China has approved its third Coronavirus vaccine for the second phase of clinical trials as it reported 12 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections in the country to 82,816. The approved vaccine also includes one developed by Chinese military, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) for clinical trials. An "inactivated" vaccine developed by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products under the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) started its clinical trials, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The inactivated vaccine consists of virus particles, bacteria, or other pathogens that have been grown in culture and then lose disease producing capacity. In contrast, live vaccines use pathogens that are still alive. WIV has been in the eye of the storm in recent weeks as US President Donald Trump and top American officials alleged that the Coronavirus may have escaped from there and demanded a probe into it. An official of the WIV denied it, terming the allegation "entirely based on speculation".

A total of 96 persons in three age groups have received the vaccine in the first phase of clinical trial as of April 23. The vaccine has shown good safety results so far and vaccine receivers are still under observation, said the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.

72 therapeutics trial underway, 211 in planning stages in the US

A top Trump administration health official has said that as many as 19 therapeutics trial are underway and 211 in planning stages in a bid to find the cure for Coronavirus. "We are leaving no stone unturned to find the antidote for Coronavirus... We don't have any approved therapeutics for the virus but we are actively involved with the academic, commercial and private sector to find it," FDA commissioner Stephen M Hahn told reporters at a White House news conference.

"Seventy-two trials of therapeutics are underway in the United States under FDA oversight and 211 are in the planning stages, so we expect to see more. This includes convalescent plasma as well as antiviral therapies," Hahn added. According to Hahn, work is continuing on finding a vaccine. FDA has authorised two firms on vaccine trials. Hahn said that the FDA has told manufacturers that in order to market anti-body tests in the US, they have to validate their tests.

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Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes has announced a detailed plan to gradually lift the country's coronavirus restrictions, the media reported on Saturday.

After hours of discussions on Friday, Prime Minister Wilmes announced a timetable to gradually end the country's lockdown, which began on March 12, reports the BBC. The first businesses to open will be fabric shops on May 4 in order to help people comply with new regulations requiring all Belgians aged 12 or over to wear masks on public transport. Other shops will reopen a week later.

Schools will return from May 18, but no more than 10 children will be allowed in each class. Cafes and restaurants will not be permitted to open before June 8. But Wilmes warned that "nothing is set in stone". At least 44,293 people have tested positive for the virus in Belgium as of Saturday, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.

A total of 6,679 deaths have been recorded in the nation of 11.4 million - the highest rate per capita in Europe. More than half the fatalities have been in care homes. A number of other European countries have already announced measures to ease their lockdowns, the BBC reported. On Friday, the Czech Republic ended restrictions on free movement which had been put in place to help halt the spread of coronavirus.

Sme shops have already reoopened in Germany and schools will gradually reopen from May 4, although bars, cafes, restaurants, cinemas and music venues will all remain closed. Meanwhile, Poland's Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski called for a two-year delay to the presidential election - due to take place in two weeks' time - saying it was the safest situation given the pandemic.

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We may have all heard that miracles do happen, but sadly not all of us have the chance to witness them in our daily lives, especially during a pandemic today which brings the world to a standstill. Citing a similar story of survival, The Olive Press, a Spain-based English newspaper, reported that it was 1918, when Ana del Valle, a kid then, suffered and recovered from the Spanish Flu - an unusually deadly influenza pandemic which lasting for almost 36 months (from January 1918 to December 1920) and it infected as many as 500 million people - about a third of the world's population at the time. And now, 102 years later, the old grandmother has miraculously beaten the coronavirus pandemic to the joy of her family in Ronda.

The media reported that Valle lived at a nursing home in Alcala del Valle, where she contracted the virus along with 60 other residents. She was then transferred to a hospital in La Linea and was discharged a few days ago, as she had overcome the contagion. Ana was born in October 1913 and in less than six months she will turn 107. That makes her the oldest survivor of the pandemic outbreaks in Spain, along with one of the oldest worldwide, behind the likes of 107-year-old Dutch survivor, Cornelia Ras. Her daughter-in-law, Paqui Sanchez was further quoted by Malaga Hoy, another local media source, that her family was very grateful for everything the hospital staff had done. But, she said that authorities were taking it slow and being cautious with her mother-in-law's health, due to her old age.

"Her doctors tell us that she has very good results, but you have to be very careful," she told the Malaga-based news paper. "She eats alone, some days more and other days less" "She also goes on short walks with her walker," she said further. According to other media reports, two other 101-year-old women have also recovered from disease in Spain. There have been a total of 22,524 official Covid-19-related fatalities since the pandemic hit Spain, while 92,355 patients have recovered from the illness and have been discharged from hospital. However, the health ministry reported on Friday that the tally of daily Covid-19- related deaths was registered at 367, which is the lowest number since March 21, when there were 324 fatalities. As per the data cited by US-based Johns Hopkins University, more than 195,000 people have died due to the pandemic, with 2.7 million infected globally, out of whom almost some 781,000 have recovered.

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More than 900,000 people were infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as of Saturday in the United States, with the death toll exceeding 52,000, while a new study indicated that the virus was likely to be spreading in multiple US cities "far earlier" than Americans knew.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 905,364 as of 10.30 a.m. (1430 GMT), and a total of 52,042 deaths related to the disease were recorded, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University, Xinhua news agency reported.

New York remains the hardest-hit state, with 271,590 cases and 21,411 deaths. New Jersey follows, with 102,196 cases and 5,683 deaths. Other states with over 40,000 cases include Massachusetts, California and Pennsylvania.

Worldwide, more than 200,000 people died of the disease as of Saturday, among over 2.8 million cases, showed the CSSE data.

The United States suffered the most fatalities. Italy followed with 26,384 deaths. Spain reported 22,902 deaths, France and Britain also reported over 20,000 deaths.

The US states and federal government are trying very hard to balance the public health risk posed by the virus with the severe cost of month-odd shutting down of the country's economy.

The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that the unemployment rate around the country, which was near a 50-year low before the coronavirus struck, will surge to 16 per cent by September as the economy withers under the impact of the outbreak.

More than 26 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits since March. White House unveiled on April 16 three-phase guidelines for reopening the US economy, putting the onus on governors of making decisions about their states' economies.

Over a dozen states, including Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, Colorado and Iowa, are moving toward restarting their economies this weekend with some restrictions.

Many other states remain hesitant to take such steps without more robust testing capacity. New York, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Michigan have already extended their stay-at-home orders.

Several states have announced plans to coordinate their response with neighbours. California is moving forward in coordination with Washington and Oregon while governors from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island announced plans to form a joint task force.

A CBS News poll published Thursday said that 70 per cent of respondents believed the country's top priority should be trying to "slow the spread of coronavirus by keeping people home and social distancing, even if the economy is hurt in the short term."

The virus was likely to be spreading in multiple US cities "far earlier" than Americans knew, according to a new research.

"Even in early February -- while the world focused on China -- the virus was not only likely to be spreading in multiple American cities, but also seeding blooms of infection elsewhere in the United States, the researchers found," said a report by The New York Times on Thursday.

In the five major US cities -- New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle, as of March 1, there were only 23 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

However, according to a model of the spread of the disease by researchers at Northeastern University, "there could have actually been about 28,000 infections in those cities by then," the report said.

The virus spread on the West Coast of the United States weeks earlier than initially believed, according to new information released by Santa Clara county, California on Tuesday.

Patricia Dowd, a 57-year-old San Jose woman, died at home on February 6. Jeffrey V. Smith, Santa Clara county executive, told Xinhua in an email interview that "so far, this is the earliest death in the United States."

Dowd and another 69-year-old man who died at home on Feb. 17 had no "significant travel history," and they presumably caught the virus through community spread, said the county's public health officer Dr. Sara Cody.

"These patients apparently contracted the illness from community spread. This suggests that the virus was circulating in the Bay Area in January at least, probably earlier," Smith told Xinhua. Previously, the first known US death from the virus was on February 29 in Kirkland in Washington state.

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Joining more than 1,000 others, Djemba Diatite stood for hours in line to feed her growing family, grateful for handouts of fruits, vegetables and soap. It was her first time accepting charity, but she had no choice. The pandemic has turned her small world upside down.

With open air markets closed, supermarket prices skyrocketing, an out-of-work husband, two children to feed and another on the way, Diatite said even tomatoes are now too expensive. "This is my only solution," she said.

Clichy-sous-Bois — where fiery nationwide riots started in 2005 — is just 23 km northeast of the French capital, but with its rows of housing projects, restless youth and residents teetering on the poverty line, it feels light years away.

