Coronavirus in the US

Parent Cafe
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Acting Navy secretary: Hospital ship will “hopefully” reach New York early next week
From CNN’s Michael Conte

The acting Navy secretary said the hospital ship USNS Comfort would reach New York “hopefully… by the early part of next week” after the Defense Department “accelerated” their deployment plan.

“We had been originally looking at April 3, but in all likelihood, she’s going to be getting underway this weekend,” said Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly to reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday. “I’m actually going to be going down there to the ship either tomorrow or Saturday. So sometime after that she’ll be leaving.”
The Comfort had not been expected to depart for weeks as it was undergoing maintenance in Virginia.

White House adviser on record jobless claims: “This is totally expected”
From CNN’s Nikki Carvajal

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro called record unemployment numbers “expected” Thursday morning, shortly after it was announced that jobless claims soared to a seasonally adjusted 3.28 million in the week ending March 21, according to the Department of Labor.

“This is totally expected,” Navarro said during an interview with Fox News, “because the whole strategy of President Trump is to basically get social distancing so we can combat the virus.”
The Trump adviser said that the administration had “put public health above economics in the very short run.”

“This is expected,” Navarro repeated, “and we should accept the news because we’re doing what we need to do to combat the virus.”

The administration is doing “everything we possibly can to deal both with the public health emergency and the economic crisis,” he added.

“We just have to be like the British, I guess, in World War II, a stiff upper lip and fight this virus,” Navarro counseled.

New Jersey governor says the state is “desperately short” on medical equipment

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says the state has 4,400 positive tests and 62 deaths. The numbers are up because of community spread and because testing facilities are open, he said.

“We are all in on stay at home,” the governor told local radio program Hot 97 Ebro in the Morning.

“There is hope on the horizon we just don’t know when that is, but hope for the best but prepare for the worst let’s not be fooling each other right now,” he said. “This is a war.”

On federal help, Murphy said “I need him, I need the Vice President, we need the federal government, we need the White House.”

The White House team for the most part has been “good” to deal with, Murphy said. The White House helped approve standing up four field hospitals that the Army Corps and FEMA are setting up for the state, he added.

He said the state is “desperately short” of Personal protective equipment noting the government has already given 2 installments “ but we need a lot more.”

With regards to Trump’s optimism about being able to slowly open up around April 12, Murphy said, “I’ll be the happiest guy in New Jersey, maybe in America, if that’s the case but I sadly think the data is suggesting to us we’re not going to be there.”

He said of the stimulus package “it’s a big deal” adding but “it’s not everything”

“We’re hemorrhaging money as a state, because we’re at the front lines helping folks who are sick out of work small businesses etc," he said.

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MFJ AGI, no question.

(you could always rerun your taxes for '19 to see if filing Married-Single would help.)

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Even before COVID-19, I noticed a gradual trend of health care workers wearing scrubs all the time. Most recent observation was an optometry office.

Some consider neckties to be problematic ( https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/08/doctors-stop-wearing-ties.html ), but studies are inconclusive ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5878945/ ).

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US Border Patrol supervisor tests positive for coronavirus
From CNN’s Nick Valencia

A supervisor at the Laredo North Border Patrol station has tested positive for coronavirus, and “at least 15 other agents” were sent home to self-quarantine on safety leave after potentially being exposed to the disease, according to a spokesman for the National Border Patrol Union.

The supervisor worked for the K-9 at the Laredo North Station, according to union Vice President Hector Garza. The agents are not being identified to protect their identities, Garza said.

According to the union, the “spouse of a supervising agent in Laredo“ tested positive for the virus first earlier this week. The supervisor worked “a whole shift” on March 23, before receiving news of their spouse’s test and going home to quarantine, Garza said.

CNN reached out repeatedly to Laredo Sector for comment over the course of the last three days. Sarah Melendez, a spokeswoman for the local Laredo border patrol sector told CNN, “Everything dealing with Covid-19 is being handled at the HQ level. They have your inquiry.”

More context: The National Union told CNN earlier this week that Laredo sector management “did call some [of the 15 agents] to notify them” of their possible exposure to coronavirus. On Tuesday evening, Garza posted a message on the local union’s Facebook page asking for anyone to who believes they may have been exposed to the virus to come forward and get tested.

