Covid-19: Coping with the outbreak

ITALY
Face masks. Thousands of facemasks sent by China for Italy’s beleaguered hospitals have ended up in the Czech Republic in an apparent cross-border imbroglio as Europe, now the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, faces a shortage of masks.

The problem is crucial in Italy, the country currently paying the heaviest price, with almost 5,000 deaths and its hospitals at breaking point. But the Czech Republic, which is also bracing for a rise in infections, has tightened controls on the export and distribution of such material.

CHINA
Progress. China has started the first phase of a clinical trial for a novel coronavirus vaccine, records show, as the world’s scientists race to find a way to combat the deadly pathogen. It comes after US health officials said last week they had started a trial to evaluate a possible vaccine in Seattle.

The Chinese effort began on March 16 - the same day as the US announcement - and is expected to continue until the end of the year, according to a filing in the country’s Clinical Trial Registry, dated March 17. The 108 participants, aged between 18 and 60, will be tested in three groups and given different dosages. They are all residents of the central city of Wuhan - where the new coronavirus first emerged late last year.
UK
Cases. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the coronavirus outbreak was “accelerating”, as fears grew that the crisis in Britain was following the same path as the one devastating Italy.Johnson’s plea came after latest health department figures showed that 233 people have died from COVID-19 in the UK, with the number of those testing positive for the virus standing at 5,018. That death toll mirrors the same figure declared in Italy on March 7. On Saturday, Rome said that 4,825 people had perished in the country, a third of the world’s total. “The numbers are very stark, and they are accelerating,” Johnson said in a statement ahead of a planned press briefing later in the day.

USA

Shutdown. A number of US states have ordered shutdowns with one in five Americans soon set to be under a “stay at home” order.Connecticut and New Jersey on Friday joined Illinois and California in ordering residents to stay at home in order to combat coronavirus.

New York State ordered non-essential businesses to close. The virus has claimed nearly 230 lives in the US and infected more than 18,500 people.

Globally more than 275,000 patients have tested positive for the respiratory illness and more than 11,000 have died. A ban on non-essential travel across the US-Canada border came into effect at midnight on Saturday.

Speaking at the White House later in the day, President Donald Trump said governors, mayors and citizens were working with “urgency and speed” in what he described as a “war against the virus”. Also at the news conference, Vice-President Mike Pence said he and his wife would be tested after one of his aides tested positive for the virus.

SOUTH AFRICA
Minister. A South African government minister has apologised after a video of her complaining about measures introduced to curb the spread of the coronavirus was shared online. “Stay at home if you can, I’m finding it difficult to stay at home. Virus just go away, we have a life to live,” Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said in the video.

Several people on social media condemned Ms Zulu and suggested that she should be reprimanded. Ms Zulu said her comments expressed the frustration of many South Africans:
“I am also frustrated with our current situation and how this epidemic continues to cripple our economy and our social system,” News24 quoted her as saying in a statement.

EL SALVADOR

Minister. A South African government minister has apologised after a video of her complaining about measures introduced to curb the spread of the coronavirus was shared online. “Stay at home if you can, I’m finding it difficult to stay at home. Virus just go away, we have a life to live,” Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said in the video. Several people on social media condemned Ms Zulu and suggested that she should be reprimanded.

Ms Zulu said her comments expressed the frustration of many South Africans:
“I am also frustrated with our current situation and how this epidemic continues to cripple our economy and our social system,” News24 quoted her as saying in a statement.

DUBAI

Announcement. Dubai carrier Emirates Airline announced yesterday that it will suspend all passenger flights from March 25 amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. “Today we made the decision to temporarily suspend all passenger flights by 25 March 2020,” the airline said on Twitter. The United Arab Emirates announced on Friday the first two deaths from the COVID-19 disease in the country.