Coronavirus pandemic: COVID-19
(Updated by 31 March 2020)
Pakistan’s coronavirus cases surpass 2,000 | Total confirmed cases: 2,037
Death toll rises to 26 with 12 patients in critical condition, Hhealth official
• Sindh: 676 • Punjab: 708 • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 253 • Balochistan: 158
• Islamabad Capital Territory: 58 • Gilgit-Baltistan: 178 • AJK: 6
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UN chief says coronavirus ‘worst crisis’ since WWII
Coronavirus pandemic ‘far from over’ in Asia, WHO warns
More than 859,000 infections are confirmed in at least 180 countries and territories, including at least 42,300 deaths.
The United Nations chief has warned the Coronavirus pandemic is the “worst crisis” to face the world since World War II, as the number of dead in the United States surpassed that in China and hard-hit countries in Europe reported their highest death tolls in a single day.
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Outbreak evolution for the current 10 most affected countries
ITALY: The first case of COVID-19 in Italy was reported 59 days ago on 1/31/2020. Since then, the country has reported 105,792 cases, 12,428 deaths.
SPAIN: The first case of COVID-19 in Spain was reported 58 days ago on 2/1/2020. Since then, the country has reported 95,923 cases, 8,464 deaths.
CHINA: The first case of COVID-19 in China was reported 90 days ago on 12/31/2019. Since then, the country has reported 82,284 cases, and 3,310 deaths.
FRANCE: The first case of COVID-19 in France was reported 66 days ago on 1/24/2020. Since then, the country has reported 52,836 cases, 3,532 deaths .
USA: The first case of COVID-19 in US was reported 67 days ago on 1/23/2020. Since then, the country has reported 189,618 cases, 4,079 deaths .
IRAN: The first case of COVID-19 in Iran was reported 40 days ago on 2/19/2020. Since then, the country has reported 44,605 cases, 2,898 deaths .
UNITED KINGDOM: The first case of COVID-19 in United Kingdom was reported 59 days ago on 1/31/2020. Since then, the country has reported 25,481 cases, 1,793 deaths.
NETHERLANDS: The first case of COVID-19 in Netherlands was reported 32 days ago on 2/27/2020. Since then, the country has reported 11,817 cases, and 865 deaths.
GERMANY: The first case of COVID-19 in Germany was reported 63 days ago on 1/27/2020. Since then, the country has reported 71,808 cases, 775 deaths .
BELGIUM: The first case of COVID-19 in Belgium was reported 55 days ago on 2/4/2020. Since then, the country has reported 12,775 cases, 705 deaths.
(Source: Johns Hopkins University & Medicine)
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Lockdowns Not Enough To Defeat Coronavirus: WHO’s Ryan
“What we really need to focus on is finding those who are sick, those who have the virus, and isolate them, find their contacts and isolate them,” Mike Ryan said in an interview on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.
“The danger right now with the lockdowns … if we don’t put in place the strong public health measures now, when those movement restrictions and lockdowns are lifted, the danger is the disease will jump back up.”
Mike Ryan said that the examples of China, South Korea and Singapore, which coupled lockdowns with strict measures to test every possible suspect, provided a model for Europe, which the WHO has said has replaced Asia as the epicenter of the pandemic. “Once we’ve suppressed the transmission, we have to go after the virus. We have to take the fight to the virus,” He added
He also said that various vaccines are in development, but only one had begun trials in the US . He was asked how long would it take before there was a vaccine available in Britain, he said that people needed to be realistic. “We have to make sure that it’s absolutely safe… we are talking at least a year,” he said.
“The vaccines will come, but we need to get out and do what we need to do now.” (Courtesy World Health Organization)
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Why ‘physical distancing’ is better than ‘social distancing’
by Saba Aziz | Source Al Jazeera
The World Health Organization (WHO) has started using the phrase “physical distancing” instead of “social distancing” as a way to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus from people to people, a move widely welcomed by experts as a step in the “right direction”.
At a daily news briefing on March 20, officials of the global health body said while maintaining a physical distance was “absolutely essential” amid the global pandemic, “it does not mean that socially we have to disconnect from our loved ones, from our family.”
