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BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand’s confirmed coronavirus cases rose by a third to nearly 600, the kingdom announced Sunday, as fears of a full-blown crisis take hold in a country largely spared until now. Thailand’s health ministry announced the spike was mainly in the capital, but warned residents of Bangkok not to leave and risk spreading the virus around the country. “We would like you to stay at home. Do not travel upcountry,” said health […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — French health workers will get free transport on the country’s high-speed and intercity trains, France’s state rail operator the SNCF announced on Monday. The rail operator was responding to an appeal by Paris hospitals for people with medical or paramedical training to come and reinforce their staff. Doctors, nurses and other medical staff will be able to travel for free to help in the fight against the virus, if they get […]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Dubai’s famous malls will shut down for a fortnight under the United Arab Emirates’ plan to curb coronavirus, which will also see its airports closed to passenger and transit flights. The decision to close commercial centers takes in shopping centers as well as fresh food markets, but pharmacies and food retail outlets will be allowed to stay open. Restaurants are limited to home deliveries. The health ministry and the […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, US media reported Sunday. Weinstein, 68, is in prison in northern New York state after being sentenced to 23 years in jail for rape and sexual assault. The fallen film producer’s diagnosis was first reported Sunday evening by local paper the Niagara Gazette. Weinstein’s spokespeople have declined to comment to US media on the subject. The New […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The NBA launched a global social engagement campaign Friday aimed at educating, inspiring and helping people respond to the coronavirus pandemic that has shut down the league season. The “NBA Together” program will include daily Instagram interviews with players and others in the NBA, educational programs, online content aimed at youth who can’t play with friends and a call for “one million acts of kindness” through volunteering and community […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Rand Paul, a critic of emergency coronavirus spending, has become the first US senator to test positive for COVID-19, the Republican lawmaker’s office said Sunday. A statement from a staff member said he was in quarantine but remained asymptomatic. As US senators work on a multi-trillion-dollar rescue package to help the US economy hit hard by the pandemic, Paul has at least twice voted against such emergency funding. Paul, who […]
by Daniel SILVA MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s prime minister said Sunday he would ask parliament to extend a state of emergency until April 11 to try to curb the spread of coronavirus after the country recorded 394 new deaths from the disease. A nationwide 15-day state of emergency was first announced on March 14 barring people from leaving home except for essential outings such as buying food or seeking medical care. Sanchez said his […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday said he had ordered the deployment of emergency medical stations with a 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 […]
by Shingo ITO TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The crowds might be thinner and parties smaller, but warnings from officials over the coronavirus have done little to stop Japanese celebrating as the country’s famed cherry trees explode into bloom. Over a warm long weekend in Tokyo, people packed into traditional blossom hotspots, many not even wearing face masks, to admire the fluffy white and pink flowers hanging from delicate stems. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike admitted that […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italian health officials voiced cautious hope Sunday after the coronavirus death toll edged down from the previous day’s world record and the rate of infections slowed. The Mediterranean country’s world-topping toll from its month-long crisis approached 5,500 and the number of COVID-19 infections neared 60,000. But top health officials sounded — while not upbeat — encouraged to see daily deaths fall back from Saturday’s grisly 793 to a slightly less shocking […]
QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — Ecuador marked its highest daily increase in deaths and new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, with the total reaching 14 dead and 789 infected, authorities said. The number of fatalities rose from seven late Saturday to 14 on Sunday morning, while infections surged from 532 to 789, according to the country’s National Risk and Emergency Management Service. Ecuador had 166 people infected with the COVID-19 illness on Friday. It is the […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand will impose a four-week lockdown in a bid to smother coronavirus infection rates and avoid the mass fatalities seen elsewhere in the world, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday. Ardern said the South Pacific nation was fortunate its infection numbers remained relatively low, with 102 cases and no fatalities in the population of about five million. But she said the latest data showed COVID-19 was now being transmitted […]
