The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • Germany to extend social distancing until after Easter

    Germany to extend social distancing until after Easter

    Agency Reporter

     

    Germany says it will extend social distancing measures introduced in March to slow the spread of the coronavirus until after April.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said this on Wednesday, explained that the extension would enable the government to re-evaluate the situation after Easter.

    Germany has closed schools, shops, restaurants, playgrounds, and sports facilities, just as many companies have stopped production to help slow the spread of the disease but the numbers are still rising.

    “We are seeing some small effect (from the measures) but we are far from where we need to be,” Merkel told reporters after a telephone conference with the premiers of Germany’s 16 federal states.

    Merkel thanked Germans for mostly complying with rules and said she wanted to avoid re-opening everything too early only to have to row back.

    She also implored people not to travel over the Easter period.

    “We know that a pandemic does not take account of the holidays,” she said.

    With Germany’s council of economic advisers warning the virus could trigger a 5.4 per cent contraction in Europe’s biggest economy this year.

    The government has also announced a stimulus package worth more than 750 billion euros to mitigate the blow.

    Latest figures from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases on Wednesday showed that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases had risen to 67,366 with 732 deaths. (Reuters/NAN)

  • More than 350,000 fines handed out to French lockdown violators

    More than 350,000 fines handed out to French lockdown violators

    French police and gendarmes have handed out 359,000 fines to people caught violating the country’s strict coronavirus lockdown, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Wednesday.

    Security forces have carried out 5.8 million checks since the lockdown came into effect on March 17, Castaner told LCI television.

    Under the French rules, anyone out in public has to carry a signed declaration stating the reason they left their home, which can be for essential shopping, work, medical appointments or limited exercise.

    France has confirmed more than 52,000 coronavirus infections, and 3,523 hospitalised patients have died.

    Castaner also warned that nobody should think of heading away during the country’s upcoming spring school holidays.

    During lockdown, he warned, “you don’t go on holidays.”

    (dpa/NAN)

  • Hungry residents demand food in protest, 20 arrested in Philippines

    Hungry residents demand food in protest, 20 arrested in Philippines

    Residents of a slum area in the Philippine capital on Wednesday staged a protest to demand relief goods amid a month-long coronavirus lockdown that has left many of them without work.

    The protest forced the police to break the picket up and arrest 20 of the protesters.

    The residents of the district of San Roque in the suburban Manila city of Quezon assembled along a highway near their shantyhouses, claiming they have not been given any food packs and other relief supplies since the lockdown began more than two weeks ago.

    Village security officers and police urged the residents to go back to their homes, but they refused, a police report said.

    Police broke the picket up and arrested 20 of the protesters, the report added.

    Jocy Lopez, 47, who led the group of residents, said they were forced to stage the protest because their families were going hungry.

    “We are here to call for help because of hunger.

    READ ALSO: Coronavirus: India’s lockdown sparks huge mass migration

    “We have not been given food, rice, groceries or cash.

    “We have no work. Who do we turn to?,” she said before she was arrested.

    Activist groups condemned the arrest and urged the government to fast-track the release of cash assistance promised under a 200-billion-peso (4-billion-dollar) social protection programme to help poor families and those who lost work amid the lockdown.

    “Using excessive force and detention will not quell the empty stomachs of Filipinos who up to this day remain denied of the promised … cash aid for the poor,” warned women’s rights group Gabriela.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • WHO hails Nigeria’s anti-COVID-19 war

    WHO hails Nigeria’s anti-COVID-19 war

    •Africa records 5,013 confirmed cases, 157 deaths
    •Global figure now 828,305 with 40,735 fatalities
    •Sierra Leone confirms man under isolation as index

    THE World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, has hailed Nigeria for its efforts in curbing the spread of COVID-19.

    The UN’s health agency, in an update in its regional official twitter account @WHOAFRO yesterday, said: “WHO witnessed the commissioning of the 128-bed Isolation Treatment Centre, Ikenne and the 21-bed ITC Sagamu by Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun.

    “This is a critical milestone in efforts to combat COVID-19 in Nigeria.’’

    Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said on Twitter that the agency would support all countries in the fight against the virus,.

    “Countries with weaker health systems must act aggressively to contain spread among early cases and prevent community transmission,” he said.

    There are now 5,013 confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in 46 African countries.

    Sierra Leone has confirmed its first case of coronavirus, a 37-year-old man, who travelled from France on March 16 and had been in isolation since, the president said yesterday.

    “When I did my first coronavirus news conference, I said that it was not a matter of if, but when. Well, ‘when’ has come,” President Julius Maada Bio said in a speech on national television.

    He did not announce any new measures to tackle the pandemic.

    Similarly, the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has exceeded 800,000, according to the latest data.

    There have been 828,305 confirmed cases globally, with 40,735 deaths, while more than 174,454 people have recovered from the disease, an interactive map maintained by the CSSE showed.