CNN has not heard back from Border Patrol with a statement about the incident. CBP, in general, has declined to confirm cases among its employees, unlike other DHS components such as the TSA.

Ford aims to restart production at some North American plants
From CNN’s Peter Valdes-Dapena

Ford Motor announced on Thursday that it will restart production “at key North American plants.”

According to a news release, the company will introduce additional safety measures to protect workers as they reopen as soon as April 6.

Some background: Last week, Ford announced that that all of its factories would close for two weeks in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement following Ford’s announcement, the United Auto Workers union said that they are “reviewing with great concern and caution today’s announcement.”

Jim Cain, spokesperson for General Motors, tells CNN that the situation was still fluid and that GM doesn’t have “firm return to work dates at this time,” according to a statement.

280 US service members have tested positive for coronavirus
From CNN’s Barbara Starr

As of Thursday morning, there are 280 US service members who have tested positive for Covid-19. This is an increase of 53 from 227 on Wednesday.

There is now nearly 600 positive cases across the US Department of Defense.

US Secretary of State: More than 10,000 Americans repatriated while coronavirus spreads
From CNN’s Jennifer Hansler

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said today that the US has “now brought over 10,000 Americans back home from places where they were stranded through no fault of their own.”

“There’s still a lot of work to do. We’ve got a lot of people who are trying to get back this way, and with travel shut down in many of these countries without any notice or little notice, there’s still a major undertaking. But the team has martialed the resources. It’s an airlift back home like we’ve not seen in an awfully long time, and I’m really proud of the way our team has responded,” Pompeo told Hugh Hewitt on his radio show.
On Wednesday, the head of the repatriation task force at the State Department said they were tracking 50,000 Americans who may seek help in returning to the US.

Doctor describes what we can’t see on TV: “The sickest patients are terrifying”
From CNN’s Brian Stelter

We see the daily counts of coronavirus cases and deaths, the long lines for tests, and the White House briefings where the President pretends the situation is not dire.

But we’re not able to see inside the emergency rooms and intensive care units where this invisible demon is being fought.

We’re not able to see the front lines. Or the full extent of the human suffering. We only hear about the battle through the testimonies of doctors and nurses; though the pleas of governors and mayors; and through interviews with patients who are well enough to call in via Skype.

Does this distort the public’s understanding of the virus? Does the lack of visibility make it hard for some folks to process how serious this pandemic is?

CNN asked Esther Choo, emergency physician and health care advocate who started the #GetMePPE hashtag last week.

Here’s what she said via text:

“This whole thing has been hampered by its abstractness. I mean, half the interviews on TV that I’ve seen are totally well people pissed they didn’t get tested.” But they’re not the real faces of this pandemic – the hospitalized patients are. “The truth is, the sickest patients are terrifying,” Choo said. “They are air hungry, dropping their oxygen, confused, distressed. We can never show that. But it is terrifying.”
Choo put it this way:

“What would the zombie apocalypse be like if we only had verbal descriptions of zombies, but could never show them?”
HIPAA restrictions and media ethics issues both stand in the way of having cameras in hospital corridors. So this crisis challenges reporters to get creative.

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City of Miami imposes a curfew
From CNN’s Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt

The Miami City passed a curfew during a virtual commission meeting. The curfew starts Friday and will be in effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time.

The exceptions to the curfew are going or coming from work, a medical emergency and walking a dog within 250 feet of your home.

The curfew motion passed unanimously 5 – 0.

More than 100 Boston hospital employees test positive for coronavirus
From CNN’s Ellie Kaufman

More than 100 employees at three Boston hospitals have tested positive for coronavirus

Boston Medical Center said 15 employees have tested positive for the virus.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital has 45 employees that have tested positive, Brigham Health Media Relations Associate Serena Bronda told CNN.
Massachusetts General Hospital has 41 employees who have tested positive, though Senior Public Affairs Officer Terri Ogan told CNN the hospital believes most contracted the virus somewhere other than the hospital.

3.3 million unemployment claims filed in the US last week
From CNN’s Anneken Tappe

A record number of Americans filed for their first week of unemployment benefits last week, as businesses shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Initial jobless claims soared to a seasonally adjusted 3.28 million in the week ended March 21, according to the Department of Labor.

