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Coronavirus live news: UN warns of 'biblical' famine as Trump reveals 60-day immigration halt Coronavirus live news: UN warns of 'biblical' famine; first case seen in Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
(32 minutes later)
Trump to halt immigration for 60 days initially; 256m people could starve, says UN; cases worldwide pass 2.5 millionTrump to halt immigration for 60 days initially; 256m people could starve, says UN; cases worldwide pass 2.5 million
Hello and happy Earth Day, this is Damien Gayle taking charge of the coronavirus live blog now, and taking you through the next eight hours or so of pandemic-related world news.
As usual you can contact me at damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or via Twitter direct message to @damiengayle.
Chinese doctors in Wuhan, where the coronavirus first emerged in December, say a growing number of cases in which people recover from the virus, but continue to test positive without showing symptoms, is one of their biggest challenges as the country moves into a new phase of its containment battle.
Those patients all tested negative for the virus at some point after recovering, but then tested positive again, some up to 70 days later, the doctors said.
Many have done so over 50-60 days.
The prospect of people remaining positive for the virus, and therefore potentially infectious, is of international concern, as many countries seek to end lockdowns and resume economic activity as the spread of the virus slows.
Currently, the globally recommended isolation period after exposure is 14 days.
So far, there have been no confirmations of newly positive patients infecting others, according to Chinese health officials.
China has not published precise figures for how many patients fall into this category. But disclosures by Chinese hospitals to Reuters, as well as in other media reports, indicate there are at least dozens of such cases.
In South Korea, about 1,000 people have been testing positive for four weeks or more. In Italy, the first European country ravaged by the pandemic, health officials noticed that coronavirus patients could test positive for the virus for about a month.
Reuters reported that one man in Wuhan, who appeared to be in his 50s, was still testing positive for Covid-19 more than two months after he first contracted it.
He had been treated at two hospitals before being transferred to a quarantine centre set up in a cluster of apartment blocks in an industrial part of Wuhan.
“I really can’t take it anymore,” he said
The coronavirus death toll in Europe has passed 110,000 according to figures compiled by AFP news agency.
More than 10 million French employees are now “partially unemployed” and having most of their salaries paid for by the state, the French employment minister, Muriel Pénicaud, said on Wednesday.
The government scheme, described as the most generous in Europe, is being used by 820,000 French companies - 60% of those in the country - most of which have been forced to stop business because of the strict lockdown since 17 March.
In the building and construction sector, 93% of the 1.2 million workers are currently on the scheme as well as 90% of those in the hotel and restaurant sector.
Staff at companies deemed temporarily unemployed are receiving 84% of their salaries from the state as a measure to avoid mass lay-offs. The scheme includes those on permanent and short-term contracts of 12-months or more, but not freelancers.
Pénicaud told BFMTV that 10.2 million workers were now on the scheme and that 98% of demands for “partial unemployment” payments were being settled with companies within 7-10 days.
The first case of Covid-19 among Palestinian refugees has been registered in Lebanon - a milestone moment that had been feared throughout the global pandemic.
The patient, an adult woman, was taken from the al-Jalil camp in the Bekaa Valley to a hospital in Beirut overnight.
A team from the state run Rafiq Hariri hospital is travelling to the camp to screen the woman’s relatives and anyone else she came into contact with while infected.
A total of 9,400 refugees are registered there, but the camp population is thought to be as low as 3,000.
Waves of departures to Gulf states and undocumented arrivals from Syria over the past nine years have made actual numbers difficult to discern.
An outbreak of the virus among the cramped and often unhygienic confines of refugee camps has been a nightmare scenario that the UN and NGOs have been preparing for as the virus has taken hold in much of the developed world.
Palestinians are routinely denied access to state care in Lebanon and Lebanese officials have expressed a reluctance to treat refugees afflicted by the virus.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which supports Palstinian refugees, is paying for the woman’s treatment and has said it will also do so for other infected patients.
Despite being nearly crippled by the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw funding, UNRWA has raised $14 million for it’s initial Covid response.
With much of that money now spent, and fears of infections now being realised, UNRWA leaders are about to launch a second appeal for funding.
Lebanon hosts around 475,000 Palestinian refugees living in 12 camps and 26 unofficial sites.
They are among the most impoverished people in the country, which is also believed to be playing host to up to one million Syrian refugees, many living in informal settlements, which are even harder for health authorities to manage.