    The U.S. has the most COVID-19 cases, exceeding 164,610, while Italy has reported over 12,428 deaths, the highest among all nations and regions.

    Senegalese Ministry of Health and Social Action on Tuesday reported 13 new cases of COVID-19, which brought the country’s total number of cases to 175.

    During the daily news conference on COVID-19, Health Minister Abdoulaye Sarr said the new cases include one imported case and 12 close contacts of earlier confirmed patients.

    Among the 175 confirmed cases, 74 are imported ones. Forty patients have been declared cured by local health authorities.

    He also mentioned that the clinical status of the two patients with ventilator support are stable.

    The country has declared a state of emergency along with a dusk-to-dawn curfew, effective from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next day.

    It also banned public or private meetings of any kind, and ordered temporary closure of public places and meeting places.

    Senegal has suspended all international passenger flights till April 17.

    The agency said: “There are a total of 5,013 confirmed COVID-19 cases across 46 countries on the African continent with a total of 157 deaths reported.

    “South Africa currently has the highest in the region with 1,326 cases and three deaths, Algeria 511 cases with 31 deaths and Burkina Faso has 246 confirmed cases with 12 deaths.

    “As at 11:15 am 31st March, there are 135 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in Nigeria with two deaths.”

    But, a WHO official said yesterday that coronavirus epidemic is “far from over” in the Asia-Pacific region, and current measures to curb the spread of the virus are buying time for countries to prepare for large-scale community transmissions.

    WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Takeshi Kasai said even with all the measures being taken, the risk of transmission in the region will not go away as long as the pandemic continues.

    Countries with limited resources are a priority, such as Pacific Island nations, he said, as they have to ship samples to other countries for diagnoses, and transportation restrictions are making that more difficult.

    Kasai warned that for countries that are seeing a tapering off of cases, they should not let down their guard, or the virus may come surging back.

    The WHO does not expect any country to be safe, as the coronavirus will eventually get everywhere, said WHO technical adviser Matthew Griffith.

    The focus of the epidemic is now on Europe, but that will likely shift to other regions, Griffith said.

  • Obasanjo, ex-regional leaders seek concerted efforts to combat virus

    Obasanjo, ex-regional leaders seek concerted efforts to combat virus

    Our Reporter

    FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo and 11 other African leaders have called for effective regional cooperation and an emergency plan to combat the spread of the coronavirus on the continent.

    The call was contained in a statement signed by Obasanjo and the African leaders, a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abeokuta by Mr. Kehinde Akinyemi.

    Akinyemi is the media aide to Obasanjo.

    The statement noted the mitigating effect or otherwise by the preparatory and preventive actions made by different nations and international organisations to combat the killer virus since its outbreak.

    It also observed that the results had been related to the seriousness of preparation and preventive measures taken, including the level of healthcare measures and delivery.

    According to the statement, the epidemiological progression in already affected areas has indicated that the worst case is yet to occur in Africa.

    “Taking into account the weak healthcare bases in Africa, the conurbation and the communal living of our people particularly in ghettos and poverty-stricken areas of our cities, the outbreak of COVID-19 in these areas of African communities and cities will be a monumental disaster,” it said.

    It, therefore, called for serious measures to be taken for the containment and for addressing any national epidemic.

    “We, as concerned African leaders, note the efforts that African governments are making within their limited resources to deal with this global challenge.

    “We, however, appeal to leaders and elites at national, regional, and continental levels and to international organisations and foundations to draw up a concrete, effective and continental emergency plan to combat COVID-19 onslaught at its crescendo in Africa which will be soon.

    “With porous borders all over Africa, national efforts will not be enough but regional and continental.

    “We particularly call on African Union (AU), United Nations (UN), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Bank and the G-20 to urgently have a plan that will moderate the social and economic effect of the onslaught of COVID-19 on Africa,” the statement said.

    The other African leaders were Festus Mogae (former President of Botswana), Hailemariam Desalegn (former Prime Minister of Ethiopia), John Kufour (former President of Ghana), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (former President of Liberia) and Joyce Banda (former President of Malawi).

    Others were Joaquim Chissano (former President of Mozambique), Thabo Mbeki (former President of South Africa), Kgalema Motlanthe (former President of South Africa), Benjamin Mkapa (former President of Tanzania), Jakaya Kikwete (former President of Tanzania) and Mohamed Marzouki (former President of Tunisia).

  • Russia’s top doctor for coronavirus cases tests positive for virus

    Russia’s top doctor for coronavirus cases tests positive for virus

    Russia’s top doctor for coronavirus cases, Denis Protsenko, has tested positive for the virus, state media reported on Tuesday.

    Protsenko heads the coronavirus treatment facility at Moscow’s Kommunarka hospital. Moscow, the capital and largest city, has had the most recorded cases in the country.

    READ ALSO: Russia moves to imprison quarantine violators for up to seven years

    Protsenko met with President Vladimir Putin at the facility last week to discuss how it has coped with the influx of patients.

