Emerging from lockdown: '46 days in the house was enough'
From the US to Europe and Asia, people in many parts of the world are emerging from their homes as virus-related restrictions begin to ease and springtime temperatures climb.
Chinese were flocking to tourist spots, many newly reopened, after a relaxation of domestic travel restrictions ahead of a five-day holiday that runs through Tuesday.
Nearly 1.7 million people visited Beijing parks on the first two days of the holiday, and Shanghai's main tourist spots welcomed more than a million visitors, according to Chinese media reports. Many spots limited the number of daily visitors to 30 per cent of capacity or less, keeping crowds below average.
Masks were worn widely, from runners in Spain to beach-goers in the southern US. "It's great to have an audience after all these weeks," saxophonist Julia Banholzer, a native of Germany, said.
New Jersey reopened state parks, though several had to turn people away after reaching a 50 per cent limit in their parking lots. Margie Roebuck and her husband were among the first on the sand at Island Beach State Park. "Forty-six days in the house was enough," she said.
In Spain, many ventured out Saturday for the first time since a lockdown began on March 14. "I feel good, but tired. You sure notice that it has been a month and I am not in shape," Cristina Palomeque said in Barcelona. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez asked citizens to remain vigilant. COVID-19 has caused over 25,100 deaths in Spain.
The divide in the US between those who want lockdowns to end and those who want to move cautiously extended to Congress. The Republican-majority Senate will reopen Monday, while the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives stays shuttered.
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North and South Korean troops exchange fire along border
North and South Korean troops exchanged fire along their tense border on Sunday, the South's military said, the first such incident since the rivals took unprecedented steps to lower front-line animosities in late 2018.
Violent confrontations have occasionally occurred along the border, the world's most heavily fortified. While Sunday's incident is a reminder of persistent tensions, it didn't cause any known casualties on either side and is unlikely to escalate, observers said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said in a statement that North Korean troops fired several bullets at a South Korean guard post inside the border zone. South Korea responded with a total of 20 rounds of warning shots on two occasions before issuing a warning broadcast, it said.
A preliminary South Korean analysis showed that the North firing wasn't likely a calculated provocation, though Seoul will continue examining whether there was any motivation for the action, a South Korean defense official said. The firing came a day after the North broadcast a video of Kim Jong Un reappearing in public after a 20-day absence.
S Korea refutes surgery rumour
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not undergo surgery or any other medical procedure, a South Korean official said on Sunday, amid speculation about his health that continues to linger even after he reappeared publicly. He refused to provide the basis for the intelligence assessment.
Glad Kim is back and well, says Trump
US President Donald Trump said Saturday he was "glad" about the reappearance of Kim Jong Un and that he is apparently healthy. "I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!" Trump tweeted, following Kim's first public appearance in nearly three weeks after rumours that he was seriously ill or possibly dead."
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Russia reports record 10K new cases
Russia reported more than 10,000 new cases of coronavirus infections on Sunday, the first time the country's daily tally reached five figures."More than half of the 10,633 new cases reported were in Moscow, where concern is rising about whether the capital's medical facilities will be overwhelmed. Russia has recorded more than 1,34,000 coronavirus infections overall and 1,420 deaths."
150 test positive in Kabul
Afghanistan's public health ministry announced Sunday that 500 random Coronavirus tests in the capital revealed more than 150 positive results, raising fears that the virus may be spreading faster than originally thought.
Ministry spokesman Wahid Mayar called the results from Kabul "concerning" and said people must remain in their homes to slow the spread. He said the country's actual infection rate would likely increase as testing becomes more available. Afghanistan has thus far taken close to 12,000 samples, of which over 2,700 have been positive, and 85 have died.
Kabul and most other cities are in lockdown. Afghanistan has also received more than 250,000 refugees who have returned from Iran, the country hardest hit by coronavirus in the region. There are growing fears that the country's health care system, devastated by four decades of war, will be woefully unprepared for a major outbreak.
Pakistan's COVID-19 tally crosses 19,000
Pakistan's COVID-19 tally crossed 19,000 on Sunday after 989 new patients were diagnosed in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of National Health Services said 23 patients died in this period, taking the total toll to 440. The authorities so far have conducted 2,03,025 tests, including 8,716 in the last 24 hours. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said he was not sure when the anti-COVID-19 vaccine will be available and expressed fears that "we may have to live with the virus for six months or (even) a year". He said the war against the pandemic can be won by wisdom and not by using force to shut down the masses.
657 more infected in Singapore
Singapore on Sunday recorded 657 new cases, over 600 of whom are foreign workers, taking the total number of COVID-19 infections to 18,205. "The number of cases among migrant workers has been fluctuating in recent days due to clearance of backlogged cases by one laboratory," the Health Ministry said. Singapore will allow some businesses to reopen from May 12.
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Even COVID-19 couldn't stop this bride from visiting her grandmother on her wedding day!
In a touching gesture, a bride ensured her grandmother staying in an assisted home gets to be a part of her wedding by visiting her on her big day amid the Coronavirus scare. Shauna Varner from Minnesota stopped at nothing to involve her grandmother Janis Krueger in her wedding, even if it was from behind the glass door.
Varner and her fiancé Travis Scepaniak had planned a big wedding but had to call it off and smaller ceremony with a small number of guests due to the Coronavirus pandemic. As it was impossible to get Krueger out of the assisted home, Varner came up with an idea to get the administration there involved to help her.
The assisted home shared the heartfelt moment of Varner making her bridal debut in front of Janice on their Facebook page, with the caption that read, “COVID-19 cannot stop true love.” The post, which concluded with the home conveying their wishes to the couple, also read that love radiated between the grandmother-granddaughter duo as soon as the bride got out of her car.
The post shared last week garnered more than 105680 views on Facebook with over 2,600 likes and was shared 531 times. Users commenting the video praised the bride’s gesture and conveyed their best wishes to the couple.
A user said, “This is so sweet that they would come to visit Grama and make her part of their special day! Congratulations to the happy couple and your families! Your dress is beautiful and the groom looks pretty good too!” Another user said, “How beautiful grandma could still participate ! Love has no boundaries ! Wonderful that the facility help make a dream come true!” One user said, “Wow!!! Goosebumps and tears! How very special!”
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So, call me maybe
The Sumida Aquarium, located in Tokyo, is facing a unique problem since it shut its doors to public in the beginning of March. Its animals have become habituated to a human-free environment, as they have been largely absent for the past two months. A spokesman of the aquarium wrote on Twitter that the "unprecedented situation" was leading to some unexpected downsides. He said, "Creatures in the aquarium don't see humans except keepers and they have started forgetting about humans. Garden eels, in particular, disappear into the sand and hide every time the keepers pass by." This has led to difficulties for the keepers trying to keep a track of the health of these animals.
Representational pics
Officials from the aquarium have come up with a one-of-a-kind solution for their problem; they are asking people to video call them and talk to their eels. The spokesman requested: "Let us make an emergency plea: Could you show your face to our garden eels from your home?" About 300 garden eels live at the aquarium and though they are sensitive by nature, they had become used to human company and rarely hid in the sand before the lockdown. The aquarium is setting up five tablets facing the tank, so eel enthusiasts can call and talk to them via the FaceTime app. Taking the eels' sensitive nature into account, callers are being asked to talk softly and not shout. The 'face-showing festival' is scheduled to be held from May 3 to May 5.
Grandpa gives back, and how
WWII veteran has raised a whopping R284 crore for healthcare workers in the UK
Pic/South Wales Argus, Facebook
Centenarian Tom Moore was recently given an honorary promotion to the rank of colonel by Queen Elizabeth, after his 100 lap-walk in his garden, helped raise R284 crore for healthcare workers, treating COVID-19 patients. Captain Moore's dedication is commendable as he was seen using a walker to support himself to finish the laps. He told the BBC that he was feeling "fine" at the end of the walk. He added that the healthcare workers at the frontlines of the Coronavirus pandemic were the new heroes, who "deserve everything we can give them."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised Moore's relief efforts by saying that he "embodied the spirit of the country." In addition to the honorary promotion, he was re-awarded his WWII defence medal that he had misplaced previously.
Who's a lazy boy?
Pic/@sparky_minibullterrier, Instagram
Sparky is a five-year-old mini bull terrier that loves living the easy life. "Sparky is a lazy boy," said his owner, Silvio Siamo, to The Dodo. There are hilarious videos of Sparky just giving up on walking and lying down on the ground instead. The lazy pup has over 95k followers.
Once a hero, always a hero
Pic/@MumbaiPolice, Twitter
Irrfan Khan had recreated the viral 'Drake approves' meme in 2017 with AIB. The actor extraordinaire passed away on Wednesday while being treated for a colon infection. Mumbai Police paid a fitting tribute to Khan by tweeting a meme of him with the caption: "Re-Meme-Bering Irrfan..."
(Don't) be your own barber
As salons and barbershops remain shut during the lockdown, many people have resorted to cutting their own hair or asking a loved one to do so, resulting in hilarious at-home haircuts. A user on Twitter, @badgirlkiki, posted pictures of her partner with the caption: "Gave my man a quarantine fade." In the post-cut photo, one can see the back of her partner's head, the uneven finish and more shadows evident. Even so, her tweet raked in over 2,02,000 likes. Pics/Splitpicks.uk
Man surprises his mom with a wife
Representation pic
An Indian man from the city of Ghaziabad, Guddu, stepped out of his house to get some groceries. His mother was shocked as he returned with a bride in tow, Savita. She was asked to vacate her rental house in Delhi, prompting him to bring her to his house.
Sleep like Drake, on a R3 crore mattress
When Architectural Digest magazine featured Canadian rapper Drake's mansion in Toronto, his mattress became the talk of the town. The bespoke mattress is Swedish company Hästens' second-most-expensive mattress. It takes mattress experts 600 hours to make one.
Puzzle enthusiasts, get your geek on!
Pic/Kodak.com
Kodak, which produces camera-related products, launched a gigantic jigsaw puzzle made up of 51,300 pieces recently. It measures 28.5 feet by 6.25 feet. Not only does the puzzle demand a lot of space, it demands that you pay about R38,000 to acquire it. It has been divided into 27 images of famous landmarks from all over the world.
