Timeline COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, MERS, SARS, Coronavirus
A: 2002-2020
B:
2021-Present
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COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is the name
given to the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
https://ncov2019.live/
2002
The SARS-COV virus jumped from a horseshoe bat to a person (possibly
by way of some intermediary). The subsequent outbreak went on to
kill almost 800 people worldwide.
(Econ, 3/14/20, p.15)
2003 Feb 9, In China Xinhua’s
first SARS report was issued for leaders’ eyes only. By this time
there were already some 300 cases and 5 deaths dating back to
November 2002.
(Econ, 6/19/10, p.43)
2003 Mar 19, Doctors in Hong
Kong reportedly identified the deadly pneumonia virus as belonging
to the paramyxoviridae family. The severe acute respiratory illness
(SARS) had killed at least 11 people and left hundreds ill. The
outbreak is believed to have began in southern China in November.
Later reports held that it could be a coronavirus, part of a group
that cause the common cold. Many people treated with corticosteroids
later developed an irreversible bone disease called avascular
necrosis. By July 12, 2003, SARS killed 812 people worldwide.
(SFC, 3/15/03, p.A8)(SFC, 1/19/02, p.A4)(WSJ,
4/3/03, p.B1)(WSJ, 12/23/03, p.A1)
2003 Mar 22, Scientists believe
they have found the virus responsible for the mystery SARS virus and
announced a test to diagnose it.
(AP, 3/23/03)
2003 May 23, Researchers from
China and Hong Kong identified a coronavirus in 3 wild mammals, palm
civets, a raccoon dog and a ferret badger, sold in the live-animal
food markets of South China.
(SFC, 5/24/03, p.A1)
2003 Mar 27, It was reported
that the SARS disease had killed 50 people and infected some 1,300
in 13 countries.
(WSJ, 3/27/03, p.A1)
2003 Mar 29, Italian Dr. Carlo
Urbani (46), a WHO expert on communicable diseases, died of SARS in
Thailand, where he was being treated after becoming infected while
working in Vietnam. Urbani was the 1st doctor to identify SARS.
(AP, 3/29/03)(SSFC, 3/30/03, p.A6)
2003 Mar 31, Hong Kong
authorities quarantined more than 200 other residents in an
apartment block in an effort to contain the SARS virus.
(AP, 3/31/03)
2003 Apr 4, Chinese experts in
hard-hit Guangdong province told the scientists they have found a
rare form of airborne chlamydia in some of their SARS patients,
raising the possibility that more than one germ may be involved.
Other Chinese cases suggest the disease might be passed by touching
something tainted by a sick person's mucous or saliva.
(AP, 4/5/03)
2003 May 4, New lab studies
reported that the SARS virus can survive outside an infected body
for hours to days.
(SSFC, 5/4/03, p.A1)
2003 May 21, Taiwan reported 35
new cases of SARS for a total of 418 with 52 deaths.
(SFC, 5/22/03, p.A3)
2003 May 23, Researchers from
China and Hong Kong identified a coronavirus in 3 wild mammals, palm
civets, a raccoon dog and a ferret badger, sold in the live-animal
food markets of South China.
(SFC, 5/24/03, p.A1)
2003 Jul 5, The WHO removed
Taiwan from its list of SARS-infected areas and declared a
provisional victory over the epidemic, which had killed 812 people
over 5 continents. The economic losses from SARS was later estimated
at about $200 billion. SARS was later classified as one of a number
of zoonoses, i.e. diseases that come from animals. The
epidemic in Taiwan had left 73 people dead.
(SSFC, 7/6/03, p.A3)(Econ, 11/19/05, p.84)(Econ,
3/28/20, p.35)
2003 Sep 8, Singapore health
officials confirmed that a local patient has tested positive for
severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, the 1st new case of the
disease in over 5 months.
(AP, 9/8/03)
2003 Dec 27, China announced
its first suspected SARS case since July.
(AP, 12/27/03)
2003 The ViroChip, invented by
Dr. Joseph DeRisi (33) of UC San Francisco, gained attention when it
spotted the virus that causes the epidemic form of pneumonia called
SARS.
(SFC, 9/10/08, p.B4)
2004 Jan 5, China confirmed its
first SARS case since an outbreak of the disease was contained in
July and authorities ordered the emergency slaughter of some 10,000
civet cats and related species after tests linked a virus found in
the animals to the patient.
(AP, 1/5/04)
2004 Sep 17, Officials in
Singapore reported that a soil-borne bacterial infection called
melioidosis has killed 24 people there this year, making it more
deadly than SARS or bird flu. The illness, also known as Whitmore's
Disease, is listed by the U.S. government as a potential biological
weapon but Singapore government officials said there was no sign it
had been spread intentionally.
(Reuters, 9/17/04)
2004 Taiwan's government set up
its Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) in the wake of the SARS
epidemic. Chen Shih-chung, the minister of health, was put in
charge.
(Econ, 3/28/20, p.35)
2012 Jun 24, In Saudi Arabia a
man (60) died from severe pneumonia complicated by renal failure. He
had arrived at a Jihad hospital 11 days earlier with symptoms
similar to severe case of influenza or SARS. In September an
Egyptian virologist said it was caused by a new coronavirus. Months
later the illness was named MERS (Middle Eastern respiratory
syndrome).
(SFC, 8/14/13, p.E1)
2013 Feb 11, British health
officials said a new virus from the same family as SARS, that
sparked a global alert last September, has been found in a patient
in Manchester who had traveled to the Middle East and Pakistan.
(AP, 2/11/13)
2013 Feb 15, British health
officials said a fourth person in Britain has contracted a
potentially fatal SARS-like virus which was unknown in humans until
a few months ago, but said the risk to the population remained very
low.
(AP, 2/15/13)
2013 May 2, Saudi Arabia's
Health Ministry said that five people have died and two other
patients were in critical condition with confirmed cases of a new
respiratory coronavirus related to SARS. The new virus was first
identified last year in the Middle East and several of the people
infected had all traveled to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or
Pakistan.
(AP, 5/2/13)
2013 May 14, Saudi Arabia
confirmed four new cases of the deadly new coronavirus virus related
to SARS that appears centered in the Arabian Peninsula but that has
also been reported in Europe.
(AP, 5/14/13)
2013 May 20, Saudi Arabia
recorded another death from a new respiratory virus related to SARS,
bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 16. More than
20 people have died from the virus worldwide.
(AP, 5/21/13)
2013 May 30, Saudi Arabia
reported that 3 more people have died from a new respiratory virus
related to SARS, bringing the total number of deaths globally to 30.
(AP, 5/30/13)
2013 Jun 1, Italy’s health
minister confirmed that 3 people were being treated in Tuscany for a
new respiratory virus related to SARS. The patients included a man
recently back from a visit to Jordan, a related child and a work
colleague.
(SSFC, 6/2/13, p.A6)
2013 Jun 2, Saudi Arabia
reported that 3 more people have died from a new respiratory virus
related to SARS, bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom
to 24.
(AP, 6/2/13)
2013 Jun 17, Saudi Arabia said
four more people have died from a new respiratory virus related to
SARS, bringing the total number of deaths to 32 in the kingdom at
the center of the growing crisis.
(AP, 6/17/13)
2013 Jun 19, Doctors
investigating a new respiratory virus related to SARS, said it
spreads easily between people and appears to be more deadly than
SARS. The biggest outbreak of the virus, now called MERS, was in
Saudi Arabia.
(SFC, 6/20/13, p.A2)
2013 Jul 6, In Saudi Arabia two
more people died from the new respiratory virus related to SARS,
bringing to 38 the number of deadly cases in the kingdom at the
center of the growing outbreak.
(AP, 7/7/13)
2013 Jul 19, Health authorities
in the United Arab Emirates said they have identified four new cases
of a respiratory virus related to SARS whose main concentration has
been in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
(AP, 7/19/13)
2013 Jul 27, In Saudi Arabia
one more man died from a new respiratory virus related to SARS,
bringing to 39 the number of deadly cases in the kingdom at the
center of the growing outbreak.
(AP, 7/27/13)
2013 Aug 9, European scientists
reported their finding of traces of antibodies against the MERS
virus in dromedary, or one-humped, camels, but not the virus itself.
Some experts think bats might be infecting other animals like camels
with MERS before passing it to humans. Since the virus was first
identified last September, there have been 94 illnesses, including
46 deaths, from MERS, or Middle East respiratory syndrome.
(AP, 8/9/13)
2013 Aug 25, Saudi Arabia said
a Saudi man (51) has died of the coronavirus MERS, bringing the
kingdom's death toll from the SARS-like virus to 41, while two new
cases were registered.
(AFP, 8/25/13)
2013 Aug 26, Qatar health
authorities announced the 2nd confirmed case in a week of the MERS
coronavirus in the Gulf state, with a 29-year-old man infected and
in intensive care.
(AFP, 8/27/13)
2013 Aug 28, Saudi health
authorities said another Saudi man has died of the coronavirus MERS,
bringing the kingdom's death toll from the SARS-like virus to 42,
adding a new case was registered.
(AFP, 8/28/13)
2013 Aug 30, In Saudi Arabia
another Saudi man died of the coronavirus MERS, bringing the
kingdom's death toll from the SARS-like virus to 43.
(AP, 8/30/13)
2013 Sep 4, Qatar reported that
a woman has died after contracting the MERS coronavirus, becoming
the first recorded fatality from the SARS-like virus in the Gulf
state.
(AFP, 9/4/13)
2013 Sep 6, Saudi Arabia’s
health ministry said 2 women have died of MERS, bringing the total
number of fatalities in the kingdom to 44.
(AFP, 9/6/13)
2013 Sep 8, In Saudi Arabia
another three people were reported dead after contracting the MERS
coronavirus, bringing the kingdom's total fatalities of the
SARS-like virus to 47.
(AFP, 9/8/13)
2013 Oct 4, The World Health
Organization said the global number of infections with the deadly
MERS virus has risen to 136, after hard-hit Saudi Arabia confirmed
six new cases.
(AFP, 10/4/13)
2013 Oct 30, Oman said it has
discovered the first case of the MERS coronavirus in the Gulf
sultanate, a 68-year-old Omani man.
(AFP, 10/30/13)
2013 Nov 10, Saudi Arabia
announced another fatality from the MERS virus, taking its toll to
53, as neighbouring Oman recorded its first death from the
respiratory disease.
(AFP, 11/10/13)
2013 Nov 13, Kuwait said it has
discovered its first case of the MERS coronavirus for a citizen who
is in "critical condition." Later in the day Kuwait reported its 2nd
case for a man who just returned from abroad.
(AFP, 11/13/13)(AFP, 11/14/13)
2013 Nov 13, The WHO said some
21 nations in the Middle East and nearby regions have jointly made
the eradication of polio an emergency priority and recognized that
Pakistan is a key part of the problem.
(AP, 11/13/13)
2013 Nov 20, Saudi health
authorities announced a new MERS death, raising to 54 the number of
people killed by the coronavirus.
(AFP, 11/20/13)
2013 Nov 22, Qatar health
authorities said an expatriate (48) has died of MERS, bringing to
four the number of deaths in the Gulf state from the coronavirus.
(AFP, 11/22/13)
2013 Nov 24, Saudi Arabia said
one more person has died from a new respiratory virus related to
SARS, bringing to 55 the number of deaths in the kingdom at the
center of the outbreak.
(AP, 11/24/13)
2014 Jan 29, Saudi health
authorities announced a new MERS death, bringing to 59 the number of
people who have died from the coronavirus in the country with the
most fatalities.
(AFP, 1/29/14)
2014 Apr 9, Saudi health
authorities said that 11 people in the western city of Jiddah have
contracted the Middle East respiratory syndrome, resulting in two
recent deaths, bringing to at least 66 the number of people who have
died of MERS in the kingdom.
(AP, 4/9/14)
2014 Apr 11, The United Arab
Emirates announced that one of six Filipino paramedics in Abu Dhabi,
who have been infected by the MERS coronavirus, has died from the
respiratory disease. The WHO said that it had been told of 212
laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS infection worldwide, of which 88
have proved fatal.
(AFP, 4/11/14)
2014 Apr 13, A Malaysian man
(54), who went on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, became the first
death in Asia from Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
(AP, 4/16/14)
2014 Apr 21, Saudi Arabia
announced 17 new cases of MERS, bring the total number of Saudi
infections to 261, of whom 81 have died. King Abdullah fired health
minister Abdullah al-Rabiah.
(SFC, 4/22/14, p.A2)(Reuters, 4/22/14)
2014 Apr 23, Saudi Arabia
announced 11 new cases of MERS, including a 13-year-old child.
Acting health minister Adel Fakieh vowed to keep the public better
informed on the coronavirus.
(AFP, 4/23/14)
2014 Apr 24, Saudi Arabia's
health ministry said two more patients who became infected with a
Middle East virus related to SARS have died, and that 13 others have
contracted the MERS virus. The deaths bring to 83 the number of
people who have died in the kingdom since contracting the virus in
September 2012.
(AP, 4/24/14)
2014 Apr 25, Saudi Arabia's
Health Ministry said that five more people in the kingdom have died
from MERS. The ministry says 92 people have died and 313 have
contracted the virus in Saudi since September 2012.
(AP, 4/26/14)
2014 Apr 26, In Egypt a
27-year-old civil engineer was diagnosed with MERS after returning
from Saudi Arabia.
(AP, 4/26/14)
2014 Apr 26, Two Saudi
nationals died from MERS, taking the death toll from the coronavirus
in the worst-hit country to 94.
(AFP, 4/27/14)
2014 May 2, US Health officials
confirmed the first case of an American infected with MERS, a
mysterious virus that has sickened hundreds in the Middle East. The
man fell ill after flying to the US late last week from Saudi Arabia
where he was a health care worker.
(AP, 5/3/14)
2014 May 4, Saudi Arabia's
health ministry said one more patient who contracted the potentially
fatal Middle East virus related to SARS has died and that 14 new
cases have been detected. The new 14 cases raised the number of
those infected in Saudi Arabia to 411.
(AP, 5/514)
2014 May 7, Saudi health
authorities said four more people have died after contracting MERS,
a Middle East respiratory virus. Saudi Arabia has reported 449 cases
and 121 deaths from MERS.
(AP, 5/8/14)
2014 May 8, Lebanon recorded
its first case of the often-fatal Middle East respiratory virus
(MERS). The patient had recently returned from a visit to several
Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia.
(AP, 5/9/14)
2014 May 9, Saudi Arabia's
health ministry said the death toll from MERS has risen by five to
126 fatalities since the mystery respiratory virus first appeared in
the kingdom in 2012.
(AFP, 5/9/14)
2014 May 11, In Jordan a man
died after being infected with the MERS virus.
(AFP, 5/12/14)
2014 May 11, Saudi Arabia
reported that three new deaths from MERS had taken its death toll
from the disease to 142.
(AFP, 5/12/14)
2014 May 11, A 2nd US case of
MERS was diagnosed in Florida in a man visiting from Saudi Arabia.
(SFC, 5/13/14, p.A10)
2014 May 13, Saudi health
authorities reported another five deaths from MERS. The potentially
fatal Middle Eastern respiratory virus has sickened hundreds in the
kingdom. A total of 152 people have now died and 495 have been
confirmed to have contracted the virus in Saudi Arabia since it was
discovered in 2012.
(AP, 5/13/14)
2014 May 17, US health
officials reported what appears to be the first time that a
mysterious Middle East virus (MERS) has spread from one person to
another in the United States. An Illinois man probably picked up an
infection from an Indiana man who earlier this month became the
first US case of Middle East respiratory syndrome.
(AP, 5/18/14)
2014 May 28, In Jordan a man
(69) died after being infected with the Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus. This brought to 6 the number of
fatalities in Jordan from MERS since it first emerged in 2012.
(AFP, 6/1/14)
2014 May 29, Saudi Arabia's
Health Ministry said 13 people have died over the last two weeks
from the Middle Eastern respiratory virus and that 186 people in
total have died from the MERS virus since it was discovered in 2012.
(AP, 5/29/14)
2014 Jun 4, The UAE said the
MERS coronavirus has killed 10 people and infected 68 in the United
Arab Emirates since March 2013.
(AFP, 6/4/14)
2014 Sep 3, The Philippine
Health Secretary said a nurse who flew home from Saudi Arabia last
week has been confirmed as the Philippines' second case of Middle
East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
(AP, 9/3/14)
2014 Oct 16, Saudi Arabia’s
health ministry said it is seeing "sporadic" cases of the Middle
East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which has killed
324 people in the country since 2012.
(AFP, 10/16/14)
2015 Feb 21, Saudi
Arabia's Health Ministry said two more people have died after
contracting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS, pushing the
total number of deaths from the virus in the kingdom to 385.
(AP, 2/22/15)
2015 Feb 27, Saudi Arabia said
ten more people have died from MERS over the past week, after an
international mission urged extra measures to combat the virus.
(AFP, 2/27/15)
2015 May 21, South Korea a
third case of MERS, a respiratory virus that has killed hundreds of
people in the Middle East.
(Reuters, 5/21/15)
2015 May 29, South Korea
confirmed five MERS cases, bringing the total number of patients
infected with the potentially deadly virus to 12, including a man
who defied a quarantine protocol and travelled to China.
(AFP, 5/29/15)
2015 Jun 1, South Korean health
officials said more than 680 people are being isolated after having
contact with patients infected with the MERS virus that has killed
hundreds of people in the Middle East.
(AP, 6/1/15)
2015 Jun 4, South Korea
confirmed a third death from MERS. 1,164 schools and kindergartens
were reported to be temporarily shut down.
(SFC, 6/5/15, p.A2)
2015 Jun 6, A German man (65)
died after contracting MERS during a trip to Abu Dhabi, in the first
death linked to the virus in Europe this year.
(AFP, 6/16/15)
2015 Jun 6, South Korea
confirmed nine more cases of the MERS virus, which has killed four
people, but said it did not represent a spread of the outbreak as
the infected were already in quarantine.
(AFP, 6/6/15)
2015 Jun 7, South Korea bowed
to public pressure and identified 24 health facilities where
infections took place or MERS patients visited. It reported 14
confirmed new cases of MERS and a 5th death.
(Reuters, 6/7/15)
2015 Jun 9, South Korea
reported its seventh death from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
(MERS) as the government said it hoped to end the crisis this week.
Eight new infections brought the total number of cases to 95.
(AFP, 6/9/15)
2015 Jun 11, South Korea
reported a 10th death from the MERS virus. Officials said they
believe the disease has peaked.
(AP, 6/11/15)
2015 Jun 12, In South Korea 3
MERS patients in their 70s died, raising the country's number of
MERS-related deaths to 13. Authorities temporarily closed two
hospitals amid persistent fears over the MERS virus outbreak. Rescue
teams digging through the debris pulled the bodies of 6 civilians
from under the rubble.
(AP, 6/12/15)
2015 Jun 13, South Korea
recorded its 14th death from the MERS virus and a dozen new
infections.
(AP, 6/13/15)
2015 Jun 14, South Korea's
Ministry of Health reported seven new MERS cases, taking the total
to 145, as a 15th person died. The Samsung Medical Center in Seoul
said it was suspending all non-emergency surgery and would take no
new patients to focus on stopping MERS after more than 70 cases were
traced to it.
(Reuters, 6/14/15)
2015 Jun 16, In South Korea the
death toll in the MERS outbreak increased to 19 even as schools
reopened and people recovered from the virus.
(AP, 6/16/15)
2015 Jun 18, In South Korea the
death toll from Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) increased to
23.
(AP, 6/18/15)
2015 Jun 18, Thailand confirmed
its first case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus
in a businessman from Oman.
(Reuters, 6/18/15)
2015 Jun 21, South Korea
reported three new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS),
bringing the total to 169 in the largest outbreak outside Saudi
Arabia.
(Reuters, 6/21/15)
2015 Jul 2, South Korea
reported two new cases of the potentially deadly Middle East
Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, after four days in which no cases
were spotted.
(AFP, 7/2/15)
2015 Jul 28, South Korea said
it is now virtually free of the deadly MERS virus that killed 36
people and sickened nearly 200 since an outbreak was declared in
May.
(AP, 7/28/15)
2015 Aug 19, Saudi authorities
said they have closed an emergency ward in King Abdulaziz Medical
City after at least 46 people, including hospital staff, contracted
the potentially fatal Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The
Health Ministry recorded three new MERS deaths in Riyadh. That
brings the total number of deaths to 483 since the virus was first
identified in 2012.
(AP, 8/19/15)
2015 Aug 27, Saudi Arabia's
Health Ministry said 15 more people have died in the last seven days
after contracting the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
(AP, 8/27/15)
2016 Jan 25, Thailand’s health
ministry said it has quarantined 32 people as it seeks to prevent
the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) after a second
case of the virus was detected on Jan 22.
(Reuters, 1/25/16)
2016 Mar 10, Qatar health
officials said a 66-year-old Qatari man has died after contracting
the MERS virus, in the first fatal case in the Gulf state for 10
months.
(AFP, 3/10/16)
2018 May, The Trump
administration dismantled the National Security Council directorate
at the White House charged with preparing for when, not if, another
pandemic would hit the nation. The apparatus had been put in place 5
years before in the face of the Ebola crisis. John Bolton, the
national security adviser, "streamlined the National Security
Council and , in the process, closed its pandemic preparedness
office.
(AP, 3/14/20)(Econ, 4/11/20, p.17)
2018 Sep 8, South Korea's
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said a South
Korean man (61) has been diagnosed with the potentially deadly
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) after a business trip to
Kuwait. The infectious disease swept South Korea in 2015 leading to
38 fatalities.
(Reuters, 9/8/18)
2019 Dec 30, The first public
alert outside China about a novel coronavirus came from the
automated HealthMap system at Boston Children's Hospital.
(SFC, 2/24/20, p.D1)
2019 Dec 31, Chinese health
authorities said they are investigating 27 cases of viral pneumonia
in the central city of Wuhan, after rumors on social media suggested
the outbreak could be linked to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS). The disease later identified as COVID-19 was first reported
by Chinese authorities to the WHO, and was not previously believed
to have spread to Europe until January.
(Reuters, 12/31/19)(Reuters, 5/5/20)
2019 Dec, Taiwan sent an early
warning to the World Health Organization (WHO) late this month about
the risk of transmission of the coronavirus between humans. The
warning was not shared by the WHO because of its relationship with
China.
(Econ, 3/28/20, p.14)
2020 Jan 3, In China the Wuhan
Municipal Health Commission said 44 people have been diagnosed with
pneumonia, the cause of which is unknown. That’s up from 27 three
days earlier. Eleven people were in serious condition.
(Bloomberg, 1/4/20)
2020 Jan 5- 2020 Jan 17, In
China hundreds of patients were appearing in hospitals not just in
Wuhan but across the country with symptoms of the coronavirus.
(AP, 4/14/20)
2020 Jan 8, Researchers in
Germany said a review of fatal encephalitis cases in the state of
Bavaria has found that more than twice as many as previously known
were tied to a rare animal-borne virus. Borna disease virus 1, or
BoDV-1, is normally found in horses, sheep and other mammals. It was
first identified as the cause of severe human encephalitis in 2018.
(AP, 1/8/20)
2020 Jan 8, The World Health
Organization (WHO) said a cluster of more than 50 pneumonia cases in
China's central city of Wuhan may be due to a newly emerging member
of the family of viruses that caused the deadly SARS and MERS
outbreaks.
(Reuters, 1/8/20)
2020 Jan 9, Chinese state media
reported that a preliminary investigation into viral pneumonia
illnesses sickening dozens of people in and around the country has
identified the possible cause as a new type of coronavirus.
(SFC, 1/10/20, p.A3)
2020 Jan 10, The genetic
sequence of SARS-COV—2, the virus which causes COVID-19, was
published.
(Econ, 4/18/20, p.13)
2020 Jan 11, In China health
authorities said a 61-year-old man has died from pneumonia in the
central city of Wuhan after an outbreak of a yet to be identified
virus while seven others are in critical condition. A total of 41
people have been diagnosed with the pathogen.
(Reuters, 1/11/20)
2020 Jan 13, The WHO said that
Thai officials have reported that a traveler from the Chinese city
of Wuhan has been hospitalized in Thailand with a recently
identified new type of coronavirus. The report galvanized leaders in
Beijing into recognizing the possible pandemic before them.
(AP, 1/13/20)(AP, 4/14/20)
2020 Jan 15, US CDC researchers
in late May announced that the first US coronavirus infection to be
identified was a traveler, a Washington state man who returned this
day from Wuhan, China, and sought help at a clinic on Jan. 19.
(AP, 5/29/20)
2020 Jan 15, Li Qun, the head
of the China CDC’s emergency center, told Chinese state television
that “The risk of sustained human-to-human transmission is low,” in
response to increasing cases of the coronavirus.
(AP, 4/14/20)
2020 Jan 16, In China officials
in Wuhan and elsewhere under new orders finally got CDC-approved
testing kits and a green light to start confirming new cases. Across
the country, dozens of reported cases then began to surface, in some
cases among patients who were infected earlier but had not yet been
tested.
(AP, 4/14/20)
2020 Jan 16, Japan recorded its
first case of the coronavirus.
(Econ., 5/23/20, p.28)
2020 Jan 18, Chinese health
authorities said they had discovered four more cases of pneumonia
following an outbreak of what is believed to be a new coronavirus
strain in the central city of Wuhan, raising concerns that the
disease could spread further.
(Reuters, 1/18/20)
2020 Jan 19, Chinese
authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO) said a new
strain of coronavirus is behind the outbreak of pneumonia in the
central city of Wuhan, which has erupted just ahead of the Lunar New
Year, the country's biggest festival. As of today there were 65
confirmed cases of patients with pneumonia caused by the new strain
of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 1/19/20)
2020 Jan 20, Chinese President
Xi Jinping said the country would curb the spread of an outbreak of
pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus. A leading Chinese
epidemiologist, Zhong Nanshan, announced for the first time that the
virus was transmissible from person to person on national
television, a development that raises the possibility that it could
spread more quickly and widely.
(AP, 1/20/20)(AP, 4/14/20)
2020 Jan 20, Slovakia said it
has detected its second case of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu
virus at a farm in the west of the country.
(Reuters, 1/20/20)
2020 Jan 20, The World
Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said Ukraine has reported an
outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5 bird flu on a farm in the
west-central part of the country, the first of such outbreak in
nearly three years. The outbreak killed 4,856 birds out of a flock
of 98,000 in Vinnitsa. The rest of the flock was slaughtered.
(Reuters, 1/20/20)
2020 Jan 21, Alex Azar 52), the
secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, appeared
on Fox News to report the latest on the coronavirus as it ravaged
China. The lawyer and former drug industry executive assured
Americans the US government was prepared. Shortly after his
televised comments, Azar tapped a trusted aide with minimal public
health experience to lead the agency’s day-to-day response to
COVID-19. The aide, Brian Harrison, had joined the department after
running a dog-breeding business for six years.
(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Jan 22, Deaths from
China's new virus rose to 17 with more than 540 cases confirmed,
increasing fears of contagion from an infection suspected to
originate from illegally-traded wildlife. A patient infected with
the new coronavirus died in Hebei province, marking the first
confirmed death outside Hubei province where the outbreak began.
This raised the death toll from the outbreak to 18.
(Reuters, 1/22/20)(Reuters, 1/23/20)
2020 Jan 22, North Korea banned
foreign tourists to guard against the spread of a new virus from
China.
(AP, 1/22/20)
2020 Jan 22, Singapore began
taking the temperatures of air passengers arriving from China, a day
before China stopped travel into and out of Wuhan.
(Econ, 4/11/20, p.26)
2020 Jan 23, The US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention raised its travel alert for the
coronavirus outbreak to a level 3, recommending people avoid all
nonessential travel to Wuhan, China. The outbreak has now killed 18
and infected nearly 600 people globally.
(Reuters, 1/23/20)
2020 Jan 23, Chinese
authorities moved to lock down three cities with a combined
population of more than 18 million in an unprecedented effort to
contain the deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds of people
and spread to other parts of the world during the busy Lunar New
Year travel period. The train station and airport in Wuhan, the
epicenter of the outbreak, were shut down, and ferry, subway and bus
service was halted. Similar measures would take effect the following
day in the nearby cities of Huanggang and Ezhou. Wuhan underwent a
76-day lockdown. The virus death toll in Wuhan ended in mid-May with
3,869 fatalities.
(AP, 1/23/20)(Econ., 9/19/20, p.42)
2020 Jan 24, The US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed a second US case of
the new coronavirus from China in a Chicago woman, and said as many
as 63 potential cases were being investigated as the sometimes
deadly illness continues to spread around the globe.
(Reuters, 1/24/20)
2020 Jan 24, China announced
that it is swiftly building a 1,000-bed hospital dedicated to
patients infected with a new virus that has killed 26 people,
sickened hundreds and prompted unprecedented lockdowns of cities
during the country's most important holiday.
(AP, 1/24/20)
2020 Jan 24, More airports
began to screen passengers arriving from China amid growing concerns
over the outbreak of a new virus there that has already killed more
than two dozen people and sickened hundreds.
(AP, 1/24/20)
2020 Jan 24, An official in
Kathmandu said a Nepali student home from China tested positive for
the new coronavirus, making it the first confirmed case in the
Himalayan nation.
(Reuters, 1/24/20)
2020 Jan 25, Australia declared
its first confirmed case of the Wuhan coronavirus in the state of
Victoria, with the patient hospitalized in a stable condition in a
suburb of Melbourne.
(Reuters, 1/25/20)
2020 Jan 25, China's President
Xi Jinping called the accelerating spread of a new virus a grave
situation, as cities from the outbreak's epicenter in central China
to Hong Kong scrambled to stop the spread of an illness that has
infected more than 1,200 people and killed 41.
(AP, 1/25/20)
2020 Jan 25, Japan said it has
confirmed a third case of infection by China's coronavirus.
(AP, 1/25/20)
2020 Jan 26, China banned
wildlife trade nationwide in markets, supermarkets, restaurants, and
e-commerce platforms due to the coronavirus outbreak. The new viral
illness accelerated its spread with 56 deaths so far and a total of
1,975 infections.
(Reuters, 1/26/20)(AP, 1/26/20)
2020 Jan 26, A group of Hong
Kong protesters set alight the lobby of a newly built residential
building that authorities planned to use as a quarantine facility,
as public fears in the financial hub about the coronavirus outbreak
intensified. Anger grew towards government plans to convert the
building into a quarantine zone as the number of confirmed cases in
the city climbed to six.
(Reuters, 1/26/20)
2020 Jan 26, Japan confirmed a
fourth case of infection by China's coronavirus.
(Reuters, 1/26/20)
2020 Jan 26, The health
minister in Thailand, the country with the most confirmed cases
outside China of the new coronavirus, called an emergency meeting
with the transport and tourism ministries amid rising public
discontent over the government's handling of the illness.
(Reuters, 1/26/20)
2020 Jan 26, US officials said
five people in the United States, all of whom recently traveled from
Wuhan, China, have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus.
(Reuters, 1/27/20)
2020 Jan 27, The death toll
from the coronavirus outbreak in China rose to 81 and a small number
of cases linked to people who travelled from Wuhan were confirmed in
more than 10 countries. US stocks fell more than 1% as investors
worried about the economic fallout of the fast-spreading coronavirus
outbreak in China that has prompted the country to extend the Lunar
New Year holidays and businesses to close some operations.
(Reuters, 1/27/20)
2020 Jan 29, A memo by Peter
Navarro, President Trump’s trade adviser, warned that failing to
contain a coronavirus outbreak could cost the US trillions of
dollars and put millions of Americans at risk of illness or death.
This was not made public until April 7.
(NY Times, 4/7/20)
2020 Jan 29, In China the
number of confirmed coronavirus cases jumped to 5,974, surpassing
the 5,327 in mainland China during the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003.
The death toll rose to 132.
(AP, 1/29/20)
2020 Jan 30, China raised the
death toll from the coronavirus to 170 and more countries reported
infections from a new virus, including some spread locally, as
foreign evacuees from China's worst-hit region returned home to
medical tests and even isolation.
(AP, 1/30/20)
2020 Jan 30, North Korea said
it is intensifying efforts to prevent the spread of a new virus from
China into the isolated country by blocking tourists, reducing
flights and mobilizing more screening efforts.
(AP, 1/30/20)
2020 Jan 30, The World Health
Organization (WHO) declared a global public health emergency over
the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus, citing the potential of the
virus to spread to countries not prepared to deal with the
contagion.
(South China Morning Post, 1/31/20)
2020 Jan 31, SF Bay Area's
Santa Clara County reported its first coronavirus case.
(SSFC, 3/22/20, p.A12)
2020 Jan 31, China counted
9,692 confirmed cases of coronavirus with a death toll of 213,
including 43 new fatalities. The United States drew China's wrath
with a travel warning while businesses struggled with supply
problems from the coronavirus epidemic that has killed 213 people
and been declared a global emergency.
(AP, 1/31/20)(Reuters, 1/31/20)
2020 Jan 31, Guatemala said it
is imposing travel restrictions on people who have recently been in
China to prevent the new coronavirus entering the Central American
country.
(Reuters, 1/31/20)
2020 Jan 31, Sweden reported
its first confirmed case of coronavirus.
{Sweden, Microbiology}
(Reuters, 3/3/20)
2020 Jan 31, Vietnam Airlines
said it will suspend its flights to destinations in China from next
week over coronavirus concerns.
(Reuters, 1/31/20)
2020 Jan 31, The Trump
administration declared a public health emergency and announced
series of steps to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, which
has stricken China and spread to countries around the world.
(Bloomberg, 1/31/20)
2020 Jan, The Federated State
of Micronesia banned entry to travelers late this month from
countries with confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
(Econ, 3/21/20, p.34)
2020 Jan, Taiwan's
contact-tracing team late this month successfully used a mixture of
data to track down the source of infection for the island's first
COVID-19 death.
(Econ, 4/18/20, p.60)
2020 Feb 1, Australia banned
all arrivals from China due to the coronavirus.
(Econ, 3/21/20, p.35)
2020 Feb 1, China’s death toll
from a new virus rose to 259 and the number of confirmed cases in
China rose to 11,791. A World Health Organization official said
other governments need to prepare for "domestic outbreak control” if
the disease spreads in their countries. At least 24 countries have
reported cases since China informed WHO about the new virus in late
December. The WHO counted 2,115 new cases.
(AP, 2/1/20)(Econ., 7/4/20, p.10)c
2020 Feb 1, Indonesian
officials said that around 250 of its nationals being evacuated from
China's Hubei province, the center of the coronavirus epidemic, will
be quarantined in its Natuna Islands military base.
(Reuters, 2/1/20)
2020 Feb 1, Japan moved to
contain the economic impact of a coronavirus outbreak originating in
China as strict new measures aimed at limiting the spread of the
virus, including targeting foreign visitors, came into effect. Japan
had 17 confirmed cases as of Jan. 31, including some without
symptoms.
(Reuters, 2/1/20)
2020 Feb 1, Three Philippine
airlines cancelled flights to China, joining many others around the
world that have done the same, after health officials confirmed the
Philippines' first case of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 2/1/20)
2020 Feb 1, Russia's aerospace
defence forces began evacuating Russian citizens from China due to
the coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 2/1/20)
2020 Feb 2, China's coronavirus
has infected at least 14,000 people since it was first detected in
late December and spread to about two dozen countries although most,
like the United States, have few cases. The incubation period is so
long that people may not know where or when they picked it up. Based
on the first 425 confirmed cases in China, each infection led to 2.2
others on average.
(AP, 2/2/20)
2020 Feb 2, The US military
command in South Korea instituted a 14-day self quarantine for any
troops who recently traveled to China, adding that an outbreak in
that country of a new coronavirus could harm military readiness.
(Reuters, 2/1/20)
2020 Feb 2, California health
officials said they had confirmed 11 cases of the new,
fast-spreading coronavirus in the United States, with one in Santa
Clara County and two more in San Benito County.
(Reuters, 2/2/20)
2020 Feb 2, The Philippines
recorded the first death outside China from the new coronavirus, as
countries around the world evacuated hundreds of their citizens from
the infection zone and Chinese authorities completed a new, rapidly
constructed 1,000-bed hospital for victims of the outbreak.
(AP, 2/2/20)
2020 Feb 2, The Philippines's
Department of Agriculture said blood samples taken from pigs in a
southern province tested positive for the African swine fever virus.
(Reuters, 2/2/20)
2020 Feb 3, China accused the
United States of whipping up panic over a fast-spreading coronavirus
with travel restrictions and evacuations as Chinese stocks plunged
on the first day back from the extended Lunar New Year holiday.
(Reuters, 2/3/20)
2020 Feb 3, In China the first
patients arrived at a 1,000-bed hospital built in 10 days as part of
China's sweeping efforts to fight a new virus that is causing global
alarm. A woman (36) in the northern municipality of Tianjin was
detained by police after "deliberately concealing" her contact with
someone from a coronavirus-stricken area. Authorities reported 425
deaths and 20,438 confirmed cases. At least 180 cases have been
confirmed outside China.
(AP, 2/3/20)(Reuters, 2/3/20)(SFC, 2/4/20, p.A3)
2020 Feb 4, The US Department
of Health and Human Services said it was partnering with Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals Inc to develop a treatment for the coronavirus,
making the drugmaker the latest to join the race to develop a
therapy.
(Reuters, 2/4/20)
2020 Feb 4, Miami-based Royal
Caribbean Cruises Ltd said has canceled eight cruises out of China
through March 4 in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
(AP, 2/4/20)
2020 Feb 4, Officials in the
Chinese city of Macao asked its 41 casinos to close for half a month
to help the stop the coronavirus.
(SFC, 2/5/20, p.A3)
2020 Feb 4, Hong Kong hospitals
cut services as thousands of medical workers went on strike for a
second day to demand the border with mainland China be shut
completely, as a new virus caused its first death in the
semi-autonomous territory and authorities feared it was spreading
locally. The fast-spreading outbreak has killed 490 people with
24,324 confirmed cases.
(AP, 2/4/20)(Reuters, 2/4/20)(SFC, 2/5/20, p.A3)
2020 Feb 4, The World
Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said Saudi Arabia has reported
an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus on a
poultry farm.
(AP, 2/4/20)
2020 Feb 4, The World
Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said Vietnam has reported an
outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 bird flu in a village in the
northern part of the country.
(AP, 2/4/20)
2020 Feb 5, It was reported
that at least 10 people aboard a cruise ship moored in Japan have
tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Diamond Princess will
remain under quarantine in Yokohama with everyone on board for at
least 14 days. Three more cruise ship passengers were soon diagnosed
with the virus in Japan for a total of 64 on board the ship.
(Good Morning America, 2/5/20)(AP, 2/7/20)
2020 Feb 6, A female (57)
resident of Santa Clara County, Calif., died of the coronavirus,
making this the earliest known victims of the pandemic in the United
States. A 2nd resident (69) died on Feb. 17 and a 3rd (70) on
March 6. On April 21 county health officials and the CDC said that
the presence of the disease Covid-19 was determined by tissue
samples from autopsies.
(https://tinyurl.com/ybvnqykd)(AP, 4/22/20)(SFC,
4/23/20, p.A7)
2020 Feb 6, Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals Inc said it is ramping up efforts to develop a set
of coronavirus treatments, which could be available for testing or
use in some patients within a few months.
(AP, 2/6/20)
2020 Feb 6, Chinese President
Xi Jinping declared a "people's war" against the fast-spreading
coronavirus. Chinese health authorities reported 563 deaths and
another sharp jump in the number of confirmed cases to 28,018.
Outside mainland China, at least 260 cases have been confirmed.
China finished building a second new hospital to isolate and treat
patients of the virus.
(Reuters, 2/6/20)(AP, 2/6/20)
2020 Feb 6, A US citizen (60)
died from the coronavirus in Wuhan, China. It was the first known
American death from the illness, and was likely to add to diplomatic
frictions over Beijing’s response to the epidemic.