The town mayor, seeing a looming crisis triggered by food shortages, sounded the alarm, and with scattered unrest simmering in impoverished suburbs, the French government announced a plan for urgent food assistance of 39 million euros for communities in need. "I feel the social crisis is growing with confinement," said Clichy-Sous-Bois Mayor Olivier Klein. The government will detail to parliament on Tuesday how it plans to pull the country out of the lockdown.

Boris to be back to work from Monday

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will return to work at 10 Downing Street in London on Monday. The 55-year-old has been recuperating at his prime ministerial countryside retreat at Chequers since he was discharged on April 12 and had put UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in charge as his deputy. Johnson is reportedly "raring to go" and will be back to an initially light work schedule from next week, starting with a meeting with UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

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Pakistan's Coronavirus cases jumped to 12,579 on Sunday after 783 new infections were reported in one day, prompting the government officials and medical experts to appeal to the people to avoid visiting mosques and participating in congregational prayers during Ramzan to contain the spread.

According to the Ministry of National Health Services, at least 15 people have died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country to 269. The number of those recovered also increased to 2,866, it said. So far, 144,365 tests have been done in the country, including 6,218 in the last 24 hours.

As the infections keep growing, Pakistan Medical Association, Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) have urged people to offer prayers at homes and not in mosques. PIMA President Dr Iftikhar Burney warned on Saturday that mosques were becoming a major source of virus transmission.

"Around 6,000 cases for coronavirus surfaced in a month, but the same has doubled in the last six days," he said, warning that the infection would further go up in the coming months of May and June.

The are reports that a 20-point agreement signed by the leading clerics with President Arif Alvi on restricting access to mosques during Ramzan was not being followed completely. Alvi has written a letter to the Imams of mosques urging them to ask worshippers above the age of 50 to pray at home.

783
No. of new infections reported on Sunday

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In the six weeks up to April 19, at least 4,093 people were arrested from across London for domestic abuse offences -- nearly 100 a day on an average -- during the coronavirus lockdown in the UK, the Metropolitan Police has revealed.

Charges and cautions have increased by 24 per cent since March 9, when people with COVID-19 symptoms were asked to self-isolate, compared to last year, Xinhua news agency quoted Commander Sue Williams, the Met's lead for safeguarding, as saying on Sunday.

Domestic incidents, which can include family rows not recorded as crimes, have seen a 3 per cent increase since last year, and jumped by 9 per cent between March 9 and April 19, said the Met Police.

There have been two domestic-related murders recorded in London as police continue to warn of an increased risk of abuse during the strict measures in place, said the Scotland Yard, metonym for the headquarters of the Met Police.

"The COVID-19 restrictions and 'stay at home' instruction is vital to managing this public health crisis, but unfortunately it has also left current and potential victims of domestic abuse even more vulnerable and isolated," said Williams.

The Met Police gave examples of some of the cases it has dealt with in recent weeks, including one in which police discovered that a man reported by a victim was linked to firearms.

"Officers located him within three hours of receiving the report and searched his vehicle, finding two sawn-off shotguns. A cannabis factory was also discovered. The man was subsequently charged and is awaiting trial," said the Scotland Yard in a statement.

Officers were also called to help a pregnant victim in east London, who had gone to a hospital to seek refuge after her partner assaulted and tormented her. Police said he was quickly arrested, but she was unwilling to support criminal action.

However, due to the evidence captured on body worn video, and witness accounts from staff at the hospital, the Crown Prosecution Service supported a victimless prosecution, and the suspect is awaiting trial, said the Met Police.

"Victims should be assured that they can leave their homes to escape harm or seek help, and they will not be penalized in any way for not maintaining social distancing, or otherwise breaching COVID-19 restrictions," said Williams. The UK has reported 154,037 coronavirus cases, with 20,794 deaths.

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A four-year-old Indian girl in Dubai has become one of the youngest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to have recovered from the novel coronavirus after walking free from hospital last week, it was reported.

The girl, known only as Sivani, was given a fitting send off by medical staff at Al Futtaim Health Hub on April 20, 20 days after being admitted on April 1, the Gulf News report said.

Sivani contracted the virus from her mother - a front line health worker - who fell ill in March.

Both Sivani and father dad were also tested despite not having any symptoms and, unlike her father, Sivani was found to be positive.

The girl and her mother were kept in the same facility, but concern was greater for the minor who had also fought off a rare type of kidney cancer last year called ganglioneuroblastoma.

Being a cancer survivor, doctors made extra precautions.

"Sivani had undergone chemotherapy sessions only last year and hence her immune system was still weak," Gulf News reported citing Tholfkar Al Baaj, group medical director at Al Futtaim Health Hub and the consultant in family medicine who treated Sivani, as saying.

"The doctors were concerned as she was at higher risk of developing a severe form of the disease and therefore, we had put her under close monitoring. Fortunately, she did not develop any complications from the infection," he added.

Sivani remained under treatment for 20 days before two consecutive negative swab tests rendered her all clear. She will now undergo 14-days quarantine at home.

Her mother remains under observation and was expected to be released soon.

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The number of the novel Coronavirus cases in Russia has surpassed that of China, where the disease originated. The country on Monday reported 6,198 new confirmed infections, taking the tally to 87,147, reported the Moscow Times.

China has recorded 84,500 confirmed cases since the outbreak last year. The Russian authorities on Monday confirmed 50 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total toll to 794.

Russia is now the ninth country to be worst hit by the pandemic. The virus has spread to all of Russia's 85 regions, but has affected the capital, Moscow, the most. Of all the 6,198 new cases, 2,971 have been registered in Moscow, 576 in the Moscow region and 153 in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

The virus has affected the country's military as well. A total of 874 servicemen in the military have tested positive for COVID-19 since March, Russia's Defence Ministry has said. Four people are in grave condition, including one on a ventilator.

The vast majority of the country has been on lockdown since late March, with only essential businesses — grocery shops, pharmacies, banks — operating and people ordered to stay at home. Military units have already rehearsed the parade -- footage of these rehearsals showed hundreds of servicemen drilling outside Moscow without observing social distancing. A Kremlin spokesman said that the military had their own isolation and distancing protocols which allowed them more freedom.

Spain sees slight spike in daily cases

Spain recorded 331 new deaths in the past 24 hours, up from Sunday's 288, while the political and social debate focuses on the way out of the seven-week lockdown. The total death toll stands on Monday over 23,500, while the number of infections is over 2,00,000.From Friday, people of all ages will be allowed to go on walks or practice sports outdoors, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced.

Singapore records drop in new infections

The tally in Singapore, which for long recorded over 1,000 cases daily, reached 14,423 on Monday after 799 new infections were reported with majority of them being foreign workers residing in dormitories. Around 3,00,000 low-wage workers, mostly from South Asia, work in Singapore in construction and maintenance. Most of them live together in huge dormitory complexes.

New Zealand reported five new Coronavirus cases Monday as the nation got ready to ease the rules on a strict lockdown from midnight. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there hasn't been widespread community transmission of the virus and the country has so far managed to avoid the worst scenarios for an outbreak.

She said it would continue to hunt down the last few cases. From midnight, certain businesses such as construction will be allowed to reopen, but social distancing rules will still apply. Ardern said the nation was opening up the economy, but not people's social lives.

S Korea to reopen schools
South Korea reported only 10 new cases, its 26th straight day below 100 as officials mulled reopening schools amid the slowing caseload. The figures released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday brought the national totals to 10,738 cases and 243 deaths.

At least 1,044 infections have been linked to international arrivals, but such cases have also declined in recent weeks amid tightened border controls.

Prime Minster Chung Sye-kyun during a virus meeting Monday instructed education officials to prepare measures to ensure hygiene and enforce distance between students at schools so the government could announce a timeline for reopening schools no later than early May.

More US states to reopen
In the US, Colorado, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana and Tennessee are also preparing to reopen economy, Reuters reported. Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska and South Carolina had already started easing restrictions. "I would stay home if the government encouraged that, but they're not. They're saying, 'Hey, the best thing to do is go back to work, even though it might be risky,'" Royal Rose, 39, owner of a tattoo studio in Greeley, Colorado, told Reuters.

According to reports, the states have started easing lockdown without ensuring measures to trace the asymptomatic cases. Several health experts have warned that a hurry in easing lockdown may lead to a fresh wave of infections. Meanwhile, the White House said the jobless rate would be 16 per cent or higher this month. A record 26.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment since mid-March.