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Princess takes food to needy
New photos have been released to mark the fifth birthday of the UK's Princess Charlotte, Prince William and Kate Middleton's second born, showing her delivering homemade care packages to those in need during the coronavirus crisis.
The four photos of Charlotte, who was born at the private maternity Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital here on May 2, 2015, were taken in April by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, a keen amateur photographer, the BBC reported.
The Duchess, who is a patron of the Royal Photographic Society, has regularly released pictures she has taken of George, six, and Louis, two, to mark their birthdays.
Charlotte joined her parents and brothers Prince George and Prince Louis to make the deliveries, likely to be close to the family home of Anmer Hall, on the Queen's Sandringham estate.
In the photos released on Friday night, she is seen picking up white bags of food for pensioners who are shielding from the virus or other vulnerable people in lockdown in Norfolk.
The family spent several hours making fresh pasta before delivering it, said the BBC report.
Over the past five weeks, the Queen's Sandringham staff have been preparing and delivering meals for pensioners and vulnerable people living in the local area, Buckingham Palace has said, with about 1,000 meals being made and delivered in the first week alone.
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US FDA approves emergency use of Remdesivir for COVID-19 patients
The US food and drug regulatory body has allowed the emergency use of an investigational anti-viral vaccine to treat COVID-19 patients after some researches, including one led by an Indian-American physician, found that the drug helped recover some of the infected cases faster.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the use of investigational anti-viral Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. "I'm pleased to announce that Gilead now has an EUA from the FDA for Remdesivir," US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.
Remdesivir is given to patients through a vein one time each day for up to 10 days depending on recommendations of healthcare providers. The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced the results of a trial involving more than 1,000 people on Wednesday.
It found that hospitalised COVID-19 patients with respiratory distress got better quicker than those on a placebo. Specifically, patients on the drug had a 31 percent faster time to recovery. "Although the results were clearly positive from a statistically significant standpoint, they were modest," Anthony Fauci, the scientist who leads the NIAID, said. While not considered a miracle cure, Remdesivir's trial achieved a "proof of concept," according to Fauci that could pave the way for better treatments.
Possible side effects of Remdesivir include infusion-related reactions and increases in levels of liver enzymes. "These are not all the possible side effects of Remdesivir. It is still being studied so it is possible that all of the risks are not known at this time," said the FDA.
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Coronavirus outbreak: China reports only 1 new COVID-19 case
China, where the deadly coronavirus first emerged in December last, reported just one COVID-19 case, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Saturday. The death toll remained at 4,633 with no new fatality. As of Friday, the total confirmed cases on the mainland were 82,875. As many as 77,685 patients have been recovered, the NHC said.
One new imported coronavirus case was reported on Friday with no new local infection, it said. China has reported a total of 1,671 imported COVID-19 cases, including seven in critical condition. The Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, have not reported any coronavirus case for 28 consecutive days since April 4, local health commission said on Saturday. Hubei also lowered its COVID-19 emergency response from the highest level to the second-highest on Saturday.
The lowering of the emergency level shows a major breakthrough in Hubei's prevention and control against the coronavirus, Hubei Vice-Governor Yang Yunyan told media. Meanwhile, 20 new asymptomatic cases were reported on Friday, taking the total number of such patients to 989. Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others.
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Kim Jong-un resurfaces after 20 days amid health rumours
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a fertiliser factory completion ceremony, state media reported on Saturday, his first public appearance after 20 days of absence that sparked rumours about his health.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim cut the tape at the ceremony marking the completion of Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory in Sunchon, north of Pyongyang, on Friday. Photos released by KCNA showed Kim, dressed in a dark Mao suit, cutting the red ribbon during the ceremony and talking to accompanying officials with a smile on his face.
"All the participants broke into thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!' extending the greatest glory to the Supreme Leader who has brought about a new change in the development of Juche-based fertilizer industry and has led the grand revolutionary advance for strengthening self-supporting economy to a victory with his outstanding leadership," KCNA said. Juche is the concept of self-reliance.
Kim was also quoted as expressing "satisfaction about the wonderful creation". In a report last week, CNN had said that the US was looking into intelligence that Kim Jong-un was in "grave danger" after surgery.
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China accuses Australia of parroting US in its call for COVID-19 inquiry
China's warning of trade repercussions from Australia's campaign for an independent inquiry into COVID-19 has rattled Australian business leaders as President Donald Trump's administration urges other governments to back such a probe. China has accused Australia of parroting the US in its call for an inquiry independent of the World Health Organisation to determine the origins of COVID-19 and how the world responded to the emerging pandemic.
Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye used an Australian newspaper interview this week to warn that pursuing an inquiry could spark a Chinese consumer boycott of students and tourists visiting Australia as well as of sales of major exports including beef and wine. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday stood firm on his call for an inquiry and denied any motivation other than to prevent such a pandemic from happening again.
"I don't think anybody's in any fantasy land about where it started. It started in China. What the world over needs to know is how did it start and what are the lessons that can be learnt," Morrison said. "That needs to be done independently and why do we want to know that? Because it could happen again."
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Undermining intel, Donald Trump claims he has proof virus is from Wuhan lab
US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened new tariffs against Beijing as he claimed to have seen evidence linking the novel Coronavirus to a lab in China's ground-zero city of Wuhan. Trump's comments undercut a rare public statement from his own intelligence community on Thursday which stated no such assessment has been made by them whether the COVID-19 outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.
'I have evidence'
At his daily White House briefing on COVID-19 on Thursday, Trump was asked by a reporter: "Have you seen anything at this point that gives you a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of this virus?" "Yes, I have. Yes, I have," Trump said. He, however, refused to provide any details, except for saying that investigations are on and it would be out soon.
Asked what gave him a high degree of confidence that the virus originated from the WIV, he said, "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that."
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said on Thursday it concurs with the "wide scientific consensus" regarding COVID-19's natural origins. The US has 1,069,400 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
WHO blamed for pandemic
Trump also blamed the World Health Organisation for the pandemic. "I think the WHO should be ashamed of themselves because they're like the public relations agency for China," he said. Trump, however, did not hold his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping responsible for the global outbreak.
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Coronavirus Outbreak: Drivers stop to pick up spilled face masks, cause huge traffic jam
With the Coronavirus outbreak wreaking havoc across the globe with millions of people being infected and scores of lives claimed, government have made wearing face masks mandatory for people. The decision has made face masks a prized commodity for people.
Traffic in California came to brief halt after drivers had stopped to pick up face masks that were littered on the road. Although it is not clear how the masks ended up spilled on the highway, CBS reported that a man was spotted throwing boxes of masks on the road from a white truck.
The California Highway Patrol-Hayward posted pictures of the incident on their Facebook page where scores of masks were found lying on the southbound lanes of Interstate 880. “Multiple individuals stopped in lanes and stepped out of their vehicles to pick up masks,” read the post, adding that debris has been cleared and the lanes were opened.
The post also appealed drivers not to step out of their vehicle on an active freeway. Many users commenting on the post criticized the driver who reportedly threw the mask on the road, instead of donating it. One user said, “Just terrible! That person has no respect.” Another user said, “The highway does not have a need for medical masks. Therefore, I would have donated to an entity that did! A user said, “What a waste of something necessary now.”
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Cute video alert! Dog adorably interrupts owner presenting weather report
In what appears to be an adorable working from home blunder, a video of a weatherman’s pet dog adorably interrupting his weather report has been making rounds of social media.
Meteorologist Paul Dellegatto was presenting the weather report from his home in Florida when his dog Brody entered the room, knocking into his computer and sat on his lap for a brief moment after which he went to find the cameraman, the New York Post reported.
Dellegatto can be heard playfully scolding Brody in the video saying, "This is not very smart," while the pooch begs him for some snacks and pets. Then after letting out a yawn, Brody runs off to look for the cameraman, who was filming the section from Dellegatto’s porch while maintaining social distance. He is heard saying, "Now he can't see Craig, so he's gone crazy trying to find Craig..."
The viral video posted by Andrew Fienberg on Twitter on Thursday managed to garner more than 3.4 million views with over 162,200 likes and was retweeted more than 35,700 times. The caption reads, "This is the best weather forecast in the history of television news."
This is the best weather forecast in the history of television news pic.twitter.com/LhmoJDCkbZ
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) April 30, 2020
Users commenting on the video resonated that this is the best content on Twitter right now, with some pointing out a cute-little detail in the video –a framed picture of Brody on Dellegatto’s desk.
This is the best weather forecast in the history of television news pic.twitter.com/LhmoJDCkbZ
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) April 30, 2020
"Sorry to keep you up" lmao ð¤£
— jenjavitis (@jenjavitis) May 1, 2020
Things that are awesome about this: 1. He clearly loves Brody even when the dog is disruptive. 2. Physical distancing with Craig via the window. 3. Craig knows what content we want and focuses on the dog.
— Sara Leiste (@SaraFeistiness) April 30, 2020
So many reasons to love this including the framed photo of the pup placed prominently on his desk.
— Jasmin Ramsey (@JasminRamsey) April 30, 2020
This is weirdly my favorite part of the video.
— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) April 30, 2020
You don't truly love your pets if you don't have prominently displayed, framed pictures of them in your house pic.twitter.com/WptDYfPRIQ
What do you think about this video?
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Viral picture of a cat bringing sick kitten to hospital melts hearts online
In an incident that show motherly love is the same for every species on Earth, viral pictures of a worried cat in Turkey bringing her sick kitten to hospital for treatment shared on Twitter has made netizens emotional.
A Twitter user shared the pictures of the cat carrying the kitten with her mouth and walking into a hospital in Turkey. Another set of pictures shared by the user shows a team of doctors attending the cat and treating the kitten. The translation of the tweet originally in Turkish, reads, “Today in the hospital, a cat brought her baby in her mouth to the emergency room.” The post garnered more than 83,600 likes and was retweeted over 4,800 times.
Yavrusu biraz haylaz biri, annesi bulduÄÂu yerde kapıp götürüyor pic.twitter.com/GYvBXt3UQz
— Merve Özcan (@ozcanmerveee) April 27, 2020
The pictures were also tweeted by a official in the Indian Revenue Service, Naaved Trumboo, who tweeted, “As strange as it may seem, a cat walked into a hospital in Turkey seeking help for its sick kitten.” He also said in the tweet that mother’s love works in mysterious ways.
