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Tag: Coronavirus

  • Coronavirus: Wuhan in first virus cluster since end of lockdown

    New coronavirus clusters have been reported in Wuhan city – where the virus first emerged – and the north-eastern province of Jilin in China.

    Wuhan reported five new cases on Monday, after confirming its first case since 3 April on Sunday.

    Authorities said the small cluster of cases were all from the same residential compound.

    China has been easing restrictions in recent weeks and cases had been declining.

    Health authorities and experts have warned that as countries emerge from strict lockdowns and people move around more freely, a rise in infections is likely.

    The small Wuhan cluster is the first to emerge since the end of the strict lockdown on 8 April. One of the five cases reported on Monday was the wife of an 89-year-old man who became the first confirmed case in the city in well over a month on Sunday.

    All of the latest cases were previously classified as asymptomatic – meaning they tested positive for the virus but were not exhibiting clinical signs such as a cough or fever.

    Such people can spread the virus despite not being sick, but China does not count asymptomatic cases in its official tally of confirmed infections until they show symptoms.

    Hundreds of asymptomatic cases are being monitored by Wuhan health authorities.

    Meanwhile over the weekend, Shulan city in Jilin province, near the borders with Russia and North Korea, reported 11 new cases.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Russian medical students slam ‘forced labour’ in coronavirus wards

    Fourth-year medical student Alexandra says she wants to become an infections specialist, but when her school said students must do their required training in a Coronavirus ward, she balked.

    “This is not volunteering by choice. Coronavirus is dangerous, and they should give people a choice,” said Alexandra, who studies at Moscow’s top Sechenov medical university.

    Daunted by the prospects of contracting the virus and infecting family members, or face expulsion, aspiring medics have protested the decision to send students in their fourth, fifth and sixth year — who can be as young as 21 — to complete their medical training in coronavirus clinics.

    The ministry of health announced on April 27 that the measure would go into effect starting May 1, and only students with “medical contraindications” can refuse.

    Students of all medical fields, including dentistry and pediatrics, are affected, according to the decree.

    “Those who refuse to go will not get their qualification and can face expulsion,” said Svetlana, a sixth-year student.

    Confronted with a relentless daily increase of confirmed cases, which on Sunday pushed its total number over 200,000, Russia is taking measures to staff its hospitals as it expands the number of beds by 100,000 across the country.

    But many students say they don’t want to be put in such conditions without allocated housing and assurances that full protection will be issued.

    – ‘We’re not doctors yet’ –

    Svetlana, Alexandra and other students spoke to AFP on conditions of anonymity due to fears of being expelled or other reprisals.

    “We’re not doctors yet, our task is to get an education,” said Alexandra. “There are fears that we will be of no use and spread the infection instead.”

    She said students are offered training in regular hospitals, or coronavirus hospitals, including “red zones” where patients are treated for COVID-19.

    “There is no adequate protection, and it’s difficult to believe that if the doctors don’t have enough, they would find it for us,” she said.

    In an anonymous appeal circulated on social networking sites, students at the Pirogov medical university in Moscow have asked rector Sergei Lukyanov to make the coronavirus mobilisation “voluntary.”

    The Pirogov university and the department of health in the Moscow government did not respond to a request for comment.

    At the Sechenov university, vice-rector Tatyana Litvinova said that working with coronavirus patients would not be obligatory and the school would not punish anyone who declines.

    “If a student does not want to do it, they can do their practice in a different establishment, nobody is going to force them,” she told AFP, contradicting the text of the health ministry decree.

    She further promised that students in Moscow would be paid a salary of 100,000 rubles ($1,360 – 1,240 euros) and given personal protection.

    Ivan Konovalov, spokesman for the Alliance of Doctors, a union associated with opposition politician Alexei Navalny, said that the authorities have turned to students because of medical staff shortages.

    “Healthcare reforms of the past years have led to the departure of many doctors” from the profession, he said.

    This problem was even flagged by some government institutions like the Audit Chamber, which stated that “optimisation” of the sector — a euphemism for cuts — has left Russian healthcare weakened during the epidemic.

    – Shortage of doctors –

    But Russia needs more doctors, not less: staff are required at various temporary facilities set up in the past weeks for light coronavirus cases, as the number of people testing positive has grown by over 10,000 daily for over a week.

    More than 100 doctors have died treating the infection, according to a list of names kept by people in the profession.

    Konovalov said that despite these difficulties, reaching out to students is not the solution.

    “Even those in their last year don’t have experience to work in these conditions,” he said.

    Students have also launched an online petition, demanding that the ministry decree is revoked. An Instagram campaign against “forced labour” is ongoing.

    Not all Russians are sympathetic.

    “Why did you choose this profession? To save lives!” one user of the VK network named Marina Goncharova commented in a group dedicated to the subject. “If war breaks out, are you also going to hide behind your mother’s skirts?”

    Source: AFP

  • Coronavirus: Avianca files for bankruptcy

    Colombia’s national airline, Avianca, has filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court.

    The carrier is the second-largest in Latin America, but its passenger operations have been grounded since March because of coronavirus.

    It said the pandemic had cut more than 80% of its income, and it was struggling with high fixed costs.

    If it fails to come out of bankruptcy, Avianca will be the first major airline to go under amid the pandemic.

    In a statement, the firm said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a court in New York. The process postpones a US company’s obligations to its creditors, giving it time to reorganise its debts or sell parts of the business.

    Chief executive Anko van der Werff said the move was needed to ensure the New York-listed airline emerge as a “better, more efficient airline that operates for many more years”.

    More than 140 of its aircraft have been grounded since Colombian President Ivan Duque closed the country’s airspace in March. Most of its 20,000 employees have been put on unpaid leave.

    Behind KLM, Avianca is the second-longest continually running airline in the world.

    It previously filed for bankruptcy in the early 2,000s, and was rescued by a deal with Bolivian oil tycoon German Efromovich. The airline grew quickly under his stewardship, but its growing debt led to a successful boardroom coup against Mr Efromovich last year. It is now run by Kingsland Holdings.

    The coronavirus pandemic has dealt a huge blow to the international aviation industry, as governments impose travel restrictions and confinement measures.

    Global air travel has fallen by 90%, according to the International Air Transport Association. The body predicts Latin American airlines will lose $15bn (£12bn; €13.9bn) in revenues this year – the biggest drop in the industry’s history.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Canada loses most jobs ever, unemployment hits 13%

    Canada shed three million jobs in the last two months due to the coronavirus lockdown, causing the unemployment rate to shoot up to 13% in April, the government reported Friday.

    That rate more than doubled, following a relatively small increase the previous month when restrictions started to be put in place, its statistical agency said.

    The new rate is second only to the 13.1% observed during a recession in 1982, but lower than analysts had forecast.

    Statistics Canada said the figure would have been much higher had it included a large number of people who wanted to work but could not job-hunt “presumably due to ongoing business closures and very limited opportunities to find new work.”

    Many also worked fewer hours, the agency said.

    All of this has led to 6.7 million Canadians applying for unemployment benefits or government aid, and just over one in five Canadian households reporting difficulties meeting financial obligations.

    “These numbers tell us what we already know: Canadians are hurting because of this pandemic. Everyone has their own story. But it all boils down to a very difficult time for a lot of people,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a daily briefing.

    He also announced an extension beyond June of an emergency wage subsidy “to help kickstart our economic reopening and boost jobs.” Specific details are to follow next week.

    ‘Nothing to cheer about’

    Although worst-case projections failed to materialise, “when you’re rounding the number of jobs lost to the nearest million, there’s nothing to cheer about,” commented CIBC analyst Avery Shenfeld.

    The employment declines over the past two months were observed in all provinces, but Quebec – which has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 infections and fatalities – led all of them with 821 000 jobs lost.

    Employment also dropped sharply in Canada’s three largest cities – Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

    Youths aged 15-24, recent immigrants, low-wage workers and those with the least job security – temporary or non-unionised, for example – suffered the most job losses.

    Statistics Canada noted, however, that most of the newly unemployed were temporarily laid off, meaning they could return to work when restrictions are lifted.

    In March, it said, almost all job losses were observed in the services sector, whereas the following month goods-producing industries saw proportionally larger losses, led by construction and manufacturing.

    Within the services sector, employment losses continued, led by wholesale and retail trade, and accommodation and food services.

    Some sectors managed to avoid the carnage. Utilities, public administration, and finance, insurance and real estate, for example, were “relatively less affected by the COVID-19 economic shutdown,” said Statistics Canada.

    Large firms and institutions appeared to have been able to keep workers on the job better than small businesses.

    An additional 3.3 million Canadians also worked from home.

    After previous downturns, services jobs returned “relatively quickly,” or within four months, to pre-downturn levels.

    Workers in goods-producing industries were not as lucky, with recoveries from recessions in 1981-1982 and 1990-1992, and the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, taking more than six and 10 years, respectively.

    This time, said Statistic Canada, “as economic activity resumes industry by industry following the Covid-19 economic shutdown, the time required for recovery will be a critical question.”

    Source: AFP

  • Turkey lifts weekend coronavirus curfew in 24 provinces

    Turkey lifted a 48-hour curfew as of midnight Sunday which had been imposed in 24 provinces as part of measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

    The government enforced its fifth weekend-long stay-at-home order, which included the Mother’s Day holiday.

    The curfew was in effect in the capital Ankara as well as Adana, Balikesir, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Manisa, Mardin, Ordu, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Tekirdag, Trabzon, Van and Zonguldak.

    The country’s first curfew was declared on April 11-12 and was followed by others in the past weeks.

    However, Turkish senior citizens aged 65 and above, who have been restricted to their homes since March 21 as part of the country’s fight against the pandemic, were given one-time permission to step out on Sunday.

    Hundreds of thousands of elderly citizens across Turkey, remaining within walking distance and wearing masks, took a breath of fresh air between 11 a.m. (0800 GMT) and 3 p.m. (1200 GMT).

    Children under 14 years old will be allowed out on May 13 during the same hours, while 15-20- year-olds will be able to leave their homes on May 15, also within walking distance and wearing masks.

    Turkey introduced stay-home orders for those over the age of 65 on March 21, while those under 20 years old have been restricted since April 3 to stem the spread of COVID-19.

    As of Sunday, Turkey registered a total of 3,786 deaths from the coronavirus, while 92,691 people have recovered from the disease. There are currently 138,657 confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, while the total number of active cases has dropped to 42,180.

    After originating in Wuhan, China last December, the virus has spread to at least 187 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

    The pandemic has killed around 281,900 people worldwide, with more than 4 million infections, while recoveries exceed 1.39 million, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

    Source: aa.com.tr

  • New Zealand to end coronavirus lockdown

    New Zealand will phase out its coronavirus lockdown over the next 10 days after successfully containing the virus, although some restrictions will remain, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday.

    Ardern said that from Thursday shopping malls, restaurants, cinemas and playgrounds will reopen — with the country moving to Level Two on its four-tier system.

    The 39-year-old leader warned “none of us can assume COVID is not with us” but said New Zealand currently had only 90 active cases after a seven-week lockdown.

    “Your efforts New Zealand have got us to this place ahead of most of the world and without the carnage that COVID has inflicted in many other places,” she said in a televised address.

    “But there are risks ahead, so please be vigilant.”

    New Zealand, with a population of five million has recorded 1,147 coronavirus cases, including 21 deaths.

    The number of new cases has been in single digits since mid-April, with three new infections recorded on Monday.

    Under Level Two restrictions, international borders remain closed but life domestically will return to something approaching normality.

    While social distancing must still be followed, the advice that people isolate themselves at home and “stick to your bubble” will no longer apply.

    “This is a transition out of our bubbles, you can see people you haven’t seen in a while, you just can’t do it all at once,” Ardern said.

    “At Level Two we are out and about again, just about all parts of the economy are opening up again.”

    The lockdown was first eased two weeks ago, allowing food takeaways and resumption of some recreational activities, but the freedoms granted by the latest relaxation will be far greater.

    Those aged over 70 will be allowed out again after more than seven weeks of mandatory quarantine.

    Domestic travel will be allowed, providing a boost to the crippled tourism industry and schools will fully reopen next Monday.

    Bars will not be back in business until May 21, giving them extra time to ensure they can keep patrons properly separated.