The rapid spread of the virus, which was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan last December, has forced countries around the world to impose full lockdowns, shut down airports and impose tight restrictions on the movement of their citizens. “Technology, right now, has advanced so greatly that we can keep connected in many ways without actually physically being in the same room or physically being in the same space with people,” WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said on March 20. “We’re changing to say physical distance and that’s on purpose because we want people to still remain connected,” she added.
Since coronavirus is spread mainly through respiratory droplets, especially when people cough or sneeze, maintaining a safe distance is recommended to decrease transmission. The WHO recommends being more than one metre (three feet) away from the nearest person, while some health experts have suggested maintaining a distance of at least two metres from others.
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Coronavirus panic grips Rohingya camps in Bangladesh
Experts and activists have warned that about one million Rohingya refugees living in the crowded and cramped camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar are vulnerable to coronavirus infections. The wretched conditions in the camps, where most of the Rohingya Muslims arrived in 2017 to escape a Myanmar military crackdown across the nearby border, are fertile ground for any disease, experts say. The public in other countries is being told to keep two metres (six feet) apart.
That is the width of most paths in Kutapalong, the world’s biggest refugee camp with 600,000 Rohingya, that are clogged each day with people out on the daily hunt for food and fuel. Masks that have become a daily essential in much of the world are rarely seen. Sanitiser is unheard of. Each shack is barely 10 square metres (12 square yards) and they are overcrowded with up to 12 people. “You can hear your next-door neighbour breathing,” said one aid worker.
‘Relying on the mercy of Allah’
Another community leader, Sayed Ullah, said there was “much ignorance and misinformation” about the virus because of the internet shutdown. “Most of us don’t know what this disease is about. People have only heard it has killed a lot of people. We don’t have the internet to know what is happening,” he said.
“We are relying on the mercy of Allah” he added.
The United Nations, which has used volunteers and aid workers to launch hand-washing and hygiene campaigns in the camps, has urged the government to restore normal internet services. “Life-saving health interventions require rapid and effective communication,” said Louise Donovan, UN spokeswoman at the camps. “Communication is key to the timely and effective management of this situation,” she told AFP.
The Bangladesh refugee commissioner’s office refused to say whether authorities would restore the internet.
Authorities have concentrated on cutting outside access to 34 refugee camps. “We have minimized aid activities in the camps. Only food, health and law-related work will continue,” said Bimol Chakma, an official from the commissioner’s office.
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Europe In Lockdown Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
Mostly European countries a 30-day ban on incoming travel to the bloc for foreigners to battle the spread of coronavirus.
“The less travel, the more we can contain the virus. Therefore … I propose to the heads of state and government to introduce temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU,” said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. “These travel restrictions should be in place for an initial period of 30 days, but can be prolonged as necessary.”
An anxious continent
More than 1,000 troops have been deployed to the streets of Spain, as ministers warned the nation’s state of emergency would likely have to be extended on the first working day of the lockdown.
In Austria, police have been ordered to children’s playgrounds to disperse groups of five or more people, while Vienna looked to tighten its borders.
France and Germany have agreed to close their frontier to all but essential crossings, while the world-famous cafes and restaurants of Paris have served their last patrons for the foreseeable future. Food stores remain open in France, and food deliveries are also allowed, but plane, train and coach services between cities have all been reduced.
In Greece, officials announced all shops apart from supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, petrol stations and food delivery services would be closed. Anyone arriving from abroad will be placed in quarantine for two weeks to fight the coronavirus.
Russia, which has halted most flights to and from European cities, will also halt trains to and from Latvia from Tuesday, having previously suspended international train services with Ukraine and Moldova.
Switzerland cancelled a session of its national parliament, the government-held crisis talks and the Swiss stock market plunged as new coronavirus cases accelerated.
G7 Countries
The leaders of the G7 industrial powerhouses had pledged to join forces to halt the economic freefall in the wake of the virus outbreak, calling it “a human tragedy.” Leaders of the world’s richest countries held an emergency videoconference to coordinate their response as COVID-19 races across borders, crippling economies and threatening mass casualties.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is a human tragedy and a global health crisis, which also poses major risks for the world economy,” a joint statement from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States said.
“We resolve to coordinate measures and do whatever it takes, using all policy tools, to achieve strong growth in the G7 economies and to safeguard against downside risks.” A continent of shuttered shops and locked doors; European nations face up to coronavirus restrictions.