That is the highest number of initial jobless claims in history, since the Department of Labor started tracking the data in 1967. The previous high was 695,000 claims filed in the week ending October 2, 1982.

Last week’s jump marked a massive increase from a revised 282,000 claims in the prior week. Prior to the pandemic, initial claims had been hovering in the low 200,000s each week, reflecting a strong job market.

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As many as need it and have families to advocate for them. I have long believed that those without families who are present and involved can’t possibly get good care in hospitals. That’s why the no-visitors rule in hospitals and senior homes worries me.

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Yes, AGI. Yes, they removed the low end so everyone gets the $1,200. That was something the Dems fought for resulting in the few day delay.

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Our Congressional Representative was speaking about that on the radio this week. The concern is that they need to come up with a set of rules on how to vote remotely, and then debate and vote on those rules. If they do something ad hoc, that opens up a huge hole for a legal challenge by whoever didn’t like what was in the legislation.

Not that the Senators can’t do a better job of socially separating, both for their health and for the leadership demonstration, but the remote voting part probably deserves more careful attention.

I think the 5 that didn’t vote for it are the ones that are self-quarantined, but not sure whether Sanders thought the taxpayers were giving enough away to the poor to vote for it.

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3.3 million unemployment claims filed in the US last week
From CNN’’s Anneken Tappe

A record number of Americans filed for their first week of unemployment benefits last week, as businesses shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Initial jobless claims soared to a seasonally adjusted 3.28 million in the week ended March 21, according to the Department of Labor.

That is the highest number of initial jobless claims in history, since the Department of Labor started tracking the data in 1967. The previous high was 695,000 claims filed in the week ending October 2, 1982.

Last week’s jump marked a massive increase from a revised 282,000 claims in the prior week. Prior to the pandemic, initial claims had been hovering in the low 200,000s each week, reflecting a strong job market.

Rebel-held Syria braces for coronavirus “tsunami” – without soap, running water or the prospect of social distancing
From CNN’s Gul Tuysuz, Arwa Damon, Zaher Jaber and Eyad Kourdi

Everything Fatima Um Ali needs to protect herself and her family from the novel coronavirus is out of reach. There is no running water, soap is expensive and hand sanitizer is an unaffordable luxury. She cannot even imagine what social distancing for her family of 16 would look like in the three tents they share in a makeshift camp near the Turkish-Syrian border.

“We try with our limited capabilities to keep clean. All those sanitizers, cleaning materials that you are talking about, we can’t get,” Um Ali tells CNN.

She lives in one of the many camps that have cropped up in the fields, olive groves, and rolling hills of Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province. Most of the children have runny noses from exposure to harsh living conditions.

The family has dodged death multiple times over the course of the ongoing nine-year conflict in Syria. They fled a regime assault in Hama province when the war began in 2011, moving from one town to the next as the fighting dragged on.

But they can’t run away from the global pandemic. Covid-19 is heading toward the war-ravaged province like a “slow moving tsunami,” the World Health Organization says, and could claim tens of thousands of lives.

Idlib’s population of 3 million, already buckling under extreme shortages of medicine, is considered to be among the world’s most defenseless against the virus.

Iraq extends country-wide curfew through April 11
From CNN’s Aqeel Najim in Baghdad

The Iraqi government is extending the countrywide curfew/lockdown through April 11, state media reported Wednesday.

The curfew was previously set to expire on March 28.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on state TV Tuesday that the temporary release of prisoners in Iran would extend to 25 days until April 18, as the country’s death toll continues to rise.

Last week, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili announced Iran had temporarily sent home 85,000 prisoners to curb the spread of the coronavirus, according to semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Meanwhile, 1.2 million of Iran’s approximately 2.5 million civil servants have not been going to work for the past month amid the coronavirus outbreak, Rouhani said.

As of Wednesday, there were 346 confirmed coronavirus cases in the country and 29 deaths, the Health Ministry announced.

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MFJ AGI for what tax year? If they are sending out the checks now they will not have data more recent than 2018.

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for 2018, unless you’ve already filed 2019.

also news flash: being poor does not mean one is not a taxpayer.