    Team sport will also return, with planning already underway to start a domestic version of Super Rugby on June 13 involving the competition’s five New Zealand-based teams.

    Ardern said the move to Level Two would be reassessed after two weeks, with further easing possible depending on developments.

    Source: france24.com

  • Coronavirus cases worldwide surpass 4.1 million

    The worldwide tally for Novel Coronavirus infections surpassed 4.1 million early Monday, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.

    The data also shows that the global death toll from the virus has reached 282,700 with the number of recoveries exceeding 1.4 million.

    The US remains the hardest-hit country by the pandemic with around 1.33 million diagnosed cases and 79,526 deaths.

    It is followed by the UK with 31,930 fatalities and Italy with 30,560 deaths.

    A total of 26,621 people in Spain have lost the battle against the virus, followed closely by France with 26,383 fatalities.

    Meanwhile, Spain has the second-highest number of cases at more than 224,300, followed by the UK, Italy, and Russia.

    China, ground zero of the virus, has registered 84,010 cases so far but has not recorded a single fatality since last week as its death toll continues to stand at 4,637 — raising questions both in and outside the country.

    Overall, the virus has spread to 187 countries and regions.

    Despite the rising number of cases, most people who contract the virus suffer mild symptoms before making a recovery.

    Source: aa.com.tr

  • Cases and deaths in the US

    These charts show the daily number of cases and deaths in the US, and the rolling average.

    In both cases, the rolling averages remain stubbornly high, although with a downward trend.

    Newly-released figures – not included in these charts – show the US had 776 deaths in the past 24 hours, the lowest figure since March.

    The US has the highest number of virus deaths and cases in the world – but it also has one of the biggest populations, and widespread testing.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Iran warns of virus resurgence after 51 new deaths

    Iran warned Sunday of a resurgence of the novel coronavirus as it reported 51 new deaths, almost a month after it started to relax a nationwide lockdown.

    Authorities reimposed more stringent measures in the southwestern Khuzestan province, reversing a phased return to work meant to revitalise the battered economy.

    “The situation should in no way be considered normal” in Iran, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said in televised remarks.

    “This virus will be present” for the time being, he added, in the country that has suffered the most deadly outbreak in the Middle East.

    The new fatalities raised the overall confirmed death toll to 6,640 since the country reported its first cases in February 19.

    Iran has allowed a phased return to work since April 11 and has since also reopened mosques in parts of the country deemed to be at low risk.

    But Jahanpour said Iran was “witnessing a critical situation in Khuzestan province and to an extent in Tehran”.

    Both the capital Tehran and Khuzestan remained at “red”, the top level of its colour-coded risk scale.

    In the capital, a member of the virus taskforce warned that current health protocols could not contain the spread of the illness in Tehran.

    “With businesses reopening, people have forgotten about the protocols,” Ali Maher told ISNA news agency.

    “Maybe it was too soon” for a return to normal life, Maher said.

    Over 100,000 cases

    The situation in Khuzestan meanwhile quashed hopes that the virus would die in warmer climates.

    Khuzestan’s governor Ali Shariati said that state bodies, banks and non-essential businesses in nine counties would be shut down again and inter-city movements limited.

    This aimed to “prevent the coronavirus’ spread from getting out of hand” and would remain in force until further notice, state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.

    President Hassan Rouhani meanwhile said in a televised meeting that schools would partially reopen next Saturday.

    This applied only “for students seeking to meet and talk to their teachers” and attendance would not be mandatory, he said.

    Cinemas, stadiums and universities remain closed across Iran.

    Jahanpour also said that 1,383 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours, raising total infections to 107,603.

    Out of those hospitalised, 86,143 had recovered and were discharged, but 2,675 were in critical condition.

    Experts and officials both in Iran and abroad have cast doubt over the country’s COVID-19 figures, saying the actual number of cases could be much higher.

    Source: france24.com

  • China’s Wuhan reports first virus infection in over a month

    China on Sunday reported the first case of coronavirus in over a month in Wuhan, the city where the outbreak first started in December last year.

    China’s National Health Commission also reported the first double-digit increase in countrywide cases in nearly 10 days, saying 14 new infections had been confirmed.

    Two of the cases were imported into the country from overseas, the commission said.

    The virus first emerged in Wuhan, a major industrial and transport city in central China, in December.

    It has since infected nearly four million people worldwide, claiming more than 270,000 lives, and crippled the global economy.

    The total number infected in China is 82,901, with an official death toll of 4,633.

    No new deaths have been reported for nearly a month.

    China’s ruling Communist Party imposed a quarantine lockdown on tens of millions of people – first in Wuhan and then the rest of Hubei province, beginning January 23, making Wuhan the first place in the world subjected to draconian restrictions.

    Authorities started lifting restrictions in late March.

    China has faced criticism both at home and abroad for downplaying the virus and concealing information about the outbreak when it first emerged in Wuhan.

    Beijing has insisted it has always shared information with the World Health Organization and other countries in a timely manner.

    A top health official said Saturday, however, that the outbreak exposed “shortcomings” in China’s public healthcare system.

    Source: france24.com

  • Professor researching COVID-19 killed in an apparent murder-suicide

    A University of Pittsburgh professor on the verge of making “very significant findings” researching Covid-19, according to the university, was shot and killed in an apparent murder-suicide over the weekend, police said.

    The research assistant professor, identified as Bing Liu, was found in his townhouse Saturday with gunshot wounds to the head, neck, torso and extremities, according to the Ross Police Department.

    Investigators believe an unidentified second man, who was found dead in his car, shot and killed Liu in his home before returning to his car and taking his own life.

    Police believe the men knew each other, but say there is “zero indication that there was targeting due to his (Liu) being Chinese,” according to Detective Sgt. Brian Kohlhepp.

    The university issued a statement saying it is “deeply saddened by the tragic death of Bing Liu, a prolific researcher and admired colleague at Pitt. The University extends our deepest sympathies to Liu’s family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time.”

    “Bing was on the verge of making very significant findings toward understanding the cellular mechanisms that underlie SARS-CoV-2 infection and the cellular basis of the following complications,” his colleagues at the university’s Department of Computational and Systems Biology said in a statement.

    Members of the university’s School of Medicine describe their former colleague as an outstanding researcher and mentor, and have pledged to complete Liu’s research “in an effort to pay homage to his scientific excellence.”

    Source: edition.cnn.com

  • Five players test positive for coronavirus, La Liga confirm

    Five players from Spain’s top two leagues have tested positive for coronavirus, La Liga confirmed on Sunday.

    Players in Spain’s top-flight and Segunda division were allowed to carry out individual work at training grounds last week.

    The move was the beginning of a staggered training programme, with the aim to restart competitive games in the middle of June.

    La Liga insist identifying infected players through positive tests are part of that plan.

    The five players, who have not been officially named, will now be quarantined at home and tested again “in the next few days”.

    They will be allowed to rejoin their club’s training programme only after obtaining two consecutive negative test results.

    A La Liga statement read: “Among La Liga Santander and La Liga SmartBank (Segunda) clubs, five positive cases were detected in players, all of them asymptomatic and in the final phase of the disease.”

    “One of the objectives of these medical tests, according to the La Liga’s protocol for returning to training, according to recommendations of the CSD (Supreme Sports Council) and the Ministry of Health, was precisely to detect the denominated or asymptomatic, that is, those people who are infected and that, without presenting symptoms, they can infect other people,” the statement added.

    “In this way, we guarantee everyone’s safety when returning to work according to the occupational risk regulations.”

    La Liga’s training plan includes players initially carrying out work individually before then expanding into small groups and finally taking part in larger team sessions.

    Barcelona’s players were back for their first session on Friday while Real Madrid’s will return on Monday.

    The medical protocol for training is strict and includes players arriving already changed and at specific times to avoid contact with others. They wear masks and gloves, and have their temperatures taken before entering the premises. At the end of training, they take away a bag of fresh kit for the next day and shower at home.

    The league have not officially announced the timing for the resumption of competitive matches although Leganes coach Javier Aguirre said last week the proposed date is June 20.

    That could correspond with the Spanish government’s de-escalation programme, which includes outside events being allowed to go ahead in their fourth and final phase, as long as they are attended by fewer than 400 people.

    Football matches are expected to be staged behind closed doors for several months.

    La Liga president Javier Tebas has said “it is not an option” to cancel the top flight given he estimates the economic fallout would cost clubs around a billion euros ($1.08 billion).

    But the third and fourth tiers in Spain will not complete their seasons, as confirmed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) on Wednesday. Instead, promotions will be decided through play-offs and there will be no relegations.

    Source: france24.com

  • Coronavirus cases in Russia surpass 200,000

    The number of novel coronavirus cases in Russia surpassed 200,000 on Sunday as the number of deaths approached 2,000, according to the country’s emergency task force.

    With 11,012 infections registered over the past day, the total number of cases rose to 209,688, it said in a daily report.

    In the same period, 88 people died, raising the death toll to 1,915, while recoveries reached 34,306, including 2,390 in the last 24 hours.

    The growth rate of new cases in the country has fallen, despite new cases exceeding 10,000 for the eighth day in a row, said the emergency task force.

    “The daily increase was 5.5%, the lowest since the outbreak began. It is noted that 4,674 (42.4%) of the newly recorded cases were actively identified as asymptomatic,” it said.

    To date, 5.44 million tests were carried out in Russia aiming to diagnose the illness at early stages when it is less contagious.

    The capital Moscow remains the worst-hit area, counting more than half — 109,740 — of all cases, with 80% of patients being under 65 years old and 6% children.

    Four top Russian officials, including Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, were hospitalized over the past two weeks after contracting COVID-19.

    Despite the country’s measures, including a lockdown in Moscow, a ban on foreign entry and suspension of international air and railway traffic, Russia is the fifth-worst coronavirus-hit country in terms of number of cases.

    After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 187 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

    The pandemic has killed over 279,000 worldwide with more than 4.03 million total infections, while recoveries surpassed 1.38 million, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.

    Source: aa.com.tr

  • Pandemic a major blow for Airbnb

    At the foot of the Acropolis hill, in the touristic Koukaki district, the coronavirus lockdown has silenced the sound of Airbnb customers’ wheeled luggage.

    The tourist industry in Athens, as in many other European capitals, has ground to a halt, with planes grounded and restaurants, museums and archaeological monuments all closed.

    This has left a huge hole in the Greek economy which had been recovering from a decade of crisis.

    Owners of small apartments in Koukaki, who had been renting them on the Airbnb platform in order to provide income during the financial crisis, are once again struggling.

    “The reservations stopped abruptly,” laments Romina Tsitou, an Airbnb host since 2014.

    “I hope I won’t have to put them for longterm rental, but I may have to if this situation drags on,” she adds. For the time being her two Airbnb apartments accommodate medical staff.

    Stefania Dimitroula has already put her apartment up for long-term rental.

    “Since the beginning of the summer of 2018, it was fully booked via Airbnb, almost exclusively by foreign tourists,” the 32-year-old woman said, but “100 percent of the reservations for April, May and June have been cancelled”.

    Being unemployed, she had no other choice.

    “I was counting on the earnings of this apartment, around 1,000 euros per month, to compensate for the loss of my job,” she explained, expressing pessimism about the summer season, which the Greek government is hoping to jumpstart on July 1.

    Long-term rentals are becoming “a major trend”, according to Patrick Tkatschenko, a real estate agent in Athens.

    “Airbnb is suffering a huge blow,” he told AFP.

    Airbnb slashes staff but will adapt

    The “hard hit” American home-sharing platform announced on Tuesday that it will slash a quarter of its work force – some 1,900 people all around the world.

    “We are collectively living through the most harrowing crisis of our lifetime,” Airbnb co-founder and chief executive Brian Chesky said in a blog post.

    This year the San Francisco-based company’s revenue will be “less than the half” of the 2019 figure, and Chesky admits he doesn’t know when the tourists will return.

    Still there are many who believe that holiday apartments, rather than hotels, have a future, as safe havens away from the crowds.

    Enrique Alcantara, president of Apartur, the holiday apartment owners’ federation in Barcelona, foresees a 85 percent drop in sales revenue for 2020.

    He predicts though that holiday apartments “are going to adapt more easily to the new times that lie ahead, to the new needs of the tourists, mainly as far as security is concerned”.