(NY Times, 2/8/20)
2020 Feb 6, Greek officials
said they have detected their first case of African swine fever at a
breeding farm in the north of the country this week. African swine
fever is harmless to humans but it is highly contagious and deadly
in pigs. It has spread from Africa to Europe and Asia and has
already killed hundreds of millions of pigs, affecting global meat
markets.
(Reuters, 2/6/20)
2020 Feb 6, Russia said it has
begun checking the body temperature of officials and reporters
attending events involving President Vladimir Putin due to
coronavirus fears.
(AFP, 2/6/20)
2020 Feb 6, Saudi Arabia barred
its citizens and residents of the kingdom from traveling to China
amid the new virus outbreak.
(AP, 2/6/20)
2020 Feb 7, It was reported
that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has signed into law
quarantine rules for Brazilians who will be brought back from the
Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak.
(AP, 2/7/20)
2020 Feb 7, China confirmed
31,161 cases and 636 deaths on the mainland. Dr. Li Wenliang (34)
died overnight due to the coronavirus at Wuhan Central Hospital.
Police in December had reprimanded eight doctors including
ophthalmologist Li for warning friends on social media about the
emerging threat.
(AP, 2/7/20)
2020 Feb 7, Independent
scientists questioned research that suggested that the outbreak of
coronavirus disease spreading from China might have passed from bats
to humans through the illegal traffic of pangolins. South China
Agricultural University had led the research.
(Reuters, 2/7/20)
2020 Feb 8, China's city of
Wuhan, at the center of the coronavirus outbreak, opened another
makeshift hospital, providing 1,500 beds.
(Reuters, 2/8/20)
2020 Feb 8, The World Health
Organization (WHO) said the death toll in mainland China has risen
to 723, looking likely to pass the 774 deaths recorded globally
during the 2002-2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS). A total of 34,546 cases were reported on the mainland. The
virus has spread to 27 countries and regions, based on official
reports, infecting more than 330 people.
(Reuters, 2/8/20)(AP, 2/8/20)
2020 Feb 8, France said it is
closing two schools and tried to reassure vacationers in the Alps
after five British citizens, including a 9-year-old child,
contracted the new virus from China at a French ski resort.
(AP, 2/8/20)
2020 Feb 9, China raised the
death toll from its coronavirus outbreak to 811. Total confirmed
coronavirus cases in China stood at 37,198.
(Reuters, 2/9/20)
2020 Feb 9, The Philippines
confirmed that African swine fever infections had spread in the
south of the country, which accounts for nearly a third of the
nation's 12.8 million pig herd.
(Reuters, 2/9/20)
2020 Feb 9, Spain's National
Center for Microbiology confirmed the country's second case of new
coronavirus, after tests on one of four people suspected of having
the virus in Mallorca came back positive. The other three were
negative.
(Reuters, 2/9/20)
2020 Feb 10, Officially, much
of China got back to work, but there were few signs of activity on
the streets of the capital, Beijing, as the new coronavirus has now
killed 909 people and sickened 40,235. An advance World Health
Organization team of medical experts arrived in China to help
investigate the coronavirus outbreak.
(AP, 2/10/20)(Reuters, 2/10/20)
2020 Feb 11, China reported
42,708 confirmed cases, including 1,017 deaths. More than 300 cases
were also reported in at least 24 other countries. Franco-British
biotech company Novacyt said it can offer a coronavirus test that is
faster than rival methods by focusing on a narrow sequence of DNA
coding.
(Reuters, 2/11/20)
2020 Feb 11, The UN's World
Health Organization convened outside experts to fast-track promising
tests, drugs and vaccines to help slow the outbreak of a new virus
that emerged in China that has killed more than 1,000 people and
spread to two dozen other countries. The coronavirus is now called
COVID-19.
(AP, 2/11/20)(ABC News, 2/11/20)
2020 Feb 12, China's leadership
touted "positive results" from efforts to contain the new
coronavirus epidemic but warned it still faced a "large-scale war"
against the outbreak. The death toll rose to 1,113, while more than
44,600 people had been infected by the newly named COVID-19 virus.
(AFP, 2/12/20)
2020 Feb 12, It was reported
that two Russian women who were kept in isolation for possible
inflection by a new virus say they fled from their Russian hospitals
this month because of uncooperative doctors, poor conditions and
fear they would become infected.
(AP, 2/12/20)
2020 Feb 12, This year's Mobile
World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, was cancelled by trade show
organizer GSMA due to coronavirus concerns.
(SFC, 2/13/20, p.D1)
2020 Feb 13, US officials
reported the 15th case of coronavirus in the United States, saying
the patient was among those who had been evacuated from Wuhan,
China, and placed under federal quarantine at Lackland Air Force
Base in San Antonio, Texas.
(Reuters, 2/13/20)
2020 Feb 13, LabCorp said it
has begun work on developing its own test for the coronavirus that
has killed over 1,300 in China.
(Reuters, 2/13/20)
2020 Feb 13, The cruise ship MS
Westerdam, stranded at sea for about two weeks after being refused
entry by four Asian governments because of virus fears, finally
docked in Cambodia. No cases of the COVID-19 viral illness have been
confirmed among its 1,455 passengers and 802 crew members.
(AP, 2/13/20)
2020 Feb 13, Diplomats and
experts said China is dragging its heels in accepting help on the
ground from international health specialists. China has recorded
48,206 cases of a new coronavirus, now known as SARS-CoV-2. The
death toll in Hubei province, which includes Wuhan, leapt by a
record 242 to 1,310, with a sharp rise in confirmed cases after the
adoption of new methodology for diagnosis. China's Communist Party
fired several senior officials in Hubei province, the center of the
new coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 2/13/20)(The Week, 2/13/20)
2020 Feb 13, Confirmed cases of
the COVID-19 virus in mainland China rose to 63,851 by the end of
today, up 5,090 from the previous day. The death toll rose 121 to
1,380.
(AP, 2/13/20)
2020 Feb 13, Japan announced
its first death from a new virus from China, hours after confirming
44 more cases on a cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo as fears of
the spreading disease mount in the country. The Diamond Princess,
which is still carrying nearly 3,500 passengers and crew members,
now has 218 people infected with the virus out of 713 tested since
it entered Yokohama Port on Feb. 3.
(AP, 2/13/20)
2020 Feb 14, Zeng Yixin, vice
minister of China's National Health Commission, told reporters that
1,716 medical workers have tested positive for the newly discovered
virus, known officially as COVID-19, and six of them have died.
(ABC News, 2/15/20)
2020 Feb 14, Egypt's Health
Ministry confirmed the first case of the new virus in the North
African country.
(AP, 2/14/20)
2020 Feb 14, Paraguay health
officials said that deaths from dengue fever increased to 16 in the
South American country's worst outbreak of the disease in the last
decade, severely straining its health system.
(Reuters, 2/14/20)
2020 Feb 15, China reported 143
virus deaths and a dip in new cases. China reported 2,641 new cases
in the 24 hours through midnight Feb. 14, raising its total to
66,492. Mainland China’s death toll rose to 1,523.
(AP, 2/15/20)
2020 Feb 15, French authorities
said an 80-year-old Chinese tourist infected with the coronavirus
has died in France, the first fatality in Europe and the fourth
outside mainland China from the epidemic.
(AP, 2/15/20)
2020 Feb 15, In Hong Kong
hundreds of anti-government protesters marched in multiple
neighborhoods against government plans to potentially turn some
buildings into coronavirus quarantine centers, demanding full
closure of the mainland China border.
(Reuters, 2/15/20)
2020 Feb 15, Malaysia said an
83-year-old American passenger on the Westerdam cruise ship that
docked in Cambodia has tested positive for the new coronavirus. The
woman had taken a flight to Malaysia a day earlier from Cambodia.
(Reuters, 2/15/20)
2020 Feb 16, China reported a
drop in new virus cases for the third straight day. Its latest
figures showed 68,500 cases and 1,665 deaths due to the COVID-19
virus, most of the in Hubei province. The National Health Commission
reported 2,009 new cases and 142 deaths.
(AP, 2/16/20)(Reuters, 2/16/20)
2020 Feb 16, Taiwan's health
minister said a man has died from the coronavirus, marking the first
such death on the island since the epidemic spread from mainland
China.
(Reuters, 2/16/20)
2020 Feb 17, China's health
authorities reported 2,048 new cases of the virus and 105 more
deaths. Another 10,844 people have recovered from COVID-19, a
disease caused by the new coronavirus, and have been discharged from
hospitals. The death toll reached 1,770 with 70,548 cases. Another
1,200 doctors and nurses from China's military began arriving in
Wuhan, the latest contingent sent to help shore up the city's
overwhelmed health care system.
(AP, 2/17/20)
2020 Feb 17, A Chinese
professor said doctors in Shanghai are using infusions of blood
plasma from people who have recovered from the coronavirus to treat
those still battling the infection, reporting some encouraging
preliminary results.
(Reuters, 2/17/20)
2020 Feb 17, Japanese officials
confirmed 99 more people were infected by the new virus aboard the
quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, bringing the total to 454.
(AP, 2/17/20)
2020 Feb 17, Two charter
flights carrying cruise ship passengers from Japan landed at
military bases in California and Texas overnight, starting the clock
on a quarantine period to ensure passengers don't have the new virus
that's been spreading in Asia.
(AP, 2/17/20)
2020 Feb 17, Biotechnology
company Novacyt said that it had launched a 'CE-Mark' molecular test
to help detect the coronavirus afflicting China, marking a step
forward in Novacyt's plans to commercialize a product for the virus.
(Reuters, 2/17/20)
2020 Feb 17, Bulgaria's food
safety agency authorities reported an outbreak of the H5N8 bird flu
virus on a duck farm in the southern town of Rakovski. The agency
said all 5,830 ducks at the farm will be culled.
(AP, 2/17/20)
2020 Feb 18, Cambodian health
authorities said that 409 of the 2,257 passengers and crew of the
Westerdam had left Cambodia for their homes scattered across the
globe. The rest remain in hotels in Phnom Penh, the capital, or on
the ship. After hundreds of passengers had earlier disembarked, one
soon tested positive for the coronavirus.
(NY Times, 2/18/20)
2020 Feb 18, China reported
1,886 new cases and 98 more deaths. That raised the number of deaths
in mainland China to 1,868 and the total number of confirmed cases
to 72,436. China reported the death of Dr. Liu Zhiming (51), the man
who mobilized all the resources of his hospital in Wuhan's Wuchang
district to deal with the thousands of sick people arriving daily.
(AP, 2/18/20)
2020 Feb 18, French drugmaker
Sanofi said it is working with a US government agency to develop a
vaccine against the new coronavirus from China, saying it could have
a candidate ready for clinical trials within a year.
(Reuters, 2/18/20)
2020 Feb 18, Japan, announced
that 88 more cases of the virus were confirmed aboard a quarantined
cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, bringing the total to 542 among
the 3,700 initially on board.
(AP, 2/18/20)
2020 Feb 19, China's President
Xi Jinping called for greater protection of medical staff fighting
the new coronavirus after the deaths of prominent doctors sparked
national anger at the government's handling of the outbreak. 1,716
medical workers have been confirmed as infected. Mainland China
reported 1,749 new cases and 136 additional deaths. The death toll
from the virus jumped past 2,000, while 74,185 cases of infection
have been confirmed on the mainland. Inspectors in protective suits
went door-to-door in the epicenter of the viral outbreak to try to
find every infected person in an epidemic that is showing signs of
waning as new cases fell for a second straight day.
(AFP, 2/19/20)(AP, 2/19/20)
2020 Feb 19, Two people in Iran
tested positive for the deadly new coronavirus, in the Islamic
republic's first cases of the disease.
(AFP, 2/19/20)
2020 Feb 20, The number of new
cases in China declined again, to 394, a notable shift from the
1,749 figure released a day earlier. Another 114 deaths in China
were linked to the virus. The statistics came after yet another
change in how cases are counted.
(AP, 2/20/20)
2020 Feb 20, Iran said that
three more people have been infected with the new virus that
originated in central China, following an announcement the day
before that two people had died of the illness caused by the virus
in the city of Qom.
(AP, 2/20/20)
2020 Feb 20, The first case of
coronavirus was confirmed in Lebanon after a woman arriving from
Iran was found to be positive.
(Reuters, 2/21/20)(AP, 4/1/20)
2020 Feb 20, South Korea
reported its first death from the new virus while the mayor of a
southeastern city urged its 2.5 million people to stay inside as
infections linked to a church congregation spiked. The Korea Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 22 additional cases of
the virus, raising the total in South Korea to 104.
(AP, 2/20/20)
2020 Feb 20, The World Health
Organization chided the international community for not stepping up
enough to finance the battle to contain the novel coronavirus that
has shut down many parts of China and killed more than 2,000 people.
(South China Morning Post, 2/21/20)
2020 Feb 21, In Australia, two
people who had been evacuated from a virus-wracked cruise ship off
Japan tested positive for mild cases of the COVID-19 illness.
(AFP, 2/21/20)
2020 Feb 21, China reported 118
more deaths from the COVID-19 virus, raising the toll to 2,236, most
of them in Hubei. China tallied 889 new cases. Two correctional
facilities in east China reported cases, with 200 prisoners and
seven guards testing positive at Rencheng prison in Shandong
province. Another 34 cases were found at a prison in Zhejiang
province.
(AFP, 2/21/20)
2020 Feb 21, An Iranian health
ministry official said the coronavirus has spread to several cities
in the country. Health authorities reported two more deaths from the
new virus that emerged in China and said the fatalities were from
among 13 new confirmed cases of the virus.
(Reuters, 2/21/20)(AP, 2/21/20)
2020 Feb 21, An Israeli doctor
said one of the 11 Israelis who were flown home after being
quarantined on a cruise ship in Japan has tested positive for the
new virus that emerged in China late last year, the first case to be
reported inside the country. Another four Israelis were hospitalized
in Japan after testing positive for the virus.
(AP, 2/21/20)
2020 Feb 21, Italian
authorities announced that a cluster of 16 coronavirus cases had
been detected around Codogno, a small town in Lombardy. By the next
day the number was up to 60 and five elderly people had died.
(Econ., 2/29/20, p.13)
2020 Feb 21, South Korea's
government banned major rallies in its capital and declared a health
emergency in its fourth largest city as 100 new virus cases were
reported, bringing the country's total to 204.
(AP, 2/21/20)
2020 Feb 21, The United Arab
Emirates said it had registered two new coronavirus cases, bringing
the total number of people diagnosed with the virus in the Gulf Arab
state to 11.
(Reuters, 2/21/20)
2020 Feb 21, Costa Mesa,
California, won a battle against the state, at least temporarily,
when a judge halted the transfer of people diagnosed with the
coronavirus to its community for a quarantine site.
(AP, 2/22/20)
2020 Feb 22, In China 397 new
cases of coronavirus were reported nationwide and another 109 people
died. The outbreak of the new COVID-19 strain has claimed 2,345
lives on the mainland and infected more than 76,000 people, with
cases in more than 25 countries. State media said President Xi
Jinping has written a letter thanking the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation for committing up to $100 million for the global response
to the outbreak.
(AFP, 2/22/20) (AP, 2/22/20)
2020 Feb 22, In China woman
traveled by car to a relative’s home in Beijing after being released
from Wuhan Women’s Prison, a facility stricken by an outbreak
affecting more than 250 people. Her coronavirus infection was
disclosed by local officials on Feb. 26.
(AP, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 22, Iranian
authorities reported one more death among 10 new cases of the
coronavirus. Iran ordered the closure of schools and universities in
two cities hit by the virus outbreak that has killed five people,
the most outside the Far East. 28 cases in total have been
confirmed.
(AP, 2/22/20)
2020 Feb 22, Israeli and
Palestinian authorities sought to quell fears of a potential local
outbreak of the coronavirus after learning that South Korean
pilgrims who had toured some of the holy land's most popular sites
were later found to be carrying the virus.
(Reuters, 2/22/20)
2020 Feb 22, A dozen towns in
northern Italy effectively went into lockdown after the deaths of
two people infected with the new virus from China and a growing
cluster of cases with no direct links to the origin of the outbreak
abroad. Secondary coronavirus contagions prompted local authorities
in the Lombardy and Veneto regions to order schools, businesses, and
restaurants closed, and to cancel sporting events and Masses.
Hundreds of residents and workers who came into contact with an
estimated 54 people confirmed infected in Italy were in isolation
pending test results. Two people infected with the virus have died.
(AP, 2/22/20)
2020 Feb 22, South Korea
reported an eight-fold jump in viral infections with 433 cases
mostly linked to a church and a hospital.
(AP, 2/22/20)
2020 Feb 22, A South Korean Air
flight with 188 passengers that landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion
airport was taxied away from the allotted terminal while authorities
allowed only 11 Israelis to enter the country. The next day the
plane returned to South Korea with the rest of the passengers.
(AP, 2/23/20)
2020 Feb 23, Four passengers
tested positive for coronavirus in England after being evacuated
from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. This brought the
total number of cases in the UK to thirteen.
(Reuters, 2/23/20)
2020 Feb 23, Mainland China
reported 648 new coronavirus infections for a total of 76,936. The
daily death toll fell slightly to 97. In all, 2,442 people have died
in the country from COVID-19.
(AP, 2/23/20)
2020 Feb 23, Iran’s health
ministry raised the death toll from the new coronavirus to eight,
with 43 confirmed cases.
(Reuters, 2/23/20)
2020 Feb 23, Italian
authorities stepped up measures to ban public gatherings, including
stopping Venice's famed carnival events, which have drawn tens of
thousands of revelers to a region that is now in the heart of the
outbreak. Nearly all of the known cases, including three deaths,
were clustered in the north, at least 25 of them in the Veneto
region. Italy reported more than 150 confirmed cases, a sharp
increase from fewer than five last week. Officials locked down at
least 10 towns in the northern region of Lombardy, affecting at
least 50,000 people.
(AP, 2/23/20)(Reuters, 2/23/20)(NY Times,
2/24/20)
2020 Feb 23, In Japan a third
passenger from the virus-infected Diamond Princess cruise ship died.
Japan's health ministry announced 57 more cases of infections from
the ship, including 55 crew members still on board and two
passengers who had infected roommates and are in a prolonged
quarantine at a government facility. Japan has confirmed a total of
838 cases and four deaths from the virus.
(Reuters, 2/23/20)(AP, 2/23/20)
2020 Feb 23, Pakistan
temporarily closed its borders with Iran, which announced a weeklong
closing of schools, universities and cultural centers. The outbreak
has killed at least 12 people in Iran, according to state
television, the largest number of deaths outside China.
(NY Times, 2/24/20)
2020 Feb 23, In Saudi Arabia
finance leaders of the world's top 20 economies wrapped up their
two-day meeting in Riyadh, a session that was dominated by growing
concern over the widening fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. In
a draft G20 communique the finance leaders clung to their upbeat
projection of a modest pick-up in global growth despite the
outbreak.
(Reuters, 2/23/20)
2020 Feb 23, South Korea raised
its infectious disease alert to its highest level due to the
coronavirus outbreak. South Korea announced 169 more cases of the
new virus, bringing the country’s total more than 760. The country
also reported three more fatalities, raising its death toll to six.
(Reuters, 2/23/20)(AP, 2/23/20)(NY Times,
2/24/20)
2020 Feb 23, South Korean
health authorities said that 18 of the 39 South Koreans from the
southeastern region who had made a group pilgrimage to sites in
Israel later tested positive for the virus.
(AP, 2/23/20)
2020 Feb 23, Turkey closed its
border with Iran due to the number of coronavirus cases in its
eastern neighbor.
(AP, 2/23/20)
2020 Feb 24, Afghanistan's
minister of public health said one of three suspected cases had been
confirmed in the Western province of Herat.
(NBC News, 2/24/20)
2020 Feb 24, Bulgaria's food
safety agency authorities reported two new outbreaks of the highly
pathogenic H5N8 bird flu in the southern part of the Balkan country.
(Reuters, 2/24/20)
2020 Feb 24, Chinese
authorities announced 409 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus,
bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 77,150. The number
of coronavirus deaths was reported at 2592. Large parts of China
relaxed curbs on transport and movement of people as reported new
cases of the coronavirus outside the worst-hit province fell to the
lowest in a month.
(NBC News, 2/24/20)(Reuters, 2/24/20)
2020 Feb 24, Iran's government
vowed to be transparent after being accused of covering up the
deadliest coronavirus outbreak outside China. The coronavirus death
toll jumped by four to 12, by far the highest outside China. There
were 47 confirmed cases.
(AFP, 2/24/20)(NBC News, 2/24/20)
2020 Feb 24, Iraq's health
ministry said local health officials in the Shi'ite city of Najaf
have detected the first case of coronavirus in the country, an
Iranian theology student.
(Reuters, 2/24/20)
2020 Feb 24, Italy recorded a
6th coronavirus death as it became the worst-hit country in Europe,
bringing the total number of cases across the country to 219. Police
manned checkpoints around quarantined towns in the north and
residents stocked up on food as the country became the focal point
of the outbreak in Europe and fears of its cross-border spread.
(Reuters, 2/24/20)(AP, 2/24/20)
2020 Feb 24, Mongolia's
National Emergency Commission halted all flights from South Korea
and will block entry through its borders until March 2 as it steps
up its efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 2/24/20)
2020 Feb 24, South Korea
reported 833 confirmed cases with 8 dead. Health officials reported
231 new cases of COVID-19. A military spokesperson said there were
13 confirmed COVID-19 cases among the troops.
(NBC News, 2/24/20)
2020 Feb 25, Mainland China had
406 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections, down from 508
cases a day earlier. The death toll from the outbreak reached 2,715,
up by 52 from the previous day.
(Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 25, Iran said its
coronavirus outbreak, the deadliest outside China, has infected the
country's deputy health minister. The health ministry confirmed
three new deaths and 34 new infections, bringing the overall tally
to 15 deaths and 95 cases.
(AFP, 2/25/20)
2020 Feb 25, In Iraq religious
officials closed down the Imam Ali mausoleum in Najaf, allowing
visitors access only to its surroundings due to the coronavirus
outbreak. The health ministry advised against non-essential travel
to Najaf and urged citizens to refrain from holding large
gatherings.
(AP, 2/25/20)
2020 Feb 25, The US Center for
Disease Control warned the American public to prepare for an
outbreak of the disease, which has spawned more than 80,000 cases
around the world but relatively few so far in the US.
(AP, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, US Pres. Donald
Trump announced he was putting Vice President Mike Pence in charge
of the effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the US.
(Yahoo News, 2/26/20)0
2020 Feb 26, The USA stepped up
travel advisories for Iran, Italy and Mongolia, warning of the risks
of coronavirus or disruptions related to efforts to control the
disease's spread.
(Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, US health
officials said a new coronavirus case in California, a resident of
Solano County, could be the first in the US that has no known
connection to travel abroad or another known case, a possible sign
the virus is spreading in a US community. The patient was brought to
UC Davis Medical Center from another Northern California hospital on
Feb. 19, but it was four days before the CDC heeded a request to
test the patient for COVID-19.
(AP, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 26, US officials said
the first clinical trial in the US of a possible coronavirus
treatment is underway in Nebraska and is eventually expected to
include 400 patients at 50 locations around the world. At least two
patient studies are already underway in China, including the other
study involving remdesivir, which is made by Gilead Sciences.
(AP, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, Biogen Inc. began
hosting a two-day leadership meeting in Boston. About 175 executives
gathered for a buffet dinner and cocktails at the Marriott Long
Wharf overlooking Boston Harbor. On March 2 the company’s chief
medical officer sent an email informing everyone who attended the
leadership meeting that some people had fallen ill and telling them
to contact a health care provider if they felt sick. At least 99
employees and their contacts became ill with the coronavirus.
(NY Times, 4/13/20)
2020 Feb 26, New York Sen.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, unveiled an $8.5
billion request to respond to the coronavirus outbreak, more than
triple Pres. Trump's request.
(AP, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, An employee in the
US Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Seattle developed
flu-like symptoms after visiting a nursing home in Kirkland,
Washington. On March 3 the US Department of Homeland Security closed
its field office in Seattle.
{Washington, USA, Microbiology}
(Bloomberg, 3/3/20)
2020 Feb 26, Algeria and Greece
reported their first cases of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, Bahrain's number
of coronavirus infections rose to 26.
(Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, Brazil confirmed
the first case of coronavirus in Latin America, a man in Sao Paulo
who returned recently from Italy. The disease reached the Amazon
region by mid-March.
(Reuters, 2/26/20)(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Feb 26, A second person
died in France overnight as health officials tried to find out how
the college teacher, who had not visited any country with a known
outbreak, had caught the new coronavirus disease.
(Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, In Germany two
people tested positive for coronavirus, taking the total to 18.
Officials said a German couple who contracted the coronavirus had
taken part in local carnival celebrations and also visited the
Netherlands in the 10 days before they were diagnosed.
(Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, Iranian
cyberpolice announced the arrests of 24 people accused of online
rumor-mongering about the spread of a coronavirus outbreak that has
claimed 19 lives in the country. The health ministry announced four
more deaths and 44 new infections, including in six previously
unaffected provinces. This brought the total to 139 cases.
(AFP, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, Iraq announced
sweeping measures late today to try to contain the spread of the
coronavirus, ordering the closure of schools and universities,
cafes, cinemas and other public spaces until March 7. Iraq also
banned travel to or from some of the worst affected countries.
(AFP, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 26, Italy become a
frontline in the global outbreak of the coronavirus, with over 370
cases and 12 deaths.
(Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, Japanese PM Shinzo
Abe called for sports and cultural events to be scrapped or
curtailed for two weeks as domestic cases of coronavirus increased
to 175.
(Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, Kuwait's
coronavirus cases rose to 25 after 13 more cases were confirmed.
(Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, North Macedonia
said it has confirmed its first case of the coronavirus infection,
diagnosed in a woman who recently arrived from Italy.
(Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, Pakistan said it
has detected its first two cases of the coronavirus.
(AFP, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, In South Korea the
coronavirus has infected 1,260 people. 20 South Korean soldiers and
one American have tested positive.
(AP, 2/26/20)(Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, Thailand reported
three new cases of coronavirus, taking its total tally to 40.
(AP, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 26, World health
officials said the coronavirus illness had now spread to 37
counties. The WHO reported that the number of new cases reported
outside China exceeded the number of new cases in China for the
first time.
(AP, 2/26/20)
2020 Feb 27, A US federal
agency confirmed that a government whistleblower has filed a
complaint alleging that some federal workers did not have the
necessary protective gear or training when they were deployed to
help Americans evacuated from China during the coronavirus outbreak.
(AP, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 27, US federal
officials issued new rules allowing more people to be tested for the
coronavirus.
(SFC, 2/28/20, p.A1)
2020 Feb 27, China said the
number of new deaths stood at 29, the lowest daily rate since Jan.
28 and reported 433 new cases. The coronavirus has now killed 2,744
people in the country, mostly in the central province of Hubei.
(Reuters, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 27, In Germany, the
Berlin state government struck down the honorary citizen title of
former German Pres. Paul von Hindenburg (1925-1934) citing his act
of appointing Adolf Hitler as chancellor in 1933.
(SFC, 2/28/20, p.A2)
2020 Feb 27, Greek islanders on
Lesbos and Chios gathered for a fourth consecutive day to protest
government plans to build new migrant detention centers.
(SFC, 2/28/20, p.A2)
2020 Feb 27, Top supplier
Godrej Agrovet Ltd said a false rumor that the coronavirus can be
spread by chickens has slashed Indian poultry sales by almost 50%.
(Reuters, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 27, It was reported
that the coronavirus has killed 26 people in Iran, the highest toll
outside of China where it originated. Many of the over 240 confirmed
cases in the region have links to Iran, including dozens in Kuwait
and Bahrain, six in Iraq and two in Lebanon.
(AP, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 27, Iraq announced the
first confirmed case of coronavirus in Baghdad, taking nationwide
infections to six and raising concerns about the capacity of the
dilapidated health system to respond.
(AFP, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 27, A Japanese woman
tested positive for coronavirus for a second time as the number of
confirmed cases in Japan, excluding the 704 on the quarantined
cruise liner, rose above 190. The death toll rose to eight after
another death was reported in Hokkaido.
(Reuters, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 27, In Kuwait
confirmed cases of coronavirus rose to 43.
(AP, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 27, Lebanon confirmed
the country's third case of coronavirus, after a man arriving from
Iran on Feb. 24 tested positive.
(Reuters, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 27, It was reported
that North Korea has postponed the new school term to prevent the
spread of the new coronavirus.
(AFP, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 27, Saudi Arabia
banned pilgrims from visiting Islam's holiest sites as the number of
deaths jumped in neighboring Iran. Japan and Iraq ordered the
closure of schools. Saudi Arabia made the unprecedented decision to
halt the umrah pilgrimage amid the global outbreak of the
coronavirus. The lesser umrah pilgrimage can be performed
year-round. Nearly 20 million Muslims undertake the umrah pilgrimage
each year, including more than 7 million foreign travelers.
(AFP, 2/27/20) (Good Morning
America, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 27, South Korea
reported 334 additional cases of the new coronavirus.
(Reuters, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 27, In the past 24
hours, the WHO recorded seven nations that announced their first
cases of the novel coronavirus: Brazil, Georgia, Greece, North
Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan and Romania.
(Good Morning America, 2/27/20)
2020 Feb 28, US Pres. Donald
Trump accused Democrats of exaggerating the danger of the
coronavirus in order to destroy his presidency.
(SFC, 2/29/20, p.A5)
2020 Feb 28, The number of
coronavirus cases in the United States was confirmed at 62. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also confirmed that four
more patients tested positive for the virus in California, Oregon
and Washington states.
(Good Morning America, 2/29/20)
2020 Feb 28, Lifeguards in San
Diego County rescued 13 people and searched for others believed to
have been dropped by Mexican migrant smugglers in the Pacific. As
many as three people remained missing.
(SFC, 2/29/20, p.A5)
2020 Feb 28, Washington state
lawmakers passed a measure prohibiting homicide defendants from
claiming a defense based on panic over a victim's sexual orientation
or gender identity. the measure was name after Nikki Kuhnhausen, a
transgender teenager who was killed last year. Nine states have
similar legislation.
(SFC, 2/29/20, p.A5)
2020 Feb 28, The list of
countries hit by the COVID-19 illness edged toward 60 as Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Nigeria
reported their first cases.
(AP, 2/28/20)
2020 Feb 28, China's death toll
from the coronavirus reached 2,788, up 44. Cases climbed to 78,824,
up 327.
(Bloomberg, 2/28/20)
2020 Feb 28, Iran reported
eight new deaths from coronavirus, raising its toll to 34. The
health ministry said 143 cases had been detected over the past 24
hours, increasing the total of confirmed infections to 388. At least
seven officials in the country have tested positive for the
coronavirus.
(AFP, 2/28/20)(The Week, 2/28/20)
2020 Feb 28, Italy reported
that four more people have died from coronavirus, bringing the total
to 21, while the number of those testing positive for the illness
jumped to 821.
(AP, 2/28/20)
2020 Feb 28, Mexico said a man
(35) has been confirmed as the first coronavirus case in the
country. The man had taken a trip to Italy in February. Mexican
health officials confirmed three coronavirus cases, all with mild
symptoms and likely from the same source.
(Bloomberg, 2/28/20)
2020 Feb 28, New Zealand health
officials said the country had its first case of the new
coronavirus, a person in their 60s who recently returned from Iran.
(AP, 2/28/20)
2020 Feb 28, In Russia Moscow's
deputy mayor said 88 foreign nationals will be deported for
allegedly violating quarantine measures imposed on them as a
precaution against the coronavirus.
(AP, 2/28/20)
2020 Feb 28, South Korea
confirmed 256 more cases, bringing total to 2,022, doubling in two
days and raising alarm about the worst outbreak outside of
neighboring China.
(Bloomberg, 2/28/20)
2020 Feb 29, US health
officials reported three more cases of the new coronavirus
transmitted to people who did not travel overseas or come in contact
with anyone known to be ill. The first US coronavirus-related death
was reported in Washington State.
(AFP, 2/29/20)(The Daily Beast, 2/29/20)
2020 Feb 29, Azerbaijan said it
had closed its border with Iran for two weeks to prevent the spread
of coronavirus, after the death toll in Iran rose to 43, the highest
number outside of China.
(Reuters, 2/29/20)
2020 Feb 29, The number of
people infected with coronavirus in the United Kingdom rose to 23,
after three more patients tested positive.
(Reuters, 2/29/20)
2020 Feb 29, China reported 47
more coronavirus deaths and 427 new infections.
(AFP, 2/29/20)
2020 Feb 29, Ecuador said it
has confirmed the first case of a fast-spreading new coronavirus.
The patient had arrived in Ecuador on Feb. 14 on a direct flight
from Madrid without showing any symptoms, but soon felt ill and went
to a hospital where she was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 2/29/20)
2020 Feb 29, France said it is
banning all indoor public gatherings of more than 5,000 people to
slow the spread of coronavirus cases and recommending that people no
longer greet each other with kisses.
(AP, 2/29/20)
2020 Feb 29, Iran reported a
surge in new coronavirus cases as the number of deaths jumped to 43
among 593 cases, but it dismissed as "rumors" a report the real toll
was much higher.
(AFP, 2/29/20)
2020 Feb 29, In Japan a man in
his 70s died on the northernmost island of Hokkaido late today after
testing positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the
coronavirus. The man's death marked the sixth fatality from COVID-19
in Japan, excluding six deaths among those aboard the cruise ship
Diamond Princess.
(AP, 3/1/20)
2020 Feb 29, Lebanon's health
ministry said that three new cases of coronavirus had been
confirmed, bringing the total number of cases in the country to
seven.
(Reuters, 2/29/20)
2020 Feb 29, Pakistan confirmed
two more cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of positive
cases to four since Feb 26, when the first two cases were reported
in the country.
(Reuters, 2/29/20)
2020 Feb 29, South Korea
reported its biggest surge in new coronavirus cases with 3,150
infections as 813 more patients were reported. Three women in the
Daegu area died of the illness, taking the national toll to 17.
(AFP, 2/29/20)
2020 Feb 29, Spain's total
number of active coronavirus cases rose to 49. Authorities said an
Italian national staying at a hotel in Tenerife, which has been
placed on lockdown after four cases of the coronavirus were
detected, has tested positive for the virus. This brought the total
number of active cases in the Canary Islands to six.
(AP, 2/29/20)
2020 Mar 1, President Donald
Trump said travelers from countries at high risk of coronavirus
would be screened before boarding and upon arrival, without
specifying which countries. New cases were reported in the Chicago
area and Rhode Island. To date, more than 86,500 cases have been
confirmed. Outside of China, it has spread to 53 countries, with
more than 6,500 cases and more than 100 deaths. Globally, the
illness has killed nearly 3,000 people.
(Reuters, 3/1/20)(Reuters, 3/1/20)
2020 Mar 1, SF Bay Area
officials announced five new cases of coronavirus, two in Vacaville
and 3 in Santa Clara County.
(SFC, 3/2/20, p.A1)
2020 Mar 1, New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo's office confirmed the state's first coronavirus case
late today, in a woman in her late thirties who recently travelled
to Iran.
(The Independent, 3/1/20)
2020 Mar 1, A second person
died of coronavirus in the northwestern US state of Washington as
number of infections passed 75.
(AFP, 3/2/20)(Reuters, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 1, Britain announced a
jump in coronavirus cases, with 12 new infections taking the total
to 35.
(AP, 3/1/20)
2020 Mar 1, Mainland China
reported the biggest daily rise in coronavirus cases since Feb. 22.
A total of 2,870 people have died in mainland China and 79,824 have
been infected by the virus.
(Reuters, 3/1/20)
2020 Mar 1, Ecuador confirmed
five cases in patients who all had direct contact with an elderly
woman who brought the coronavirus to the Andean country from Spain.
(Reuters, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 1, Ireland, Luxembourg
and Qatar reported their first cases of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/1/20)
2020 Mar 1, France now has 100
confirmed cases. Of those, two have died. Louvre workers who guard
Leonardo da Vinci's “Mona Lisa” and other masterpieces walked off
the job, fearful of being contaminated by the museum’s flow of
tourists from around the world.
(Reuters, 3/1/20)(AP, 3/4/20)
2020 Mar 1, Germany's Robert
Koch Institute for disease control said the number of confirmed
coronavirus cases in Germany has jumped to 117 from 66.
(Reuters, 3/1/20)
2020 Mar 1, Iran's health
ministry raised the nationwide death toll from the new coronavirus
to 54 as the number of confirmed infected cases jumped overnight by
more than half to 978 people.
(AP, 3/1/20)
2020 Mar 1, Italy reported
1,694 positive cases of coronavirus and 34 deaths.
(AFP, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 1, In South Korea the
number of coronavirus cases is now at 3,736 with 21 deaths tied to
the Shincheonji religious sect. The founder of the sect and 11
others have just been charged with murder.
(The Daily Beast, 3/1/20)(Reuters, 3/1/20)
2020 Mar 2, US health
authorities urged all baby boomers to get a one-time hepatitis C
test because that age group appeared at particularly high risk. The
US Preventive Services Task Force said that hepatitis C is on the
rise because of the opioid crisis, prompting the recommendation to
expand testing.
(AP, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, In California the
number of coronavirus cases in the Bay Area were confirmed at 26
with 43 cases statewide.
(SFC, 3/3/20, p.A1)
2020 Mar 2, Washington state
health authorities said six people have died from coronavirus.
Researchers said earlier that the virus may have been circulating
for weeks undetected in the state.
(AP, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, Andorra, Armenia,
Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Iceland and Indonesia confirmed
their first cases of coronavirus.
(AP, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, The death toll from
the new coronavirus epidemic surpassed 3,000 as more people died in
China, Iran and the US and Europe raised its state of alert. The
virus has now infected more than 89,000, spread to over 60 countries
and threatens to cause a global economic slowdown.
(AP, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, China’s UN
ambassador said that North Korea is suffering “negatively” from the
coronavirus and called for greater flexibility from the United
States and other countries on lifting sanctions against the country.
(AP, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, Australian health
officials said that a woman and a male doctor have contracted
coronavirus, becoming the first cases of community transmissions in
the country.
(AP, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, Britain's Foreign
Office said Germany, France and the UK have offered a 5 million-euro
($5.6 million) package to Iran to help fight coronavirus in the
country.
(Reuters, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, China reported 42
more deaths due to coronavirus, all in central Hubei province,
putting death toll in China to 2,912. The National Health Commission
reported 202 new infections, the lowest daily rise since late
January, bringing the nationwide total over 80,000.
(AFP, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, EU Health
Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said: "As of this morning, we have
2,100 confirmed cases in 18 EU member states and we have 38 citizens
who have lost their lives".
(AP, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, In Germany the
number of novel coronavirus cases rose to 150, up from 129 the
previous day, with Berlin reporting its first infection.
(AP, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, India reported
three new cases of coronavirus, including an Italian national in the
western Indian state of Rajasthan.
(AP, 3/3/20)
2020 Mar 2, Iran reported 12
more deaths due to the coronavirus, raising the country's toll to
66. Iran reported more than 500 new cases, raising its total number
of infections to 1,501. Mohammad Mirmohammadi (71) of Iran's
Expediency Council died in a Tehran hospital after contracting the
COVID-19 coronavirus. A team from the World Health Organization
(WHO) arrived in Tehran to support the country's response to the
coronavirus outbreak
(AFP, 3/2/20)(The Week, 3/2/20)(Reuters, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, Five more cases
were confirmed in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, taking the
island's total tally to 77.
(AP, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, Qatar's health
ministry said that medical tests had revealed four new cases of
coronavirus infection in the country.
(Reuters, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, Saudi Arabia
confirmed its first case of coronavirus after one its citizens who
had returned from COVID-19 hotspot Iran tested positive.
(AFP, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, South Korea
reported 599 new cases of coronavirus, raising its total to 4,355.
The death toll rose to 26. South Korea sought murder charges against
leaders of Shincheonji Church, to which most of South Korea's cases
have been traced.
(Reuters, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 2, Spain's confirmed
cases of coronavirus rose to around 120 from 81 the day before.
