North America

More than 2,700 dead in US from coronavirus in last 24 hours

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The coronavirus death toll in the United States — the country with the most fatalities in the pandemic — has climbed by 2,751 in the past 24 hours, the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University showed Tuesday. The US has recorded more than 800,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the Baltimore-based university, with 44,845 deaths. Nearly 40,000 new cases were reported between Monday […]

Cuomo presses Trump for more federal help in coronavirus testing

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo pressed President Donald Trump Tuesday for more help from the federal government to carry out coronavirus testing during a face-to face-meeting he described as cordial and productive after weeks of sometimes nasty exchanges. As the virus death toll in the US keeps rising and now stands at nearly 45,000, widespread testing is viewed as key to states being able to lift stay-at-home orders and reopen […]

Coronavirus takes mental toll on New York’s medical staff

by Laura BONILLA Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Battling to keep intensive care patients alive at a hospital in one of New York City’s worst-affected coronavirus neighborhoods is taking a toll on nurse Debbie Sanchez’s mental health. “I have extreme anxiety,” said Sanchez, who has been working 12-hour shifts covered head-to-toe in protective clothing since New York became the epicenter of America’s COVID-19 outbreak last month. Sanchez, 57, was working in […]

Trump says immigration suspension to last 60 days

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was suspending immigration for green card seekers for 60 days, arguing the controversial move would help Americans find work again after coronavirus caused a surge in unemployment. Trump told reporters at the White House the suspension would come into force through an executive order that he would likely sign on Wednesday as he offered the first details about a vague announcement he made Monday […]

Mexico raises health emergency level as virus cases mount

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico raised its health emergency level following a rapid increase in coronavirus cases and amid fears the health system could collapse, the government said Tuesday. Health Undersecretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell said the country was moving to “phase three” of its response to the deadly pandemic. “We’re in a phase of rapid increase, where we’re accumulating a large number of infections (and) hospital admissions,” he said. The government has suspended all non-essential […]

Death toll from Canada mass shooting rises to 23: RCMP

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — The death toll from a weekend mass shooting in Canada’s Nova Scotia province has risen to 23, police said Tuesday, after remains were found in burnt out homes and vehicles. “We believe there to be 23 victims, including a 17-year-old (girl). All other victims are adults, both men and women,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement. “We have recovered remains from some of the locations of the fires,” […]

Families mourn as police seek motive for Canada gun rampage

  by Eric THOMAS Agence France Presse MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — Investigators on Monday scoured crime scenes from the worst mass shooting in Canadian history to try to understand why a dental worker with no criminal past killed at least 18 people. The gunman, identified by police as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, began his rampage late Saturday in the seaside village of Portapique, Nova Scotia, dying 14 hours later in a hail of police gunfire outside […]

Trump vows immigration ban as US protestors demand lockdown end

by Michael Mathes, with Catherine Triomphe in Harrisburg and AFP bureaus Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump pledged a temporary ban on immigration to the United States because of the “invisible enemy” of coronavirus, as the disease sparked angry demonstrations on American streets to demand an end to crippling lockdowns. In just four months, the virus has turned the world upside down, confining half the planet indoors and killing nearly 170,000 […]

EBC update: Trudeau wants stricter gun control amid latest shooting rage; COVID-19 deaths rise to over 1700

(Eagle News) — EBC Correspondent in Canada Thomas Likness gives the latest situation in Canada amid a shooting rampage that killed 19 people and a COVID-19 pandemic that has killed at least 1,700 people and infected more than 36,000. Before the shooting victims were gunned down, their houses were reportedly sent on fire leading the police to think that there could be more victims. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his condolences to the loved […]

Trudeau laments ‘evil’ mass shooting, raises toll to 18

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday the death toll from an “evil” weekend shooting rampage in Nova Scotia had risen to at least 18. “Our country stands united in our effort to defeat a pandemic, to save lives and to help each other make it to a better day,” he told a news conference. “But yesterday we were jolted from that common cause by the senseless violence and tragedy in […]

Trump to host NY governor Tuesday at W.House

PARIS, France (AFP) — US President Donald Trump announced Monday that he would welcome New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has spearheaded the response to his state’s coronavirus outbreaks, to the White House on Tuesday. “He is coming to the Oval Office tomorrow afternoon,” Trump told reporters. New York is the epicenter of the US coronavirus epidemic, and more than a third of the 41,000 deaths nationwide have come from the state. Trump has been […]

US anti-confinement protesters demand economic freedom

  by Catherine TRIOMPHE Agence France Presse The incessant clang of car horns rang out in the US state of Pennsylvania Monday as hundreds of vehicles circled the Capitol building in a protest against confinement measures aimed at combatting the coronavirus. During the rally that lasted about three hours, many drove pick-up trucks decorated with American flags or slogans like “shelter in place isn’t freedom!” The Harrisburg demonstrators, arguing that public health regulations unduly threaten […]