    In Athens too, despite the staggering drop in holiday reservations, there remains a glimmer of hope.

    “Tourists will benefit from private apartments in order to feel more secure in comparison with hotels where they will have to interact with more people,” Stratos Paradias, president of the Greek Federation of Property Owners and of the International Union of Property Owners, told AFP.

    He also thinks apartments that manage to stay in the short-term rental market will bounce back “faster than elsewhere” because “Greece is considered one of the safe countries thanks to the way it has handled the COVID-19 pandemic”.

    Holding fast to short-term rentals

    In Barcelona, Sybille Campagne’s holiday letting calendar is empty.

    “For July-August, all reservations were cancelled,” the 43-year-old French woman explains.

    Nevertheless she isn’t considering taking her apartment off the Airbnb platform because it accounts for 80 percent of all her reservations.

    Juan Quilis, a 35-year-old telecom technician who owns an apartment in Seville, is also sticking with short-term rentals for the time being.

    “I’m not too worried for now, because I have a savings cushion but if I see that things don’t come around, I will put my apartment in long term rental. As a last resort.”

    In France, Airbnb expects to see its reservations come back swiftly thanks to its local clientele, with the French particularly fond of staycations.

    Aurelien Perol, Airbnb director of communication in France, expects last-minute reservations to rise as lockdowns are lifted.

    Meanwhile in Amsterdam, holiday rentals spiked in mid- April and have plummeted since, according to the local newspaper Het Parool.

    ‘Purge is necessary’

    A study conducted by Spitogatos, the most popular online property ads network in Greece, found a clear rise in apartments listed for long-term rentals in mid-April, accounting for 30 percent of the market in central Athens.

    Spitogatos CEO Dimitris Melachroinos thinks the long-term rental sector will keep rising as it will be seen as “a safer option”.

    This new turn in the real estate market will also lead to much-needed regulation of the sector.

    “The short-term rentals practice grew out of control in Athens in recent years. The purge provoked by the COVID-19 crisis is necessary,” Paradias says.

    In Koukaki, the number of short-time rentals skyrocketed between 2017-2019, from 360 to 1,150, according to AIRDNA, which analyses rental platforms like Airbnb. As a result, property prices have nearly doubled causing problems for local apartment seekers.

    Source: france24.com

  • New York mayor sounds alarm over potentially coronavirus-linked rare syndrome

    New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday voiced “tremendous concern” over an uptick in cases of a pediatric syndrome that scientists suspect could be linked to COVID-19.

    The mayor said there have been 38 cases of pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome detected in New York City, with an additional nine suspected cases awaiting confirmation.

    There have been three deaths statewide linked to the syndrome, Governor Andrew Cuomo had said over the weekend, with one in the city.

    Symptoms of the syndrome include persistent fever, rash, abdominal pain and vomiting.

    “What it does is, basically, in a child’s body triggers an intensive, almost overwhelming immune system response. And that actually causes harm to the body,” de Blasio said.

    The mayor said all children with associated symptoms would now be tested for COVID-19 as well as antibodies.

    So far, of the confirmed cases, 47 percent had tested positive for coronavirus and 81 percent had antibodies, indicating exposure to the fast-spreading virus at some point.

    De Blasio urged all parents whose children exhibited the symptoms to seek immediate medical attention.

    On Friday Cuomo had reported at least 73 children throughout New York state had developed the rare illness, which has some similarities to Kawasaki disease.

    Kawasaki disease is a mysterious illness that primarily affects children up to the age of five and causes the walls of arteries to become inflamed, resulting in fever, skin peeling and joint pain.

    Britain’s National Health Service first sounded the alarm last month, warning about a small rise in children infected with the coronavirus that have “overlapping features of toxic shock syndrome and atypical Kawasaki disease.”

    France has also reported several cases.

    Though frightening, most recover without serious issues.

    Source: france24.com

  • Some political actors need to politicize coronavirus for their political survival – Nana Addo jabs

    President Nana Akufo-Addo has delivered a sucker punch to political actors whose sole mission is to politicise the nation’s COVID-19 response for their own parochial political gains.

    Delivering his 9th Presidential Address to the nation on Sunday night, President Akufo-Addo, who gave an update on latest figures of confirmed cases, recoveries and deaths, asked Ghanaians not to begrudge these political elements who politicise the Coronavirus because they need such politicization of the pandemic to stay afloat politically.

    “I know some political actors will want you to believe that our current numbers represent a failure on the part of government. Do not begrudge them. They need to make such comments for their political survival,” the President said.

    Many have interpreted the President’s remarks as a riposte to former President Mahama, who has been accused of politicising Ghana’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic through his regular commentary and criticism of government’s efforts.

    Over the weekend when Ghana’s confirmed cases hit over 4000, the former President took to twitter to attack the government for failing Ghanaians because of the increment.

    “From 3,091 to 4,012 #COVID19 cases within 24 hours; Government is certainly failing the people of Ghana. Fear gripped many homes last night when the latest confirmed cases were released. And that is understandable,” Mahama wrote on his Twitter page.

    The former President’s post, which was accompanied by a short video clip, however attracted overwhelming condemnation from Twitter users who accused him of politicising the Coronavirus pandemic which has devastated the world and thrown global economies into disarray.

    Ghana is number one African country testing per capita

    Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo explained that Ghana’s latest number of 4700 confirmed cases, out of which 494 have recovered and 22 have died, have been due to the government’s decision to embark on aggressive testing and contact tracing.

    The President revealed that as at Sunday May 10, a total of 160,501 tests had been conducted, making Ghana the leading country in Africa testing for Coronavirus per capita, and among a select few countries doing contact tracing.

    “We must understand that the more people we test for the virus, the more persons we will discover as positive, and, thus, have the opportunity to isolate and treat them,” said President Akufo-Addo.

    “If you do not test people for the virus, you will not find the persons who are positive, let alone isolate them from population and treat them, and prevent them from spreading the virus.”

    The President added that if Ghana was doing what many other countries were doing, which is, not embarking on contact tracing, Ghana’s total confirmed case would have been one-third of the 4700 confirmed cases, as contact tracing accounts for two-third of Ghana’s cases so far.

    source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Coronavirus: CCF supports Prisons Service with mattresses for inmates

    The Management of Crime Check Foundation (CCF) together with its partners and donors have presented 100 pieces of student mattresses to the Ghana Prison Service.

    The donation, which is worth GHC 12,000 is in response to the distress call of the Prisons Service to support inmates with some mattresses.

    Mr Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng, the Executive Director of CCF presenting the mattresses the donation was in response to the call by the Director General to support the Service with some mattresses for inmates.

    He said the Management thought it prudent to talk to donors of our Foundation to quickly come to the aid of the Ghana Prisons Service, hence, the presentation.

    He said the mattresses were to help the inmates in prisons especially at this crucial time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    He said “we know that in order for the Service to carry out its mandate of reformation and rehabilitation agenda, it is the responsibility of all Ghanaians to support them.”

    He said no government was able to adequately cater for the needs of the Prison Service over the years and the presentation was the contributions from the Foundation’s donors and partners.

    “We hope that other well-meaning Ghanaians will also follow suit,” he added. He said the welfare of inmates should not be ignored especially in this COVID-19 period and for the Prisons Service to effectively execute its mandate, it must be adequately equipped.

    Mr Kwarteng, who is also the Ambassador Extraordinaire of Ghana Prisons appealed to all Ghanaians globally to help support the Prisons Service. “They need sanitizers and other PPE and this is not the time we should turn our back to them, but rather fulfill our Goldy responsibility, which is enshrined in both the Bible, Quran and all other religious books on the need to go the aid of prisoners,” he said.

    Mr Kwarteng assured the Service of the Foundation’s continuous support to the Prisons.

    The Director of Prisons in Charge of Welfare, Mr Leopold Kwame Amoah Ansah, who received the mattresses expressed gratitude to the Management of CCF for responding to their call for support.

    He said the presentation was timely as it would help improve and bridge the gap, where most inmates had to sleep on bare floor because of lack of space and mattresses.

    He appealed to corporate bodies to assist the Service to improve its service delivery and called on government to increase the feeding fee of inmates. “I add my voice to corporate Ghana and indeed organizations, which are interested in corrections to come on board and assist the Service,” he added. He said in addition to the PPE, the Service would need nutritious meals for inmates to boost their immune system.

    The DOP said the few medical infirmaries the Service had would need support to renovate and refurbish and appealed to government to increase the feeding rate of inmates.

    CCF has been instrumental in facilitating the execution of the reformation and rehabilitation mandate of the Ghana Prisons Service through its support programmes that seek to improve the welfare of prison inmates.

    Source: GNA

  • Coronavirus: More tests; more positive cases but our approach remains the best – Akufo-Addo

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged Ghanaians not to panic over the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

    Ghana’s COVID-19 cases have increased from 4012 to 4700 in a matter of days and many Ghanaians are already worried because the country keeps recording higher numbers of the pandemic disease.

    Giving his ninth update on COVID-19 on Sunday, May 10, 2020, the President explained that doing a lot of tests to discover infected persons is the surest way to fight the pandemic and ensure the safety of the entire nation.

    ”Indeed, had we not been proactive in undertaking enhanced contact tracing of infected persons, and had relied solely on testing persons who reported to hospital, which is the practice followed by some other countries, i.e. routine testing, our total case count who have stood at 1,413.,” Nana Akufo-Addo said in his televised address.

    Regardless of the recent case count, the President says there is no cause for alarm.

    ”We must understand that the more people we test for the virus, the more persons we will discover as positive, and, thus, have the opportunity to isolate and treat them. If you do not test people for the virus, you will not find the persons who are positive, let alone isolate them from the population and treat them, and prevent them from spreading the virus” , he said.

    Source: Peace FM

  • Coronavirus: West Gonja Assembly presents medical items to Health Directorate

    The West Gonja Municipal Health Directorate has taken delivery of various medical items including Personal Protective Equipment to enhance service delivery at health facilities in the area in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The items, which include 10 megaphones, 10 infrared gun thermometers, 29 waste bins, 2,200 nose masks and a bale of materials to be used for sewing nose masks for members of the public, were presented to the Health Directorate by the West Gonja Municipal Assembly.

    Mr Jibril Saeed Muhazu, West Gonja Municipal Chief Executive, who handed over the items to the authorities of the Municipal Health Directorate at Damongo, said the Assembly was working to procure 10 poly tanks to be mounted at public places to store water to enhance hand washing.

    Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Municipal Assembly has distributed a number of Veronica buckets and hand sanitizers to various groups, and has provided support in carrying out public education campaigns in the municipality.

    Mr Muhazu reiterated the Assembly’s commitment to promote the health and well-being of its people and lauded the relentless dedication demonstrated by health professionals in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

    He entreated the Municipal Health Director and the workers to continue to be dedicated saying, “Even though what we have presented is not enough, the assembly will continue to support you whenever resources are available.”

    Hajia Fuseina Sulemana, West Gonja Municipal Health Director, who received the items, expressed appreciation to the Municipal Chief Executive for the support adding that many of the 26 health facilities in the municipality would benefit from the items.

    Source: GNA

  • Coronavirus: Government certainly doing something right! – Akufo-Addo

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has touted his policies as the best in addressing the pandemic Coronavirus disease in the country.

    According to him, the rapid implementation of his policies ”has resulted in our low infection, hospitalisation and death rates, some of the lowest in Africa and the world” and that his government is on the right track.

    Although Ghana’s COVID-19 cases have shot up to 4700, the President believes his decisions have saved more lives.

    Responding to criticisms by political opponents that his government is failing Ghanaians, President Akufo-Addo said in his ninth nation address on Sunday, May 10, 2020 that ”on the contrary, we must be emboldened in the knowledge that the 4,700 persons infected, so far, with the virus, have been identified, taken out of the population, isolated and are being treated.”

    ”We, certainly, must be doing something right in Ghana. Our country has administered more tests per million people than any other country in Africa, and, in fact, the World Health Organisation has reached out to us to share our sample pooling experience with other African countries, so they can adopt this strategy and also ramp up their testing capabilities”, he stressed.

    Source: Peace FM

  • Coronavirus could increase child marriages Plan Ghana

    The Plan International Ghana has observed that the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the country could have dire influence on teenage pregnancy and child marriage in the rural areas.

