Agency Reporter

THE United States (U.S.) on Monday entered what an official called the “peak death week” of the coronavirus as a watchdog report said hospitals were struggling to maintain and expand capacity to care for infected patients.

The U.S. death toll, which topped 10,000 yesterday, was rapidly closing in on Italy and Spain, the countries with the most fatalities to date at nearly 16,000 and about 12,500 respectively, according to a Reuters tally of official data.

“It’s going to be the peak hospitalisation, peak ICU week and unfortunately, peak death week,” Admiral Brett Giroir, a physician and member of the White House coronavirus task force, told ABC’s “Good Morning America”.

He raised particular alarm for the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and the city of Detroit.

Separately, on NBC’s “Today” Giroir said: “Whether you live in small town America or you live in the ‘Big Apple,’ everyone is susceptible to this and everyone needs to follow the precautions we’ve laid out.”

More than 90% of Americans are under stay-at-home orders issued by state governors while eight states still were holding out on imposing such restrictions.

The report, based on a national March 23-27 survey, showed that “severe shortages” of testing supplies and long waits for test results were limiting the ability of hospitals to keep track of the health of staff and patients, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said.

“Hospitals also described substantial challenges maintaining and expanding capacity to care for patients,” said the report, described as a snapshot of the issues hospitals faced in mid-March. Efforts were being made to address those issues, it said.

The watchdog said “inconsistent guidance from federal, State, and local authorities” was confusing hospitals and the public, while widespread shortages of personal protective equipment put hospital staff and patients at risk.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said a shortage of medical professionals was replacing a lack of equipment as the city’s primary need, calling for an additional 45,000 clinical personnel for April.

The city has reported more than 3,100 deaths, and it may resort to temporarily burying the dead in an unspecified park, said Mark Levine, chair of the New York City Council health committee.

The pandemic was also taking a toll on the New York Police Department, which said 18.6% of its uniformed workforce was out sick on Sunday, including 5.1%, who tested positive for the coronavirus.

Despite the grim warnings, at least one model offered hope that the death rate was slowing.

The University of Washington model, one of several cited by U.S. and some state officials, now projects U.S. deaths at 81,766 by Aug. 4, down about 12,000 from a projection over the weekend.

The model, which is frequently updated with new data, projects the peak need for hospital beds on April 15 and for daily deaths at 3,130 on April 16.

The grim outlook has triggered a debate within the White House about the efficacy of a malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, for use against COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.

In a CNN interview yesterday, trade adviser Peter Navarro acknowledged that members of the White House coronavirus task force disagreed over the drug.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and other top health advisers have argued there have not been enough studies done to prove the drug was effective against COVID-19.

U.S. President Donald Trump has personally pressed federal health officials to make the drug available to treat coronavirus, two sources have told Reuters.

Navarro told CNN that task force members eventually agreed the Federal Emergency Management Agency “would immediately begin surging hydroxy into the hot zones.” All decisions on dispensing the drug will involve only a doctor and patient, not the federal government, he said.

Navarro said 29 million tablets of hydroxychloroquine were sitting in a warehouse, ready to be distributed.

Our Reporter

UNITED Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been moved to an intensive care unit after his condition worsened, Downing Street has said.

A No 10 spokesman said: “Since Sunday evening, the prime minister has been under the care of doctors at St Thomas’ Hospital, in London, after being admitted with persistent symptoms of coronavirus.

“Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital.

“The PM has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is the first secretary of state, to deputise for him where necessary.

“The PM is receiving excellent care, and thanks all NHS staff for their hard work and dedication.”

Johnson said earlier yesterday he was “in good spirits”, following his hospital admission after failing to shake off symptoms of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

“Last night, on the advice of my doctor, I went into hospital for some routine tests as I’m still experiencing coronavirus symptoms,” Johnson tweeted, 10 days after he tested positive for Covid-19.

“I’m in good spirits and keeping in touch with my team, as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe,” he wrote.

Johnson thanked “all the brilliant NHS (National Health Service) staff taking care of him and others in this difficult time.”

One of his ministers said earlier that Johnson remains “very much in charge” of the government and is expected to return to his Downing Street office soon.

“He’s been working extremely hard, leading the government and being constantly updated,” Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick told the BBC.

Johnson, 55, was taken to hospital on Sunday for tests.

He experienced “persistent” mild symptoms, his office said, adding that his hospital admission was “a precautionary step.”

“Obviously today, he’s in hospital having the tests but he will continue to be kept informed as to what’s happening and to be in charge of the government.

“I’m sure this is very frustrating for him, for somebody like Boris who wants to be hands-on running the government from the front, but nonetheless he’s still very much in charge of the government,” Jenrick told the broadcaster.

Downing Street said Johnson spent a “comfortable night” in hospital on Sunday but declined to comment on whether he had been given oxygen or had contracted pneumonia.

Our Reporter

 

BRITISH Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital for tests, 10 days after testing positive for coronavirus, Downing Street has said.

He was taken to a London hospital last night with “persistent symptoms” – including a temperature.

It is said to be a “precautionary step” taken on the advice of his doctor.

The prime minister remains in charge of the government, but the foreign secretary is expected to chair a coronavirus meeting on Monday morning.