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Hundreds of foreign trekkers stranded on Nepal’s mountain trails after coronavirus lockdown
From CNN’s Sugam Pokharel in Atlanta

Hundreds of foreign trekkers are stranded on famous high-altitude trekking trails across Nepal after the country began a week-long nationwide lockdown on Tuesday in a bid to contain the coronavirus spread, officials said.

On at least four trekking routes, there are a total of around 500 foreign trekkers unable to return due to the lockdown, Shradha Shrestha, a spokeswoman for the Nepal Tourism Board told CNN.

We are working with multiple government agencies to rescue the trekkers and bring them to Kathmandu, so that we can coordinate with the embassies to fly them back home, Shrestha said, adding the board has launched a website to make it easier for the stranded trekkers to reach out to authorities.

“Several embassies such as the German and French are already planning to send chartered flights to some of these areas to rescue the trekkers,” Shrestha said.
In a Twitter post, the British embassy in Kathmandu asked UK citizens in Nepal who are looking to return home to send it their details. “We’re working closely with carriers and authorities to try to find a solution, and will contact you ASAP,” the embassy said.

Nepal’s government announced earlier this month the spring climbing season for all the Himalayan peaks in the country including the world’s highest Mount Everest would be canceled.

Nepal has three confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to the Nepal Health Ministry data.

Moscow closes all restaurants, stores and parks for a week
From CNN’s Mary Ilyushina in Moscow

Moscow is closing all restaurants, cafes, bars, shops and parks from March 28 until April 5 for the “stay-at-home holidays” announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the city’s mayor said in a statement.

"The restrictions introduced today are unprecedented in the modern history of Moscow and will create many inconveniences for the everyday life of every person,” said Mayor Sergey Sobyanin on Thursday. “But believe me, they are absolutely necessary in order to slow the spread of coronavirus infection and reduce the number of cases.”

Exceptions will be made for grocery stores and pharmacies, and restaurants that deliver food are also allowed to stay open. Moscow residents were urged to refrain from attending religious sites.

Russia has seen its sharpest spike in numbers in the past 24 hours, adding 182 confirmed coronavirus cases, 136 of which are in Moscow. The total number of cases in the country now stands at 840, with three deaths, according to Russian health authorities.

The Russian government has also moved to ban all regular and charter international flights starting from March 27, per government decree.

Putin said last week Russia had managed to slow the spread of coronavirus thanks to early and aggressive measures – and the number of confirmed cases is surprisingly low, despite Russia sharing a border with China and recording its first case back in January.

Jordan eases lockdown after total curfew leads to chaos
From CNN’s Rob Picheta, Zeena Saifi and Tamara Qiblawi

Jordan on Wednesday eased one of the world’s strictest lockdowns over the coronavirus after it prompted chaotic scenes in the country.

Days after a total curfew went into effect, people clamored to receive bread distributions from government trucks, the emergency hotline went offline after it apparently became overloaded with phone calls, and some reported they had nothing at home to eat.

But on Tuesday, the government backtracked, loosening restrictions on movement. After four days of total lockdown, people were allowed to leave their homes on foot for essential trips, such as purchasing food from small convenient stores and obtaining medicine. A curfew is still in place from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m.

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They will use most recent return…either 2018, or 2019 if already filed.

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Vietnamese airline launches controversial coronavirus insurance
From CNN’s Tamara Hardingham-Gill

As the aviation industry continues to be slammed by the coronavirus pandemic, one budget carrier has gone for a very different and rather divisive approach.

Vietnamese airline Vietjet has launched an insurance policy named “SKY COVID CARE” that allows passengers to claim up to 200 million Vietnamese dong ($8,550) if they are infected with the virus while traveling on one of its flights.

The aim of the policy, which is free of charge and covers all domestic flights between March 23 and June 30, is to help “bring passengers assurance,” according to the airline.

In an official statement, Vietjet says it’s prepared to pay out “tens of billion dong” to ensure that its customers feel at ease while traveling during the ongoing crisis.

“The health safety of passengers and cabin crews are protected at the highest level against all risks of disease,” reads the statement on Vietjet’s official website.
“With the insurance, passengers are eligible for insurance coverage and benefits from Vietjet within 30 days starting at 00:01 of the flight date, regardless of how passengers are infected with the disease.”
How the policy works: To make a claim, passengers must provide proof that they’ve tested positive for coronavirus (subject to a test approved by Vietnam’s Ministry of Health) and evidence they were treated “at a hospital or at authorized medical camps located in the territory of Vietnam.”