    It said the economic hardship that the pandemic has exerted on the people coupled with the closure of schools in the country could force parents to give off their children for marriage as an alternative source of income for the family.

    Mr Kamaldeen Iddrisu, the District Development Coordinator, Upper West Regional Programme Unit of Plan International Ghana, made the observation at a sensitisation forum at Wechiau at the weekend.

    “Because of COVID-19, now economic activities are not going on as it used to be, so the people can be tempted to marry off their children so that they get money to do other things”, he explained.

    Selected stakeholders including traditional authorities and Assembly Members attended the forum organised by the Upper West Regional Youth Parliament in partnership with the National Youth Authority and the Plan International Ghana. It was to sensitise the participants on the need for them to join forces towards the fight against teenage pregnancy and child marriage as the COVID-19 pandemic had increased the risk of twin occurrence.

    Mr Iddrisu said Plan International Ghana is committed to ensure that every child enjoyed his or her rights with particular interest in ensuring equal rights for girls.

    Some of the participants identified irresponsible parenting as a major setback to the fight against the menace of child marriage and teenage pregnancy. They said some parents were not willing to support other stakeholders in prosecuting perpetrators of such acts but rather compromising the process. Mr Sumaila Shaibu Poleenaa, the Speaker of the Upper West Regional Youth Parliament, entreated parents to take an interest in the development and wellbeing of their wards.

    He said child marriage and teenage pregnancy could thwart the development of the girl child which could affect the community and national development in the long run.

    Mr Polenaa implored the participants to educate their constituents on the dangers involved in perpetrating the acts as perpetrators would be prosecuted when apprehended.

    Source: GNA

  • Coronavirus global infections hit 4 million

    Some 4,004,224 persons have tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) globally.

    This is according to the John Hopkins Coronavirus website.

    The website reported this news in the late hours of Saturday, May 9, 2020.

    The total recoveries as at the same reporting date stand at 1,348,383 with 277,860 deaths.

    Hard hit countries

    USA leads the global count with 1,305,199 infections, 78,469 deaths and 198,993 recoveries.

    Spain follows with 222,857 infections, 26,299 deaths and 131,148 recoveries.

    Italy still holds third place with 218,268 infections, 30,395 deaths and 103,031 recoveries.

    The UK comes forth with 216,525 infections, 31,662 deaths and 1,001 recoveries.

    Russia has also jumped to fifth with 198,676 infections, 1,827 deaths and 31,916 recoveries.

     

    Source: citinewsroom 

  • Coronavirus peak: Stop ‘disrespecting’ us, we ain’t shallow minded – Pratt fumes

    Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr says health experts and leaders in the country should spare the ears of Ghanaians about the disease having reached its peak and likely to go down.

    Despite the number of high cases recorded in Ghana, health experts and leaders maintain that the country has reached the peak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection curve.

    We’ve peaked but not out of the woods

    Dr Ebenezer Badu Sarkodie, the Director of Public Health, Ghana Health Service (GHS), on Thursday explained that Ghana attained its highest confirmed cases of COVID-19 on April 25, 2020, indicating its peak period.

    He, however, added that this doesn’t mean the country is “out of the woods” and so entreated Ghanaians to keep following laid-down protocols to curb the pandemic.

    Facts don’t support claims

    Touching on the COVID-19 pandemic issue on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’, Kwesi Pratt stated that the data and facts don’t support claims of the disease likely to dwindle.

    Referring the leaders to the current case count which has shot up to over 4,000, he asserted that there is no way the country is going to experience a downward trend in transmissions since the health centres are about to even undertake daily testing of the virus to find out new community infections.

    Stop the disrespect

    He registered his disappointment in the country’s COVID-19 response team for suggesting that the disease will slow down and admonished them to stop taking Ghanaians for a ride.

    ”How do you tell me the disease is slowing down? We’ve moved from 1 to 2, 3 and even reached 3000 and beyond, then you come to tell me the disease is going down. Do you think I have a shallow mind?”

    ”…you come to stand before Ghanaians telling them the disease is diminishing, what should we tell you? It means you don’t respect us…if we are not doing daily testing, on what basis do you come to tell us this is going down?” he rhetorically asked.

    Mr. Pratt feared a second wave of the pandemic will be extremely dangerous than the current wave in the country.

    ”It is most likely that there will be a second wave and that if you follow all pandemics of this nature, there is a second wave. And that the second wave is likely to be more devastating than the first wave. In fact, when you take a critical look at the flu pandemic, the second wave killed far more people even than the first wave and so on. If you’re faced with all these facts and our leaders keep deceiving us that we shouldn’t panic because the disease has reached its peak and so it’s coming down, coming down from where?” he questioned.

    Meanwhile, Ghana’s COVID-19 cases have increased to 4012, according to the Ghana Health Service.

    Per the update on Friday, May 8, 2020, the number of recoveries has risen to 323.

    The death toll remains at 18.

    This means over 900 cases have been recorded in less than 48 hours.

    According to the statement on the GHS website, “over 50% of these cases were as a result of an outbreak in an industrial facility with 1,300 workers of which 533 have been confirmed positive. Over the same period, 20 more recoveries have been reported.

    “Bono Region has recorded a case and thus 13 out of 16 regions have reported cases. Currently, the only regions with no confirmed cases of COVID-19 are the Savannah, Bono East and Ahafo regions.”

  • Coronavirus: Ethiopian Airlines brings convenience to cargo customers

    Ethiopian Airlines, the largest Aviation Group in Africa and SKYTRAX Certified Four Star Global Airline, has introduced a mobile app and chatbot-assisted shipment tracking service to elevate cargo customers’ experience.

    The mobile app, which is now available for both Android and iOS, will bring convenience to Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services customers through a range of self-service features.

    A statement issued by the airline and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the features included; checking flight schedule, cargo tracking and charter requests at the swipe of a finger.

    It said the Ethiopian Chatbot enabled customers to access up-to-date information and track their shipment on Messenger and Telegram.

    The statement quoted Mr Miretab Teklaye, Director Group Integrated Marketing Communications at Ethiopian as saying as ‘a customer-centric airline, we always seek ways to better serve our customers and bring more digital options to their fingertips.’

    He said the newly unveiled cargo mobile app and chatbot-assisted cargo tracking service would bring convenience for its customers allowing them to access real-time updates about their shipments and to process their charter requests.

    “As the number of mobile apps and messaging platforms users grows globally, we will leverage our in-house digital capabilities to further elevate customers’ experience by taking our digital service to the platforms of their choice,” he added.

    Source: GNA

  • Coronavirus slowing down livestock business chain in UE

    Businesses in the livestock value chain are experiencing a sharp decline in the Upper East Region as a result of the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in the country.

    When the Ghana News Agency visited the Bolgatanga market to ascertain the progress of business in the midst of the Pandemic, it was revealed that the demand for animals especially cattle and small ruminants had decreased.

    Since the outbreak and spread of the coronavirus in the country, government has undertaken a number of measures including; the closure of the country’s borders to foreigners and a ban on public gathering among others.

    All Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies at their own levels implemented stringent measures including; the closure of markets especially on market days, relocation of traders among others as part of efforts at curbing the rapid spread of the virus.

    The Upper East Region which has so far recorded 19 positive confirmed cases of the virus with one death was no exception of these regulations and the situation is having a toll on the livestock business value chain.

    Speaking with dealers of both the cattle and small ruminants in the Bolgatanga Municipality, they complained that since the spread of the virus in the country, their businesses had almost come to a standstill.

    They said their daily sales had dwindled and the number of customers continued to reduce by the day leading to low income levels.

    They said due to the closure of the borders, people who used to bring animals from neighbouring Burkina Faso were unable to do so.

    At the small ruminants market in Bolgatanga, it was observed that many ruminants such as goats and sheep among others were on sale, but there were no customers to purchase them.

    Mr Akolbire Adongo, Chief of the Small Ruminants Association, said since the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly closed down the Bolgatanga Markets on four consecutive market days, their businesses had declined.

    He said people who used to travel from outside the region including; Burkina Faso and the North East Region, no longer patronized the market for fear of contracting the virus.

    The Chief disclosed that some of the ruminants which were sold at GHC500.00 and GHC300.00 were being sold at GHC350.00 and GHC200.00 respectively.

    Mr Adongo explained that apart from the COVID-19 pandemic which had prevented traders from transporting the animals from the region to the southern sector, the Ramadan season of fasting was also a contributory factor.

    Mr Ayela Apana, the Chairman of the Bolgatanga Cattle Dealers Association, said due to the restriction on movement, it was difficult for them to get cattle to buy for sale, thereby making the prices of the cattle to increase.

    He said people who used to bring cattle from outside the region no longer did so due to the numerous restrictions put in place by government to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

    Mr Timothy Timbil, Secretary of the Bolgatanga Butchers Association, said the hospitality industry and the chop bars, restaurants and other food vendors were major stakeholders in the livestock value chain but due to the coronavirus the patronage had reduced as most of the facilities had closed down temporary.

    “I used to slaughter about three cattle in a day but due to the emergence of the coronavirus coupled with the Ramadan when I even slaughter one cow, I always struggle to sell all the meat and it is having a toll on my daily earnings.”

    Source: GNA

  • Police and GIS intercept Burkinabe migrants at Nadowli

    Six Burkina Faso nationals who entered Ghana through unapproved routes have been arrested by the Upper West Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at the Nadowli Police checkpoint.

    The migrants, who comprised four men and two women and aged from 2 to 55, were arrested with support from the Police Service at the checkpoint on Thursday, May 7, 2020.

    Mr Ibn Yussif Duranah Abdul-Mumin Seidu, the Upper West Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the GIS made this known to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Wa on Thursday.

    “Upon a tip-off, the patrol team chased the minibus and intercepted it with the ECOWAS nationals at a police checkpoint”, he said.

    According to Mr Seidu, the irregular migrants attempted using alternative routes in order to swerve the GIS inland checkpoint at Babile in the Lawra Municipality.

    “They hired a minibus with registration number BA 2761-14 with the intent of using alternative routes to Wa in order to swerve the immigration Officials on duty at the Babile inland checkpoint”, he said.

    He said the arrested Burkinabe migrants had been screened by the health personnel, sent to the Hamile Sector Command of the GIS and handed over to the Burkina Faso authorities for the necessary action to be taken.

    The GIS had arrested several Burkina Faso nationals in the region for violating President Akuffo-Addo’s order on the closure of the national borders in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

    Mr Seidu said the GIS would not relent on its efforts to secure the borders and to enforce the president’s order to the letter.

    He called for support from the public, especially the border communities, to police the borders.

    He warned that any person or group of persons found aiding any foreigner to enter the country illegally would be made to face the full rigours of the law.

    Source: GNA

  • Coronavirus Fight: God has refused to listen to Akufo-Addo’s prayer – Kweku Boahen

    Deputy National Communications Officer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kweku Boahen, has accused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of not having positive intentions towards fighting the novel Coronavirus in the country.

    He said the President should be able to put up proper and fair mechanisms as the leader of the country to save the people, as all his current measures in fighting the disease are pure political campaign messages that need not to be heeded to.

    In a submission on UTV’s ‘Adekye Nsroma’ newspaper discussion show, the NDC Communication Officer insisted “the affected cases of COVID-19 keep going up due to the hypocritical behaviors and principles President Akufo-Addo and his appointees exhibit concerning the fight against the disease”.

    He indicated that left to the first gentleman of the land alone, Coronavirus should forever remain in the country for his own selfish political gains.

    “God has refused to answer his (President Akufo-Addo) prayers because his holy words have already made us understood that he does not answer the prayers of a sinner,” Kweku Boahen bitterly lamented.

    Source: Peace FM

  • Coronavirus: Pandemic sends US jobless rate to 14.7%

    The US unemployment rate has risen to 14.7%, with 20.5 million jobs lost in April, as the coronavirus pandemic devastated the economy.

    The rise means the jobless rate is now worse than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

    Since the pandemic began, the US has suffered its worst growth numbers in a decade and the worst retail sales report on record.

    Just two months ago, the unemployment rate was at 3.5%, a 50-year low.

    “It is historically unprecedented,” said economist Erica Groshen, former head of the government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, who now teaches at Cornell University. “We have put our economy into a medically induced coma in order to heal it from the pandemic… and that has led to the most precipitous loss of jobs seen in any of the modern data.”

