North America

US President Trump orders emergency medical stations for coronavirus hotspots

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday said he had ordered the deployment of emergency medical stations with capacity of 4,000 hospital beds to coronavirus hotspots around the United States. Trump told a news conference that he had told the FEMA emergency management agency to set up the medical stations in New York, California and Washington state. He said eight stations in California would have 2,000 beds and that four stations […]

Trump says US on top as outbreak shuts largest cities

  by Peter HUTCHISON with Sebastian SMITH in Washington Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York and Illinois followed California Friday in locking down to stem the coronavirus pandemic as President Donald Trump declared the United States was already “winning” the war despite a rapid rise in confirmed cases and deaths. The move effectively seals off America’s largest cities — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — with the states of […]

California’s Yosemite National Park shuts down over coronavirus fears

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California’s Yosemite National Park, one of the most visited parks in the nation, shut down to visitors on Friday because of the coronavirus crisis. “Yosemite National Park is announcing modifications to operations at the request of the local health department,” park officials said in a statement. Beginning at 3:00 pm local time (2200 GMT), they said, the grounds would be “closed to all park visitors until further notice.” The […]

Italy virus toll tops 4,000, New York joins California in lockdown

by Peter Hutchison with Chris Lefkow in Washington NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The grim toll of coronavirus deaths in Italy, the world’s worst-hit nation, surged past 4,000 on Friday as New York and other US states joined California in ordering a lockdown to try to bring the pandemic under control. While new infections were being detected around the planet, there was a glimmer of hope in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where […]

Canada auto factories to make coronavirus medical equipment

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday launched plans to mobilize the country’s industrial sector in the fight against coronavirus, including temporarily transitioning auto parts factories to making medical equipment. The plan will see the country “rapidly” increase the production of essential supplies such as surgical masks, respirators, screening tests, and disinfectant gel, Trudeau said during his daily press briefing from his home in Ottawa, where he is self-isolating after his […]

Pentagon successfully tests hypersonic missile

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States announced Friday it has successfully tested an unarmed prototype of a hypersonic missile, a nuclear-capable weapon that could accelerate the arms race between superpowers. The Pentagon said a test glide vehicle flew at hypersonic speeds — more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5 — to a designated impact point. The test followed the first joint US Army and Navy flight experiment in October […]

Staffer in US vice president’s office tests positive for virus: spokeswoman

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A staffer in the office of US Vice President Mike Pence, the pointman for Washington’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, has tested positive for the illness, a spokeswoman said Friday. “Neither President Trump nor Vice President Pence had close contact with the individual. Further contact tracing is being conducted,” Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller said. Pence has appeared at Trump’s side at the daily White House press conferences to announce […]

US coronavirus cases now over 10,000, more than 150 dead: tracker

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States has 10,755 cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus while 154 people have died from the pathogen, a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University showed Thursday. This makes the US sixth on the overall list behind China, Italy, Iran, Spain and Germany, and ahead of France and South Korea. Globally, there have been 229,390 cases confirmed and 9,325 deaths, the tracker said. US health authorities have […]

Haiti reports first two coronavirus cases

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — President Jovenel Moise announced Haiti’s first two cases of novel coronavirus on Thursday as his government adopted extraordinary measures to contain its spread. “We have found the two first cases of coronavirus in our national territory,” Moise said during an address televised on state media. Haiti is the Caribbean’s poorest and most densely populated country and the virus’ arrival spurred the government to implement a series of restrictive measures, including an […]

California governor orders entire state to stay at home

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — All residents of California were ordered to stay at home Thursday in a bid to battle the coronavirus pandemic in the most populous state in the US. The statewide order, which Governor Gavin Newsom said goes into effect “this evening,” is the most dramatic containment measure yet by a US state. “There is a mutuality, there is a recognition of our interdependence, that requires of this moment that we […]

US Senate Republicans present $1 trillion virus relief package

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday presented a $1 trillion emergency relief package to combat the economic turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. The Republican-drafted text must now be examined by Senate Democrats before a date for a vote can be set. “This legislation takes bold action on four major priorities that are extremely urgent and very necessary,” McConnell told the Senate. “First, direct financial […]