Mr Johnson is expected to stay overnight and is having what have been described as “routine tests”, according to BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg.

In a statement, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “On the advice of his doctor, the prime minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests.

“This is a precautionary step, as the prime minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive for the virus.”

She added: “The prime minister thanks NHS staff for all of their incredible hard work and urges the public to continue to follow the government’s advice to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”

The first case of coronavirus has been confirmed in South Sudan.

Officials said the patient is a 29-year-old woman working for the United Nations, who recently arrived in the country from the Netherlands.

Experts have warned that the consequences could be dire if the virus spreads rapidly in South Sudan, which has extremely limited health facilities.

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More than a million people are still displaced from their homes following a six-year civil war that killed around 400,000 people.

Last month, ministers were finally appointed to a unity government after the former rebel leader Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir signed a peace deal.

 

 

For the first time in history, Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Mass alone in St Peter’s Basilica.

Out of respect for Covid-19 regulations limiting large gatherings, the Mass was held without a congregation. Millions of people joined the Holy Father, however, via the internet, radio and television.

Looking pensive and sounding subdued, Francis led the first of several solemn Holy Week ceremonies that shut out the out the rank-and-file of many faithful from attending, as Italy’s rigid lockdown measures forbid public gatherings.

Normally, tens of thousands of Romans, tourists and pilgrims, clutching olive tree branches or palm fronds would have flocked to an outdoor Mass led by the pontiff.

Besides his aides, a few invited prelates, nuns and laypeople were present, sitting solo in the first pews and staggered far apart to reduce the risks of contagion. A male choir, also practicising social distancing, sang hymns, accompanied by an organist.

Social-distancing requirements affected Palm Sunday practices around the globe. In Jerusalem, where thousands of pilgrims usually participate in the march, this year was limited to a handful of participants. Clerics and faithful went door-to-door often throwing the branches to Christians looking on from their balconies.

“This year because of the new situation we are trying to come to all the Christians in our Christian Quarter to bring these branches of olives, the sign of new hope,” said the Rev. Sandro Tomasevic, a Catholic clergyman at the Latin Parish of Jerusalem. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

In the pope’s native Argentina, the faithful were using plants at home for a “virtual” blessing during live-streaming of Palm Sunday services.

Wearing red robes to symbolise the blood shed by Jesus in the hours of his crucifix, Francis blessed braided palms.

“Today, in the tragedy of a pandemic, in the face of the many false securities that have now crumbled, in the face of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment that weighs upon our hearts, Jesus says to each one of us: ‘Courage, open your heart to my love,’” Francis said.

The Pope urged people to hold fast to “what really matters in our lives”.

“The tragedy we are experiencing summons us to take seriously the things that are serious, and not to be caught up in those that matter less, to rediscover that life is of no use if not used to serve others,” the pontiff said in his homily.

In a remark directed to young people, Francis said: “Dear friends, look at the real heroes who come to light these days: they are not famous, rich and successful people.”

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Instead, he said, “they are those who are giving themselves in order to serve others. Feel called yourselves to put your lives on the line.”

Earlier during the pandemic, Francis praised medical staff, transport workers, supermarket clerks and others for their sacrifices to help lives.

“May we reach out to those who are suffering and those most in need,” the pope said. “May we not be concerned with what we lack, but what good we can do for others,” he said.

The Catholic pontiff said that youth in Panama would have symbolically passed a cross on Sunday to others in Lisbon, Portugal, which will host the next Catholic world youth jamboree in 2022. Francis announced that the handover ceremony would take place instead on Nov. 22.

Noting that sports events are canceled, the pontiff said the “best fruits of sport” are evident these times: “resistance, team spirit, brotherhood, giving the best of oneself.”

At the end of Mass, Francis called on faithful to spiritually draw close to the sick, their families and those treating them and to offer prayers for the deceased.

 

Britain’s coronavirus death toll has gone up by 621 to 4,934 – including 29 patients, who did not have any underlying health conditions.

The patients were between 33 years and 103 years old, with 29 of them, aged between 35 and 95 years old, having no known underlying health conditions.

The level of infections has risen sharply by almost 60 per cent, from 5,903 to 47,806, dashing hopes the rate of people getting the disease was starting to level out.

Just days ago, Stephen Powis, England medical director, said there had been a ‘bit of a plateau’ in the number of people testing positive.

The Department of Health also said that, as of 9am yesterday, a total of 195,524 people have been tested, up from 183,190 the previous day – pushing the amount of tests done daily to more than 12,000.

It comes amid concerns a huge backlog of potential patients awaiting their results could mean infections are far higher than is being reported.

If the backlog for processing the tests is too great, the rate of infections will remain at roughly the same level, with the services already pushed to the brink and only able to carry out a certain number of tests per day.

Matthew Lesh, head of research at the Adam Smith Institute, told MailOnline: “The UK numbers are masked by the inability of the laboratories.”

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NHS England gave the breakdown by region of the 555 deaths of patients in England: – East of England 40 – London 174 – Midlands 74 – North East & Yorkshire 103 – North West 47 – South East 81 – South West 36.