As strange as it may seem, a cat walked into a hospital in Turkey seeking help for its sick kitten. Mother's love works in mysterious ways. pic.twitter.com/kD54sONpgL
— Naveed Trumboo IRS (@NaveedIRS) April 30, 2020
Here’s how the twitterati reacted:
Respected Sir,
— Kaleem-uddin Khaza (@Kaleem4u) April 30, 2020
awesome post.
U r absolutely right
That is called mother's love nobody can denies it.
Very intelligent mother
— Anamika Baruah (@AnamikaBaruah8) April 30, 2020
She wanted a scan done- a Cat Scan !!
— Manoj Sharma (@Sharma_Manoj) April 30, 2020
What do you think about the post?
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Coronavirus outbreak: Nearly half of global workforce faces threat of losing livelihoods
Almost 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy, nearly half of the global workforce, face an immediate danger of losing their livelihoods due to the continued sharp decline in working hours because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said. Over 430 million enterprises in hard-hit sectors such as retail and manufacturing risk "serious disruption", the UN agency added. The findings appear in the ILO Monitor third edition released on Wednesday.
Globally, there are some 3.3 billion workers. Two billion have jobs in the informal economy, the most vulnerable workers in the labour market. ILO said 1.6 billion in the informal economy "have suffered massive damage to their capacity to earn a living" as a result of the economic meltdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to lockdowns or because they work in hard-hit sectors, these workers globally have seen a 60 per cent drop in income during the first month of the crisis. This translates into a over 80 per cent decline in Africa and the Americas, 70 per cent in Europe and Central Asia, and 21.6 per cent in Asia and the Pacific, the ILO said.
The ILO called for "urgent, targeted and flexible measures" to support both workers and business, particularly smaller enterprises and those in the informal economy.
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Donald Trump says plan afoot to reopen America as deaths top 60,000
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the federal government will not be extending its COVID-19 social distancing guidelines once they expire Thursday, and his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, predicted that by July the country will be "really rocking again."
Trump to fly out next week
Trump said he plans to resume out-of-state travel after spending over a month mostly cooped up in the White House, starting with a trip to Arizona next week. And he said he's hoping to hold mass campaign rallies in the coming months with thousands of supporters, even though medical experts have said there is little hope of having a vaccine by then.
Trump delivered his daily upbeat update on Wednesday, putting a positive face on the latest grim numbers — the death toll in the US on Wednesday crept past 60,000, a figure that he in recent weeks had suggested might be the total death count.
35 states' reopening plan out
"We mourn... every life tragically lost to the invisible enemy. And we are heartened that the worst of the pain and suffering is going to be behind us," Trump said. As many as 35 of the 50 US states affected by the pandemic have unveiled formal reopening plans, as President Donald Trump expressed confidence that "much better days" are ahead for the country that has been hit hard by the "invisible enemy".
So far, the virus has killed 61,670 Americans and infected 1,064,737 others. Globally, the virus has killed 2,29,182 people and infected 3,244,586 others.
Agencies
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Coronavirus Lockdown: Six-year-old boy's drive-by, walk-by joke stand wins hearts online
A six-year-old boy has been cheering up his neighbours with one joke at a time amid the distressful Coronavirus pandemic and the agonizing lockdown that followed, by putting up a joke stand outside his home in Saanich, a town in Canada's British Colombia.
A picture of Callaghan McLaughlin, sitting at his 'Drive-by, walk-by joke stand' with a wide smile was shared by his mother Kelsea on Instagram, where he has earned praises for his adorable efforts to make people smile. His mother requests in the caption to listen to a joke from him.
According to the CBC, Callaghan only knows 16-17 jokes which he learned from a joke book his mother gave him, and with these jokes, he does the best he can to make people have a hearty laugh. The mother-son duo missed interacting with their neighbours due to the lockdown and came up with this idea that helps people cheer up.
The post shared on Instagram received 188 likes with many users lauding him for his adorable effort to bring a smile on the faces of people. One user said, "What a sweet thing to do. You are a blessing." Another user said, "This is actually amazing! Well done Callaghan." A user commented, "This is so precious."
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USAID announces additional USD 3 mn aid to India to fight coronavirus
The US Government, through its aid agency USAID, has announced a grant of an additional USD 3 million to India to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. In coordination with the Indian government, the USAID is providing these funds to the Partnerships for Affordable Healthcare Access and Longevity (PAHAL) project, an innovative financing platform of IPE Global, USAID said in a statement on Wednesday. US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster, stated: "This additional funding to support India in its continuing efforts to combat COVID-19 is yet another example of the strong and enduring partnership between the United States and India."
To date, the USAID has provided USD 5.9 million to assist India in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. This assistance will help India slow the spread of COVID-19, provide care for the affected, disseminate essential public health messages to communities, and strengthen case finding and surveillance. Through the PAHAL project, the USAID will support the National Health Authority to establish a financing facility that can mobilize resources from the private sector to assist over 20,000 health facilities enrolled under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), India's health insurance scheme for 500 million poor and vulnerable people.
During the talks on April 04, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump had agreed to deploy the full strength of the India-US partnership to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Early this month, India, at the request of President Donald Trump, had exported 35.82 lakh tablets of hydroxychloroquine to the US along with active pharmaceutical ingredient or API required in the manufacturing of the drug.
Trump had thanked India for its decision to export hydroxychloroquine to fight coronavirus and lauded Prime Minister Modi for his "strong leadership" in helping "not just India, but humanity" in this fight.
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South Korea experts downplay possible reinfections
South Korean infectious disease experts have downplayed concerns that patients could get reinfected with COVID-19 after recovering. While hundreds in South Korea have tested positive again after their release from hospitals, Oh Myoung-don, who heads the central clinical panel on new infectious diseases, on Wednesday said there was a "high possibility" that such test results were flawed.
He said South Korea's standard real-time PCR tests, designed to amplify the genetic materials of the virus so that even tiny quantities are detected, doesn't reliably distinguish between remains of dead virus and infectious particles. He said lab tests on animals suggest that COVID-19 patients would maintain immunity for at least a year after their infections. He also said it was unlikely that the virus could be reactivated after remaining dormant when it doesn't seem to be a type that causes chronic illnesses.
277
No. of people tested positive after recovering
Construction fire near Seoul kills 8
A fire broke out on a construction site near Seoul on Wednesday, killing eight workers and leaving another 17 presumed dead. Local fire officials said the toll could rise as more people were believed to be trapped inside the warehouse that was under construction in Icheon. Another 14 or the 70 workers remained unaccounted for.
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US COVID-19 deaths toll surpasses American fatalities in Vietnam War
The US became the first country in the world to have more than one million cases of the novel Coronavirus. It accounts for nearly one-third of the 3.1 million cases globally on Tuesday, while the fatalities spiked to over 58,300, exceeding the number of American soldiers who lost their lives in the two-decade-long Vietnam War.
'We're coming back strong'
According to the US National Archives, 58,220 American soldiers died in the Vietnam conflict, which began in 1955 and ended in 1975. With 58,355 deaths so far, the US also accounts for one-fourth of the over 2,13,000 global fatalities.
"We continue to pray for the victims as well as for those Americans who are grieving their lost ones and their loved ones. There's never been anything like this. We suffer with one heart but we will prevail. We are coming back, and we're coming back strong," US President Donald Trump said at the White House during his remarks on the Paycheck Protection Programme.
"Now that our experts believe the worst days of the pandemic are behind us, Americans are looking forward to the safe and rapid reopening of our country," he said. "Throughout this ordeal, millions of hard-working Americans have been asked to really make tremendous, tremendous sacrifices. It is sacrifices like nobody thought would even be possible; nobody thought we would ever be talking about something like this," Trump said. Meanwhile, several states have initiated the process to reopen their economies.
Some states reopen
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom outlined the phased reopening of his state.
"We are not going back to the way things were until we get to immunity or a vaccine. We will base reopening plans on facts and data, not on ideology. Not what we want. Not what we hope," he told reporters. More than 1,800 people have died due to the coronavirus in California so far. Schools and colleges, he said, could start in July-August.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has also announced first phase reopening of the state. Tennessee on Monday allowed reopening of restaurants and later this week retail outlets could resume their businesses. Pennsylvania has announced three-phase reopening of the state beginning May 3. The US, Trump said, is opening up again.
58,355
No. of deaths due to COVID-19 in America
58,220
No. of US soldiers killed in two-decade-long war
People visit Yellow Crane Tower after it reopened to the public in China's Wuhan, the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak, on Wednesday. Pic/AFP
China's parliament to meet on May 22
China on Wednesday said it will hold from May 22 its annual parliament session, signalling that the pandemic that paralysed the country for over three months is finally under control. The third session of the 13th National People's Congress, which was to be held from March 5, was postponed for the first time ever due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
After rolling out exit plan, Spain sees spike
With 325 new deaths, Spain on Wednesday witnessed a slight rebound in fatalities, a day after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced his plan to ease the COVID-19 lockdown. Individual exercise, haircuts and other personalised services with an appointment will be allowed from Saturday. COVID-19 has killed 24,275 Spaniards and infected over 2,12,000.
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Singapore warns against fake news as cases crosses 15,000
As 690 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Wednesday, Singapore warned against spreading fake news and videos about migrant workers, saying this could disturb the law and order situation in dormitories where a large number of foreign workers have tested positive. A total of 15,641 people, including 12,183 migrant workers, have contracted the virus in the city-state so far.
Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam warned that such videos can lead to serious law and order incidents. He said the authorities are watching individuals who spread the videos "very carefully". Warning those spreading fake news maliciously, he said, they will be charged if a crime was committed. Hundreds of thousands of foreign workers have been barred from leaving their cramped dormitories to curb the spread of COVID-19, according to a Channel News Asia report on Wednesday.
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Boris Johnson, fiancee announce birth of 'healthy baby boy'
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds announced the birth of a 'healthy baby boy', delivered at a government-run hospital in London on Wednesday. The birth is believed to be slightly premature but both mother and baby are said to be doing very well.
Prime Minister of United Kingdom Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds blessed with a baby boy: UK Media. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/uSQcWcureI
— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2020
"The Prime Minister and Symonds are thrilled to announce the birth of a healthy baby boy at a London hospital earlier this morning, a spokesperson for the couple said on Wednesday.