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The White House released new guidelines Monday aimed at answering criticism that America's coronavirus testing has been too slow, and President Donald Trump tried to pivot toward a focus on 'reopening' the nation. Still, there were doubts from public health experts that the White House's new testing targets were sufficient. Monday's developments were meant to fill critical gaps in White House plans to begin easing restrictions, ramping up testing for the virus while shifting the president's focus toward recovery from the economic collapse caused by the outbreak. The administration unveiled a 'blueprint' for states to scale up their testing in the coming week, a tacit admission, despite public statements to the contrary, that testing capacity and availability over the past two months have been lacking.

The new testing targets would ensure states had enough COVID-19 tests available to sample at least 2.6 per cent of their populations each month, a figure already met by a majority of states. Areas that have been harder hit by the virus would be able to test at double that rate, or higher, the White House said. The testing issue has bedeviled the administration for months. Trump told reporters on March 6 during a visit to the CDC in Atlanta that 'anybody that wants a test can get a test,' but the reality has proved to be vastly different. The initial COVID-19 test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was contaminated, and early kits operated only on platforms able to perform a small number of test per day. While the rate of testing increased as tests developed for higher-capacity platforms, they were still limited by shortages of supplies, from nasal swabs to the reagents used to process the samples.

Administration officials maintained Monday that the limiting factor now is actually the availability of samples from people who have been tested ' either because guidelines on who could be tested are too stringent or because there are not enough health workers able to take nasal swab samples from them. The CDC moved to address one of those concerns Monday, expanding the list of people to be prioritized for virus testing to include those who show no symptoms but are in high-risk settings like nursing homes. And Trump met with leaders of businesses including CVS, Walmart and Kroger, who said they were working to expand access to tests across the country. 'Testing is not going to be a problem at all,' Trump said later in the Rose Garden.

However, many of the administration's past pledges and goals on testing have not been met. Jeremy Konyndyk, a disaster preparedness expert who helped lead the Obama administration response to Ebola, said the administration's testing plans are well short of what is needed. Researchers at Harvard have estimated the country needs to be testing a minimum of 500,000 people per day, and possibly many more. Konyndyk said the aim should be 2 million to 3 million per day. Trump said the current total, up sharply in recent days, is over 200,000 per day. Konyndyk said, 'Over the past month, we've doubled or if you want to be really generous tripled the testing capacity in this country. We need to take where we are now and expand it 10-fold."

The testing blueprint for states provides details missing from the administration's guidelines for them to return to normal operations that were released more than a week ago. It includes a focus on surveillance testing as well as 'rapid response' programs to isolate those who test positive and identify those with whom they had come in contact. The administration aims to have the market 'flooded' with tests for the fall, when COVID-19 is expected to recur alongside the seasonal flu. Trump and administration medical experts outlined the plan on a call with governors Monday afternoon, before unveiling them publicly in a Rose Garden press conference. The White House announcements came as Trump sought to regain his footing after weeks of criticism and detours created in part by his press briefings.

Days after he set off a firestorm by publicly musing that scientists should explore the injection of toxic disinfectants as a potential virus cure, Trump said he found little use for his daily task force briefings, where he has time and again clashed with medical experts and reporters. Trump's aides had been trying to move the president onto more familiar and, they hope, safer, ground: talking up the economy in more tightly controlled settings. Republican Party polling shows Trump's path to a second term depends on the public's perception of how quickly the economy rebounds from the state-by-state shutdowns meant to slow the spread of the virus.

On Monday, the White House initially announced there would be a Trump briefing, but canceled it as Trump's greatest asset in the reelection campaign ' his ability to dominate headlines with freewheeling performances ' was increasingly seen as a liability. But hours later, Trump it became clear Trump had other ideas. He held court in the Rose Garden for a bit less than an hour. Spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said that briefings would be held later in the week but 'they might have a new look to them, a new focus to them.' Trump said he hoped that virus deaths would end up no more than 60,000 to 70,000, slightly revising upward his public estimate of recent days as the U.S. toll neared 56,000 on nearly 1 million cases.

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After being the epicentre of the Coronavirus outbreak, China is final limping back into normalcy and the citizens, government, and public institutions are taking the necessary steps to avert another outbreak. And while the country is at it, a school in Hanzhou came with a creative idea to ensure children thoroughly follow social distancing norms.

Eileen Chengyin Chow, a professor at the Duke University posted pictures of first graders at the Yangzheng Elementary School in Hanzhou on her Twitter account on April 27. What’s striking about the pictures is the headgears the students are wearing in class, that bears resemblance to that of the soldiers belonging to the Song Dynasty. The colourful head gear, that teaches the historical context it has in the country and also helps maintain social distance,  has a 3 feet-long rod made of  soft materials such as cardboard or foam, attached on the sides.

Chow explains the  historical context of the headgears’ designs in the tweet, that reads, “The long horizontal plumes on Song Dynasty toppers were supposedly to prevent officials from conspiring sotto voce with one another while at court—so social distancing was in fact their original function!”

First graders back to school in Hangzhou, with social distancing headgear

The long horizontal plumes on Song Dynasty toppers were supposedly to prevent officials from conspiring sotto voce with one another while at court—so social distancing was in fact their original function! pic.twitter.com/0AOKsWE1xH

— eileen chengyin chow (@chowleen) April 27, 2020

The professor’s post garnered more than 17,300 likes and was retweeted over 8,300 times. The users commenting on the posts lauded the teacher who used a smart way to designed these headgears that has a historical significance.

Historical precedents used. Clever on the part of the teacher to be able to incorporate a history lesson and maintain social distancing.

— Olga Sadowy (@OSadowy) April 27, 2020

Wow! This is adorable and really interesting. I hope they are safe enough...

— Tristan Felix 🏳️‍🌈 (@tiger) April 27, 2020

This is ridiculously cute! Did they make the hats themselves? 😄

— Heather Jean Bruskay (@HBruskay) April 27, 2020

for all the nerds saying "but they can just get close face to face so this doesn't help"

making and decorating hats was obviously a fun thing for the kids to do while also learning some history

— bieb (@red_bieb) April 27, 2020

Wow I always thought it was a fashion choice

— josué (@joshnekoff) April 27, 2020

What do you think about the post?

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The UK came together on Tuesday for a minute's silence in the honour of hundreds of healthcare and other workers who have lost their lives on the frontline of the Coronavirus fight across the country.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who just recovered from a severe coronavirus attack, led the tributes with UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street for the National Health Service (NHS) and other key workers across care homes and public transport.

The tribute comes as the government announced a new time-bound insurance scheme for the families of such public sector healthcare workers who lost their lives while on duty during the pandemic, with a £60,000 Life Assurance Scheme.

"Financial worries should be the last thing on the minds of their families so in recognition of these unprecedented circumstances we are expanding financial protection to the NHS and social workers delivering publicly funded care on the frontline," said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

"Nothing can make up for the tragic loss of a loved one during this pandemic. We owe a huge debt to those who die in service to our nation and are doing everything we can to protect them.

"We will continue to strive night and day to provide them with the support and protection they need and deserve to keep them safe as they work tirelessly to save lives," he said.

He said that bereaved family members will receive a £60,000 lump sum, worth roughly twice the average pensionable pay for the NHS staff, with the cost met by the government. The cases in the UK has reached 1,58,348 while 21,092 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University tracker.

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US President Donald Trump has ruled out making any changes in the date of the November 3 presidential election because of the Coronavirus pandemic. "I never even thought of changing the date of the election. Why would I do that? November 3, it's a good number," Trump told reporters at his White House news conference. His likely Democratic opponent Joe Biden last week said Trump was considering changing the date. "Mark my words, I think he is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can't be held [sic]," Biden said during an online fundraiser.

'Look forward to it'
"No, I look forward to that election and that was just made a propaganda not by him but by some of the many people that are working writing little segments. I see all of the time statements made you say something statement made per Joe Biden, Sleepy Joe," Trump said. "He didn't make those statements. Somebody did but they said he made it. No, let him know I am not thinking about it at all. Not at all," he said.

In a call with governors on Monday, Trump said states should "seriously consider" reopening their public schools before the end of the academic year, even though dozens already have said it would be unsafe for students to return until the summer or fall.

'Consider opening schools'
"Some of you might start thinking about school openings, because a lot of people are wanting to have the school openings. It's not a big subject, young children have done very well in this disaster that we've all gone through," he said. Reopening schools is considered key to getting the economy moving again. Without a safe place for their kids, many parents would have difficulty returning to work.