Public Health England reported an extra 555 deaths in England, Public Health Wales recorded 12, and there have been seven in Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said authorities there had recorded an additional two extra deaths in Scotland, up to 220, but said the number was based on a new way of counting deaths and is “likely to be artificially low”.

It came as Matt Hancock blasted sunbathers for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules as he warned the government will ban “all forms” of outdoor exercise if a “small minority” refuses to stay at home.

The Health Secretary said it was “quite unbelievable” some people are still not following government guidance and stressed the plea not to go outside apart from in very specific circumstances was “not a request, it is a requirement”.

A number of other countries have banned outdoor exercise in a bid to slow the spread of the disease and Hancock said the government is willing to take the same action if people do not comply with existing restrictions.

UNITED States (U.S.) President Donald Trump has warned Americans to prepare for the “toughest week” of the coronavirus pandemic yet, predicting a surge in deaths.

At his daily briefing, Trump said “there will be death” in a grim assessment of the days ahead.

He sought to reassure the worst-hit states, promising medical supplies and military personnel to combat the virus.

But in contrast to his warning, Trump suggested easing social-distancing guidelines for Easter.

“We have to open our country again,” Trump told a news conference at the White House at the weekend. “We don’t want to be doing this for months and months and months,” he added.

Trump’s calls to relax restrictions came on the day confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. surpassed 322,710, the highest number in the world.

As of Saturday, there were almost 8,500 deaths from Covid-19 in the U.S., with most in New York State.

New York State recorded 630 more deaths, another daily record that takes its toll to 3,565. The state now has almost as many cases – more than 113,000 – as the whole of Italy, one of the country’s worst-hit by coronavirus.

President Trump gave a candid assessment of what lies ahead for the U.S. in the coming weeks.

“This will be probably the toughest week between this week and next week, and there will be a lot of death, unfortunately, but a lot less death than if this wasn’t done,” Trump said.

To support states, Trump said his administration would be deploying a “tremendous amount of military, thousands of soldiers, medical workers, professionals”.

The military personnel will “soon” be advised of their assignments, he said, adding that “1,000 military personnel” were being deployed to New York City.

Trump also addressed his use of the Defence Production Act, a Korean-War-era law that gives him powers to control the production and supply of U.S.-made medical products.

He said he was “very disappointed” with 3M, a U.S. company that makes face masks, saying it “should be taking care of our country” instead of selling to others.

But he rejected accusations that the U.S. had committed an act of “modern piracy” by redirecting 200,000 Germany-bound masks for its own use.

On the question of easing social-distancing restrictions, Trump reiterated a familiar theme.

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“The cure cannot be worse than the problem itself,” Trump said, expressing hope that rules could be relaxed over Easter.

By returning to the theme that “the cure cannot be worse than the problem”, President Trump again revealed his frustration that America is still at a standstill.

Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to get people out of their homes and back to work.

While opining that the virus had to be vanquished quickly, Trump restated his view that more people could die because of measures being taken to mitigate the impact of Covid-19, than the disease itself.

He warned that some hard decisions had to be made. “We cannot let this continue,” he added, referring to nation’s stagnation. “We’re not going to destroy our country.”

The UK saw a record number of deaths in a day on Saturday – 708 – but the number of confirmed new coronavirus cases fell. The total number of people who died in hospitals is now 4,313.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was “quite unbelievable” that some people were not following government guidance to stay at home

Italy has seen its first drop in the number of patients in intensive care during the outbreak. The number of new deaths – 681 – has taken the country’s death toll to 15,362 but is smaller than in previous days.

The state has counted 113,074 confirmed cases, 63,036 of them in New York City.

The state governor, Andrew Cuomo, said infections could peak in between four and 14 days.

Cuomo said the numbers of cases and deaths were now rising at a slower rate in New York City, but there was a worrying increase in cases in nearby Long Island.

New York City’s mayor has sent messages to its eight million inhabitants, urging qualified healthcare workers to volunteer.

“Anyone who’s not already in this fight, we need you,” said Bill de Blasio, appealing for help from “any health care professional: Doctor, nurse, respiratory therapist, you name it”.

 

President Donald Trump declared on Saturday that he will not wear a face mask despite new medical guidance advising Americans to do so.

He said he could not see himself greeting “presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens” in the Oval Office while wearing one.

He described as voluntary the guidance issued on Friday by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the government’s public health advisory agency, on mask wearing in the US.

“You do not have to do it,” he said. “I don’t think I’m going to be doing it.”

The US has so far confirmed 278,458 cases of Covid-19 and more than 7,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

New York State remains the worst affected area, with nearly 3,000 deaths, and state governor Andrew Cuomo has appealed for help from other parts of the country.

Until now, US health authorities had said that only the sick, or those caring for patients of coronavirus, should wear masks, but newer studies suggest that covering up one’s face is important to prevent inadvertent transmission.

Trump had told reporters on Friday that “from recent studies we know that the transmission from individuals without symptoms is playing a more significant role in the spread of the virus than previously understood.”

But after announcing the CDC’s new guidance he said: “I just don’t want to do it myself.”

“Sitting in the Oval Office… I somehow don’t see it for myself.”