A clinical test of a Covid-19 vaccine has been approved in Germany, the country’s Federal Institute for Vaccines has said.A clinical test of a Covid-19 vaccine has been approved in Germany, the country’s Federal Institute for Vaccines has said.
In the first part of the trial, 200 healthy people between 18 and 55 will receive several variants of the vaccine.In the first part of the trial, 200 healthy people between 18 and 55 will receive several variants of the vaccine.
The vaccine candidate was produced by biotech firm BioNTech, and is an RNA vaccine.The vaccine candidate was produced by biotech firm BioNTech, and is an RNA vaccine.
The French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, has set up a working group to look into establishing further insurance cover for exceptional, one-off events such as pandemics, his department said on Wednesday.The French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, has set up a working group to look into establishing further insurance cover for exceptional, one-off events such as pandemics, his department said on Wednesday.
The French move echoes a similar step taken this week by Britain, whose insurance industry is also going to work with the UK government-backed terrorism reinsurance fund Pool Re to develop insurance cover for pandemics.The French move echoes a similar step taken this week by Britain, whose insurance industry is also going to work with the UK government-backed terrorism reinsurance fund Pool Re to develop insurance cover for pandemics.
Eight babies and toddlers at a Tokyo care centre have tested positive for the coronavirus after a staff member contracted the disease, its operator said on Wednesday.Eight babies and toddlers at a Tokyo care centre have tested positive for the coronavirus after a staff member contracted the disease, its operator said on Wednesday.
Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital, which operates the facility, said the affected children had been hospitalised, while another 21 tested negative and were under observation.Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital, which operates the facility, said the affected children had been hospitalised, while another 21 tested negative and were under observation.
The facility is for orphans or children separated from their parents because of possible abuse or neglect.The facility is for orphans or children separated from their parents because of possible abuse or neglect.
A staff member tested positive for the virus on 16 April, prompting tests for all the children, the hospital said in a brief statement, without disclosing further details.A staff member tested positive for the virus on 16 April, prompting tests for all the children, the hospital said in a brief statement, without disclosing further details.
Tests are being carried out on 46 staff members who are self-isolating at home.Tests are being carried out on 46 staff members who are self-isolating at home.
The children who tested positive were not experiencing high fever, local media said.The children who tested positive were not experiencing high fever, local media said.
Malaysia reported 50 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the cumulative total to 5,532.Malaysia reported 50 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the cumulative total to 5,532.
The health ministry also reported one new death, bringing the total number of fatalities up to 93.The health ministry also reported one new death, bringing the total number of fatalities up to 93.
Spain recorded 435 deaths overnight, bringing the total death toll from Covid-19 to 21,717.Spain recorded 435 deaths overnight, bringing the total death toll from Covid-19 to 21,717.
The figure was slightly up on recent days, but the number of new cases is continuing to fall.The figure was slightly up on recent days, but the number of new cases is continuing to fall.
Wednesday saw a 2.1% rise in cases over the previous day, with 4,211 new cases logged. To date, Spain has confirmed 208,389 cases of the virus.Wednesday saw a 2.1% rise in cases over the previous day, with 4,211 new cases logged. To date, Spain has confirmed 208,389 cases of the virus.
The latest figures come as Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the country was aiming to lift lockdown restrictions in the second half of May.The latest figures come as Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the country was aiming to lift lockdown restrictions in the second half of May.
His government performed a u-turn on allowing children on to the streets, after it was fiercely criticised on Tuesday for saying children would be allowed out only to accompany a parent to buy food or medicine or go to the bank.His government performed a u-turn on allowing children on to the streets, after it was fiercely criticised on Tuesday for saying children would be allowed out only to accompany a parent to buy food or medicine or go to the bank.
Following the backlash, the government changed tack, saying children under 14 would be allowed out for walks – if accompanied by a parent – from 26 April. Older teenagers will be allowed out alone to buy food or medicine.Following the backlash, the government changed tack, saying children under 14 would be allowed out for walks – if accompanied by a parent – from 26 April. Older teenagers will be allowed out alone to buy food or medicine.
The spread of the virus has led to the cancellation of Pamplona’s famous running of the bulls festival, while authorities in the small town of Buñol, near Valencia, said on Wednesday that the celebrated Tomatina tomato-throwing fiesta would not be held this August.The spread of the virus has led to the cancellation of Pamplona’s famous running of the bulls festival, while authorities in the small town of Buñol, near Valencia, said on Wednesday that the celebrated Tomatina tomato-throwing fiesta would not be held this August.
