

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said her country must remain “clever and cautious” in handling the coronavirus crisis, as it is “not the end phase but still just the beginning”.

    “We’ll have to live with this virus for a long time,” Ms Merkel told parliament ahead of an EU summit, via videolink.

    She said Germany should be ready to “make very different, meaning much higher contributions to the EU budget”.

    The video summit – the EU’s fourth on coronavirus – is now under way.

    EU leaders are expected to sign off on a new €540bn (£470bn; $575bn) emergency fund to protect European workers, businesses and countries worst affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The details are yet to be worked out.

    The €540bn would be released through EU institutions that already exist, including the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the main bailout fund set up in response to the 2008 financial crisis.

    European Council President Charles Michel told leaders they should aim to start releasing the funds by 1 June.

    But a thornier issue is how much extra to commit to the EU budget to deal with this crisis, and how much the 27 member states will spend jointly. There are plans for a special recovery fund, like the post-1945 Marshall Plan.

    Italy and some other states want EU help in aid grants, not loans. The scale of the crisis is such, they argue, that at least €1.5 trillion will be needed.

    Mrs. Merkel said extra EU budget funds should be provided “in a spirit of solidarity” and for a limited time.

    Italy, at the epicenter of the pandemic in Europe, has been especially vocal in urging its EU partners to jointly guarantee debt.

    But Germany, the Netherlands and Austria oppose any mutualization of debt, in the form of so-called “coronabonds”. Under current EU rules countries cannot be made liable for each other’s debts.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: First patients injected in UK vaccine trial

    The first human trial in Europe of a coronavirus vaccine has begun in Oxford.

    Two volunteers were injected, the first of more than 800 people recruited for the study.

    Half will receive the Covid-19 vaccine, and half a control vaccine which protects against meningitis but not coronavirus.

    The design of the trial means volunteers will not know which vaccine they are getting, though doctors will.

    Elisa Granato, one of the two who received the jab, told the BBC: “I’m a scientist, so I wanted to try to support the scientific process wherever I can.”

    The vaccine was developed in under three months by a team at Oxford University. Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the Jenner Institute, led the pre-clinical research.

    “Personally I have a high degree of confidence in this vaccine,” she said.

    “Of course, we have to test it and get data from humans. We have to demonstrate it actually works and stops people getting infected with coronavirus before using the vaccine in the wider population.”

    Prof Gilbert previously said she was “80% confident” the vaccine would work, but now prefers not to put a figure on it, saying simply she is “very optimistic” about its chances.

    So how does the vaccine work?

    The vaccine is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (known as an adenovirus) from chimpanzees that has been modified so it cannot grow in humans.

    The Oxford team has already developed a vaccine against Mers, another type of coronavirus, using the same approach – and that had promising results in clinical trials.

    How will they know if it works?

    The only way the team will know if the COVID-19 vaccine works is by comparing the number of people who get infected with coronavirus in the months ahead from the two arms of the trial.

    That could be a problem if cases fall rapidly in the UK, because there may not be enough data.

    Prof Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, who is leading the trial, said: “We’re chasing the end of this current epidemic wave. If we don’t catch that, we won’t be able to tell whether the vaccine works in the next few months. But we do expect that there will be more cases in the future because this virus hasn’t gone away.”

    The vaccine researchers are prioritizing the recruitment of local healthcare workers into the trial as they are more likely than others to be exposed to the virus.

    A larger trial, of about 5,000 volunteers, will start in the coming months and will have no age limit.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Another 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week

    For the fifth week in a row, millions of American workers applied for unemployment benefits, seeking financial relief as businesses remained closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

    First-time claims for unemployment benefits totaled 4.4 million in the week ending April 18, after factoring in seasonal adjustments, the US Department of Labor said.
    Without those adjustments — which economists use to account for seasonal hiring fluctuations — the raw number was 4.3 million.

    No matter how you look at the data, the last five weeks have marked the most sudden surge in jobless claims since the Department of Labor started tracking the data in 1967. American workers filed 26.5 million initial claims since March 14, according to the seasonally adjusted numbers.

    Not all of those claims will result in benefits being paid. Some will be rejected because workers did not meet eligibility requirements. Even so, numbers at that level reflect a devastating blow to workers, indicating roughly 16.2% of the US labor force is suffering from layoffs, furloughs or reduced hours during the coronavirus pandemic.

    Weekly claims numbers have come down over the past three weeks, falling from a peak of 6.9 million in the last week in March. Even so, claims continue in the millions every week — a stark contrast to the pre-pandemic strength in the job market. Just a couple months ago, weekly claims were hovering in the low 200,000s. That puts recent weekly claims north of 20 times the pre-coronavirus level, and more than five-times of the worst five-week stretch during the 2007-2009 financial crisis, according to Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

    And even though the declines from week to week are somewhat encouraging, the data shows that much of the damage is already done, said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics. Case in point, the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate sat at 11% in the week ending April 11 — the highest level recorded in the series, according to the DOL.

    Continued jobless claims, representing workers who filed for their second week of benefits or more, stood at nearly 16 million in the week ended April 11, after seasonal adjustments, up from 11.9 million in the prior week.

    Early studies have shown lower-income workers are particularly affected by job losses, and minorities, specifically black and Hispanic families, are expected to bear the brunt of the economic cost of this crisis.

    Meanwhile, states continue to struggle to process the overwhelming volume of unemployment claims.

    In Hawaii, where much of the economy is tourism-based, roughly 26% of the March labor force has filed for first-time benefits over the past five weeks. In Kentucky and Michigan, some 24% of workers have filed for initial claims.

    New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters Tuesday that his state had 1,000 people “just to take the incoming unemployment calls. That’s how high the volume is. And they still can’t keep up.”

    And Florida’s state unemployment agency said on Tuesday that it had only paid a paltry 14% of the claims filed since March 15 — among the slowest in the country, according to an Associated Press analysis.

    Just over a quarter of Florida’s claims were rejected because filers were found ineligible for the regular jobless benefits program. However, some may still qualify under a new pandemic unemployment assistance program that Congress created in the $2 trillion relief package last month.

    Lawmakers temporarily extended the unemployment program to independent contractors, the self-employed, gig workers and those affected by the coronavirus — and states have scrambled to update their computer systems to process those new types of claims.

    Source: edition.cnn.com

  • You cant force players to accept pay cuts Asante Kotoko CEO

    Chief Executive Officer of Asante Kotoko SC, George Amoako has stated that the club will only agree to slash salaries if the playing body and the technical team members consent to it.

    The Coronavirus pandemic has halted the 2019/20 Ghana Premier League and all other sporting activities in the world.

    This has forced clubs in Europe to initiate a salary cut policy to reduce their financial burden in a period where everything has come to a standstill.

    Though some Ghana Premier League clubs including Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak want to replicate this in the local scene because they have lost their main source of revenue (gate proceeds), the Kotoko CEO believes they can only do that when the actors involved accept to cut their salaries.

    In an interview with Kumasi based Nhyira FM, he said the contract they have with individual actors makes it impossible for the club to force any policy on the players if they are not willing to do it.

    “Pay cut is under review and nobody can force it on the neck of the playing body. Players have a contract with the club and all over the world a pay cut is based on negotiations and agreement.”

    “You cannot have it one day that everybody will agree that you should cut down their salaries because it is a very difficult thing to do. We will negotiate and come to a consensus with the players but if they refuse to cut down their salaries there is nothing that we(management) can do about it,“ he added.

  • Hearts of Oak set to meet players over salary cuts

    As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to affect football clubs across the globe, Ghana Premier League side, Hearts of Oak will today hold a meeting with the players on their salary structure amid the outbreak.

    There has been a talk for players to slash their salaries in order to save clubs from collapsing during these difficult times.

    Management of the team are set to put the proposal before the players at the meeting to be held today, GHANAsoccernet.com understands.

    The Professional Footballer Association of Ghana (PFAG) has advised teams to dialogue with players on the pay cut and not impose it on them.

    Most clubs in the Ghana Premier League have been hit by the Coronavirus pandemic crisis which has led to the suspension of all football activities.

  • Coronavirus donations not by force – Emmanuel Adebayor to critics

    Former Premier League striker Emmanuel Adebayor has hit back at those who have called him out for not donating money to his home country of Togo amid the global coronavirus crisis, stating that he will not be parting with his money purely because others wish him to do so.

    Football has ground to a halt across the planet in the wake of Covid-19’s rapid spread, with most countries in some state of lockdown as authorities attempt to get the virus under control and treat those who have been infected.

    With players having so much time on their hands due to a lack of matches and training while social distancing protocols are in place, many footballers have spent their time helping to raise funds or awareness for charities that directly benefit those on the front line of the fight.

    Samuel Eto’o has donated relief packages to his home nation of Cameroon, with items such as food, soaps, sanitisers and protective equipment handed out in the country’s economic capital of Douala.

    Didier Drogba, another African icon, joined Eto’o in roundly lambasting French professors for suggesting their continent should be used as a testing ground for a vaccine due to developing nations having little protection to begin with.