"Both mother and baby are doing very well. The PM and Symonds would like to thank the fantastic NHS (National Health Service) maternity team, the spokesperson said.
The news comes days after Johnson, 55, returned to 10 Downing Street on Monday after his hospitalisation for complications from COVID-19. He had been recuperating at his Chequers countryside retreat in Buckinghamshire, where he was joined by his pregnant fiancee.
ðððððððððððððððððððððððððð pic.twitter.com/83HkS1Vjhx
— Carrie Symonds (@carriesymonds) April 9, 2020
Symonds had taken to Twitter earlier this month to express her relief at Johnson's discharge from hospital with a series of clapping hands emoticons alongside a picture of a rainbow, which has emerged as the symbol of support for the country's NHS through the course of the pandemic fightback.
The 32-year-old herself had been previously self-isolating with the couple's dog Dilyn after she developed symptoms of coronavirus but later revealed she was on the mend. The couple had announced their engagement at the end of February, when it was also revealed that they were expecting their first baby in the summer.
The last child born to a sitting UK prime minister belonged to David and Samantha Cameron, who welcomed Florence Rose Endellion into their family in August 2010. Symonds, who works for an ocean conservation charity, met Johnson during her time as the communications chief for the Conservative Party.
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COVID-19: As cases hit 1 million in US, many Americans opt to stay back in India
Many Americans in India who had signed up for airlifts back to the US are now deciding to stay back and "ride it out" during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the State Department's top consular official. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ian Brownlee said on Tuesday that many who had enlisted for repatriation from India were not responding to offers of seats on the planes arranged by the department to take them home.
The number of recorded COVID-19 cases in the US reached 1 million on Tuesday, with 58,348 deaths, while India had only 31,368 officially recorded cases with 1,008 fatalities, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Brownlee said: "Two weeks ago, we had a list of folks and we were pretty sure if we called (the) folks they'd show up at the airport and say, 'Yes, please.' We're now getting to the point on that list, we're having to make multiple calls for individual seats because people are deciding 'No,' they'd just as soon ride it out where they are."
Last week he said that 4,000 Americans had been brought back to the US and 6,000 were waiting for airlifts. India has cancelled passenger flights and rail transportation during the strict lockdown imposed on March 25.
Brownlee had spoken earlier of the massive logistics effort required to bring Americans from around the vast country to Mumbai and New Delhi, the departure points for the chartered flights.
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COVID-19: British Airways to cut 12,000 jobs amid grounded air travel
British Airways may be forced to cut more than a quarter of its workforce as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll on one of Europe's biggest airlines. Parent company IAG (ICAGY) said in a statement cited by CNN on Tuesday that the Airways is notifying labour unions about a restructuring program which will affect most employees and "may result in the redundancy of up to 12,000 of them." IAG, which also includes Spanish airline Iberia, said its first-quarter revenues declined by 13 per cent to EUR4.6 billion (USD 5 billion) as it swung to an operating loss of EUR535 million (USD 579 million).
The airline group warned that losses in the second quarter would be "significantly worse" and that it expects that "the recovery of passenger demand to 2019 levels will take several years." The warning echos a similar decision made by airline group Lufthansa (DLAKY), which owns national carriers in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium. Announcing earlier this month that it was permanently reducing the size of its fleet and shuttering one of its low-cost carriers, Lufthansa said that worldwide demand for air travel will take years to recover from the coronavirus.
"What we are facing as an airline ... is that there is no 'normal' any longer," British Airways CEO Alex Cruz said in a letter to staff that was released to CNN Business. "Yesterday, British Airways flew just a handful of aircraft out of Heathrow. On a normal day, we would fly more than 300," he added. The news comes as flight bans and nationwide lockdowns are threatening to bankrupt airlines around the world. The "mounting financial crisis" facing carriers could cause revenues to tumble by as much as 55 per cent this year, or some USD 314 billion, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Virgin Australia collapsed into administration last week, while sister airline Virgin Atlantic confirmed on Monday that it was on the hunt for outside investors to keep it alive. Virgin Atlantic, which is controlled by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, is also seeking a commercial loan from the British government. Earlier this month, British Airways furloughed 30,000 employees on 80 per cent of their regular monthly pay until the end of May, with the government covering the first PS2,500 (USD 3,100) under its coronavirus job retention program.
But Cruz said the outlook for the aviation sector had worsened in the last few weeks and measures taken to conserve cash were not enough. "There is no government bailout standing by for BA and we cannot expect the taxpayer to offset salaries indefinitely," he added. "Any money we borrow now... will not address the longer-term challenges we face," he wrote.
With no certainty on when lockdowns will lift or when countries will reopen their borders, British Airways has to "reshape" itself, Cruz said. "The scale of this challenge requires substantial change so we are in a competitive and resilient position, not just to address the immediate Covid-19 pandemic, but also to withstand any longer term reductions in customer demand, economic shocks or other events that could affect us," he added.
The collapse in air traffic puts about 6.7 million jobs at risk in Europe, according to IATA, which has called for urgent government action to "preserve air services."
In a similar circumstance, Air France-KLM (AFLYY) further announced on Friday that following "several weeks of discussions" with the French government and banks, it had secured EUR7 billion ($7.6 billion) in loans backed by the French state "to help overcome the crisis and prepare for the future."
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Imran revamps media team amid mounting criticism over COVID-19 crisis handling
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has fired his special aide on I&B and replaced her with a powerful former military spokesman as he revamped his media team for the second time since coming to power amid mounting criticism for failing to address key issues including the COVID-19 outbreak.
Former Army spokesman Lt Gen (retied) Asim Saleem Bajwa, who is also the chairman of the newly created China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority, has replaced Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan as the Special Assistant to the PM for information and broadcasting (I&B).
PM Khan also appointed Senator Shibli Faraz as the new information minister. Minister for Science Fawad Chaudhry announced the new appointments. The changes were made to blunt the perception that the government's media handling was not good and its work was not being properly highlighted amid the health crisis.
"The way these changes have been made will not give a good impression and help the cause of the government," analyst Ayaz Amir told Dunya TV. Pakistan has 14,079 COVID-19 cases so far.
301
No. of COVID-19 deaths in Pakistan
Now, Beijing to shut COVID-19 hospital
Authorities in Beijing are set to close a COVID-19 special hospital, Xiaotangshan Hospital, after clearing all the cases even as China reported six new infections and 40 fresh asymptomatic cases on Tuesday. The move comes days after Wuhan closed 16 temporary hospitals and discharged its last patient on Sunday.
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Donald Trump wont budge on Nov 3 poll
US President Donald Trump has ruled out making any changes in the date of the November 3 presidential election because of the Coronavirus pandemic. "I never even thought of changing the date of the election. Why would I do that? November 3, it's a good number," Trump told reporters at his White House news conference. His likely Democratic opponent Joe Biden last week said Trump was considering changing the date. "Mark my words, I think he is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can't be held [sic]," Biden said during an online fundraiser.
'Look forward to it'
"No, I look forward to that election and that was just made a propaganda not by him but by some of the many people that are working writing little segments. I see all of the time statements made you say something statement made per Joe Biden, Sleepy Joe," Trump said. "He didn't make those statements. Somebody did but they said he made it. No, let him know I am not thinking about it at all. Not at all," he said.
In a call with governors on Monday, Trump said states should "seriously consider" reopening their public schools before the end of the academic year, even though dozens already have said it would be unsafe for students to return until the summer or fall.
'Consider opening schools'
"Some of you might start thinking about school openings, because a lot of people are wanting to have the school openings. It's not a big subject, young children have done very well in this disaster that we've all gone through," he said. Reopening schools is considered key to getting the economy moving again. Without a safe place for their kids, many parents would have difficulty returning to work.
1,010,507
Total no. of COVID-19 infections in the US
56,803
Total no. of COVID-19 deaths in the US
Turkey sends protective equipment to US
The cargo at the Etimesgut airport outside Ankara. Pic/AP
Turkey has dispatched a planeload of personal protective equipment to support the United States as it grapples with the novel Coronavirus outbreak. A Turkish military cargo carrying the medical equipment took off from an air base near the capital Ankara on Tuesday, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. It was scheduled to land at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington later in the day. A top official said Turkey is donating 5,00,000 surgical masks, 4,000 overalls, 2,000 litres (528 gallons) of disinfectant, 1,500 goggles, 400 N-95 masks and 500 face shields.
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UK announces 60,000 pounds for kin of COVID-19 NHS victims
The UK came together on Tuesday for a minute's silence in the honour of hundreds of healthcare and other workers who have lost their lives on the frontline of the Coronavirus fight across the country.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who just recovered from a severe coronavirus attack, led the tributes with UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street for the National Health Service (NHS) and other key workers across care homes and public transport.
The tribute comes as the government announced a new time-bound insurance scheme for the families of such public sector healthcare workers who lost their lives while on duty during the pandemic, with a £60,000 Life Assurance Scheme.
"Financial worries should be the last thing on the minds of their families so in recognition of these unprecedented circumstances we are expanding financial protection to the NHS and social workers delivering publicly funded care on the frontline," said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
"Nothing can make up for the tragic loss of a loved one during this pandemic. We owe a huge debt to those who die in service to our nation and are doing everything we can to protect them.
"We will continue to strive night and day to provide them with the support and protection they need and deserve to keep them safe as they work tirelessly to save lives," he said.
He said that bereaved family members will receive a £60,000 lump sum, worth roughly twice the average pensionable pay for the NHS staff, with the cost met by the government. The cases in the UK has reached 1,58,348 while 21,092 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University tracker.
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Coronavirus Outbreak: Headgears used by China school is winning the internet
After being the epicentre of the Coronavirus outbreak, China is final limping back into normalcy and the citizens, government, and public institutions are taking the necessary steps to avert another outbreak. And while the country is at it, a school in Hanzhou came with a creative idea to ensure children thoroughly follow social distancing norms.
Eileen Chengyin Chow, a professor at the Duke University posted pictures of first graders at the Yangzheng Elementary School in Hanzhou on her Twitter account on April 27. What’s striking about the pictures is the headgears the students are wearing in class, that bears resemblance to that of the soldiers belonging to the Song Dynasty. The colourful head gear, that teaches the historical context it has in the country and also helps maintain social distance, has a 3 feet-long rod made of soft materials such as cardboard or foam, attached on the sides.