New advice on how to adapt Islamic religious practices during the coronavirus crisis have been released ahead of the holy month of Ramadan by international aid charity Islamic Relief, in a bid to stop the spread of the deadly virus in Muslim communities across the world.New advice on how to adapt Islamic religious practices during the coronavirus crisis have been released ahead of the holy month of Ramadan by international aid charity Islamic Relief, in a bid to stop the spread of the deadly virus in Muslim communities across the world.
Ramadan, expected to start on 23 April, is traditionally a time when communities and families come together, but the threat of Covid-19 means that in many places, festivities will need to be adapted or cancelled.Ramadan, expected to start on 23 April, is traditionally a time when communities and families come together, but the threat of Covid-19 means that in many places, festivities will need to be adapted or cancelled.
Atallah Fitzgibbon, faith partnership advisor at Islamic Relief Worldwide, said:Atallah Fitzgibbon, faith partnership advisor at Islamic Relief Worldwide, said:
The guidance, developed in partnership with the British Board of Scholars and Imams and in consultation with the World Health Organization and international aid agencies, will be distributed to support faith leaders, mosques, funeral workers, health professionals and chaplains as well as aid and community workers across the world.The guidance, developed in partnership with the British Board of Scholars and Imams and in consultation with the World Health Organization and international aid agencies, will be distributed to support faith leaders, mosques, funeral workers, health professionals and chaplains as well as aid and community workers across the world.
The Philippines’ health ministry on Wednesday reported nine new coronavirus deaths and 111 new confirmed infections.The Philippines’ health ministry on Wednesday reported nine new coronavirus deaths and 111 new confirmed infections.
In a bulletin, the health ministry said total deaths have increased to 446, while infections have risen to 6,710. But 39 more patients have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 693.In a bulletin, the health ministry said total deaths have increased to 446, while infections have risen to 6,710. But 39 more patients have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 693.
Meanwhile, Indonesia reported 283 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases to 7,418, a health ministry official said.Meanwhile, Indonesia reported 283 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases to 7,418, a health ministry official said.
The official, Achmad Yurianto, said there were 19 new coronavirus deaths, taking the total to 635.The official, Achmad Yurianto, said there were 19 new coronavirus deaths, taking the total to 635.
More than 47,300 people have been tested and 913 had recovered, he said.More than 47,300 people have been tested and 913 had recovered, he said.
In Beijing, officials dismissed the US state of Missouri’s move to sue the Chinese government over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak as “nothing short of absurdity” and lacking any factual or legal basis.In Beijing, officials dismissed the US state of Missouri’s move to sue the Chinese government over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak as “nothing short of absurdity” and lacking any factual or legal basis.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China’s coronavirus response was not under the jurisdiction of US courts, adding that it had provided updates on the outbreak to the United States since 3 January.Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China’s coronavirus response was not under the jurisdiction of US courts, adding that it had provided updates on the outbreak to the United States since 3 January.
“Such abuse of litigation is not conducive to the epidemic response at home in the United States and also runs counter to international cooperation,” Geng told a daily briefing on Wednesday, speaking about Missouri’s move.“Such abuse of litigation is not conducive to the epidemic response at home in the United States and also runs counter to international cooperation,” Geng told a daily briefing on Wednesday, speaking about Missouri’s move.
“What the United States should do is refute and reject such abuse of litigation.”“What the United States should do is refute and reject such abuse of litigation.”
Chimène Keitner, an international law professor at the University of California, said: “If the United States wants to bring claims against China, it will have to do so in an international forum. There is no civil jurisdiction over such claims in US courts.”Chimène Keitner, an international law professor at the University of California, said: “If the United States wants to bring claims against China, it will have to do so in an international forum. There is no civil jurisdiction over such claims in US courts.”
Dutch brewer Heineken reported on Wednesday that first-quarter net profit plunged by 68.5%, impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.Dutch brewer Heineken reported on Wednesday that first-quarter net profit plunged by 68.5%, impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The company said net profit fell to €94m ($102m) from €299m in the first quarter of 2019, as the volume of sales trickled off in March.The company said net profit fell to €94m ($102m) from €299m in the first quarter of 2019, as the volume of sales trickled off in March.
Heineken chief executive, Jean-François van Boxmeer, said measures to contain the crisis were “having a significant impact” on the company’s business.Heineken chief executive, Jean-François van Boxmeer, said measures to contain the crisis were “having a significant impact” on the company’s business.
“We have taken necessary measures to reduce our costs, secure additional financing and adapt to the fast changes,” a statement said.“We have taken necessary measures to reduce our costs, secure additional financing and adapt to the fast changes,” a statement said.