    The former Ivory Coast international also donated the soon-to-be-completed Laurent Pokou hospital, built by his Drogba Foundation, to his home nation’s government as a facility to screen for the disease.

    Such charitable moves prompted some to ask Adebayor what he would be doing with the wealth he has accumulated across his long career, but the former Arsenal, Manchester City, and Tottenham striker says that he is his own man and won’t be swayed by the actions or opinions of others.

    “I always do things according to the wishes of my heart and not according to the words of others,” Adebayor said in a Facebook live video.

    “I’m sorry that people compare me to Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba by asking me why I don’t have a foundation or why I don’t donate, as if I was the one who brought the coronavirus to Togo…

    “I am neither the one nor the other, I am me, Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor. A word of advice for the guys regarding donations, I will not do that. Everything is clear and very simple. Thank you and good day.”

    Source: Goal.com

  • Almost half of deaths were people in care facilities – WHO

    Almost half of all people who have died with coronavirus in Europe were residents in care facilities, the World Health Organisation’s regional director for Europe has said.

    Dr Hans Kluge told a press conference on Thursday there was a “deeply concerning picture” emerging regarding those in long-term care.

    He said: “According to estimates from countries in the European region, up to half of those who have died from Covid-19 were resident in long-term care facilities. This is an unimaginable human tragedy.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Tema Youth may not feel the impact of coronavirus pandemic – Osei Kweku Palmer

    Bankroller of Tema Youth FC, Wilfred Osei Kwaku Palmer says his outfit may not feel the impact of the coronavirus pandemic as compared to other clubs.

    The deadly virus also called COVID-19 has hit several clubs in Ghana following the suspension of all football activities until further notice.

    As a result, most clubs are struggling to pay the salaries of their players and the technical team.

    Speaking to Asempa FM in an interview, he said “We as a club may not feel the impact compared to other clubs [money effect due to coronavirus]. The supporters are going through a lot. With the betting side, how will they be able to bet on leagues now,” he said.

    “Only the league in Belarus and Uzbekistan are still active but commercially will it suit the supporters? I believe it is really affecting them.”

    He added, “The clubs are also losing gate proceeds. The government are losing taxes through these gate proceeds and clubs are not getting money through these gate proceeds. Some clubs use these proceeds to pay salaries of players unlike Kotoko and Hearts who depend on revenue from merchandizing.”

    Source: Footballghana.com

  • Peru to release 3,000 prisoners under virus amnesty

    Peru will release under amnesty about 3,000 prisoners including those who are particularly at risk from the coronavirus pandemic, the justice minister has said.

    The disease has killed at least seven inmates, and infected more than 40 in Peru’s overcrowded prisons along with 26 wardens.

    “We are going to amnesty approximately 3,000 detainees who fall into the groups vulnerable to the coronavirus,” Minister Fernando Castaneda said Wednesday on the ATV channel.

    He said the government would issue a decree on Thursday formalizing the measure.

    Among the prisoners who will benefit from the decision are pregnant women, inmates with children under the age of three, those serving sentences of less than four years, and those over the age of 70 who have not committed serious crimes.

    The amnesty also includes those with just six months left to serve and those who have conditions that increase their risk from the coronavirus.

    Last Friday, two prisoners died in a riot at a jail in northern Peru triggered by fear of the virus after the death of another inmate due to the disease.

    As of Wednesday, Peru had 19,250 coronavirus infections and 530 deaths.

    Source: France24

  • Coronavirus pandemic will cause global famines of ‘biblical proportions’ – UN warns

    The world is facing multiple famines of “biblical proportions” in just a matter of months, the UN has said, warning that the coronavirus pandemic will push an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation.

    Famines could take hold in “about three dozen countries” in a worst-case scenario, the executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a stark address on Tuesday. Ten of those countries already have more than 1 million people on the verge of starvation, he said.

    He cited conflict, an economic recession, a decline in aid and a collapse in oil prices as factors likely to lead to vast food shortages, and urged swift action to avert disaster.

    “While dealing with a COVID-19 pandemic, we are also on the brink of a hunger pandemic,” David Beasley told the UN’s security council. “There is also a real danger that more people could potentially die from the economic impact of COVID-19 than from the virus itself.”

    The WFP had already warned that 2020 would be a devastating year for numerous countries ravaged by poverty or war, with 135 million people facing crisis levels of hunger or worse. Their updated projections nearly double that number.

    When added to the 821 million people already chronically hungry, that scenario would push more than 1 billion people into dire situations.
    The agency identified 55 countries most at risk of being plunged into famine in its annual report on food crises, released this week, warning that their fragile healthcare systems will be unable to cope with the impact of the virus.

    “These countries may face an excruciating trade-off between saving lives or livelihoods or, in a worst-case scenario, saving people from the coronavirus to have them die from hunger,” the report said.

    Ten countries were singled out as particularly at-risk, after housing the worst food crises last year; Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Nigeria and Haiti.

    Most of those countries have so far been spared the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, with the epicenter moving from China to Europe to North America, but the state of their healthcare institutions means even relatively small outbreaks could be devastating. To date, more than 2.5 million cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed globally.

    Source: cnn.com

  • Coronavirus: Oil plunges for a second day on gloomy outlook

    The UK benchmark for oil has fallen by more than 10% to around $16 (£13) a barrel.

    It comes the day after the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for US oil, fell below zero for the first time ever.

    The falls are a striking illustration of just how much economic activity has slowed around the world.

    Prices have weakened sharply because of a combination of events triggered by a collapse in global demand.

    The knock-on effect has been a supply glut and a worldwide shortage of storage space for oil.

    On Tuesday energy ministers from the Opec and other major oil-producing countries held an unscheduled conference call to discuss the collapse but did not agree any new measures to cut supplies.
    Storage issues

    “This is an unprecedented demand drop. Nobody in their lifetime has seen anything like this,” said James McNally of Third Bridge Group.

    The collapse in physical demand for crude products like petrol and jet fuel has left storage hubs at capacity or, as one trader put it: “They’re close to the brim.”

    Storage at US oil hub Cushing has already grown to more than 15 million barrels in the past month – and is expected to soon be at capacity for the first time ever.

    “Coronavirus is rewriting the rules of the global economy in front of our very eyes,” said Adam Vettese, analyst at eToro.

    “With oil demand virtually non-existent, this quite amazing sell-off is almost entirely down to fears over storage.”

    Will the price of petrol fall?

    While the price of petrol is linked to the wholesale price of oil, it is driven by competition.

    That means that what motorists pay is not directly linked to crude. Instead, suppliers control the prices they sell petrol at.

    Crucially, a key factor affecting the price of fuel is that the biggest proportion of the money you hand over for a litre of petrol in the UK goes to the government in the form of tax.

    Fuel duty is charged at 57.95p per litre. On top of that, you have to pay VAT at 20% on the cost of petrol.

    Below £1 a litre?

    Could this week’s oil price turmoil see prices drift below £1 for the first time since the late 2000s?

    “In theory, petrol prices could fall below £1 per litre if the lower wholesale costs were reflected at the pumps – but at the same time, people are driving very few miles, so they’re selling vastly lower quantities of petrol and diesel at the moment,” pointed out RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams.

    This means many forecourts will be reluctant to trim their prices any further, he said.

    At the same time, he said, more price pressure on petrol could hit the viability of independent garages, which provided “a vital service in areas where the supermarkets don’t have a foothold”.

    “It would be bad news all round if these forecourts shut up shop for good.”

    Are pump prices fair?

    Since the end of March, the wholesale price of petrol has been around the 16p a litre mark, according to the AA.

    “Add fuel duty at 57.95p a litre, a generous 9p a litre supplier/retailer margin, plus VAT and the average pump price of petrol would normally be around £1 a litre,” said the AA’s fuel spokesperson Luke Bosdet.

    Instead, the average pump price is higher because the retailers say they need to charge 10p a litre more to offset the lower volumes of fuel they are selling, he pointed out.

    Journey levels are at about 40% of normal during the working week, falling to 20% by Sunday.

    This meant those who were still driving were being “overcharged on average by more than a fiver a tank”.

    “I suspect that when the lockdown comes to an end, coronavirus is beaten and driving starts to return to normal, questions will be asked about the fairness of pump prices during the great oil crash of 2020.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: UK inflation hits 1.5% as lockdown begins to bite

    The UK’s inflation rate fell to 1.5% in March, largely driven by falls in the price of clothing and fuel ahead of the coronavirus lockdown.

    The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell from 1.7% in February, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

    Clothing stores had offered more discounts as shoppers began staying at home, it said. Falling oil prices also resulted in cheaper petrol prices.

    Economists warn inflation could slide to 0.5% in 2020 as the economy shrinks.

    The ONS’s latest data was collected on 17 March, just before lockdown started on 23 March. But its head of inflation, Mike Hardie, said there were already signs people were spending less in shops and more on necessities such as food.

    The agency said the average price of clothes and shoes fell 1.2% in the year to March 2020.