Chow explains the historical context of the headgears’ designs in the tweet, that reads, “The long horizontal plumes on Song Dynasty toppers were supposedly to prevent officials from conspiring sotto voce with one another while at court—so social distancing was in fact their original function!”
First graders back to school in Hangzhou, with social distancing headgear
— eileen chengyin chow (@chowleen) April 27, 2020
The long horizontal plumes on Song Dynasty toppers were supposedly to prevent officials from conspiring sotto voce with one another while at court—so social distancing was in fact their original function! pic.twitter.com/0AOKsWE1xH
The professor’s post garnered more than 17,300 likes and was retweeted over 8,300 times. The users commenting on the posts lauded the teacher who used a smart way to designed these headgears that has a historical significance.
Historical precedents used. Clever on the part of the teacher to be able to incorporate a history lesson and maintain social distancing.
— Olga Sadowy (@OSadowy) April 27, 2020
Wow! This is adorable and really interesting. I hope they are safe enough...
— Tristan Felix ð³ï¸ð (@tiger) April 27, 2020
This is ridiculously cute! Did they make the hats themselves? ð
— Heather Jean Bruskay (@HBruskay) April 27, 2020
for all the nerds saying "but they can just get close face to face so this doesn't help"
— bieb (@red_bieb) April 27, 2020
making and decorating hats was obviously a fun thing for the kids to do while also learning some history
Wow I always thought it was a fashion choice
— josué (@joshnekoff) April 27, 2020
What do you think about the post?
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COVID-19 Outbreak: Donald Trump says testing 'not a problem,' but doubts persist
The White House released new guidelines Monday aimed at answering criticism that America's coronavirus testing has been too slow, and President Donald Trump tried to pivot toward a focus on 'reopening' the nation. Still, there were doubts from public health experts that the White House's new testing targets were sufficient. Monday's developments were meant to fill critical gaps in White House plans to begin easing restrictions, ramping up testing for the virus while shifting the president's focus toward recovery from the economic collapse caused by the outbreak. The administration unveiled a 'blueprint' for states to scale up their testing in the coming week, a tacit admission, despite public statements to the contrary, that testing capacity and availability over the past two months have been lacking.
The new testing targets would ensure states had enough COVID-19 tests available to sample at least 2.6 per cent of their populations each month, a figure already met by a majority of states. Areas that have been harder hit by the virus would be able to test at double that rate, or higher, the White House said. The testing issue has bedeviled the administration for months. Trump told reporters on March 6 during a visit to the CDC in Atlanta that 'anybody that wants a test can get a test,' but the reality has proved to be vastly different. The initial COVID-19 test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was contaminated, and early kits operated only on platforms able to perform a small number of test per day. While the rate of testing increased as tests developed for higher-capacity platforms, they were still limited by shortages of supplies, from nasal swabs to the reagents used to process the samples.
Administration officials maintained Monday that the limiting factor now is actually the availability of samples from people who have been tested ' either because guidelines on who could be tested are too stringent or because there are not enough health workers able to take nasal swab samples from them. The CDC moved to address one of those concerns Monday, expanding the list of people to be prioritized for virus testing to include those who show no symptoms but are in high-risk settings like nursing homes. And Trump met with leaders of businesses including CVS, Walmart and Kroger, who said they were working to expand access to tests across the country. 'Testing is not going to be a problem at all,' Trump said later in the Rose Garden.
However, many of the administration's past pledges and goals on testing have not been met. Jeremy Konyndyk, a disaster preparedness expert who helped lead the Obama administration response to Ebola, said the administration's testing plans are well short of what is needed. Researchers at Harvard have estimated the country needs to be testing a minimum of 500,000 people per day, and possibly many more. Konyndyk said the aim should be 2 million to 3 million per day. Trump said the current total, up sharply in recent days, is over 200,000 per day. Konyndyk said, 'Over the past month, we've doubled or if you want to be really generous tripled the testing capacity in this country. We need to take where we are now and expand it 10-fold."
The testing blueprint for states provides details missing from the administration's guidelines for them to return to normal operations that were released more than a week ago. It includes a focus on surveillance testing as well as 'rapid response' programs to isolate those who test positive and identify those with whom they had come in contact. The administration aims to have the market 'flooded' with tests for the fall, when COVID-19 is expected to recur alongside the seasonal flu. Trump and administration medical experts outlined the plan on a call with governors Monday afternoon, before unveiling them publicly in a Rose Garden press conference. The White House announcements came as Trump sought to regain his footing after weeks of criticism and detours created in part by his press briefings.
Days after he set off a firestorm by publicly musing that scientists should explore the injection of toxic disinfectants as a potential virus cure, Trump said he found little use for his daily task force briefings, where he has time and again clashed with medical experts and reporters. Trump's aides had been trying to move the president onto more familiar and, they hope, safer, ground: talking up the economy in more tightly controlled settings. Republican Party polling shows Trump's path to a second term depends on the public's perception of how quickly the economy rebounds from the state-by-state shutdowns meant to slow the spread of the virus.
On Monday, the White House initially announced there would be a Trump briefing, but canceled it as Trump's greatest asset in the reelection campaign ' his ability to dominate headlines with freewheeling performances ' was increasingly seen as a liability. But hours later, Trump it became clear Trump had other ideas. He held court in the Rose Garden for a bit less than an hour. Spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said that briefings would be held later in the week but 'they might have a new look to them, a new focus to them.' Trump said he hoped that virus deaths would end up no more than 60,000 to 70,000, slightly revising upward his public estimate of recent days as the U.S. toll neared 56,000 on nearly 1 million cases.
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Boris Johnson: Moment of maximum risk, be patient
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday warned against relaxing the Coronavirus restrictions too soon as the country was still facing a moment of "maximum risk", in his first remarks since returning to work after contracting the disease that has killed over 20,000.
While declaring that the tide is being turned on the pandemic in the country, he urged the public to contain their impatience against the lockdown. "We are beginning to turn the tide. There are real signs we are passing through the peak," said Johnson, 55, on returning to Downing Street after recovering from the virus.
Boris Johnson
He promised "maximum transparency" on the decisions to be taken as the UK enters phase two of the Covid-19 fightback, which will involve one by one firing up the "economic engines" of the UK economy.
Johnson said the UK has "so far collectively shielded our National Health Service" and "flattened the peak" — but he could not yet say when or which restrictions would be lifted.
4K domestic abuse arrests
The House of Commons' Home Affairs Committee on Monday called for urgent action from the government over a surge in domestic abuse cases amid the lockdown, with London alone registering 4,093 arrests in the six weeks up to April 19. The panel found that calls and contacts to the helpline run by the charity Refuge were 49 per cent higher in the week prior to April 15, than the average prior to the pandemic.
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New Zealand reopens some businesses today, PM says 'worst avoided'
New Zealand reported five new Coronavirus cases Monday as the nation got ready to ease the rules on a strict lockdown from midnight. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there hasn't been widespread community transmission of the virus and the country has so far managed to avoid the worst scenarios for an outbreak.
She said it would continue to hunt down the last few cases. From midnight, certain businesses such as construction will be allowed to reopen, but social distancing rules will still apply. Ardern said the nation was opening up the economy, but not people's social lives.
S Korea to reopen schools
South Korea reported only 10 new cases, its 26th straight day below 100 as officials mulled reopening schools amid the slowing caseload. The figures released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday brought the national totals to 10,738 cases and 243 deaths.
At least 1,044 infections have been linked to international arrivals, but such cases have also declined in recent weeks amid tightened border controls.
Prime Minster Chung Sye-kyun during a virus meeting Monday instructed education officials to prepare measures to ensure hygiene and enforce distance between students at schools so the government could announce a timeline for reopening schools no later than early May.
More US states to reopen
In the US, Colorado, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana and Tennessee are also preparing to reopen economy, Reuters reported. Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska and South Carolina had already started easing restrictions. "I would stay home if the government encouraged that, but they're not. They're saying, 'Hey, the best thing to do is go back to work, even though it might be risky,'" Royal Rose, 39, owner of a tattoo studio in Greeley, Colorado, told Reuters.
According to reports, the states have started easing lockdown without ensuring measures to trace the asymptomatic cases. Several health experts have warned that a hurry in easing lockdown may lead to a fresh wave of infections. Meanwhile, the White House said the jobless rate would be 16 per cent or higher this month. A record 26.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment since mid-March.
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Coronavirus outbreak: Russia's cases surpass China's
The number of the novel Coronavirus cases in Russia has surpassed that of China, where the disease originated. The country on Monday reported 6,198 new confirmed infections, taking the tally to 87,147, reported the Moscow Times.
China has recorded 84,500 confirmed cases since the outbreak last year. The Russian authorities on Monday confirmed 50 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total toll to 794.
Russia is now the ninth country to be worst hit by the pandemic. The virus has spread to all of Russia's 85 regions, but has affected the capital, Moscow, the most. Of all the 6,198 new cases, 2,971 have been registered in Moscow, 576 in the Moscow region and 153 in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
The virus has affected the country's military as well. A total of 874 servicemen in the military have tested positive for COVID-19 since March, Russia's Defence Ministry has said. Four people are in grave condition, including one on a ventilator.
The vast majority of the country has been on lockdown since late March, with only essential businesses — grocery shops, pharmacies, banks — operating and people ordered to stay at home. Military units have already rehearsed the parade -- footage of these rehearsals showed hundreds of servicemen drilling outside Moscow without observing social distancing. A Kremlin spokesman said that the military had their own isolation and distancing protocols which allowed them more freedom.
Spain sees slight spike in daily cases
Spain recorded 331 new deaths in the past 24 hours, up from Sunday's 288, while the political and social debate focuses on the way out of the seven-week lockdown. The total death toll stands on Monday over 23,500, while the number of infections is over 2,00,000.From Friday, people of all ages will be allowed to go on walks or practice sports outdoors, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced.
Singapore records drop in new infections
The tally in Singapore, which for long recorded over 1,000 cases daily, reached 14,423 on Monday after 799 new infections were reported with majority of them being foreign workers residing in dormitories. Around 3,00,000 low-wage workers, mostly from South Asia, work in Singapore in construction and maintenance. Most of them live together in huge dormitory complexes.