1,010,507
Total no. of COVID-19 infections in the US

56,803
Total no. of COVID-19 deaths in the US

Turkey sends protective equipment to US

The cargo at the Etimesgut airport outside Ankara. Pic/AP

Turkey has dispatched a planeload of personal protective equipment to support the United States as it grapples with the novel Coronavirus outbreak. A Turkish military cargo carrying the medical equipment took off from an air base near the capital Ankara on Tuesday, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. It was scheduled to land at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington later in the day. A top official said Turkey is donating 5,00,000 surgical masks, 4,000 overalls, 2,000 litres (528 gallons) of disinfectant, 1,500 goggles, 400 N-95 masks and 500 face shields.

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Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has fired his special aide on I&B and replaced her with a powerful former military spokesman as he revamped his media team for the second time since coming to power amid mounting criticism for failing to address key issues including the COVID-19 outbreak.

Former Army spokesman Lt Gen (retied) Asim Saleem Bajwa, who is also the chairman of the newly created China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority, has replaced Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan as the Special Assistant to the PM for information and broadcasting (I&B).

PM Khan also appointed Senator Shibli Faraz as the new information minister. Minister for Science Fawad Chaudhry announced the new appointments. The changes were made to blunt the perception that the government's media handling was not good and its work was not being properly highlighted amid the health crisis.

"The way these changes have been made will not give a good impression and help the cause of the government," analyst Ayaz Amir told Dunya TV. Pakistan has 14,079 COVID-19 cases so far.

301
No. of COVID-19 deaths in Pakistan

Now, Beijing to shut COVID-19 hospital

Authorities in Beijing are set to close a COVID-19 special hospital, Xiaotangshan Hospital, after clearing all the cases even as China reported six new infections and 40 fresh asymptomatic cases on Tuesday. The move comes days after Wuhan closed 16 temporary hospitals and discharged its last patient on Sunday.

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British Airways may be forced to cut more than a quarter of its workforce as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll on one of Europe's biggest airlines. Parent company IAG (ICAGY) said in a statement cited by CNN on Tuesday that the Airways is notifying labour unions about a restructuring program which will affect most employees and "may result in the redundancy of up to 12,000 of them." IAG, which also includes Spanish airline Iberia, said its first-quarter revenues declined by 13 per cent to EUR4.6 billion (USD 5 billion) as it swung to an operating loss of EUR535 million (USD 579 million).

The airline group warned that losses in the second quarter would be "significantly worse" and that it expects that "the recovery of passenger demand to 2019 levels will take several years." The warning echos a similar decision made by airline group Lufthansa (DLAKY), which owns national carriers in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium. Announcing earlier this month that it was permanently reducing the size of its fleet and shuttering one of its low-cost carriers, Lufthansa said that worldwide demand for air travel will take years to recover from the coronavirus.

"What we are facing as an airline ... is that there is no 'normal' any longer," British Airways CEO Alex Cruz said in a letter to staff that was released to CNN Business. "Yesterday, British Airways flew just a handful of aircraft out of Heathrow. On a normal day, we would fly more than 300," he added. The news comes as flight bans and nationwide lockdowns are threatening to bankrupt airlines around the world. The "mounting financial crisis" facing carriers could cause revenues to tumble by as much as 55 per cent this year, or some USD 314 billion, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Virgin Australia collapsed into administration last week, while sister airline Virgin Atlantic confirmed on Monday that it was on the hunt for outside investors to keep it alive. Virgin Atlantic, which is controlled by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, is also seeking a commercial loan from the British government. Earlier this month, British Airways furloughed 30,000 employees on 80 per cent of their regular monthly pay until the end of May, with the government covering the first PS2,500 (USD 3,100) under its coronavirus job retention program.

But Cruz said the outlook for the aviation sector had worsened in the last few weeks and measures taken to conserve cash were not enough. "There is no government bailout standing by for BA and we cannot expect the taxpayer to offset salaries indefinitely," he added. "Any money we borrow now... will not address the longer-term challenges we face," he wrote.

With no certainty on when lockdowns will lift or when countries will reopen their borders, British Airways has to "reshape" itself, Cruz said. "The scale of this challenge requires substantial change so we are in a competitive and resilient position, not just to address the immediate Covid-19 pandemic, but also to withstand any longer term reductions in customer demand, economic shocks or other events that could affect us," he added.

The collapse in air traffic puts about 6.7 million jobs at risk in Europe, according to IATA, which has called for urgent government action to "preserve air services."

In a similar circumstance, Air France-KLM (AFLYY) further announced on Friday that following "several weeks of discussions" with the French government and banks, it had secured EUR7 billion ($7.6 billion) in loans backed by the French state "to help overcome the crisis and prepare for the future."

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Many Americans in India who had signed up for airlifts back to the US are now deciding to stay back and "ride it out" during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the State Department's top consular official. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ian Brownlee said on Tuesday that many who had enlisted for repatriation from India were not responding to offers of seats on the planes arranged by the department to take them home.

The number of recorded COVID-19 cases in the US reached 1 million on Tuesday, with 58,348 deaths, while India had only 31,368 officially recorded cases with 1,008 fatalities, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Brownlee said: "Two weeks ago, we had a list of folks and we were pretty sure if we called (the) folks they'd show up at the airport and say, 'Yes, please.' We're now getting to the point on that list, we're having to make multiple calls for individual seats because people are deciding 'No,' they'd just as soon ride it out where they are."

Last week he said that 4,000 Americans had been brought back to the US and 6,000 were waiting for airlifts. India has cancelled passenger flights and rail transportation during the strict lockdown imposed on March 25.

Brownlee had spoken earlier of the massive logistics effort required to bring Americans from around the vast country to Mumbai and New Delhi, the departure points for the chartered flights.

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The US became the first country in the world to have more than one million cases of the novel Coronavirus. It accounts for nearly one-third of the 3.1 million cases globally on Tuesday, while the fatalities spiked to over 58,300, exceeding the number of American soldiers who lost their lives in the two-decade-long Vietnam War.

'We're coming back strong'
According to the US National Archives, 58,220 American soldiers died in the Vietnam conflict, which began in 1955 and ended in 1975. With 58,355 deaths so far, the US also accounts for one-fourth of the over 2,13,000 global fatalities.

"We continue to pray for the victims as well as for those Americans who are grieving their lost ones and their loved ones. There's never been anything like this. We suffer with one heart but we will prevail. We are coming back, and we're coming back strong," US President Donald Trump said at the White House during his remarks on the Paycheck Protection Programme.

"Now that our experts believe the worst days of the pandemic are behind us, Americans are looking forward to the safe and rapid reopening of our country," he said. "Throughout this ordeal, millions of hard-working Americans have been asked to really make tremendous, tremendous sacrifices. It is sacrifices like nobody thought would even be possible; nobody thought we would ever be talking about something like this," Trump said. Meanwhile, several states have initiated the process to reopen their economies.

Some states reopen
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom outlined the phased reopening of his state.
"We are not going back to the way things were until we get to immunity or a vaccine. We will base reopening plans on facts and data, not on ideology. Not what we want. Not what we hope," he told reporters. More than 1,800 people have died due to the coronavirus in California so far. Schools and colleges, he said, could start in July-August.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has also announced first phase reopening of the state. Tennessee on Monday allowed reopening of restaurants and later this week retail outlets could resume their businesses. Pennsylvania has announced three-phase reopening of the state beginning May 3. The US, Trump said, is opening up again.

58,355
No. of deaths due to COVID-19 in America

58,220
No. of US soldiers killed in two-decade-long war

People visit Yellow Crane Tower after it reopened to the public in China's Wuhan, the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak, on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

China's parliament to meet on May 22

China on Wednesday said it will hold from May 22 its annual parliament session, signalling that the pandemic that paralysed the country for over three months is finally under control. The third session of the 13th National People's Congress, which was to be held from March 5, was postponed for the first time ever due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

After rolling out exit plan, Spain sees spike

With 325 new deaths, Spain on Wednesday witnessed a slight rebound in fatalities, a day after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced his plan to ease the COVID-19 lockdown. Individual exercise, haircuts and other personalised services with an appointment will be allowed from Saturday. COVID-19 has killed 24,275 Spaniards and infected over 2,12,000.

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The US Government, through its aid agency USAID, has announced a grant of an additional USD 3 million to India to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. In coordination with the Indian government, the USAID is providing these funds to the Partnerships for Affordable Healthcare Access and Longevity (PAHAL) project, an innovative financing platform of IPE Global, USAID said in a statement on Wednesday. US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster, stated: "This additional funding to support India in its continuing efforts to combat COVID-19 is yet another example of the strong and enduring partnership between the United States and India."