(Reuters, 3/2/20)
2020 Mar 3, US officials said
there are now at least 120 confirmed cases in the US. Nine deaths
have all been all in the Seattle area. Two cases were reported in
New Hampshire.
(NY Times, 3/4/20)(Good Morning America, 3/4/20)
2020 Mar 3, New York reported
its 2nd case of coronavirus after Westchester County man tested
positive. About 100 people nationwide have tested positive for the
virus.
(Bloomberg, 3/3/20)(Reuters, 3/3/20)
2020 Mar 3, Belgium’s federal
public health service said they had found five new cases after
conducting tests the previous night. All of the patients had been
traveling in the north of Italy.
(Bloomberg, 3/3/20)
2020 Mar 3, China's death toll
from coronavirus reached 2,943, with more than 75 deaths elsewhere
as 77 other countries and territories have reported the respiratory
disease. More than 90,000 cases of the new coronavirus have been
reported globally.
(Reuters, 3/3/20)
2020 Mar 3, Germany said the
number of confirmed cases has risen to 188. The virus has spread to
13 of the country’s 16 federal states.
(AP, 3/3/20)
2020 Mar 3, India, the world's
main supplier of generic drugs, said it has restricted the export of
26 pharmaceutical ingredients and the medicines made from them,
including paracetamol, as the coronavirus outbreak plays havoc with
supply chains. The government said it had detected "high viral load"
in six people who had been in contact with a patient who contracted
the coronavirus in the capital New Delhi. 24 people who had come in
contact with the Italian tourist have been moved to a separate
facility for testing. They included 21 Italians and three Indians.
(Reuters, 3/3/20)
2020 Mar 3, Infections rose
again in Iran, where more officials were diagnosed. Iran reported
835 new confirmed cases, taking the total to 2,336. The death toll
climbed to 77 from 66, while 435 patients have recovered. Eight
percent of Iran's parliament, 23 out of 290 members, has been
infected with the coronavirus. At least seven government officials
also have it, including one of Iran's vice presidents.
(Bloomberg, 3/3/20)(Business Insider, 3/3/20)
2020 Mar 3, Japan’s tally of
coronavirus cases approached the 1,000 mark.
(Bloomberg, 3/3/20)
2020 Mar 3, South Korea’s
health ministry reported 374 more cases of the novel coronavirus,
taking the country’s tally to 5,186.
(Bloomberg, 3/3/20)
2020 Mar 3, Spain’s tally of
coronavirus rose 32% to 150.
(Bloomberg, 3/3/20)
2020 Mar 3, Sweden said it has
nine new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections, taking the total
to 24.
(AP, 3/3/20)
2020 Mar 4, US federal health
officials announced new testing criteria for coronavirus, requiring
only a doctor’s agreement. But it’s unclear whether there are enough
tests for everybody who’ll want one.
(NY Times, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 4, California's Gov.
Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the COVID-19 virus,
opening the way for federal aid, after the death of a man in Placer
County, near Sacramento, who had been on an earlier sailing of the
ship in February. This was the nation's first coronavirus death
outside of Washington state and brought the US death toll to 11.
California now had 53 confirmed cases.
(AP, 3/5/20)(Good Morning America, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 4, New York's Gov.
Andrew Cuomo announced that the four new cases of coronavirus,
bringing the state's total number of confirmed cases to six, were
all linked to a Westchester County-based lawyer.
(Reuters, 3/4/20)
2020 Mar 4, Tennessee reported
its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus.
(Good Morning America, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 4, Texas confirmed its
first case of the novel coronavirus man in a man who recently
traveled abroad.
(AP, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 4, In Britain the
number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 87 in the biggest
daily jump since it was first detected in the country.
(Reuters, 3/4/20)(Econ., 3/7/20, p.53)
2020 Mar 4, China reported 139
new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases to 80,409.
The death toll reached 2,981.
(Business Insider, 3/4/20)(Reuters, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 4, China said it has
approved the use of Swiss drugmaker Roche's anti-inflammation drug
Actemra for patients who develop severe complications from the
coronavirus as it urgently hunts for new ways to combat the deadly
infection that is spreading worldwide.
(Reuters, 3/4/20)
2020 Mar 4, Germany-based
Lufthansa said it has cut its flight capacity in a move equivalent
to grounding almost a fifth of its fleet, response to the
coronavirus epidemic.
(AP, 3/4/20)
2020 Mar 4, Iran reported 15
new deaths from COVID-19 and 586 additional cases, bringing the
overall toll to 92 dead and 2,922 infected.. President Hassan
Rouhani dismissed a US offer to help the Islamic republic fight its
coronavirus outbreak, charging that "vicious" American sanctions are
depriving the country of medicine. Iran canceled Friday prayers in
major cities.
(AFP, 3/4/20)(AP, 3/4/20)
2020 Mar 4, Iraq said a Muslim
cleric (70) died today from the novel coronavirus, the first death
from the outbreak in a country where 31 people have been infected.
(AFP, 3/4/20)
2020 Mar 4, Israel ordered
travelers arriving from Germany, France, Spain, Austria and
Switzerland to go into home quarantine over coronavirus concerns.
The Health Ministry also ordered all international conferences in
Israel cancelled and banned gatherings of more than 5,000
participants.
(Reuters, 3/4/20)
2020 Mar 4, The death toll in
Italy soared to 79, with more than 2,500 people infected. A
government source said Italy is to close all schools and
universities starting March 5 to try to contain its worsening
coronavirus outbreak.
(AFP, 3/4/20)(Reuters, 3/4/20)
2020 Mar 4, Lebanon has 15
cases confirmed since Feb. 21 after infected travelers arrived from
Iran. The outbreak was expected to grow, challenging hard-hit
medical facilities.
(Reuters, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 4, Saudi Arabia banned
its citizens and other residents of the kingdom from performing the
pilgrimage in Mecca due to the coronavirus.
(AP, 3/4/20)
2020 Mar 4, South Korea
reported 516 new coronavirus cases. It now had had more than 5,600
cases and 32 deaths.
(Business Insider, 3/4/20)
2020 Mar 4, In Sweden 16 new
cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Stockholm, taking the
total number of cases in Sweden to 52.
(AP, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, It was reported
that six US military individuals in South Korea have tested positive
for COVID-19.
(AP, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, California's Gov.
Gavin Newsom said a ship with suspected links to two coronavirus
cases, one fatal, was being held off the coast of San Francisco
until everyone on board could be tested. At least 21 people on the
ship had symptoms. The cases included guests who were on the
previous Grand Princess voyage from Feb. 11 to 21.
(NY Times, 3/5/20)(Good Morning America, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, New Jersey
confirmed its first case of coronavirus, a man (32) who had been
hospitalized just across the Hudson River from New York City.
(Bloomberg, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, New York officials
reported 11 new positive cases of coronavirus in Westchester County,
bringing the state's total count to 24, with 21 of those in in
Westchester County and four in New York City.
(Good Morning America, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, Houston officials
confirmed the first three cases of coronavirus in Harris County, the
nation's third-largest county.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 5, In Washington state
at least 39 new coronavirus cases have been reported in the Seattle
area. A man in his 60s died, the ninth fatality associated with the
outbreak at a Seattle area nursing home.
(AP, 3/5/20)(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 5, Brazil confirmed
eight cases of the new coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 5, Britain's HSBC sent
more than 100 staff home after a worker tested positive for
coronavirus, the first known case at a major company in London.
Britain counted 90 cases.
(AP, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, Bulgaria declared a
nationwide influenza epidemic to deal with the rapid rise of type B
flu cases. All schools in the Black Sea state of 7 million were
closed to March 11.
(Reuters, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, Scientists in China
studying the outbreak say they have found that two main strains of
the virus are circulating in humans and causing infections.
(Reuters, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, It was reported
that France has 377 confirmed cases of coronavirus and reported two
more deaths, bringing the total to six.
(Reuters, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, Germany's new
coronavirus cases jumped by 109 in a day, to 349.
(AP, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, Iran reported 15
new deaths from the novel coronavirus, raising the national toll to
107, and said it would keep schools and universities closed until
early April. 3513 people in Iran have now been infected with the
coronavirus.
(AFP, 3/5/20)(Reuters, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, Iran announced it
would put checkpoints in place to limit travel between major cities,
hoping to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Hossein Sheikholeslam,
an adviser to Iran's foreign minister, died from coronavirus.
(AP, 3/6/20)(AFP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 5, In Italy the death
toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of
Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of a nationwide contagion, has
risen over the past day to 98 from 73.
(AP, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, In Japan confirmed
infections of coronavirus rose to 1,036.
(AP, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, South Africa
confirmed its first case of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, South Korea
reported 760 new coronavirus cases. South Korea confirmed 6,088
coronavirus cases, with a death toll of 37.
(Reuters, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, Spanish health
authorities said they had identified as many as 193 coronavirus
cases, including three children. Spain reported its first death two
days earlier from the outbreak in Valencia.
(Reuters, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, In Switzerland a
woman (74) became the first local person to die from the novel
coronavirus.
(AP, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, Thailand reported
four new cases of coronavirus, bringing its total to 47 since
January.
(Reuters, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 5, The UN said a
British UN employee is one of the four people who have tested
positive for the novel coronavirus in Senegal.
(AFP, 3/5/20)
2020 Mar 6, Pres. Donald Trump
signed an $8.3 billion measure to help tackle the coronavirus
outbreak that has killed 14 people in the US and infected more than
200.
(AP, 3/6/20)(Reuters, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, The Grand Princess
cruise ship, with 3,500 aboard, remained docked 70 miles off the
coast of San Francisco as health officials await results from dozens
of coronavirus tests. Samples were collected from 45 people
currently on board who were showing symptoms. At least 19 passengers
and two crew members on Carnival Corp.’s Grand Princess, currently
off the coast of California, have tested positive for the
coronavirus virus.
(AP, 3/6/20)(SFC, 3/6/20, p.A9)(Bloomberg,
3/7/20)
2020 Mar 6, In the SF Bay Area
Santa Clara County reported 24 cases of coronavirus.
(SSFC, 3/7/20, p.A1)
2020 Mar 6, San Francisco Mayor
London Breed announced that the War Memorial and Performing Arts
venues, including the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, will be closed
for all public events for the next two weeks over fears of the rapid
spread of the new coronavirus.
(SFC, 3/9/20, p.C1)
2020 Mar 6, Florida health
officials confirmed the state’s first two deaths from coronavirus as
well the first pair of cases in the Miami metropolitan area.
(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 6, Kentucky reported
its first coronavirus case.
(Bloomberg, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 6, Nebraska reported
its first coronavirus case.
(Bloomberg, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 6, The number of
confirmed coronavirus cases in New York doubled to 22. More than
2,700 people were isolated at home.
(NY Times, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, Utah confirmed its
first coronavirus case.
(Good Morning America, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 6, In Washington state
two Microsoft employees have been diagnosed with the novel
coronavirus. Facebook announced it is closing its Seattle office
until March 9 after a contractor tested positive for the virus.
(Good Morning America, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, In the US the
number of cases passed 230 people scattered across 18 states. The
new coronavirus hit a milestone, infecting more than 100,000 people
worldwide as it wove itself deeper into the daily lives of millions,
infecting the powerful, the unprotected poor and the vast masses in
between.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, US drugmaker Biogen
Inc said three of its employees tested positive for the coronavirus
after attending a meeting in Boston last week, and that their
condition was improving under medical care.
(Reuters, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, In Belgium the
number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus more than doubled
to 109 after 59 new patients tested positive.
(Good Morning America, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, An American tourist
became the 1st confirmed case in Bhutan.
(Good Morning America, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, Cameroon announced
its first coronavirus infection.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, China reported 143
new cases, the same as a day earlier and about one-third what the
country was seeing a week ago. Health authorities said the
northwestern Chinese province of Gansu has confirmed 17 new
coronavirus cases imported from Iran, bringing the total imported
cases to 28.
(AP, 3/6/20)(Reuters, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, Egyptian officials
said 12 people from a Nile cruise ship have tested positive for the
novel coronavirus.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, Ghana's President
Nana Akufo-Addo set the tone for new rules due to coronavirus,
warning everybody to improve personal hygiene and avoid crowds, at
the celebrations of Ghana's 63rd independence anniversary. He
ostentatiously kept both his hands resolutely behind his back when
he arrived at the ceremony to greet those seated on the dais.
(BBC, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 6, Four cases of the
coronavirus have been identified in Hungary thus far, including a
pair of Iranian students who recently visited their homeland.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, India braced for a
potential explosion of coronavirus cases as authorities rushed to
trace, test and quarantine contacts of 31 people confirmed to have
the disease.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, Iran announced that
the new coronavirus has killed 124 people amid 4,747 confirmed
cases. The virus now was in all of Iran's 31 provinces.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, In Ireland more
than 60 staff at a hospital were asked to self-isolate after the
country's first community transmission of coronavirus was found
there.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, In Italy at least
3,296 people have been infected with the coronavirus. The death
reached at least 148.
(Good Morning America, 3/6/20)(Reuters, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, In Japan confirmed
coronavirus infections rose to 1,057.
(Reuters, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, The Netherlands
reported its first coronavirus death.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, Peru announced its
first coronavirus infection.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, Serbia announced
its first coronavirus infection.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, Slovakia announced
its first coronavirus infection.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, South Korea
reported 505 additional cases, down from a high of 851 on March 3.
The US military confirmed its seventh case among those stationed
there.
(AP, 3/6/20)(Reuters, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, Spain confirmed its
fifth coronavirus death, with 365 confirmed cases.
(Reuters, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, Switzerland
reported 130 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing
the national total to 210.
(Good Morning America, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, Togo confirmed its
first case of coronavirus, bringing the number of countries in
sub-Saharan Africa hit by the epidemic to five.
(Reuters, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 6, Vatican City
confirmed its first coronavirus case, but did not say who was
infected.
(AP, 3/6/20)
2020 Mar 7, The number of
Americans diagnosed with novel coronavirus is now at least 424,
according to a case count by Johns Hopkins Univ. At least 19 people
have died in the US in Washington state, California and Florida.
There were now more than 101,000 infected worldwide and more than
3,400 deaths.
(Good Morning America, 3/7/20)(AP, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 7, A US Navy sailor
stationed at the Naval Support Activity Naples tested positive for
novel coronavirus, marking the first positive cause of a US service
member in Europe.
(Good Morning America, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, Grand Princess
Capt. John Smith told passengers that the ship hit by the new
coronavirus is headed to the port of Oakland, Ca. The ship carrying
more than 3,500 people from 54 countries was expected to dock on
March 9. Passengers were quarantined at Travis Air Force Base and
many were released on a staggered basis from March 9 to March 13.
Two-thirds of the 858 passengers at the base had declined testing.
On March 20 seven of the tested passengers were reported positive
for the virus.
(AP, 3/8/20)(SSFC, 3/22/20, p.A1)
2020 Mar 7, Hawaii Gov. David
Ige said a patient who had traveled aboard a Grand Princess cruise
ship in early February became Hawaii's first case of the
coronavirus.
(Good Morning America, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 7, Argentina's
Ministry of Health said a 64-year-old man has died as a result of
the new coronavirus, the first such death in Latin America.
(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, Chile said it now
had seven confirmed coronavirus cases, up from five.
(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, In China about 70
people were trapped in a collapsed hotel in the city of Quanzhou, in
southeastern Fujian Province. The collapsed hotel was used for
coronavirus quarantine. 23 people were reported rescued. 23 remained
trapped after the collapse of the hotel. 20 people died in the
collapse. On March 9 a boy and his mother were rescued.
(Reuters, 3/7/20)(Reuters, 3/8/20)(SFC, 3/11/20,
p.A2)
2020 Mar 7, Costa Rica's Health
Ministry confirmed four new cases of coronavirus, in addition to
that of a case involving an American woman announced a day earlier.
Her husband was among the new cases.
(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, In Egypt about 150
tourists and local crew were quarantined on a cruise ship on the
Nile river in the southern city of Luxor after 12 people tested
positive for the coronavirus.
(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, In France a member
of the lower house was diagnosed with the virus and hospitalized.
The Health Ministry said that two more people had died from the
coronavirus, bringing the total death toll to 11 people. France has
now 716 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
(AP, 3/7/20)(Reuters, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, Georgia reported a
total of 12 cases in the country, 10 linked to Italy, which has
Europe's worst outbreak, and the other two linked to Iran. Georgia
reported its first case of coronavirus in the end of February.
(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, Germany’s confirmed
coronavirus infections rose to 684 from 534 a day earlier.
(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, In Hungary the
number of confirmed coronavirus patients increased to five since the
first infections were announced on March 4. The government canceled
a rally planned for the March 15 national holiday in central
Budapest.
(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, In Iran lawmaker
Fatemeh Rahbar (55) died from the coronavirus, the first fatality
among 23 infected members of parliament. The death toll from the
virus increased to 145 as the number of diagnosed cases grew to
5,823.
(AFP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, People were not
permitted to leave or enter Bethlehem, as per a decision made by
Israeli and Palestinian authorities after 17 cases of novel
coronavirus were confirmed in the city in the last 48 hours. 14
American citizens were being tested and have been quarantined in the
Angles hotel in the city of Bethlehem for now.
(Good Morning America, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, In Italy the number
of fatalities due to the coronavirus were up 36 to 233, with
infections growing to 8,883. Cases have now been confirmed in each
of the country's 20 regions, with deaths recorded in eight of them.
(Reuters, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, Kuwait recorded 3
new cases of the coronavirus, bringing its infection tally to 61.
(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, Malta reported its
first case of coronavirus.
(Bloomberg, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, Mexico reported
seven instances of coronavirus, up from six.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 7, Paraguay reported
its first case of coronavirus.
(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, Peru announced five
new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the country's total to six.
(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, The Philippines
health department reported the country’s sixth infection. President
Rodrigo Duterte agreed to declare a state of national public health
emergency after a local transmission of coronavirus.
(Bloomberg, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, Qatar reported its
12th case of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, South Korea's
coronavirus cases jumped above 7,000, up by 448 from the previous
day. The death toll rose by two to 46.
(Reuters, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, Spain identified 93
new coronavirus cases, bringing its total to 441.
(AP, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, In the UAE The
number of coronavirus cases rose to 45 from 30.
(Reuters, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 7, In Vietnam all air
crew and ground staff working on a Vietnam Airlines’ flight from
London to Hanoi on March 1 were being quarantined after a passenger
tested positive for coronavirus. The Ministry of Health confirmed
three new coronavirus cases, raising the number in the country to
20.
(AP, 3/7/20)(Reuters, 3/7/20)
2020 Mar 8, In the SF Bay Area
ten new coronavirus cases were reported, five each in Contra Costa
and Santa Clara counties. This brought the total in Santa clara to
37.
(SFC, 3/9/20, p.A6)
2020 Mar 8, Iowa Gov. Kim
Reynolds said three cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the
state.
(AP, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo said the number of people in his state to test positive
for coronavirus has increased to 105.
(Good Morning America, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, Vermont announced
its first presumptive case of the coronavirus.
(Good Morning America, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, Bangladesh reported
its first case of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, Bulgaria reported
its first case of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, Belgium's health
ministry said the number of coronavirus cases in the country had
reached 200. It said the virus had started to circulate locally
among the Belgian population.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, China reported 40
new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections, down from 44 cases a
day earlier, and the lowest number since the health authority
started publishing nationwide data on January 20.
(Reuters, 3/9/20)
2020 Mar 8, Hong Kong recorded
its third coronavirus death.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, Indonesia confirmed
that two more people had tested positive for the coronavirus, taking
the total of confirmed cases in the country to six.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, Iran said 194
people had died from coronavirus and 6,566 were now infected.
IranAir stopped all flights to European destinations.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, Italy imposed a
virtual lockdown across a swathe of its wealthy north, including the
financial capital Milan, in a drastic new attempt to try to contain
the coronavirus outbreak. Deaths due to the infectious virus risen,
by 36 to 233. Of the 5,883 Italians originally infected, 589 have
fully recovered.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, Tensions in Italy's
overcrowded prisons erupted over new coronavirus containment
measures, with riots in at least two dozen lock-ups and the deaths
of six inmates who broke into an infirmary and overdosed on
methadone. With 7,375 infected and 366 deaths, Italy has more virus
cases than any country outside Asia.
(AP, 3/9/20)
2020 Mar 8, The Maldives
reported its first case of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, Moldova reported
its first case of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, Moscow city
authorities threatened prison terms of up to five years for people
failing to self-isolate in their homes for two weeks after visiting
countries hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, Saudi Arabia said
it has imposed a temporary lockdown on the eastern Qatif province,
an oil-producing region and home to a large Shi'ite Muslim
population, to prevent the spread of coronavirus after 11 people
there were infected.
(AP, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, South Korea's
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 272 new
coronavirus cases, for a total of 7,313 in the country. Two further
deaths took the toll to 50.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 8, In Spain a large
feminist march was allowed to go ahead despite the coronavirus
pandemic.
(Econ, 3/21/20, p.46)
2020 Mar 8, Vietnam's
coronavirus cases jumped to 29.
(Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020 Mar 9, President Trump
attempted to dismiss coronavirus fears with a misleading tweet
comparing the virus causing the global health crisis to the seasonal
flu. His tweet came after trading on the New York Stock Exchange was
temporarily halted as stocks plunged more than 2,000 points, a 7
percent drop that triggered an automatic pause. Trump blamed the
"Fake News Media" and Democrats for conspiring "to inflame the
Coronavirus situation" and wrongly suggested that the common flu was
more dangerous.
(AP, 3/9/20)(Econ, 3/14/20, p.18)
2020 Mar 9, The US Department
of Health and Human Services said it would contribute $699,000 to
speed up Hologic Inc's development of a coronavirus diagnostic test.
(Reuters, 3/9/20)
2020 Mar 9, In the US 554 cases
of coronavirus have been confirmed, with 21 reported deaths.
Worldwide more than 110,000 people have tested positive for the
disease and more than 3,800 people with the virus have died, most of
them in China.
(AP, 3/9/20)(Benzinga, 3/9/20)
2020 Mar 9, Federal and state
officials in California prepared to receive thousands of people from
a cruise ship that has been idling off the coast of San Francisco
with at least 21 people aboard infected with the coronavirus. Fences
were installed at an 11-acre site at the Port of Oakland as
authorities readied flights and buses to whisk the passengers aboard
the ship to military bases or their home countries for a 14-day
quarantine. Officials in Santa Clara imposed a ban on mass
gatherings of more than 1,000 people for the next three weeks to
slow the spread of the coronavirus.
(AP, 3/9/20)(SFC, 3/10/20, p.A1)
2020 Mar 9, The Seattle-area
nursing home at the epicenter of one of the biggest coronavirus
outbreaks in the United States said it had no kits to test 65
employees showing symptoms of the respiratory illness that has
killed at least 13 patients at the long-term care center.
(Reuters, 3/9/20)
2020 Mar 9, Belgium’s health
ministry said the number of coronavirus cases in the country had
reached 239, while it decided to limit tests to seriously ill
patients and healthcare professionals due to shortages of reagents.
(Reuters, 3/9/20)
2020 Mar 9, In Britain a sixth
person in the UK has died from coronavirus. There were 319 confirmed
cases.
(Reuters, 3/9/20)(AP, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 9, Canada recorded its
first coronavirus death.
(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 9, Mainland China
reported 19 new cases as of today, down from 40 cases a day earlier.
Total confirmed cases in mainland China stood at 80,754. Hubei
province, center of the outbreak, reported no new locally
transmitted coronavirus cases for a second day.
(AP, 3/9/20)(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 9, In Egypt there were
59 confirmed coronavirus cases, including one fatality.
(AP, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 9, An EU spokeswoman
said a first case of coronavirus has been detected among staff at
the European Commission.
(Reuters, 3/9/20)
2020 Mar 9, Germany reported
its first two deaths due to the coronavirus. The number of cases in
Germany more than doubled to over 1,100 in the last few days,
putting pressure on the government to act.
(Bloomberg, 3/9/20)
2020 Mar 9, Iran reported 43
new deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing
the overall toll to 237 dead. 595 new cases were confirmed across
the country, bringing the overall number of confirmed cases to
7,161. Iran temporarily released about 70,000 prisoners because of
the coronavirus.
(AFP, 3/9/20)(Reuters, 3/9/20)
2020 Mar 9, Italy went under a
national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Econ., 6/20/20, p.11)
2020 Mar 9, In the Netherlands
the number of people infected with the new coronavirus increased to
321, up from 264 a day earlier.
(Reuters, 3/9/20)
2020 Mar 9, Panama confirmed
its first coronavirus case.
(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 9, Saudi Arabia's
health ministry said it has detected five new cases, bringing the
total to 20.
(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 9, South Korea
reported 165 new coronavirus cases, bringing the national tally to
7,478, while the death toll rose by one to 51.
(Reuters, 3/9/20)
2020 Mar 9, South Korea-based
Daily NK reported that around 200 North Korean soldiers from several
branches of the military have died from symptoms that may have been
caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
(https://tinyurl.com/r85wkr7)(Daily NK, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 9, In Spain schools
were closed in the town of Labastida near Vitoria in the Basque
country after nearly 150 cases of coronavirus were identified in the
region. The country has reported 999 cases in all, most of them in
two areas around Madrid and around Vitoria.
(Reuters, 3/9/20)
2020 Mar 9, Sweden's Stockholm
region reported a jump in confirmed coronavirus cases to 207, an
increase of 60 since yesterday.
(AP, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, In the US a total
of 761 confirmed cases of the coronavirus were confirmed nationwide
as well as 27 deaths. The number of people infected with the
coronavirus topped 116,000 across the world as the outbreak spread
to more countries, causing greater economic damage.
(AP, 3/10/20)(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Iowa health
officials announced that five more eastern Iowa residents have
tested positive for new coronavirus. The new cases brought the total
number of Iowa infections to 13.
(AP, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Australia's
coronavirus cases rose overnight to 100 from 80.
(AP, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Bosnia's
autonomous Serb region said it will shut all schools and
universities and ban large public gatherings from March 11 until
March 30 to help stem the spread of coronavirus.
(AP, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Brunei said six
people had tested positive a day after it reported its first case of
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, China's President
Xi Jinping’ made his first trip to the COVID-19 epicenter of Wuhan
as parts of the nation appeared to be returning to normal.
(AP, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Congo DRC reported
its first case of coronavirus.
(AP, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, The Czech
Republic, which has reported 40 cases of coronavirus, said it will
suspend schools other than universities from March 11, and ban
events hosting more than 100 people.
(AP, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, In India Hindus
threw colored powder and sprayed water in massive celebrations of
the festival of Holi, but the enthusiasm was subdued compared to
previous years because of fears of the new virus. The number of
confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country rose to 47.
(AP, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, In Iran the
coronavirus outbreak killed 54 more people and pushed the nation's
death toll to 291. This was an 18% increase in deaths from the day
before and 12% more confirmed cases. Health ministry spokesperson
Kianoush Jahanpour said there were 8,042 confirmed cases. Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said doctors and nurses who die
combating the new coronavirus will be recognized as “martyrs” like
slain soldiers. State-run media said a rumor circulating in Iran
that alcohol can treat coronavirus has so far led to 37 deaths and
sent 270 people to the hospital after being poisoned by bootleg
alcohol.
(AP, 3/10/20)(Reuters, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 10, It was reported
that the coronavirus outbreak in Israel, largely contained, began to
gain pace in recent days, with a total of 58 cases diagnosed as of
today. 26 confirmed cases have been reported in the Palestinian
Territories.
(AP, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Italy entered its
first day under a nationwide lockdown after a government decree
extended restrictions on movement from the hard-hit north to the
rest of the country. Italy counted 9,172 cases and 463 deaths. The
number of dead from riots in Italy's overcrowded prisons over
measures imposed to contain the coronavirus rose to 12.
(AP, 3/10/20)(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Kosovo's
government approved the 2020 budget after the small Balkan country
held a snap election in October and elected the government after
months of negotiations.
(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Lebanon reported
its first death due to coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Mongolia reported
its first case of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Morocco's health
ministry confirmed the country's first death from coronavirus in
Casablanca, as its overall number of new infections rose to three.
(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Dutch health
authorities took action to contain an outbreak of the coronavirus in
a southern province, where a large group of employees at hospitals
tested positive for the illness. The number of confirmed coronavirus
cases had risen by 61 to 382. One more person had died, taking the
number of deaths so far to four.
(AP, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Norway-based
Equinor reported the oil industry's first coronavirus infection on
an offshore installation, highlighting the challenge in preventing
contamination for thousands of workers living in the close quarters
on rigs and platforms.
(Reuters, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 10, Poland has
reported 17 coronavirus cases so far and has announced the
cancellation of all large-scale events.
(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, Singapore started
charging visitors for coronavirus treatment after it reported new
imported cases from neighboring Indonesia.
(Reuters, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 10, The Spanish
parliament’s lower house canceled its activities for a week after a
far-right Vox party member tested positive as coronavirus cases in
the country surged to 1,600. Health authorities said known
coronavirus cases in the capital region had risen to 1,024 from 782.
Authorities have reported 47 deaths, 31 of them in Madrid.
(AP, 3/10/20)(Reuters, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 10, Taiwan began to
airlift almost 500 of its residents from Wuhan. Another 500
Taiwanese will for now remain stuck in the central Chinese city.
(Bloomberg, 3/10/20)
2020 Mar 11, The US reported
1,039 cases of confirmed coronavirus, the eighth-highest in the
world. The death toll reached 31. The Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) confirmed that three of its officers who work
at the Mineta San Jose International Airport have tested positive
for the novel coronavirus. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the
virus outbreak in the US was only going to get worse. A new report
said the new coronavirus can live in the air for several hours and
on some surfaces for as long as two to three days. The US Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 987 cases of the
coronavirus, an increase of 291 from its previous count, and said
that the number of deaths had risen by 4 to 29. The CDC figures did
not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.
(Good Morning America, 3/11/20)(AP,
3/11/20)(Reuters, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, The US state of
Georgia has 23 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus so far.
(AP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Albania announced
its first virus-related death.
(AP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Bahrain
authorities said their number of confirmed cases have spiked by
nearly 70% to 189 confirmed cases. The 77 new cases were all on a
returning flight of Bahraini evacuees from Iran.
(AP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Belgium announced
its first virus-related death.
(AP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Bulgaria announced
its first virus-related death.
(AP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, China announced
that key companies can resume work in coronavirus-hit Wuhan. The
coronavirus has now killed over 3,100 and infected nearly 81,000 in
the country. Beijing ordered people arriving in the city from any
country to go into 14-day quarantine as China reported an increase
in imported coronavirus cases, threatening its progress against the
epidemic.
(AFP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Denmark went under
a national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Econ., 6/20/20, p.11)
2020 Mar 11, Germany reported
1,622 confirmed cases of coronavirus, making it the seventh-highest
national total in the global outbreak. Chancellor Angela Merkel
warned that up to 70 percent of the country's population, roughly 58
million people, could contract the virus.
(Good Morning America, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, India suspended
most visas in a bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
(AP, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 11, In Iran the death
toll in the Islamic Republic from the outbreak rose by 62 to 354.
The semiofficial Fars news agency reported that Vice President Eshaq
Jahangiri and two other Cabinet members have contracted the new
coronavirus.
(AP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Italy's PM
Giuseppe Conte earmarked $28.3 billion to ease the economic impact
from the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Kuwait reported
over 70 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and announced that it
would close down all work and business for two weeks beginning March
12.
(AP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Lebanon suspended
flights from countries hit hardest by the novel coronavirus after
announcing its second death from the pandemic in two days.
(AFP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Malta banned
travel with Germany, France, Spain and Switzerland to try to prevent
the spread of the coronavirus. Malta so far had six confirmed virus
cases, all involving people who had visited Italy.
(Reuters, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Poland, which has
confirmed 25 coronavirus cases, shut schools, banned large social
events and closed cinemas, museums and other cultural sites,
following similar measures by other countries in the region
including the Czech Republic and Romania.
(AP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Qatar said it has
recorded 238 new coronavirus cases among individuals already under
quarantine in one residential compound, taking the country's total
tally to 262.
(Reuters, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Serbia canceled
campaign events for the country’s April 26 parliamentary election in
an effort to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus after the
number of cases in the Balkan state more than doubled overnight to
12.
(AP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, South Korea
confirmed a total of 114 coronavirus infections, taking the
country's total to 7,869. A new cluster of infections was discovered
in a call center office building in Seoul.
(AP, 3/12/20)(Econ, 3/14/20, p.48)
2020 Mar 11, In Spain, the
number of coronavirus cases surged past the 2,000-mark.
(AP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, Sweden announced
its first virus-related death.
(AP, 3/11/20)
2020 Mar 11, The World Health
Organization declared the virus a pandemic, a term that it had
avoided using for fear that countries would give up on containment
efforts.
(NY Times, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 12, The US now had at
least 1,323 cases of coronavirus, the eighth-highest number of cases
worldwide. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
reported about 1,260 US coronavirus illnesses. The number trailed
independent researchers, who are adding reports from individual
states more quickly. Globally, there have been over 126,000
confirmed cases with over 4,600 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins
University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
(Good Morning America, 3/12/20)(AP, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 12, California Gov.
Gavin Newsom announced new restrictions on public gatherings, saying
that they must now be limited to no more than 250 people, while
smaller events can proceed only if the organizers can implement
social distancing of 6 feet per person.
(Good Morning America, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 12, In New York City a
female diplomat from the Philippines mission to the United Nations
tested positive for coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 12, The national guard
arrived in New Rochelle, New York, to maintain a containment zone
just 25 miles outside of New York City.
(Good Morning America, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 12, Algeria's
president ordered all schools closed immediately after the North
African country saw its first death from the virus. Algeria has 25
cases so far.
(AP, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 12, Argentina's Pres.
Alberto Fernandez shut down borders, business and transport by
decree to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The central bank was
printing money to keep the government going with inflation was
already at 50%
(Econ, 4/25/20, p.23)
2020 Mar 12, Azerbaijan
reported its first death from the coronavirus outbreak, an Azeri
woman who was quarantined after returning from Iran.
(Reuters, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 12, Canadian
authorities confirmed that PM Justin Trudeau's wife Sophie Gregoire
Trudeau has tested positive for the COVID-19, following her visit to
the United Kingdom. At least 117 cases of the novel coronavirus have
been confirmed in Canada with one death.
(Benzinga, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 12, El Salvador
announced a national lockdown as it reported three confirmed cases
of the coronavirus.
(Econ, 4/11/20, p.24)
2020 Mar 12, Gabon confirmed
its first coronavirus case.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 12, Ghana confirmed
their first coronavirus case.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 12, Iran said it had
asked last week for an emergency $5 billion loan from the
International Monetary Fund to help fight the spread of a new virus
that's swept across the country, infecting more than 10,000 people
and killing hundreds. The Health Ministry said 75 people had died in
the past 24 hours and more than 1,000 new cases of infection had
been confirmed, pushing the death toll to 429 and confirmed cases to
10,075.
(AP, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 12, Israel shut down
its education system due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ultra-Orthodix
schools continued to operate.
(Economist, 4/4/20, p.38)
2020 Mar 12, Italy's Premier
Giuseppe Conte ordered restaurants, cafes and retail shops closed
after imposing a nationwide lockdown on personal movement. Jewelry
and clothing shops that on Tuesday and Wednesday had posted signs
urging customers to queue up out the door a meter (3.3 feet) apart
were closed until further notice. Supermarkets, pharmacies and
outdoor markets were still open.
(AP, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 12, Philippine
President Rodrigo Duterte announced strict immigration curbs and a
halt on domestic land, sea and air travel to and from Manila, in
what he called a "lockdown" of the capital to arrest the spread of
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 12, South Africa
reported 17 confirmed coronavirus infections, including its first
transmitted locally. Across Africa, 12 of the continent's 54
countries have registered COVID-19 cases, the most recent being
Ivory Coast announcing one case.
(AP, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 12, South Korea
reported fewer than 120 new coronavirus cases, but authorities
warned that a new cluster in Seoul could see the infection spread in
the capital.
(AFP, 3/12/20)
2020 Mar 12, Sudan's first
death from the coronavirus was of a man who had visited the United
Arab Emirates in the first week of March.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 12, Vietnam's
coronavirus cases rose to 44.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Pres. Donald Trump
declared the coronavirus outbreak a national emergency, freeing up
money and resources to fight it, and threw his support behind a
congressional aid package. Trump said “I don't take responsibility
at all" for the slow rollout of testing. Trump said that major
cruise lines including Royal Caribbean would suspend cruises for 30
days at his request after repeated transmission of coronavirus among
passengers at sea.
(AP, 3/14/20)(Reuters, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 13, President Donald
Trump's administration announced it is awarding $1.3 million to two
companies trying to develop rapid COVID-19 tests that could detect
whether a person is positive for the new coronavirus within an hour.
The Department of Health and Human Services said it is awarding
$679,000 to DiaSorin Molecular, of Cypress, California, and $598,000
to QIAGEN, of Germantown, Maryland, to accelerate development of
their tests.
(AP, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, A US federal
government plan to combat the coronavirus warned policymakers that a
pandemic “will last 18 months or longer” and could include “multiple
waves,” resulting in widespread shortages that would strain
consumers and the nation’s health care system.
(NY Times, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 13, US officials said
inmates at all 122 federal correctional facilities across the
country will no longer be allowed visits from family, friends or
attorneys for the next 30 days, in response to the threat of the
coronavirus.
(AP, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, The US Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) approved Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc's
coronavirus test, which would allow the firm to increase capacity to
1.4 million tests a week.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, The US Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) said that the New York State Department of
Health can authorize certain laboratories to begin testing for the
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, New York state
opened its first drive-through coronavirus test site, following a
similar experiment in Seattle.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 13, More than 134,500
people have been infected globally by the coronavirus and over 4,900
have died, according to a Reuters tally of government announcements.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Australia warned
citizens the coronavirus pandemic is now so widespread that they
should reconsider all foreign travel, as the government stepped up
measures to slow the spread of the disease.
(AFP, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Austria said will
introduce border checks with Switzerland and ban flight connections
with France, Spain and Switzerland from March 16 to slow the rapidly
spreading coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Belarus said it
has recorded 27 people infected with coronavirus, six more than a
day before.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Britain's number
of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 590. Ten people have died.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, The Bulgarian
parliament voted unanimously to declare a state of emergency until
April 13 as the number of confirmed cases in the country more than
tripled to 23.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Cambodia recorded
two new cases of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 13, China reported its
lowest tally from the coronavirus since January, with eight new
infections confirmed in the past 24 hours and seven deaths. Wuhan
city reported five new cases. About 81,000 people have been
diagnosed and about 64,000 have recovered. The death toll touched
3,176.
(NY Times, 3/13/20)(AP, 3/13/20)(Reuters,
3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Chinese
billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma said he will donate
500,000 coronavirus testing kits and 1 million masks to the United
States and urged international cooperation to fight the health
crisis.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Costa Rica, which
has reported 22 cases, ordered all university classes suspended.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Ecuador suspended
large events and shut its schools as it confirmed 15 cases of the
coronavirus.
(Econ, 4/11/20, p.24)
2020 Mar 13, Ethiopia confirmed
its first case of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, In France the
death toll from coronavirus rose to 61.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Germany recorded
3,062 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with five deaths. The
German government unleashed the biggest economic aid package in the
country's post-war history, offering companies "unlimited" credit to
keep them afloat during the coronavirus crisis.
(Reuters, 3/14/20)(AFP, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Greece said it
will close all its museums and archaeological sites, including the
entire Acropolis that looms over Athens, until the end of the month
due to the impact of the coronavirus. Greece had 117 confirmed cases
and one fatality.
(AP, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, In Hong Kong a man
(80) became the fourth patient to die from coronavirus.