Indian worker killed in Singapore accident
A Singapore-based Indian worker and his colleague were killed in an accident involving a car and the motorcycle they were on, it was reported.
The Police were alerted on Saturday morning that a male motorcyclist from Malaysia, 27, and the pillion rider, Sulthan Abdul Kathar Rahman Kareem, 33, from India, were involved in an accident with a sedan car at the junction of Hougang Avenue 3 and Airport Road, The Straits Times reported on Sunday.
The two were taken to the Changi General Hospital, where they were later pronounced dead. The two colleagues were heading to a restaurant where they worked, said a relative of Sulthan's.
"My cousin is the sole bread winner of his family, who were living back home in the Kottaipattinam village in southern India," the relative added. Prior to his death, Sulthan had been working in Singapore for over four years.
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Police: 1 officer dead, 1 more wounded in Louisiana shooting
A shooting in Louisiana's capital city of Baton Rouge has left one police officer dead and a wounded colleague fighting for life Sunday, authorities said, adding a suspect was in custody after an hours-long standoff at a home. Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul told The Advocate the officers were shot in the northern part of the city, and one of the officers later died.
Police said the officers were responding to a call about reports of gunfire when they were shot. At a news conference Sunday evening, the police chief said the slain officer was a 21-year law enforcement veteran and that the wounded colleague had seven years of police work, according to WBRZ-TV. The chief did not identify the officers. The second wounded officer was hospitalized and ¿fighting for his life," Paul said, adding both officers were rushed earlier to a leading Baton Rouge hospital. Paul said a suspect was taken into custody after the standoff.
The police chief did not elaborate on any possible charges. Many details of events leading up to the shooting remained sketchy, and the chief said only that police continue to investigate. Later Sunday, dozens of officers gathered outside the hospital where the wounded officer was being treated, awaiting updates amid their impromptu vigil. A coroner's van was seen during the afternoon being escorted away by dozens of law enforcement vehicles as it left the hospital, according to media reports.
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Coronavirus outbreak: Four-year-old Indian girl recovers from COVID-19 in Dubai
A four-year-old Indian girl in Dubai has become one of the youngest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to have recovered from the novel coronavirus after walking free from hospital last week, it was reported.
The girl, known only as Sivani, was given a fitting send off by medical staff at Al Futtaim Health Hub on April 20, 20 days after being admitted on April 1, the Gulf News report said.
Sivani contracted the virus from her mother - a front line health worker - who fell ill in March.
Both Sivani and father dad were also tested despite not having any symptoms and, unlike her father, Sivani was found to be positive.
The girl and her mother were kept in the same facility, but concern was greater for the minor who had also fought off a rare type of kidney cancer last year called ganglioneuroblastoma.
Being a cancer survivor, doctors made extra precautions.
"Sivani had undergone chemotherapy sessions only last year and hence her immune system was still weak," Gulf News reported citing Tholfkar Al Baaj, group medical director at Al Futtaim Health Hub and the consultant in family medicine who treated Sivani, as saying.
"The doctors were concerned as she was at higher risk of developing a severe form of the disease and therefore, we had put her under close monitoring. Fortunately, she did not develop any complications from the infection," he added.
Sivani remained under treatment for 20 days before two consecutive negative swab tests rendered her all clear. She will now undergo 14-days quarantine at home.
Her mother remains under observation and was expected to be released soon.
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4,093 people arrested in London for domestic violence
In the six weeks up to April 19, at least 4,093 people were arrested from across London for domestic abuse offences -- nearly 100 a day on an average -- during the coronavirus lockdown in the UK, the Metropolitan Police has revealed.
Charges and cautions have increased by 24 per cent since March 9, when people with COVID-19 symptoms were asked to self-isolate, compared to last year, Xinhua news agency quoted Commander Sue Williams, the Met's lead for safeguarding, as saying on Sunday.
Domestic incidents, which can include family rows not recorded as crimes, have seen a 3 per cent increase since last year, and jumped by 9 per cent between March 9 and April 19, said the Met Police.
There have been two domestic-related murders recorded in London as police continue to warn of an increased risk of abuse during the strict measures in place, said the Scotland Yard, metonym for the headquarters of the Met Police.
"The COVID-19 restrictions and 'stay at home' instruction is vital to managing this public health crisis, but unfortunately it has also left current and potential victims of domestic abuse even more vulnerable and isolated," said Williams.
The Met Police gave examples of some of the cases it has dealt with in recent weeks, including one in which police discovered that a man reported by a victim was linked to firearms.
"Officers located him within three hours of receiving the report and searched his vehicle, finding two sawn-off shotguns. A cannabis factory was also discovered. The man was subsequently charged and is awaiting trial," said the Scotland Yard in a statement.
Officers were also called to help a pregnant victim in east London, who had gone to a hospital to seek refuge after her partner assaulted and tormented her. Police said he was quickly arrested, but she was unwilling to support criminal action.
However, due to the evidence captured on body worn video, and witness accounts from staff at the hospital, the Crown Prosecution Service supported a victimless prosecution, and the suspect is awaiting trial, said the Met Police.
"Victims should be assured that they can leave their homes to escape harm or seek help, and they will not be penalized in any way for not maintaining social distancing, or otherwise breaching COVID-19 restrictions," said Williams. The UK has reported 154,037 coronavirus cases, with 20,794 deaths.
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Experts urge people to avoid mosques as cases spike in Pa
Pakistan's Coronavirus cases jumped to 12,579 on Sunday after 783 new infections were reported in one day, prompting the government officials and medical experts to appeal to the people to avoid visiting mosques and participating in congregational prayers during Ramzan to contain the spread.
According to the Ministry of National Health Services, at least 15 people have died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country to 269. The number of those recovered also increased to 2,866, it said. So far, 144,365 tests have been done in the country, including 6,218 in the last 24 hours.
As the infections keep growing, Pakistan Medical Association, Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) have urged people to offer prayers at homes and not in mosques. PIMA President Dr Iftikhar Burney warned on Saturday that mosques were becoming a major source of virus transmission.
"Around 6,000 cases for coronavirus surfaced in a month, but the same has doubled in the last six days," he said, warning that the infection would further go up in the coming months of May and June.
The are reports that a 20-point agreement signed by the leading clerics with President Arif Alvi on restricting access to mosques during Ramzan was not being followed completely. Alvi has written a letter to the Imams of mosques urging them to ask worshippers above the age of 50 to pray at home.
783
No. of new infections reported on Sunday
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Virus lockdown raises tensions in poorest areas of France
Joining more than 1,000 others, Djemba Diatite stood for hours in line to feed her growing family, grateful for handouts of fruits, vegetables and soap. It was her first time accepting charity, but she had no choice. The pandemic has turned her small world upside down.
With open air markets closed, supermarket prices skyrocketing, an out-of-work husband, two children to feed and another on the way, Diatite said even tomatoes are now too expensive. "This is my only solution," she said.
Clichy-sous-Bois — where fiery nationwide riots started in 2005 — is just 23 km northeast of the French capital, but with its rows of housing projects, restless youth and residents teetering on the poverty line, it feels light years away.
The town mayor, seeing a looming crisis triggered by food shortages, sounded the alarm, and with scattered unrest simmering in impoverished suburbs, the French government announced a plan for urgent food assistance of 39 million euros for communities in need. "I feel the social crisis is growing with confinement," said Clichy-Sous-Bois Mayor Olivier Klein. The government will detail to parliament on Tuesday how it plans to pull the country out of the lockdown.
Boris to be back to work from Monday
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will return to work at 10 Downing Street in London on Monday. The 55-year-old has been recuperating at his prime ministerial countryside retreat at Chequers since he was discharged on April 12 and had put UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in charge as his deputy. Johnson is reportedly "raring to go" and will be back to an initially light work schedule from next week, starting with a meeting with UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
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Donald Trump: Press briefings not worth my time
US President Donald Trump tweeted that his daily Coronavirus briefings were not worth his time, two days after sparking a furore by suggesting patients might be injected with disinfectant to kill an infection.
He appeared to confirm media reports that he was considering halting the briefings, which dominate early-evening cable television news for sometimes more than two hours, out of frustration with questions about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Thursday, the US leader stunned viewers by saying doctors might treat people infected with the coronavirus by shining ultraviolet light inside their bodies, or with injections of household disinfectant.
After a strong rebuff of his suggestion by top medical experts and disinfectant manufacturers, Trump on Friday claimed he had been speaking "sarcastically." But he limited that day's briefing, which usually includes himself, Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, to just 19 minutes, and did not take any questions from reporters.
And on Saturday, after 50 briefings over two months, the White House did not hold one at all. Trump has used the briefings to occupy television screens and promote his administration's policies, fend off critics and attack political rivals — from opposition Democrats to China to the US media.
Nearly 2,500 dead in 24 hrs
The US recorded 2,494 more coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, according to figures reported Saturday night by Johns Hopkins University. The country now has an overall death toll of 53,511, with 9,36,293 confirmed infections, according to a tally at 8.30 pm (0030 GMT Sunday). The US is by far the hardest-hit country in the global pandemic.
No cases in Wuhan hospitals for 1st time
The number of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in China's Wuhan, where the virus first emerged before turning out to be a pandemic, on Sunday dropped to zero for the first time. The last patient in Wuhan was cured on Friday, Mi Feng, a spokesperson for China's National Health Commission. Hubei has so far reported 68,128 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 50,333 in Wuhan. The revised figure raised China's overall COVID-19 death toll to 4,632. The total number of cases as of Thursday stood at 82,692.
Italy ponders what went wrong
As Italy prepares to emerge from the West's first and most extensive lockdown, it is increasingly clear that something went terribly wrong in Lombardy, the hardest-hit region. Italy's total of 26,000 fatalities lags behind only the United States in the global toll. Prosecutors are deciding whether to lay any criminal blame for the hundreds of dead in nursing homes, many of whom aren't even counted in Lombardy's official death toll of 13,269.
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HK airport operates full-body disinfection channel, deploys robots
The Hong Kong airport is using several latest disinfection technologies including a full-body disinfection channel and cleaning robots to reduce the risk of the COVID-19 spread.
The disinfection channel is an enclosed facility similar to a telephone booth in size where users can complete disinfection and sanitizing procedures in 40 seconds, the city's Airport Authority (AA) said in a statement on Sunday.