To date, the USAID has provided USD 5.9 million to assist India in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. This assistance will help India slow the spread of COVID-19, provide care for the affected, disseminate essential public health messages to communities, and strengthen case finding and surveillance. Through the PAHAL project, the USAID will support the National Health Authority to establish a financing facility that can mobilize resources from the private sector to assist over 20,000 health facilities enrolled under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), India's health insurance scheme for 500 million poor and vulnerable people.

During the talks on April 04, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump had agreed to deploy the full strength of the India-US partnership to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Early this month, India, at the request of President Donald Trump, had exported 35.82 lakh tablets of hydroxychloroquine to the US along with active pharmaceutical ingredient or API required in the manufacturing of the drug.

Trump had thanked India for its decision to export hydroxychloroquine to fight coronavirus and lauded Prime Minister Modi for his "strong leadership" in helping "not just India, but humanity" in this fight.

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A six-year-old boy has been cheering up his neighbours with one joke at a time amid the distressful Coronavirus pandemic and the agonizing lockdown that followed, by putting up a joke stand outside his home in Saanich, a town in Canada's British Colombia.

A picture of Callaghan McLaughlin, sitting at his 'Drive-by, walk-by joke stand' with a wide smile was shared by his mother Kelsea on Instagram, where he has earned praises for his adorable efforts to make people smile. His mother requests in the caption to listen to a joke from him.

According to the CBC, Callaghan only knows 16-17 jokes which he learned from a joke book his mother gave him, and with these jokes, he does the best he can to make people have a hearty laugh.  The mother-son duo missed interacting with their neighbours due to the lockdown and came up with this idea that helps people cheer up.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Please drive by and hear a joke from this kid 🥰 . . . #driveby #walkby #kidhumour #togetheryetapart #cadborobay

A post shared by Kelsea Murray-Roxburgh (@kelseamclaughlin) onApr 14, 2020 at 9:00am PDT

The post shared on Instagram received 188 likes with many users lauding him for his adorable effort to bring a smile on the faces of people. One user said, "What a sweet thing to do. You are a blessing." Another user said, "This is actually amazing! Well done Callaghan." A user commented, "This is so precious."

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Almost 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy, nearly half of the global workforce, face an immediate danger of losing their livelihoods due to the continued sharp decline in working hours because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said. Over 430 million enterprises in hard-hit sectors such as retail and manufacturing risk "serious disruption", the UN agency added. The findings appear in the ILO Monitor third edition released on Wednesday.

Globally, there are some 3.3 billion workers. Two billion have jobs in the informal economy, the most vulnerable workers in the labour market. ILO said 1.6 billion in the informal economy "have suffered massive damage to their capacity to earn a living" as a result of the economic meltdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to lockdowns or because they work in hard-hit sectors, these workers globally have seen a 60 per cent drop in income during the first month of the crisis. This translates into a over 80 per cent decline in Africa and the Americas, 70 per cent in Europe and Central Asia, and 21.6 per cent in Asia and the Pacific, the ILO said.

The ILO called for "urgent, targeted and flexible measures" to support both workers and business, particularly smaller enterprises and those in the informal economy.

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In an incident that show motherly love is the same for every species on Earth, viral pictures of a worried cat in Turkey bringing her sick kitten to hospital for treatment shared on Twitter has made netizens emotional.

A Twitter user shared the pictures of the cat carrying the kitten with her mouth and walking into a hospital in Turkey. Another set of pictures shared by the user shows a team of doctors attending the cat and treating the kitten. The translation of the tweet originally in Turkish, reads, “Today in the hospital, a cat brought her baby in her mouth to the emergency room.” The post garnered more than 83,600 likes and was retweeted over 4,800 times.

Yavrusu biraz haylaz biri, annesi bulduÄŸu yerde kapıp götürüyor pic.twitter.com/GYvBXt3UQz

— Merve Özcan (@ozcanmerveee) April 27, 2020

The pictures were also tweeted by a official in the Indian Revenue Service, Naaved Trumboo, who tweeted, “As strange as it may seem, a cat walked into a hospital in Turkey seeking help for its sick kitten.” He also said in the tweet that mother’s love works in mysterious ways.

As strange as it may seem, a cat walked into a hospital in Turkey seeking help for its sick kitten. Mother's love works in mysterious ways. pic.twitter.com/kD54sONpgL

— Naveed Trumboo IRS (@NaveedIRS) April 30, 2020

Here’s how the twitterati reacted:

Respected Sir,
awesome post.
U r absolutely right
That is called mother's love nobody can denies it.

— Kaleem-uddin Khaza (@Kaleem4u) April 30, 2020

Very intelligent mother

— Anamika Baruah (@AnamikaBaruah8) April 30, 2020

She wanted a scan done- a Cat Scan !!

— Manoj Sharma (@Sharma_Manoj) April 30, 2020

What do you think about the post?

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In what appears to be an adorable working from home blunder, a video of a weatherman’s pet dog adorably interrupting his weather report has been making rounds of social media.

Meteorologist Paul Dellegatto was presenting the weather report from his home in Florida when his dog Brody entered the room, knocking into his computer and sat on his lap for a brief moment after which he went to find the cameraman, the New York Post reported.

Dellegatto can be heard playfully scolding Brody in the video saying, "This is not very smart," while the pooch begs him for some snacks and pets. Then after letting out a yawn, Brody runs off to look for the cameraman, who was filming the section from Dellegatto’s porch while maintaining social distance. He is heard saying, "Now he can't see Craig, so he's gone crazy trying to find Craig..."

The viral video posted by Andrew Fienberg on Twitter on Thursday managed to garner more than 3.4 million views with over 162,200 likes and was retweeted more than 35,700 times. The caption reads, "This is the best weather forecast in the history of television news."

This is the best weather forecast in the history of television news pic.twitter.com/LhmoJDCkbZ

— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) April 30, 2020

Users commenting on the video resonated that this is the best content on Twitter right now, with some pointing out a cute-little detail in the video –a framed picture of Brody on Dellegatto’s desk.

This is the best weather forecast in the history of television news pic.twitter.com/LhmoJDCkbZ

— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) April 30, 2020

"Sorry to keep you up" lmao 🤣

— jenjavitis (@jenjavitis) May 1, 2020

Things that are awesome about this: 1. He clearly loves Brody even when the dog is disruptive. 2. Physical distancing with Craig via the window. 3. Craig knows what content we want and focuses on the dog.

— Sara Leiste (@SaraFeistiness) April 30, 2020

So many reasons to love this including the framed photo of the pup placed prominently on his desk.

— Jasmin Ramsey (@JasminRamsey) April 30, 2020

This is weirdly my favorite part of the video.

You don't truly love your pets if you don't have prominently displayed, framed pictures of them in your house pic.twitter.com/WptDYfPRIQ

— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) April 30, 2020

What do you think about this video?

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With the Coronavirus outbreak wreaking havoc across the globe with millions of people being infected and scores of lives claimed, government have made wearing face masks mandatory for people. The decision has made face masks a prized commodity for people.

Traffic in California came to brief halt after drivers had stopped to pick up face masks that were littered on the road. Although it is not clear how the masks ended up spilled on the highway, CBS reported that a man was spotted throwing boxes of masks on the road from a white truck.

The California Highway Patrol-Hayward posted pictures of the incident on their Facebook page where scores of masks were found lying on the southbound lanes of Interstate 880. “Multiple individuals stopped in lanes and stepped out of their vehicles to pick up masks,” read the post, adding that debris has been cleared and the lanes were opened.

The post also appealed drivers not to step out of their vehicle on an active freeway. Many users commenting on the post criticized the driver who reportedly threw the mask on the road, instead of donating it. One user said, “Just terrible! That person has no respect.” Another user said, “The highway does not have a need for medical masks. Therefore, I would have donated to an entity that did! A user said, “What a waste of something necessary now.”

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US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened new tariffs against Beijing as he claimed to have seen evidence linking the novel Coronavirus to a lab in China's ground-zero city of Wuhan. Trump's comments undercut a rare public statement from his own intelligence community on Thursday which stated no such assessment has been made by them whether the COVID-19 outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.

'I have evidence'

At his daily White House briefing on COVID-19 on Thursday, Trump was asked by a reporter: "Have you seen anything at this point that gives you a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of this virus?" "Yes, I have. Yes, I have," Trump said. He, however, refused to provide any details, except for saying that investigations are on and it would be out soon.

Asked what gave him a high degree of confidence that the virus originated from the WIV, he said, "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that."