(AP, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, The Icelandic
government said it would ban public gatherings of 100 or more people
and that secondary schools and universities would close for four
weeks to curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. So far, 117
cases of coronavirus infections have been confirmed in the country.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Two Indian states
ordered the closure of public buildings, malls, cinemas and bars in
several major cities, with Mumbai and Bengaluru subject to differing
restrictions, after the country reported its first death from the
coronavirus. India had 74 confirmed cases of the virus.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Iran announced
that the new coronavirus has claimed another 85 lives, the highest
single-day death toll in one of the world's worst affected
countries. This brought to 514 the overall number of deaths in the
country. The total number of patients has reached 11,364 cases.
(AFP, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Irish nationalists
in Northern Ireland's government called for the closure of schools
to mirror measures across the border in the Republic of Ireland,
putting them at odds with their pro-British power-sharing partners.
Northern Ireland currently has 20 confirmed cases of COVID-19
compared with 70 in the Republic of Ireland, where the population is
around two and a half times bigger.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, In Israel 126
cases of the disease have been reported and another 35 in the
occupied West Bank. Muslims gathered in smaller-than-usual numbers
at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem after religious authorities decided
to keep Islam's third holiest site open for prayers but enact health
measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Italy's death toll
from the coronavirus epidemic shot past 1,000 as the economic impact
worsened. The total number of infections rose to 15,113.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, In Japan total
coronavirus infections rose to 1,380.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Kazakhstan
confirmed first coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Kenya confirmed
East Africa's first case of coronavirus, a woman who had returned to
the capital Nairobi from the United States.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Mexico has so far
confirmed 15 cases of coronavirus with no deaths. Deputy health
secretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell said Mexico would consider mechanisms to
control the flow of people entering Mexico from the US in an effort
to limit coronavirus, if necessary.
(AP, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, In the Netherlands
new coronavirus infections reached 804, with 10 deaths. Dutch
shoppers stockpiled toilet paper, pasta and canned goods as worries
about the coronavirus outbreak spread. The price of tulips for
export stalled at zero due to the coronavirus pandemic. Growers
ended up dumping some 400 million flowers.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)(SFC, 4/23/20, p.C2)
2020 Mar 13, Pakistan said it
will shut all land borders and limit international flights for 15
days to halt the spread of coronavirus. Pakistan has reported 21
cases of the virus but no deaths.
(AP, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Poland reported
its first death from coronavirus. So far, 47 cases have been
confirmed in the country.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Saudi Arabia
detected 17 new coronavirus cases, 11 of whom were Egyptians.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, South Korea
recorded 110 new coronavirus cases, compared with 114 a day earlier,
taking the national tally to 7,979, with the death toll rising by
five to 72 as of late today.
(AP, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, In Spain the
number of coronavirus cases jumped to 4,209 from 3,004 a day
earlier, as the disease spread mostly in Madrid, the Basque Country
and La Rioja regions. The death toll from the epidemic has increased
to 120 from 84 the previous day. In the Madrid region said the
number of cases rose to 2,078.
(AP, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Thailand reported
five new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 75.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Turkey said a
second patient has been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/13/20)
2020 Mar 13, Uruguay's new
Pres. Luis Lacalle Pou declared an emergency due to the coronavirus
pandemic and shut down borders.
(Econ., 6/20/20, p.26)
2020 Mar 14, Vice President
Mike Pence said that new US travel bans would be implemented on the
United Kingdom and Ireland as the novel coronavirus pandemic
spreads.
(The Daily Beast, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, In the SF
Bay Area 27 new coronavirus cases were reported, with 12 in Santa
Clara County, 6 in San Mateo County, 5 in SF and 4 in Contra costa
County. SF banned al most all hospital visitors as part of tis
effort to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
(SSFC, 3/15/20, p.A12)
2020 Mar 14, New York state
reported 100 new cases, pushing the total to 524,. Gov. Andrew Cuomo
said accelerated testing will lead to a rapid rise in total
infections. Nationwide, more than 2,000 people have been infected
and 48 have died. A Reuters count said some 145,594 people have been
infected by the coronavirus across the world and 5,419 have died.
(Bloomberg, 3/14/20)(Reuters, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, New York City
reported its first fatality from the coronavirus.
(Bloomberg, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, The Central
African Republic confirmed its first coronavirus case.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 14, The Dominican
Republic said it will suspend all flights from Europe and the
arrival of all cruise ships for a month in order to prevent the
spread of coronavirus. So far 11 cases of coronavirus have been
detected.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 14, Egypt said it will
suspend schools and universities for two weeks starting March 15
amid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The country has so
far registered 93 cases of the new coronavirus, with two fatalities.
(Reuters, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Eswatini (formerly
Swaziland), a small African nation on South Africa’s eastern border,
confirmed its first coronavirus case.
(Bloomberg, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, The French
government published an official decree banning all non-essential
gatherings, but hundreds of protesters, some wearing protective
masks, began convening outside the Montparnasse train station,
chanting anti-Macron slogans. Thousands of security forces fanned
out across central Paris as anti-government "Yellow Vest" protesters
defied a ban on mass gatherings aimed at preventing the spread of
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Greece said it
would suspend all flights that were still operating to and from
Italy, after reporting two more fatalities from a coronavirus
infection, raising the total number of deaths in the country to
three. Greece had 190 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Indonesia reported
that Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has been hospitalized in
Jakarta after he contracted coronavirus. Indonesia reported 27 more
coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed infection
to 96 with five deaths.
(Reuters, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Iran said the
coronavirus outbreak has killed another 97 people, pushing the death
toll in the country to 611. Iran has reported 12,729 cases in total.
(AP, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Authorities in
Iraq's northern Kurdish region imposed a 48-hour curfew in the
cities of Irbil and Sulaimaniyah that began overnight. The region
has reported 27 cases, including one fatality from the COVID-19
illness caused by the virus.
(AP, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Italy reported
more than 21,000 cases of coronavirus and 1,441 deaths, the second
most heavily affected country after China.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 14, It was reported
that 9 players in Italy’s top soccer league, Serie A, have tested
positive for the coronavirus. Games have been suspended until at
least April 3. Italian supercar maker Ferrari said it will suspend
production at the Maranello and Modena plants until March 27.
Volkswagen AG’s Lamborghini has also suspended production in Italy
until March 25.
(Bloomberg, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, In Kuwait, four
more people have been infected with the virus, bringing the number
of coronavirus cases to 104.
(Bloomberg, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Malaysia reported
41 new infections, the biggest one-day jump so far, for a total of
238. The new cases bring the total number of infected people in the
country to 238.
(Reuters, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Mauritania, in
northwest Africa, confirmed its first coronavirus case.
(Bloomberg, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Morocco confirmed
9 new coronavirus cases bringing the total number of infected people
to 17. Morocco has suspended all football matches, closed all
schools, halted flights with 9 countries and cancelled gatherings of
more than 50 people.
(AP, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Dutch health
authorities said the number of confirmed coronavirus infections in
the Netherlands has risen by 155 to 959. The number of deaths rose
by 2 to a total of 12.
(Reuters, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, New Zealand PM
Jacinda Ardern said that everyone entering the country from midnight
March 15 must self isolate for 14 days in an effort to contain the
spread of the new coronavirus. New Zealand had six confirmed cases
and no recorded deaths.
(Reuters, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Russia’s PM
Mikhail Mishustin signed orders to close the land borders with
Poland and Norway for most foreign citizens from March 15.
(Bloomberg, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Rwanda reported
its first coronavirus case becoming the 19th African nation to
report the presence of the virus.
(Reuters, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Saudi Arabia said
it would halt all flights to the kingdom for two weeks beginning
March 15.
(AP, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 14, Seychelles
confirmed its first coronavirus case.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 14, Spain recorded
5,753 coronavirus cases, up by a third from a day earlier. Spain
said it will impose a nationwide lockdown beginning March 16 for two
weeks as part of a state of emergency due to the virus. Car
production at a Renault-Nissan plant in Barcelona has been stopped
because of supply-chain disruptions due to the virus.
(Reuters, 3/14/20)(Bloomberg, 3/14/20)
2020 Mar 15, US officials
recorded nearly 3,000 cases of coronavirus with 63 deaths, up from
58 a day earlier. Globally more than 162,000 were infected and over
6,400 have died. The US Navy said a sailor aboard a warship ship has
tested positive for the coronavirus for the first time. The
only state not reporting cases is West Virginia. Cases neared
160,000 worldwide, as deaths top 6,000. Several countries cautioned
that fewer tests are being performed as more people fall ill. A US
Army soldier tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the first
US Army case in Europe.
(NY Times, 3/15/20)(Bloomberg, 3/15/20)(Reuters,
3/16/20)
2020 Mar 15, California's Gov.
Gavin Newsom announced new state measure to combat the coronavirus,
urging that bars close and restaurants reduce capacity. Newsom also
asked all state residents 65 and older to isolate themselves at
home.
(SFC, 3/16/20, p.A1)
2020 Mar 15, In the SF Bay Area
Santa Clara's health officer confirmed 114 cases of coronavirus, the
most of any county in the state and about 30% of the cases
statewide.
(SFC, 3/16/20, p.A1)
2020 Mar 15, New Jersey
reported its second death from the coronavirus, The state has 69
positive tests, up from 50 the day before.
(Bloomberg, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, New York's
Governor Andrew Cuomo said two state Assembly members , Helene
Weinstein and Charles Barron, have tested positive for Covid-19. The
state reported 729 confirmed cases, an increase of 69. There have
been three deaths.
(Bloomberg, 3/15/20)(The Independent, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, NYC Mayor Bill de
Blasio announced a decision to close city schools through at least
April 20. Hours later the mayor also took aim at the city's
nightlife, saying he would sign an order on March 16 limiting the
city's 27,000 restaurants and bars to takeout and delivery only
effective on the morning of March 17.
(AP, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, US sportswear
giant Nike Inc said it is closing all of its stores in the United
States and several other countries to limit the spread of the
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Several African
countries closed borders, canceled flights and imposed strict entry
and quarantine requirements to contain the spread of the new
coronavirus, which has a foothold in 26 nations including Burkina
Faso, Congo Brazzaville and Equatorial Guinea.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, In Australia's New
South Wales, the country’s most populous state, reported 22 new
cases taking the totally tally to 134. Eight new cases of
coronavirus were confirmed in the state of Victoria, bringing the
total number of cases in that state to 57. Australia said it will
impose 14-day self-isolation on international travelers arriving
from midnight and ban cruise ships from foreign ports for 30 days.
(Bloomberg, 3/15/20)(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, In Austria the
number of confirmed coronavirus cases jumped to 800, from 602 a day
earlier.
(AP, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Belgium’s health
ministry reported 197 new cases, bringing the total of confirmed
infections to 886.
(Bloomberg, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, The British
government announced England will join a growing list of countries
offering HIV-prevention pill to all those at high risk of catching
the virus. More than 100,000 people were estimated to be living with
HIV in the UK in 2018.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, PM Boyko Borissov
said Bulgaria will raise the salaries of all medics involved in
treating coronavirus patients by 1000 levs ($566) per month as it
steps up measures to contain the fast-spreading infection. Confirmed
cases had almost doubled to 43 with two deaths.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Cambodia said
French national travelling from Paris via Singapore to Phnom Penh
has been infected with the coronavirus, bringing the country's tally
of cases to eight.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, In Cameroon a
passenger arriving from Brussels was whisked to a hospital and
diagnosed inside four hours as the country's fourth case of
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 15, China reported 16
new confirmed cases of coronavirus bringing its total to 80,860.
Beijing said it will quarantine all travelers from overseas,
including Chinese citizens, at designated locations for 14 days as
the government shifts its focus to limiting imported coronavirus
cases.
(AP, 3/15/20)(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 15, Denmark's
government told private companies struggling with drastic measures
to curb the spread of coronavirus that it would cover 75% of
employees' salaries, if they promised not to cut staff.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Ethiopia has now
recorded four coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Finland had a
total of 240 coronavirus cases.
(Bloomberg, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Georgia's
government said it will temporarily shut its border with Russia for
travelers from March 16 in a bid to stop the spread of the
coronavirus. Georgia had 30 cases of coronavirus, the highest number
in the South Caucasus region.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Germany's Health
Ministry confirmed a report in newspaper Welt am Sonntag, which said
President Donald Trump had offered funds to lure the company CureVac
to the United States, and the German government was making
counter-offers to tempt it to stay.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Guatemala logged
its first fatality from the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 15, India reported
that the number of coronavirus infections had risen to 107, an
increase of 23 from the day before.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Indonesia reported
21 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of
confirmed cases to 117.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Iran's Health
Ministry added another 113 deaths and 1,209 new confirmed cases of
the COVID-19 infection. It said the outbreak has claimed 724. Some
13,938 people have been infected across the country.
(AFP, 3/15/20)(Bloomberg, 3/15/20)(Reuters,
3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Italy recorded 368
more deaths from the coronavirus. It had 24,747 cases and 1,809
deaths.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 15, In Japan the
number of coronavirus infections rose to 1,484, increasing by a
faster pace than the previous day. The total number of infections
included 697 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship and 14 returnees
on charter flights from China.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Jordan confirmed
12 new coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 15, Kenya has now
recorded three coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Lebanon's Health
Ministry said that it had recorded 99 cases of coronavirus. Pres.
Michel Aoun called for citizens to work from home and avoid
socializing to prevent the spread of the virus.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Malaysia confirmed
190 new coronavirus cases, pushing its overall total to 428, the
most in Southeast Asia.
(Bloomberg, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, In the Netherlands
the number of deaths rose by eight to 20, while confirmed cases
increased by 176 to 1,135.
(AP, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Peru's Pres.
Martin Vizcarra imposed a lockdown and quarantine as his country
reported 71 cases of the coronavirus.
(Economist, 4/4/20, p.26)
2020 Mar 15, The Philippines
recorded 4 additional coronavirus deaths and 29 new cases, bringing
the domestic tally of infections to 140, as authorities placed the
entire capital Manila under "community quarantine" for about a
month.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 15, Poland’s
coronavirus cases rose to 111 cases with three deaths. The count was
rising as the nation is now testing all those who are in quarantine.
(Bloomberg, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Singapore
confirmed 14 new cases of the novel coronavirus, marking the biggest
daily increase of the infection in the city-state. Nine of the cases
were imported. Singapore has confirmed a total 226 cases of the
virus so far, with 105 having fully recovered.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Slovakia reported
54 coronavirus cases, an increase of 10.
(Bloomberg, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, South Africa
reported its first local transmission of coronavirus, increasing the
number of cases to 62. President Cyril Ramaphosa introduced
social-distancing and declared a national state of disaster to
combat the spread of the coronavirus as his counterparts in
sub-Saharan Africa took similar steps to curb the threat in a region
that accounts for only 1% of global health-care spending.
(BBC, 3/16/20)(AP, 3/16/20)(Econ, 4/18/20, p.33)
2020 Mar 15, South Korea
reported 76 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, an all-time low since
Feb. 20, when the country saw a surge of over 500 in four days. The
country’s total tally stands at 8,162 with a total of 75 deaths.
(Bloomberg, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Spain’s diagnosed
cases of the coronavirus jumped 35% to 7,753 and the death toll rose
by 152 to 288. Ford Motors said it would shut its Spanish plant in
the eastern region of Valencia for one week starting tomorrow after
three employees tested positive for coronavirus.
(Bloomberg, 3/15/20)(Reuters, 3/15/20)(Reuters,
3/16/20)
2020 Mar 15, In Switzerland
coronavirus infections jumped by nearly 1,000 cases in 24 hours to
2,200 and 14 deaths were recorded from the virus across the country.
(AFP, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Thailand reported
32 new cases of the coronavirus in the largest daily jump in
infections since the outbreak began, bringing its total tally to
114.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Turkey said
thousands of Muslims returning to home from a pilgrimage in Saudi
Arabia were being taken into quarantine due to concerns about the
spread of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 15, Vietnam's health
ministry said all passengers coming from or through China, South
Korea, the UK and Schengen countries will be quarantined and tested
for coronavirus. Vietnam reported 37 new coronavirus cases over the
past week, taking the tally to 53.
(Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020 Mar 16, Globally more than
174,000 coronavirus cases were reported with more than 6,700 deaths.
Global stocks fell sharply after central bank moves to shore up
economic growth failed to dispel investor's fears over virus
controls that are shutting global business and travel.
(Good Morning America, 3/16/20)(AP, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, US surgeon general
Dr. Jerome Adams said that the number of coronavirus cases in the US
has reached the level that Italy recorded two weeks ago, a sign that
infections are expected to rise as the government steps up testing
and financial markets continue to fall. The coronavirus has killed
at least 67 people in the US with at least 3,774 confirmed cases.
(AP, 3/16/20)(Good Morning America, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, San Francisco area
leaders told seven million people in six counties to "shelter in
place." Other localities ordered restaurants, bars, and other public
gathering spots to shut their doors. The number of confirmed
coronavirus cases in the US jumped past 4,600, with at least 85
deaths.
(The Week, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 16, In Washington
state the first participant in a clinical trial for a vaccine to
protect against the new coronavirus received an experimental dose.
Washington state said it will shutter its entertainment venues and
recreational facilities and limit restaurants to delivery and
take-out. The ban will not apply to grocery stores and pharmacies.
(AP, 3/16/20)(Good Morning America, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, In western
Afghanistan dozens of patients held in isolation, including at least
one confirmed to have the coronavirus, escaped from a quarantine
facility after breaking windows and attacking hospital staff in
Herat province. The 38 people who escaped had all recently returned
from Iran. Afghanistan has so far confirmed 21 cases of the
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, Armenia's
government announced a state of emergency for one month to slow the
spread of the coronavirus. An April 5 referendum on constitutional
reforms was postponed.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, Australia's
capital and 2nd most populous state declared states of emergency
after the national death toll from the coronavirus rose to five with
nearly 300 cases in total.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, Austria's
government said it will allocate 2 billion euros for loan guarantees
on top of a 4-billion-euro aid fund to buffer the economy from the
damage of coronavirus, as the number of confirmed cases in the
country rose to 1,018.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, Bosnia's
autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation declared a state of disaster,
which will enable it to introduce emergency measures to halt the
spread of the coronavirus. Bosnia has reported 24 cases of the new
virus so far, 20 of them in the country's other autonomous region,
the Serb Republic.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, In Brazil local
media reported that as many as 1,000 inmates had fled four jails
ahead of a planned lockdown of the facilities over the coronavirus
pandemic.
(Reuters, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 16, Britain's Fred
Olsen Cruise Lines wrote in a statement that its cruise ship
Braemar, that was turned away from several ports in the Caribbean
after five passengers were confirmed to have the new coronavirus,
has set sail to Cuba which is allowing it to dock.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, Germany's federal
and state governments agreed sweeping rules shutting everything from
non-essential shops to bars, clubs, theatres, museums, brothels and
churches in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, Iran's health
ministry said the death toll from the new coronavirus has reached
853 with 129 new deaths in the past 24 hours. 1,053 new confirmed
cases were reported. Iran closed four key Shiite pilgrimage sites to
stop a coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 850 people out of
nearly 15,000 cases recorded in the Islamic republic.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)(AFP, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, Israel government
authorized Shin Bet, the internal security service, and the police
to use their technical knowledge to track and access the mobile
phones of those who have been infected with the coronavirus.
(Econ, 3/28/20, p.16)
2020 Mar 16, In northern Italy
the death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Lombardy rose by
202 over the past day to 1,420 from 1,218. Italy's total death toll
reached 1,809, a 25 percent increase over the day before.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)(NY Times, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 16, Japan's health
ministry said it has identified 15 clusters of coronavirus
infections around the country.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, Benin, Liberia,
Somalia and Tanzania became the latest African countries to report
cases of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, Malaysia reported
a daily jump of 125 cases to 553. 338 of Malaysia's cases have been
linked to the religious gathering at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur
between Feb. 28 and March 1. PM Muhyiddin Yassin said Malaysia it
will shut its borders to travelers, restrict internal movement,
close schools and universities and order most businesses to shut
after its number of coronavirus cases climbed to the highest in
Southeast Asia.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, The government of
the Philippines imposed "Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) across
the island of Luzon, home to Manila and about half of the country's
107 million people.
(Econ., 7/11/20, p.30)
2020 Mar 16, Senegalese
President Macky Sall declared a national state of disaster and
canceled the country’s most important religious festival due to take
place later this month following a surge in cases to 26 from 10.
(Bloomberg, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, South Korea
reported 74 new coronavirus cases bringing its total to 8,236.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, Switzerland's
region of Geneva declared a "state of necessity" due to the
coronavirus global pandemic, shutting bars and restaurants and
limiting gatherings to just five people.
(AFP, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, Venezuela's
capital of Caracas woke to quiet streets and military checkpoints on
the first day of a quarantine ordered by President Nicolas Maduro to
combat the coronavirus. The country has confirmed 17 cases of the
virus and no deaths.
(Reuters, 3/16/20)
2020 Mar 17, The Trump
administration called for $1 trillion in spending, including $250
billion for direct payments to Americans, as the federal government
prepares to fight the coronavirus pandemic and an almost certain
recession.
(NY Times, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 17, New York state
closed all schools for two weeks. The state has 1,374 cases of
coronavirus and 12 people have died. The US had 5,124 cases of
coronavirus with 96 deaths.
(AP, 3/17/20)(https://ncov2019.live/)
2020 Mar 17, It was reported
that a TSA officer at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport has
tested positive for COVID-19. This marked the 8th TSA officer to
test positive for COVID-19. The other cases were in California,
Florida and Georgia.
(Good Morning America, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, Texas confirmed
its first death due to coronavirus.
(The Independent, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, West Virginia
reported its first confirmed coronavirus infection. There are now
known coronavirus cases in all 50 US states.
{West Virginia, USA, COVID-19}
(NY Times, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 17, Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals Inc said it had identified hundreds of antibodies
that could treat or prevent the coronavirus and was preparing to
begin clinical trials by early summer, sending the drugmaker's
shares up nearly 12%.
(Reuters, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, Brazil's
government called for a state of emergency to loosen fiscal rules as
it faced challenges from the coronavirus pandemic and oil price war.
Brazil reported its first death due to the virus and closed its
border to Venezuelans for an initial 15 days, citing strains on the
public health system and what its president described as Venezuela's
inability to respond.
{Brazil, COVID-19}
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 17, Britain's health
ministry said cases of coronavirus rose 26% to 1,950 from 1,543 the
day before. The National Health Service (NHS) announced plans to
cancel all routine surgery for three months and to send home as many
patients as possible to free up staff and beds to deal with the
spread of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, Bulgaria banned
all foreign and domestic holiday trips until April 13 as part of
efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The Balkan country
had 81 confirmed cases of the new virus and two deaths.
(Reuters, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, Canadian PM Justin
Trudeau said his government would provide financial support to
people during the coronavirus outbreak as he urged them to stay at
home to slow the spread of COVI0D-19.
(Reuters, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, Chinese doctors
reported that Avigan (favipiravir), a drug used against influenza in
Japan, led to clinical improvements in coronavirus patients.
(Econ, 3/21/20, p.18)
2020 Mar 17, Croatia's
government proposed to postpone tax payments for at least three
months and make loans available to struggling business in response
to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Croatia has so far
reported 65 cases of coronavirus. Four people have recovered and no
one has yet died from COVID-19.
(Reuters, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, Egypt, which has
166 confirmed cases of the new virus including four fatalities,
announced the lockdown of the Red Sea province that includes the
popular resort town of Hurghada. Egypt lowered the price of natural
gas for industrial use to $4.5 per mmbtu and cut a tax on dividends
for companies listed on its stock exchange to 5% in an attempt to
soften the impact of the spread of the coronavirus on the economy.
(AP, 3/17/20)(Reuters, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, European Union
leaders agreed to restrict most travel into the continent in an
unprecedented move aimed at slowing down the spread of a deadly
coronavirus and mitigating its effects on the bloc. Europe logged
10,560 new COVID-19 infections, with 3,590 of the cases diagnosed in
Italy.
(Bloomberg, 3/17/20)(Business Insider, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, French President
Emmanuel Macron declared “war” on Covid-19 with a raft of measures
to keep citizens in lock-down mode, including a ban on non-essential
travel, just a few days after ordering business closures and
shutting schools.
(Bloomberg, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, Indian authorities
expanded the population eligible for testing to health care workers
with symptoms who are treating patients with severe respiratory
illnesses. Authorities have confirmed 126 cases linked to foreign
travel or direct contact with someone who caught the disease abroad.
Indian authorities said that they would not widely expand testing
for the virus, despite mounting criticism from some experts that the
limited tests could mask the true toll of the disease in the world's
second most populous country.
(AP, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, Iran issued its
most dire warning yet about the outbreak of the new coronavirus
ravaging the country, suggesting “millions” could die in the Islamic
Republic if the public keeps traveling and ignoring health guidance.
Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the virus had
killed 135 more people to raise the total to 988 amid over 16,000
cases. In efforts to curb the spread of the virus, Iran has released
85,000 prisoners on temporary leave.
(AP, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, Official data in
Italy showed that 31,506 people have been confirmed as positive for
the coronavirus. The official death toll passed 2,500.
(AP, 3/18/20)(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 17, The Lithuanian
parliament voted to the raise borrowing limit by 4.5 billion euros,
and to allow the government to borrow over the limit to fight
effects of the coronavirus. Lithuania had 22 cases of coronavirus
with no deaths.
(Reuters, 3/17/20)(https://ncov2019.live/)
2020 Mar 17, Pakistani PM Imran
Khan declared that there would be no national lockdown to block the
spread of the coronavirus.
(Econ, 3/28/20, p.36)
2020 Mar 17, Qatari authorities
announced the closure of several square km of the industrial area in
the capital Doha, which also contains labor camps and other housing
units, due to the coronavirus. Qatar relies on about 2 million
migrant workers for the bulk of its labor force.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 17, Senegal has
recorded 27 cases of coronavirus. Medical staff said they had
received limited protective equipment beyond extra gloves and masks.
(Reuters, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, South Africa's
national ports operator Transnet said it is holding the cruise
liner, MV AidAmira, and a cargo vessel off Cape Town's port limits
after a crew member onboard one of the vessels showed signs of
coronavirus. The MV Aidamira, with 1,240 passengers and 486 crew on
board, had returned to Cape Town from Namibia’s Walvis Bay.
(Reuters, 3/17/20)(BBC, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 17, Spanish PM Pedro
Sanchez announced a package of measures worth a total 200 billion
euros ($219 billion), between loans, credit guarantees, benefits and
direct aid, to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on
the economy.
(Reuters, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 17, Ukrainian shops,
restaurants and transport shut down as the country tightened
restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Police
arrested five people suspected of trying to rob 100,000 surgical
masks at gunpoint in Kiev.
(AP, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 18, US Pres. Donald
Trump announced that Canada and the US have agreed to temporarily
close their shared border to nonessential travel in the wakre of the
coronavirus pandemic.
(SFC, 3/19/20, p.A6)
2020 Mar 18, The Trump
administration asked Congress for $500 billion for direct payments
to taxpayers and $500 billion in loans for businesses, as the
federal government ramped up its efforts to address the fallout from
the coronavirus epidemic. Pres. Donald Trump tapped his authority
under the 70-year-old Defense Production Act to give the government
more power to steer production by private companies and try to
overcome shortages in masks, ventilators and other supplies. Trump
described himself as a “wartime president” fighting an invisible
enemy.
(NY Times, 3/19/20)(AP, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 18, The US now has
more than 5,800 confirmed cases of coronavirus with at least 115
deaths. The virus has now infected over 205,000 and killed over
8,700 in 164 nations.
{USA, COVID-19}
(Good Morning America)(Reuters,
3/18/20)(Bloomberg, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 18, California's Gov.
Gavin Newsom signed an executive order sending $100 million to local
governments for shelter support and emergency housing to help slow
the spread of coronavirus among the homeless population. Another $50
million will be used to buy trailers and lease hotel and motel rooms
to quarantine homeless people showing symptoms of COVID-19.
(SFC, 3/19/20, p.A5)
2020 Mar 18, Hawaii officials
said two cruise ships won't be allowed to disembark in Honolulu
after being turned away by other ports, even with no positive cases
of coronavirus on either vessel.
(AP, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Bangladesh
reported its first coronavirus death.
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Belgium imposed a
lockdown from midday until April 5 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Burkina Faso
reported its second death from COVID-19.
(AP, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Chile's president
declared a 90-day state of catastrophe due to the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Djibouti confirmed
its first coronavirus case.
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, The EU banned
nonessential travel from the rest of the world into 26 member
nations for 30 days due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(NY Times, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Gambia announced
its first coronavirus case.
(AP, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Mitterteich,
Bavaria, became the first German town to impose a curfew to slow the
spread of the coronavirus. The curfew will last until April 2.
Citizens there were still allowed to buy groceries, go to work and
visit the doctor.
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Hungarian PM
Viktor Orban announced a blanket moratorium on loan repayments for
all companies and private borrowers until the end of the year to
limit the economic fallout from the spread of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Indonesia's death
toll jumped from five to 19. Thousands of Muslim pilgrims from
across Asia gathered at Gowa, just two weeks after a similar event
in Malaysia caused more than 500 infections.
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Iran's government
said another 147 people have died from the coronavirus raising the
total to 1,135 people out of 17,361 cases since it first emerged in
the Islamic republic a month ago. President Hassan Rouhani defended
the response of his administration, which has yet to impose a
lockdown. Food markets were still packed with shoppers and highways
were crowded with traffic as families traveled between cities ahead
of the March 20 Persian New Year.
(AP, 3/18/20)(AFP, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Italy reported
nearly 500 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest
one-day official toll of any nation. Italy added 4,207 new cases.
(AFP, 3/18/20)(Econ, 3/21/20, p.9)
2020 Mar 18, Malaysia warned of
"a tsunami" of cases if people did not follow new restrictions as
infections surged across Southeast Asia.
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Mexico reported
its first death from the coronavirus.
(AP, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 18, Moldova reported
its first death due to the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Morocco asked
citizens not to leave their homes except to buy essential goods,
seek medical treatment or go to work, as a precautionary measure.
(AP, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Russia's Kremlin
Guard said it has closed Bolshevik revolutionary Vladimir Lenin's
tomb on Moscow's Red Square to the public amid coronavirus fears.
Russia has reported 147 cases of the virus so far and no deaths.
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, In South Africa
the number of people that tested positive for coronavirus rose to
116 from 85 the day before. 14 of those hadn’t traveled outside the
country. South Africa stepped up travel bans as the virus continued
to spread at a rapid pace.
(Bloomberg, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Switzerland
extended border controls and suspended the issue of Schengen and
national visas for three months due to coronavirus pandemic.
(AP, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Taiwan said it
would ban entry for most foreigners as its coronavirus tally rose by
23 to 100, most of them imported.
(AP, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, Turkey reported
its first death due to the coronavirus. President Tayyip Erdogan
advised his people not to leave home unless necessary for three
weeks and to minimize social contact until the threat of coronavirus
recedes, but did not instruct people to stay away from work.
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 18, The UAE stopped
Friday sermons to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
(Econ, 3/21/20, p.43)
2020 Mar 18, Wales closed its
schools due to the coronavirus pandemic. Scotland and Wales soon
followed.
(Econ, 3/21/20, p.17)
2020 Mar 18, Zambia confirmed
its first coronavirus case.
(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020 Mar 19, The US Federal
Reserve opened the taps for central banks in nine new countries to
access dollars in hopes of preventing the coronavirus epidemic from
causing a global economic rout. There were now 9,415 diagnosed cases
in the US with at least 153 people deaths, according to an ABC News'
count.
(AP, 3/19/20)(Good Morning America, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, California's Gov.
Gavin Newsom ordered his state’s 40 million residents to stay at
home as much as possible in coming weeks, citing a model that
suggests more than half of the state’s population could become
infected with the coronavirus in the next two months.
(NY Times, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 19, Anthony
Levandowski, a former Google and Uber engineer, pleaded guilty to
stealing trade secrets from Google. Levandowski had left Google to
form Otto a self-driging truck startup and then sold Otto to Uber
for $600 million.
(SFC, 3/21/20, p.C1)
2020 Mar 19, In Texas cars
lined up for more than a mile outside a Houston hospital as the
nation's fourth-largest city began drive-thru testing for the
coronavirus, but officials warned they don't have enough kits or
protective gear to meet demand.
(AP, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, General Electric's
healthcare unit said it will hire more people and increase the
number of shifts as it races to produce ventilators round-the-clock
to meet the surge in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, African finance
ministers held a virtual conference to discuss how to deal with the
social and economic impacts of the pandemic on African nations. Days
later a statement by the UN Economic Commission for Africa said they
called for a $100 billion stimulus package, including a suspension
of debt service payments, to help the continent combat coronavirus.
(AP, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 19 More African
countries closed their borders as the coronavirus’ local spread
threatened to turn the continent of 1.3 billion people into an
alarming new front for the pandemic. Senegal closed its airspace.
Angola and Cameroon shut air, land and sea borders. Rwanda blocked
all commercial flights for a month. The island nation of Mauritius
closed its border after announcing its first case.
(AP, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, In Australia about
2,700 passengers disembarked in Sidney from the cruise ship Ruby
Princess. More than 600 cases of the coronavirus and 15 deaths were
later linked to the ship. About 200 crew members later showed
symptoms of the virus.
(SFC, 4/10/20, p.A4)
2020 Mar 19, In Australia about
2,700 passengers disembarked in Sidney from the cruise ship Ruby
Princess. More than 600 cases of the coronavirus and 15 deaths were
later linked to the ship. About 200 crew members later showed
symptoms of the virus.
(SFC, 4/10/20, p.A4)
2020 Mar 19, Hundreds of
Bahraini pilgrims were reported stranded in Iran, the epicenter of
the coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East. Bahrain struggled to
evacuate its citizens from the country with which it has no
diplomatic ties.
(AP, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Brazil's confirmed
cases of coronavirus surged past 600.
(AP, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 19, Chad confirmed its
first coronavirus case.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 19, Wuhan, China, the
former epicenter that initially suffered thousands of coronavirus
cases a day, and its surrounding province had no new cases to
report.
(AP, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, EU analysis said
Russian state media and news outlets supporting President Vladimir
Putin are waging a fake news campaign aimed at undermining public
confidence in the ability of European health care systems to cope
with the coronavirus.
(AP, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Germany said it
has lifted export bans on medical equipment which were issued
earlier this month to avoid shortages of masks, goggles and gloves
in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, The Greek
government ordered hotels across the country toclose from March 23
until April 30th to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.
(Econ, 4/11/20, p.42)
2020 Mar 19, Haiti declared a
state of emergency, closing its borders and imposing a curfew, after
the country's first two cases of coronavirus were detected.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 19, Indian PM Narendra
Modi appealed to citizens to observe a self-curfew on March 22 as
part of a trial-run to test social isolation to curb the spread of
the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Indonesia reported
six more deaths due to coronavirus for a total of 25, the most in
Southeast Asia, and its biggest daily jump of 82 cases to 309. The
government halted a mass congregation of nearly 9,000 Muslim
pilgrims and began quarantining them and checking their health to
prevent the further spread of the coronavirus amid a spike in cases.
The four-day gathering at a boarding school in a rural area in south
Sulawesi province was organized by a Muslim missionary movement,
Jamaat Tabligh, and was not approved by authorities.
(AP, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Iranian
authorities announced 149 new deaths from the novel coronavirus,
raising the toll to 1,284 in a country that is one of the worst hit
by the pandemic. A total of 18,407 people have contracted the
disease in Iran, with 1,046 new cases confirmed in the last 24
hours.
(AP, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Israel's attorney
general approved for the first time the use of a generic version of
a patent-protected drug to treat coronavirus patients. The
anti-viral drug Kaletra, produced by AbbVie Inc, is a treatment for
HIV but Israel's Health Ministry found it could be a possible
treatment for COVID-19 and a preliminary permit for the drug was
issued.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Italy's
country-wide death toll stood at 3,405, the highest in the world.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 19, Mexico confirmed
164 cases of coronavirus, up from just over 40 a week ago. President
Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his government have said a shutdown
of the country would disproportionately hurt poor people and also be
a psychological weight on all Mexicans.
(AP, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 19, It was reported
that Prince Albert of Monaco has tested positive for coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Moroccan
authorities said local police have arrested at least a dozen people
for spreading rumors about the coronavirus, including a woman who
used her YouTube channel to say the disease did not exist.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Dutch health
authorities said the number of local confirmed cases of coronavirus
has risen by 409 to a total of 2,460, with 18 new deaths raising the
total death toll to 76.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Niger confirmed
its first coronavirus case.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 19, Palestinians
defied their government's call to cease work in Israeli settlements
over coronavirus concerns, saying bringing money home to their
families came first. 529 cases of infection have been confirmed in
Israel, and nearly 50 in the occupied West Bank.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, It was reported
that Poland has suspended work at a coronavirus testing laboratory
in Warsaw after one of its employees tested positive for the virus,
effectively sending 17 staff into quarantine. Poland has confirmed
325 coronavirus cases and five deaths to date.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Qatar has recorded
452 cases of the coronavirus, the highest number among the six Gulf
Arab states that have reported a total of more than 1,200.
(AP, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Russian President
Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the
coronavirus by phone and agreed to deepen cooperation on developing
pharmaceuticals. Russia announced its first coronavirus death. It
has reported 147 confirmed coronavirus cases, but many Russians
believe the real total is far higher.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)(NY Times, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Russia has
reported just 199 coronavirus cases and some doctors have questioned
how far the official data reflects reality. A reported sharp
increase in pneumonia cases in Moscow and contradictory information
around the issue fueled fears about the accuracy of official
coronavirus data which remains much lower than many European
countries.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, South African
authorities announced they would erect a fence along its border with
Zimbabwe to prevent illegal immigrants from entering and spreading
the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, Spanish
authorities promised to take special measures to prevent more deaths
from the coronavirus epidemic in nursing homes after cases of mass
contagion swelled the death toll to 767, 209 more than the previous
day. Total cases were up by a quarter to 17,149.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 19, It was reported
that Venezuelan utilities have hiked fees and the government plans
to raise taxes, as the economy deteriorates further due to the
spread of coronavirus and the crash in global oil prices adds to the
strain on public coffers. Venezuela has reported 36 coronavirus
cases so far.
(Reuters, 3/19/20)
2020 Mar 20, The COVID-19
respiratory illness caused by the virus has killed at least 200
people in the United States and infected nearly 13,900. The death
toll from the global pandemic surpassed 10,000 people worldwide with
more than 245,000 people infected.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)(AP, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, US Pres. Donald
Trump announced an effective closure of the US border with Mexico,
prohibiting most travel except for trade in the wake of the
coronavirus pandemic.
(SFC, 3/21/20, p.A4)
2020 Mar 20, In the US 132
state and national groups backing open-government policies released
a joint statement urging officials at all levels of government to
“not retrench” from their duties for public involvement because of
the coronavirus.
(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 20, The US military
disclosed that some 2,600 US military personnel, including
civilians, are currently in self-isolation in Europe after being
identified as people of concern during the coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, The US Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) said it had temporarily closed the air
traffic control tower at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and
shuttered part of the Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center
for cleaning after workers tested positive for the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, NYC reported 5,151
infections as of this morning out of 17,041 nationwide and 7,102 in
New York state. The virus has caused 29 deaths in NYC.
(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 20, Google's
google.com/covid19 went live on the web late today offering
education, prevention and local resources related to the novel
coronavirus.
(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 20, JPMorgan Chase
& Co said it would give "front line employees," workers who are
staffing branches and call centers through the coronavirus pandemic,
a sweetener for their efforts: a one-time $1,000 bonus.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, Lyft Inc told
drivers they could sign up for delivery services for healthcare,
government services and groceries as ride-hailing demand plummeted
during the rapid spread of coronavirus in the United States.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, Albania passed
measures totaling $370 million in its budget to soften the blow from
the coronavirus crisis, including $25 million for the health sector,
which is expected to deal with more cases than the 70 confirmed so
far.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, Algerian
protesters called off their weekly anti-government demonstrations
for the first time in more than a year to reduce the spread of
coronavirus. The country has recorded at least 10 deaths and 90
confirmed virus cases.