The interior surface of the facility is equipped with antimicrobial coating which can remotely kill virus and bacteria on human bodies and clothing by using the technologies of photocatalyst and "nano needles" Xinhua news agency quoted the AA as saying, noting that the Hong Kong International Airport is the world's first to use the facility.
Currently, the disinfection channel is used by public health staff who bear quarantine duties at the airport.
Autonomous cleaning robots have also been used to ensure thorough disinfection of public areas and passenger facilities at the airport.
The cylindrical robots, equipped with ultra violet light sterilizer and air sterilizer, operate round-the-clock in public toilets and key operating areas in the terminal building, the AA said.
The robots can move around autonomously and sterilize up to 99.99 per cent of bacteria in its vicinity, including both the air and object surfaces, in just 10 minutes.
Besides, the AA is also conducting a pilot test of applying antimicrobial coating at all passenger facilities, including check-in counters, baggage trolleys and elevator buttons, among others.
After completion of the trial in May, the AA will consider implementing it as a long term disinfection measure. Hong Kong has reported 1,037 coronavirus cases with four deaths.
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Indian-American Democratic National Committee CEO steps down
Indian-American Seema Nanda has announced that she was stepping down as the CEO of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), it was reported. The Boston College Law School and Brown University grad, who took over as the DNC CEO in June 2018, succeeding Mary Beth Cahill, announced the move via Twitter on Friday, the American Bazaar reported.
"After two years, I will be stepping down as CEO of the DNC. I couldn't be prouder of the infrastructure we have built, the primary process we have run, and the team we have built. "I look forward to continuing the fight for our democracy and to elect Democrats everywhere," she added.
Nanda however, did not reveal the reason behind her decision nor did she announce her next move. During her tenure, Nanda worked closely with DNC Chair Tom Perez, managing the group's day-to-day operations.
The two had worked together at the Department of Labor during the former administration of President Barack Obama. Perez's term as DNC chair will end after the November presidential election. While accepting the position in 2018, Nanda described the job as "the opportunity of a lifetime".
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Coronavirus outbreak: US cases top 900,000, deaths touch 52,000
More than 900,000 people were infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as of Saturday in the United States, with the death toll exceeding 52,000, while a new study indicated that the virus was likely to be spreading in multiple US cities "far earlier" than Americans knew.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 905,364 as of 10.30 a.m. (1430 GMT), and a total of 52,042 deaths related to the disease were recorded, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University, Xinhua news agency reported.
New York remains the hardest-hit state, with 271,590 cases and 21,411 deaths. New Jersey follows, with 102,196 cases and 5,683 deaths. Other states with over 40,000 cases include Massachusetts, California and Pennsylvania.
Worldwide, more than 200,000 people died of the disease as of Saturday, among over 2.8 million cases, showed the CSSE data.
The United States suffered the most fatalities. Italy followed with 26,384 deaths. Spain reported 22,902 deaths, France and Britain also reported over 20,000 deaths.
The US states and federal government are trying very hard to balance the public health risk posed by the virus with the severe cost of month-odd shutting down of the country's economy.
The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that the unemployment rate around the country, which was near a 50-year low before the coronavirus struck, will surge to 16 per cent by September as the economy withers under the impact of the outbreak.
More than 26 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits since March. White House unveiled on April 16 three-phase guidelines for reopening the US economy, putting the onus on governors of making decisions about their states' economies.
Over a dozen states, including Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, Colorado and Iowa, are moving toward restarting their economies this weekend with some restrictions.
Many other states remain hesitant to take such steps without more robust testing capacity. New York, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Michigan have already extended their stay-at-home orders.
Several states have announced plans to coordinate their response with neighbours. California is moving forward in coordination with Washington and Oregon while governors from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island announced plans to form a joint task force.
A CBS News poll published Thursday said that 70 per cent of respondents believed the country's top priority should be trying to "slow the spread of coronavirus by keeping people home and social distancing, even if the economy is hurt in the short term."
The virus was likely to be spreading in multiple US cities "far earlier" than Americans knew, according to a new research.
"Even in early February -- while the world focused on China -- the virus was not only likely to be spreading in multiple American cities, but also seeding blooms of infection elsewhere in the United States, the researchers found," said a report by The New York Times on Thursday.
In the five major US cities -- New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle, as of March 1, there were only 23 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
However, according to a model of the spread of the disease by researchers at Northeastern University, "there could have actually been about 28,000 infections in those cities by then," the report said.
The virus spread on the West Coast of the United States weeks earlier than initially believed, according to new information released by Santa Clara county, California on Tuesday.
Patricia Dowd, a 57-year-old San Jose woman, died at home on February 6. Jeffrey V. Smith, Santa Clara county executive, told Xinhua in an email interview that "so far, this is the earliest death in the United States."
Dowd and another 69-year-old man who died at home on Feb. 17 had no "significant travel history," and they presumably caught the virus through community spread, said the county's public health officer Dr. Sara Cody.
"These patients apparently contracted the illness from community spread. This suggests that the virus was circulating in the Bay Area in January at least, probably earlier," Smith told Xinhua. Previously, the first known US death from the virus was on February 29 in Kirkland in Washington state.
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British PM Boris Johnson to return to work on Monday
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be back at work in 10 Downing Street on Monday, after recovering ving a London hospital in his fight against the novel coronavirus, Xinhua news agency stated after citing British media reports on Saturday night. Johnson told his cabinet colleagues that he will be back to his normal schedule following his treatment in St. Thomas' Hospital in London for COVID-19. Depending on doctors' advice, Johnson may host Monday's daily Downing Street news conference and possibly take on the new Labour leader Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Sky News reported.
"He is 'raring to go' and will be back Monday," Sky News noted, citing a Downing Street source. Johnson said on April 12 that he had left the hospital "after a week in which the NHS has saved my life, no question." Johnson, who spent three nights in intensive care in the hospital, spent a week in Chequers, the prime minister's country house after leaving hospital.
"He had a Chequers meeting with advisers on Friday and he will be meeting the (British) health secretary, Matt Hancock, and getting back to his normal schedule," Sky News reported. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is also the first secretary of state, had been deputized by Johnson to carry out his duties during his illness.
Earlier in the day, the British Department of Health said that a further 813 people had died of COVID-19 as of 1600 GMT on Friday, bringing the death toll to 20,319 and making UK the fifth nation globally to pass the grim milestone of 20,000 deaths, after the United States, Italy, Spain and France. Care home deaths and those in the community are still excluded from the British tally.
The UK-wide figure has doubled in less than two weeks. A total of 148,377 people have now tested positive for the virus in the country, a jump of 4,913 in 24 hours.
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Saudi Arabia to put an end to flogging as a form of punishment: SC
Saudi Arabia is to abolish flogging as a form of punishment, according to a directive from the Kingdom's Supreme Court, adding that flogging will be replaced by imprisonment or fines.
The directive issued on Friday says this was an extension of human rights reforms brought by King Salman and his son, the country's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reports the BBC.
The last time that flogging in Saudi Arabia hit the headlines was in 2015 when blogger Raif Badawi was subjected to the punishment in public, reportedly after being convicted of cybercrime and insulting Islam.
He had been due to receive 1,000 lashes in weekly beatings but global outrage and reports that he nearly died put a stop to that part of his sentence.
This comes as campaigners have said that Saudi Arabia has one of the worst records for human rights in the world, with freedom of expression severely curtailed and critics of the government subject to what they say is arbitrary arrest, the BBC reported.
Earlier on Friday, the most prominent Saudi human rights campaigner died in jail after a stroke which fellow activists say was due to medical neglect by the authorities.
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Bhaag Stephen bhaag
Stephen England, 40, is really dedicated to the fitness lifestyle. England has run 90 marathons and ultramarathons so far. When the Boston marathon got postponed to September 14, owing to the ban on gatherings to contain the Coronavirus, he came up with an inspiring solution to honour his commitment. He jogged on the rooftop of his building, literally running in circles and achieving the 42 km target, while sticking to social distancing guidelines.
The aid station with water bottles and a finisher's medal
The historic race has been held every year since 1897 without fail. "The Boston Marathon is a huge part of my life," he told the New York Post. "I've done it seven times and was there during the 2013 bombing. So, as soon as it got postponed, I knew I had to do something to honour Marathon Monday," added the marathon enthusiast.
England poses with his dog Miles, as he proudly displays the finisher's certificate. Pics/@rundiabetes, Instagram
England started running at 6 am on Monday morning. He even set up a makeshift aid station on a table, as is customary, with water bottles, energy gels and a finisher's medal. He took 5 hours, 29 minutes and 37 seconds to finish the marathon, a far cry from his best Boston Marathon time of 2 hours and 45 minutes. If there is one thing his sprinting spree has taught us, it's that human tenacity knows no bounds, no matter how tough times get.
1,098
No. of laps Stephen England ran across his rooftop
Corona se daro
An Indonesian politician quarantined citizens in 'haunted houses' for violating social distancing norms
Representational picture
Tired of people not adhering to self-quarantine guidelines, a politician from Indonesia's Sragen regency decided to lock rule breakers in abandoned houses believed by the locals to be haunted, to set an example and discourage others from following suit. Sragen saw a lot of people entering its territory, as major cities are under lockdown. "If they disobey self-isolation orders, several villages have asked for my permission to quarantine them in abandoned elementary schools or houses. I gave my permission. If need be, they should be locked inside—in a haunted house if necessary. But we'd still feed them and monitor them," said Kusdinar Untung Yuni Sukowati, the head of the regency, to Coconuts Jakarta. Sepat village picked a long-abandoned house and turned it into a quarantine centre for three people.
Grandpa goes grunge
Pics/Lydia L. Arshadi, Facebook
A nonagenarian, Guy Whidden, is making waves on social media for getting his granddaughter to shave his hair into a mohawk. Whidden, a military veteran, last sported the hairstyle during WWII, and decided to get the sharp cut again as a "wake-up call" during the Coronavirus crisis. He can be heard saying "I feel like a young buck!" in a video that has been viewed and shared thousands of times.
Museums show off their creepiest Artefacts
Pic/@profdanhicks, Twitter
In a Twitter thread that's not for the faint hearted, museums from all over are competing to see who has the creepiest object in their collection. The thread is part of the Yorkshire Museum's weekly curator battle, and until now, has seen a hair bun from the burial of a Roman lady, a sheep's heart stuck with pins and nails, and a cursed children's toy.
