Pakistan’s prime minister tests negative for coronavirus
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested negative for Covid-19, Dr. Zafar Mirza, his special adviser on health, announced in a tweet Wednesday. “I am happy to report that his test is NEGATIVE,” Mirza tweeted. Some background: The decision to test Khan came after Pakistan’s...
Coronavirus pandemic will drive carbon emissions down 6%, meteorological group says
Global carbon emissions are expected to fall 6% this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says. WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said it’s “short-term” good news for the environment, but won’t be enough to get the world back on track to...
It’s just gone 1 p.m. in London and 8 a.m. in New York. Here’s what you need to know.
The coronavirus blame game has reached a new level after Missouri announced it was suing China over the crisis. The US state is seeking damages for what it described as a campaign of “deception” and insufficient action to halt a “preventable” pandemic — allegations Beijing...
Ukraine extends lockdown measures as it expects peak will hit in early May
Ukraine will extend coronavirus lockdown measures until May 11 after projections show it peaking early next month, the country’s Cabinet of Ministers said Wednesday. “We need to tell people exactly when and what will be opened, and what the government’s plan of action is,” a...
Indian government boosts protection for health workers
The Indian government has introduced an urgent executive order to discourage violence against health workers. The country’s Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, has been amended, and those found guilty now face imprisonment from 6 months to 7 years. “Health workers who are trying to save the...
World is facing “multiple famines of biblical proportions” because of coronavirus pandemic
The world is facing multiple famines of “biblical proportions” in just a matter of months, the UN has said, warning that the coronavirus pandemic will push an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation. Famines could take hold in “about three dozen countries”...
This California town is testing every resident for coronavirus and antibodies
A remote Northern California hamlet became one of the first places in the world Monday to attempt to comprehensively test all of its residents for Covid-19 and the antibodies believed to make one immune from infection. The community-wide free testing effort in Bolinas, California, is...
Turkey says it wasn’t to blame for delay in PPE shipment to UK
The Turkish Ambassador to the UK has said his government did everything it could to organize the delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the UK. An RAF plane carrying some of the PPE landed in England on Wednesday – several days after it was...
Bangladeshi garment workers face ruin as global brands ditch clothing contracts amid coronavirus pandemic
When Fatema Akther arrived for work at the Alif Casual Wear garment factory in Dhaka in late March, she had no idea it would be her last day. “My line chief came and told me that I didn’t have to work anymore,” said Akther, 25,...
British scientists call for volunteers for human trials of coronavirus vaccine
Coronavirus vaccine researchers in London are asking for volunteers to take part in human trials in June. A team at Imperial College London has been carrying out tests on animals since February and has secured government funding to fast-track its work. “We are looking for...
It’s just past 10 a.m. in Rome and 4 p.m in Beijing. Here’s the latest on the coronavirus pandemic
The novel coronavirus has now infected more than 2.56 million people and killed at least 177,500 worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. Here’s what you may have missed if you’re just tuning in: Missouri is suing China: In what could be the first lawsuit filed...
Top infectious disease specialist believes a second wave of Covid-19 later this year is “likely”
Jung Eun-kyeong, the director of South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, believes that it is likely the country will see a second wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic. “Unless herd immunity is achieved through natural spread or through vaccines, come autumn or winter...
Coronavirus: Dominic Raab vows to hit 100k test target in eight days
Dominic Raab has promised an “exponential” increase in coronavirus tests in the next eight days. The foreign secretary, who is standing in for Boris Johnson at Prime Minister’s Questions, insisted the government would meet its target of 100,00 a day by the end of April....
Coronavirus: Missouri sues Chinese government over virus handling
The US state of Missouri says it is suing the Chinese government over its handling of the coronavirus which it says has led to severe economic losses. In the lawsuit, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt alleges China did little to stop the spread of the...
Article 370: Concern as Kashmir police investigate journalists
Journalists in Indian-administered Kashmir have expressed alarm at reporters being investigated by police under a stringent anti-terrorism law. Gowhar Geelani is the third journalist in recent days to face such action. He is accused of “glorifying terrorism” through his social media posts. The Editors Guild...