But the group pledged that “until the end of 2020, it will not carry out structural layoffs, as a consequence of Covid-19”.But the group pledged that “until the end of 2020, it will not carry out structural layoffs, as a consequence of Covid-19”.
In addition, “the Executive Board and Executive Team have also collectively agreed to reduce their base salary by 20% between May and December 2020”.In addition, “the Executive Board and Executive Team have also collectively agreed to reduce their base salary by 20% between May and December 2020”.
Deaths from Covid-19 reached 40 in Afghanistan as the number of confirmed cases continued to surge in the capital, Kabul, amid a shortage of testing kits and raging war across the country.The health ministry said there had been 51 new confirmed cases and four deaths in the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of infections to 1,143.
Most of new cases confirmed were in Kabul, which has so far recorded 413 cases and 14 deaths.Three new cases were confirmed in the western province of Herat, after a day-long pause in the testing process, taking the total number of infections to 341. Until yesterday, Herat was the worst affected area in Afghanistan.The testing process has been on hold for the fourth day straight in Kandahar and some other eastern and southern provinces, including Helmand, due to shortages.Afghanistan is struggling with a lack of diagnostic testing equipment known as RNA extraction kits, which scientists use to isolate the RNA (ribonucleic acid) in samples of the coronavirus.Wahidullah Mayar, a health ministry spokesman, said the ministry had received some kits from the World Health Organization yesterday, and would distribute these among the provinces facing shortages.Meanwhile, war continues to rage across the country and at least 19 soldiers and security force personnel were killed in separate incidents in northern Sar-e-Pul and central Logar province overnight.In Kandahar, “at least 31 Taliban” were killed in the province on Tuesday night, Kandahar police confirmed, adding that “seven Afghan forces were also wounded in the attacks”.And at least four civilians were killed on Wednesday in Ghazni province after their vehicle struck a roadside mine, the interior ministry said.Mayar said the ministry is concerned about the spread of coronavirus in war zones.
He said the country is fighting with both terror and coronavirus, adding:
The number of people infected with the coronavirus in Poland exceeded 10,000 on Wednesday, with the death toll reaching 404, the health ministry said.
The ministry said the number of people infected rose to 10,034 in the country of 38 million.
On Monday the government started to relax some of the restrictions imposed during the outbreak.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said he expects a first consensus in Thursday’s EU summit on coronavirus aid.
“I expect the European Council tomorrow will reach a first consensus because it is indispensable,” Sanchez told parliament on Wednesday.
Spain has proposed the creation of a fund of up to 1.5 trillion euros ($1.63 trillion) financed by perpetual debt.
On the eve of the summit to discuss a huge but divisive economic stimulus package, Pope Francis urged Europe to remain united in overcoming the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic has put new strains on the unity of the 27-member bloc, again exposing splits between the richer north and the poorer south.
“In these times in which we need so much unity among us, among nations, let us pray today for Europe,” Francis said at the start of his daily morning Mass, which he dedicates each day to a different theme related to the global crisis.
He asked for prayers “so that Europe manages to have this unity, this fraternal unity of which the founding fathers of the European Union dreamed”.
It was the second time in 10 days that Francis, a big supporter of the EU, had expressed concern about the bloc.
On Easter Sunday he warned that it risked collapse if it did not agree on how to recover together.
The EU’s fiscally conservative northern nations remain keen to keep a tight rein on spending and have rejected calls from the ailing southern states for a joint debt - or ‘coronabonds’ - to fund the recovery.
EU states - whose leaders are holding a video summit on Thursday - have clashed repeatedly over financial responses to the epidemic, on issues from sharing medical equipment to cushioning the immediate economic hit.
The bloc has relaxed state aid rules and limits on public spending as well as unlocking a half-a-trillion euro rescue plan.
But Rome, Madrid, Paris, Lisbon and others believe that is not enough and call for more solidarity, casting the challenge as an existential choice for the EU.
Some blood tests being marketed to tell people if they have ever had Covid-19 are a “disaster”, Roche chief executive, Severin Schwan, said on Wednesday, as he prepares to launch the Swiss drugmaker’s own antibody test in May.
In developing its test, Schwan said, Roche scrutinised some existing products now on offer but rejected them as unreliable in determining if somebody has actually ever had the disease.
“It’s a disaster. These tests are not worth anything, or have very little use,” Schwan told reporters on a conference call on the Basel-based company’s first-quarter results. “Some of these companies, I tell you, this is ethically very questionable to get out with this stuff.”
