Coronavirus: Europe grapples with lifting limits on travel
Half a million masks were being handed out on Wednesday in stations around Paris, with France set to ease public transport restrictions next month. But although Europe’s leaders want to kickstart economies hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, how to resume movement of people remains a...
Greece will ease some lockdown restrictions next week
Greece will start to gradually ease lockdown restrictions starting Monday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced in a televised speech Tuesday. Starting Monday, the restrictions on the movement of citizens will be lifted, Mitsotakis said. However, citizens will still not be allowed to commute outside...
Italy tops 200,000 coronavirus cases
Italy has confirmed 200,000 cases of Covid-19, including deaths and recoveries, according to the Italian Civil Protection Agency. On Tuesday, the agency said there has been a total of 201,505 cases in the country. However, Italy saw a drop in cases from Monday, the agency...
In coronavirus battle, scientists have teamed up with billionaires for COVID-19 ‘Manhattan Project’: report
A small group of scientists and billionaires have teamed up in an ambitious effort to battle the coronavirus pandemic, The Wall Street Journal is reporting. The group’s work has been described as a COVID-19 “Manhattan Project,” in a nod to the famous effort to develop...
Coronavirus: HSBC puts 35,000 job cuts on hold
HSBC has paused plans to cut 35,000 jobs, saying it does not want to leave staff unable to find work elsewhere during the coronavirus outbreak. The bank announced the cuts in February as part of a massive cost-cutting programme. But boss Noel Quinn said the...
France details how it will begin easing lockdown restrictions on May 11
France will begin to ease lockdown restrictions on May 11, after the country’s prime minister said they will have enough masks to meet the need. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Tuesday: “We are proposing a very gradual reopening of kindergartens and elementary schools from...
Portugal will end state of emergency this week
Portugal will end its current state of emergency on Saturday, the country’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced on Tuesday. “It is expected that it won’t be necessary in the future to again resort to the state of emergency – if it is, it will...
Scottish government recommends wearing face coverings in public places
Scotland’s government is recommending that people wear face coverings in situations where maintaining social distancing is difficult, such as on public transportation or inside food shops, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday. Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing, Sturgeon acknowledged that evidence on...
Coronavirus vaccine won’t be ready until end of 2021 under “most optimistic” scenario – European expert
A coronavirus vaccine won’t be ready until the end of next year under the “most optimistic of scenarios,” according to Pasi Penttinen from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) “Vaccine development is a hugely complicated and expensive process,” he told Sky News,...
“The pandemic is far from over,” World Health Organization says
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization Director-General said, the coronavirus pandemic isn’t over. “The pandemic is far from over,” he said at a news conference. He said the World Health Organization “continues to be concerned about the increasing trends in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America...
4 million jobs furloughed in the UK, chancellor says
Four million jobs have been furloughed in the UK and a quarter of businesses have stopped trading, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak told the UK Parliament today. He said that “we should be in no doubt” about the seriousness of the economic situation. “We can’t save...
Prosecutors in northern Italy open investigation into handling of Covid-19 outbreak
Prosecutors in the northern Italian city of Bergamo have opened an investigation into the handling of the coronavirus outbreak there, Prosecutor Maria Cristina Rotta‘s office told CNN on Monday. Bergamo is in Lombardy, the Italian province worst-hit by the coronavirus, and was among the first...
Volkswagen restarts Europe’s largest car factory after coronavirus shutdown
Volkswagen — the world’s largest carmaker by sales — restarted work at its biggest factory, in northern Germany, on Monday. In a statement, VW said 8,000 employees in the city of Wolfsburg began building cars again on Monday, under tight hygiene restrictions to curb the...
French Grand Prix called off — but Formula One plans to start season in July
Formula One’s chairman Chase Carey says he plans to start the 2020 season in Austria in July, after the French Grand Prix was called off. French Grand Prix organisers announced on Monday that it was impossible for the race to go ahead as planned on...
UK risks 100,000 deaths if restrictions are eased, leading scientist warns
The UK could experience more than 100,000 coronavirus deaths later this year if the government eases restrictions to focus on just protecting those most at risk, according to one of the country’s leading epidemiologists. Neil Ferguson is one of the scientists who has been advising...
