Hundreds of thousands of people, including children, are starving in Yemen. Without the delivery of humanitarian aid, the death toll will rise significantly. In some countries, more people will die of starvation from the pandemic than from the virus.
Melbourne, a city of five million, has been on lockdown again since midnight Wednesday. In the Italian city of Bergamo, for the first time in 137 days, there is officially not a single Covid-19 patient in intensive care. All the latest news on the global coronavirus pandemic is in our daily selection.
Oxfam, the international charity, has said that the coronavirus pandemic will kill more people in several countries by starvation than by disease. The organization estimates that 12,000 people are at risk of starvation every day in countries such as Yemen, Congo, Afghanistan and others. Armed conflicts and weak economies in these countries have already caused humanitarian crises. Now, the difficulty and sometimes impossibility of delivering humanitarian aid due to disrupted international communications has become an additional threat to the population.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of people infected with Covid-19 worldwide has exceeded 12 million, with nearly 550,000 deaths. The United States continues to lead in both categories, with more than 3 million cases and 132,300 deaths. Brazil is second in both categories. The United Kingdom is the most affected country in Europe, with 288,500 cases (7th in the world) and 44,600 deaths (3rd in the world). The World Health Organization has announced the creation of a special commission to review the organization’s activities during the pandemic and the degree of interaction with governments of different countries.
Donald Trump declared his grievances against the WHO back in April and immediately suspended the organization’s funding. This step was a response to the criticism of the World Health Organization (WHO) by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who believes that the organization covered up for China and concealed the true data on the development of the epidemic. On Tuesday, Trump announced the definitive withdrawal of his country from the organization. The special commission will be chaired by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who will select all other members. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that this was not a simple formality, but that the commission was tasked with drawing serious conclusions about the work of international experts in the field of medicine.
In Catalonia, a region in northeastern Spain, the wearing of masks on the streets has been made mandatory, even in areas where social distancing is possible. Only children under the age of 6 are allowed to go outside without a mask. This decision was made in connection with a new outbreak in the area of the city of Lleida, where authorities may impose a local lockdown.
During the epidemic, Belgium had the worst per capita incidence and mortality rates in Europe. We explain quickly, clearly and simply what happened, why it matters and what happens next. Episodes End of story. Podcast advertising. In Belgium, the wearing of masks in shops has also become mandatory as of this week. Previously, the rule only applied to public transportation and museums. France’s scientific community is warning that the country is facing a second wave of the epidemic, as people are not maintaining social distance in most public places now that the quarantine has been lifted. “The virus is still circulating, much slower and more controllable, but it is still there,” Jean-François Delfraissy, the head of the country’s scientific council, told the French newspaper Le Monde.
For the first time in 137 days since the beginning of the epidemic in Italy, there are officially no patients diagnosed with Covid-19 in the intensive care unit of one of the hardest hit cities in the country – Bergamo. Italy was the first country in Europe to bear the brunt of the infection and remained in a dire situation for a long time. The disease became a hotspot in the northern regions of the country, including Lombardy, where Bergamo is located. The first patient with coronavirus was brought to the city’s hospital on February 23. In Italy, more than 242,000 people have been infected with Covid-19 and nearly 40,000 have died.
The scientific community in France warns that the country is facing a second wave of the epidemic because people are not following the social distancing measures in most public places after the quarantine was lifted. In the United Kingdom, government spending to combat the economic impact of the epidemic has reached nearly £190 billion. Leicester, the first city in the country to be placed under local lockdown, will receive separate financial support. The UK ranks seventh in the world and first in Europe in terms of the number of people infected – 288,500 – and third in the world in terms of mortality – 44,600 deaths. In Tokyo, a record number of new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded daily since the beginning of the epidemic – 220 infected. Authorities say the statistical jump is related to more extensive testing.
The neighborhoods of entertainment venues and active nightlife have become hotbeds of a new outbreak in Tokyo. The epicenters of the new outbreak in Tokyo are the entertainment districts, where bars, restaurants and nightclubs are concentrated. The Japanese government had planned to reopen stadiums and sports arenas this weekend under the condition that the number of spectators in the stands would not exceed 5,000. However, with the new development of the Covid-19 situation and amid public dissatisfaction, these plans may be reconsidered. According to Johns Hopkins University, 20,500 people in Japan have been infected with the coronavirus and 982 have died.
Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, has been under lockdown again since midnight Wednesday. Twelve districts of the city have been under quarantine for the past week. The streets of Melbourne have emptied and people are once again queuing in front of shops, maintaining maximum social distance. Cafes and restaurants have reverted to take-out only. Australia is one of the countries that immediately implemented strict restrictive measures at the beginning of the pandemic. In addition, each state and major city had its own security measures in place, at the discretion of local authorities. It is still unclear what exactly triggered the new surge in cases. In Australia, during the entire epidemic, just over 9 thousand people were infected and 106 people died.
In India, more than a quarter of a million people are already infected. The number of people infected in India has surpassed a quarter of a million. Over the past day, doctors have registered 25,000 new cases. The worst affected areas of the country are Delhi and the states of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Authorities have greatly expanded the scope of testing in recent weeks, but experts say it is not enough for such a densely populated country. According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of infections in India is 767,200 (3rd in the world) and the number of deaths is over 21,000. However, according to local experts, the real numbers are much higher.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has threatened to reduce federal funding for schools if they do not return to full-time work in September. In his Twitter account, he noted that the return to education is extremely important for children and their families, and rejected criticism from educational institutions that claim that the government’s health guidelines in schools are practically impossible to implement because they are very strict and costly. “Nothing that Donald Trump has said in the last 48 hours can be considered safe and responsible statements,” believes Lily Eskelsen Garcia, the president of the National Education Association.
Florida officials have opened additional testing sites for the community due to a sharp and sustained increase in infection statistics. Shortly after Trump’s latest remarks, the White House announced that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would release a revised list of recommendations in the coming days. The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. has exceeded 3 million. Infection and mortality statistics continue to rise in several major states. Local governors are implementing new restrictions and quarantines. However, the nation’s epidemiologists are sounding the alarm, stating that methods to control the epidemic should be approved at the federal level and implemented nationwide. A group of doctors in the United States has concluded that antacids may increase the risk of contracting coronavirus. Scientists describe the principle as follows: the components of these drugs, such as omeprazole, pantoprazole, and others, cause the stomach to stop producing excess acid, and a lack of acid, in turn, significantly reduces the body’s protection against viruses and bacteria that enter it. More than 53,000 people participated in the study, including 4,000 with a confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19. The authors of the study emphasize that they only identified a possible link between heartburn medications and the risk of contracting the coronavirus, but they do not claim that patients who were diagnosed became ill because they were fighting increased acidity. Previously, scientists have linked heartburn medications to kidney disease and the development of dementia. Read the full text of the new study here. Humanity is fighting the coronavirus, so all wars must be put on hold, urged the UN Secretary General in late March. The world did not heed his call and, with the exception of a few conflicts, continued to wage war. Why?