    The report from the Labor Department showed declines in every sector of the economy.

    Leisure and hospitality was hit especially hard, with payrolls falling by 7.7 million or 47%. Employers in education and health services cut 2.5 million positions, while retailers shed 2.1 million.

    The Labor Department said more than three-quarters of those without jobs described themselves as temporarily laid off, a sign that many of those currently without work are hopeful that the economy will be able to rebound.

    But economists warned that the pandemic is likely to force major changes to businesses – such as limits on how many people may be in a restaurant at one time – that could reduce the need for workers. And the longer the shutdown lasts, the more likely it is that a business will not survive.

    “Even a temporary layoff can turn into a permanent one if the business doesn’t survive or if the business has to change its business model so dramatically that it needs different numbers or a different kind of worker,” Ms Groshen said.

    The economic crisis is not unique to the US. In the UK, the Bank of England has warned of the sharpest recession on record, while Canada on Friday reported its unemployment rate had increased 5.2 percentage points to 13% last month.

    Statistics Canada estimated that about a third of the workforce was either out of work, or working less than half of their usual hours.

    In an appearance on the Fox News channel, US President Donald Trump shrugged off the 20.5 million jobs lost in the US as “totally expected” and “no surprise”.

    “Even the Democrats aren’t blaming me for that. What I can do is I can bring it back,” he said as the figures were released.

    But bankruptcies have already claimed retailers such as J Crew and Neiman Marcus, as well as many firms in the energy sector, where a collapse in oil prices, due in part to a pandemic-related drop in demand, has worsened the strains.

    While some states have already started to relax restrictions, re-starting the economy is likely to be difficult, as workers worry about the risk of infection and grapple with the impact of school closures.

    “I’m not certain what’s going to happen next,” said Tanya Nikolaevskaya, a legal assistant in New York, who was furloughed last month, after working from home in March.

    Ms Nikolaevskaya hopes to return to what she described as her dream job, but she has a medical condition that makes her worried about infection and is a single mother, whose 8-year-old daughter will need care if schools do not reopen.

    “It’s all about, ‘Is there childcare,’” she said. “If I will not have childcare, I will not be able to go back.”

    The number of people in the labor force – working or looking for work – fell 2.5% last month, to its lowest level since 1970, while those reporting reduced hours or an inability to find a full-time job nearly doubled.

    The Labor Department warned that the situation might be worse than estimated, pointing to the spike in the number of people who said they were employed but “absent from work”. Including those responses suggests an unemployment rate closer to 20%, it said.

    Among black workers, the unemployment rate jumped to 16.7%, the highest since 2010. Among Hispanics, it surged to a record 18.9%, while it climbed to a lower – but still record-setting – 14.2% among white workers.

    Overall, the unemployment rate was the highest recorded in data back to 1948, while the over-the-month jobs decline was the largest reported in data back to 1939.

    “The scale of the challenge cannot be overstated,” said Robert Alster, head of investment services at wealth manager Close Brothers Asset Management.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Ty: UK rapper dies aged 47 after contracting coronavirus

    The Nigerian-British musician died on Thursday after contracting pneumonia while recovering from coronavirus.

    Ty was known for a witty, mature style that owed more to the old-school US rappers than the grittier street sounds of London.

    In 2004, Ty’s second album, Upwards, was nominated for the Mercury Prize alongside Amy Winehouse, The Streets and eventual winners Franz Ferdinand.

    Ty contracted coronavirus earlier this year, and a fundraising page set up in April said he had been “put in a medically induced coma to temporarily sedate to help his body receive the appropriate treatment”.

    He later left intensive care after his condition seemingly improved – but on Thursday, his press team confirmed he had died.

    Writing on the fundraising page, Ty’s friend Diane Laidlaw confirmed he had contracted pneumonia while recovering from coronavirus.

    “Ty’s condition had been improving but last week while on a normal ward he had contracted pneumonia which worsened his recovery and ultimately Ty’s body couldn’t fight back anymore,” she wrote.

    His death was mourned by stars including Ghetts and Roots Manuva.

    DJ Charlie Sloth called him “a friend, a role model and a true foundation to UK rap”.

    “This brother here was truly a good person. Sad to see you ascend from this realm so soon,” wrote Posdnuous, from US rap trio De La Soul, who appeared on Ty’s third album, Closer, in 2006.

    Skip Youtube post by Big Dada

    Warning: Third party content may contain adverts Report End of Youtube post by Big Dada Born Ben Chijioke in London in 1972, he grew up with his sister in a strict household where he was expected to become a doctor or a lawyer.

    But he fell in love with hip-hop and decided to pursue a career as an MC.

    “They didn’t take to it very well at all,” he told the Independent in 2008. “I knew that it was going to happen, but I just continued to do what I did – they just made me do it in secret.”

    After finding a job as a sound engineer, he started recording in the mid-90s, appearing on tracks produced by IG Culture’s New Sector Movement and DJ Pogo, as well as hosting a hip-hop night called Lyrical Lounge.

    He released his debut album Awkward in 2001, but it was Upwards – with its mixture of Afro-funk, Jamaican dub, Latin shuffles and dextrous wordplay – that brought him to mainstream attention.

    The album showcased his relaxed, storytelling style, whether he was talking about relationship problems on Wait A Minute or the more serious dilemma of gun crime on Rain.

    He went on to record three further solo albums, the most recent being A Work of Heart in 2018 and collaborated with dozens of artists from afro-beat drummer Tony Allen to Soweto Kinch and US hip-hop outfit Arrested Development.

    Rapper Ghetts was among the rappers paying tribute, writing on Instagram: “RIP TY. This one’s deep I had a lot of respect for.

    He added that Ty was “one of the first from the older generation to embrace me and show me, love”.

    Roots Manuva simply wrote: “Rest my Brother. You did good”.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Shortages of virus test materials ‘critical’ – UN lab chief

    Shortages of materials needed in tests for the novel coronavirus remain “critical”, according to the head of a UN lab, which is supplying countries with COVID-19 detection kits.

    In particular the chemical reagents for the tests are still in short supply, said Giovanni Cattoli, head of the Animal Production and Health Laboratory run jointly by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    “There is indeed on the global market a shortage of some items, particularly reagents, because there are demands from all over the world,” Cattoli told AFP this week during a tour of the laboratory at Seibersdorf, 40 kilometres (25 miles) outside Vienna.

    “The situation is still critical,” he said. “We are working … to accelerate purchase and investigate if there are alternative reagents.”

    The tests the lab sends out use the nuclear-derived RT-PCR technology, which is now common for new coronavirus detection and can give results within hours.

    Cattoli said one of the lessons of the crisis was “that we need not to rely only on a single type of test but to have a portfolio of tests and a portfolio of reagents in order to be prepared to have a plan B and possibly a plan C in order to respond effectively and rapidly.”

    The IAEA has received requests from 119 member states for test equipment to supply more than 200 laboratories, Cattoli added.

    Of them, 18 have already received supplies with more on the way.

    The costs of each package of equipment – some 100,000 euros ($108,000) – are borne by the IAEA.

    “Some laboratories in some areas of the world don’t have the necessary equipment. They don’t have the necessary reagents and procedures to rapidly detect the virus,” Cattoli said.

    Those who have received equipment are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Iran, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malaysia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Togo.

    The IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf are the only ones of their kind operated by the UN in the world.

    They cooperate with the FAO and others to monitor the evolution of the novel coronavirus and other viruses.

    They also work on improvements to RT-PCR technology, which may enable it to be used outside laboratories in the future, Cattoli said.

    Source: france24.com

  • Coronavirus pandemic sends US jobless rate to 14.7%

    The US unemployment rate has risen to 14.7%, with 20.5 million jobs lost in April, as the coronavirus pandemic devastated the economy.

    The rise means the jobless rate is now worse than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

    Since the pandemic began, the US has suffered its worst growth numbers in a decade and the worst retail sales report on record.

    Just two months ago, the unemployment rate was at 3.5%, a 50-year low.

    Weekly figures released on Thursday showed a further 3.2 million Americans sought unemployment benefits last week. That brings the total number of jobless claims since mid-March to 33.3 million- or about 20% of the US workforce.

    In recent weeks, companies such as Uber, Lyft and Airbnb were among the firms that have announced cuts, as shutdowns halted significant amounts of travel.

    The impact has been felt across the economy, affecting medical practices, restaurants and administrative workers among many others. The number of new claims reported each week by the US Department of Labor has subsided since hitting a peak of 6.9 million in March.

    But they remain extraordinarily high.

    And the number of people collecting benefits has continued to rise, despite recent moves to start re-opening in some parts of the country.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: China smog returns after pandemic cleared the air

    The coronavirus pandemic had cleared smog from China’s skies for months, but air pollution has returned with a vengeance as factories rush to ramp up output after going idle during the outbreak.

    Levels of toxic pollutants including nitrogen dioxide and tiny particles known as PM2.5 were all higher in April compared with the same period last year, data released by Greenpeace China on Friday showed.

    “What is interesting is how rapidly the emissions have rebounded after the sharp fall seen in the first three months of the year,” Li Shuo, a climate and energy expert at Greenpeace China, told AFP.

    “This may be an early sign that the positive trends seen during the epidemic period might be quickly reversed.”

    Levels of PM2.5 across China fell by more than 18 percent between January 20 and April 4 amid city-wide lockdowns and strict travel restrictions, according to the environment ministry.

    Satellite images released earlier by NASA and the European Space Agency showed that nitrogen dioxide emissions in major Chinese cities in central and eastern China – where most chemical, steel and cement plants are located – were down by 30 percent in the first two months of the year.

    But the level of PM2.5 particles in a cubic metre of air in April was 33.93, a slight increase from 33.2 in the same period last year.

    The level of nitrogen dioxide in a cubic metre of air in April was 25.4 compared with 24.6 in the same month last year.

    Both pollutants are toxic by-products of burning coal, oil and gas and can cause asthma, heart diseases and can even weaken the immune system, making people more susceptible to contracting other illnesses.

    Exposure to chronic air pollution has shortened China’s average life expectancy by more than four years, according to the World Health Organization.

    An uptick in industrial production and adverse weather patterns have worsened air pollution in April, Li said.

    Electricity production was up 1.2 percent in April. China relies on coal for most of its energy, he said.

    Illegal emissions

    Local governments were also turning a blind eye towards factories flouting emissions standards as they rushed to increase production.

    The environment ministry said Friday that local officials in the coastal province of Fujian a textile and electronics equipment manufacturing hub have failed to take “strict and correct” measures to curb illegal emissions and even accepted bribes from companies.

    Some heavy polluters have also been faking emissions data submitted to the government’s online monitoring system over the last two months, the ministry said in a separate statement Friday.

    In March, a packaging materials company in Shandong province was fined one million yuan ($141,000) for emitting 12 times more sulphur dioxide than what was earlier reported.

    A company in the eastern city of Wenzhou that was helping the local government collect online emissions data had “tampered with the figures more than 100 times between March 24 and April 9”, the ministry said.

    Polluting stimulus

    Environmentalists are worried that a stimulus to kick-start the ailing economy, which shrank 6.8 percent in the first quarter, would worsen air pollution woes.

    After the 2008 financial crisis, Beijing launched a four trillion yuan ($567.6 billion) stimulus package that included massive infrastructure investment.

    In the years that followed, air pollution rose to record highs and sparked a public backlash.

    China has refrained from an all-out stimulus this time around, and has pushed for investments in high-tech sectors such as 5G telecom networks, smart manufacturing, data centres and electric vehicles.

    But in early March, Chinese regulators approved 7.9 gigawatts of new coal-fired power plants – more than the approved projects in the entire year of 2019, Li said.

    “Depending on how the economic situation unfolds, the government may still retrieve its old playbook and invest in traditional infrastructure projects that took a toll on the environment,” Li said.

    Source: france24.com

  • Coronavirus: Ghanas Saudi mission registering Ghanaians for evacuation

    The Embassy of Ghana in Riyadh and the General Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has informed Ghanaians in some gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Bahrain, Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan and Sultanate of Oman that the embassy has, on the directives of the government of Ghana, commenced compiling a list of Ghanaians desirous of being evacuated to Ghana due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

    In a statement, the embassy said “additionally, the purpose of this exercise is only for collection of information to enable the Government of Ghana plan and take decision in relation to the safe facilitation and evacuation of stranded Ghanaians” in the listed gulf states.