(BBC, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, Argentina went
into full lockdown mode, with streets in Buenos Aires largely
deserted, while workers and school kids in the capital logged on
remotely to offices, classrooms and even digital dancing lessons,
after a mandatory quarantine was imposed. Argentina has so far
registered 128 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with three deaths.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, In Belgium the
number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 558, or 25%, to 2,815.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 20, Britain ordered
the closure of pubs and restaurants to slow the spread of the
coronavirus. This came weeks after similar measures by the rest of
Europe.
(Econ, 3/28/20, p.51)
2020 Mar 20, Bulgaria's
parliament voted to allow the military to help implement measures to
curb the coronavirus, with a mandate to use physical force if
absolutely necessary.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, China's imported
cases of coronavirus rose to a record 228.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, Cuba banned all
tourist arrivals, confined vulnerable groups, shut down educational
facilities and suspended interprovincial public transport asit
recorded 21 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
(Econ, 4/25/20, p.26)
2020 Mar 20, The Central Bank
of eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) decided to cut its main lending
rate by 100 basis points to 5.5%, citing global and domestic
economic developments, including the impact of coronavirus. The
country has one confirmed case of COVID-19.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 20, Finland recorded
its first death from coronavirus. It has 521 confirmed cases, though
it was only testing severely ill people and health-care
professionals.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 20, France sent
security forces into train stations to prevent people from traveling
to their vacation homes, potentially carrying the coronavirus to the
countryside or beaches where medical facilities are less robust.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 20, India expanded the
criteria for people who should be tested for coronavirus, as the
world’s second-most populous nation aims to limit the outbreak
locally.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 20, Jakarta,
Indonesia, declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus
pandemic. Indonesia had 369 confirmed cases and 32 deaths. Jakarta,
a city of 10 million people, had 215 confirmed infections and 18
deaths.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, Iran said that
coronavirus has killed 149 more people in the Islamic republic,
raising the country's official death toll from the disease to 1,433.
1,237 more cases have been confirmed over the past 24 hours and
19,644 people are now known to have been infected.
(AP, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, In Iraq virus
cases continued to rise, with 13 dead among 192 confirmed infected.
The economic fallout from the coronavirus coupled with a sudden drop
in oil prices threatened to catapult the country into an
unprecedented crisis.
(AP, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, Israel recorded
its first death from the coronavirus.
(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 20, In Italy the death
toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of
Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of a nationwide contagion, rose
by around 380 in a day to some 2,550.
(AP, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, Lebanon's health
ministry said it has recorded 163 infections from coronavirus so
far. Experts warned Lebanon's healthcare system may be ill-prepared,
as dollar shortages have for months drained it of critical supplies.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, South Africa said
coronavirus cases have jumped to 202, the most in the sub-Saharan
region, while the continent's busiest airport said foreigners cannot
disembark. State-owned South African Airways suspended all
international flights until June.
(AP, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, Spanish
authorities said they would turn a Madrid conference center into a
giant makeshift military hospital for thousands of coronavirus
patients, as Europe's second-worst outbreak claimed another 235
lives. With nearly 20,000 cases, Spain overtook Iran to become the
world's third hardest-hit country by the pandemic after China and
Italy. The Madrid region accounts for 628 deaths and 7,165 cases.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, Mosques in Sri
Lanka were shut indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, and
the island was set to impose a countrywide curfew over the weekend.
(Reuters, 3/20/20)
2020 Mar 20, Turkey's death
toll due to the coronavirus rose to nine with a total of 670 cases.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, US coronavirus
infections exceeded 17,000, fatalities top 220. Worldwide cases
topped 260,000 with more than 10,000 dead.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, SF Bay Area's
Santa Clara County reported 263 coronavirus cases and 8 deaths, the
highest in the region. The Bay Area accounted for nearly half of the
state's 1,286 cases.
(SSFC, 3/22/20, p.A12)
2020 Mar 21, Illinois residents
began sheltering in place following orders by Gov. J.B. Pritzker
restricting movement to combat the coronavirus. Similar
shelter-in-place actions were taken by governors in Connecticut and
Nevada.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, New Jersey
Governor Phil Murphy said he will sign an executive order requiring
all “nonessential” businesses closed to help slow the spread of the
virus.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo said there are now 10,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19
in the state, an increase of 3,000 in the last 24 hours.
(Good Morning America, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, New York City
Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city will be closing all non-essential
businesses from March 22 to curb the spread of the coronavirus
outbreak. NYC reported at least 38 people testing positive at the
notorious Rikers Island complex and nearby facilities, more than
half of them incarcerated men. Another 58 were being monitored in
the prison's contagious disease and quarantine units. It was
reported that an inmate at a federal jail in NYC has tested positive
for coronavirus, marking the first confirmed case in the US federal
prison system.
(AP, 3/21/20)(Good Morning America, 3/21/20)(AP,
3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Albania's
government deployed the army to enforce a strict 40-hour curfew
starting today to fight the coronavirus after people widely flouted
previous measures aimed at stemming its spread. So far, 76 people
have tested positive for the coronavirus with two deaths.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Angola reported
its first two Covid-19 cases.
(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, In southern
Bangladesh a speeding truck rammed a passenger vehicle leaving at
least 13 people dead.
(SFC, 3/23/20, p.A2)
2020 Mar 21, Bolivia has so far
confirmed 16 cases of coronavirus. Senators approved a motion this
week that promotes use of the traditional medicine, which has long
played a role for indigenous communities in the country.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Bosnia reported
its first coronavirus death. The country has so far reported 90
cases.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Britain told
people who were panic-buying and hoarding food due to the
coronavirus outbreak to calm down, pointing to a video on social
media showing an exhausted nurse driven to tears by finding shelves
bare after her shift.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Bulgaria's main
Orthodox Church urged Christians to stay away from churches and pray
at home as the Balkan country tightens restrictive measures to
contain the spread of coronavirus. The country has reported 142
cases, with three deaths.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, A Burkina Faso
spokesman said 4 government ministers have tested positive for the
coronavirus, as the number of reported cases rose to 64 from 40, the
highest in West Africa. Two new deaths were reported.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Congo DRC reported
its first coronavirus death.
(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, East Timor
reported its first case of coronavirus. The Ministry of Health said
that the case was from someone who had just returned from abroad.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Egypt's Coptic
Orthodox Church ordered all its churches to shut their doors and
suspend masses for two weeks over coronavirus fears. Egypt so far
registered 285 confirmed coronavirus cases including eight deaths.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, LVMH, the world's
biggest luxury goods group, said it is ordering 40 million health
masks from a Chinese supplier to help France cope with the
coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, In India thousands
of poor city migrants whose livelihoods have collapsed due to
India's coronavirus measures headed back to their villages, raising
fears that the exodus could carry the virus to the countryside.
About one fifth of India's 271 confirmed coronavirus cases has been
reported in the western state of Maharashtra. So far, India has
registered four deaths due to the virus.
(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Indonesia
confirmed 81 new coronavirus cases and 6 more deaths, bringing the
total number of cases to 450 and deaths to 38.
(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani urged the US public to call on their government to
remove sanctions against the Islamic Republic amid the coronavirus
outbreak. The death toll from the coronavirus reached 1,556 after
the country reported a further 123 fatalities in the past 24 hours.
Iran stood at 20,610 cases after 966 new infections were confirmed
over the past day,
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Italy reported 793
coronavirus deaths, raising the total to 4,825.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, In Jordan air raid
sirens echoed across Amman to mark the start of a three-day curfew,
the latest mass lockdown in the Middle East aimed at containing the
coronavirus.
(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Luxembourg
coronavirus cases rose to 670 from 484 and deaths to eight.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Malaysia's Health
Ministry reported five more deaths and 153 new infections.
Coronavirus cases jumped to 1,183 with eight deaths. Officials
warned of a spike next week as they track down people who attended a
large religious gathering linked to most of the cases.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Mauritius recorded
its first coronavirus death as case numbers rose to 14.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Mexico confirmed
its second death as medical experts worry that Latin America is
unprepared for a larger outbreak.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, In the
Netherlands, coronavirus fatalities increased by 30 to 136. The
total number of cases is 3,631.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Nigeria announced
it is closing airports as of March 23 to all incoming international
flights for one month due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, North Macedonia's
first victim died of the coronavirus. The country has registered 114
cases of people infected with the virus.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 21, Pakistan suspended
all international flights for two weeks to limit the spread of
coronavirus. The country reported its third coronavirus death, with
confirmed cases rising to 534.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Peru reported its
first coronavirus fatalities.
(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, The Philippines'
health ministry reported 45 more confirmed cases of coronavirus,
bringing today's tally to 77. Confirmed cases in the Philippines now
totaled 307 and 19 dead.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Portuguese
coronavirus cases increased 25% to 1,280, with 12 deaths.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Russia's largest
carmaker Avtovaz reported the first two cases of the coronavirus
among its workers. Russia has so far reported 253 cases of the virus
and one death, and has introduced a raft of economic and social
measures to limit its spread.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Saudi Arabia
announced 48 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 392, with
five of the new infections being healthcare workers in Riyadh.
(Good Morning America, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 21, Singapore reported
47 new cases of coronavirus, which were mainly imported, taking the
city-state's tally to 432 infections. Singapore reported its first
two coronavirus deaths.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, South Africa,
which has the most cases in sub-Saharan Africa, confirmed 38 new
coronavirus cases, taking its total to 240.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Deaths from the
coronavirus in Spain jumped 32% to 1,326, a week after the country
went into a national lockdown to try to slow the spread of the
disease. Total cases reached 24,926. The Health Ministry reported
324 new deaths and 4,946 new cases.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)(Good Morning America,
3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Sri Lanka's
government closed all bars and liquor shops. Police arrested 30
people from various parts of the country for violating curfew,
adding the curfew has been imposed till the morning of March. Sri
Lanka has reported 72 confirmed coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)(Econ, 4/25/20, p.28)
2020 Mar 21, Switzerland
reported 6,100 coronavirus infections, some 25% more than a day
earlier, and 56 deaths.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Taiwan reported 18
new coronavirus cases, all imported from people coming from
countries including the United States, Britain, South Africa and
Indonesia or those having contact with them, bring the total number
of infected to 153.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Thailand’s capital
imposed a partial shutdown from March 22 after novel coronavirus
cases surged past 400 with a rising number of people in critical
condition.
(Bloomberg, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Turkey extended
measures against the coronavirus, suspended flights with 46 more
countries and banning picnics and barbecues, as the number of cases
has roughly doubled every day for a week.
(AP, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Ukraine further
restricted the use of public transport in its capital Kiev as it
battles to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Ukraine has reported
41 cases of the virus and three deaths.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 21, Vietnam's
coronavirus cases rose to 94 with no deaths. The government said it
will bar entry for all foreigners from March 22, except for special
cases, as the country seeks to contain the spread of the virus.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Mar 22, US Pres. Donald
Trump said he’s ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) to ship mobile hospital centers to the hard-hit states of
Washington, California and New York.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, US Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the lockdown affecting large segments
of the American public to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus
is likely to last 10 to 12 weeks, or until early June. US
coronavirus infections reached 26,747. The global number of
coronavirus cases doubled in a week to 311,000.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)(Good
Morning America, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Hawaii's Gov.
David Ige instituted a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine starting
March 26 of all people traveling to the state as part of efforts to
fight the spread of coronavirus. Hawaii announced 11 new cases of
the virus bringing the state's total to 48.
(SFC, 3/23/20, p.A5)
2020 Mar 22, It was reported
that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has tested positive for COVID-19. He is
the first member of the US Senate to be infected. Paul, an eye
surgeon, went into quarantine after learning his results.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, The Niagara
Gazette reported that former Hollywood producer and convicted rapist
Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
(The Week, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Afghanistan
reported its first coronavirus death. The war-ravaged country
reported 10 new cases raising to 34 the number of confirmed cases.
(AP, 3/22/20)(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Albania said it
will suspend all commercial flights to and from the country from
midnight, allowing only flag carrier Air Albania to fly to Turkey
and operate humanitarian flights. There have been 76 coronavirus
cases in Albania and two deaths.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Australia said it
will enforce more stringent controls to slow the spread of the
coronavirus, closing pubs, casinos, restaurants and other venues
from March 23 after the number of infections in the nation surged
past 1,000.
(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Brazil's health
ministry statistics showed 1,546 confirmed cases, up from 234 cases
a week before. The respiratory disease caused by the virus has
killed 25 people.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 22, Britain warned it
will impose tighter restrictions if citizens fail to follow
government calls to stop non-essential travel and gatherings to curb
the spread of the coronavirus. The UK reported 281 total deaths due
to COVID-19. The government said there are 5,683 confirmed cases,
with London hardest hit.
(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)(Reuters, 3/22/20)(Reuters,
3/23/20)
2020 Mar 22, Bulgarian
President Rumen Radev partially vetoed a state of emergency law
intended to limit the spread of the coronavirus, saying some of the
measures would create more problems than solutions.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Cambodia reported
31 new cases of coronavirus, 29 of them among French tourists,
bringing the total number of infections recorded in the country to
84. Two Cambodians who were infected had been tour guides
accompanying the tourists.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, China reported 46
new cases of coronavirus, the fourth straight day with an increase,
with all but one of those imported from overseas.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, The South China
Morning Post reported that as many as a third of the people who test
positive for the coronavirus may show delayed symptoms or none at
all.
(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, It was reported
that Colombian authorities were trying to quell riots in several
jails across the country amid fears that the coronavirus could
spread in overcrowded conditions. 23 prisoners died and another 83
were injured in a riot and attempted escape attempt at the La Modelo
jail in Bogota. Colombia has confirmed 231 cases of coronavirus.
(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)(SFC, 3/23/20, p.A2)
2020 Mar 22, The number of
coronavirus cases in the Czech Republic has risen to 1,047 as of
this morning. No deaths were yet reported.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Dubai's
state-owned Emirates, one of the world's biggest long-haul airlines,
said it would stop nearly all passenger flights this week and cut
staff wages by as much as half because of the coronavirus impact on
travel demand.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, In Ethiopia a
cargo flight containing more than 6 million medical items arrived in
Addis Ababa. The supplies from Jack Ma, the founder of China's
e-commerce giant Alibaba, will be distributed to African countries
in need of supplies to battle the spreading COVID-19 pandemic.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, In France
fatalities due to coronavirus rise to 562. An emergency room doctor
in Northern France died from Covid-19, the first medic to die in
that country.
(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Germany received
the green light from EU regulators for subsidized loans to companies
hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Germany tightened curbs on social
interaction, including a ban on public meetings of more than two
people for at least the next two weeks, to slow the spread of the
coronavirus.
(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Guinea held a
constitutional referendum that opponents of President Alpha Conde
fear could allow him to govern for 12 more years. An opposition
boycott all but ensured the new basic law will be approved when
results are announced in the coming days. With the first two cases
of the COVID-19 disease recorded in the country, some polling
stations required voters to wash their hands before casting their
ballot. On March 27 Guinea’s electoral commission said nearly 92% of
voters supported the proposal, which would keep a two-term limit on
presidencies, but increase the length of each term from five years
to six.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 22, India suspended
passenger train services across the country until March 31 as the
government sought to curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
Freight services will continue. coronavirus cases rose to 341, while
the country confirmed its fifth death from the virus.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, In Israel new
rules prohibiting most Israelis from leaving their homes for the
next seven days took effect as the number of confirmed coronavirus
cases soared to 945. The Health Minsitry has reported one death.
(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Iran's supreme
leader refused US assistance to fight the new coronavirus, citing an
unfounded conspiracy theory claiming the virus could be man-made by
America. His comments came as Iran confirmed over 21,600 cases amid
1,685 reported deaths, The total number of cases in Iran stood at
21,638 people, with 1,028 new cases added over the past day. Iran
imposed a two-week closure on major shopping malls and centers
across the country. Pharmacies, supermarkets, groceries and bakeries
will remain open.
(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Iraq has reported
20 coronavirus fatalities among 233 confirmed cases. Iraq's
government has extended a curfew on travel in and out of Baghdad
until March 28 as part of strict measures to prevent the virus from
spreading.
(AP, 3/22/20)(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Italy was rocked
by its deadliest day as the coronavirus prompted industry shutdown.
The death toll from the coronavirus in the northern region of
Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of Italy's contagion, has risen
by around 360 in a day to more than 3,450. Italy's coronavirus
infections continued to soar, with 59,000 cases and 5,476 deaths.
(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)(Reuters, 3/22/20)(AP,
3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Fifty-two medics
from Cuba arrived in Italy to assist with the coronavirus pandemic.
(Economist, 4/4/20, p.25)
2020 Mar 22, Japan's Oita
prefecture confirmed two new coronavirus infections at a medical
center, bringing the total at the facility to 14 and making it a
suspected cluster.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Kosovo reported
the country's first victim of the coronavirus. The country has
registered 31 cases of people infected with the virus
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Malta said it is
closing all non-essential shops and services to stop the spread of
coronavirus. The number of confirmed virus cases in the country rose
to 90 with 17 cases reported overnight.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, In Mexico the
mayor of Mexico City shut bars and banned large gatherings to slow
the spread of the coronavirus.
(Econ, 3/28/20, p.32)
2020 Mar 22, In Pakistan Dr
Osama Riaz, who screened suspected coronavirus patients, died after
testing positive for the coronavirus, highlighting the danger to
physicians who have threatened to strike unless access to protection
equipment improves. Pakistan has reported three deaths and 658
patients infected with the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, The Palestinian
Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank,
announced a 14-day curfew, ordering everyone to stay at home except
for security forces, medics and food sellers. It also closed all
major roads. The PA has reported 59 coronavirus cases. Authorities
in Gaza confirmed the enclave's first two coronavirus cases
overnight in returnees who had come from Pakistan.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, The Netherlands
reported 573 more coronavirus virus cases for a total of 4,203 with
179 deaths.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, North Korea
reported that President Donald Trump has sent a personal letter to
leader Kim Jong Un, seeking to maintain good relations and offering
cooperation in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Portuguese
authorities began the coronavirus testing and repatriation process
for 1,338 passengers aboard the MSC Fantasia cruise ship en route
from Brazil that docked in Lisbon after its other European stopovers
were canceled.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, The Romanian
government confirmed the first death in the country due to
coronavirus.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, In Russia
small-scale protests against Vladimir Putin's plans to amend the
Russian constitution so he can run for president again in 2024 took
place in several medium-sized cities. Protests were called off in
Moscow and St. Petersburg due to measures imposed to contain the
spread of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, The Russian
military started sending medical help to Italy in order to help it
battle the new coronavirus after receiving an order from Pres.
Vladimir Putin following a conversation a day earlier with Italian
PM Giuseppe Conte. Russia itself has reported 306 cases of the
virus, most of them in Moscow, and one coronavirus-related death.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Rwanda began a
two-week lockdown, restricting travel between towns and cities and
asking people to stay indoors. The East African nation has 41
confirmed Covid-19 cases.
(https://allafrica.com/stories/202003260464.html)
2020 Mar 22, South Africa-based
Standard Bank said it will give a payment holiday to small
businesses and full-time students in a bid to ease financial
pressures on its customers as COVID-19 spread across the country.
South Africa has confirmed 240 cases of the virus so far.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, The South African
Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said around 1,240 German
passengers stranded in Cape Town after their MV AidAmira cruise ship
was quarantined for almost a week due to a coronavirus scare had
either begun their journey home or would do so in the next day.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, South Korea
reported 98 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 8,897. The
number of deaths rose by two to 104.
(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Spain's death toll
from coronavirus soared to 1,720 from 1,326 the day before. The
one-day rise in deaths of 394 was higher than the previous day's
increase of 324.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, In Switzerland,
7,014 people tested positive for coronavirus, up from 6,113 a day
earlier. Four more patients died, bringing the total to 60.
(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Syria reported its
first case of the coronavirus.
(Econ, 3/28/20, p.44)
2020 Mar 22, Taiwan announced
16 new confirmed cases of coronavirus with 13 of them imported. The
number of total confirmed cases rose to 169. Taiwan said it will
suspend transit of international passengers through its airports
from March 24 to April 7.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Thailand reported
188 more coronavirus cases, the highest daily increase so far,
bringing the total to 599.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Coronavirus cases
in Turkey soared as countries across the Middle East imposed new
restrictions on movement of people, shut public places and rolled
out measures to protect businesses. Turkey now has 947 confirmed
cases of the virus, with 21 deaths.
(Bloomberg, 3/22/20)(Good Morning America,
3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Uzbekistan ordered
all companies in Tashkent to switch to remote working and made
protective masks mandatory in all major cities in order to prevent
the spread of coronavirus. The country has confirmed 43 cases of the
disease and has already closed its borders.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Zimbabwe
journalist Zororo Makamba (30) became the country's first
coronavirus casualty. He had undergone surgery last November to
remove a tumor from under his lung and was in recovery.
(BBC, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 23, President Donald
Trump said he was considering how to restart business life when a
15-day shutdown ends next week, even as the highly contagious virus
spreads rapidly and poorly equipped hospitals struggle with a wave
of deadly cases.
(Reuters, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 23, President Trump
said major disaster declarations were underway for California, New
York and Washington, the three states hardest hit by the
coronavirus. With more than 15,000 confirmed cases.
(NY Times, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, A report released
by the US Centers for Disease Control said traces of the coronavirus
remained inside cabins of the Diamond Princess for more than two
weeks after the cruise ship was vacated. The ship had docked in
Japan on Feb. 5 and was placed under quarantine for more than two
weeks.
(Good Morning America, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 23, California's
National Guard began to deploy to food banks under orders by Gov.
Gavin Newsom as volunteer staffing all but disappeared due to the
coronavirus and associated state-wide shelter-in-place order.
(SFC, 3/25/20, p.B1)
2020 Mar 23, Hawaii Gov. David
Ige signed a proclamation late today, ordering the entire state to
stay at home and work from home, starting Wednesday after midnight
and lasting through the end of April.
(Good Morning America, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 23, Governors of
Michigan, Massachusetts, West Virginia and Wisconsin implemented
stay-at-home policies. Worldwide cases of coronavirus top 372,000
and 16,000 dead.
(Bloomberg, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, In New York as of
this morning, there have been at least 33,018 cases of coronavirus
confirmed by lab tests and 428 deaths, according to a New York Times
database. , New York State now accounted for roughly 5 percent of
the world’s total tally.
(NY Times, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Ford Motor Co it
has decided to temporarily halt vehicle and engine production at its
factories in India, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam in response
to the growing impact of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Australia’s
parliament rushed through more than A$80 billion ($46.3 billion) in
fiscal stimulus for the coronavirus-stricken economy at a special
sitting in Canberra. Cases of coronavirus reached 1,709 as at 3
p.m., up 313 since 3 p.m. the day before.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Austria said it is
mobilizing its military reservists for the first time since World
War Two, asking them to fight the coronavirus outbreak by helping
with food supplies, medical support and police operations. Austria
has reported nearly 4,000 cases with 21 deaths so far.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, PM Boris Johnson
brought Britain into alignment with lockdowns across Europe, closing
all nonessential shops and requiring people to stay in their homes,
except for trips for food or medicine due to the coronavirus
pandemic.
(NY Times, 3/24/20)(Economist, 4/4/20, p.41)
2020 Mar 23, Scientists at
Britain's Oxford University said they have started a clinical trial
to investigate the effects of an HIV medicine and a steroid drug in
UK patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 caused by the new
coronavirus. It will test AbbVie's Kaletra: a combination of
lopinavir and ritonavir which is normally used to treat the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that causes AIDS - and the steroid
dexamethasone, which is used to reduce inflammation in a wide range
of conditions.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Bulgaria's
parliament agreed to cancel some parts of a law that establishes a
state of emergency to limit the spread of the coronavirus after the
president wielded his veto citing concerns about its impact on the
economy and on free speech. Bulgaria had 190 confirmed cases of the
coronavirus and three deaths.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Cambodia reported
three new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 87.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Egypt has reported
around coronavirus 330 cases and 16 deaths. Tens of thousands of
people working in the major tourist destinations of Luxor, Hurghada
and Sharm el-Sheikh, along with 300 families in the Nile Delta, have
been ordered into 14-day quarantine.
(AP, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, The European Union
said it will send 20 million euros in humanitarian aid to Iran,
which is subject to US sanctions, to help alleviate the coronavirus,
and will also support Tehran's request for IMF financial help.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Germany barred
public gatherings of more than two people, except for families, and
Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was going into isolation because
her doctor had tested positive for the virus. Germany signed off on
taking on billions in new debt as part of an unprecedented package
totaling more than 750 billion euros ($800 billion) to cushion the
fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
(NY Times, 3/23/20)(Bloomberg, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Greece's largest
carrier Aegean Airlines said it will suspend all of its
international flights from March 26 to April 30 as a result of the
spread of the coronavirus and flight restrictions.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Iran announced 127
new deaths from the novel coronavirus, raising the official toll to
1,812 in one of the worst hit countries.
(AFP, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Iraq’s Health
Ministry has reported 23 fatalities among 266 confirmed coronavirus
cases.
(AP, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, In Italy the death
toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of
Lombardy has risen by around 320 in a day to more than 3,770. Unions
in the Lombardy region announced strikes to protect the health of
their workers, saying a government decree temporarily shutting
businesses due to the coronavirus emergency contained too many
loopholes and exceptions.
(AP, 3/23/20)(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Italy's number of
new Covid-19 cases dropped to a five-day low. Italian health
authorities announced 4,789 new cases in the last 24 hours. The
number of coronavirus cases in Italy has risen to 63,927 " compared
to 81,093 in mainland China. In total, 6,077 people have died in
Italy due to Covid-19, including 601 who died in the last 24 hours,
a decline from the weekend.
(South China Morning Post, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 23, Jordan said it
would extend a curfew indefinitely, with supermarkets and other
stores closed, and deliver food across the country to try to rein in
the coronavirus. Jordan has reported 112 coronavirus cases and six
deaths.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)(AP, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, In the Netherlands
the number of confirmed coronavirus infections increased by 13% from
a day earlier and 34 more people died. There were 545 new
infections, taking the total to 4,749 with 213 deaths.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Norway's foreign
ministry said the UN will create a fund to support the treatment of
coronavirus patients worldwide. Almost 340,000 people have been
infected by the novel coronavirus across the world and more than
14,500 have died.
(AP, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Russian PM Mikhail
Mishustin gave the authorities five days to develop a system that
would track and notify people who have come in contact with any
known carriers of coronavirus. The system would simultaneously
notify special regional headquarters set up to fight the pandemic.
(The Daily Beast, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 23, Saudi Arabia
announced overnight that an evening curfew would go into effect
starting today from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. for 21 days.
(AP, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Singapore reported
its biggest one-day jump in coronavirus infections with 54 new
cases, of which 48 were imported.
(Bloomberg, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, South Africa's
coronavirus cases jumped to 402, up 128 from the day before. South
Africa has not registered a death from the disease.
(AP, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Syrians rushed to
stock up on food and fuel amid fears that authorities would resort
to even stricter measures after reporting the first coronavirus
infection in the country, where the healthcare system has been
decimated by nearly a decade of civil war. An open-ended curfew went
into effect in parts of northern and eastern Syria, which are
controlled by a Kurdish-led civilian administration.
(AP, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Tunisia's
President Kais Saied ordered the army to deploy in the streets to
force people to respect a lockdown imposed to halt the spread of
coronavirus. Tunisia has 89 confirmed cases of the virus.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Istanbul's Grand
Bazaar, one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world,
closed in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. It
dated back to 1455 and is often regarded as one of the first
shopping malls.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Bazaar,_Istanbul)(https://tinyurl.com/ychn4qdy)
2020 Mar 23, The United Arab
Emirates, home to the world's busiest international airport in
Dubai, announced it was suspending all passenger flights and the
transit of airline passengers in the country for two weeks to stymie
the spread of the new coronavirus.
(AP, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 23, Vietnam's PM
Nguyen Xuan Phuc said next 10-15 days will be decisive in Vietnam's
fight against the coronavirus. There were now 122 cases, according
to the health ministry, and no reported deaths.
(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 24, Governors across
the US rejected President Donald Trump's new accelerated timeline
for reopening the US economy, as they continued to impose more
restrictions on travel and public life in an attempt to curb the
spread of the coronavirus.
(AP, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, Senior Pentagon
leaders said that the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak that has
hit the United States could continue for months and the military
would continue to support efforts to counter it for as long as
needed. More than 42,000 people in the United States have contracted
COVID-19, and at least 620 have died.
(Reuters, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, The US Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it had awarded $100 million
to 1,381 health centers across the nation to bolster their response
to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, Gov. Andrew Cuomo
said New York state now has over 25,000 diagnosed cases of
coronavirus, including over 14,900 in New York City.
(AP, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, Wall Street
bounced from three-year lows on hopes of a major fiscal stimulus to
blunt the economic damage from the coronavirus. The dollar fell
broadly, sliding for a second consecutive day after the US Federal
Reserve stepped up measures to shield an economy reeling from
emergency restrictions on commerce to fight the coronavirus. The
DJIA rose 2,2112.98, its biggest point gain in history, to 20,704.91
as Congress and the White House neared a deal to inject almost $2
trillion of aid into the economy ravaged by the coronavirus.
(AP, 3/24/20)(Reuters, 3/24/20)(SFC, 3/25/20,
p.C1)
2020 Mar 24, Brazil's President
Jair Bolsonaro laid to rest a diplomatic spat with China in a call
with President Xi Jinping, with the two agreeing to work together to
fight coronavirus as Brazil's largest city went into lockdown. In a
televised speech Bolsonaro urged local governments to abandon
"scorched-earth" strategies of closing schools and shops, and
blasted the media for spreading "the sensation of fear".
(Reuters, 3/24/20)(Econ, 3/28/20, p.29)
2020 Mar 24, New York-based
Human Rights Watch said Cambodia has arrested 17 people since late
January for sharing information about the coronavirus in Cambodia,
including four members or supporters of the dissolved opposition
Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).
(Reuters, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, Canadian banks
followed US heavyweights in offering one-time bonuses and extra paid
days off to customer-service employees who are required to work in
branches and call centers amid the coronavirus crisis.
(Reuters, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, It was reported
that death squads in Colombia are taking advantage of coronavirus
lockdowns to murder rural activists. The virus has now claimed three
lives in Colombia amid 277 confirmed cases.
(The Guardian, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, Egyptian PM
Moustafa Madbouly said Egypt will impose a two-week nightly curfew
in an effort to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
(AP, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, The healthcare
unit of French industrial gases company Air Liquide said it was
ramping up production of ventilators needed by hospitals to deal
with the coronavirus outbreak. France has recorded 1,100 coronavirus
deaths and 22,302 cases.
(Reuters, 3/24/20)(AFP, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 24, In France Manu
Dibango (86), a Cameroonian-born saxophonist, died with the
coronavirus. He had gained international fame with his 1972 song
"Soul Makossa".
(SFC, 3/25/20, p.A2)
2020 Mar 24, German hospitals
with spare capacity welcomed their first coronavirus patients from
Italy. Germany had 27,000 confirmed coronavirus cases but only 114
deaths.
(Reuters, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, India's PM
Narendra Modi decreed that the country of 1.3 billion will go on
lockdown for 21 days.
(AP, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, Iran announced 122
new deaths from the novel coronavirus, raising the official toll to
1,934 in one of the world's worst hit countries. A record 1,762 new
cases have been confirmed in Iran over the past 24 hours. 24,811
people are now known to have been infected.
(AP, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, In Italy the death
toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of
Lombardy rose by around 400 in a day to more than 4,175. The number
of cases in the region, which includes Milan, increased by some
1,940 to roughly 30,700. Italy suffered the most coronavirus deaths
with 6,820, out of 69,176 declared infections. This was its
second-deadliest day, dashing hopes the death toll is declining.
(Reuters, 3/24/20)(AFP, 3/24/20)(Bloomberg,
3/25/20)
2020 Mar 24, Libya reported its
first case of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 24, Netherlands saw
the number of deaths rise by 63 to 276. The national tally of
confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 17% to 5,560.
(Good Morning America, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 24, Pakistani PM Imran
Khan announced a 1trn rupee ($7bn) support package, cutting fuel
prices and earmarking money for the poor as a national lockdown
continued due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Econ, 3/28/20, p.36)
2020 Mar 24, Russia has so far
reported 495 cases of the coronavirus. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin
said the outbreak in the capital was much worse than official
figures showed.
(Reuters, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, In South Africa
coronavirus cases leapt to 554, the most of any country in Africa.
43 of Africa's 54 countries now have cases, with the total at 1,788.
Thirteen countries have reported 58 deaths.
(AP, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, Spain announced a
record daily rise of 6,584 new coronavirus infections, bringing the
overall total to 39,673. The number of deaths also jumped by a
record number of 514 to 2,696. The Defense Ministry said army troops
disinfecting nursing homes have found some residents living in
squalor among the infectious bodies of people that authorities
suspect have died from the new coronavirus. Spain's health ministry
reported 514 deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours.
(AP, 3/24/20)(Good Morning America, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, Switzerland's
Federal Office of Public Health said the country has nearly 9,000
confirmed coronavirus infections and 90 deaths.
(Reuters, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, The UN top envoy
for Syria called for a nationwide ceasefire to allow for a better
response to the threat of the novel coronavirus. The government in
Damascus has so far only reported one case of COVID-19.
(AFP, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 25, US lawmakers
finally agreed on a mammoth economic relief package, buoying stock
markets around the world. President Donald Trump said he wants to
see the country get back to business in a matter of weeks, over the
objections of public health experts. The US Senate unanimously
approved the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’’
(CARES Act), a bi-partisan bill to provide financial relief to
individuals and businesses impacted by the coronavirus. The aid
measure would send direct payments of $1,200 to Americans earning up
to $75,000, substantially expand help for the jobless, and provide
hundreds of billions of dollars in loans to businesses affected by
the pandemic.
(AP, 3/25/20)(NY Times, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 25, US coronavirus
infections continued to climb rapidly and passed the 55,000 mark,
with deaths approaching 800. More than 438,000 people worldwide have
been infected and the number of dead closed in on 20,000.
(AP, 3/25/20)(Good Morning America, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, The US Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it would extend its prior
conditional regulatory relief from disclosure requirements for
public companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, US Navy and Marine
Corps service members in Guam were ordered to break their own
quarantine to set up makeshift shelters for US troops coming off a
nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, where an outbreak of the novel
coronavirus was rapidly spreading within the hulls of the ship.
(The Daily Beast, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 25, California
reported 2,998 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
(Econ, 3/28/20, p.30)
2020 Mar 25, Miami, Wisconsin,
Vermont joined a growing list of places where residents must stay
home. At least 23 states have enacted policies to close nonessential
businesses in an effort to slow the spread of novel coronavirus on
US soil.
(Good Morning America, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo said his state's infections are doubling every three
days, threatening to swamp the available intensive care units. The
state has 26,000 infections and more than 200 deaths. At least 192
of those fatalities have occurred in NYC.
(AP, 3/25/20)(Good Morning America, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, New York state
issued a directive to send recovering coronavirus patients to
already vulnerable nursing homes. The directive said no resident
shall be denied re-admission or admission to a nursing home solely
based on confirmed or suspected COVID-19. On May 10 Gov. Andrew
Cuomo reversed the directive, which had been intended to help free
up hospital beds for the sickest patients as cases surged.
(AP, 5/21/20)
2020 Mar 25, CVS Health said
its pharmacy benefit management (PBM) unit was working to set up
measures against the hoarding of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine,
which is being tested as a potential treatment for the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, In Bangladesh
opposition BNP leader Khaleda Zia (74) was granted a six month
reprieve from prison in order to seek medical treatment.
(Econ, 3/28/20, p.34)
2020 Mar 25, Bolivia issued a
decree establishing a lockdown due to the coronavirus. The decree
criminalized individuals who incite noncompliance and misinform or
cause uncertainty to the population.
(Econ., 5/16/20, p.26)
2020 Mar 25, Brazil recorded
more than 2,500 cases of coronavirus and 59 deaths.
(AP, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 25, Britain passed the
Coronavirus Act, granting the government emergency powers to handle
the COVID-19 pandemic.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus_Act_2020)(Econ., 7/6/20,
p.46)
2020 Mar 25, It was reported
that nearly half a million people in Britain have filed welfare
benefit claims in the past nine days, a sign of how the government's
shutdown of much of the economy to slow the spread of coronavirus is
hitting incomes.
(Reuters, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, Britain’s Prince
Charles (71) of Wales became the latest high-profile infection of a
pandemic that has infiltrated all walks of life and paralyzed a
continent.
(AP, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, Bulgaria imposed a
temporary entry ban on trucks from more than 65 countries that plan
to pass through the Balkan state en route to Turkey, after Turkey
imposed stringent coronavirus restrictions on truck drivers.
(Reuters, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, China's Hubei
province, where the outbreak was first spotted late last year,
started lifting its lockdown.
(AP, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, Germany's
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government secured emergency spending,
unlocking a historic rescue package designed to cushion the blow of
the coronavirus pandemic. The Bundesrat, or upper house of
parliament, will vote on March 27.
(Bloomberg, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, In Germany some
32,705 patients have been confirmed with the coronavirus, up from
28,942 a day earlier. So far 154 have died, compared with 118 a day
earlier.
(Bloomberg, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, Hungary said it
has banned the commercial export of hydroxychloroquine sulfate, an
ingredient used in drugs for coronavirus treatment in several
countries.
(Reuters, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, India began a
21-day lockdown. PM Narendra Modi warned that if he didn't act now,
the coronavirus could set the world's largest democracy back
decades. Everything but essential services like supermarkets were
closed. India has reported only about 512 cases because of limited
testing. At least 9 deaths have been reported.
(AP, 3/24/20)(AP, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, India said it had
banned the export of hydroxychloroquine and formulations of the
malaria drug while experts test its efficacy in helping treat
patients infected with coronavirus.
(AP, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, Iran said it will
ban intercity travel within days as it finally gets tough with the
coronavirus that has killed more than 2,000 people in one of the
world's deadliest outbreaks.
(AFP, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, In Iran US Navy
veteran Michael White was hospitalized in a ward for coronavirus
patients and has experienced fever, fatigue, a cough and shortness
of breath since his furlough last week. White was requesting a
humanitarian evacuation to the United States for medical treatment.
(AP, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, In Mali
unidentified gunmen kidnapped Soumaila Cisse and members of his
campaign team in an area controlled by extremists groups linked to
al-Qaida. Cisse's bodyguard died of injuries sustained during the
abduction.
(https://tinyurl.com/vnvbsw2)(SFC, 3/27/20, p.A2)
2020 Mar 25, Mexico's state of
Baha California reported 16 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
(Econ, 3/28/20, p.30)
2020 Mar 25, In the Netherlands
the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 852 to 6,412.
Deaths rose by 80 to 356.
(Reuters, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, The Financial
Times reported that North Korean officials have sought urgent help
from international contacts to increase coronavirus testing in a
nation that could see its dilapidated health care system be crushed
by an outbreak.
(Bloomberg, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, Communist
guerrillas in the Philippines said they would observe a cease-fire
in compliance with the UN chief's call for a global halt in armed
clashes during the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, Romania's Pres.
Klaus Iohannis said his government will postpone monthly loan
repayments for a period of up to 9 months to help domestic borrowers
hit by the coronavirus crisis. Romania reported 144 new infections
to an overall of 906 cases and 13 deaths.
(Reuters, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, Russian President
Vladimir Putin said he was postponing a nationwide vote on
constitutional changes that would allow him to extend his rule due
to the worsening situation with coronavirus. Russian authorities
reported 163 more virus cases in the country since the day before,
bringing the national total to 658.
(AP, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, In South Africa
the coronavirus caseload rose past 700 as the country got ready to
go on lockdown on March 27.
(AP, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, Spain suffered its
deadliest day since the outbreak of the coronavirus. The total
number of fatalities surged by 738 to 3,434.
(Bloomberg, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, The Swiss
government said it was expanding its border controls to include all
countries in the Schengen open border zone to help protect people
from coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, Switzerland said
it has introduced temporary restrictions on the export of protective
equipment to head off shortages among medical staff and others
fighting the coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, Taiwan reported
235 cases of the coronavirus and just two deaths.