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said on Thursday it concurs with the "wide scientific consensus" regarding COVID-19's natural origins. The US has 1,069,400 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

WHO blamed for pandemic

Trump also blamed the World Health Organisation for the pandemic. "I think the WHO should be ashamed of themselves because they're like the public relations agency for China," he said. Trump, however, did not hold his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping responsible for the global outbreak.

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China's warning of trade repercussions from Australia's campaign for an independent inquiry into COVID-19 has rattled Australian business leaders as President Donald Trump's administration urges other governments to back such a probe. China has accused Australia of parroting the US in its call for an inquiry independent of the World Health Organisation to determine the origins of COVID-19 and how the world responded to the emerging pandemic.

Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye used an Australian newspaper interview this week to warn that pursuing an inquiry could spark a Chinese consumer boycott of students and tourists visiting Australia as well as of sales of major exports including beef and wine. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday stood firm on his call for an inquiry and denied any motivation other than to prevent such a pandemic from happening again.

"I don't think anybody's in any fantasy land about where it started. It started in China. What the world over needs to know is how did it start and what are the lessons that can be learnt," Morrison said. "That needs to be done independently and why do we want to know that? Because it could happen again."

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China, where the deadly coronavirus first emerged in December last, reported just one COVID-19 case, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Saturday. The death toll remained at 4,633 with no new fatality. As of Friday, the total confirmed cases on the mainland were 82,875. As many as 77,685 patients have been recovered, the NHC said.

One new imported coronavirus case was reported on Friday with no new local infection, it said. China has reported a total of 1,671 imported COVID-19 cases, including seven in critical condition. The Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, have not reported any coronavirus case for 28 consecutive days since April 4, local health commission said on Saturday. Hubei also lowered its COVID-19 emergency response from the highest level to the second-highest on Saturday.

The lowering of the emergency level shows a major breakthrough in Hubei's prevention and control against the coronavirus, Hubei Vice-Governor Yang Yunyan told media. Meanwhile, 20 new asymptomatic cases were reported on Friday, taking the total number of such patients to 989. Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others.

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The US food and drug regulatory body has allowed the emergency use of an investigational anti-viral vaccine to treat COVID-19 patients after some researches, including one led by an Indian-American physician, found that the drug helped recover some of the infected cases faster.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the use of investigational anti-viral Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. "I'm pleased to announce that Gilead now has an EUA from the FDA for Remdesivir," US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.

Remdesivir is given to patients through a vein one time each day for up to 10 days depending on recommendations of healthcare providers. The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced the results of a trial involving more than 1,000 people on Wednesday.

It found that hospitalised COVID-19 patients with respiratory distress got better quicker than those on a placebo. Specifically, patients on the drug had a 31 percent faster time to recovery. "Although the results were clearly positive from a statistically significant standpoint, they were modest," Anthony Fauci, the scientist who leads the NIAID, said. While not considered a miracle cure, Remdesivir's trial achieved a "proof of concept," according to Fauci that could pave the way for better treatments.

Possible side effects of Remdesivir include infusion-related reactions and increases in levels of liver enzymes. "These are not all the possible side effects of Remdesivir. It is still being studied so it is possible that all of the risks are not known at this time," said the FDA.

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In a touching gesture, a bride ensured her grandmother staying in an assisted home gets to be a part of her wedding by visiting her on her big day amid the Coronavirus scare. Shauna Varner from Minnesota stopped at nothing to involve her grandmother Janis Krueger in her wedding, even if it was from behind the glass door.

Varner and her fiancé Travis Scepaniak had planned a big wedding but had to call it off and smaller ceremony with a small number of guests due to the Coronavirus pandemic. As it was impossible to get Krueger out of the assisted home, Varner came up with an idea to get the administration there involved to help her.

The assisted home shared the heartfelt moment of  Varner making her bridal debut in front of Janice on their Facebook page, with the caption that read, “COVID-19 cannot stop true love.” The post, which concluded with the home conveying their wishes to the couple, also read that love radiated between the grandmother-granddaughter duo as soon as the bride got out of her car.

The post shared last week garnered more than 105680 views on Facebook with over 2,600 likes and was shared 531 times. Users commenting the video praised the bride’s gesture and conveyed their best wishes to the couple.

A user said, “This is so sweet that they would come to visit Grama and make her part of their special day! Congratulations to the happy couple and your families! Your dress is beautiful and the groom looks pretty good too!” Another user said, “How beautiful grandma could still participate ! Love has no boundaries ! Wonderful that the facility help make a dream come true!” One user said, “Wow!!! Goosebumps and tears! How very special!”

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The race by governments to develop mobile tracing apps to help contain infections after coronavirus lockdowns ease is focusing attention on privacy. The debate is especially urgent in Europe, which has been one of the hardest-hit regions in the world, with nearly 140,000 people killed by COVID-19. The use monitoring technology, however, may evoke bitter memories of massive surveillance by totalitarian authorities in much of the continent. The European Union has in recent years led the way globally to protect people's digital privacy, introducing strict laws for tech companies and web sites that collect personal information. Academics and civil liberties activists are now pushing for greater personal data protection in the new apps as well.

European authorities, under pressure to ease lockdown restrictions in place for months in some countries, want to make sure infections don't rise once confinements end. One method is to trace who infected people come into contact with and inform them of potential exposure so they can self-isolate. Traditional methods involving in-person interviews of patients are time consuming and labor intensive, so countries want an automated solution in the form of smartphone contact tracing apps. But there are fears that new tech tracking tools are a gateway to expanded surveillance. Intrusive digital tools employed by Asian governments that successfully contained their virus outbreaks won't withstand scrutiny in Europe.

Residents of the EU cherish their privacy rights so compulsory apps, like South Korea's, which alerts authorities if users leave their home, or location tracking wristbands, like those used by Hong Kong, just won't fly. The contact-tracing solution gaining the most attention involves using low energy Bluetooth signals on mobile phones to anonymously track users who come into extended contact with each other. Officials in western democracies say the apps must be voluntary. The battle in Europe has centered on competing systems for Bluetooth apps. One German-led project, Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing, or PEPP-PT, which received early backing from 130 researchers, involves data uploaded to a central server.

However, some academics grew concerned about the project's risks and threw their support behind a competing Swiss-led project, Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing, or DP3T. Privacy advocates support a decentralised system because anonymous data is kept only on devices. Some governments are backing the centralized model because it could provide more data to aid decisionmaking, but nearly 600 scientists from more than two dozen countries have signed an open letter warning this could, 'via mission creep, result in systems which would allow unprecedented surveillance of society at large.'

Apple and Google waded into the fray by backing the decentralized approach as they unveiled a joint effort to develop virus-fighting digital tools. The tech giants are releasing a software interface so public health agencies can integrate their apps with iPhone and Android operating systems, and plan to release their own apps later. The EU's executive Commission warned that a fragmented approach to tracing apps hurt the fight against the virus and called for coordination as it unveiled a digital 'toolbox' for member countries to build their apps with.

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US officials believe China covered up the extent of the COVID-19 outbreak — and how contagious the disease is — to stock up on medical supplies needed to respond to it, intelligence documents show. Chinese leaders "intentionally concealed the severity" of the pandemic from the world in early January, according to a four-page Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intelligence report dated May 1 and obtained by the AP.

Marked "for official use only," the DHS analysis states that, while downplaying the severity of the virus, China increased imports and decreased exports of medical supplies. It attempted to cover up doing so by "denying there were export restrictions and obfuscating and delaying provision of its trade data," the analysis states.

Hid details from WHO
The report also says China held off informing the World Health Organisation that the COVID-19 "was a contagion" for much of January so it could order medical supplies from abroad " and that its imports of face masks and surgical gowns and gloves increased sharply.

Those conclusions are based on the 95 per cent probability that China's changes in imports and export behaviour were not within normal range, according to the report. China publicly identified the pathogen as a novel Coronavirus on January 8.

Trump 'thinks' we'll have vaccine by year end

President Donald Trump says he believes a vaccine for COVID-19 will be available by the end of the year. Trump commented Sunday night during a televised town hall. "I think we'll have a vaccine by the end of the year. We'll have a vaccine much sooner rather than later," he said. Trump also increased his projection for the total US death toll to 1,00,000 — up by as much as 40,000 from what he had suggested just a few weeks ago. So far, over 67,000 have died in US.

'Remdesivir to be out by next week'

Antiviral drug Remdesivir, approved by the USFDA for emergency use to treat COVID-19 patients, is expected to be available by early next week, the CEO of Gilead Sciences, the pharmaceutical firm manufacturing the medicine has said.