    The embassy further requested all Ghanaians in these countries who are interested in being evacuated to “urgently forward” their details to the embassy in Riyadh and Jeddah respectively.

    “However, Ghanaians in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan and Sultanate of Oman are kindly requested to send their information to the embassy of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia”.

    According to the statement signed by Ambassador Sheik T.B Damba “the information received will be compiled and forwarded to the government of Ghana for consideration”, adding: “Once arrangements are concluded, the interested registered persons will be accordingly notified.”

    Source: Class FM

  • Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey tested for coronavirus

    Ghana international Thomas Partey and his Atletico Madrid teammates were tested for Coronavirus ahead of the resumption in Spanish league.

    The 26-year-old was at the team’s training facility on Wednesday to take the test as Spanish football pushes towards a return to action.

    Spanish football is anticipating at least 30 cases of Coronavirus among its players, but will not allow professionals testing positive to derail its operation to restart the season in the middle of next month.

    Only players who test positive will be quarantined and the four phases of testing, solitary training, group training, and full-squad training will go ahead.

    The Ghanaian midfielder has been one of the consistent performers for Atletico Madrid, making 31 appearances in all competitions thus far.

    Source: footballghana.com

  • Latif Blessing resumes training with LAFC after coronavirus break

    Ghanaian midfielder Latif Atta Blessing has returned to training at Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC after an enforced break due to Coronavirus.

    Blessing was part of sixteen LAFC players that showed up at training on Thursday, and was engaged in an individual practice as part of measures in controlling the spread of the virus.

    The Major League Soccer has been on hold since March due to the pandemic, but it is likely that soccer will return soon as clubs return to training.

    LAFC are unbeaten in the MLS this season after just two games, beating David Beckham’s Inter Miami on opening day 1-0 before a 3-3 draw with Philadelphia Union.

    Latif Blessing was involved in both games, and has been an integral member of coach Bradley’s side.

    Watch Video Below:

    Source: Ghana Soccernet

  • South Korean football kicks off with new audience, safety measures

    South Korean football will reach new international TV audiences as it leads the way by restarting after the Coronavirus on Friday, but there will be no crowds or wild goal celebrations and even talking is discouraged.

    With most leagues worldwide sidelined by the pandemic, the K-League is the first competition of any standing to come back to life, watched by sport-starved fans in a swathe of foreign countries.

    It will provide the first glimpse of post-virus football, with teams under orders to stick to stringent safety guidelines to prevent any contagion.

    Players have been told to avoid excessive goal celebrations, handshakes, close talking and blowing their noses, while the stadiums will be devoid of spectators.

    But with fans around the world long deprived of live sport, the K-League has signed rights deals with broadcasters in nearly 20 countries including Germany, Switzerland and Australia who will be showing games live.

    The K-League, whose start was delayed two months by the pandemic, will also be livestreamed on YouTube and Twitter with English graphics and commentary.

    Last year rights were sold to only six countries, all of them in Asia.

    “Because we had limited exposure to international fans, it is true that the K-League was largely unknown globally despite its competitiveness,” said league spokesman Lee Jong-kwoun.

    “2020 will be the first year the league will be recognised and assessed on a global level.”

    Defending champions Jeonbuk Motors — managed by Jose Mourinho’s former assistant Jose Morais — face Cup-holders Suwon Bluewings in the season-opener in Jeonju, a host city for the 2002 World Cup.

    – Bows, not handshakes –

    The K-League’s progress will be watched closely by other leagues including the giants of Europe, where Germany’s Bundesliga is the only competition so far to set a date to return, on May 16.

    Players and coaching staff will have their temperatures checked before each game and anyone at 37.5 C (99.5 F) or more will be isolated and tested.

    If anyone gets infected during the season, their team and those who played against them will have to take a two-week break.

    And instead of the traditional pre-game handshakes, players have been asked to bow their heads from a distance.

    South Korea endured one of the worst early outbreaks of COVID-19 outside China, prompting professional sports to suspend or delay their seasons, a pattern that was repeated worldwide.

    But the country appears to have flattened the curve thanks to an extensive “trace, test and treat” programme, and football’s return comes after baseball started this week, also without fans.

    Life in South Korea has returned largely to normal, with workers going back to offices this week under eased social distancing rules, while a stay-on-base order on its 600,000 strong military was lifted, allowing conscripts to go on leave.

    Schools will start re-opening next week.

    Authorities reported 12 fresh coronavirus cases Friday, taking the total to 10,822.

    The K-League said spectators will be allowed back into stadiums progressively as the government eases its distancing measures.

    The new football season comes just three days after the return of professional baseball in South Korea, which has struck a television deal with ESPN for US fans.

    Source: AFP

  • Europe marks 75th anniversary of VE day in shadow of Covid-19

    A continent devastated by the coronavirus will on Friday mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, known as Victory in Europe (VE) day, as the economic destruction of the current global crisis was laid bare.

    Large-scale parades that had been envisaged to commemorate victory over the Nazis have been downsized as the world grapples with a fearsome new enemy that has killed 277,000 people and sickened more than 3.7 million.

    While parts of Europe appeared to be over the hump of new infections, the United States’ death toll showed no signs of slowing, and Brazil warned of chaos with the pandemic running out of control.

    “Within about 30 days, there may start to be shortages on shelves and production may become disorganised, leading to a system of economic collapse, of social disorder,” Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said.

    Brazil is Latin America’s worst-affected nation, with more than 135,000 infections and 9,100 confirmed deaths, although experts say the true figures are far higher.

    But far-right President Jair Bolsonaro opposes stay-at-home measures to slow the spread, saying they are unnecessarily damaging the economy.

    US President Donald Trump is also pushing for lockdowns to be lifted, as he tries to steady the economy ahead of November polls.

    “This country can’t stay closed and locked down for years,” he said Thursday, as the US death toll topped 75,500.

    Another 3.2 million people filed unemployment claims in the United States last week, bringing the total who have lost their jobs in the lockdown to 33.5 million.

    Germany and France on Thursday reported major slumps in industrial production and Britain said its economic output would plummet by 14 percent this year.

    Across Europe, many countries are now easing restrictions, with some shops and schools re-opening, Italy allowing Catholics to soon attend mass, and Norway to open up pubs on June 1.

    Britain was on Thursday reviewing lockdown measures, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson expected to offer a roadmap on Sunday.

    The easing has already begun in Germany, while France is due on Monday to start emerging from its lockdown, though Paris will remain restricted.

    Wreaths

    Despite limitations, some ceremonies were to go ahead Friday in commemoration of the end of hostilities in World War II.

    The anniversary of Nazi Germany’s 1945 unconditional surrender after a war that cost 50 million lives is a holiday in Berlin this year.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier are due to lay wreaths at the country’s main memorial.

    Ceremonies across France have been drastically scaled down, although President Emmanuel Macron will still be attending an event on the Champs-Élysées.

    In Britain, street parades by veterans have been cancelled.

    Russia had originally planned a huge military display on its May 9 Victory Day, but now only a flypast will take place over Red Square.

    President Vladimir Putin will lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier memorial, before making a TV address that will not only touch on the war, but is also expected to chart out the country’s next steps in battling the virus.

    Most of Europe has seen significant drops in new infections, but cases are on the rise in Russia, with another 11,000 reported Thursday.

    Moscow’s lockdown has been extended until May 31.

    Source: france24.com

  • UN calls for end to ‘tsunami of hate’ around virus

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an “all-out effort” to end rising racism linked to the Coronavirus pandemic.

    “The pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scaremongering,” Guterres said on Friday.

    “Anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and in the streets. Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread and COVID-19-related anti-Muslim attacks have occurred.”

    Additionally, “journalists, whistleblowers, health professionals, aid workers and human rights defenders are being targeted simply for doing their jobs,” he said.

    He appealed for “an all-out effort to end hate speech globally,” and called on “the media, especially social media companies, to do much more to flag and… remove racist, misogynist and other harmful content.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: Ghanaians have ‘terrible attitude’, it’s so bad – Atik Mohammed

    PNC General Secretary, Atik Mohammed, has admonished Ghanaians to stop flouting the preventive protocols to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the country.

    Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’, Atik Mohammed bemoaned the character of some Ghanaians who have refused to heed the simple safety measures to control the disease.

    According to him, ”the Ghanaian attitude is terrible” in all sectors of the economy.

    He stressed the nation will defeat the pandemic only when all Ghanaians play a significant role in observing the health instructions.

    Atik Mohammed advised the citizenry to cherish their lives because the pandemic is not a comic relief but a matter of life and death.

    “The Ghanaian attitude is terrible in every sector. When you take health, our attitude is bad. In sanitation and governance, our attitude is bad . . . There is no regard for social distancing. The people are not observing the protocols and all we’re doing is spreading the virus among us,” he stated.

    He added that “the very nature of our homes and social relationship is such that we tend to get close to one another and therefore if people keep disobeying the protocols”, there will be a rapid spread of the disease.

    Source: Peace FM

  • Cabinet’s three-day retreat on COVID-19 begins

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his cabinet have begun a three-day retreat to examine the impact and the implications of the Coronavirus pandemic across all governance sectors in the country.

    Various recommendations made over the pasts months would also be considered.
    The retreat would also allow government to place its recommendations before Parliament during the mid-year review, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Information, said.

    Speaking at a media briefing to update the public on efforts being made, Mr Oppong-Nkrumah said the President has subsequently instructed all ministers to report on the impact across their sectors and proffer recommendations for recovery.

    The Minister said from the onset of the pandemic, the Finance Minister briefed the nation through Parliament on the projected economic impact of the pandemic and measures that government was projecting to take at the time to mitigate the impact.

    Since then, the government has rolled out a number of measures in responding to the health crisis and its attendant socio-economic challenges that has come with its management.

    These measures included the free water supply for three months and the free electricity for three months for lifeline consumers and 50 per cent discount for non-lifeline consumers among several others.

    There was also the discussion of a soft loan programme and the facilitation of other loan facilities through some of the commercial banks, Mr Oppong-Nkrumah said.

    He said eight weeks into the pandemic as Ghana gets closer to mid-year, government has gathered substantial data on the real impact of the COVID-19 across various sectors including, education, health, economy, trade, the legal front among others areas.

    Source: GNA

  • Rome hospital launches testing to check how many have had the virus

    Blood tests have begun in the region around Rome to allow authorities to gauge how many people have been exposed to the coronavirus since the epidemic struck Italy.

    More data will help to map out how the virus has travelled through the population, as the country begins to emerge from the health crisis that has killed nearly 30,000 of its citizens.

    Over the following few days, the region of Lazio – of which Rome is the capital — will perform some 150,000 blood tests on health workers and police, those assumed to be most exposed to the virus.

    Such tests have already begun in other regions, especially Lombardy in Italy’s north which has been hardest hit by the coronavirus.

    Sergio Bernardini, a professor in biochemistry and director of the lab at Rome’s Tor Vergata hospital, said the large-scale screening efforts will produce a closer estimate of the number of people who have been infected with the virus.

    “In reality, they’re probably much more numerous, eight to ten times more than the figures we have today,” Bernardini told AFP.

    The tests, which require just a finger prick of blood, look for the presence of antibodies indicating that the person has been exposed to the virus at some point. The hope is that the person has developed immunity to the virus, although that is not guaranteed.

    A positive result “does not mean that you are protected, it is not a licence to return to normal daily life,” Bernardini cautioned.

    “It’s absolutely necessary to continue using … masks, which are still the most important thing, even more important than knowing if you have antibodies,” he said.

    The blood tests differ from the more common swab tests, which check molecules from nasal secretions to know whether a person currently has the virus.

    Although the blood tests can help determine how many people may be immune, and how many have never been exposed to the virus, there are pitfalls, experts warn.

    A person who has developed antibodies can still carry traces of the virus and be contagious. Moreover, it is not understood how long immunity to coronavirus lasts, meaning there is a risk those deemed “immune” could be re-infected and pass along the virus to others.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Air France-KLM reports €815 million first-quarter operating loss

    Two weeks of Coronavirus shutdown were enough to hit Air France-KLM with an 815 million-euro ($880 million) first-quarter operating loss, the airline group said on Thursday – predicting demand could take “several years” to recover.