    It also said average petrol prices stood at 119.4 pence per litre during the month – the lowest seen since February 2019, while diesel stood at 123.8p

    The UK benchmark for oil has fallen to about $16 (£13) a barrel as economic activity has slowed. That is a fall of about 75% since the start of the year.

    Sarah Hewin, senior economist at Standard Chartered bank, told the BBC’s Today programme: “Normally low inflation would be welcomed as it means people have effectively more to spend in the shop but these are not normal circumstances.

    “The fall in inflation, in addition to low energy prices, is an indication of the steep recession we will see in the coming months.”

    Meanwhile, Andrew Wishart at Capital Economics said: “We suspect a larger fall in CPI inflation, from 1.5% to 0.9%, is in store for April as Ofgem [the regulator] lowers the cap on utility bills to reflect past falls in wholesale energy prices.”

    He added that falling employment, consumer caution and lower energy prices could pull inflation “down to just 0.5% in the second half of this year”.
    ‘More help needed’

    CPI remains below the Bank of England’s 2% target for inflation.

    Inflation is one of the main factors that the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) considers when setting the “base rate”. That influences what interest rate banks can charge people to borrow money, or what they pay on their savings.

    In an emergency move last month, Last month it cut rates from 0.25% to 0.1% to support the economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. They are now at the lowest level in the Bank’s 325-year history.

    It also said it would increase its holdings of UK government and corporate bonds by £200bn in an effort to lower the cost of borrowing.

    But Melissa Davies, chief economist at Redburn, said the Bank needs to go further: “It will be a volatile ride for inflation over the next year, with negative numbers a possibility followed by a sharp reversal.”

    She added: “More stimulus is needed, with only limited quantitative easing help from the Bank of England and the Treasury’s lending guarantee scheme falling short. Even the furlough scheme is only delaying an inevitable and large spike in unemployment.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Digital video game spending hits record high under virus lockdown

    Spending on digital video games hit a record high $10 billion in March as people stuck at home under coronavirus lockdowns turned to gaming, market tracker SuperData reported on Thursday.

    Money spent on major console games leapt to $1.5 billion in March from $883 million in February, while spending on games played on high-performance personal computers climbed 56 percent to $567 million in the same comparison.

    Console and PC games tend to be popular in Europe and North America where restrictions on going out were ramped up in March due to the pandemic.

    “Individuals are turning to games as a reliable entertainment option during the COVID-19 crisis and are using online multiplayer to keep in touch with others,” SuperData said in a blog post.

    Overall revenue from digital video games for the month was up 11 percent year-on-year, according to the industry tracker.

    Nintendo sold five million copies of its family friendly “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” in March, setting a sales record for the most units of a digital console game sold in a single month, SuperData said.

    The closing of real-world stores due to the pandemic was cited as a factor in gamers purchasing more titles as digital downloads.

    Spending rose 15 percent on mobile games, a lot of them played on smartphones, reaching $5.7 billion in March, SuperData reported.

    Among other leading titles, “Pokemon Go” saw revenue for the mobile game grow 18 percent in March after maker Niantic modified features to make it easier to play without needing to be out and about, according to SuperData.

    New-generation Xbox and PlayStation consoles along with games tailored for the hardware are expected to launch by the end of this year.

    Microsoft has unveiled a name and look for its new gaming console, the Xbox Series X.

    Meanwhile, Sony is readying a powerful PlayStation 5 for market.

    Consoles face a potential threat from the advent of cloud gaming, however.

    Google early this month made its Stadia online video game service free to provide an escape for those hunkered down at home because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Launched late last year, Stadia is crafted to let people access console-quality games as easily as they do email on an array of internet-linked devices.

    “Keeping social distance is vital, but staying home for long periods can be difficult and feel isolating,” Stadia vide president Phil Harrison said in an online post.

    “Video games can be a valuable way to socialize with friends and family when you’re stuck at home.”

    Google is offering free access to Stadia for two months.

    Source: France24

  • UN chief warns that coronavirus poses a risk to human rights

    U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic is “a human crisis that is fast becoming a human rights crisis.”

    The U.N. chief said in a video message that there is discrimination in the delivery of public services to tackle COVID-19 and there are “structural inequalities that impede access to them.”

    Guterres said the pandemic has also seen “disproportionate effects on certain communities, the rise of hate speech, the targeting of vulnerable groups, and the risks of heavy-handed security responses undermining the health response.”

    He warned that with “rising ethno-nationalism, populism, authoritarianism and a push back against human rights in some countries, the crisis can provide a pretext to adopt repressive measures for purposes unrelated to the pandemic.”

    In February, Guterres issued a call to action to countries, businesses and people to help renew and revive human rights across the globe, laying out a seven-point plan amid concerns about climate change, conflict and repression.

    “As I said then, human rights cannot be an afterthought in times of crisis — and we now face the biggest international crisis in generations,” he said.

    The secretary-general said he was releasing a report Thursday on how human rights must guide the response to the virus and recovery from the pandemic. Neither he nor the report name any countries or parties responsible for human rights violations.

    Guterres said governments must be “transparent, responsive and accountable,” and stressed that press freedom, civil society organizations, the private sector and “civic space” are essential.

    The report said governments also need to take action to mitigate the worst impacts of COVID-19 on jobs, livelihoods, access to basic services and family life.

    Guterres said any emergency measures — including states of emergency — must be “legal, proportionate, necessary and non-discriminatory, have a specific focus and duration, and take the least intrusive approach possible to protect public health.”

    “Emergency powers may be needed but broad executive powers, swiftly granted with minimal oversight, carry risks,” the report warned. “Heavy-handed security responses undermine the health response and can exacerbate existing threats to peace and security or create new ones.”

    The report said the best response is proportionate to the immediate threat and protects human rights.

    “The message is clear: People, and their rights, must be front and center,” Guterres said.

    Source: France24

  • Peru to release 3,000 prisoners under virus amnesty

    Peru will release under amnesty about 3,000 prisoners including those who are particularly at risk from the Coronavirus pandemic, the justice minister has said.

    The disease has killed at least seven inmates, and infected more than 40 in Peru’s overcrowded prisons along with 26 wardens.

    “We are going to amnesty approximately 3,000 detainees who fall into the groups vulnerable to the coronavirus,” Minister Fernando Castaneda said Wednesday on the ATV channel.

    He said the government would issue a decree on Thursday formalizing the measure.

    Among the prisoners who will benefit from the decision are pregnant women, inmates with children under the age of three, those serving sentences of less than four years, and those over the age of 70 who have not committed serious crimes.

    The amnesty also includes those with just six months left to serve and those who have conditions that increase their risk from the coronavirus.

    Last Friday, two prisoners died in a riot at a jail in northern Peru triggered by fear of the virus after the death of another inmate due to the disease.

    As of Wednesday, Peru had 19,250 coronavirus infections and 530 deaths.

    Source: AFP

  • Coronavirus: World risks ‘biblical’ famines due to pandemic – UN

    The world is at risk of widespread famines “of biblical proportions” caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the UN has warned.

    David Beasley, head of the World Food Programme (WFP), said urgent action was needed to avoid a catastrophe.

    A report estimates that the number suffering from hunger could go from 135 million to more than 250 million.

    Those most at risk are in 10 countries affected by conflict, economic crisis and climate change, the WFP says.

    The fourth annual Global Report on Food Crises highlights Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Nigeria and Haiti.

    In South Sudan, 61% of the population was affected by food crisis last year, the report says.

    Even before the pandemic hit, parts of East Africa and South Asia were already facing severe food shortages caused by drought and the worst locust infestations for decades.

    Addressing the UN Security Council during a video conference, Mr Beasley said the world had to “act wisely and act fast”.

    “We could be facing multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months,” he said. “The truth is we do not have time on our side.”

    In a call to action, he added: “I do believe that with our expertise and our partnerships, we can bring together the teams and the programmes necessary to make certain the Covid-19 pandemic does not become a human and food crisis catastrophe.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Wakaso trains with ‘big bro’ Sulley Muntari

    With the footballing world being plunged down into darkness and sport in general across the globe being postponed until further notice due to the coronavirus outbreak, players and fans alike have been forced into isolation.

    But even though footballers are not allowed to play football, they are still trying to keep in shape as best as they can and the same goes for Mubarak Wakaso and former Ghana international Sulley Muntari.

    Wakaso has been in the country for quite sometime as the start of the Chinese Super League has been delayed amid the coronavirus crisis.

    The Jiangsu Suning midfielder has however been keeping himself fit during the turbulent period as he shared a photo of himself and Sulley Muntari relaxing after a morning workout.

    The 30-year-old defensive midfielder signed a three year contract with Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning after his two-and-a-half-year spell in the Spanish La Liga with Alaves.

    Meanwhile, Muntari is currently without a club after leaving Spanish outfit Albacete in 2019.

    Source: GHANAsoccernet.com

  • Kenya hunts those filmed fleeing coronavirus quarantine centre

    Kenyans filmed escaping from a coronavirus quarantine centre will be hunted down and sent back there, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said.

    “We know you and we will find you,” he said, adding that the escapees were putting the lives of others at risk.