Anyone who has already tested positive, or who has violated government travel regulations or quarantines, will be ineligible.

Those with “epilepsy or mental illness” are also ineligible, along with anyone who submits incorrect personal information.

A therapy dog brings comfort to ER doctors on the front lines
From CNN’s Amanda Jackson

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes – this one just happens to have four legs and a furry coat.

Wynn, a service dog in training, is bringing joy and comfort to the medical staff on the front lines of the battle against the coronovirus in Denver, Colorado.

The one-year-old yellow Labrador serves up cuddles to health care workers who need a much needed mental break from the emergency room at Rose Medical Center.

Wynn is no stranger to the medical staff, as she’s being trained by Susan Ryan, an emergency physician at the hospital.

Ryan shared an image of the two of them on Sunday. In it, the doctor is seen wearing a face shield and a mask while sitting on the floor of the hospital petting Wynn.

“I saw Wynn coming back in from being walked outside,” Ryan told CNN. “I just slumped down on the floor and said ‘can I just have a minute with her?’”

Ryan said she had just finished with a patient and washed up before getting some quality time with Wynn.

“Seeing stuff and hearing stuff that you can’t unsee has an impact on you,” Ryan said. “That’s where the dogs come in. When you are in the presence of the dog and petting them you are taking a moment to ground yourself at that present time.”
Now, Wynn is set up in the social workers office and on-call for staffers who need some puppy love to relieve stress. In the room, lights are dimmed and meditation music plays to provide the best place for medical staff to take a little mental break before returning to their jobs.

A 96-year-old woman is now the oldest South Korean to fully recover from the coronavirus
CNN

A 96-year-old woman in South Korea has become the oldest patient in the country to fully recover from the novel coronavirus.

The woman was declared completely recovered on Wednesday.

Cheongdo County is close to the southern city of Daegu, where the country’s coronavirus cases are most concentrated.

The woman had been diagnosed with the coronavirus on March 13, and received intensive treatment at the Pohang public clinic, east of Daegu.

She is now under self-quarantine in her home in Cheongdo, where she lives with her son.

[ she’s lucky to be in South Korea ]

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'18 or '19, whatever is the most recently filed.

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UN warns that coronavirus could do “potentially catastrophic” damage in prisons
From CNN’s Radina Gigova in Atlanta

As the coronavirus begins to strike in prisons and detention centers, the UN is urging governments “not to forget those behind bars” and protect the staff members working in those facilities.

“Governments are facing huge demands on resources in this crisis and are having to take difficult decisions," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in a statement Wednesday.

“But I urge them not to forget those behind bars, or those confined in places such as closed mental health facilities, nursing homes and orphanages, because the consequences of neglecting them are potentially catastrophic.”
She laid out measures that authorities could take: They could reduce the number of people in detention and examine ways to release particularly vulnerable detainees, like those who are older or already sick.

Authorities overseeing these facilities should continue providing for the specific health-care needs of women prisoners, including those who are pregnant, and those of inmates with disabilities and juvenile detainees, Bachelet added.

If prisons restrict visits for inmates, they should set up alternative measures like video conferencing or increased phone calls with family members, she said.

Prisoners’ rights need to be protected, she emphasized. Anti-pandemic measures should not undermine the fundamental rights of detained people, including their rights to adequate food and water, and access to a lawyer and doctor.

2 passengers on Grand Princess Cruise die of coronavirus
From CNN’s Dan Simon

Two people who were passengers on the Grand Princess Cruise have died due to coronavirus, according to a statement from US Department of Health and Human Services.

“The staff from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) working with quarantined cruise ship passengers housed at Travis Air Force Base in California is deeply saddened by the recent deaths of two passengers due to complications from the coronavirus. Both passengers were on board the Grand Princess cruise ship and were transferred to area medical facilities immediately after developing COVID-19 symptoms. One person passed away March 21, and the other passed away on March 23. Grief support for both families is being provided by HHS and Princess Cruise Lines. Our heartfelt condolences to both families,” according to the statement.

The Grand Princess, which was carrying 3,500 passengers and crew members, docked at the Port of Oakland earlier this month after at least 21 people tested positive for coronavirus.