Kenya hunts those filmed fleeing coronavirus quarantine centre
Kenyans filmed escaping from a coronavirus quarantine centre will be hunted down and sent back there, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said. “We know you and we will find you,” he said, adding that the escapees were putting the lives of others at risk. The warning...
Japan discovers cluster in foster home
There’s been a virus cluster in a Japanese care home for infants, with eight children testing positive. They had been tested after one staff member was confirmed positive. None of the children were showing major symptoms but they have been taken to hospital, a spokeswoman...
Labour wants more PPE made by British firms
More now on the UK government’s attempts to acquire more personal protective equipment (PPE) for health and social care workers. Labour’s shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth has called on the government to “mobilise British firms” to make PPE. The government remains under pressure for failing...
Singapore cases pass 10,000
The number of cases in Singapore has crossed the 10,000 mark, tipped over by 1,016 new cases reported on Wednesday. Singapore now has the highest number of cases in South East Asia, with a large majority of these cases linked to dormitories that house foreign...
India passes tough new law to curb attacks on doctors
The Indian government has passed a law by which those who are found guilty of attacking doctors or health workers can be sentenced to up to seven years in jail. Doctors, nurses and community health workers from across the country have reported being attacked –...
Chinese city near Russian border imposes lockdown
A Chinese city near the Russian border has now “imposed a lockdown on all residential communities and villages”, according to the national Global Times newspaper. The city of Harbin, which has a population of 10 million people, is implementing strict measures today, similar to those...
Trump’s false claims from Tuesday’s coronavirus briefing
President Donald Trump uttered fewer false claims than usual at the White House coronavirus briefing on Tuesday. But he did make at least a couple. And he made other statements that were missing key context. Here are some fact checks: Harvard’s relief money Trump threatened...
$484 billion bill to support small businesses and hospitals and fund coronavirus testing
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a nearly $500 billion interim coronavirus bill by voice vote Tuesday that includes additional money for the small-business loan program, as well as for hospitals and testing, making way for the legislation to become law as soon as the end...
California county may have found earliest US deaths from coronavirus
California officials have discovered what are possibly the earliest known coronavirus deaths in the United States. Santa Clara County announced Tuesday that three people who died at home during February and March tested positive for COVID-19 during their autopsies. The deaths took place on Feb....
U.S. Intelligence Has No Evidence Kim Jong Un In Grave Condition: Officials
U.S. intelligence community has no evidence that North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un is in grave condition despite media reports that speculated about his failing health, two senior U.S. intelligence officials told Newsweek. The North Korean ruler’s failure to attend this year’s April 15...
Billions More Aid is Coming for Small Businesses, Hospitals and Testing
Tuesday, the Senate advanced by voice vote another relief package worth nearly half a trillion dollars for small businesses, hospitals and coronavirus testing after weeks of intense negotiations between Democrats and Republicans and the Trump administration. The majority of the roughly $480 billion approved—$380 billion—is...
Coronavirus In Minnesota: Police Will Let Nurse Continue To Live In Parked RV To
Coronavirus: Latest News | Community Resources | COVID-19 Info | Download Our App | CBSN Minnesota MINNEAPOLS (WCCO) — Frontline health care workers are taking serious precautions not only to keep themselves safe, but to keep their families safe. Lisa Neuburger, an ICU nurse at...
N.J. woman with coronavirus delivers baby in a coma and lives: ‘I’m extremely grateful that my baby and I are alive’
Mom-to-be Johana Rocio Mendoza Chancay went to a medical clinic to fill out maternity leave paperwork when the doctor noticed her cough. It was the beginning of a frightening odyssey that would turn into a medical miracle. Two days after her March 20 clinic visit,...
Charlie Baker orders schools to stay closed for the rest of the academic year
Massachusetts schools will remain closed through the end of the academic year amid the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Charlie Baker announced during his Tuesday briefing. Baker extended his earlier order, which closed all schools, public and private, as well as non-emergency child care programs, which will...
Charlie Baker says coronavirus surge in Massachusetts is ‘nowhere near as bad’ as initially feared
Massachusetts may be considered a hotspot of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, but the state’s surge in cases hasn’t been as bad as some initially feared, according to Gov. Charlie Baker. “While it is bad, there’s no question about that, it’s nowhere near...