    The warning came after a video clip went viral showing several people scaling a wall to flee a quarantine centre in the capital, Nairobi.

    Those in forced quarantine have been complaining about poor conditions.

    They say some centres are not much better than prisons, with poor hygiene and complaints that social distancing is impossible because of overcrowding.

    Others are angered about having to pay for their confinement, which costs between 20 (£16) and $100 a night – depending on the centre.

    Hostels at schools and universities as well as hotels have been used to hold those put into quarantine for an initial 14-day period – though this has been extended twice at some centres.

    More than 400 people are currently in quarantine. They include people who arrived in the East African country from areas affected by the virus before it closed its borders and those found to have been in contact with a coronavirus patient.

    It is not clear how many individuals escaped from quarantine at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) but some reports put the number at 50.

    The breakout took place on Tuesday as a meal was being served. The centre’s residents had a chance to escape when it started to rain and the guards took cover, Kenya’s Citizen TV station reports.

    The Daily Nation newspaper tweeted a video, showing some people jumping over a wall:

    According to the paper, the KMTC centre has more than 200 people in quarantine – held as a consequence of contact tracing or after being arrested for flouting the curfew and social distancing rules.

    The country has not gone into lockdown, but has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew and a ban on travel to or from Nairobi and several other areas considered hotspots for transmission.

    Ramadan plea

    During a radio interview in Swahili on Wednesday morning, President Kenyatta urged Kenyans to take the restrictions seriously.

    “For the safety of your family, and your loved ones, do what is necessary to protect them. Stay away. Do not put people at risk because you do not think it is serious,” he is quoted as saying.

    He said that by the weekend, as many as 2,000 people a day would be tested for coronavirus, the Daily Nations reports.

    The president also ruled out relaxing the curfew during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which begins at the end of the week and when there are usually gatherings after dusk to breakfast.

    “We told Christians during Easter that you cannot mark this day… We respect all religions but we have said that let us all celebrate and mark these religious days in our homes, on radio and on television,” the Daily Nations quoted Mr Kenyatta as saying.

    “I ask our Muslim brothers and sisters to mark the holy month of Ramadhan like they have not done before because these are extraordinary times.”

    Kenya has recorded 296 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus, including 14 deaths.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Thousands detained in Morocco for lockdown violations

    Police in Morocco have arrested more than 3,000 people in the past 24 hours for breaking restrictions imposed to combat coronavirus.

    The Moroccan state news agency says half have been placed in custody while their cases are investigated.

    More than 50,000 people have been arrested in the country since a nationwide lockdown was introduced in mid-March and wearing a mask outside the home became compulsory.

    There are 3,377 confirmed coronavirus cases in Morocco, making it the third worst-hit country on the continent.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Nigeria coronavirus: Cases reach 782, Buhari wants prisons decongested

    117 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported by close of day April 21 according to NCDC tallies. Of the figure, 59 in Lagos, 29 in FCT and 14 in Kano.

    6 in Borno, 4 in Katsina, 3 in Ogun and one each in Rivers and Bauchi States. “As at 11:25 pm 21st April there are 782 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria,” NCDC said in a tweet. Discharged tally stood at 197 with 25 deaths.

    President Buhari has meanwhile written to the chief justice asking that certain categories of cases be expedited to allow for decongestion of prisons in the light of the danger congestion presents amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The presidency on Tuesday issued a statement that quoted the president as saying: “From available records, the inmates population at various custodial centres across the country presently stands at about 74,127 out of which 52,226 are Awaiting Trial Persons (ATPs).

    “Most of these custodial centres are presently housing inmates beyond their capacities and the overcrowded facilities pose a potent threat to the health of the inmates and the public in general in view of the present circumstances, hence the need for urgent steps to bring the situation under control.

    “It has become imperative for Your Lordship to request State Chief Judges to embark on immediate visit to all custodial/correctional centres within their respective States to identify and release deserving inmates where that has not been done already.”

    He also suggested to the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria to “at this stage, consider taking immediate steps as appropriate to ensure the setting up or designation of Special Courts in all States, including the FCT, to try cases of armed robbery, banditry, kidnapping and other serious offences, in order to facilitate speedy trials.”

    “There is the need to ensure that the Chief Judges of States and FCT High Courts direct lower courts to comply with requirements of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act/Law in issuing remand warrants in criminal cases especially in cases which are not within their jurisdiction.”

    Source: africanews.com

  • South Africa to deploy 70,000 more troops to enforce lockdown

    More than 70,000 extra troops will be deployed in South Africa to help enforce a lockdown intended to stop the spread of conronavirus, national broadcaster SABC says.

    Opposition leader John Steenhusien has tweeted a letter that President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote to parliament saying that he had decided to deploy an extra 73,180 soldiers because of an increase in reported cases across the country.

    Initially, the president had approved the deployment of just under 3,000 soldiers to assist in the implementation of a strict lockdown.

    Jogging, dog walking and alcohol sales have all been banned. But security officers have found it hard in some places to enforce the measures.

    Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula confirmed the letter’s details on local radio, the AFP news agency reports.

    “If you look at the numbers and the rate at which the infection has gone up, you will realise that at some point we may actually need the kind of human deployment which has never been seen before,” AFP quotes her as saying.

    There are 3,465 confirmed coronavirus case in South Africa and there have been 58 deaths.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Ex-Hearts coach Kim Grant to decide next move after coronavirus

    Former coach of Hearts of Oak, Kim Grant says he will decide his next move when football resumes after the coronavirus.

    The former Ghana international has disclosed that there are offers on the table, but he is yet to make a decision on his next destination.

    Grant is currently in England after he was sacked by Hearts of Oak after just three match days this season.

    “I’ve had a lot of offers before leaving Ghana but will decide where to go after the Covid-19,” he told Sikka Sports.

    The 47-year old believes his works at Hearts of Oak has made the club attractive, helping the team sign some good players.

    “The fantastic job I did at Hearts of Oak made the club attractive and that why every player wants to play for the club,” he added.

    The Ghana Premier League has been halted because of the outbreak of the coronavirus which has claimed nine lives in the West African nation.

    The return of the top flight is unknown, however a three week lockdown has been lifted allowing activities to return to normal but there is still a ban on all sporting activities in Ghana

    Source: GHANAsoccernet.com

  • Former Hearts coach Kim Grant to decide next move after coronavirus

    Former coach of Hearts of Oak, Kim Grant says he will decide his next move when football resumes after the coronavirus.

    The former Ghana international has disclosed that there are offers on the table, but he is yet to make a decision on his next destination.

    Grant is currently in England after he was sacked by Hearts of Oak after just three match days this season.

    “I’ve had a lot of offers before leaving Ghana but will decide where to go after the Covid-19,” he told Sikka Sports.

    The 47-year old believes his works at Hearts of Oak has made the club attractive, helping the team sign some good players.

    “The fantastic job I did at Hearts of Oak made the club attractive and that why every player wants to play for the club,” he added.

    The Ghana Premier League has been halted because of the outbreak of the coronavirus which has claimed nine lives in the West African nation.

    The return of the top flight is unknown, however, a three-week lockdown has been lifted allowing activities to return to normal but there is still a ban on all sporting activities in Ghana.

    Source: GHANAsoccernet.com

  • First virus case in Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp – UN

    A Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon has been put on lockdown after the UN announced the first confirmed case of coronavirus in one of the country’s numerous and crowded camps.

    The patient, a Palestinian refugee from Syria, has been taken to the state-run Rafic Hariri hospital in Beirut, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said in a statement late Tuesday.

    Medical experts were due to visit the Wavel camp in the eastern Bekaa Valley later on Wednesday to carry out tests, the agency added.

    The testing will focus on the woman’s relatives and people she has interacted with, as well as 50 others chosen arbitrarily “inside the camp and its surroundings,” said Lebanon’s official National News Agency.

    In coordination with Lebanese security forces, Palestinian factions in charge of security have imposed a lockdown on the camp, preventing anyone from entering or leaving, the NNA report said.

    The United Nations and aid groups have repeatedly warned that refugees and migrants in crowded camps worldwide are at special risk of the new coronavirus.

    More than 70 million people globally been forced by conflict, persecution, violence and abuses to flee their homes, including more than 20 million people living as refugees, according to UN data.

    Weak sanitation, cramped conditions

    More than 2,000 people live in Wavel, according to statistics released by Lebanon’s government after a 2017 census, but the UN agency says the population of those registered in the camp are much higher.

    Aid groups have warned that hundreds of thousands of Palestinian and Syrian refugees living in Lebanon’s overcrowded camps are the most vulnerable and that self-isolating patients in the camps where sanitation is weak would be one of the top challenges.

    “The main concern remains… the spread of coronavirus in the overcrowded Palestine refugee camps where there are very limited possibilities for home isolation,” an UNRWA spokeswoman said earlier this month.

    More than 174,000 Palestinians live in Lebanon, according to official figures, with most residing in camps ruled by Palestinian factions beyond the reach of Lebanese security forces.

    But unofficial estimates say the Palestinians, whose forefathers fled the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, could number as many as 500,000.