(Econ, 3/28/20, p.35)
2020 Mar 25, Vietnam's health
ministry reported an additional seven coronavirus cases, taking the
country's tally to 141, though it reported no deaths.
(Reuters, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 25, Zimbabwe's public
hospital doctors and nurses went on strike over a lack of protective
gear as the coronavirus begins to spread in a country whose health
system has almost collapsed.
(AP, 3/25/20)
2020 Mar 26, President Trump
said he planned to label different areas as “high risk, medium risk
or low risk,” as part of guidelines to help states determine
quarantine and distancing measures. He also reiterated his desire to
start opening up parts of the country soon.
(NY Times, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 26, The US military
said it has decided it will stop providing some of the more granular
data about coronavirus infections within its ranks, citing concern
that the information might be used by adversaries as the virus
spreads.
(Reuters, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, In the United
States deaths due to the coronavirus passed 1,050. The number of US
coronavirus infections climbed above 82,000, surpassing the national
tallies of China and Italy. The global death toll from the virus
climbed past 21,000 and the number of infections has surpassed
472,000.
(AP, 3/26/20)(The Telegraph, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 26, In the SF Bay Area
confirrmed cases of coronavirus topped 1,400 with at least 32
deaths.
(SFC, 3/27/20, p.A1)
2020 Mar 26, As of today anyone
arriving in Hawaii was required to undergo a mandatory 14-day
self-quarantine to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
(SFC, 3/30/20, p.A4)
2020 Mar 26, Louisiana reported
the number of coronavirus cases in the state leapt 28% overnight.
Louisiana has surpassed 2,300 people known to be infected, with 86
residents dead.
(AP, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 26, NY state Gov.
Andrew Cuomo said his state has become the nation's epicenter of the
coronavirus pandemic. Cuomo says Congress' $2 trillion stimulus bill
has "failed to meet the governmental need." New York has seen 385
deaths from COVID-19 and that number is expected to continue to
rise.
(AP, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, The International
Monetary Fund asked G20 leaders to back a doubling of its emergency
financing capacity to strengthen its response to the rapidly
spreading coronavirus pandemic that is set to cause a global
recession in 2020. G20 leaders in a video conference said they were
committed to presenting a united front against the coronavirus
pandemic, calling it their "absolute priority" to tackle its health,
social and economic impacts.
(Reuters, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, The Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) said it has increased resources available to
countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to fight the
coronavirus pandemic to $12 billion, up from the $2 billion it had
promised a few weeks ago.
(Reuters, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, A lockdown of
Austrian ski resorts that have become hotspots for the spread of the
coronavirus in Europe was extended until April 13, Easter Monday.
Austria has reported nearly 6,400 cases in its nine provinces, a
quarter of them in Tyrol.
(Reuters, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, Bangladesh
deployed soldiers to enforce the start of a nationwide 10-day
shutdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
(SFC, 3/27/20, p.A4)
2020 Mar 26, Brazilian
President Jair Bolsonaro (65) told reporters in the capital,
Brasilia, that he feels Brazilians’ natural immunity will protect
the nation from the coronavirus pandemic. The nation’s tally of
confirmed COVID-19 cases surpassed 3,400 and deaths top 90. 25 of
Brazil’s 27 governors signed a joint letter this week begging
Bolsonaro to back strict anti-virus measures.
(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 26, The number of
people in the UK who have died from coronavirus increased by 31% to
759.
(AP, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 26, It was reported
that Mologic, a British company behind a 10-minute coronavirus
antibody test, has begun sending prototypes to laboratories for
validation, which could be a game-changer in the fight against the
pandemic. The test would cost about a $1.
(Reuters, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, The Southern
Cameroons Defence Forces (Socadef) said its ceasefire would come
into effect from March 29 as "a gesture of goodwill." Cameroon's
health ministry has so far has confirmed 75 cases of the coronavirus
- and recorded its first death earlier this week.
(BBC, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, China said it will
temporarily suspend the entry of foreigners with valid Chinese visas
and residence permits starting on March 28, as an interim measure in
response to the coronavirus epidemic. Exemptions will be made to
those travelling in a diplomatic or official capacity, as well as
holders of "C" visas, which are issued to foreigners involved in
provision of international transportation services.
(Reuters, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, Denmark has
recorded 1,851 people infected with coronavirus and 34 deaths. The
country has restricted public assembly to 10 or fewer people and
ordered the closure of schools, universities, day care centers,
restaurants, cafes, libraries, gyms and hair salons.
(Reuters, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, Egypt's health
ministry said there have been 495 cases of the new coronavirus in
the country, including 24 fatalities. Egypt has expelled Ruth
Michaelson, a correspondent for The Guardian, over a report citing a
study that challenged the official count of coronavirus cases.
(AP, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, French health
authorities reported 299 new deaths from coronavirus, taking the
total to 1,995. A TGV bullet train transferred 20 patients on
life-support systems to from Strasbourg to eastern France.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)(Economist, 4/4/20, p.39)
2020 Mar 26, Germany has
reported coronavirus infections in more than 39,000 people, but just
222 deaths. The country now has the ability to test 500,000 people a
week, perhaps the greatest capacity in the world.
(AP, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, In India the Jimme
Foundation, an LGBT+ rights group, launched a fundraising appeal for
Mumbai sex workers whose income has been hit by coronavirus, saying
it wanted to help other Indians who faced prejudice.
(Reuters, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, Iran's death toll
due to the coronavirus jumped by 157 to 2,234, prompting new steps
to limit public gatherings and domestic travel. President Hassan
Rouhani said there would be more travel and gathering restrictions
for the next two weeks to “break the chain" of the virus.
(AP, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, Iraq extended
government-imposed restrictions on movement for two more weeks to
stem the spread of the new coronavirus. The Health Ministry reported
a jump of coronavirus-related deaths by seven in 24 hours.
Authorities have confirmed that at least 29 Iraqis have died from
COVID-19 and nearly 350 others have contracted the disease.
(AP, 3/26/20)(AFP, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, Italy's death toll
due to coronavirus was about 7,500. The number of cases in the in
the northern region of Lombardy, increased by some 2,500. Italy has
reported 8,215 deaths from the illness, more than anywhere else in
the world, while confirmed cases total 80,539.
(AP, 3/26/20)(Reuters, 3/26/20)(Bloomberg,
3/27/20)(Reuters, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 26, Lebanon extended
government-imposed restrictions on movement for two more weeks to
stem the spread of the new coronavirus. Lebanon has recorded six
deaths of the virus while 35 new infected cases were recorded,
raising the total to 386 cases.
(AP, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, In Morocco
hundreds of mostly British tourists who were traveling in motorhomes
have found themselves stranded in a parking lot near a Tangier
highway that authorities have turned into a makeshift quarantine
center. Morocco has identified 225 cases of COVID-19.
(AP, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, Pakistan's cases
of coronavirus rose to 1,098, up from 250 a week earlier. Eight
deaths have been reported.
(SFC, 3/27/20, p.A4)
2020 Mar 26, The Russian
government ordered the grounding of all international flights as
part of new measures against the coronavirus pandemic, with the
exception of flights evacuating Russian citizens from abroad,.
(Good Morning America, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, It was reported
that Rwanda police have shot and killed two young men for defying
lockdown orders to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
(https://allafrica.com/stories/202003260464.html)
2020 Mar 26, Saudi authorities
announced a total lockdown on the capital, Riyadh, and Islam's two
holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, in addition to a nationwide
curfew.
(AP, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, South African
President Ramaphosa called on richer countries to support the
continent's economies via stimulus packages to mitigate the
devastation caused by the coronavirus, as his own country registered
a jump to more than 900 cases.
(Reuters, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, Spain's Health
Ministry reported nearly 8,600 new infections and 655 deaths,
bringing the total cases to over 56,000 and more than 4,000
fatalities.
(AP, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, Sweden has
reported around 2,806 confirmed coronavirus cases and 66 deaths
while Denmark recorded 1,851 infected and 34 deaths. The country has
remained largely open for business. Sweden's health agency has
conceded more measures are likely as the virus continues to spread.
(Reuters, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, Swiss-based
Nestle, the world's biggest food company, said it would pay full
salaries for at least three months to employees affected by work
stoppages to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
(AP, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, Thailand has
reported a total of 1,045 cases of coronavirus and four deaths since
the outbreak started in January. Honda's Thai business said it would
suspend operations at two factories after Thailand declared a state
of emergency to curb the spread of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 26, Authorities in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced an overnight weekend lockdown
and used drones to tell residents to stay home.
(AP, 3/26/20)
2020 Mar 27, The US House
of Representatives passed the $2 trillion coronavirus economic
stimulus bill. President Donald Trump was expected to sign it
quickly. The US now had almost 86,000 known infections.
(NBC News, 3/27/20)(AFP, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, The US Navy, the
military service hit hardest by the coronavirus, scrambled to
contain its first at-sea outbreak, with at least two dozen infected
aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam, one of 11 active aircraft
carriers whose mission is central to the Pentagon's strategy for
deterring war with China and Iran.
(AP, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, California's Gov.
Gavin Newsom ordered a two-month halt on evictions for state
residents who cannot pay their rent vecause of the coronavirus.
(SFC, 3/28/20, p.A6)
2020 Mar 27, In Florida 29
deaths have been reported due to the coronavirus. Deaths were on
track to double every four days.
(SFC, 3/28/20, p.A5)
2020 Mar 27, Mississippi’s
health department reported 579 COVID-19 cases and eight deaths.
(The Daily Beast, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 27, New York state
reported 100 more deaths in one day. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said
cases of the new coronavirus are going to become “astronomical,”
putting unprecedented strain on the hospital system. New York state
has more than 44,000 cases of coronavirus and 519 deaths from the
virus, by far the most in the country.
(AP, 3/27/20)(Bloomberg, 3/27/20)(AP,
3/28/20)(SFC, 3/28/20, p.A5)
2020 Mar 27, The New York City
Department of Corrections said that 80 staff and 103 men in custody
have tested positive for coronavirus at Rikers Island and city jails
alone — quadruple what was reported just a week ago.
(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 27, Rhode Island State
Police began pulling over drivers with New York plates so that
National Guard officials can collect contact information and inform
them of a mandatory, 14-day quarantine.
(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 27, Washington, D.C.,
confirmed 36 new coronavirus cases, raising its total to 267.
(AP, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani announced his 21-member team to negotiate peace with
the Taliban, only to have his political opponent Abdullah Abdullah
reject it as not inclusive enough. The Afghan government ordered a
three-week lock-down for Kabul to stem the spread of the new
coronavirus. Afghanistan has so far recorded just 91 cases and four
deaths but the tens of thousands returnees from Iran have dispersed
throughout the country without being tested.
(AP, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, It was reported
that the supply of soybeans to Argentine crushing plants is down by
half and falling, as municipalities citing health concerns defied a
government order that they allow cargo trucks to get to the plants.
Mayors of dozens of towns near the Rosario grains export hub have
blocked ground transport as the country locks down against the
coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, It was reported
that millions of Bangladesh factory workers have been sent home
without wages or severence pay they are owed in the wake of the
coronavirus pandemic.
(SFC, 3/28/20, p.A4)
2020 Mar 27, British PM Boris
Johnson (55) said he has tested positive for the coronavirus. Health
Secretary Matt Hancock was also confirmed to have the virus. British
fatalities due to the coronavirus jumped by 260, to 1,019. Some
14,579 people in the UK have tested positive, an increase of about
25%, above the five-day average of 20%.
(Bloomberg, 3/27/20)(AP, 3/27/20)(Bloomberg,
3/28/20)
2020 Mar 27, China's National
Health Commission reported 55 new cases, 54 of them imported
infections. Chinese leader Xi Jinping in a phone call told Pres.
Donald Trump that China understands the United States' current
predicament over the COVID-19 outbreak and stands ready to provide
support within its capacity.
(AP, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, In the Baltic
states Estonia reported 575 coronavirus infections and one death,
Latvia reported 280 cases, Lithuania reported 344 cases and four
deaths.
(Baltic News Network, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, In Germany cases
of coronavirus rose to 43,039 from 37,179, while the death toll
jumped to 262 deaths from 203.
(Bloomberg, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, The Hong Kong
government announced new measures to contain the coronavirus
outbreak, including limiting crowd size to four people except
weddings and funerals. The measures will last for 14 days. The city
has found a record 65 new cases, taking its total to 518.
(Bloomberg, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, PM Viktor Orban
said Hungary’s government will partially restrict movement for a
two-week period ending April 11 to slow the spread of the
coronavirus pandemic.
(AP, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, It was reported
that India's coronavirus lockdown is disrupting e-commerce companies
including Amazon and Flipkart, despite government assurances it
would not.
(Reuters, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, Indonesia reported
the biggest daily jump in new coronavirus infections with the total
number of confirmed cases topping 1,000. Tests confirmed the disease
in 153 more people. The country also reported nine new deaths,
taking the total to 87, the highest in Southeast Asia.
(AP, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, Iran reported
2,926 new coronavirus cases and 144 more deaths over the past day,
bringing the total figures in the country to 32,332 cases and 2,378
deaths. The government enforced social distancing measures banning
inter-city travel and all gatherings, and the central bank approved
loans for businesses affected by the outbreak. Iranian media report
nearly 300 people have been killed and more than 1,000 sickened so
far by ingesting methanol in the mistaken belief it protects against
the coronavirus.
(AP, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, Israel has
recorded 12 deaths from COVID-19, the illness caused by the
coronavirus, and over 3,000 infections.
(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 27, In Italy the death
toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of
Lombardy rose by around 541 in a day to some 5,402. Italy registered
the most coronavirus deaths since the country's outbreak had
exploded five weeks earlier, adding 969 more victims to raise the
world’s highest COVID-19 toll to 9,134.
(Reuters, 3/27/20)(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 27, The number of
confirmed coronavirus cases in the Netherlands rose by 1,172, or
16%, to 8,603, with 112 new deaths. The country's death total is now
546.
(Reuters, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, The Palestinian
Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank,
has reported 84 coronavirus cases. Authorities in the Gaza Strip
have reported nine cases.
(AP, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, The Seattle-based
Holland American cruise line, owneed by Carnival Corp., said four
passengers have died aboard the Zaandam now anchored off the coast
of Panama. Two people have tested positive for the coronavirus and
more than 130 have reported flu-like symptoms. The ship carried
1,243 guests and 586 crew.
(SFC, 3/28/20, p.A2)
2020 Mar 27, In Russia the
total number of coronavirus cases rose by 196 to 1,036.
(Bloomberg, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, In Serbia
residents of Belgrade isolated themselves not only from coronavirus
but also from acrid smoke, which defied strong winds to transform
the Serbian capital into the city with the world's most polluted
air. So far, the coronavirus infection in Serbia has sickened 528
and killed eight people.
(Reuters, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, South Africa began
a three-week lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus
as the disease claimed its first two victims in the country and the
number of infections passed 1,000.
(Bloomberg, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, South Korea
reported 146 new coronavirus cases. That brought total infections in
South Korea to 9,478, with a death toll of 151, up from 139.
(Reuters, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 27, Spain reported its
deadliest day so far after 769 people died, for a total of 4,858
fatalities. Cases rose to 64,059 from 56,188.
(Bloomberg, 3/27/20)
2020 Mar 28, Pres. Donald Trump
endorsed the $2 trillion coronavirus economic stimulus bill. He
signed the bill into law but said he would not be bound by
provisions that interfered with his executive authority. Democrats
had pushed for increased oversight of a $500 billion corporate loan
fund. Trump also approved coronavirus disaster declarations for
Michigan and Massachusetts.
(Bloomberg, 3/28/20)(SFC, 3/31/20, p.A8)
2020 Mar 28, Idaho's Blaine
County has reported more than 80 confirmed cases of coronavirus. The
county includes Sun Valley Resort whioch draws skiers from around
the world.
(SSFC, 3/29/20, p.A6)
2020 Mar 28, In Louisiana
inmate Patrick Jones (47) died after contracting the coronavirus at
the federal minimum-security prison in Oakdale, where at least five
prisoners have tested positive for the virus.
(NBC News, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 28, Michigan Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order requiring communities
statewide to restore water service, effectively ending water
shutoffs for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, In Michigan the
number of coronavirus infections surged in Detroit to 1,381, with 31
deaths. More than a fifth of Detroit's police force was quarantined.
Two officers have died and at least 39 have tested positive,
including the chief of police.
(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo said there are now 52,318 confirmed cases in the state,
after 7,681 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours. The
governor also announced he was postponing the presidential primary
in the state from April 28 to June 23.
(Good Morning America, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, New York City
reported at least 26,000 diagnosed cases of COVID-19, with 450
deaths.
(Good Morning America, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Rhode Island Gov.
Gina Raimondo announced that the National Guard would go
door-to-door to make sure New Yorkers are following 14-day
quarantine orders. Rhode Island announced its first two deaths.
(Good Morning America, 3/28/20)(SSFC, 3/29/20,
p.A6)
2020 Mar 28, The number of
worldwide coronavirus infections surpassed 620,000 with more than
28,000 deaths as new cases also stacked up quickly in Europe. Abbott
Laboratories unveiled a coronavirus test that can tell if someone is
infected in as little as five minutes, and is so small and portable
it can be used in almost any health-care setting.
(Bloomberg, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Albania flew a
team of doctors and nurses to neighboring Italy to help it deal with
the coronavirus pandemic as its own cases have yet to strain the
health sector. Albania has 197 cases of the illness, with 10 deaths.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Australia’s death
toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose to 14. The number of
confirmed infections stood at 3,635, an increase of 469 from a day
earlier. Australia stepped up enforcement of social distancing
rules, implementing fines, closing beaches and threatening stricter
measures if people defy pleas to stay at home.
(Bloomberg, 3/28/20)(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Australian
authorities pressed ahead with plans to fly 800 cruise ship
passengers to Germany this weekend after a downward revision in the
number of people on board who needed to be tested for the
coronavirus.
(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Bosnia's
autonomous Serb Republic declared a state of emergency, handing
legislative powers to the region's president to expedite the passage
of laws to ease the impact of the coronavirus epidemic. Bosnia has
recorded 259 cases of coronavirus with four deaths.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Brazil's federal
government launched an advertising campaign against social
distancing measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak, the latest
flashpoint in a battle between President Jair Bolsonaro and state
governors trying to stop the virus' spread.
(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, A Brazilian court
blocked a decree by President Jair Bolsonaro that exempted places of
worship from confinement orders. The federal court in Rio de Janeiro
state ruled that religious services pose a public health risk. The
government can still appeal the decision.
(AFP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Britain reported
17,089 people testing positive for the coronavirus, up from 14,543 a
day earlier.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, The Chinese city
of Wuhan, where the outbreak first emerged, began lifting a
two-month lockdown by restarting some metro services and reopening
borders, allowing some semblance of normality to return and families
to reunite.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, China sent a plane
loaded with medical personnel and supplies to help Pakistan fight
the spread of the coronavirus in one of the world's most populous
nations. Pakistan has 1,408 confirmed cases of the virus, including
11.
(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Northern Cyprus
reported its first death from the coronavirus after a 67-year old
German tourist died in hospital in Nicosia.
(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, In Germany the
number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 48,582 and 325 people
have died of the disease.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Greece confirmed
95 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 1,061 since the
country's first recorded infection on Feb. 26.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, India has
confirmed 775 cases of coronavirus and 19 deaths.
(SSFC, 3/29/20, p.A5)
2020 Mar 28, Indonesia's
capital Jakarta announced a two-week extension of its state of
emergency following the nationwide surge in coronavirus cases,.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Iran announced
that 139 more people had died from the novel coronavirus, raising
the official death toll to 2,517. The health ministry said 3,076
more cases had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, bringing the
total number of infections to 35,408.
(AFP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Iraqi doctors said
the country may be singularly unprepared for the coronavirus, with
the number of cases at 450 and deaths at 40.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Italy's Lombardy
region recorded 542 new deaths as the national government was said
to be mulling plans to extend a country-wide lockdown to mid-April.
Italy reported 889 deaths due to the coronavirus. The death toll
surged past 10,000. Confirmed cases rose by about 6,000 to 92,472.
(AP, 3/28/20)(Reuters, 3/28/20)(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 28, In Japan new
coronavirus infections in Tokyo rose by more than 60, the biggest
daily increase yet.
(Bloomberg, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, In Kenya police
fired tear gas at a crowd of ferry commuters as the country's first
day of a coronavirus curfew slid into chaos. Virus cases across
Africa climbed above 4,000.
(SSFC, 3/29/20, p.A5)
2020 Mar 28, Lebanese security
forces cleared away a protest camp in central Beirut on Saturday and
reopened roads blocked by demonstrators since protests against the
governing elite started in October. Lebanon has recorded 412 cases
of coronavirus and eight deaths.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Mali recorded its
first coronavirus just hours before polls were to open on March 29
for a long-delayed parliamentary election.
(AFP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Namibia, the
world’s top producer of marine diamonds and the fifth-biggest of
uranium, halted mining and quarrying operations to curb the
coronavirus outbreak.
(Bloomberg, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, The Netherlands
reported 93 deaths from the new coronavirus to take its total to 639
while another 1,159 cases of the virus were confirmed, both smaller
rises than a day earlier. The country has confirmed a total of 9,762
cases of the virus.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, The Philippine
health ministry reported 14 new coronavirus deaths and 272
additional cases, marking the country's single largest daily
increase in fatalities and infections. This brought total infections
in the Philippines to 1,075 and deaths to 68.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Poland's
parliament passed a law early today allowing postal voting for
senior citizens and those in quarantine or self-isolating as the
government looks to press ahead with May presidential elections
which opposition parties want postponed.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Portugal’s
coronavirus cases rose 20% in one day and deaths climbed to 100 from
76. Total cases rose to 5,170 from 4,268 a day earlier. Authorities
said all foreigners in Portugal with pending applications will be
treated as permanent residents from March 30 until at least July 1,
to ensure migrants have access to public services during the virus
outbreak.
(Bloomberg, 3/28/20)(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Qatar reported its
first death from the new coronavirus late today, saying the total
number of reported cases there was at least 590.
(AP, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 28, Russia reported
228 new cases of coronavirus overnight, bringing the total to 1,264,
with four deaths attributed to the virus. Russia said it will close
its borders starting on March 30 in a bid to curb the spread of the
coronavirus. The order will not apply to Russian diplomats and the
drivers of freight trucks, among others. Moscow Mayor Sergei
Sobyanin urged Muscovites to stay at home during the non-working
week announced by President Vladimir Putin in a bid to curb the
spread of the coronavirus.
(Bloomberg, 3/28/20)(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, South African
billionaire businessman Patrice Motsepe said his group of companies
would donate 1 billion rand ($57 million) to help fight the
coronavirus outbreak that has forced the country into total lockdown
as infections climbed.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Spain said 832
people have died from coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing
total fatalities to 5,690. Spain reported 8,189 new cases of novel
coronavirus in the last 24 hours, putting the total number of cases
at 72,248.
(Bloomberg, 3/28/20)(Good Morning America,
3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, The death toll in
Switzerland from coronavirus climbed to 235 with total cases at
13,213.
(AP, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Thailand reported
109 new coronavirus cases and one death, bringing the total to 1,245
infections and six deaths.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Turkey halted all
intercity trains and limited domestic flights, as the number of
coronavirus cases jumped by a third in a day to 5,698, with 92 dead.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, The United Arab
Emirates extended to April 5 a de-facto nightly curfew to sterilize
public places. The UAE has reported two deaths from the coronavirus
pandemic and 468 confirmed infections.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, A doctor (39) in
Uzbekistan died after unsuccessfully trying to treat a coronavirus
infection that he kept secret.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 28, Vietnam began
limiting domestic flights and stop public gatherings for two weeks,
as it aimed to keep down the number of coronavirus cases. The health
ministry reported an additional 11 coronavirus cases, bringing the
total number in the country to 174. There are 1,729 suspected cases
in the country.
(Reuters, 3/28/20)
2020 Mar 29, President Trump
deployed a naval hospital ship to New York. At least 17 US states
reported tallies of at least 1,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.
Trump said everyone in the US must avoid nonessential travel or
gathering in groups of more than 10 for at least another month, and
perhaps until June. The United States now led the world with more
than 143,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and more than 2,500 deaths.
As of today, the virus has infected more than 680,000 people and
killed at least 32,000 worldwide.
(NY Times, 3/29/20)(AP, 3/29/20)(NY Times,
3/30/20)
2020 Mar 29, The US Food and
Drug Administration late today issued a limited emergency-use
authorization for two antimalarial drugs to treat those infected
with the novel coronavirus. The US Department of Health and Human
Services announced it had received 30 million doses of
hydroxychloroquine sulfate and one million doses of chloroquine
phosphate donated to a national stockpile of potentially life-saving
pharmaceuticals and medical supplies.
(Good Morning America, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 29, Dr. Anthony Fauci,
director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, said the coronavirus outbreak could kill 100,000 to
200,000 Americans and added that millions in the US could become
infected..
(AP, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, The US Food and
Drug Administration late today issued a limited emergency-use
authorization for two antimalarial drugs to treat those infected
with the novel coronavirus. The US Department of Health and Human
Services announced it had received 30 million doses of
hydroxychloroquine sulfate and one million doses of chloroquine
phosphate donated to a national stockpile of potentially life-saving
pharmaceuticals and medical supplies.
(Good Morning America, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 29, California state
officials said they are temporarily closing vehicular access to all
280 state parks in hope of slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
(SFC, 3/30/20, p.A1)
2020 Mar 29, Louisiana's Gov.
John Bel Edwards warned that the spread of the coronavirus could
soon overwhelm the state's health care system. Hundreds of people
flouted a ban on gatherings at the Life Tabernacle church in
Central. Louisiana had 3,540 cases and 151 deaths. Pastor Tony Spell
was issued a summons on March 31 for holding the services. Spell
said he would continue to ignore the ban because God told him so.
(SFC, 3/30/20, p.A4,7)(SFC, 4/1/20, p.A6)
2020 Mar 29, In Detroit, which
has a large low-income population, the death toll rose to 31 with
about 1,400 infections in a rate that shocked health officials.
(AP, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, New York State,
with over 53,300 cases as of this morning, accounted for more than
one-third of the country’s known coronavirus infections. A planeload
of desperately needed medical supplies arrived in New York from
China, the first of 22 scheduled flights over the next 30 days
organized by the White House to help fight the coronavirus.
(NY Times, 3/29/20)(Reuters, 3/29/20)(NY Times,
3/30/20)
2020 Mar 29, Alan Merrill
(b.1951), writer of the hit song "I Love Rock and Roll," died in New
York of complications from the coronavirus. He wrote the song for
his band the Arrows in 1975 and it became a hit for Joan Jett in
1982.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Merrill)(SFC,
3/30/20, p.A7)
2020 Mar 29, Rhode Island Gov.
Gina Raimondo repealed her order the New Yorkers be singled out for
COVID-19 quarantine and replaced it with a requirement that all
out-of-state travelers isolate for 14 days.
(SFC, 3/30/20, p.A4)
2020 Mar 29, Brazil's President
Jair Bolsonaro called on all but the elderly to get back to work,
defying his own health ministry on coronavirus guidelines.
(SFC, 4/2/20, p.A6)
2020 Mar 29, Cambodia reported
one new case of the coronavirus, bringing tally to 103. The country
prepared to tighten entry requirements for foreign nationals to try
to curb the spread of the virus.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, China said it had
an accumulated total of 693 cases of coronavirus entering from
overseas.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, Cyprus recorded 35
new coronavirus cases, more than double the number reported a day
earlier. This brought Cyprus' total to 214 cases and six recorded
deaths.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 29, Egypt has reported
more than 600 infections and 40 deaths from the coronavirus. The
government imposed restrictions on cash deposits and withdrawals to
prevent crowding at banks as payrolls and pensions are disbursed.
(AP, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, France used two
high-speed TGV trains and a German military plane to move more than
three dozen critically ill coronavirus patients to ease the pressure
on overwhelmed hospitals in eastern France. The number of intensive
care cases rose 8.4% to 4,632, its lowest daily rise in that period.
The country was in virtual lockdown.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 29, Indian PM Narendra
Modi asked the nation's poor for forgiveness as the economic and
human toll from his 21-day nationwide lockdown deepens and criticism
mounts about a lack of adequate planning ahead of the decision.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, Indonesia
confirmed 130 new coronavirus infections, taking the total to 1,285.
Twelve more people had died from the virus, bringing the death toll
to 144.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, In Iran the death
toll from the novel coronavirus rose to 2,640. 123 more people in
Iran died from the virus in the past 24 hours. 2,901 new cases of
COVID-19 infection were reported, bringing the overall number of
officially confirmed cases to 38,309.
(AFP, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, In Iran a riot
broke out at Adel Abad Prison, the main lockup in the city of
Shiraz. Prisoners broke cameras and caused other damage in two
sections housing violent criminals. No one was wounded and no one
escaped.
(AP, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, Ireland's
government said it is set to roll out a voluntary phone-tracking app
to alert users if someone they have been in contact with develops
COVID-19, two weeks before the pandemic is expected to peak in the
country.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, In Israel more
than 4,300 people have been infected with the new virus and 15 have
died.
(AP, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, In Italy the death
toll from an outbreak of coronavirus climbed by 756 to 10,779. The
death toll from the coronavirus in Lombardy rose by around 416 in a
day to some 6,360. Italy's government said it will "inevitably"
extend beyond April 3 the containment measures it had approved to
stem the coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, Tokyo confirmed 68
new coronavirus cases, a record daily increase. Popular Japanese
comedian Ken Shimura (70) died from the
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)(SFC, 3/30/20, p.A6)
2020 Mar 29, Kazakhstan locked
down its fifth major city as part of measures to prevent the spread
of coronavirus. The country has confirmed 265 coronavirus cases and
has already locked down its capital, Nur-Sultan, the biggest city,
Almaty, as well as Shymkent, a large city in the south, and Aktau, a
Caspian Sea port.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, Malians voted in
long-delayed parliamentary elections a day after the country's first
coronavirus death. Mali now had 18 confirmed Covid-19 cases. There
were concerns about its spread in a country with a poor healthcare
infrastructure.
(BBC, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, In the Netherlands
the number of confirmed coronavirus cases passed 10,000. Confirmed
cases rose by 1,104 to 10,866, an 11% increase. There were 132 new
deaths, bringing the number of fatalities to 771.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, Nigerian President
Muhammadu Buhari ordered the cessation of movement in Lagos and the
capital Abuja for 14 days in an attempt to curb the spread of the
coronavirus. Nigeria had 97 confirmed cases. The country has shut
international airports, closed all land borders and imposed curbs on
cargo vessels allowed to dock at its ports in an effort to contain
the outbreak. Nigeria's petroleum regulator ordered oil and gas
companies to reduce their offshore workforce and move to 28-day
staff rotations as part of measures to curb the spread of the
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, The Philippines
reported 1,418 cases of coronavirus and 71 deaths. Police said
nearly 50,000 people have apprehended over the last two weeks for
violating quarantine regulations and night curfews.
(SFC, 3/30/20, p.A6)
2020 Mar 29, In Russia the
total number of coronavirus cases in Moscow exceeded 1,000 with many
Muscovites going out despite a plea to stay home. The official tally
of confirmed cases in Russia rose by 270 in 24 hours, bringing the
total to 1,534. Nine people have died of the coronavirus, seven of
which in Moscow.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, Singapore reports
42 new coronavirus cases, taking tally to 844. Singapore reported
its third coronavirus death.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, South African
police and security guard shot a man dead during the coronavirus
lockdown in Vosloorus township, just south of Johannesburg. The two
suspects in the killing have been arrested.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 29, Spain’s
coronavirus death toll rose by 838 overnight to 6,528. Spain also
saw infections rise to 78,797 from 72,248 the day before.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, Sri Lankan
authorities sealed off two villages as a part of stringent measures
the contain the spread of the coronavirus. The nation has reported
115 cases and one fatality. More than 6,000 people have been
arrested and 1,533 vehicles seized for violating a curfew.
(SFC, 3/30/20, p.A6)
2020 Mar 29, Sudan has six
confirmed cases, including one fatality.
(AP, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, The Swiss death
toll from coronavirus reached 257, up from 235 people the previous
day. The number of confirmed cases also increased to 14,336 from
13,213.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, Taiwan has
reported 298 cases, far lower than many of its neighbors, and has
won plaudits from health experts for its early response and measures
to keep the numbers low. The World Health Organization (WHO) said it
is closely following the development of the coronavirus in Taiwan
and is learning lessons from how they are fighting it, after
complaints from Taiwan it was being intentionally ignored.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, In northeastern
Thailand prisoners set fire to the canteen of Buriram Prison and
several inmates escaped during a riot that was sparked by rumors of
a coronavirus outbreak. The total number of coronavirus cases
reached 1,388, with 143 new cases reported today. One new
coronavirus death was reported, bringing the total in Thailand to
seven.
(Reuters, 3/29/20)(SFC, 3/30/20, p.A2)
2020 Mar 29, Turkey's deaths
from the coronavirus increased by 23 to 131, as the number of
confirmed cases rose by 1,815 to 9,217.
(AP, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, Uganda has
reported 30 cases of COVID-19, mostly people who recently traveled
through the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. Ugandan pop star and
opposition leader Bobi Wine has released a song urging Africa's
people to wash their hands to stop the spread of the new
coronavirus, and criticized African governments for not maintaining
better health care systems for the continent's 1.3 billion people.
(AP, 3/29/20)
2020 Mar 29, Uganda police
arrested 13 gay men, two bisexual men and four transgender women
when they raided an LGBT+ shelter on the outskirts of Kampala
following a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people to control the
virus. On May 13 a court granted lawyers access to the detainees
held with no legal help.
(Reuters, 5/13/20)
2020 Mar 30, The US death toll
in the COVID-19 pandemic surpassed 3,000, with more than 160,000
confirmed infections.
(The Week, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 30, US federal judges
temporarily blocked bans on abortion imposed in Texas, Ohio, and
Alabama during the coronavirus pandemic.
(The Week, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 30, The captain of the
USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, docked in Guam, asked for
permission to isolate the bulk of his roughly 5,000 crew members on
shore, which would take the warship out of duty in an effort to save
lives. Navy Capt. Brett Crozier said the spread of the disease is
ongoing and accelerating and that removing all but 10% of the crew
is a “necessary risk” in order to stop the spread of the virus. A
day later the US Navy promised to isolate crew members ashore for
rotating quarantine within 24 hours.
(AP, 4/1/20)(SFC, 4/1/20, p.A1)
2020 Mar 30, SF Mayor Lond
Breed said the city's shelter-in-place order will be extended to at
least May 1. The SF Bay Area had over 1,900 coronavirus cases and 49
deaths.
(ABC News, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, The Cook County
Jail in Chicago said 134 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19,
up from just 38 March 27.
(Good Morning America, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 30, Florida Pastor
Rodney Howard-Browne turned himself in to authorities in Hernando
County. Detectives said he held two services a day earlier with
hundreds of people and violated a safer-at-home order in place to
limit the spread of the coronavirus.
(AP, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Maryland, Virginia
and Washington, D.C., issued stay-at-home directives, virtually
shutting down the capital region in the wake of the coronavirus
pandemic.
(NY Times, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 30, New York state
reported at least 1,026 coronavirus-related deaths, with about
three-quarters of those in New York City. A 1,000-bed Navy hospital
ship docked in Manhattan and a field hospital was going up in
Central Park for coronavirus patients, as officials in New York City
pleaded for more help from Washington.
(AP, 3/30/20)(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, In Pennsylvania
Roderick Bliss IV (38), upset over losing his job due to the
coronavirus pandemic, shot his girlfriend and then killed himself in
an attempted murder-suicide in Wilson Borough.
(NBC News, 4/1/20)
2020 Mar 30, It was reported
that nearly a dozen students at Liberty University in Lynchburg,
Va., have developed symptoms of Covid-19. The school’s president,
Jerry Falwell Jr., reopened its campus last week after calling the
response to the pandemic an “overreaction”.
(NY Times, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Facebook Inc
pledged $100 million in financing and advertising spending to
support news organizations, including local publishers in the United
States, reeling from pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Johnson &
Johnson said that it and the US government will invest $1 billion to
create enough manufacturing capacity to make more than 1 billion
doses of a vaccine it is testing to stop the new coronavirus that
has killed more than 35,000 people around the world.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Thirty-nine Cuban
doctors and nurses arrived in the tiny Pyrenean principality of
Andorra to help it battle the coronavirus.
(AFP, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Australia
unleashed a record A$130 billion ($80 billion) jobs-rescue plan,
pledging to subsidize workers’ wages as the coronavirus outbreak
wreaks havoc on the economy and throws thousands out of work.
(Bloomberg, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 30, British drugmaker
AstraZeneca Plc said US regulators have approved its Imfinzi
treatment for use against an aggressive type of lung cancer in
previously untreated patients, as it moves to expand its
specialization in tackling the disease.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Bulgaria has 399
confirmed cases of coronavirus and eight deaths.
(Reuters, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 30, The National
Liberation Army (ELN), the largest active guerrilla group in
Colombia, said it will observe a unilateral cease-fire for one month
from April 1 in an effort to help stem the spread of coronavirus.
Colombia has reported 702 cases and 10 deaths of COVID-19.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Cyprus imposed a
curfew to contain the spread of coronavirus, extending a broad
lockdown introduced two weeks ago after a weekend spike in recorded
cases.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, In El Salvador
crowds broke the lockdown to request aid from the government; police
used pepper spray to disperse them.
(https://tinyurl.com/y95muu2u)(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, The European
Commission said that EU countries should allow the hundreds of
thousands of seasonal migrant workers who plant or harvest crops to
cross borders despite national measures to contain the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, The European
Commission authorized France's scheme to support small companies and
self-employed people affected by the economic crisis caused by the
coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, French army
helicopters transported coronavirus patients fighting for their
lives from eastern France to hospitals in Germany and Switzerland as
the country battled to free up space in life-support units.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, French carmaker
Renault put most of its white collar staff in the Ile-de-France
region around Paris on partial unemployment as the lockdown imposed
due to the coronavirus outbreak lowered activity.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Hungary’s
parliament issued a "coronavirus law" handing PM Viktor Orban the
right to rule by decree indefinitely, effectively putting the
European Union democracy under his sole command for as long as he
sees fit.
(Bloomberg, 3/30/20)(Econ, 4/25/20, p.49)
2020 Mar 30, India's health
ministry invited doctors in Indian-administered Kashmir to an online
training session on managing ventilators. Most, however, were unable
to attend because of long-running curbs on the internet that have
prevented those living in Kashmir from accessing information about
the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Indian health
workers caused outrage by spraying a group of migrants with
disinfectant, amid fears that a large scale movement of people from
cities to the countryside risked spreading the coronavirus. India
has registered more than a thousand cases of the new coronavirus, of
whom 29 have died.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Iran's death toll
from the new coronavirus increased to 2,757 with 117 new deaths in
the past 24 hours. The total number of cases has climbed to 41,495.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, In Italy the death
toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of
Lombardy rose by around 458 in a day to some 6,818. The number of
cases in the region increased by some 1,154 to around 42,161. The
national death toll stood at 11,591.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)(Reuters, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 30, Kazakhstan, a
Central Asian nation of 19 million, has confirmed 302 cases of the
disease and has closed its borders, locked down most of its major
cities and shut down most businesses in the two biggest population
centers for a week.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, The MS Zaandam
exited the Panama Canal. At least 189 people aboard the Holland
America Line cruise ship were suffering flu-like symptoms and four
people have died.
(Good Morning America, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Moscow, with its
more than 12 million people, went into lockdown while other parts of
Russia moved to introduce similar steps to curb the coronavirus
outbreak.