UK PM Boris Johnson warns against relaxing lockdown as he returns to work
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned against relaxing the United Kingdom’s coronavirus restrictions too soon in his first remarks since returning to work after contracting the disease, imploring the nation to “contain your impatience.” Speaking outside Downing Street in London, Johnson said that the...
UK’s testing target “quite a challenge”
The UK government’s promise to reach 100,000 coronavirus tests per day by Thursday is “quite a challenge,” said Michael Malim, the head of immunology and microbial sciences at King’s College London. The Department of Health and Social Care said 29,058 tests were carried out on...
It’s just past 8 a.m. in London and 4 p.m. in Tokyo. Here are the latest developments
The novel coronavirus has now infected nearly 3 million people and killed at least 206,553 worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest on the pandemic: Britain’s PM back in action: Boris Johnson will return to work today after...
Almost all of Germany now required to wear masks in public
Almost all of Germany’s 83 million population will be required to wear face coverings in public spaces as of Monday, according to announcements on federal state websites. Germany is a decentralized country so every state has its own set of rules. Here’s a breakdown of...
Coronavirus: Italy’s PM outlines lockdown easing measures
Italy has outlined plans to ease the strict restrictions it imposed seven weeks ago to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the measures would be relaxed from 4 May, with people being allowed to visit their relatives in small numbers....
Coronavirus: Spain records lowest daily death toll as lockdown eases
Spain, which has been one of the countries worst hit in the coronavirus pandemic, has reported its lowest daily death toll in more than a month. Its health ministry said earlier that 288 more people had died of the virus, the lowest number since 20...
Italy to ease lockdown restrictions in coming weeks, Prime Minister says
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Sunday outlined plans to loosen lockdown restrictions across the country in coming weeks. “Now, the phase of coexistence with the virus begins for everyone, and we must be aware that the contagion curve could rise again in some areas...
Birx says the US will need a “breakthrough” in testing to help screen large numbers of people
Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, said Sunday that the US will need a breakthrough in testing to help screen large numbers of people. The US is continuing to scale coronavirus testing, “but at the same time, we have to realize that...
“Our efforts have begun to pay off,” head of UK National Health Service says
The head of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service in England says the country’s “efforts have become to pay off” after the UK reported its lowest daily death toll from the novel coronavirus since March. The UK reported 413 deaths on Sunday. “The number of...
Italy and Portugal celebrate Liberation Day under lockdown
Italy celebrated Liberation Day on Saturday, marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the fascist dictatorship of war-time ruler Benito Mussolini in 1945. Italian President Sergio Mattarella marked the day by laying a wreath at the unknown soldier war memorial in Rome. Still under...
Israel further eases coronavirus restrictions, as deaths top 200
Hair salons, beauty parlors and other shops and services were allowed to open in Israel Sunday after the government agreed on loosening coronavirus restrictions. Restaurants were allowed to sell food for take-away, though restrictions on seated guests remain in place. All businesses permitted to re-open...
More than 7,000 coronavirus deaths reported in Belgium
More than 7,000 people have died after being infected by the novel coronavirus in Belgium, the country’s crisis centre said in a statement on Sunday. “A total of 7,094 people have died, an increase of 178 in the last 24 hours,” the statement said. “With...
What you need to know about coronavirus this Sunday
You can catch the virus more than once. The World Health Organization has warned against the idea that coronavirus immunity passports can provide a safe way out of lockdown. Many countries were hoping to start issuing risk-free certificates to people who have had the disease,...
Moscow is “not halfway through” the pandemic as Russia surpasses 80,000 coronavirus cases
Russia’s capital has not reached the plateau yet and is looking at several weeks of “challenges” ahead, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said in an interview aired on state channel Russia 24. “Unfortunately, I can’t say we’ve reached a plateau or that we have some positive...
Spain’s kids enjoy their first taste freedom after spending six weeks indoors
Children in Spain had their first taste of freedom on Sunday after a state of emergency was imposed on March 14, bringing some of the strictest confinement measures in Europe in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Children enjoying the outdoors chirped “bien,” which means good,...