    And out of the 1.5 million Syrians Lebanon says it hosts since the civil war broke out in the neighbouring country nine years ago, nearly one million are registered with the UN as refugees.

    So far just one Palestinian, who lives outside a camp, and three Syrians have tested positive in Lebanon for COVID-19 compared to 677 infections and 21 deaths across the country, according to officials.

    Source: France24

  • 34 crew have virus on cruise ship docked for repairs in Japan

    At least 34 crew members aboard a cruise ship docked in the Japanese city of Nagasaki have tested positive for Coronavirus, local authorities said on Wednesday.

    The Costa Atlantica first arrived in Nagasaki in January to undergo repairs, with top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga saying roughly 600 crew are on board.

    Over the weekend, the ship’s operator contacted local authorities seeking help to test suspected cases on board.

    An initial four tests carried out on the ship revealed a first infection on Monday, with additional testing among 57 crew finding a total of 34 cases by Wednesday.

    “Many infections have been confirmed on the ship,” Nagasaki governor Hodo Nakamura told reporters on Wednesday.

    “We hope that they will be able to go home in full health as soon as possible. We are asking the national government for help.”

    Nakamura said those infected and other crew members remain on the vessel, adding that its Italian operator has told local officials that crew members are self-isolating.

    But at least 130 are on duty to maintain the ship’s basic functions, Nagasaki officials added.

    Japanese officials have not yet been on board, with testing carried out by medical personnel among the ship’s crew using kits supplied by local medical facilities.

    More planning time, equipment and trained personnel were required before they could board the ship, officials said.

    The prospect of a big infection cluster on the ship comes months after Japan dealt with a massive outbreak on the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship that docked in Yokohama after a former passenger tested positive.

    Japanese officials opted to carry out a much-criticised onboard quarantine that they argued would limit infections, but more than 700 people ultimately contracted the virus and 13 died.

    – More testing expected –

    Nagasaki officials said no one on board the Costa Atlantica was believed to be in serious condition so far.

    Some are believed to have moved around inside Nagasaki city in recent weeks, including those returned home and new crews joining the ship.

    “We have not yet decided exactly how many and how we will administer PCR tests (to detect the infections),” said Katsumi Nakata, chief of the regional government’s health and welfare department.

    “We have to be careful and do it gradually. We have to be fully protected (to take samples from crew members) when we have so many people.”

    Local officials, citing limited resources, said they may seek help from neighbouring regions if many crew members become severely ill and require hospitalisation.

    Motoi Suzuki of Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases said it was “unrealistic” to test the entire crew at once and called for calm.

    Overall, Japan has seen a relatively small outbreak compared to parts of Europe or the United States, with around 11,500 infections and 277 deaths recorded so far.

    But a recent jump in infections has caused concern, put pressure on local healthcare facilities and prompted the government to declare a month-long state of emergency that will run until May 6.

    Source: AFP

  • Brazil using soccer stadiums in fight against coronavirus

    With 40,581 confirmed cases and 2,575 deaths, Brazil is facing the coronavirus crisis with a health system on the brink of collapse.

    For this reason, the construction of field hospitals has been stepped up.

    Even in a country that is a five-time world champion, sacred soccer temples are becoming large-capacity medical complexes to exclusively receive the COVID-19 infected.

    On April 1, when the pandemic was already part of the daily lives of Brazilians, a 200-bed field hospital was opened in Paulo Machado de Carvalho Stadium, better known as Pacaembu, located in the central region of Sao Paulo.

    The Pacaembu, inaugurated on April 27, 1940, served as the setting for the best days of Pelé. “El Rey” is, until today, the top scorer that has played in this field, with a record of 115 goals in 119 games.

    In addition, it has already hosted five World Cup games in 1950 and three Copa Libertadores finals among various definitions of national and state championships.

    “I am from Guapiara, in the interior of Sao Paulo, and I came to this city last year to work. I always dreamed of knowing this stadium, although I never imagined that it would be under these conditions,” said Edivaldo Lopes dos Santos, who was provisionally hired by the logistics team that operates Pacaembu during the emergency.

    “I love football, I’m a fan of Palmeiras, and here my team played a lot. But today, we are talking about another situation, something more serious,” said the 37-year-old employee, who currently performs electrical maintenance and other tasks.

    Beyond the precautions taken, contact is inevitable between the people who work as managers of health and maintenance of the place.

    “The fear of the contagion is always there, although we all work with masks and try to be apart. But you have to keep going because many sick people are helped here.”

    In the Pacaembu, which was privatized a little over a year ago, two large tents of 6,000 square meters were installed on the lawn.

    “The people who arrive at the Pacaembu are cases of low complexity. They stay there for about 10 days and, once stabilized, they return home,” explained Bruno Covas, the mayor of Sao Paulo.

    Those patients whose cases worsen will be referred to hospitals. Albert Einstein Hospital, one of the most prestigious institutions in Sao Paulo, is in charge of the tasks in the Pacaembu.

    In Sao Paulo, there are 14,580 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 1,037 deaths so far, making it the state with the highest number of infections in Brazil.

    Maracana, a mythical scenario

    The Maracana is the most famous stadium in Brazil and one of the mythical stages of world football where Uruguay was consecrated after the famous “Maracanazo” and Germany beat Messi’s Argentina in World Cup Finals in 1950 and 2014 respectively.

    Work at the Maracana began on March 31, and according to the state government, the field hospital with 400 beds available will be inaugurated on April 30.

    The difference with Pacaembu is that the field hospital will not be built on the Maracana grass, where Flamengo and Fluminense, the local clubs, played their matches every weekend. The provisional structure is being assembled where the Celio De Barros athletics track used to be.

    In addition to the Maracana headquarters, another eight field hospitals are being built in the state of Rio de Janeiro, the second most affected region in Brazil behind Sao Paulo, with 4,899 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 422 deaths.

    One of these provisional units will be settled at the abandoned facilities of the 2016 Olympic Games, exactly in Riocentro, Barra da Tijuca, where the table tennis matches were played.

    In total, these nine campaign structures will offer 2,300 beds in mid-May.

    Not only large stadiums in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro were transformed into emergency venues. In Salvador de Bahia, the renovated Arena Fonte Nova, which hosted World Cup games in 2014, is almost ready to house 240 beds dedicated to patients with the coronavirus.

    “The structural renovation of the Fonte Nova Arena is almost ready. The state of Bahia has been innovative because here we have a better-planned architecture. We do not use the grass, but the stadium facilities,” said Tereza Paim, undersecretary of Health in Salvador de Bahia, located in the Brazilian northeast.

    The Arena Fonte Nova, used by the Esporte Clube Bahia team, also ceded its facilities in Lauro de Freitas in the metropolitan region of the city of Salvador. There, the Fazendao hospital was built with 44 beds available.

    Last Saturday, the Presidente Vargas Stadium in Fortaleza received the first 50 patients of low and medium complexity.

    Around 336 beds, including a block for the treatment of patients in intensive care, will be put in this stadium.

    In Boavista, the capital of the state of Roraima, northern Brazil, the Flamarion Vasconcelos Stadium received 120 beds from the General Hospital. There, however, only suspicious cases of COVID-19 will be handled.

    Sao Paulo, Santos, Corintios, Palmeiras (in the state of Sao Paulo), Botafogo (in Rio de Janeiro), Atletico Mineiro (Minas Gerais), Goias (Goiania) and Athletico Paranaense (Parana) have already offered their facilities to fight the pandemic

    Source: www.aa.com.tr

  • Coronavirus: Oil price falls to 18-year low as turmoil persists

    The price of a barrel of Brent Crude – the UK benchmark for oil – has slipped below $20, its lowest level since 2002.

    The close to 20% slump follows negative prices being recorded for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for US oil.

    Negative oil prices on Monday were a “quirk”, says one market expert.

    The price of US oil – which slumped to minus $37 a barrel at one point – was produced by a trading deadline and is now back to a positive figure.

    “Yesterday’s price action is best understood as a quirk or peculiarity of futures trading,” said analyst James Trafford of Fidelity International.

    He reckons the unprecedented price movement confirms that near-term demand is very weak.

    “But it isn’t cataclysmic,” he said. “We don’t see negative oil prices as a new normal, going forward.”

    Oil prices have weakened sharply because of a combination of oversupply and a collapse in global demand due to the decline in economic activity caused by coronavirus lockdown measures.

    What happened?

    The price of oil that we see reported is actually the future price of oil. Futures essentially contract to deliver the physical commodity at a later date.

    So when we look at oil prices, we are actually seeing the market price for future months.

    As the delivery date approaches, these contracts need to be rolled over to the subsequent period.

    The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for US oil, fell into negative territory for the first time in history on Monday.

    But that only related to the May contract, which was about to expire.

    Traders holding the contract were unable to find buyers, because no one with the ability to take delivery wanted it.

    “Nobody wants to take delivery of oil next month because there’s nowhere to store it, so the price dropped below zero,” explained Rachel Winter, associate investment director at Killik & Co.