The cruise, a 2-week trip from San Francisco to Hawaii, was interrupted after officials learned a California man contracted coronavirus and died on a previous trip.

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Michigan governor asks Trump for major disaster declaration
From CNN’s Daniella Diaz

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she sent a request to President Trump for a major disaster declaration.

The declaration would allow the state to provide rental assistance and temporary housing to people in the state, counseling and therapy for residents, and the ability to quickly set up field hospitals or other facilities to treat coronavirus patients.

Whitmer reminded people that the stay-at-home executive order is not optional and is not an opportunity for people to throw a party for 10 of their closest friends. They are meant to stay at home with whom the family members they live.

She said she is working to secure more equipment and supplies and reiterated her comments about how the allotment of personal protective equipment for one of the hospitals was not enough to cover a full shift.

Row over coronavirus contributes to Kosovo government collapse
Shaun Walker, Guardian

A domestic power struggle, disputes over how best to tackle coronavirus and a split between US and European foreign policy have all combined to bring down the government in Kosovo, plunging the country into constitutional chaos just when it should be devising a response to the pandemic.

The government of Albin Kurti lost a no-confidence vote brought by one of its own coalition partners late on Wednesday evening, by 82 votes to 32, with one abstention. It came after a tempestuous 12-hour debate in parliament.

In Kosovo, there was disbelief at the timing of the move. In recent days, residents have taken to banging pots and pans on their balconies to express their disgust at the timing of the political upheaval.

A group of Britons stranded in Peru will miss rescue flights put on by the Foreign Office after two travellers at the hostel they are staying in tested positive for coronavirus.

Around 140 guests in the Pariwana hostel in Cusco, including nine British citizens and one Irish one, have been told they could be quarantined for up to three months and will now be confined to their rooms for 23 hours a day.

Failure to comply could result in imprisonment, the Peruvian authorities have told them. (Guardian)

Local officials have revoked an order banning sales of alcoholic drinks in a department in northern France.

In an effort to reduce the risk of domestic violence and stop youngsters gathering on the streets, the prefect in the Aisne banned sales of alcohol in all local shops until the end of March.

On Monday, Ziad Khoury issued a decree halting sales of all alcoholic drinks and ordering stores to shut at 8pm citing a wish to avoid “excessive consumption of alcohol which results in a growing risk of trouble and violence, notably within families”.

Zhoury said he had been warned by the police and gendarmes about the risks of domestic violence during the enforced lockdown.

Twenty-four hours later, Khoury rescinded the order.

“Following discussions with addiction specialists about certain negative consequences of such a general, even very temporary, measure, the prefect has decided to postpone this decision while waiting for a wider evaluation of possible measures in this area,” the prefecture said in a statement. (Guardian)

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NYS is planning to add at least one 1,000+ hospital bed overflow facility in

Queens
Brooklyn
Bronx
Manhattan
Staten Island
Nassau
Suffolk
Westchester
Rockland

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The rate of coronavirus deaths in Spain has slowed for the first time in a week as the global number of confirmed coronavirus cases approached half a million.

Spain recorded 655 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total there to 4,089, the health ministry said on Thursday. The number of confirmed cases in Spain stood at 56,188.

The numbers offer a glimmer of hope a day after the country recorded the world’s highest one-day national death toll of the pandemic to date – 738 – and its total number of deaths eclipsed that of China.

Spain’s health minister, Salvador Illa, said the data should be read with caution but could mean Spain had entered a “phase of stablisation”. He said: “The number of reported cases could be reaching its peak.”

Italy remains the hardest-hit country with 7,503 deaths. For four consecutive days the country’s infection rate had slowed, a trend the World Health Organization’s Europe director, Hans Kluge, described as encouraging. (Guardian)

Romania’s minister of health, Victor Costache, has resigned a day after saying on national television that every resident of Bucharest, the Romanian capital, would be tested for coronavirus, with teams going door-to-door to administer the tests, writes Kit Gillet.

“I regret his resignation, on the other hand I understand it and I thank the minister,” Prime Minister Ludovic Orban announced in a press statement.

According to local media reports, Costache was asked to resign by Orban following his statement on Wednesday evening. It comes at a time when there is growing concern in the country over the shortage of safety and medical equipment in hospitals, as well as criticism over the limited testing capacity for the virus.