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Australian flag carrier, Qantas on Tuesday extended international flight cancellations till the end of July, but said that it was in a strong position to endure disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said that domestic flights would be cancelled till the end of June and international services until the end of July, adding that domestic and trans-Tasman services could be quickly reinstated should restrictions ease in coming weeks, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Australia has done an amazing job of flattening the curve and we're optimistic that domestic travel will start returning earlier than first thought, but we clearly won't be back to pre-coronavirus levels anytime soon," Group CEO Alan Joyce said.

"With the possible exception of New Zealand, international travel demand could take years to return to what it was."

The company, which includes budget branch Jetstar, also revealed it had secured a further A$550 million ($354 million) in debt funding, placing it in a stronger position to endure the COVID-19 crisis.

According to Qantas, by reducing expenditure and borrowing against its fleet of aircraft, the company could survive several recovery scenarios, including one where current travel restrictions persisted until December 2021.

The reduction in expenditure is largely due to the standing down of more than 25,000 staff who were forced to use leave entitlements before receiving delayed financial assistance from the government.

"The impact of this stand down is deeply regrettable but has been greatly softened by the Australian Government's JobKeeper program, which the Group commenced paying several weeks ahead of the official payment start date," the airline said in a statement.

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As a last ditch effort to prevent his extradition to India, embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Monday filed an application in UK Supreme Court to prevent implementation of an earlier order that made his return to India imminent.

The application came after a gap of almost two weeks after the London High Court on April 20 rejected a similar application and ordered his extradition to India to face enforcement authorities there in connection with a Rs 9,000 crore bank fraud and money laundering case involving his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The UK Supreme Court is expected to hear the matter later this week. Legal experts said that if the application is rejected by Supreme Court as well, then UK Home Secretary would have to sign on Mallya's extradition papers within 28 days.

Mallya's application in Supreme Court came on the last day when such an appeal could be made in the top court. The 64-year-old businessman was given 14 days to file such an application against the order of High Court. The high court dismissed his appeal against a Westminster Magistrates' Court extradition order certified by the UK Home Secretary.

Legal experts quoted above said it is unlikely for Mallya to get a reprieve from Supreme Court as it would only look as constitutional issues and may not tamper with high court's order if other aspects are in order.

This should be music to the ears of enforcement agencies in India who have been waiting for a long time get hold of the fugitive businessman. The ED has attached several properties of Mallya in the last few years under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Mallya is being investigated by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the loan fraud case.

He was arrested by the UK authorities on April 20, 2017 on the request of the Indian investigative agencies.

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Several drugs approved for the treatment of hepatitis C viral infection have been identified as potential candidates against COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, according to a study based on extensive calculations using supercomputer simulations.

Researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany simulated the way that about 42,000 different substances listed in open databases bind to certain proteins of SARS-CoV-2, and thereby inhibit the penetration of the virus into the human body or its multiplication. Using the powerful MOGON II supercomputer operated by JGU and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz, the researchers made more than 30 billion single calculations within two months.

They found that compounds from the four hepatitis C drugs simeprevir, paritaprevir, grazoprevir, and velpatasvir have a high affinity to bind SARS-CoV-2 very strongly and may therefore be able to prevent infection. "This computer simulation method is known as molecular docking and it has been recognised and used for years. It is much faster and less expensive than lab experiments," said Professor Thomas Efferth from JGU, lead author of the study published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. "As far as we know, we were the first to have used molecular docking with SARS-CoV-2. And it is fantastic news that we have found a number of approved hepatitis C drugs as promising candidates for treatment," Efferth said.

The results are also supported by the fact that both SARS-CoV-2 and the hepatitis C virus are a virus of the same type, a so-called single-stranded RNA virus, explained Efferth. According to the researchers, a natural substance from the Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), which has been used in Asia against various other diseases for some time now, might be another strong candidate against SARS-CoV-2. "Our research results now need to be checked in laboratory experiments and clinical studies," said Efferth. Molecular docking had already been used successfully in the search for active substances against the coronaviruses MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, he added.

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Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday said he witnessed a "significant breakthrough" by the country's biological research institute in developing an antibody to COVID-19 infection. Bennett visited the labs of the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), a secretive unit that works under the Prime Minister's Office, in Ness Ziona and was briefed by the research team, who revealed that the development phase of COVID-19 antibody or passive vaccine that attacks the virus and neutralizes it in the body has been complete, his office said in a statement cited by The Jerusalem Post.

IIBR is now working to patent its antibody and secure a contract for its commercial development. All legal procedures will be coordinated with the Defence Ministry. "I am proud of the Biological Institute staff, who have made a major breakthrough," Bennett was quoted as saying. "The Jewish creativity and ingenuity brought about this amazing achievement," he added.

Last month, IIBR announced that it had begun testing its antibody-based vaccine prototype on rodents. IIBR is also involved in plasma collection from people who have recovered from infection with the new coronavirus, in the hope that this might help research, the Post reported further.

A second Israeli research team, MigVax, has also reported that it is close to completing the first phase of development of a coronavirus vaccine. Last week, it secured a USD 12 million investment from OurCrowd to accelerate the path to clinical trials.

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A top UK government scientist, who was behind the country's strategy to impose strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, has resigned after a media report revealed that he broke the rules and allowed a woman he was said to be in a relationship with to visit his home during the lockdown. Professor Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist whose modelling convinced Prime Minister Boris Johnson to press ahead with a UK-wide lockdown, quit the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) after allegations emerged in The Daily Telegraph. He admitted that he had allowed a woman Antonia Staats to visit him at his London home after travelling across the UK capital from her home, which she shares with her husband and children, on at least two occasions.

The movement goes against the very strict stay at home and save lives advice of the government, put in place by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson prompted by the scientific team led by Ferguson. The incidents took place soon after the 51-year-old leading epidemiologist from Imperial College London had completed a two-week spell self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus. "I accept I made an error of judgement and took the wrong course of action. I have therefore stepped back from my involvement in SAGE, said Ferguson after the report.

"I acted in the belief that I was immune, having tested positive for coronavirus and completely isolated myself for almost two weeks after developing symptoms. I deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing," he said. The scientist, however, stressed that the government's advice on social distancing remains "unequivocal", adding that it was there "to protect all of us". UK Security Minister James Brokenshire said the senior scientist "made the right decision" and that the government will "continue to be informed" by SAGE.

"We have a range of experts that will continue to support ministers," he said. The first of the visits by Staats, 38, was on March 30, which coincided with a public warning by Prof Ferguson that the UK's one-week-old lockdown measures would have to remain until June. Staats, a left-wing campaigner, made a second visit on April 8 despite telling friends she suspected that her husband, an academic in his 30s, had symptoms of coronavirus, the newspaper report claims. He has peculiarly breached his own guidelines, and for an intelligent man I find that very hard to believe. It risks undermining the government's lockdown message," said Conservative Party MP and former minister Ian Duncan Smith.

Ferguson's resignation comes a month after Scotland's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, had to resign when it was revealed she had broken lockdown rules by making two trips back and forth to a second home. Under the government's guidelines in the UK, people are expected to stay at home and allowed to move out only for one form of daily exercise and essential shopping.

The measures have been in place since March 23 to try and flatten the curve of the rising number of cases of COVID-19, the UK death toll from which reached 29,427 on Tuesday the highest number of virus deaths in Europe. However, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which includes deaths where the virus is suspected and not just where tests have been carried out, brings the total number even higher to 32,375.

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The Trump administration has initiated talks on winding down the White House Task Force on COVID-19 and gradually delegating its responsibilities to the relevant federal agencies, US Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday. Pence leads the task force.

"As I have said before, as we continue to practise social distancing and states engage in safe and responsible reopening plans, I truly believe — and the trend lines support it — that we could be in a very different place. And by late May and early June — and that probably represents the timetable for our agencies."

President Donald Trump also confirmed the news. Asked why is now the time to wind down the task force if there could be a recurrence, he said, "Because we cannot close our country down for the next five years. The administration has learned a lot." The president noted that health experts believe there could be a recurrence but they would need to "put it out". Over 71,000 Americans have died more than 12 lakh have been infected from COVID-19 so far.

Infection rate rising
Meanwhile, the infection rate outside of New York is rising even as states move to lift their lockdowns, an Associated Press analysis found Tuesday.