    Storage issues

    The collapse in physical demand for crude products like petrol and jet fuel has left storage hubs at capacity or, as one trader put it: “They’re close to the brim.”

    Storage at US oil hub Cushing has already grown to more than 15 million barrels in the past month – and is expected to soon be at capacity for the first time ever.

    “Coronavirus is rewriting the rules of the global economy in front of our very eyes,” said Adam Vettese, an analyst at eToro.

    “With oil demand virtually non-existent, this quite amazing sell-off is almost entirely down to fears over storage.”

    Paying for extra storage for all that unwanted oil means extra costs for producers and traders.

    “Storage constraints are not going away any time soon unless you get a pick-up in demand,” pointed out Neil Wilson of Markets.com.

    Does that mean oil prices will fall further?

    “Oil prices and associated equities in the sector will remain broadly weak over the near term,” predicted James Trafford.

    He said the supply cuts recently agreed by the Opec group of oil-producing economies were not likely to be sufficient to balance the market any time soon.

    Opec is believed to be looking to cut oil output immediately, rather than waiting until next month, to ease the pressure on price.

    “The kind of dislocation witnessed on Monday, however much some may downplay it, points to a fundamental problem in oil markets, namely a lack of storage capacity and demand,” said Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at Markets.com.

    “But it also shows the market trying to do its job, forcing the price down enough to shut production.”

    Artur Baluszynski, head of research at Henderson Rowe, agreed that the effect was temporary, but warned of its implications.

    “While Monday’s negative WTI futures price might have been a one-off glitch, it does confirm there is trouble ahead,” he said.

    “The COVID-19 crisis is destroying the global demand for energy and without a timeline on the end of the lockdown in the developed world, the market is suffering from chronic oversupply.”

    Will the price of petrol fall?

    While the price of petrol is linked to the wholesale price of oil, it is driven by competition.

    That means that what motorists pay is not directly linked to crude. Instead, suppliers control the prices they sell petrol at.

    So you won’t see the wild fluctuation in pump prices that we’ve seen in oil in recent weeks.

    Crucially, a key factor affecting the price of fuel is that the biggest proportion of the money you hand over for a litre of petrol in the UK goes to the government in the form of tax.

    Fuel duty is charged at 57.95p per litre. On top of that, you have to pay VAT at 20% on the cost of petrol.

    So there’s little scope for further reducing the pump price of petrol.

    Below £1 a litre?

    Competition has driven the price of petrol down close to £1 in recent weeks at some supermarkets, where prices tend to be lowest.

    Could this week’s oil price turmoil see prices drift below £1 for the first time since the late 2000s?

    “In theory, petrol prices could fall below £1 per litre if the lower wholesale costs were reflected at the pumps – but at the same time, people are driving very few miles, so they’re selling vastly lower quantities of petrol and diesel at the moment,” pointed out RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams.

    This means many forecourts will be reluctant to trim their prices any further, he said.

    At the same time, more price pressure on petrol could hit the viability of independent garages, he warned.

    “We continue to be concerned about smaller forecourts that provide a vital service in areas where the supermarkets don’t have a foothold, as many are already finding conditions tough with sales having fallen off a cliff since lockdown.

    “It would be bad news all round if these forecourts shut up shop for good.”

    Are pump prices fair?

    Since the end of March, the wholesale price of petrol has been around the 16p a litre mark, according to the AA.

    “Add fuel duty at 57.95p a litre, a generous 9p a litre supplier/retailer margin, plus VAT and the average pump price of petrol would normally be around £1 a litre,” said the AA’s fuel spokesperson Luke Bosdet.

    Instead the average pump price is higher because the retailers say they need to charge 10p a litre more to offset the lower volumes of fuel they are selling, he pointed out.

    Journey levels are at around 40% of the normal during the working week, falling to 20% by Sunday.

    “That means that some drivers, such as NHS and other essential workers, are using their cars and being overcharged on average by more than a fiver a tank,” Mr Bosdet said.

    “I suspect that when the lockdown comes to an end, coronavirus is beaten and driving starts to return to normal, questions will be asked about the fairness of pump prices during the great oil crash of 2020.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: Best option now is to make wearing of nose masks mandatory – Dr Yankson

    Dr. Justice Yankson General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), says Ghana has gotten to a point where the wearing of nose mask must be made mandatory.

    The GMA believes that this one of the surest ways to ensure COVID-19 does not spread now that the President has lifted the restriction of movement of persons in Accra and Kumasi.

    Even though the partial lockdown of Accra and Kumasi has been lifted, President Akufo-Addo has advised that everyone puts on a nose mask and observe social distancing.

    Dr Yankson says the rate at which people have begun flooding town it is will be in the interest of the authorities to make the wearing of the mask mandatory.

    “On the cloth face masks, once it is produced under the guidelines, it should be good to wear it. We think it should be mandatory for everyone to wear a mask, there are projections of having a higher number of cases in the future, but projections are not certainty, we can work towards that by preventing ourselves”

    The GMA has called for the redeployment of police and military personnel to enforce the wearing of mask and social distancing protocol.

    The Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei-Mensah said they had a meeting with the regional security council and have agreed to enforce the wearing of the mask, he said residents who are seen in town without the mask will be sent back home.

    Ever since President Akufo-Addo announced the decision to lift the lockdown, there has been mixed reactions as some believe it is a good decision which will ease the financial burden on them.

    Others also think this could have a negative effect on many as it could aid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

    Ghana’s case count as of April 19, 2020, was 1,042 with 9 deaths and 99 recoveries.

     

    Source: primenewsghana.com

  • Coronavirus second wave may be even worse – US health chief

    A second wave of the novel coronavirus in the US could be even more destructive because it will likely collide with the beginning of flu season, one of the country’s top health officials said Tuesday.

    Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), called on Americans to use the coming months to prepare and get their flu shots.

    “There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,” he was quoted as saying in an interview with the Washington Post published late Tuesday.

    “We’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time,” he said.

    The US has recorded more than 800,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University, with 44,845 deaths; the most reported of any country.

    Billions of people around the world have been ordered to stay at home in recent months as governments try to prevent the highly contagious coronavirus from overwhelming healthcare systems.

    The US, like other countries, has scrambled to secure enough ventilators and personal protection equipment for medical staff while the death toll mounts.

    Redfield said the virus arrived in the US just as regular flu season, which itself can strain healthcare systems was waning.

    If the two diseases had peaked at the same time, he told the Post, “it could have been really, really, really, really difficult” for health systems to cope.

    Getting a flu shot ahead of next flu season, he said, “may allow there to be a hospital bed available for your mother or grandmother that may get coronavirus”.

    Source: France24

  • Coronavirus: Johnson speaks to Trump as recovery continues

    Boris Johnson has spoken on the phone to US President Donald Trump, as his recovery from coronavirus continues.

    The prime minister, who is recuperating at his official country residence, is also expected to speak to the Queen by phone this week.

    Downing Street said Mr. Johnson is currently not doing any formal government work but is receiving updates from senior colleagues.

    No 10 said he had thanked Mr. Trump for his good wishes whilst he was unwell.

    A spokesperson added the pair had discussed UK-US cooperation in the fight against the virus and agreed on the importance of a “coordinated international response”.

    Earlier No 10 said Mr. Johnson has spoken to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has been deputising for him for the past two weeks, and “senior members of his team”.

    Downing Street also said Mr Johnson – who spent nearly a week in the hospital and three nights in intensive care – was “continuing his recovery” at Chequers, his country retreat in Buckinghamshire.

    After he was discharged from hospital on 12 April, Mr Johnson – who received oxygen treatment to help his breathing during his stay – praised NHS staff, saying it “could have gone either way”.

    His fiancée Carrie Symonds, who is expecting their first child, said she had been through some “very dark times”.

    The prime minister is not performing any official engagements at the moment and Mr Raab is expected to stand in for him at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday – the first since the Easter recess.

    The PM last chaired the government’s daily virus briefing on 26 March, testing positive for the virus later that evening.

    The PM’s anticipated phone conversation with the Queen would be the first for three weeks, No 10 said. Their traditional weekly face-to-face meeting has not taken place since early last month.

    The Queen, who celebrated her 94th birthday on Tuesday, is currently in residence at Windsor Castle, having moved there from Buckingham Palace in the middle of March.

    Source: reuters.com

  • Spurs stars Aurier, Sissoko flout social distancing advice

    Tottenham will speak to Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko after the Premier League stars flouted government guidelines on social distancing during the coronavirus.

    Ivory Coast defender Aurier posted a video of himself training with Tottenham team-mate Sissoko on Instagram on Tuesday.

    The 27-year-old, who was wearing a mask, has since deleted the videos, which showed him running shuttles and sitting next to France midfielder Sissoko, disregarding the current social distancing advice.

    Aurier and Sissoko are the latest high-profile figures at Tottenham to ignore the guidelines while Britain is on lockdown due to the pandemic.

    Just two weeks ago, Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho was pictured holding a one-on-one training session in north London with French midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.

    Mourinho was forced to admit his mistake, saying his “actions were not in line with government protocol”.