Bucharest has more than two million residents, while the country has so far been able to conduct only around 2,000 tests a day, though it is hoping to ramp that up in the coming period.

Romania’s government has tightened restrictions on movement in recent days, following concerns over the growing number of coronavirus cases in the country. People are now only allowed out of their homes to commute to work, buy necessities, or a few other basic reasons, and require documentation to explain their movements. Over 5,600 people were fined during the first day of the new restrictions on Wednesday.

As of Thursday afternoon, Romania had 1,029 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 17 fatalities. A further 11 Romanians have died abroad from the virus. (Guardian)

France begins evacuating patients by high-speed train

France has begun evacuating coronavirus patients from Alsace using a special high-speed train. About 20 patients were taken from Strasbourg to hospitals in the Pays-de-la-Loire and other regions. The move is aimed at relieving pressure on hospitals overwhelmed in Alsace.

AFP news agency
:heavy_check_mark:
@AFP
VIDEO: COVID-19 patients are to be transported by specially-equipped high-speed train in France’s Alsace region, where hospitals are struggling to cope with the number of cases. The patients will be transferred by train to regions where hospitals have greater spare capacity

Egypt forces journalist to leave after coronavirus story
Michael Safi , Guardian

Egyptian authorities have forced a Guardian journalist to leave the country after she reported on a scientific study that said Egypt was likely to have many more coronavirus cases than have been officially confirmed.

Ruth Michaelson, who has lived in and reported from Egypt since 2014, was advised last week by western diplomats that the country’s security services wanted her to leave immediately after her press accreditation was revoked and she was asked to attend a meeting with authorities about her visa status.

On Sunday 15 March, Michaelson had reported on research by infectious disease specialists from the University of Toronto as well as public health data and news stories that pointed to Egypt having a higher rate of coronavirus cases than the number confirmed by the government.

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Brazil’s former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has called for its current leader, Jair Bolsonaro, to resign or be impeached because of his botched handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Speaking on a social media broadcast, Lula said: “I think we’re in a very tricky situation because Bolsonaro doesn’t have the psychological stature to carry on governing Brazil. Either this fellow resigns or he is impeached - something has to happen - because it’s not possible that someone can be so irresponsible as to play with the lives of millions of people like he’s doing.”

Bolsonaro is facing growing criticism for his response to coronavirus, which has so far claimed at least 59 lives in Brazil and infected more than 2,500 people. Bolsonaro has repeatedly dismissed the illness as a fantasy and media “hysteria”.

However, despite Lula’s call for impeachment, political specialists believe most members of the opposition oppose such an attempt to unseat Brazil’s far-right president fearing - as was the case in the United States with Donald Trump - that it would allow him to pose as the victim of a political conspiracy.

In an article published earlier this week the Brazilian commentator and former communications minister Thomas Traumann said many Bolsonaro opponents believed it was better to let Bolsonaro destroy his political career by himself.

“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake,” he wrote, quoting Napoleon Bonaparte.

World leaders must collaborate to create vaccine - UK government
Ben Quinn, Guardian

Britain’s prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has called on governments around the world to work together to create a vaccine as quickly as possible and make it available to anyone who needs it

Speaking after a virtual summit of G20 leaders, Johnson said that a race to find a vaccine for coronavirus will be boosted by £210 million of new British aid funding.

The UK, like many other states, is channelling funding to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) which is supporting the development of vaccines. It said earlier this month that it needed $2bn to do so.

The new British funding is the largest single contribution by any country to the key international fund to find a coronavirus vaccine, according to the UK government.

Johnson said in a statement: “While our brilliant doctors and nurses fight coronavirus at home, this record British funding will help to find a vaccine for the entire world. UK medics and researchers are at the forefront of this pioneering work.”

“My call to every G20 country and to governments around the world is to step up and help us defeat this virus.

Today’s video call between G20 leaders also discussed international efforts to protect the global economy from the long-term effects of the virus.

A further £40 million of new British funding will meanwhile go towards to developing affordable treatments for coronavirus patients and will support the Therapeutic Accelerator, a fund for the rapid development of anti-retrovirals or immunotherapies against coronavirus.

The fund is already backed by the UK-based Wellcome Trust, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Mastercard.