Britain goes into lockdown
Boris Johnson plunged the UK into Coronavirus lockdown tonight ordering the immediate closure of all non-essential shops and threatening Britons with fines or even arrest if they do not ‘stay at home’. Gatherings of more than two people will be banned in the most dramatic curbs on freedom ever seen in Britain in time of peace or war, as the government goes all out to stop the spread of the killer disease. Funerals can go ahead attended by just a handful of closest relatives.
People must only leave their homes for essential supplies, medical help, or to travel to work if it is ‘absolutely’ unavoidable. Going out for exercise will be allowed once a day, but parks will be patrolled to make sure there is no abuse of the rules.
The premier was finally forced into the draconian move amid fury that many people are still flouting ‘social distancing’ guidance, with parks and Tube trains in London regarded as the engine of the UK outbreak still busy despite repeated pleas.
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Saudi tells Muslims to wait on Hajj plans amid coronavirus crisis
Minister asks Muslims to defer preparations for the annual pilgrimage scheduled in late July due to the pandemic.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia suspended the year-round Umrah pilgrimage over fears of the new coronavirus spreading to Islam’s holiest cities, an unprecedented move that raised uncertainty over the annual Hajj.
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Japan, IOC Agree to Postpone 2020 Tokyo Olympics by About One Year
“I proposed to postpone for about a year and president Bach responded with 100 percent agreement,” Shinzo Abe told reporters referring to Thomas Bach, head of the IOC. It is not the first time Tokyo has seen unscheduled changes to the Games — it was due to be the first Asian country to host the Olympics in 1940 before pulling out due to international pressure over its war with China.
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Coronavirus: Hand washing a luxury Yemenis can’t afford
18 million people, including 9.2 million children, do not have access to clean water
Al Hajjah – Hand-washing to combat the spread of coronavirus is the order of the day, but it’s an unaffordable luxury for millions in war-ravaged Yemen where clean water is dangerously scarce. Yemen’s broken healthcare system has yet to register any cases of the disease, but if the pandemic does hit, the impact will be unimaginable in a country where five years of conflict has created what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
“We are extremely worried,” Caroline Seguin, MSF’s head of programmes in Yemen, Iraq and Jordan, told AFP.
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Israeli Military Chief, Two Generals Quarantined After Contact With Coronavirus Patient
As the highly contagious coronavirus spreads around the world, Israel and the Palestinians struggle to contain a local outbreak that has virtually halted daily life and led to tens of thousands of people entering quarantine.
Over one million Israelis will be unemployed in coming months
Data from the National Insurance Institute’s research department projects that 1.1 million Israelis will be out of work by April-May of this year. According to both the optimistic and pessimistic scenarios, the department said, the institute will find itself in a 8.1 billion shekel deficit in May-June. (Source: haaretz)
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Captain of aircraft carrier with growing coronavirus outbreak pleads for help from Navy
Matthias Gafni and Joe Garofoli March 31, 2020
The captain of a nuclear aircraft carrier with more than 100 sailors infected with the coronavirus pleaded Monday with U.S. Navy officials for resources to allow isolation of his entire crew and avoid possible deaths in a situation he described as quickly deteriorating. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle)
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59 people die as Pastor gives them Dettol to drink in church to prevent Coronavirus
South African Prophet Rufus Phala allegedly gave his member Dettol, a household bleach to drink as a preventive medicine to Coronavirus and also as sign of faith during a church service. Fifty-nine of them have been confirmed dead while four are in critical condition after drinking the Dettol. ( Source ‘Kenya Today News)
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India announces coronavirus lockdown for its entire 1.3 BILLION population
24 March 2020: Indian PM Narendra Modi announced a ‘total ban on venturing out of homes’
He said India had to face a 21-day health lockdown or be set back by 21 years. ‘This is a type of curfew’ ‘India is today at such a stage, where our actions today will determine our ability to reduce the impact of this disaster,’ Modi said, citing health officials and experts including the WHO for his dire warnings.
Modi called the order a ‘total lockdown’ and did not address whether any service providers would be exempt. But a government order published by Indian media indicated that food shops, banks and petrol stations would remain open. ‘Essential commodities, medicines etc [will] be available. Centre and various state governments will work in close coordination to ensure this,’ he said.