    Accorsing to Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, the president is regularly tested for the virus and is healthy.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • COVID-19: No new cases in China’s worst-hit province

    COVID-19: No new cases in China’s worst-hit province

    China’s Wuhan city and Hubei province, which were initially at the center of the global coronavirus outbreak, saw no new COVID-19 cases on Monday, authorities said on Tuesday.

    According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, China’s National Health Commission reported one death due to COVID-19 in Hubei, the capital of which is Wuhan, on Monday.

    The health commission also confirmed there were no cases of local transmission anywhere on mainland China on Monday.

    In a statement, it said the 48 cases reported in the country on Monday were all people who had recently come to China from abroad.

    The commission said 282 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals over the past 24 hours.

    As per the statement, the total number of coronavirus cases on mainland China now stands at 81,518, with the death toll at 3,305 and a total of 76,052 recoveries.

    READ ALSO: China records 48 new coronavirus cases, five deaths

    Hong Kong has 682 cases and four deaths so far, Taiwan has 306 cases, and Macau has 39 cases, according to the commission report.

    By Monday, a total of 124 COVID-19 patients had recovered in Hong Kong, 39 in Taiwan, and 10 in Macau, it added.

    The new coronavirus, which emerged in Wuhan last December, has now spread to at least 177 countries and regions, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

    The data shows more than 788,500 cases have been reported around the world since December, with the global death toll nearing 38,000 and over 166,700 recoveries.

    (www.newsnow.co.uk)

  • Iran: Death toll from Coronavirus hits 2,898 – Official

    Iran: Death toll from Coronavirus hits 2,898 – Official

    Iran’s death toll from coronavirus has reached 2,898, with 141 deaths in the past 24 hours, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state TV on Tuesday.

    He said the total number of infections has jumped to 44,606, Reuters reported.

    “In the past 24 hours, there have been 3,111 new cases of infected people. Unfortunately, 3,703 of the infected people are in a critical condition,” Jahanpur said.

    Iran’s authorities banned inter-city travel and warned of a potential surge in coronavirus cases because many Iranians defied calls to cancel travel plans.

    However, it has so far stopped short of imposing a lockdown on Iranian cities.

    READ ALSO: Iran refuses U.S. offer of aid

    Earlier, President Hassan Rouhani renewed his warnings on Tuesday as the climax of the two-week Persian New Year holiday nears, according to AFP.

    He called on people to “leave this tradition for some other time” and said violators would be fined, noting that authorities would close parks across the country on Wednesday, in a move that effectively blocks the family picnics that traditionally mark the 13th day of holiday.

    Also, a parliament spokesman told the Tasnim news agency Tuesday that at least 23 of the legislature’s 290 Iranian members have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

    (www.newsnow.co.uk)

  • Russia moves to imprison quarantine violators for up to seven years

    Russia moves to imprison quarantine violators for up to seven years

    Russia’s Lower House of Parliament gave its final approval on Tuesday to legislation to send quarantine violators to prison for up to seven years.

    According to the legislature, if a person violating a quarantine measure causes an outbreak, that person could be imprisoned for two years.

    READ ALSO: Russia registers six new coronavirus cases

    A violation that leads to the death of multiple people would be punishable by up to seven years of imprisonment.

    The legislation also targeted the dissemination of information.

    If such information is deemed incorrect and causes harm to an individual’s health, the person who spread such information could be jailed for three years.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • Congo ex-President Yombi Opango dies of coronavirus

    Congo ex-President Yombi Opango dies of coronavirus

    Former Republic of Congo President Jacques Joaquim Yhombi Opango died in France on Monday of the new coronavirus, his family told AFP.

    He was 81.

    Yhombi Opango, who led Congo-Brazzaville from 1977 until he was toppled in 1979, died at a Paris hospital of COVID-19, his son Jean-Jacques said.

    Yhombi Opango had been ill before he contracted the virus, his son said.

    Born in 1939 in Congo’s northern Cuvette region, Yhombi Opango was an army officer who rose to power after the assassination of President Marien Ngouabi.

    The troubled, oil-rich former French colony was aligned with the Soviet Union during Ngouabi’s 1968-77 rule.

    READ ALSO: Spanish coronavirus cases overtake China

    Yhombi Opango was ousted by longtime ruler Denis Sassou Nguesso.

    Accused of taking part in a coup plot against Sassou Nguesso, Yhombi Opango was jailed from 1987 to 1990.

    He was released a few months before a 1991 national conference that introduced multi-party politics in the central African country.

    He founded the Rally for Democracy and Development party but lost in a 1992 presidential election.

    Yhombi Opango later allied with elected President Pascal Lissouba, becoming his prime minister between 1994 and 1996.

    When civil war broke out in Congo in 1997, Yhombi Opango fled into exile in France.

    He was finally able to return home in 2007, but then divided his time between France and Congo because of his health problems.

    (Newsnow.co.uk)