A Chinese writer is facing backlash for her ‘Wuhan Diary’, AFP reports.
After Wuhan was sealed off from the world, acclaimed writer Fang Fang started an online diary about the coronavirus tragedy unfolding in her hometown.
Her journal drew tens of millions of readers, but now that it is about to be published abroad in several languages, she is facing a nationalist backlash at home.
Critics say the 64-year-old, who was awarded China’s most prestigious literary prize in 2010, is providing fodder to countries that have slammed Beijing’s handling of the pandemic.
Fang began to document life in Wuhan, the city of 11 million where Covid-19 first emerged in December, after it was placed under an unprecedented lockdown on January 23.
In one entry she describes residents helping each other, and the simple pleasure of the sun lighting up her room.
But she also touched on politically sensitive topics such as overcrowded hospitals turning away patients, mask shortages and relatives’ deaths.
“A doctor friend said to me: in fact, we doctors have all known for a while that there is a human-to-human transmission of the disease, we reported this to our superiors, but yet nobody warned people,” she wrote in one entry.
Readers flocked to the online diary to get an unfiltered account from Wuhan in a Communist-ruled country that lacks independent media.
But some social media users have turned on the author, especially as a new diplomatic spat has erupted between China and the US, which accuses Beijing of a lack of transparency in the outbreak’s early days, costing the world valuable time.
“Bravo Fang Fang. You’re giving Western countries ammunition to target China,” said one post about her on the country’s Twitter-like Weibo platform.
“You’ve shown your treacherous nature,” it said.
Another accused Fang of making money off Wuhan’s nearly 4,000 virus victims, writing: “How much did you sell the diary for?”
Hit by a barrage of online insults, Fang wrote on Weibo that she was the victim of “cyberbullying” by fringe nationalists.
And in an interview posted on the website of Chinese weekly Caixin, the author said she had received death threats and that her home address was posted online.
The way US publisher HarperCollins introduces the book - which goes on sale in June and is succinctly titled Wuhan Diary - has added fuel to the online fury.
“The stark reality of this devastating situation drives Fang Fang to courageously speak out against social injustice, corruption, abuse, and the systemic political problems which impeded the response to the epidemic,” the publishing house says on its website.
Russia recorded 5,236 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing its nationwide total to 57,999, the Russian coronavirus crisis response centre said on Wednesday.
That’s compared to a rise of 5,642 new cases the previous day.
57 people with the virus died in the last 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 513, it said.
Poland may open hotels in May as part of the second phase of relaxing coronavirus restrictions, government spokesman Piotr Müller said on Wednesday.
“The opening of hotels should be decided in May, including hotels at the seaside,” Müller told state broadcaster TVP Info.
A team from Lebanon’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital will test for Covid-19 at a refugee camp on Wednesday, after a resident was found to be infected, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said.
A Palestinian refugee from Syria at the Wavel refugee camp in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley was transferred to hospital in Beirut for treatment that will be covered by the relief agency, a statement said.
The Lebanese government has worried about the virus hitting camps for Syrian and Palestinian refugees where high population densities are likely to accelerate its spread.
UNRWA said it was “taking all necessary steps to provide the required assistance to the patient’s family to allow them to isolate themselves inside the house”.
The UNHCR refugee agency said last month that efforts to curb the coronavirus among refugee communities had started early on with awareness campaigns, distribution of hygiene materials, and preparations for additional hospital capacity.
Lebanon’s health ministry said on Tuesday it had not recorded a new case of coronavirus in 24 hours, with total infections at 677 and 21 deaths.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said on Wednesday his government plans to begin winding down the coronavirus lockdown measures in the second half of May.
Restrictions will be eased slowly and gradually to ensure safety, Sánchez said at a parliamentary session where he asked lawmakers to extend Spain’s state of emergency until 9 May.
“We’re living through a time of extraordinary sacrifices,” the prime minister said.
“We can’t let our guard down. What I ask for today is an extension as we get a glimpse of how the exit could look.
“We can start to think about a de-escalation scenario. [But] we must be prudent.”
The lockdown was first enforced in Spain on 14 March.
Singapore’s health ministry said on Wednesday it had preliminarily confirmed another 1,016 cases of coronavirus, taking the total infections there to 10,141.
Most of the new cases were among migrant workers living in dormitories, a group that accounts for more than three-quarters of the city-state’s infections.
Singapore authorities have extended a partial lockdown until 1 June.