    In the month of March there was an “abrupt plunge in revenue that will obviously extend through the second quarter,” Chief Financial Officer Frederic Gagey warned.

    Many major airlines have sought government help as they struggle to slash costs and conserve cash in response to the unprecedented global crisis.

    Air France-KLM, which has received 7 billion euros in French-backed rescue aid and Dutch pledges for a further 2 billion to 4 billion, expects to reduce monthly cash burn to 400 million euros in the second quarter thanks to cost-cutting and state-funded furloughs that save 350 million euros a month.

    But operating losses will widen “significantly” in April-June with 95% of flights expected to remain grounded by a combination of travel restrictions designed to contain the pandemic and collapsed demand.

    Capacity will still be down 80% in the third quarter, the group predicted, with customers returning only gradually.

    Airline group expects full-year loss

    Air France-KLM’s revenue fell 15.5% to 5.02 billion euros in the first quarter. Its net loss widened to 1.8 billion euros from 324 million, also swollen by a 455 million-euro impact from over-hedged fuel.

    While the initial virus outbreak in China impacted Asia traffic early in the quarter, the full effect of European lockdowns and travel bans was not felt until the second half of March.

    The group now expects a full-year loss in operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) – the first in its history, CFO Gagey said.

    Demand is “not expected to recover to pre-crisis levels before several years,” the company also warned.

    Formally withdrawing its pre-crisis 2020 guidance, Air France-KLM said it now planned to reduce its aircraft fleet by 20% in 2021. Chief Executive Ben Smith will present an updated “transformation plan” to investors within months, it said.

    Source: reuters.com

  • Coronavirus: Spirits firm turns to hand sanitisers after sales evaporate

    After sales of its specialist booze started slipping, a Cotswolds spirits company turned to making hand sanitisers to keep the money coming in.

    The British Honey Company has made £500,000 from sales of its alcohol sanitiser since its end-of-March launch.

    The cash “more than offset the decline in revenues from the company’s core product”, it said.

    “Sales… have been exceptional,” said chief executive Michael Williams.

    The company makes a range of honey and fruit-infused spirits, such as Keepr’s Gin.

    They are sold through specialist online retailers and hotel chains, but sales have fallen since lockdown as customers remain indoors or buy booze through supermarkets.

    It spotted the trend early in the coronavirus crisis and applied for permission from HMRC to use excess capacity at its Buckinghamshire distillery to produce the alcohol sanitiser, made with 70% alcohol and extracts of British honey and green tea.

    Clear opportunity

    “Very early on during the Covid-19 outbreak we identified a clear opportunity for the company to move into the production of alcohol-based sanitisers, to meet exceptional demand and supply shortages, given the basic ingredient is the same as for our infused spirit brands,” said Michael Williams.

    He said sales had “exceeded expectations”.

    The firm – which listed as a public company in March – will focus current production capacity on its Drip+Drop sanitiser in the short to medium term while demand remains high.

    Mr Williams warned that problems in the alcohol supply chain were starting to emerge.

    The company has responded by “ring-fencing” enough alcohol in its bonded warehouse to meet anticipated demand for its alcohol sanitiser and infused spirits products until at least the end of the calendar year, including the Christmas period, the peak time for spirit sales.

    Sanitising production

    A number of drinks firms have switched to producing hand sanitiser during the coronavirus crisis.

    William Grant & Sons, better known for its whisky, has shifted production at three of its distilleries to make sanitiser.

    Diageo has pledged to help create eight million bottles of sanitiser during the crisis by donating up to two million litres of grain-neutral spirit to hand sanitiser producers.

    “This is the quickest and most effective way for us to meet the surging demand for hand sanitiser around the world,” said Ivan Menezes, chief executive of Diageo.

    Bacardi has turned its rum distillery in Cataño, Puerto Rico, into a hand sanitiser production site.

    Scottish brewer Brewdog is producing about 4,000 litres a week of its Punk Sanitiser for the NHS and local Aberdeenshire charities.

    Source: bbc.com

  • White House military aide tests positive for coronavirus

    A White House military aide reportedly part of a unit working closely alongside President Donald Trump — has tested positive for coronavirus, but Trump has not been infected, a spokesman said Thursday.

    “We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus,” Trump deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said.

    “The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health.”

    According to a report by CNN, the military member in question is in the navy and works in a unit providing valet services to Trump.

    Trump, his immediate entourage and guests to the White House are regularly given tests that provide results within about 15 minutes.

    However, there are potential gaps in the screening, including journalists who may come within a short distance of the president but are not tested.

    The president has steadfastly refused to wear a mask in public, as do his top officials, although the practice is encouraged by his own government guidelines.

    Source: AFP

  • Coronavirus contact-tracing: World split between two types of app

    Countries around the world are developing Covid-19 smartphone apps to limit the spread of coronavirus and relax lockdown restrictions.

    It’s hoped the information they gather can be used to alert people whether they pose a risk of spreading the contagion, and need to isolate. But, over recent weeks, a split has emerged between two different types of app – the so-called centralised and decentralised versions.

    Both types use Bluetooth signals to log when smartphone owners are close to each other – so if someone develops Covid-19 symptoms, an alert can be sent to other users they may have infected.

    Under the centralised model, the anonymised data gathered is uploaded to a remote server where matches are made with other contacts, should a person start to develop Covid-19 symptoms.

    This is the method the UK is pursuing.

    By contrast, the decentralised model gives users more control over their information by keeping it on the phone. It is there that matches are made with people who may have contracted the virus. This is the model promoted by Google, Apple and an international consortium.

    Both sides have their fans.

    Backers of the centralised model say it can give the authorities more insight into the spread of the virus and how well the app is performing. Supporters of the decentralised approach say it offers users a higher degree of privacy, protecting them from hackers or the state itself revealing their social contacts.

    Centralised v decentralised apps

    In truth, both are unproven at this stage. South Korea, seen as one of the most successful countries at tackling Covid-19, has done it without a contact-tracing app. It has however used other surveillance methods which would be seen as invasive by many.

    At the start, the centralised approach was seen pioneering. Singapore’s TraceTogether was widely viewed as the one to emulate. But that changed after it emerged the app was only being used by about 20% of the local population, and there had been a resurgence of Covid-19 cases.

    Part of the problem is that TraceTogether does not work properly when in the background on iPhones because of the way Apple restricts use of Bluetooth. The firm has promised to waive these curbs, but only if apps fall into line with its decentralised system. Singapore has since signalled it will do so as a result.

    “We are working with Apple and Google to make the app more effective, especially for iOS users,” a spokesman told the BBC.

    Australia, another early adopter of the centralised approach, launched its CovidSafe app based on TraceTogether, and faced similar issues as a consequence. It has said it plans to adopt the Apple-Google framework, citing a “big shift in performance of Bluetooth connectivity”. And on Wednesday, Colombia confirmed it too was considering a switch after having to turn off the contact-tracing feature in its CoronApp.

    “[We need to] minimise the risk of generating unnecessary alerts,” said presidential advisor Victor Munoz.

    ‘Apple not helping’ Others, though, are still forging ahead with the centralised approach. France’s digital minister has said it intends to launch its StopCovid app by 2 June, and is attempting to press Apple into a U-turn of its own.

    “Apple could have helped us make the application work even better on the iPhone,” said digital minister Cédric O on Tuesday. “They have wished not to do so. I regret this.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: Bank of England warns of deepest recession on record

    The Bank of England has warned that the coronavirus pandemic will push the UK economy towards its deepest recession on record.

    It said the economy was on course to shrink 14% this year, based on the lockdown being relaxed in June.

    Scenarios drawn up by the Bank to illustrate the economic impact said Covid-19 was “dramatically reducing jobs and incomes in the UK”.

    Policymakers voted unanimously to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.1%.

    However, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that sets interest rates was split on whether to inject more stimulus into the economy.

    Two of its nine members voted to increase the latest round of quantitative easing by £100bn to £300bn.

    The Bank’s analysis was based on social distancing measures being gradually phased out between June and September.

    Its latest Monetary Policy Report showed the UK economy plunging into its first recession in more than a decade. The economy shrinks by 3% in the first quarter of 2020, followed by an unprecedented 25% decline in the three months to June.

    This would push the UK into a technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of economic decline.

    The Bank said the housing market had come to a standstill, while consumer spending had dropped by 30% in recent weeks.

    For the year as a whole, the economy is expected to contract by 14%. This would be the biggest annual decline on record, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data dating back to 1949.

    It would also be the sharpest annual contraction since 1706, according to reconstructed Bank of England data stretching back to the 18th Century.

    While UK growth is expected to rebound in 2021 to 15%, the size of the economy is not expected to get back to its pre-virus peak until the middle of next year.

    ‘Bold action’

    Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, said he expected any permanent damage from the pandemic to be “relatively small”. The economy was likely to recover “much more rapidly than the pull back from the global financial crisis,” he said.

    Mr Bailey also praised the action by the government to support workers and businesses through wage subsidies, loans and grants. He said the success of these schemes and the Bank’s own stimulus meant there would be “limited scarring to the economy”.

    James Smith, research director at the Resolution Foundation, said the hit to the economy this year was equivalent to £9,000 for every family in Britain.

    He said: “Faced with this huge economic hit, both the Bank and the Government have made the right call in taking bold action to protect firms and families as much as possible.”

    The UK government is expected to start easing lockdown restrictions next week.

    The Bank stressed that the outlook for the economy was “unusually uncertain” at present and would depend on how households and businesses responded to the pandemic.

    It assumes job losses and shrinking pay packets will continue to weigh on the recovery, with British families remaining cautious about shopping and socialising for at least another year.

    The government’s jobs retention scheme covering 80% of wages is phased out with the lockdown.

    Companies stop or scale back their operations for some time.

    Cautious consumers voluntarily maintain social distancing until mid-2021.

    Average weekly earnings are expected to shrink by 2% this year, reflecting the fall in wages for furloughed workers.

    The Bank said sharp increases in benefit claims are “consistent with a pronounced rise in the unemployment rate”, which is expected to climb above 9% this year, from the current rate of 4%.

    Under the Bank’s scenario, inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI) falls to zero at the start of next year amid the sharp drop in energy prices. It is also expected to remain well below the Bank’s 2% target for the next two years.

    Cautious consumers

    The Bank’s latest Financial Stability Report said the Bank’s scenario was consistent with a 16% drop in house prices. The latest figures published by UK finance show one in seven mortgage holders have taken a payment holiday due to the coronavirus.

    The Bank said the number of new mortgage deals on offer had halved in just over a month as banks focused on the deluge of payment holiday requests. This includes a huge contraction in deals for buyers with a deposit of less than 40% of the purchase price.

    The MPC also highlighted the stark drop in consumer spending. It said spending on flights, hotels, restaurants and entertainment has dropped to a fifth of their previous levels.

    Shopping at high street retailers had dropped by 80%, while business confidence was described as “severely depressed”.

    The Bank warns that this is not a typical forecast and that “many other scenarios are plausible”. But these numbers provide the sharpest analysis yet of the economic challenge of the virus and its pandemic.

    Nonetheless the Bank has chosen to continue with levels of economic stimulus announced last month. The Monetary Policy Committee chose to keep base rates at their record low of 0.1% and its bond-buying quantitative easing programme at £645bn.

    Two members of the nine-member MPC voted to further increase the funds pumped into the government borrowing market by £100bn, suggesting the Bank may yet do more.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: Gollum actor Serkis to raise cash by reading entire Hobbit live online

    Andy Serkis will give a continuous live reading of The Hobbit online, to raise money for charity.

    The Gollum actor will read JRR Tolkien’s 1937 novel from start to finish with no breaks.

    Serkis played the corrupted character, originally known as Smeagol, in the The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films.

    Money raised from the 56-year-old’s expected 10-12-hour performance will be split between NHS Charities Together and Best Beginnings.

    “So many of us are struggling in isolation during the lockdown,” he said.

    “While times are tough, I want to take you on one of the greatest fantasy adventures ever written, a 12-hour armchair marathon across Middle Earth whilst raising money for two amazing charities which are doing extraordinary work right now to help those most in need.”

    The British actor was awarded the Bafta film award for outstanding British contribution to cinema earlier this year for his groundbreaking motion capture work as Gollum, as well as on films like King Kong and the Planet of Apes movie series.