New confirmed infections per day in the US exceed 20,000, and deaths per day are well over 1,000, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

And public health officials warn that the failure to flatten the curve and drive down the infection rate in places could lead to perhaps tens of thousands of deaths as people are allowed to venture out and businesses reopen. "Make no mistakes: This virus is still circulating in our community, perhaps even more now than in previous weeks" said Linda Ochs, director of the Health Department in Shawnee County, Kansas.

HCQ warnings ignored
Fired vaccine expert Dr Rick Bright has alleged that the US ignored the concerns of doctors over the import of hydroxychloroquine from "uninspected" factories in India and Pakistan and flooded the US with the unproven and potentially dangerous drug to treat COVID-19 patients.

Italy claims to have made vaccine that neutralises COVID-19

Italian biotech firm Takis has claimed that they have developed a vaccine that neutralises COVID-19 in human cells. According to reports, the tests conducted on mice at Rome's Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases showed that the vaccine generated antibodies in mice that could work on human cells too. "This is the most advanced stage of testing of a candidate vaccine created in Italy. We believe this will also happen in humans," Takis CEO Luigi Aurisicchio said.

Pak becomes 29th country with over 500 COVID-19 deaths

With a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the past week, Pakistan has now become the 29th country in the world where over 500 deaths have been reported. The Executive Director of National Institute of Health (NIH), Maj Gen Prof Dr Aamer Ikram said things would start improving for Pakistan in June, Dawn reported. But as things stand, he said the total number of cases in Pakistan could go up to 1,50,000. Pakistan's cabinet has given a nod to relax the lockdown restrictions after May 9.

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India is projected to record the highest number of births in the 9 months since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March, with more than 20 million babies expected to be born in the country between March and December, according to top UN body. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that pregnant mothers and babies born during the pandemic across the world were threatened by strained health systems and disruptions in services. An estimated 116 million babies will be born under the shadow of COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF said on Wednesday, ahead of Mother's Day, observed on May 10.

These babies are projected to be born up to 40 weeks after COVID-19 was recognised as a pandemic on March 11. The highest numbers of births in the 9 months since the pandemic was declared are expected to occur in India, where 20.1 million babies are projected to be born between March 11 and December 16. Other countries with the expected highest numbers of births during this period are China (13.5 million), Nigeria (6.4 million), Pakistan (5 million) and Indonesia (4 million), it said. "Most of these countries had high neonatal mortality rates even before the pandemic and may see these levels increase with COVID-19 conditions," UNICEF said.

It is estimated that there will be 24.1 million births in India for the January-December 2020 period. UNICEF warned that COVID-19 containment measures can disrupt life-saving health services such as childbirth care, putting millions of pregnant mothers and their babies at great risk. Even wealthier countries are affected by this crisis. In the US, the sixth highest country in terms of expected number of births, over 3.3 million babies are projected to be born between March 11 and December 16.
"New mothers and newborns will be greeted by harsh realities," UNICEF said, adding they include global containment measures such as lockdowns and curfews; health centres overwhelmed with response efforts; supply and equipment shortages; and a lack of sufficient skilled birth attendants as health workers, including midwives, are redeployed to treat COVID-19 patients.

"Millions of mothers all over the world embarked on a journey of parenthood in the world as it was. They now must prepare to bring a life into the world as it has become ¿ a world where expecting mothers are afraid to go to health centres for fear of getting infected, or missing out on emergency care due to strained health services and lockdowns," UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said. "It is hard to imagine how much the coronavirus pandemic has recast motherhood" Fore said.
UNICEF said its analysis was based on data from World Population Prospects 2019 of the UN Population Division.

An average full-term pregnancy typically lasts a complete 9 months, or 39 to 40 weeks. For the purposes of this estimate, the number of births for a 40-week period in 2020 was calculated. The 40-week period of March 11 to December 16 is used in this estimate based upon the WHO's March 11 assessment that COVID-19 can be characterised as a pandemic. UNICEF warned that although evidence suggests that pregnant mothers are not more affected by COVID-19 than others, countries need to ensure they still have access to antenatal, delivery and postnatal services.

Similarly, sick newborns need emergency services as they are at high risk of death. New families require support to start breastfeeding, and to get medicines, vaccines and nutrition to keep their babies healthy, it said. "This is a particularly poignant Mother's Day, as many families have been forced apart during the coronavirus pandemic, but it is also a time for unity, a time to bring everyone together in solidarity. We can help save lives by making sure that every pregnant mother receives the support she needs to give birth safely in the months to come," Fore said.

Issuing an urgent appeal to governments and health care providers to save lives in the coming months, UNICEF said efforts must be made to help pregnant women receive antenatal checkups, skilled delivery care, postnatal care services, and care related to COVID-19 as needed. Ensure health workers are provided with the necessary personal protective equipment and get priority testing and vaccination once a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available so that can deliver high quality care to all pregnant women and newborn babies during the pandemic, it said.

While it is not yet known whether the virus is transmitted from a mother to her baby during pregnancy and delivery, UNICEF advised all pregnant women to follow precautions to protect themselves from exposure to the virus. Closely monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 and seek advice from the nearest designated facility if they have concerns or experience symptoms. Pregnant women should also take the same precautions to avoid COVID -19 infection as other people: practice physical distancing, avoid physical gatherings and use online health services, it said.

UNICEF said even before COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 2.8 million pregnant women and newborns died every year, or 1 every 11 seconds, mostly of preventable causes.
The agency called for immediate investment in health workers with the right training, who are equipped with the right medicines to ensure every mother and newborn is cared for by a safe pair of hands to prevent and treat complications during pregnancy, delivery and birth.

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As Europe and the US loosen their lockdowns against the Coronavirus, health experts are expressing growing dread over what they say is an all-but-certain second wave of deaths and infections that could force governments to clamp back down.

'Risking a backslide'

"We are risking a backslide that will be intolerable," said Dr Ian Lipkin of Columbia University's Centre for Infection and Immunity. Around the world, German authorities began drawing up plans in case of a resurgence of the virus. Experts in Italy urged intensified efforts to identify new victims and trace their contacts. And France, which has not yet eased its lockdown, has already worked up a "re-confinement plan" in the event of a new wave.

"Typically pandemics occur in waves across different places, so people shouldn't think we are getting out of the woods just yet," the Guardian quoted Irwin Redlener, a physician and director of the National Centre for Disaster Preparedness, as saying.

US health officials worried

In the US, with about half of the states easing their shutdowns, public health authorities are worried. "If we relax these measures without having the proper public health safeguards in place, we can expect many more cases and, unfortunately, more deaths," said Josh Michaud, associate director of global health policy with the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington.

Trump admin shelves CDC guide to reopen

A detailed report by the top Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigators meant to give step-by-step advice to local leaders deciding when and how to reopen public places such as day care centers and restaurants during the still-raging pandemic has been shelved by the Trump administration. The report was supposed to be published last Friday, but agency scientists were told the guidance "would never see the light of day," said a CDC official.

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Four top Republican senators have urged President Donald Trump to suspend all new guest worker visas for 60 days and certain categories of new guest worker visas, including the H-1B, for at least a year or until unemployment figures return to normal levels in the US amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic, which has so far claimed 76,000 lives and infected over 1,256,000 in the US, has ravaged the labour market, and 1 in 5 American workers have filed for first-time unemployment benefits since mid-March, when the lockdown hit businesses across the country, the world's largest economy.

1/5th workforce out of work

The letter to president Trump, dated May 7, has been signed by Senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Chuck Grassley and Josh Hawley. "More than 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment coverage just since mid-March, and approximately one-fifth of the American workforce is currently out of work. "This is a stunning difference compared with the historically-low nationwide unemployment rate of just 3.5 per cent in February this year," the senators said in their letter.

"To protect unemployed Americans in the early stages of economic recovery, we urge you to suspend all non-immigrant guest worker visas for the next 60 days," the senators said.

'Suspend EB-5 visa too'

"That suspension should, at a minimum, include H-2B visas (non-agricultural seasonal workers), H-1B visas (specialty occupation workers) and the Optional Practical Training programme (extension of foreign student visas after graduation). We also urge you to suspend the EB-5 immigrant visa programme, effective immediately," the lawmakers wrote. The H-1B work visa for foreign technology professionals is highly popular among Indians and a large number of Indians also opt for the EB-5 investors visa.

Worst monthly record

The US unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression, as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record. The figures are stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus has done to a now-shattered economy.

The collapse of the job market has occurred with stunning speed. The government's report Friday noted that many people who lost jobs in April but didn't look for another one weren't even counted in the unemployment rate. The impact of those losses was reflected in the drop in the proportion of working-age Americans who have jobs: Just 51.3%, the lowest on record.

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