    On the same day, Tottenham duo Ryan Sessegnon and Davison Sanchez were filmed running side-by-side, while Aurier has also posted a separate video of him running with a friend.

    Government guidelines say you can only exercise outdoors on your own or with members of the same household.

    “We shall be speaking to both players involved,” a Tottenham spokesman said.

    Source: AFP

  • Mexico raises health emergency level as virus cases mount

    Mexico raised its health emergency level following a rapid increase in novel coronavirus cases and fears the health system could collapse, the government said on Tuesday.

    Health Undersecretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell said the country was moving to “phase three” of its response to the deadly pandemic after noting that “we’re in a phase of rapid increase, where we’re accumulating a large number of infections (and) hospital admissions.”

    The government has suspended all non-essential economic activity until May 30 and asked people to stay at home and observe social distancing, although it has not enforced a mandatory quarantine.

    By Monday, Mexico had recorded close to 8,800 cases and 712 deaths from COVID-19. The government expects the peak of infections to hit between May 8 and 10.

    Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been widely criticized for his response to the pandemic, taking much longer than other countries in the region to impose containment measures.

    Last month, Human Rights Watch accused Lopez Obrador of setting a “profoundly dangerous example that threatens Mexicans’ health” by flouting social distancing guidelines and continuing to hold rallies and greet supporters with handshakes and hugs.

    “This epidemic is accelerating, which means there is an increasing number of cases every day and that also applies to geographical spread,” said Lopez-Gatell, who accompanied Lopez Obrador at the president’s daily press briefing.

    Areas that keep down the spread of the coronavirus will be allowed to lift social distancing measures on May 17, the health ministry said.

    Source: AFP

  • UK has funneled 6 billion pounds to small firms via coronavirus grants – Ministry

    Small companies in Britain have received 6.1 billion pounds of a total 12 billion pounds available in emergency grants to help them withstand the coronavirus crisis, a finance ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

    Nearly 500,000 companies have so far received grants which are worth either 10,000 pounds or 25,000 pounds and do not have to be repaid to the government.

    The grant plan was announced last month as part of a string of measures rushed out by finance minister Rishi Sunak.

    He has faced criticism that too few loans have been made to small firms as part of a 330 billion-pound program of state-backed credit.

    Sunak said on Monday that banks had approved 12,000 loans under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, up from just over 6,000 as of April 14.

    The government has also pledged to pay 80% of the salaries of workers who are temporarily laid off among other measures.

    Source: reuters.com

  • 3-year-old toddler beats coronavirus

    A 3-year-old toddler in Turkey has beaten the novel coronavirus.

    He was discharged from hospital on Tuesday in the southern province of Hatay after 15 days of treatment.

    He was admitted to Hatay Mustafa Kemal Research and Training University Hospital with symptoms of high fever and cough.

    Dr. Cigdem El at the Department of Child Health and Diseases told Anadolu Agency: “Turkey is an example to the world with its measures and research in efforts to stem COVID-19.”

    El, without disclosing the identity of the survivor, said the toddler “initially had respiratory problems”.

    “Our young patient initially had respiratory problems. He was in need of a ventilator for three days but responded to our treatments very quickly,” said El.

    She further added that the family members of the young patient tested negative for coronavirus.

    The hospital will continue monitoring the child for four weeks, said El.

    Meanwhile, the family was overjoyed to meet their child for the first time after 15 days of treatment.

    “We were deeply saddened after his COVID-19 tests came out as positive. Thankfully, our child is now healthy. We have also received training on measures to take [against the virus],” said the toddler’s father.

    Turkey has so far registered nearly 91,000 Coronavirus cases whereas the death toll is currently 2,100. More than 13,400 people have fully recovered from the disease, and 1,909 people are receiving treatment at intensive care units.

    The virus has spread to at least 185 countries and regions since emerging in Wuhan, China last December, with the U.S. and Europe now the hardest-hit areas.

    More than 2.47 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the death toll over 170,300 and more than 652,000 recoveries, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

    Source: www.aa.com.tr

  • Czechs to test 27,000 people to gauge coronavirus antibodies

    The Czech Republic will test 27,000 people for coronavirus antibodies to gain information on how many came into contact with the infection, officials said on Tuesday.

    The study, wider than others made in European countries and the United States in recent weeks, will start on Wednesday and involve all age groups.

    Four regions were picked, from areas that were little affected by the virus to ones highly affected, Institute of Health Information and Statistics Director Ladislav Dusek said.

    Results, expected in early May, should give the government a clearer view of how many asymptomatic cases there may have been and help decision-making on further steps.

    “For us, this study will be an important lead. The higher the rate the more positive the situation will be in this respect,” Health Minister Adam Vojtech told a news conference.

    The pandemic has been less severe in the Czech Republic, a country of 10.7 million, than most west European countries after the early adoption of strict measures such as shop and school closures, a ban on most foreign travel and the mandatory use of face masks in public.

    The government has been under pressure to accelerate easing the measures.

    Unlike tests to identify current infections, the study will use rapid tests for antibodies, which show whether people have been infected in the past. People who test positive will be offered a swab test to find out whether they are still carrying the virus.

    Deputy Health Minister Roman Prymula said he expected the study to show the percentage of the population carrying antibodies to be in single digits. That would mean the country has not reached widespread “herd immunity”.

    The Czech Republic has reported 6,914 cases and 196 deaths. It has done 178,617 tests.

    A study of 863 Los Angeles County residents in the United States showed 4.1% of adults tested positive for antibodies, suggesting the infection rate may be 40 times higher than the number of confirmed cases. [nL1N2C900W]

    In Austria, a study of more than 1,500 people found that less than 1% were currently infected in early April. [nL5N2BY0SY]

    Source: bbc.com

  • Boxing promoters ‘must work as one to aid fans’ after coronavirus pandemic

    The biggest promoters in boxing must bury rivalries and work together to ensure fans are not financially hit when the sport squeezes a barrage of shows into the second half of 2020, says 5 Live’s boxing experts.

    The fight business has ground to a halt across the world in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and boxing is suspended in the UK until at least the end of May.

    But a note of warning from British boxing chiefs last week pointed to the sport perhaps not being able to start back up as swiftly as some may hope given its reliance on the emergency services at a time where the NHS is under immense pressure.

    So why might an eventual resumption hit fans in the pocket? And why might music acts even have an impact on when and where boxing can take place? BBC Sport boxing correspondent Mike Costello and 5 Live analyst Steve Bunce have had their say.

    The British Boxing Board of Control last week stressed that while the NHS is “fighting” and “recovering from” the coronavirus pandemic “we cannot place any further pressure on the system”.

    General secretary Robert Smith went further by stressing that “professional boxing cannot happen until normal NHS services resume”.

    “NHS staff will have come through one of the biggest challenges faced by the NHS, in its history,” Smith wrote. “All involved will be physically and mentally fatigued. They will justifiably want to take rest and recuperation time. Therefore, due consideration has to be given to the medical personnel before any appointments to tournaments can take place.”

    Smith’s words went further than many others have up to this point in intimating that boxing may not be able to roll out shows – even behind closed doors – as soon as restrictions on movement and mass gatherings are lifted.

    In addition to the need for multiple ambulances at fight venues, rules state hospitals with specialist neurosurgery units must be close by.

    Speaking on the 5 Live Boxing podcast, Costello said: “It might be that boxing takes longer to get going again than other sports because of the reliance on medical support. What struck me was the last statement by the board on recognising how NHS staff would need time to rest and recuperate.”

    Bunce replied: “The idea that things get lifted in May and we could have a fight the next day is woefully misguided. One thing that is also being overlooked is that these boxers will need a good bit of time to get back fit and spar. Even if things were lifted in May you’d be looking at mid July at the earliest. I agree completely with the board.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: WHO worker killed in Myanmar collecting samples

    A World Health Organization (WHO) driver has been killed in a conflict-riven region of Myanmar while out collecting Covid-19 monitoring samples.

    Pyae Sone Win Maung was driving a well-marked United Nations vehicle when it was hit by gunfire in Rakhine State.

    The UN says dozens of civilians have been killed as fighting between the military and the armed ethnic Arakan Army group escalated in recent weeks.

    The two sides have blamed each other for the WHO driver’s death on Monday.

    Both the military in Myanmar (also called Burma) and the Arakan Army deny being involved.

    Myanmar’s Maj-Gen Tun Tun Nyi, a military spokesman, said his forces had no reason to attack the UN vehicle.

    “They are working for us, for our country,” he told Reuters news agency. “We have the responsibility for that.”

    The UN office in Myanmar said it was “deeply saddened” by the 28-year-old driver’s death, near a military checkpoint in Minbya township.

    According to a post on Facebook, the marked vehicle was travelling from Sittwe to Yangon bringing Covid-19 surveillance samples “in support of the Ministry of Health and Sports”.

    The UN did not say who carried out the shooting, which also left a government employee injured.

    The driver’s father, Htay Win Maung, said his heart was “broken”.

    “I am trying to calm myself thinking he died in serving his duty at the frontline,” he added. “He went there in the midst of fighting when many people didn’t dare to go.”