(AFP, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Saudi Arabia said
it will finance treatment for anyone infected with the coronavirus
in the country. The agriculture ministry took steps to boost wheat
and livestock supplies amid global fears of a food shortage. The
kingdom has registered eight deaths among 1,453 infections.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, In Serbia 13
people, out of a population of 7 million, have died from the
coronavirus. 741 have been diagnosed with the infection. Orthodox
Bishop Milutin Knezevic (71) died of the coronavirus overnight in a
Belgrade hospital.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, In Spain an
overnight death toll of 812 people brought total fatalities to
7,340, while the number of infections rose by 8% to 85,195. Business
leaders and regional authorities criticized the government's
decision to further restrict the movement of people and keep
non-essential workers at home until mid-April.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Turkey placed 39
residential areas in 18 cities under quarantine to contain the
spread of the coronavirus, which has killed 131 people in the
country.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, United Arab
Emirates carrier flydubai said it will reduce pay for its employees
for three months from April due to the impact of the global
coronavirus crisis on its business.
(Reuters, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 30, Zimbabwe
entered a “total lockdown” over the coronavirus. Hundreds of public
hospital doctors and nurses have gone on strike over the lack of
protective equipment. However, social distancing was being pushed
aside in the struggle to obtain food, cash, cheap public transport,
even clean water.
(AP, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 31, President Donald
Trump said the US Congress should pass a $2 trillion spending plan
to update the country's roads, bridges and other infrastructure,
calling for it to be included in the next bill lawmakers are
currently drafting to respond to the coronavirus crisis, which they
refer to as "Phase 4." Trump warned Americans to brace for a “hell
of a bad two weeks” ahead as the White House projected there could
be 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the US from the coronavirus pandemic
even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained.
(Reuters, 3/31/20)(AP, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, The US, the
country with the most confirmed coronavirus infections, now reported
at 164,610 cases and over 3,000 deaths. More than 800,000 cases have
been recorded in 185 countries and territories since the epidemic
started in China in December. At least 38,464 deaths have been
recorded, 27,740 of those in Europe.
(AFP, 3/31/20)(AP, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, California's Gov.
Gavin Newsom reported 6,932 cases of coronavirus and 150 deaths in
the state.
(ABC News, 3/30/20)
2020 Mar 31, Two ships carrying
passengers and crew from an ill-fated South American cruise pleaded
with Florida officials to let them carry off the sick and dead. But
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida’s health care resources are already
stretched too thin.
(AP, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, New York City
authorities rushed to bring in an army of medical volunteers as the
death toll in the city from the coronavirus climbed past 1,000.
(AP, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, Privately held
Bodysphere said the US Food and Drug Administration has authorized
the emergency use of its test that can detect the coronavirus in
nearly two minutes.
(Reuters, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, Afghan officials
said authorities have quarantined 16 health workers, including six
doctors, as Afghans fleeing hard-hit Iran have helped spread the
coronavirus in the western border province of Herat.
(Reuters, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, Africa's confirmed
cases of coronavirus climbed to at least 5,300, with more than 170
recorded deaths. The Nigerian cities of Lagos and Abuja entered a
two-week lockdown to stop the spread of the virus.
(Reuters, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, In Bangladesh
orders for businesses to close due to the coronavirus pandemic went
into effect. Garment factories were not included until four days
later.
(Econ., 5/2/20, p.28)
2020 Mar 31, Belgium had at
least 12,775 diagnosed cases of COVID-19, and at least 705 of those
patients have died, including a girl (12) who succumbed to the
disease over the weekend.
(AP, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, Botswana President
Mokgweetsi Masisi declared a State of Emergency following three
confirmed coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, Brazil's President
Jair Bolsonaro called for a pact against the coronavirus "to save
lives without leaving jobs behind." Brazil had 1210 deaths from the
virus.
(Economist, 4/4/20, p.26)
2020 Mar 31, The death toll in
England from the coronavirus outbreak rose 29% to 1,651. Scotland
said 60 people had died. Wales said 69 people had died.
(Reuters, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, Guinea announced a
night-time curfew between 2100-0500 GMT and restrictions on movement
out of the capital due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(AFP, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, Indonesia said it
will ban foreign nationals from entering the country as the world’s
fourth-most populous country stepped up efforts to contain the
spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The government has also ordered
officials to step up screening of Indonesian workers returning from
overseas to prevent the virus from spreading further.
(Bloomberg, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, Iran said 141 more
people have died from the novel coronavirus, raising the official
toll to 2,898. Some 3,111 new infections have been confirmed over
the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 44,606. State news said
authorities have stopped the print editions of all Iranian media
until at least April 8, calling on them to publish online instead.
(AFP, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, In Italy the death
toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of
Lombardy rose by around 381 in a day to some 7,199. The daily deaths
marked the lowest daily toll since March 25.
(Reuters, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, Kenya now has 59
coronavirus cases, including one death from the disease. A family
mourned the death of a boy (13), struck by a bullet as he stood on
the balcony of his family’s home with his siblings. Police officers
had moved through their crowded neighborhood, enforcing a new
coronavirus curfew. The director of public prosecutions ordered an
investigation into the fatal shooting in the slum of Mathare.
(AP, 3/31/20)(Reuters, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, Mexico's
government broadened its shutdown of "non-essential activities" to
the private sector and prohibited gatherings of more than 50 people
to fight the spread of the coronavirus. The emergency measures will
be in effect to April 30.
(SFC, 4/1/20, p.A5)
2020 Mar 31, In Nepal 302
stranded Americans were repatriated on a Qatar Airways flight to
Washington, DC. Nepal estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 American
remained in the country.
(SFC, 4/1/20, p.A5)
2020 Mar 31, Gaza's Health
Ministry said two more cases have been confirmed among travelers who
returned from Egypt, bringing the number to 12. A UN aid agency
began delivering food to the homes of impoverished Palestinians
instead of making them pick up such parcels at crowded distribution
centers.
(AP, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, Panama announced
strict quarantine measures that separate citizens by gender. From
April 1 for 15 days, men and women will only be able to leave their
homes for two hours at a time, and on different days.
(AP, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, Russian lawmakers
backed jail sentences of up to seven years for quarantine offenders
as the number of cases jumped by a record daily amount. Over the
past 24 hours Russian authorities have reported 500 new cases -- the
biggest daily increase so far --- bringing the total tally to 2,337
cases and 17 fatalities.
(Reuters, 3/31/20)(AFP, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, A senior Saudi
official urged more than 1 million Muslims intending to perform the
hajj to delay making plans this year, comments suggesting the
pilgrimage could be cancelled due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
(AP, 3/31/20)
2020 Mar 31, South African
scientist Gita Ramjee died from Covid-19-related complications.
(BBC, 4/1/20)
2020 Mar 31, Spain approved an
emergency measure designed to help domestic workers who have seen
their work hours reduced, temporarily suspended or been fired since
the country went into lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. New
cases increased by 9,222 bringing the total to 94,417.
(Reuters, 3/31/20)(SFC, 4/1/20, p.A5)
2020 Mar 31, Sweden recorded
4,947 infection of the coronavirus and 239 deaths.
(Economist, 4/4/20, p.41)
2020 Mar, US Vice President
Mike Pence directed the nation’s top disease control agency to use
its emergency powers to effectively seal the US borders, overruling
the agency’s scientists who said there was no evidence the action
would slow the coronavirus. The action caused nearly 150,000
children and adults to be expelled from the country.
(AP, 10/3/20)
2020 Mar, Virginia paroled 95
inmates because of the coronavirus pandemic. They included killers,
rapists and kidnappers, blindsiding prosecutors and victims'
families who say they were not properly notified as required by law.
(AP, 5/10/20)
2020 Mar, Peru's Pres. Martin
Vizcarra announced he’d signed off on a purchase of 1.6 million
COVID-19 tests from China and South Korea, almost all of them for
antibodies. It was later found that they did not meet standards for
accurately detecting COVID-19.
{Peru, COVID-19}
(AP, 10/7/20)
2020 Mar, Early this month the
Marshall Islands sealed itself off, banning all inbound visitors due
to the coronavirus. Even supply vessels were require to wait 14 days
at sea before berthing.
(Econ, 3/21/20, p.34)
2020 Apr 1, A US government
classified report, received by the White House last week, said China
has concealed the extent of the coronavirus outbreak in its country,
under-reporting both total cases and deaths it’s suffered from the
disease.
(Bloomberg, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, A delivery of
Russian medical supplies arrived at JFK. The US purchased 60 tons of
ventilators, masks, and respirators in a shipment from the Russian
government in a public relations coup for Vladimir Putin.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 1, The US government
and Florida worked on a plan to allow thousands of passengers on the
MS Zaandam cruise ship, exposed to an onboard coronavirus outbreak,
to disembark. Pres. Donald Trump a day earlier urged Gov. Ron
DeSantis to drop his opposition to their docking. Florida has
reported 6,490 cases of coronavirus, including 251 non-residents,
and 85 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, The US Bureau of
Prisons (BOP) confirmed that a second inmate at the federal prison
in Oakdale, Louisiana has died from the illness caused by the new
coronavirus. Federal prisons began ordering inmates confined to
their cells for the next two weeks in order to fight spread of the
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/1/20)(Politico, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, US Navy officials
said nearly 3,000 sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft
carrier now docked in Guam, where the coronavirus has spread, will
be taken off the ship by April 3.
(AP, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Grand Canyon
National in northern Arizona was closed due to the coronavirus.
(SFC, 4/4/20, p.A3)
2020 Apr 1, Florida Gov. Ron
DeSantis listed religious activities as "essential services" that
could continue (without crowds) despite a lockdown.
(Econ, 4/11/20, p.45)
2020 Apr 1, In Louisiana jazz
legend Ellis Marsalis Jr. (b.1934), died from COVID-19-related
pneumonia.
(Good Morning America, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 1, In New Jersey 267
have died from the coronavirus.
(ABC News, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, NY Gov. Andrew
Cuomo said over 83,000 people have tested positive in his state. Of
those, 12,000 patients are in hospital, including 3,000 in intensive
care units. The state reported 83, 712 coronavirus infections with
deaths rising to 1,941.
(Reuters, 4/1/20)(ABC News, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, In NYC 1,400
members of the police department have tested positive for the
coronavirus.
(ABC News, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Albania's Health
Ministry reported 16 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours,
bringing the total in the small Balkan nation of 2.8 million people
to 259. The health ministry said all schools, cafes, restaurants and
other public venues will remain shut and restrictions on social and
economic activity will stay in place till the end of the coronavirus
outbreak.
(Reuters, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Brazil reported
that an indigenous woman in a village deep in the Amazon rainforest
has contracted the novel coronavirus, the first case reported among
Brazil's more than 300 tribes.
(Reuters, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, The United
Kingdom's death toll climbed to a total of 2,352 -- an increase of
563 in the past 24 hours. Some 29,474 people have been diagnosed
with COVID-19 in the U.K.
(ABC News, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Cambodia's labor
ministry said at least 91 garment factories in Cambodia have
suspended work due to coronavirus, with 61,500 workers affected. The
ministry said the government would provide salary replacement of
about $38 per month for about 61,500 workers.
(Reuters, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Cuban authorities
said they are cancelling their May Day parade because of the
coronavirus. Cuba has confirmed 186 cases and six deaths.
(SFC, 4/2/20, p.A6)
2020 Apr 1, Ethiopia said it
will postpone general elections that were scheduled for the end of
August because of the coronavirus outbreak. The country has 26
confirmed cases of the virus.
(Bloomberg, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, The European
Commission said laboratories across Europe can now access control
material to enable them to avoid mistakenly telling people they are
free of the coronavirus when in fact they are infected.
(Reuters, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, France began
publishing statistics on care-home deaths.
(Econ., 5/9/20, p.41)
2020 Apr 1, In France Jacques
Joaquim Yhombi-Opango, The former president of the Republic of
Congo, died in Paris from complications related to the novel
coronavirus. Yhombi-Opango was an army officer who rose to power as
Congo-Brazzaville's head of state in 1977, following the
assassination of the previous president. He was ousted in 1979 by
the country's current leader, Denis Sassou Nguesso. Yhombi-Opango
served as prime minister between 1994 and 1996 during Pascal
Lissouba's presidency. He fled to France in 1997.
(ABC News, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Germany's confirmed
cases of coronavirus passed 71,000. The death toll was 775. The
country was now capable of conducting up to 500,000 tests a week.
(AP, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Iran's health
ministry said the country's coronavirus death toll now stood at
3,036 following 138 new fatalities in the past 24 hours. 2,987 new
cases had been confirmed, bringing the total to 47,593.
(AFP, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Israeli PM Benjamin
Netanyahu restricted movement into and out of the ultra-Orthodox
city of Bnei Brak, the country's 9th largest city, due to its high
number of coronavirus cases.
(Economist, 4/4/20, p.38)
2020 Apr 1, Italy reported
almost 110,574 coronavirus infections. The death toll climbed by 727
to 13,155. Italy has registered more deaths than anywhere else in
the world and accounts for around 30% of all global fatalities from
the virus.
(Reuters, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Computer hackers
attacked Italy's social security website, forcing it to shut down
just as people were starting to apply for coronavirus benefits.
Several hacker attacks were reported over the last few days.
(Reuters, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Japan reported 65
new cases of coronavirus. Nationwide Japan has about 2,300 confirmed
cases and 67 deaths.
(SFC, 4/2/20, p.A6)
2020 Apr 1, Lebanon has
recorded nearly 480 cases of coronavirus and 12 deaths. Hezbollah
said it is turning the organizational might it once deployed to
fight Israel or in the civil war in neighboring Syria to battle the
spread of the virus pandemic in Lebanon.
(AP, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Russia has so far
registered 2,777 cases of the coronavirus and 24 deaths, mostly in
Moscow. The Kremlin said Pres. Vladimir Putin has decided to handle
his duties remotely, after the head of the country's main
coronavirus hospital tested positive following a meeting last week
with the president. Putin signed legislation to allow the government
to declare a state of national emergency in an effort to stem the
spread of coronavirus.
(AFP, 4/1/20)(Reuters, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Serbia has so far
reported 1,060 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 28 deaths, in a
total population of 7 million. Branislav Blazic (63), a state
secretary with the Ministry for Environmental Protection, died days
after being hospitalized with symptoms of COVID-19.
(Reuters, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Singapore reported
74 new coronavirus cases in its biggest intraday jump, bringing the
total tally to 1,000. Twenty of the new cases were imported while 54
were locally transmitted.
(Reuters, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, It was reported
that the 1.2 million Chinese antibody tests that the Slovak
government bought from local middlemen for 15 million euros ($16
million) are inaccurate and unable to detect Covid-19 in its early
stages. China said Slovakia used them incorrectly, and cautioned
against politicizing instances where equipment isn’t up to scratch.
(AP, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Somalia has
confirmed three cases of Covid-19, but there were fears that if the
virus spreads it could quickly overwhelm the country's poor health
system.
(BBC, 4/1/20)
(AP, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, The Spanish
Ministry of Health recorded 7,719 newly diagnosed cases of COVID-19
in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 102,136 with
over 9,000 deaths. Spain hit a record of 864 deaths in one day.
(ABC News, 4/1/20)(AP, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Swedish airline BRA
said it was pausing all traffic as demand had ground to a halt amid
the coronavirus pandemic. Privately held BRA said it was cancelling
all flights between April 6 and May 31.
(Reuters, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, The independent NGO
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Turkmenistan, which was ranked
at the bottom of the World Press Freedom Index in 2019, has removed
the word ‘coronavirus’ from the national vocabulary. To date, no
cases of COVID-19 have been reported by the authorities.
(ABC News, 4/1/20)
2020 Apr 1, Ukraine asked Elon
Musk via Twitter to send it ventilators after the billionaire chief
executive of Tesla Inc offered to ship them across the world during
the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, The number of
Americans applying for unemployment benefits more than doubled to a
second straight record. A total of 6.65 million people filed jobless
claims in the week ended March 28. The coronavirus pandemic has
killed at least 5,148 people in the United States. Global
coronavirus cases topped 962,000 with more than 48,000 dead. The US
unemployment rate jumped to 4.4% from a 50-year low of 3.5%.
Employers have cut 701,000 jobs because of the pandemic that's all
but shut down the nation's economy.
(Bloomberg, 4/2/20)(ABC News, 4/2/20)(AP, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 2, US House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will form a bipartisan
select committee on the coronavirus crisis to oversee the spending
of $2 trillion Congress has approved to respond to the pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, Capt. Brett Crozier
of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier was fired by Navy
leaders who said he created a panic by sending his memo pleading for
help to too many people. Crozier had raised warnings the ship was
facing a growing outbreak of the coronavirus and asked for
permission to isolate the bulk of his crew members on shore in Guam.
Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said commander “demonstrated
extremely poor judgment” in the middle of a crisis. The decision to
remove Crozier was immediately condemned by members of the House
Armed Services Committee. On April 5 it was reported that Crozier
had tested positive for the coronavirus. By this date 155 people
aboard the ship had tested positive.
(AP, 4/3/20)(SFC, 4/6/20, p.A10)
2020 Apr 2, The US Coast Guard
and the Florida Department of Health reached a conditional agreement
with Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise line, on an entry
plan for two ships carrying dozens of people with flu-like symptoms.
Carnival's plan was still subject to approval from Broward County,
where the ships would dock. Until then, the pair of vessels will
remain outside US waters.
(AP, 4/2/20)(ABC News, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, An Illinois man who
suspected his girlfriend had contracted COVID-19, the disease caused
by the novel coronavirus, shot and killed her and then himself. Both
tested negative for the disease.
(NBC News, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 2, The US Bureau of
Prisons said the death toll from COVID-19 at a federal prison in
Oakdale, Louisiana, has continued climbing, with a fourth inmate now
dead.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, New York's
statewide death toll went over 1,900. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the
state has 92,000 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and
has lost 2,373 lives. Cuomo said the outbreak shows no signs of
abating, with almost 8,700 new infections, 1,200 new
hospitalizations, 400 new ICU admissions and more than 400 new
deaths in the state.
(AP, 4/2/20)(ABC News, 4/2/20)(AP, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 2, Tennessee Governor
Bill Lee issued orders requiring citizens to remain at home due to
the coronavirus pandemic, ending one of the last holdouts by US
states.
(Bloomberg, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, Bangladesh has
reported six deaths and 54 cases of COVID-19 amid concerns that the
virus could spread in the country through Bangladeshis who have
returned from Italy and other places struggling with the disease.
(AP, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, Ecuador confirmed
3,160 cases of coronavirus and 120 deaths, likely a vast
underestimate. Untold numbers of Ecuadorians were dying of unrelated
diseases that can’t be treated because hospitals are overwhelmed.
(AP, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 2, Deaths from
coronavirus in Germany climbed to 1,074, a day after the government
extended a nationwide lockdown beyond Easter.
(Bloomberg, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, Greece quarantined
a migrant camp after 20 asylum seekers tested positive, its first
such facility hit since the coronavirus outbreak. Greece reported at
least 53 people dead and at least 1,544 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Police said they had imposed fines for 15,741 violations for
breaking lockdown rules since March 23.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)(AP, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 2, Hong Kong ordered
bars and pubs to close for 14 days from April 3. The city earlier
reported 37 new cases, taking its total to 802.
(Bloomberg, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, Indonesia's
coronavirus cases neared 1,800 as the death toll rose to 170,
passing South Korea as the country with the highest number of
recorded fatalities in Asia after China.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)(SFC, 4/3/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 2, Iran reported 124
new deaths from the coronavirus, raising its total to 3,160, as
Pres. Rouhani warned that the country may still battle the pandemic
for another year. The health ministry confirmed 3,111 new infections
over the past 24 hours, bringing Iran's total to 50,468. State
television reported that Parliament speaker Ali Larijani (62) has
tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the latest official to
contract the disease in the hard hit country.
(AFP, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, Iraq's health
ministry said in its latest daily statement that the total recorded
confirmed cases for coronavirus were 772, with 54 deaths. Three
doctors closely involved in the testing process said confirmed cases
were much higher with numbers of 3,000 to 9,000.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, Israel's Health
Minister Yaakov Litzman, a powerful ultra-Orthodox politician meant
to lead the battle against the virus, was confirmed to be infected.
Ultra-Orthodox residents of Bnei Brak, obeying their religious
leaders, have ignored pleas to stay home in the face of the
coronavirus threat. Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, home to large
ultra-Orthodox communities, have the largest concentrations.
(AP, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 2, Italy reported
4,668 new cases of the coronavirus compared with 4,782 a day
earlier. The nation reported 760 deaths as the number of fatalities
rose again after three weeks of nationwide lockdown.
(Bloomberg, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, Italy's La Stamp
newspaper said that the 104-strong contingent of doctors and
experts, sent by Russia to the country's coronavirus epicenter near
Milan, almost certainly included officers from Russia's GRU military
intelligence agency.
(AFP, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 2, Japan has more than
3,000 cases of coronavirus and 71 deaths. Tokyo reported 97 new
cases.
(SFC, 4/3/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 2, Human Rights Watch
said Lebanese authorities have introduced "discriminatory
restrictions" exclusively targeting Syrian refugees as part of their
response to the coronavirus. Lebanon has recorded 494 confirmed
infections and 16 deaths from the coronavirus, prompting the
government last month to introduce a daily curfew from 7 pm to 5 am.
(AFP, 4/2/20)(AP, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, Malawi reported its
first cases of the coronavirus.
(BBC, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 2, Mexico's Grupo
Modelo, producer of the Corona, Modelo and Pacifico brands,
announced measures to suspend production and distribution of beer in
response to the government's decision to halt non-essential economic
activity to contain the new coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 2, Mexico has
registered 1,378 coronavirus cases and 37 deaths. It was reported
that Mexican farmworkers on both sides of the US-Mexico border are
working in unsanitary conditions despite the rapid rise in
coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, Portugal's
parliament approved the suspension of rents for vulnerable
households and cash-strapped small firms during the coronavirus
outbreak, but rights groups warned that the measure might only delay
a looming housing crisis.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, President Vladimir
Putin extended his order keeping Russians at home until April 30,
warning that the spread of coronavirus has yet to reach its peak.
Russia reported a 28% increase in infections overnight, bringing the
total number of infected to 3,548.
(Bloomberg, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2 Russian police
detained Anastasia Vasilyeva, the leader of an independent doctors'
union, as she tried to deliver masks and gloves to a small hospital
outside Moscow.
(Econ, 4/11/20, p.43)
2020 Apr 2, Singapore suffered
its fourth death, a day after it reported a record number of new
cases that took its total to 1,000.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, South African
police wearing riot gear forced their way into a church in central
Cape Town to remove hundreds of foreign migrants who had been
sheltering there for months. South Africa is in the midst of a
21-day lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, Spain reported 950
more coronavirus deaths, the most in a single day, taking total
fatalities in the country to more than 10,000. Spain said jobless
claims rose by a record 302,265 in March.
(Bloomberg, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, It was reported
that one-third of Thailand’s population has registered for
government cash handouts designed to soften the blow of the novel
coronavirus outbreak, far exceeding the funds available for the
policy.
(Bloomberg, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, The UN General
Assembly unanimously approved a resolution recognizing “the
unprecedented effects” of the coronavirus pandemic and calling for
“intensified international cooperation to contain, mitigate and
defeat” the COVID-19 disease.
(AP, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations is facing
a cash crisis because of non-payment of dues by member states, which
has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Guterres said the
UN ended 2019 with arrears of $711 million.
(AP, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 2, The Vatican
recorded its seventh coronavirus case and extended its partial
lockdown until May 4.
(SFC, 4/3/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 2, Zambia recorded its
first death due to the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 3, Dr. Anthony Fauci,
the top US infectious disease official, said Americans should cover
their face if they have to go in public, but they should still stay
isolated as much as possible The announcement marked a reversal for
health officials, who’d previously said that those without symptoms
didn’t need to wear face coverings.
(Reuters, 4/3/20)(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 3, The US Food and
Drug Administration announced an "expanded access" program for
convalescent plasma, coordinated by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
Minnesota, aimed at making it easier for hospitals across the
country to collect and use plasma. Convalescent plasma was
successfully used during the 1918 flu pandemic. In one trial in
China, levels of the virus in five seriously ill COVID-19 patients
were undetectable after plasma transfusions.
(Reuters, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 3, In the SF Bay Area
the confirmed cases of coronavirus as of this morning rose to 2,968
with 78 deaths. California to date had 11,187 cases with 246 deaths.
The testing backlog in the state stood at 59,500. Nationwide there
were 245,658 cases, with 6,069 deaths.
(https://sfist.com/)(SFC, 4/3/20, p.B1)
2020 Apr 3, In Florida
passengers aboard the cruise ship Zaandam were freed following the
removal of 14 critically ill people who were taken to local
hospitals. All the passengers were instructed to wear masks when
traveling and to immediately go into 14 days of self-quarantine to
prevent any possible spread of the coronavirus.
(SFC, 4/4/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 3, New York reported
562 new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the state's total death toll
to 2,935.
(The Week, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 3, Utah's Zion
National Park was closed to the public to help prevent the spread of
the coronavirus.
(SFC, 4/6/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 3, 3M Corp. said it
has secured China's approval to export to the US 10 million N-95
respirators manufactured by the company in China.
(Reuters, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, Canada recorded
almost 12,000 cases of the new coronavirus and the death toll jumped
by almost 20%. Cases rose to 11,747 and deaths climbed to 152.
(Reuters, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, China reported 64
new asymptomatic cases, 26 of which were imported. The nation
reported 19 new virus cases in total, and four deaths, all of which
were in Hubei.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 3, It was reported
that the coronavirus pandemic has brought a reversal of fortune for
Cuban medical diplomacy, as doctors have flown off on new missions
to battle COVID-19 in at least 14 countries including Italy and the
tiny principality of Andorra on the Spanish-French border,
burnishing the island’s international image in the middle of a
global crisis. Cuba has recorded 212 cases of the virus.
(AP, 4/3/20)(Economist, 4/4/20, p.26)
2020 Apr 3, In France the
coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of 5,307. Almost 60,000
people there been diagnosed with the illness, including almost 6,400
on life-support machines. Police ramped up checks at train stations
and motorways to stop people breaking a national lockdown ahead of
school holidays this weekend.
(Reuters, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, Gabon’s President
Ali Bongo announced a social and economic plan to help mitigate the
impact of the coronavirus pandemic, including emergency financing to
respond to the “urgent cash needs” facing companies.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 3, Guatemala said a
man deported from the US has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Guatemala has 49 confirmed cases and one death.
(SSFC, 4/5/20, p.A7)
2020 Apr 3, Iran state TV
reported the coronavirus has killed another 134 people, pushing the
country's death toll to nearly 3,300 amid more than 53,000 confirmed
cases.
(AP, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, Israel has reported
more than 7,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 36 deaths.
Officials said Israel is working with foreign governments and
Orthodox Christian leaders in the Holy Land to make sure that the
April 18 Holy Fire ceremony is not extinguished by the coronavirus
outbreak.
(AP, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, Libya recorded its
first death from the novel coronavirus. The UN-recognized,
Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), which controls
the west of the country, has officially recorded 10 cases of the
virus. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees warned that the health
system in Libya was already on the verge of collapse.
(AFP, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, Dutch brewer
Heineken said that it will suspend production and distribution from
its seven plants in Mexico, in response to the government's decision
to halt non-essential economic activity to contain the new
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, In Pakistan mosques
were allowed to remain open for Muslims to gather for weekly
prayers, even as the coronavirus pandemic spread and much of the
country had shut down. Pakistan has reported 2,450 confirmed cases
and 36 deaths. PM Imran Khan said he would not consider possible
easing of restrictions on movement before April 14.
(AP, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, Peruvian lawmakers
approved a law late today that allows citizens to withdraw up to 25%
of their holdings in private pension funds to provide an extra
source of liquidity during a nationwide shutdown to halt the spread
of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 3, Russian officials
reported 4,149 cases of coronavirus in the country, four times more
than a week ago.
(AP, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, Singapore's PM Lee
Hsien Loong said the government would no longer discourage the use
of face masks, and would distribute reusable ones to every household
to help stem the coronavirus pandemic.
(Econ, 4/11/20, p.27)
2020 Apr 3, Slovenia said it
will introduce a mandatory 14-day quarantine for most people
entering the country from April 4 in an attempt to curb the spread
of the novel coronavirus. The country has confirmed 934 coronavirus
cases, with 20 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, South Africa has
reported only five confirmed deaths from the coronavirus. About
1,400 people have tested positive for Covid-19 as South Africans
mark their first week under one of the strictest lockdowns
introduced anywhere in the world.
(BBC, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, It was reported
that Tunisia has deployed a police robot to patrol areas of Tunis,
to ensure that people are observing a coronavirus lockdown. The
country has reported 436 cases of COVID-19 and 14 deaths.
(BBC, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, Ukraine's
government imposed a series of new restrictions designed to prevent
the coronavirus outbreak spreading widely but said it hoped to
soften the measures again in late April. Ukraine reported 138 new
cases of the coronavirus over the past day, taking the total number
of infected people to 942 with 23 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 3, Zimbabwe's police
began using water cannon to disinfect markets and bus ranks, turning
instruments associated with repression into weapons against the new
coronavirus. The country has recorded one death from nine cases of
the COVID-19 disease.
(Reuters, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 4, In the US,
fatalities from COVID-19 rose to more than 7,000, with more than
275,000 infections. More than 60,000 people have died globally from
the virus. Global cases top 1.1 million. Jaap Goudsmit, adjunct
professor of epidemiology and infectious diseases at Harvard, said
herd immunity against the coronavirus may take years to develop.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Alabama issued
Stay-at-Home Orders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, California cases of
coronavirus to date were 12,503 with 275 deaths. The SF Bay Area
confirmed 3,156 cases and 85 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Missouri Governor
Mike Parson said his Stay-at-Home Order will begin April 6 and last
through April 24.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, New York state got
1,000 ventilators after the Chinese government facilitated a
donation from billionaires Jack Ma and Joseph Tsai, the co-founders
of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that
the state of Oregon had volunteered to send 140 more breathing
machines. New York had 113,700 confirmed cases as of this
morning. At least 3,565 have died in New York and more than
115,000 have tested positive.
(ABC News, 4/5/20)(AP, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Oklahoma acquired
1.2 million pills of hydroxychloroquine, or about 100,000 doses,
from FFF Enterprises, a California-based medical supply wholesaler.
Gov. Kevin Stitt later defended the state’s $2 million purchase,
saying the drug was showing some promise.
(AP, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 4, Washington DC
reported 145 new positive infections from COVID-19, bringing tis
total to 902. Six new deaths brought that total to 15.
(SSFC, 4/5/20, p.A9)
2020 Apr 4, Walmart announced
that starting today it would limit the number of patrons in its
stores to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus after too
many of its customers ignored social distancing guidelines.
(ABC News, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Australia's
confirmed cases rose by 198 over the last 24-hours, bringing the
national total to 5,548. The death toll from COVID-19 rose to 30.
(Reuters, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, In Austria the
number of confirmed cases increased to 11,781 with 186 deaths. The
growth of COVID-19 infections decreased to a single digit percentage
range. The health ministry issued a decree stipulating that not more
than five people are allowed to meet in one room, even at people's
homes, unless they live together.
(Reuters, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, in Bangladesh
positive cases surged to 70 with eight people dead. The World Bank
approved $100 million in funds to help the country respond to the
pandemic and strengthen the South Asian nation’s public health
system.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Brazil counted
2,369 hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients over the last four
weeks. The health ministry counted 18,000 more admissions for
respiratory cases than during the same period last year.
(Econ, 4/11/20, p.24)
2020 Apr 4, In Britain cases of
coronavirus rose to 47,806 from 41,903. Total deaths rose by 708 to
4,934.
(Bloomberg, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 4, China reported that
it had 30 new infections, including 25 imported cases. It also said
there had been three more deaths. China also reported 47 new
asymptomatic cases, including 16 cases from abroad.
(Bloomberg, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 4, The Dominican
Republic has reported 1,284 cases of the coronavirus.
(Economist, 4/4/20, p.26)
2020 Apr 4, Egyptian officials
said at least 17 medics at the main cancer hospital in Cairo have
been quarantined after testing positive for the coronavirus. Egypt
has reported around 1,000 confirmed cases and 66 fatalities from the
global pandemic.
(AP, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Deaths in Germany
due to the coronavirus rose by 168 to 1,275. Some 91,159 people were
infected and 6,365 more than a day earlier.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, India banned
exports of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug that US President
Donald Trump has touted as a “game changer” in the fight against
Covid-19.
(Bloomberg, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 4, Indonesia said that
coronavirus cases had topped 2,000 and deaths risen to 191. An
official said there were 106 new confirmed infections, taking the
total number of cases in the country to 2,092, with 10 new deaths.
Doubts have been raised over official figures.
(Reuters, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Iran’s coronavirus
fatalities jumped to 3,452 with 158 deaths. Total cases rose to
55,743 as 2,560 tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, In Italy, total
coronavirus cases stood at 119,827.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Japan reported that
some 118 people were newly infected with the novel coronavirus in
Tokyo bringing the number of confirmed cases there to 891.
(Reuters, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Malaysia reported
150 new coronavirus cases, including four deaths. That took the
country's total to 3,483 confirmed infections and 57 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, In the Netherlands
the number of deaths rose by 164, or 11%, to 1,651. The tally of
confirmed virus cases increased by 6% to 16,627, slightly below the
growth rate seen in the beginning of the week. The amount of people
hospitalized with the virus rose by 336 to 6,622.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, The Philippines
recorded 8 new coronavirus deaths and 76 more infections. The health
ministry said a total of 144 people have died in the Philippines
while 3,094 were infected.
(Reuters, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, In Portugal
confirmed coronavirus cases pushed past the 10,000 mark. Portugal
has confirmed 10,524 coronavirus cases and 266 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Puerto Rico has
reported 450 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 18 deaths.
(SSFC, 4/5/20, p.A9)
2020 Apr 4, Russia reported the
second straight day of declines in new coronavirus cases. The latest
figures showed 582 additional infections in the last 24 hours,
bringing the total to 4,731, with 43 deaths.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Singapore’s
Ministry of Health confirmed an additional 75 cases of Covid-19
infection, of which six were imported and 69 local cases with no
recent travel history abroad. The city-state reported a sixth death
from the virus.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, South Korea
reported 94 more cases of coronavirus in 24 hours, bringing the
total to 10,156.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Spanish PM Pedro
Sanchez announced plans to extend the country’s lockdown by two
weeks until April 25. Spain said the number of confirmed cases
increased to 124,736. The number of new deaths in Spain declined for
a second day, with an additional 809 fatalities in the past 24 hours
for a total of 11,744.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, Sweden said it has
had more than 330 deaths after confirmed cases topped 6,000 this
week.
(Bloomberg, 4/4/20)
2020 Apr 4, In Thailand cases
of coronavirus rose to 2,067 after 89 new reports. The Southeast
Asian nation also reported one new death, bringing total to 20. A
security official was removed after he allowed more than 100
returning citizens to proceed home. The errant travelers were
ordered to report to authorities.
(Reuters, 4/4/20)(SSFC, 4/5/20, p.A7)
2020 Apr 5, US Defense
Secretary Mark Esper defended the US Navy's controversial decision
to remove the commander of a coronavirus-stricken US aircraft
carrier, saying it was a "tough call" but that ultimately it was "a
chain of command issue".
(Reuters, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, The SF Bay Area
reported 3,440 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of this morning
with 87 deaths. California cases climbed to 14,005 with 324 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, The death toll in
New Jersey has so far reached 846 with 34,124 positive cases of the
coronavirus. Ravinder Bhalla, the mayor of Hoboken, announced in a
statement that all employees of essential businesses still operating
in the city are now required to wear face covers or masks while
working.
(ABC News, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, New York state
reported 594 deaths from the coronavirus and 8,327 new confirmed
cases in the past 24 hours, increasing the numbers to 4,159 dead and
122,000 cases since the outbreak began. As of this morning more than
8,500 people in the United States have died from COVID-19. Global
cases of the coronavirus pass 1.2 million and deaths top 66,000.
(Reuters, 4/5/20)(Bloomberg, 4/5/20)(ABC News,
4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, US federal and
local zoo officials said a tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested
positive for the new coronavirus, in what is believed to be the
first known infection in an animal in the US or a tiger anywhere.
(AP, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, Albania reported 28
new cases of the new coronavirus and said a failure to respect
social distancing had led to the highest numbers of infections over
the last three days. The COVID-19 disease has killed 20 and infected
361.
(Reuters, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, Austria reported
that the number of new coronavirus infections rose to 11,897. The
country also reported more newly recovered than newly diagnosed
patients and a declining number of people in intensive care. Some
204 people in Austria have died of the pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, Britain's PM Boris
Johnson, infected with the coronavirus, went to St. Thomas’s
hospital in central London as a precaution.
(Bloomberg, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 5, Denmark's confirmed
cases of the coronavirus rose to 4,369, with 179 deaths.
(Bloomberg, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, Ethiopia reported
its first death from the virus and announced five more cases
bringing its total to 43, most of them imported by travelers. A
number of regional states have implemented bans on movement of
people and vehicles, but not yet in the capital Addis Ababa.
(AP, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, In France the
coronavirus that killed 7,560. France, like other countries, has
confined its residents to home since March 17 to curb the spread of
the virus. The measures have been extended until April 15, and are
likely to be extended again.
(Reuters, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, Germany's confirmed
coronavirus infections rose by 5,936 in the past 24 hours to 91,714,
the third straight drop in the daily rate of new cases.
(Reuters, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, In Hungary the
number of coronavirus infections climbed to 733, with 34 people
dead. Officials said the figure of 313 registered infections in
Budapest could rise fast as some were losing patience with
restrictions, gathering in parks and using the almost empty streets
for illegal drag racing.
(Bloomberg, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, In Indonesia
commuters in Jakarta are now barred from using public transit if
they aren’t wearing face masks. The country's numbers of coronavirus
infections rose to 2,273.
(Reuters, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, Iran’s fatalities
from coronavirus rose to 3,603 after 151 deaths and 2,483 new cases
in the past 24 hours. Total infections reached 58,226.
(Bloomberg, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, In Israel a small
group of Franciscan monks and Roman Catholic faithful took to the
streets of Jerusalem’s Christian Quarter in the Old City to
distribute olive branches after the traditional Palm Sunday
procession was cancelled due to restrictions imposed to contain the
spread of the coronavirus. More than 8,000 people in Israel have
contracted the coronavirus and 46 have died. In the West Bank,
nearly 200 cases have been reported, including a large outbreak in
the biblical town of Bethlehem.
(AP, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, Tokyo reported more
than 130 new coronavirus infections, bringing the number of cases in
the Japanese capital to more than 1,000.
(Reuters, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, Lebanon has
reported 520 cases of coronavirus and 18 deaths since the first case
was reported in late February.
(AP, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, Malawi's President
Peter Mutharika announced that he and all government ministers are
taking a 10% wage cut for three months to raise money to tackle the
coronavirus outbreak. Malawi has reported four confirmed cases of
the coronavirus so far. All have all been linked to people
travelling from the UK.
(BBC, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, Malaysia reported
179 new coronavirus cases, raising the cumulative total to 3,662.
The new cases included 4 deaths, raising the tally to 61 people as
of noon.
(Reuters, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, In the Netherlands
the number of deaths caused by the new coronavirus increased by 115
to 1,766. Confirmed infections increased by 1,224 to 17,851.
(Reuters, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, The Philippine
health ministry reported 8 additional coronavirus deaths and 152
newly confirmed cases. Positive cases rose to 3,246, while the death
toll rose to 152.
(Reuters, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, Singapore reported
120 new cases of the coronavirus, the most in a day, bringing the
total to 1,309. Of the new cases, only four involved patients with
recent travel history.
(Bloomberg, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, In South Africa all
50 wedding guests, the pastor who conducted the ceremony, and the
newlyweds themselves were promptly arrested and taken to a police
station outside Richards Bay due to a country-wide ban on all public
gatherings because of coronavirus.
(BBC, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 5, Officials in South
Sudan said the country has its first case of COVID-19, making it the
51st of Africa's 54 countries to have the disease. President Salva
Kiir last week imposed a curfew from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for six
weeks and closed borders, airports, schools, churches and mosques.