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The ‘Modi Migrants’ Are India’s Self-Inflicted Humanitarian Disaster During “World War C”
By Andrew Korybko | Source: Global Research
The Indian government so terribly mishandled its 21-day lockdown demand that Prime Minister Modi was compelled to unprecedentedly ask for forgiveness from the nation’s poor after his policy was responsible for suddenly uprooting millions of migrants across the country who fled their cities of temporary residence to return back home to their villages where they feel more confident of their chances for surviving World War C, but the credible threat remains that some of them might already be infected with COVID-19 and could therefore end up carrying this deadly virus all throughout the country.
Prime Minister Modi’s terrible mishandling of his country’s 21-day lockdown demand has created a self-inflicted humanitarian crisis of extreme proportions in the world’s second most populous state. The government abruptly ordered a mandatory three-week quarantine across the country as an emergency response to World War C, fearing that the densely populated, “super poor“, and generally underdeveloped nation is at serious risk of becoming “the world’s main battlefield in the fight against Covid-19“, as RT contributor and former Indian naval intelligence officer Shishir Upadhaya recently put it. He’s right, though, as even the author of the present article asked last week, “Can South Asia Survive World War C?“, for many of the same reasons. The reader should be informed that 22% of India’s population live in poverty , and the country comprises 24% of the total people in the world living in extreme poverty according to the World Bank, which is more than any other nation. Unsurprisingly, then, the sudden lockdown announcement sparked panic among India’s millions of internal economic migrants, many of whom are day laborers that live hand to mouth and cannot afford to miss even a single day’s worth of wages if they hope to avoid the Damocles’ swords of starvation and homelessness.
These desperate people, which the BBC estimates to be in the “millions” in their related piece on the topic titled “Coronavirus: India’s Pandemic Lockdown Turns Into Human Tragedy“, fled their cities of temporary residence to return back home to their villages where they feel more confident of their chances for surviving World War C. Apart from being extremely poor, these “Modi Migrants” as the author has taken to calling them due to their Prime Minister’s policy being the direct cause of their present travails, are also likely to be among the 14,5% of the population that’s undernourished, and might even be parents to one of the 3,000 children that die of starvation in India each day. Without any income for three weeks, they fear that they won’t be able to afford the roofs over their and their family’s heads, let alone fill their bellies with enough food and water to live another day. It’s for this reason why they panicked and decided to try their chances of survival back home in the rural communities where many of them come from, where they might be able to rely on personal support networks and possibly even forage for food in the worst-case scenario.
Other than their sudden large-scale migration being a self-inflicted humanitarian crisis in and of itself, there’s a credible fear that some of these “Modi Migrants” might already be infected with COVID-19, thus increasing the chances that they could become “super-spreaders” as they travel across the country in their densely packed caravans en route to some of India’s most remote and underdeveloped regions that are utterly incapable of properly responding to this outbreak. It’s for this reason why Prime Minister Modi unprecedentedly asked for forgiveness from his nation’s poor for the socio-economic toll of his terribly mishandled policy that clearly wasn’t thought out whatsoever at all by his country’s “strategists” or policymakers. The government is pleading with the “Modi Migrants” to remain where they are, promising them food and shelter until the three-week quarantine ends, but many don’t believe that this support will ever be forthcoming and have thus decided to continue trekking back to their villages all across the country. The humanitarian crisis that Prime Minister Modi has unnecessarily created could in hindsight be seen as the trigger for worsening the consequences of World War C in his country if the situation soon spirals out of control there.
All of this could have been avoided had the Indian government had the foresight to consider the implications that its three-week lockdown would have on its millions of internal economic migrants who incessantly struggle in abject poverty and are desperate to make it through the day without starving. It appears as though nobody in the government thought about the day laborers who literally built India into what it is today, possibly because a sizeable amount of them are either from lower castes or part of the Muslim minority, both categories of which are currently victimized by the Hindu extremist government of Prime Minister Modi as the author elaborated upon in his piece from February about how “India’s Waging A State-On-Citizen Hybrid War To Build Modi’s ‘Hindu Rashtra’“. Whatever the reason may be, it’s important for observers and the world at large to realize that this entire humanitarian crisis and its potentially forthcoming exacerbated consequences were entirely avoidable and are the direct result of the sudden decision taken by the leader of the self-proclaimed “world’s largest democracy”, who in the “best-case scenario” might have panicked after realizing how ill-equipped his country is to survive World War C and thus inadvertently made matters worse than ever.