    Countries including the UK and the US have called for an end to fighting amid the global coronavirus pandemic. More than 80 cases have been reported in Myanmar, along with four deaths.

    The Arakan Army, ethnic Buddhists who have escalated their campaign for self-rule in the last two years, declared a month-long ceasefire, but this was rejected by the government.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: UN warns number of hungry could double

    The United Nations has warned that the coronavirus pandemic could almost double the number of people around the world suffering from acute hunger, expressing concerns for people in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    The UN’s World Food Programme said the virus could be catastrophic for millions of people whose lives are already hanging by a thread – who can only eat if they are earning a wage.

    A report compiled by the organisation said the total number suffering from hunger could be pushed from 135 million last year to more than 250 million.

    Most are in 10 countries affected by conflict, economic crisis and climate change. They include Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, the DR Congo, Venezuela, Haiti and Afghanistan.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Player denies agreeing a 40% pay cut at Kotoko despite management claims

    Ghanaian giants Kotoko are set for a showdown as their players have denied reaching an agreement with management for a 40% pay cut following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

    A key Kotoko player (identity withheld) has denied that he and his teammates have agreed to take a 40% pay cut to help the club cut down costs and pay other staff in the wake of the pandemic.

    This has exposed the management of the club to the serious accusation of deceiving the players and lying to the public about the players’ desire to cut their meager wages.

    On Monday, Nana Gyambibi Coker, who is a special assistant to executive chairman and also general manager of the club, revealed that the players and technical staff have agreed a pay cut.

    He claimed that it is part of the measures taken by the management of Porcupine Warriors to help them weather the financial storm they are facing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    The player (whose name is withheld to protect him from dismissal) claims they are not aware of a slash in their salaries.

    “Oh no. There is nothing like that. I am even surprised to hear this. It is not true,” he said

    “Maybe it is a decision the management have taken. We (players) are not aware of such a thing. There is nothing like that even in our WhatsApp group.”

    Head coach Maxwell Konadu was tasked to engage the players to accept a pay cut to help the overcome the financial difficulties they are enduring at the moment.

    Source: GHANAsoccernet.com

  • Coronavirus: Work begins at Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence

    As part of measures to help fight the coronavirus pandemic in the country, work has begun at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence to renovate the facility to a standard Isolation centre.

    The fencing and cleaning were carried out by the Ghana army under the supervision of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Ghana Health service.

    The facelift includes fencing the entire edifice, clean the environs, fix medical items, and put the place into top shape to host persons that may test positive for the deadly virus.

    This is to ensure Ghana has enough Isolation centres in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence is located at Prampram in the Greater Accra region and it will able to host 250 patients when completed.

    Ghana has confirmed 1042 cases of COVID-19 with nine deaths as at, April 19, 2020.

    Source: footballghana.com

  • Coronavirus: Immigration to US to be suspended amid pandemic – Trump

    President Donald Trump has said he will sign an executive order to temporarily suspend all immigration to the US because of the coronavirus.

    In a late night message on Twitter, he cited “the attack from the invisible enemy”, as he calls the virus, and “the need to protect the jobs” of Americans.

    He gave no other details. Critics say the Trump administration is using the pandemic to crack down on immigration.

    The country has 782,159 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 41,816 deaths.

    Mr Trump’s announcement comes as the White House also argues the worst of the pandemic is over and the country can begin reopening.

    The US has already agreed with both Canada and Mexico to extend border restrictions on non-essential travel until at least mid-May.

    Travel has also been sharply restricted from Europe and China, though people with temporary work visas, students and business travellers are exempted.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: Brazil’s Bolsonaro joins anti-lockdown protests

    Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has come under criticism for joining protesters demanding that restrictions on movement introduced to stop the spread of coronavirus be lifted.

    Mr Bolsonaro has clashed in recent weeks with state governors who have imposed lockdowns, denouncing the measures as “dictatorial”.

    As of Sunday, Brazil had more than 38,000 confirmed cases, the highest number in Latin America.

    More than 2,400 people there have died.

    President Bolsonaro addressed a crowd of a few hundred supporters outside army headquarters in the capital, Brasilia, on Sunday.

    He said the protesters were “patriots” for defending individual freedoms.

    As well as demanding an end to the lockdown, some of those attending the rally also held up signs calling for Brazil’s Congress and the Supreme Court to be closed down.

    Others said they wanted the military to take over the handling of the coronavirus crisis.

    Brazil was under military rule for more than two decades from 1964 until 1985 and calls for the armed forces to be given more power are highly controversial.

    While the president did not make any reference to those demands at the time, his appearance at the rally – at which people were calling for the closure of the country’s democratic institutions – was labeled “provocative” by his critics.

    On Monday, however, while talking to journalists, Mr Bolsonaro quickly responded to one of his supporters who called for the closure of the Supreme Court by stating that Brazil was a democratic country. He said that the nation’s top court, as well as Congress, would remain open.

    Journalists have noted that at Sunday’s rally the president neither wore a face mask, even though he coughed on occasion, nor gloves – precautions which many other politicians in the region are taking.

    He has in the past dismissed coronavirus as “little more than a flu”.

    Rodrigo Maia, the speaker of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies and a critic of Mr Bolsonaro, tweeted that “the whole world is united against coronavirus, but in Brazil we have to fight the coronavirus and the virus of authoritarianism”.

    “In the name of the Chamber of Deputies, I reject any and all acts which defend the dictatorship,” he added.

    Relations between the president on the one hand and Congress and the Supreme Court on the other have been tense, with Mr Bolsonaro claiming they are trying to curtail his powers and even oust him.

    Last week, the president sacked his health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, who had backed the lockdown measures.

    President Bolsonaro argues that the lockdown measures are damaging the economy and has argued that they should be eased and Brazil’s borders reopened.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Asante Kotoko players to suffer 40% pay cut

    Asante Kotoko players and technical staff will take a 40% pay cut during the coronavirus crisis in the country.

    According to the General Manager of the club, Nana Gyambibi Coker the decision to slash down salaries was agreed during a meeting among the players, the technical staff and the management following successful consideration.

    Most clubs in the Ghana Premier League have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic crisis which has led to the suspension of all football activities.

    In Europe, top clubs like Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich have embarked on pay cut of players’ salaries to help pay the non-playing staff of the clubs.

    Speaking in an interview on Kumasi FM, he said, “It is something we initially discussed at management level. We considered our situation and our financial strength in containing our expenses and measures to help sustain the club during the suspension of the league due to COVID-19 and we considered pay-cut as one of the measures.”

    “We called the coach and tasked him to engage the players on our behalf and he has reported back to us they have listened to our plea and have accepted a pay cut.”

    “It is a 40% pay-cut and will be implemented soon.”

    Source: footballghana.com

  • Beach Soccer, PFAG donate essential items to Madina Polyclinic

    The Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (Pfag) and Ghana Beach Soccer joined the fight against the deadly Coronavirus pandemic with a donation to the Madina Polyclinic.

    The joint delegation led by coach Ibrahim Tanko, and former national team players Abukari Damba and Yusif Chibsah with support from Beach Soccer Committee Chairman Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, Administrative Sec. Nana Poku Amankwah and CEO of Accra based Layoca Beach Soccer Club made the donations at the OPD of the clinic on Sunday morning.

    The items which were received on behalf of the clinic by Dr Peter Gargah included nosemasks, hand sanitizers, detergents, surgical gloves as well as thermometer guns.

    The Deputy General Secretary of the Pfag Mr Solomon Torson who has been leading a series of meetings with members, is confident that this effective action would be executed in all affected regions in due time.

    CEO of Layoca Beach Soccer Club Mr Davis Ollenu reiterated Bech Soccer’s support to the PFAGan other organizations in their campaign to fight the pandemic.

    Also in attendance was Madina born former Black Stars goalkeeper Fatau Dauda.

    Meanwhile Ghana Beach Soccer and the PFAG have rolled out a “Stop the Spread” online campaign with footballers, administrators and media personnel expousing the Covid-19 code to members of the public.

    Source: Ghana Beach Soccer Association

  • United Airlines sees first-quarter $2.1 billion pre-tax loss on coronavirus impact

    United Airlines (UAL.O) said on Monday it expects to report a pre-tax loss of about $2.1 billion for the first quarter, hurt by a precipitous drop in travel demand from the coronavirus pandemic.

    The U.S. carrier said it expects to borrow up to about $4.5 billion from the U.S. Treasury Department for a term of up to five years. (bit.ly/2RT2r9h)

    That money would come on top of $5 billion that United is set to receive from a separate government aid package specifically for its employee payroll.

    The pre-tax loss reflects $63 million of special charges, including a $50 million impairment for its routes in China, where the coronavirus first started to affect travel in January.

    United also wrote down the value of its investments in Brazilian carrier Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras and allowed for a $697 million expected credit loss related to its investment in Avianca Holdings (AVT_p.CN) in Latin America.

    Chicago-based United said it only plans to fly about 10% of its normal schedule in May and June.

    Source: reuters.com