    His reading will take place from 10:00 BST on bank holiday Friday, with streaming details to follow via his Hobbitathon Covid-19 Go Fund Me Page.

    So far the star has raised just over £4,000 of his £100,000 target.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Grim economic data shows devastating impact of virus

    Evidence mounted of the devastating economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday as hard-hit Europe moved to further ease lockdown measures that ground its economies to a halt.

    Germany and France reported major slumps in industrial production and Britain said its economic output would plummet by 14 percent this year. The United States was also expected to announce new jobless figures on Thursday showing millions more out of work.

    Governments around the world are under immense pressure to ease the economic pain caused by measures to stop the virus, which has claimed more than 263,000 lives and left half of humanity under some form of lockdown.

    Some European nations are now cautiously easing restrictions in the hopes of stabilising their reeling economies, with some shops and schools re-opening and even Germany’s Bundesliga football league to resume on May 15, though without spectators.

    US President Donald Trump is also pushing for lockdown measures to be lifted, while engaging in a war of words with China that saw him claim the pandemic was a worse “attack” on the United States than Pearl Harbor or 9/11.

    But experts have warned that social distancing will remain necessary until a vaccine is developed – and governments are keen to avoid a devastating second wave of infections.

    The British government was on Thursday reviewing lockdown measures, with a partial easing expected to be announced this weekend.

    Trouble for tourism

    The easing has already begun in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, while on May 11 France is due to start emerging from a lockdown that began in mid-March, with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe to announce on Thursday how this initial de-confinement will take shape.

    Many Europeans are anxious to get back to work, like Elena Isaac, a restaurant owner in Cyprus’s now-empty beach resort of Ayia Napa.

    “You can’t survive with no tourists… It is impossible,” she told AFP, as nearby residents enjoyed the loosening of a six-week lockdown with swims in the Mediterranean.

    Economists have been warning for weeks that the pandemic will lead to a global economic downturn not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s and new data is bringing the impact into sharper focus.

    The Bank of England said the economic output of Britain — which has the second-highest number of deaths in the world — was set to crash 14 percent this year.

    The forecast came a day after the European Union warned of a 7.7-percent eurozone contraction in 2020.

    Industrial production in Germany fell by 9.2 percent month-on-month in March, official figures showed Thursday, the worst fall since the manufacturing output data series was started in 1991.

    The slump in France was even greater with industrial output dropping by 16.2 percent in March on a monthly basis.

    Airlines and travel are among the sectors worst hit by the pandemic, with flights grounded worldwide and social distancing measures severely limiting leisure and business trips.

    The World Tourism Organization said Thursday that the number of international tourist arrivals will plunge by 60 to 80 percent in 2020 because of the pandemic.

    China hits back at Trump

    Most of Europe has seen a significant drop in the number of new infections and deaths from the virus, though in Russia cases are on the rise and on Thursday it reported another record increase with more than 11,000 new infections.

    The United States remains the hardest-hit country, with more than 1.2 million cases and over 73,000 deaths, but Trump has said it is crucial to re-open the shuttered economy.

    Heading into a re-election campaign later this year, he has also ramped up his rhetoric against Beijing, telling reporters on Wednesday that the disease that emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year “should have never happened”.

    “Could have been stopped at the source. Could have been stopped in China,” he said. “This is really the worst attack we’ve ever had… This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center.”

    China on Thursday called the remarks “disharmonious, untruthful and insincere”.

    “We urge the US side to stop shifting the blame to China and turn to facts,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing.

    Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, predicted the US death toll could top 100,000 by the end of May.

    The pandemic has hammered healthcare infrastructure in many parts of the United States, including New York City, and its impact has been particularly severe among the poorest Americans such as undocumented migrants.

    ‘Spectre of multiple famines’

    Many of them are afraid of deportation, as well as the risk of racking up unpayable medical bills and hurting their quest to obtain legal status. As a result, many have contracted and died of COVID-19.

    “He was very ill but did not want to go to the hospital,” Victoria, a Mexican nanny in New York City, said of her 69-year-old husband who had kidney problems and diabetes.

    “After two weeks, when he could no longer walk or breathe, my daughter took the risk, loaded him into the car and drove him there. He died three weeks later.”

    “The most devastating and destabilising effects” of the pandemic “will be felt in the world’s poorest countries,” UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said.

    “Unless we take action now, we should be prepared for a significant rise in conflict, hunger and poverty. The spectre of multiple famines looms.”

    Source: france24.com

  • Millions at risk from known diseases as focus shifts to coronavirus

    As COVID-19 deaths climb ever higher in Europe and the United States, millions of lives are at risk in developing nations where lockdowns and overwhelmed medical systems are disrupting vital testing, vaccination and treatment for other killer diseases.

    The pandemic has seen unprecedented social distancing measures, with billions confined to their homes in a bid to stem the viral spread. Schools, businesses and public spaces have been shuttered en masse.

    It has also fuelled unparallelled economic stimuli from governments and research funding to develop COVID-19 treatments and — the holy grail — a vaccine.

    But while the world is focused on the novel coronavirus, other infectious diseases continue to kill millions of humans, many of them children.

    Health experts warn that the COVID-19 pandemic is already denying untold numbers of patients treatment for illnesses such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and malaria.

    The United Nation’s child care programme UNICEF said last month that 117 million children were now at risk of contracting measles as vaccination programmes are suspended.

    “In some places routine services have been suspended also because the health systems are so stretched, all resources are being diverted to the COVID response,” Robin Nandy, head of UNICEF’s immunisation programme, told AFP.

    “Countries want to limit the contact of health people with potential patients, and this has an impact on vaccination coverage.”

    Measles killed more than 140,000 people in 2018, the vast majority aged under five.

    ‘Sleepless nights for a decade’

    More than 2,500 children die every day from pneumonia – a bacterial infection treated with effective drugs that cost pennies. That’s more than 800,000 preventable child deaths a year, studies have shown.

    In Nigeria, where pneumonia is the leading cause of under-five mortality, fears are growing that COVID-19 is already keeping infants from accessing live-saving interventions.

    “We see a lot of children coming to clinics having respiratory problems and the issue is with diagnosis and treatment,” said Sanjana Bhardwaj, UNICEF chief of health in Nigeria.

    “Another challenge is we do not have oxygen available across the country for children.”

    And that was before the onset of COVID-19, a disease where treatment often requires placing patients on ventilators of oxygen.

    “I’ve been having sleepless nights for more than a decade (about a pandemic),” Bhardwaj told AFP.

    “When you’re at the frontline and you go into communities and see the healthcare there you just get scared.”

    The Democratic Republic of Congo was suffering from multiple disease outbreaks even before COVID-19.

    A measles epidemic there has killed more than 6,000 people – again, mostly children, since the start of 2019.

    Malaria is a constant menace for infants in DR Congo and kills around 13,000 people there annually.

    And last month the World Health Organization was forced to delay an announcement heralding the end of the country’s Ebola crisis as new cases were discovered.

    “We already had significant morbidities such as malaria that was a huge problem, as well as malnutrition which really impacts children’s lives,” Alex Mutanganyi, Save The Children’s COVID-19 response coordinator in the country, told AFP.

    “COVID-19 has just increased the threats that always existed.”

    Vaccine development, reach

    Billions of dollars are currently being funnelled to research for a COVID-19 vaccine, without which scientists doubt economies can fully return to normal.

    More than 100 candidate vaccines exist, and around 70 of them are already being tested in clinical trials.

    On Wednesday, the Stop TB Partnership warned that coronavirus lockdowns could lead to as many as 1.4 million additional tuberculosis deaths, as testing and treatment programmes are disrupted.

    TB is the world’s biggest infectious disease killer, with around 10 million new infections and 1.5 million deaths annually.

    Unlike COVID-19, effective, safe and cheap treatments for TB already exist.

    The only current vaccine is more than 100 years old and only works on very young children. And despite being the deadliest infectious disease on Earth, TB research funding is still dwarfed by that given over to HIV and, now, COVID-19.

    Lucica Ditiu, executive director of the Stop TB Partnership, said that it would cost around $500 million to finish developing a safe and universally effective TB vaccine.

    “TB has been with us for thousands of years. For 100 years we’ve had an infant vaccine and we have two or three potential vaccines in the pipeline,” she said.

    “We look on in amazement at a disease that is 120 days old and it has 100 vaccine candidates in the pipeline. This is really fucked up.”

    Ditiu said that while governments are rightly focused on COVID-19, they mustn’t take their eye off of other communicable illnesses.

    “TB doesn’t effect too many visible people. It’s a disease for people with other vulnerabilities, poor people, ones living in poor parts of the city,” she said.

    “The fear we have is that developing a vaccine for COVID-19 now… may take the focus off of other diseases.”

    Not that finding a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine will be enough to guarantee an end to the pandemic.

    “We need to be mindful that even with existing vaccines that we have had for decades, we’re still not reaching the populations that need them most,” said Nandy.

    UNICEF said last month that around 20 million children worldwide were missing out on routine vaccinations, with 13 million never receiving immunisation.

    “Developing a vaccine is not enough. Vaccines don’t deliver themselves. They need a functioning health system,” Nandy added.

    ‘Staying alive is work’

    COVID-19 is not just exposing the gaps in global responses for communicable diseases. Hundreds of millions of people need daily medication to manage a host of chronic conditions, from diabetes to high blood pressure.

    Last week the Non-Communicable Disease Alliance called on governments to ensure that people living with these illnesses can continue to receive vital treatment during the pandemic.

    While estimates vary, it is thought that as many as 175 million people suffer from undiagnosed diabetes and up to one billion from undiagnosed hypertension.

    Not only does this pose a hidden risk of COVID-19 complications for hundreds of millions globally, it also makes managing diagnosed disease harder.

    Vicki Atkinson, a health campaigner with the South Africa NCD Alliance, said that the No. 1 killer among women there was diabetes — a condition that can be well managed with daily medication.

    Atkinson, who herself suffers from diabetes and psoriasis, set up an information helpline so patients know how to access medical care during the lockdown. It was inundated with calls.

    “One woman was told to take a taxi two hours to go to a regional hospital in Cape Town to pick up her medicine,” she told AFP.

    “She is pregnant, on insulin and asthmatic. She didn’t want to do it.”

    The NCD Alliance warned of “severe disruptions” to global supply lines of medicine and biomedical equipment due to COVID-19.

    Atkinson and other health experts said the current pandemic had proven what they have been warning of for decades: the world is unhealthy, and health should not be taken for granted.

    “Without this people would have carried on as normal,” she said.

    “Across the board, we cannot pretend anymore. Chronic illness should be viewed as work. It’s work to stay alive.”

    Source: france24.com

  • Advertisers Association of Ghana loses contracts due to coronavirus

    The Advertisers Association of Ghana (AAG) has revealed that businesses have terminated contracts with its members following the Coronavirus pandemic and its effects on the economy.

    A statement by the AAG said most agents have moved their clients from bill board advertising to online platforms, adding that big and multinational companies which engage the services of these agencies have cancelled their contracts because they are mostly affected by the Covid-19.

    “This season of COVID-19 has seen certain areas of advertising experiencing great results while some corners of the industry has been hammered.

    “Agencies with high technological space, have moved their mandates to clients online, while the others struggle within the space of virtual advancement,” the statement said.

    It added : “In view of this, several prominent events and conferences are being cancelled or postponed in an effort to protect the health of their employees and as a precaution on suggested travel restrictions, also existing contracts with businesses for the management of their advertising budgets for the 2020 fiscal year may be terminated or renegotiated for the simple reason that, production has gone down thereby impacting negatively on revenue as consumption and/patronage have gone down.”

    “This obviously demands that advertising agencies re-look at the sources of cash inflows and revenue for their 2020 budgets because as health and safety concerns loom around large gathering, many businesses are abandoning live and in person upfront presentation in exchange for visual presentation,” the statement added.

    It further notes that, should the pandemic persist, that could impact the advertising agencies revenue and profit.

    “Huge drops will be seen in the revenue of advertising agencies because the big and multinational companies which engage the services of these agencies are mostly affected by the Covid-19.

    “As a result, those companies will cut down on mainstream and traditional advertising, and rather resort to having an in-house advertising team, mainly as part of the marketing communication department,” it said.

    Source: laudbusiness.com