Lady becomes unicorn to cheer neighbours up
Pic/@atsumi.fashion, Instagram
A resident of Tampa, Corey Jurgensen, 40, donned an inflatable unicorn costume to cheer up her neighbours, who are stuck indoors due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Jurgensen, a massage therapist, wore the seven-foot-tall costume and danced around the streets near her house, to spread some smiles and help people relax.
Pup wants to play with pals
Pic/@RaeElle, Twitter
An English bulldog named Big Poppa is heartbroken about not being able to play with his friends, his favourite activity according to his owner, Rashida Ellis. Ellis told Buzzfeed News that, "He loves children and then other dogs and then adults. In that order." She shared a now-viral photo of him on Twitter, where he is sitting in the balcony dejected, with the caption: "Big Poppa has been so sad..."
Bra cups to the rescue
Pic/@atsumi.fashion, Instagram
A Japanese company specialising in the manufacture of women's undergarments, Atsumi Fashion Co., decided to mix things up by applying their designs to make face masks during the Coronavirus. Every (sexy) bit counts, right? Their product was sold out within moments of being launched, leaving customers asking for more. Each face mask was priced at Rs 1,000.
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She survived Spanish Flu in 1918, now, she beat Coronavirus
We may have all heard that miracles do happen, but sadly not all of us have the chance to witness them in our daily lives, especially during a pandemic today which brings the world to a standstill. Citing a similar story of survival, The Olive Press, a Spain-based English newspaper, reported that it was 1918, when Ana del Valle, a kid then, suffered and recovered from the Spanish Flu - an unusually deadly influenza pandemic which lasting for almost 36 months (from January 1918 to December 1920) and it infected as many as 500 million people - about a third of the world's population at the time. And now, 102 years later, the old grandmother has miraculously beaten the coronavirus pandemic to the joy of her family in Ronda.
The media reported that Valle lived at a nursing home in Alcala del Valle, where she contracted the virus along with 60 other residents. She was then transferred to a hospital in La Linea and was discharged a few days ago, as she had overcome the contagion. Ana was born in October 1913 and in less than six months she will turn 107. That makes her the oldest survivor of the pandemic outbreaks in Spain, along with one of the oldest worldwide, behind the likes of 107-year-old Dutch survivor, Cornelia Ras. Her daughter-in-law, Paqui Sanchez was further quoted by Malaga Hoy, another local media source, that her family was very grateful for everything the hospital staff had done. But, she said that authorities were taking it slow and being cautious with her mother-in-law's health, due to her old age.
"Her doctors tell us that she has very good results, but you have to be very careful," she told the Malaga-based news paper. "She eats alone, some days more and other days less" "She also goes on short walks with her walker," she said further. According to other media reports, two other 101-year-old women have also recovered from disease in Spain. There have been a total of 22,524 official Covid-19-related fatalities since the pandemic hit Spain, while 92,355 patients have recovered from the illness and have been discharged from hospital. However, the health ministry reported on Friday that the tally of daily Covid-19- related deaths was registered at 367, which is the lowest number since March 21, when there were 324 fatalities. As per the data cited by US-based Johns Hopkins University, more than 195,000 people have died due to the pandemic, with 2.7 million infected globally, out of whom almost some 781,000 have recovered.
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Belgian Prime Minister unveils plan to lift lockdown
Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes has announced a detailed plan to gradually lift the country's coronavirus restrictions, the media reported on Saturday.
After hours of discussions on Friday, Prime Minister Wilmes announced a timetable to gradually end the country's lockdown, which began on March 12, reports the BBC. The first businesses to open will be fabric shops on May 4 in order to help people comply with new regulations requiring all Belgians aged 12 or over to wear masks on public transport. Other shops will reopen a week later.
Schools will return from May 18, but no more than 10 children will be allowed in each class. Cafes and restaurants will not be permitted to open before June 8. But Wilmes warned that "nothing is set in stone". At least 44,293 people have tested positive for the virus in Belgium as of Saturday, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.
A total of 6,679 deaths have been recorded in the nation of 11.4 million - the highest rate per capita in Europe. More than half the fatalities have been in care homes. A number of other European countries have already announced measures to ease their lockdowns, the BBC reported. On Friday, the Czech Republic ended restrictions on free movement which had been put in place to help halt the spread of coronavirus.
Sme shops have already reoopened in Germany and schools will gradually reopen from May 4, although bars, cafes, restaurants, cinemas and music venues will all remain closed. Meanwhile, Poland's Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski called for a two-year delay to the presidential election - due to take place in two weeks' time - saying it was the safest situation given the pandemic.
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Coronavirus outbreak: China approves third COVID-19 vaccine
China has approved its third Coronavirus vaccine for the second phase of clinical trials as it reported 12 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections in the country to 82,816. The approved vaccine also includes one developed by Chinese military, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) for clinical trials. An "inactivated" vaccine developed by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products under the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) started its clinical trials, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The inactivated vaccine consists of virus particles, bacteria, or other pathogens that have been grown in culture and then lose disease producing capacity. In contrast, live vaccines use pathogens that are still alive. WIV has been in the eye of the storm in recent weeks as US President Donald Trump and top American officials alleged that the Coronavirus may have escaped from there and demanded a probe into it. An official of the WIV denied it, terming the allegation "entirely based on speculation".
A total of 96 persons in three age groups have received the vaccine in the first phase of clinical trial as of April 23. The vaccine has shown good safety results so far and vaccine receivers are still under observation, said the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.
72 therapeutics trial underway, 211 in planning stages in the US
A top Trump administration health official has said that as many as 19 therapeutics trial are underway and 211 in planning stages in a bid to find the cure for Coronavirus. "We are leaving no stone unturned to find the antidote for Coronavirus... We don't have any approved therapeutics for the virus but we are actively involved with the academic, commercial and private sector to find it," FDA commissioner Stephen M Hahn told reporters at a White House news conference.
"Seventy-two trials of therapeutics are underway in the United States under FDA oversight and 211 are in the planning stages, so we expect to see more. This includes convalescent plasma as well as antiviral therapies," Hahn added. According to Hahn, work is continuing on finding a vaccine. FDA has authorised two firms on vaccine trials. Hahn said that the FDA has told manufacturers that in order to market anti-body tests in the US, they have to validate their tests.
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Twitterati share their cooking fails to cheer nine-year-old girl up after she messed up her dish
If you love to cook or bake, you put your heart and soul into the dish, with a hope that it will turn out to be delicious. But if it does not turn out as expected you would feel disheartened. The young girl went through the same, who tried a hand at baking and messed up the dish. Her mother turned to Twitter and asked users to share their cooking fails that helped her to cheer up.
When author and mother of four Shannon Hale tweeted, “My 9yo is in tears because she tried to bake something new and messed up. She thinks this means she can’t be a baker now”, and asked people to share their cooking experiences that flopped, the twitterati was quick to respond and make the girl feel better.
My 9yo is in tears because she tried to bake something new and messed up. She thinks this means she can’t be a baker now. Would any bakers out there care to share times you messed up?
— Shannon Hale (@haleshannon) April 19, 2020
Hale’s tweet has garnered more than 11,000 likes and was retweeted 667 times. Many users commenting on the posts shared their epic cooking fails alongwith the pictures of their messed-up dishes to cheer the girl up.
My 9yo is in tears because she tried to bake something new and messed up. She thinks this means she can’t be a baker now. Would any bakers out there care to share times you messed up?
— Shannon Hale (@haleshannon) April 19, 2020
I write cookbooks and yesterday I forgot the baking powder and soda in my cake pic.twitter.com/imQ9C78mdD
— Julie Van Rosendaal (@dinnerwithjulie) April 20, 2020
I’ve been baking for years (about 50) and I had to cut the sides off my bread today because it was burnt. pic.twitter.com/lbq5RXKEKV
— Gallery Chapel (@gallerychapel) April 20, 2020
Look at this beautiful birthday cake my son made my wife today. Things can be delicious even if messy â¤ï¸ pic.twitter.com/Xs2JIzoAmN
— ðDr. Frizzle (@Swilua) April 19, 2020
Look at this beautiful birthday cake my son made my wife today. Things can be delicious even if messy â¤ï¸ pic.twitter.com/Xs2JIzoAmN
— ðDr. Frizzle (@Swilua) April 19, 2020
I’ve been baking for years (about 50) and I had to cut the sides off my bread today because it was burnt. pic.twitter.com/lbq5RXKEKV
— Gallery Chapel (@gallerychapel) April 20, 2020
What do you think about the post?
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Unfazed! Journalist calmly dodges falling light stands continues live reporting; netizens impressed
Keeping calm and focused towards the task in hand is a recommended recipe for success. A journalist from US is being lauded for doing the same. News reporter Kirsten Welker was reporting a live event and remained unfazed even after dodging two light stands that fell near her becuase of strong windy conditions.
Welker wearing a mask was reporting live from Washington DC on a windy day when two tall lighting fixtures fell near her. However, she calmly dodged the falling stands and continued with her reporting, which has impressed netizens across the globe. Ever since the clip went viral, Welker is being hailed as a legend and received several appreciating comments for her commitment.
With many people sharing the clip, even Welker responded to comments she received in a witty manner. When a sports news website shared the clip saying, “First-round pocket presence”, here’s how she responded:
Put me in, coach!
— Kristen Welker (@kwelkernbc) April 22, 2020
cc: @Eagles https://t.co/OF3IaULCv2
The clip that has received more than 1.4 million views and over 23,600 likes on Twitter was retweeted more than 3,600 times. Users commenting on the video posted about how Welker handle the situation with presence of mind.
“If you can dodge a light stand you can dodge a ball”
— Robert Kurhajetz (@rkurhajetz) April 22, 2020
Legend!
— Jesse Jones (@JesseKIRO7) April 23, 2020
That looks like a scene from a supernatural thriller! Bravo Kristen!
— Roger Clark (@RogerClark41) April 22, 2020
Handled like a BOSS! Booyah!
— SRH (@Bijouxforu) April 23, 2020
She didn’t miss a beat. ðÂÂÂðÂÂÂ
— C Colcombe (@ColcombeL) April 22, 2020
— Watch Dog (@Usefulnotes_) April 22, 2020
What do you think about the video?
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