(AP, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, In Spain deaths
from the coronavirus fell for a third day. The Health Ministry
reported 674 fatalities in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to
12,418. The number of confirmed cases rose to 130,759.
(Bloomberg, 4/5/20)
2020 Apr 5, The United Nations
urged governments around the world to fight the rise in domestic
violence as abuse soared since stay-at-home orders have been imposed
to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
(The Week, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 6, President Trump
agreed to allow treatment of coronavirus patients on the Navy
hospital ship Comfort, which is docked in New York City.
(AP, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 6, President Trump’s
acting Navy secretary Thomas B. Modly, in a profanity-laced
reprimand, criticized sailors aboard the stricken aircraft carrier
Theodore Roosevelt for cheering their captain, who was removed after
he appealed for help as coronavirus spread throughout the warship.
(NY Times, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 6, The US inspector
general of the Department of Health and Human Services reported that
a shortage of tests and long waits for results were at the root of
mounting problems faced by hospitals. Pres. Trump called the report,
based on a late March survey of 323 hospitals nationwide, "just
wrong” and suggested that its conclusions were skewed by politics.
(AP, 5/26/20)
2020 Apr 6, The US coronavirus
death toll passed 10,000 with 10,993 cases. The total number of
cases in the United States rose to 368,449. Hospital
officials, doctors, public health experts and medical examiners said
that official counts have failed to capture the true number of
Americans dying in this pandemic. Global cases of the coronavirus
neared 1.3 million; deaths topped 70,000.
(Bloomberg, 4/6/20)(The Week, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 6, California reported
15,824 cases of the coronavirus and 372 deaths. SF Bay Area
confirmed cases numbered 3,753 and 95 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Idaho has reported
1,170 cases of coronavirus and 13 deaths.
(SFC, 4/8/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 6, New York state had
its deadliest day in the coronavirus pandemic, with 731 new deaths
in the state to a total of 5,489 fatalities.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 6, South Dakota, Gov.
Kristi Noem issued a limited stay-at-home mandate that applies only
to people in the two hardest-hit counties who are older than 65 or
who have chronic health conditions. North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and
Arkansas were the only US states where no one is under a
stay-at-home order.
(AP, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 6, CVS Health Corp
launched two new drive-through COVID-19 testing sites in Georgia and
Rhode Island using testing equipment made by Abbott Laboratories,
with up to four more locations to follow.
(AP, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Inovio
Pharmaceuticals Inc. began a phase 1 human trial of its Covid-19
vaccine, INO-4800. The company said animal studies show promising
immune responses.
(Bloomberg, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, RedHill Biopharma
said the first patient with a confirmed coronavirus diagnosis was
dosed with opaganib in Israel, and additional patients are expected
to be treated in the coming days. The company said pre-clinical data
demonstrated anti-viral effects in other viruses, anti-inflammatory
activities and the potential to reduce lung inflammation.
(Bloomberg, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, It was reported
that ResearchGate, a social network site for scientists and
researchers, has launched a new forum to facilitate collaboration
between COVID-19 experts on research into beating the flu-like
disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The site was developed in
10 days and launched late last week.
(https://www.researchgate.net/community/COVID-19/discussions)(Reuters,
4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Tyson Foods Inc
said it has closed a pork plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, after
more than 24 cases of COVID-19 involving employees at the facility.
(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 6, Bangladesh vowed to
provide emergency food supplies for "as long as needed" to thousands
of sex workers left destitute by the sudden closure of brothels due
to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, British PM Boris
Johnson was transferred to intensive care on Monday as his COVID-19
symptoms worsened significantly after he was admitted to a London
hospital for tests. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was designated as
his replacement if he becomes incapacitated.
(The Week, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 6, British drugmaker
GlaxoSmithKline Plc said it will invest $250 million in Vir
Biotechnology Inc and collaborate to develop potential treatments
for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
(AP, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, China's National
Health Commission (NHC) said that 78 new asymptomatic cases had been
identified as of the end of April 5, compared with 47 the day
before.
(AP, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, El Salvador's
President Nayib Bukele warned that security forces had been ordered
to enforce quarantine orders more rigorously to prevent the spread
of the coronavirus, confining offenders to "containment centers" and
confiscating their cars.
(Reuters, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, France's
coronavirus figures showed that the rate of increase in fatalities
sped up again after several days of slowing.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 6, Germany reported
lower numbers of new coronavirus cases. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s
government announced a new “limitless” aid program for small- and
medium-sized companies.
(Bloomberg, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Hungary's populist
PM Viktor Orban presented a massive action plan to mitigate the
economic fall-out from the highly contagious disease, focusing on
bolstering investment and employment but bypassing the very poor.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 6, Iran reported 136
new deaths due to the coronavirus, compared with 151 a day earlier.
The nation also reported 2,274 new infections, taking the total to
60,500. Total deaths stood at 3,739.
(AFP, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Israeli PM Benjamin
Netanyahu announced a complete lockdown over the upcoming Passover
holiday to control the country's coronavirus outbreak.
(AP, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Ivory Coast police
clashed with protesters who had begun dismantling a half-built
coronavirus testing center, afraid that people using the facility
would spread the epidemic through their district.
(Reuters, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Japanese PM Shinzo
Abe moved to declare a state of emergency in seven prefectures
including Tokyo and Osaka, and announced a record economic stimulus
package as the country braces for a surge in coronavirus infections.
At least 3,654 people in Japan have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and
85 of them have died.
(Bloomberg, 4/6/20)(ABC News, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Malta said it would
allow hunters to hunt quail from April 10 until the end of the
month, despite health authorities urging everyone to stay indoors to
stop the spread of the coronavirus. Malta has so far reported 227
COVID-19 cases but no deaths.
(Reuters, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, The Netherlands
reported 101 new fatalities, the smallest increase since March 30.
Total reported cases rose 5% to 18,803.
(Bloomberg, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Norway's health
minister said the COVID-19 epidemic is under control in the country,
pointing to the low rate of transmission of the disease.
(AP, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Pakistan said it
would reopen its border for four days so that Afghans wishing to
return home can go back. On the other side of the border, which
closed nearly a month ago, the Afghan government has set up a
coronavirus quarantine camp for the returnees. Pakistani nationals
stranded in Afghanistan will also be allowed to go back. Some
200,000 Afghans and counting have been flowing home across its
border with Iran, one of the world’s biggest epicenters of the
pandemic, for weeks.
(AP, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Russia's government
announced a 150 billion-ruble program under which banks will offer
interest-free loans to small businesses to pay salaries as the
coronavirus lockdown continued.
(Reuters, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, South Korea
reported fewer than 50 new coronavirus cases for the first time
since its peak in late February.
(AP, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Spain reported
lower numbers of new coronavirus cases. New infections were 4,273,
taking the total to 135,032. The death toll rose by 637 to 13,055 in
the past 24 hours.
(Bloomberg, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, Switzerland
reported 21,652 positive COVID-19 cases and 584 deaths. A Boeing 747
landed in Geneva with 92 tons of protective medical equipment
including masks made in China for distribution to 13 Swiss hospitals
and pharmaceutical associations as they battle the COVID-19
pandemic. Another delivery had arrived in Zurich the previous
evening on a chartered Swiss airline flight from Shanghai carrying
protective gowns for dozens of health care facilities. Further
flights with additional equipment were planned.
(Reuters, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 6, The Vatican said
Pope Francis has started an emergency fund to help areas affected by
the coronavirus in developing countries.
(AP, 4/6/20)
2020 Apr 7, US Pres. Donald
Trump acknowledged that the coronavirus is infecting and killing
black people in the US at disproportionately high rates, and said
that the authorities were working to provide more information. Trump
also threatened to freeze US funding to the World Health
Organization, saying the international group had “missed the call”
on the coronavirus pandemic.
(NY Times, 4/8/20)(AP, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, The US Navy said at
least 230 crew members of the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested
positive. Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned over fallout
from his ouster of Capt. Brett Crozier.
(AP, 4/8/20)(SFC, 4/8/20, p.A7)
2020 Apr 7, Deaths in the US
due to the coronavirus reached about 11,000, with about 370,000
confirmed infections. The number of confirmed infections of the
novel coronavirus exceeded 1.34 million globally and the death toll
crossed 76,000.
(AP, 4/7/20)(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, California reported
14,475 cases of the coronavirus and 400 deaths. SF Bay Area
confirmed cases numbered 3,880 and 107 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo said over 138,000 people in the state have been
diagnosed with COVID-19. Cuomo announced the state’s highest one-day
total of virus-related deaths: 731. New York City had at least 3,202
deaths. New Jersey and Connecticut also reported one-day highs.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)(NY Times, 4/8/20)(SFC, 4/8/20,
p.A5)
2020 Apr 7, John Prine (73),
the country-folk singer and songwriter whose lyrics made him a
favorite of Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson and others, died in
Nashville of complications due to the coronavirus.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Prine)(NY
Times, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 7, A federal appeals
court sided with Texas in allowing it to ban most abortions while
the state is under an emergency order that limits non-essential
surgeries during the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Wisconsin voters
lined up to cast ballots across the state, ignoring a stay-at-home
order in the midst of a pandemic to participate in the state's
presidential primary election. Voters in the state's Democratic
primary endorsed Joe Biden. Voters also elected Democrat Judge Jill
Karofsky to the state's Supreme Court.
(AP, 4/7/20)(SFC, 4/15/20, p.A3)
2020 Apr 7, World stock markets
posted sharp gains as signs of progress in curbing the spread of the
novel coronavirus in both Europe and the United States fueled
investors' appetite for risk.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Armenia reported
853 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of today with 87 people
having recovered from the infection and eight deaths.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Azerbaijan's
breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh confirmed its first case of the
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Benin has ordered
people in a dozen cities to wear face masks to prevent the spread of
the coronavirus. Benmin has 22 confirmed cases.
(SFC, 4/8/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 7, Bulgaria's Foreign
Ministry said a senior official at the Bulgarian embassy in The
Hague has been recalled for illegally collecting what he called a
coronavirus tax from visitors seeking consular assistance.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Mainland China
reported no coronavirus deaths for the first time since the pandemic
began and a drop in new cases.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, In China a
one-sentence notice issued by the party-government joint
disciplinary watchdog body in Beijing’s western district said Ren
Zhiqiang, prominent Communist party member, was undergoing a “review
and monitoring investigation.” Ren dropped from sight in mid-March
after publishing an online essay that criticized the leadership’s
handling of the virus outbreak that originated in December in
central China.
(AP, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Colombia extended a
nationwide quarantine due to the coronavirus until April 27.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, It was reported
that sales of sex toys in Denmark have more than doubled after Danes
were told to stay at home to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Finland said it
will start tracking the spread of the coronavirus in its population
with randomized antibody tests.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, In France almost
99,000 people across the country have been diagnosed with COVID-19
and nearly 9,000 of them have died.
(ABC News, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Hong Kong reported
21 new cases of the coronavirus for a total of 936.
(https://tinyurl.com/sdefuk6)
2020 Apr 7, Leaders of
Hungary's Roma people said the coronavirus pandemic posed a grave
threat to the already precarious status of the marginalized
minority, with many Roma feeling abandoned by the nationalist
government.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, India said it will
allow limited exports of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine,
that US President Donald Trump has touted as a potential weapon in
the fight against the virus.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Iran's parliament
convened for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak forced
its doors to close, as the country reported a drop in new infections
for the seventh straight day. The health ministry reported 133 new
coronavirus deaths, saying the overall fatalities had reached 3,872.
Another 2,089 infections were recorded nationwide, bringing the
total to 62,589.
(AFP, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Japanese PM Shinzo
Abe moved to declare a state of emergency in seven prefectures
including Tokyo and Osaka, and announced a record economic stimulus
package as the country braces for a surge in coronavirus infections.
(Bloomberg, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, The Latvian
government said it was extending until May 12 the state of emergency
that has allowed it to implement a string of measures to curb the
spread of the novel coronavirus in the Baltic country. Latvia has
reported 548 confirmed cases and 2 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Mali has recorded
46 positive cases of COVID-19 disease, including one member of the
UN peacekeeping force, and five deaths.
(AP, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 7, Mexico has nearly
2,800 confirmed COVID-19 infections and 141 deaths. A plane arrived
in Mexico with 10 tons of gloves and masks from China to help with
the coronavirus outbreak.
(AP, 4/7/20)(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 7, Morocco has so far
reported 1,141 coronavirus cases and 83 deaths. As of today
Moroccans who venture outside their homes without wearing face masks
risk prison sentences of up to three months and a fine of up to $126
(£102). Since March 19 more than 8,600 people have been arrested and
prosecuted for flouting lockdown rule.
(BBC, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Pakistan has
recorded 4,004 cases of the coronavirus and 54 deaths. Pakistan's
military promised that dozens of doctors who were briefly jailed for
protesting a lack of protective equipment will get the equipment
they need.
(AP, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, The west African
island nation of Sao Tome e Principe confirmed its first case of the
coronavirus.
(SFC, 4/8/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 7, Saudi Arabia has so
far reported 2,795 cases and 41 deaths due to the coronavirus, the
highest in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Health
Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah said four studies by infectious disease
experts indicated the number of cases was likely to reach between
10,000 and 200,000 in coming weeks. King Salman ordered the
temporary release from prison of people serving sentences related to
unpaid private debts, and ordered the suspension of all rulings
related to such cases in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)(AP, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 7, Singapore's
government passed a new law in parliament banning all social
gatherings in homes and public spaces to curb the spread of the
coronavirus (COVID-19). The Health Ministry confirmed 106 new cases
of coronavirus infections, most of them locally transmitted, taking
the city-state's total to 1,481.
(https://tinyurl.com/yd7alwax)Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, South Africa with
1,686 positive cases now had the highest national total. The Africa
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that at least
10,075 people across Africa have tested positive for the novel
coronavirus. So far, 487 people diagnosed with COVID-19 have died.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)(ABC News, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, In Spain the pace
of coronavirus deaths ticked up for the first time in five days,
with 743 people succumbing overnight. Spain moved to tackle a
shortfall of farm workers due to the coronavirus crisis by
authorizing the temporary hiring of tens of thousands of immigrants
or jobless people.
(Reuters, 4/7/20)
2020 Apr 7, Turkmenistan
gathered thousands of citizens for mass exercise events to mark
World Health Day, ignoring the global trend for social distancing to
fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Turkmenistan has yet
to register a case of the novel coronavirus.
(AFP, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 7, In Venezuela to
date the coronavirus has claimed only seven confirmed fatalities
with at least 144 confirmed cases. A party by offspring of the
ruling elite on March 11 on an island in the Los Roques archipelago
led to a cluster of infections. On March 20 embattled leader Nicolás
Maduro said on state TV that practically everyone at the party is
testing positive.
(AP, 4/7/20)(Economist, 4/4/20, p.24)
2020 Apr 7, Yemeni port
official Saleh (60) tested positive for COVID-19. A 2nd test on
April 10 also came back positive. This was Yemen's first case of the
virus. Health officials then scrambled to identify more than 150
people in the southern Hadhramout region who had met and dealt with
the man in the two weeks before he was diagnosed.
(Reuters, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 8, President Donald
Trump falsely asserted that travelers at US airports are being
routinely tested for COVID-19, made groundless accusations against a
government watchdog and wrongly claimed the Obama administration did
nothing during a flu pandemic.
(AP, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, The US Navy said at
least 286 sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive
for the coronavirus.
(SFC, 4/9/20, p.A7)
2020 Apr 8, California reported
17,806 cases of the coronavirus and 452 deaths to date. SF Bay Area
confirmed cases numbered 4,201 and 115 deaths. California had one of
its deadliest days, with 68 fatalities due to the coronavirus.
(sfist.com, 4/8/20)(Bloomberg, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, Illinois reported
82 deaths due to the coronavirus.
(Bloomberg, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, The United States
awarded automaker General Motors Co a contract worth $489.4 million
to make ventilators needed to treat severely sick coronavirus
patients.
(Reuters, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, Maryland-based
Novavax Inc said it had identified a novel coronavirus vaccine
candidate and would start human trials in mid-May. The late-stage
biotechnology company said its Matrix-M adjuvant would be used with
the vaccine candidate - NVX-CoV2373 - to enhance immune responses.
(Reuters, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, Maryland
authorities said that divers had found the body of 8-year-old Gideon
Joseph Kennedy McKean.
(AP, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, Michigan saw
coronavirus cases increase 7% to surpass 20,000. Deaths rose by 114
to 959.
(AP, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, In New Mexico the
death toll from the coronavirus was 16. On the Navajo Nation's
reservation in the state the death toll reached 20.
(SFC, 4/10/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 8, Virus-related
deaths reached new highs in New York and New Jersey for the second
straight day, even as other figures suggested that the outbreak in
those states was beginning to slow. The US saw a record 1,922
coronavirus deaths.
(NY Times, 4/9/20)(The Week, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, New Jersey Governor
Phil Murphy reported 275 new fatalities due to the coronavirus.
Cases rose by 7% to 47,437.
(Bloomberg, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, New Jersey and
Virginia joined at least 15 other states in delaying their primaries
amid the coronavirus pandemic so election officials can make
preparations to address public health concerns and deal with a poll
worker shortage brought on by the outbreak.
(AP, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, New York reported
its highest 24-hour coronavirus death toll for the second straight
day, with 779 deaths. US cases rose to 419,975. Global cases of the
coronavirus topped 1.5 million and deaths passed 88,000.
(Bloomberg, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, It was reported
that some 100 American Airlines flight attendants have tested
positive for COVID-19 and that one attendant has died from the
virus.
(SFC, 4/8/20, p.A3)
2020 Apr 8, Belarus health
officials reported 205 new cases of the coronavirus bringing the
total to 1,066 with 13 deaths. Last week Pres. Alexander Lukashenko
dismissed concerns around the pandemic as "mass psychosis" and
appeared more worried about the impact of a lockdown on the
country's struggling economy.
(SFC, 4/9/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 8, Brazil suffered
14,049 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 688 people dead.
(Econ, 4/11/20, p.25)
2020 Apr 8, Britain's confirmed
death toll from the coronavirus reached 7,097, an increase of 938
from 24 hours earlier. PM Boris Johnson remained in intensive care
with the disease. Transit union s demanded more protection following
the deaths of 14 London transport staff.
(AP, 4/8/20)(SFC, 4/9/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 8, The Chinese city at
the heart of the global pandemic, Wuhan, reopened after 76 days in
lockdown. Mainland China reported 63 additional confirmed
coronavirus cases, with 61 of them from abroad.
(AP, 4/8/20)(Reuters, 4/8/20)(Bloomberg, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, In China scores of
African students and businessmen were forced onto the streets of the
southern city of Guangzhou following the mass eviction of African
nationals from hotels and apartment blocks. Online rumors that the
coronavirus was spreading among the thousands of Africans in the
city led to door-to-door testing, evictions and accusations of
forced quarantine.
(BBC, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, Egypt extended its
night-time curfew and other preventative measures for two more
weeks, until April 23, though it scaled back curfew hours to 8 p.m.
to 6 a.m. due to the coronavirus pandemic. Egypt has reported more
than 1,400 confirmed virus cases, with at least 94 deaths.
(AP, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, Ethiopian PM Abiy
Ahmed declared a state of emergency to help curb the spread of the
new coronavirus. Ethiopia has recorded 52 cases of COVID-19, the
disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and two deaths.
(AP, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, France's Defense
Ministry said its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is heading back
to port due to a possible virus on-board outbreak of the new
coronavirus. Two-thirds of crew were later said to be infected, but
only half were symptomatic.
(AP, 4/8/20)(Econ., 6/20/20, p.51)
2020 Apr 8, India’s most
populous state, Uttar Pradesh, sealed off 15 of its districts worst
affected by infections. The state has so far recorded 326 infections
and three deaths. India has had total infections of 5,360 and 164
deaths.
(Bloomberg, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, Iran reported 121
new deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing its overall number
of fatalities to 3,993. In the past 24 hours, 1,997 new cases of
COVID-19 infection were detected. That put the number of confirmed
cases in Iran at 64,586.
(AFP, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, Italy said that it
recorded 3,836 new infections, the highest in three days.
(Bloomberg, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, Jordan has reported
more than 350 confirmed cases of coronavirus, including six deaths.
State news said Jordan has ordered traders to stop exporting food
products to boost the Kingdom’s stockpile of food in the wake of the
crisis.
(AP, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, Rioting broke out
in the Mozambican port city of Nacala after the authorities tried to
ban motorcycle taxis due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(BBC, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, In the Netherlands
the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 969 to 20,549,
with 147 new deaths. The country's total death toll from the disease
is now 2,248.
(Reuters, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, Russia reported
1,175 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 8,672. The
epicenter of the epidemic in Russia is Moscow, with 5,841 cases.
President Vladimir Putin announced additional payouts to health
professionals working on "the frontline" of the country's fight
against the coronavirus.
(AFP, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, Saudi state media
said the Saudi king has suspended final rulings and judicial orders
on visitation rights of children of separated parents in the latest
effort to try and curb the spread of the novel coronavirus among
households. Saudi Arabia has more than 2,900 confirmed cases of the
virus, including 41 deaths.
(AP, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, Saudi officials
said a cease-fire in Yemen would last for two weeks and that it's in
response to UN calls to halt hostilities amid the new coronavirus
pandemic.
(AP, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, Singapore's Health
Ministry confirmed 142 new coronavirus infections for a total of
1,623, the biggest daily increase yet, and said a seventh person had
died after testing positive for the disease.
(Reuters, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, South Africa has
announced the death of five patients who were undergoing treatment
for coronavirus, the highest to be reported in a day so far,
bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 18.
(BBC, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, Spain's health
ministry said 757 people died over the past 24 hours, up from 743
people the previous day, marking the second daily rise in a row and
bringing the total death toll to 14,555. Spain's main business lobby
warned the economy could slump up to 9% this year if lockdown
restrictions remain beyond May.
(Reuters, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, Sudan has reported
14 cases, including two deaths for the virus.
(AP, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, The Swiss
government said its economy could contract by as much 10.4% this
year due to the impact of the new coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, In Geneva WHO
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus vocally defended himself
and the UN health agency’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. He
accused Taiwan’s foreign ministry of being linked to a months-long
campaign against him. Taiwan has reported just 379 cases and five
deaths.
(AP, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 8, Turkey said it will
monitor the mobile phones of those diagnosed with the new
coronavirus to ensure they do not break quarantine, marking the
latest measure to stem an outbreak that has surged over the last
month.
(Reuters, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 8, A plane carrying 90
tons of UN health, water and sanitation aid arrived in Venezuela to
help the cash-strapped country fight the coronavirus pandemic.
(AFP, 4/8/20)
2020 Apr 9, The US Federal
Reserve announced a broad, $2.3 trillion effort to bolster local
governments and small and mid-sized businesses, the latest in an
expanding suite of programs meant to keep the US economy intact as
the country battles the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, The US National
Institutes of Health (NIH) said it was testing anti-malaria drug
hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19, days after several US
doctors said they were using the drug on infected patients without
evidence that it worked.
(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, The US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention extended its "no sail order" for all
cruise ships, as it looks to prevent the spread of the novel
coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 9, US deaths due to
coronavirus topped 15,700.
(AP, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, The US Navy said
416 sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for
the coronavirus, up from 286 a day earlier.
(SFC, 4/9/20, p.A7)
2020 Apr 9, Presumptive
Democratic nominee Joe Biden joined a growing call for the release
of comprehensive racial data on the coronavirus pandemic, which he
says has put a spotlight on inequity and the impact of “structural
racism".
(AP, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 9, California to date
had 19,834 cases of coronavirus and 534 deaths. The SF Bay Area had
4,424 cases and 118 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Georgia postponed
primary elections for the second time this year because of the
coronavirus, pushing back primaries scheduled for May to June.
(AP, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Illinois' Cook
county corrections officials said some 450 inmates and staff have
tested positive for coronavirus at Chicago's largest jail.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 9, Louisiana has
reported more than 17,000 cases of the coronavirus and 652 deaths.
More than half of the cases were in the New Orleans area. New
Orleans with a population below 400,000, has seen 171 deaths.
(SFC, 4/9/20, p.A6)(Econ, 4/11/20, p.18)
2020 Apr 9, New York state's
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the daily death toll was at 799, bringing
total fatalities to more than 7,000.
(SFC, 4/10/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 9, Smithfield Foods
Inc, the world's biggest pork processor, said it is temporarily
closing a plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, because of the new
coronavirus, the latest disruption to the US food supply chain from
the outbreak. The outbreak infected more than 800 employees. The
Sioux Falls plants began reopening on May 4.
(AP, 4/9/20)(SFC, 5/5/20, p.A6)
2020 Apr 9, General Motors Co
said it plans to keep its Brazilian factories shut down for at least
60 more days due to the coronavirus crisis, as the final batch of
unionized workers voted on the automaker's proposal for the shutdown
and for a plan to cut salaries by up to 25%.
(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, US drugmaker Pfizer
Inc said that early data has helped it identify a drug candidate
with the potential to help treat patients infected with the novel
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Top executives of
Albania's central bank took a 50% pay cut in solidarity with
citizens suffering amid the coronavirus pandemic, coming into line
with reductions already accepted by government ministers and
lawmakers. The coronavirus outbreak has killed 22 Albanians so far.
(AP, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Botswana confirmed
seven new coronavirus cases, including a health worker who was on
duty during parliament's session a day earlier. Botswana now has a
total of 13 confirmed coronavirus cases and was on a 28-day lockdown
to prevent the spread of the virus. All Botswana's parliamentarians
including President Mokgweetsi Masisi will be quarantined for 14
days and tested for the new coronavirus, after a health worker
screening lawmakers for the virus herself tested positive.
(AP, 4/9/20)(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, In Brazil a
Yanomami youth (15) died after testing positive for coronavirus in
Boa Vista, Roraima state. This raised fears that the epidemic will
spread among the largest indigenous tribe in northern Brazil.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 9, Britain's PM Boris
Johnson came out of three nights of intensive care at St Thomas'
Hospital as he continued COVID-19 recovery.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 9, Home rental firm
Airbnb blocked British bookings on its platform for the vast
majority of customers, allowing only key workers to stay in
properties for as long as emergency government coronavirus
restrictions are in place. The move came after hosts using the site
had been criticized for advertising "isolation retreats." Airbnb put
pressure on other online booking platforms to follow suit.
(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Burundi has so far
confirmed three cases of coronavirus. The government has not
restricted movement in and out of the country although arriving
travelers must undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine. A spokesman
for Pres. Pierre Nkurunziza has said the country needs no lockdown
"because it is a country that has put God first."
(BBC, 4/9/20)(Econ., 5/2/20, p.36)
2020 Apr 9, China's border city
of Suifenhe reported that it had a total of 123 imported coronavirus
cases, nearly 97% of cases in northern Heilongjiang province. The
city has seen an influx of Chinese people returning home, many
infected with the virus, traveling by road from the Russian far
eastern city of Vladivostok after flying there from Moscow.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 9, European Union
finance ministers agreed on a 540 billion-euro ($590 billion)
package of measures to combat the economic fallout of the
coronavirus pandemic, papering over differences that have thrown
into question the EU’s future integrity.
(Bloomberg, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 9, New coronavirus
cases in Germany climbed the most in five days.
(Bloomberg, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Officials in India
said at least three private hospitals in Mumbai have shut their
doors to new patients on concerns of health workers getting exposed
to the coronavirus. India has so far recorded 5,865 cases of
coronavirus, including 169 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, In Israel, more
than 10,000 people have contracted the coronavirus and 92 have died.
(AP, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Italy's PM Giuseppe
Conte prepared to prolong the national lockdown from a current
expiration date of April 13 for another two weeks. Deaths from the
COVID-19 epidemic rose by 610, up from 542 the day before, and the
number of new cases also came in higher at 4,204 from a previous
3,836. The number of confirmed cases climbed to 143,626.
(Bloomberg, 4/9/20)(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Japan for the first
time reported more than 500 new positive cases of the novel
coronavirus. Over 100 people in Japan have died from the disease so
far, including 11 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship,
(ABC News, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, It was reported
that Luxembourg will become the first EU country to start systematic
mass tests on its population, regardless of whether they show
coronavirus symptoms or not.
(Bloomberg, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Mexico's Pres.
Lopez Obrador spoke with US President Donald Trump and asked him to
sell Mexico 10,000 ventilators and 10,000 monitors to care for
coronavirus patients.
(AP, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 9, It was reported
that international health officials are warning that the Nicaraguan
government’s perplexing weekslong refusal to take measures to
control the spread of the new coronavirus is heightening the risk of
an epidemic in Central America even as neighboring countries take
tough action.
(AP, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Pakistan's military
said itsw troop have shot down a small Indian spy drone after it
violated the country's airspace along the Line of Control in
Kashmir.
(SFC, 4/10/20, p.A2)
2020 Apr 9, Russia said it had
over 10,000 novel coronavirus cases, two-thirds of them in Moscow,
and all regions are in partial lockdown, their citizens advised to
stay at home.
(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Saudi Arabia began
a cease-fire in the war in Yemen, which could pave the way toward
ending the five-year conflict. Separately, as many as 150 members of
the Saudi royal family are believed to have contracted the virus.
(NY Times, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Somalia announced
the first death from Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by
coronavirus. Somalia has so far confirmed 12 coronavirus cases.
(BBC, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Spanish PM Pedro
Sanchez asked parliament for an extension to a state of emergency
through April 25 as total cases of the coronavirus rose to more than
150,000 and deaths rose to 15,238.
(Bloomberg, 4/9/20)(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, Uganda has so far
registered 53 cases of coronavirus. It was reported that four
officials in the prime minister's office have been arrested for
alleged corruption over the purchasing of food aid to be distributed
during the coronavirus lockdown.
(BBC, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, The coronavirus has
killed at least 57 people in Ukraine and the authorities aim to
contain the spread of the disease in the run-up to Easter. Kiev and
its surrounding region have 430 out of a total of 1,892 cases. The
coronavirus has infected 26 people at the thousand-year-old
headquarters of Ukraine's Russian-backed Orthodox Christian
denomination, which had urged worshippers to defy lockdown orders.
(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 9, The UAE has
reported 2,659 cases of the coronavirus with 12 deaths.
(AP, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 10, President Donald
Trump said the decision on when it was safe to reopen the country
would be the biggest he had ever had to make. Trump said that he
thinks the United States will lose fewer than the initially
projected 100,000 lives to COVID-19 and suggested that the United
States is nearing its peak infection rate.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 10, The United States
reported at least 2,074 deaths resulting from the novel COVID-19
coronavirus. Overall in the US, there have been nearly 19,000
deaths, and more than 500,000 confirmed cases.
(CNN, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 10, New data released
by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) showed that more than
15,000 Americans have reported alleged coronavirus-related frauds
totaling nearly $12 million in losses.
(ABC News, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, It was reported
that drugs that go hand in hand with ventilators are running low in
the US even as demand was surging. They included the opioid
painkillers fentanyl, morphine, and hydromorphone; the sedatives
midazolam and propofol; and the paralytics pancuronium, rocuronium,
and succinylcholine.
(AP, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 10, A study published
in the New England Journal of Medicine showed promising results
after the antiviral drug remdesivir, produced by Gilead Sciences,
was used in a "compassionate use" trial to treat a small group of
novel COVID-19 coronavirus patients.
(Washington Post, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, COVID-19 cases
worldwide climbed to more than 1.5 million, with over 90,000 deaths.
(SFC, 4/10/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 10, California to date
had 20,189 cases of coronavirus and 542 deaths. The SF Bay Area had
4,508 cases and 118 deaths. Nationwide deaths totaled 16,703.
(sfist.com, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, San Francisco
officials reported a major outbreak of the coronavirus at the
Multi-Service Center South homeless shelter at 525 Bryant St. 68
residents and two employees have tested positive for the virus. The
city had 857 confirmed cases and 13 deaths.
(SFC, 4/11/20, p.A1)(sfist.com, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 10, A nursing home in
Georgia announced that 70 of its residents have tested positive for
COVID-19. Three of those residents have been hospitalized.
(ABC News, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 10, Christopher Parris
of Georgia was arrested for trying to defraud the Veterans Affairs
Department out of millions of dollars, in one of the first big
coronavirus related fraud cases brought by the Justice Department's
new COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging task force.
(CBS News, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, New York state
added 777 COVID-19-related deaths, bringing total fatalities to
7,844.
(SFC, 4/11/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 10, Apple and Google
said they have teamed up to use smartphone technology to halp
contain the COVID-19 pandemic. New contact tracing apps would gather
and record users of other phones who might have been infected by
known carriers. The designs would include user privacy and security
measures.
(SFC, 4/11/20, p.C1)
2020 Apr 10, Bangladesh's
government extended the nationwide lockdown to April 25 as the
number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus rose to 424, with 27
deaths.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 10, British hospitals
reported 980 more deaths. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases
surpassed 74,000 and the death toll neared 9,000.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 10, In Burkina Faso
the coronavirus epidemic has so far infected over 440 people,
including six government ministers. 24 deaths have been reported.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, China tightened
restrictions on exports of masks and other personal protective
equipment (PPE), calling for shipments of the items to be subjected
to a mandatory customs inspection, with immediate effect.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, The European Union
said it has approved a 527 million zloty (115 million euro) scheme
by the Polish government to support its economy during the
coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, Indonesia reported
more than 3,500 confirmed infections, more than 1,750 of those in
the capital. Of the country’s 306 virus deaths, 154 have been in
Jakarta.
(AP, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, Over 200,000 Irish
workers are now in receipt of a new wage subsidy scheme, meaning the
state is supporting nearly 30% of the labor force due to the
coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, In Kenya thousands
of people surged for food aid in a brief stampede in Nairobi,
desperate for help as coronavirus restrictions keep them from making
a living. Witnesses said police fired tear gas and injured several
people.
(AP, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, Mexico's health
ministry said it has recorded its first two deaths of pregnant women
from the coronavirus as the death toll reached 194.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, The Netherlands
statistics office said there were around 2,000 more deaths in the
Netherlands in the first week of April than would normally be
expected, likely the result of the coronavirus outbreak.
(AP, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, Russia's PM
Mikhail Mishustin said the government has decided to extend payment
holidays to larger mortgage loans in a new measure to support its
citizens from the coronavirus fallout.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, Russia's
Prosecutor General's Office started blocking access to "fake news"
social media posts criticizing quarantine measures taken by the city
of Moscow to curb the new coronavirus. Russia last year passed
legislation with tough new fines for people spreading misinformation
or insulting the state.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, South Korea
reported 27 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, the fewest
in about seven weeks. Early voting began for all 300 National
Assembly seats. South Korean officials reported 91 patients thought
cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again.
(Bloomberg, 4/10/20)(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, The coronavirus
death toll curve in Spain flattened further as the government
discussed different strategies to start phasing out one of the
world's strictest lockdowns. The death toll fell with 605 fatalities
registered over the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 10, Uruguay started to
repatriate 112 Australians and New Zealanders from a cruise ship hit
by coronavirus and stranded in the La Plata River near Montevideo
since March 27.
(AP, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 10, Yemen’s
internationally recognized government announced the first confirmed
case of the new coronavirus in the war-torn country. Provincial Gov.
Farag al-Bouhsni announced a partial curfew and placed all workers
at the al-Shahr port under a 14-day quarantine.
(AP, 4/10/20)
2020 Apr 11, The US State
Department announced that President Donald Trump has authorized an
assistance package to help Italy, one of the hardest-hit countries
amid the pandemic, as they continue to fight the virus.
(AP, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, The number of
coronavirus cases detected in the United States rose past half a
million over the Easter weekend with more than 18,600 deaths. More
than 1.6 million people have been reported to be infected by the
novel coronavirus globally and 103,664 have died.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, The US Navy said
another 103 crew members on the US aircraft carrier Theodore
Roosevelt have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the
total number of cases from the ship to 550.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 11, California to date
had 21,505 cases of coronavirus and 597 deaths. The SF Bay Area had
4,864 cases and 131 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, Chicago has
reported 7,784 cases of COVID-19 and 249 deaths as of this
afternoon. This was about 40% of statewide cases and 36% of deaths
across Illinois.
(AP, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 11, The Kansas Supreme
Court ruled that a Republican-dominated legislative panel exceeded
its authority when it tried to overturn Democratic Gov. Laura
Kelly’s executive order banning religious and funeral services of
more than 10 people during the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 11, New Jersey Gov.
Philip D. Murphy announced that another 251 people had died due to
the coronavirus. The statewide total of cases reached 58,151 with
2,183 deaths.
(NY Times, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 11, New York state
reported 783 more coronavirus deaths for a total of 8,600.
(SSFC, 4/12/20, p.A6)
2020 Apr 11, New York City
Mayor Bill de Blasio said public schools will remain closed for the
rest of the school year as the city battles the outbreak of the
novel coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, Armenia extended
by another 30 days the state of emergency that it declared last
month to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The country has
recorded 966 infections, with 13 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, Britain's COVID-19
death toll neared 10,000 after health officials reported another 917
hospital deaths.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, China reported a
rise in infections, mostly in travelers arriving from abroad, as
doctors in the central city of Wuhan, where the virus initially
emerged, warned its behavior was still not well-understood. Mainland
China reported 99 new confirmed coronavirus cases, including 97
involving travelers from overseas, up from a total of 46 new cases a
day earlier. China's tally of infections now stands at 82,052, while
the death toll stands at 3,339.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 11, Germany's number
of confirmed infections rose by 4,133 to 117,658. The reported death
toll rose by 171 to 2,544.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, Guam reported 133
confirmed coronavirus cases and five deaths, not including the
sailors of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. More than 580 sailors have
been confirmed infected. More than 1,700 sailors who have tested
negative were isolating in hotels, while the sick remain on base.
(AP, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 11, Delhi state's
chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that Indian PM Narendra Modi has
decided to extend a nationwide lockdown to tackle the spread of the
coronavirus, without saying how long the extension would be for. The
number of cases rose to 7,471.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, Indonesia
confirmed 330 new coronavirus infections, taking its tally to 3,842.
It also confirmed 21 virus-related deaths, taking the total to 327.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, Iran began easing
restrictions after a nationwide lockdown. The Health Ministry
reported another 125 deaths, bringing the overall toll to 4,357.
Iran reported 70,029 confirmed cases.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, Italian PM
Giuseppe Conte extended his nationwide lockdown until May 3.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, Japanese PM Shinzo
Abe called for citizens across Japan to avoid evening spots like
bars and restaurants. SoftBank Group Corp CEO Masayoshi Son said he
has secured a monthly supply of 300 million face masks for Japan
from May after reaching a deal with Chinese electric vehicle maker
BYD Co Ltd, which has also started producing masks.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, Kazakh authorities
said ten people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at
one of the worker camps located next to the giant Tengiz oilfield.
The camp has been locked down and workers can enter the Tengiz field
itself only after being quarantined for 14 days.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, A coronavirus
lockdown in Liberia's capital Monrovia got off to a chaotic start,
as some police officers used truncheons against residents who had
ventured out into the streets to buy food and withdraw money.
Liberia has so far confirmed at least 48 cases of the coronavirus,
including five deaths.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 11, Malaysian health
authorities reported 184 additional confirmed cases of the new
coronavirus, raising the cumulative tally to 4,530. The latest data
included 3 new deaths, raising total fatalities from the outbreak to
73.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, New Zealand said
there had been two new deaths due to the coronavirus - its biggest
daily total to date despite the low number and bringing the total to
four in a country that's halfway through a four-week nationwide
lockdown.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, North Korea's
leader Kim Jong Un was last seen in public on April 11, when he
presided over a meeting discussing coronavirus prevention and
electing his sister as an alternate member of the political bureau
of the ruling Workers’ Party. South Korean intelligence combined
with North Korean state media reports later suggest that Kim could
have suffered some sort of medical setback.
(AFP, 4/11/20) (AP, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 11, The Philippines
reported 26 new coronavirus-related deaths, taking the total to 247.
It also confirmed 233 new infections for a tally of 4,428.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, The Kremlin said a
"huge influx" of coronavirus patients was beginning to put a strain
on hospitals in Moscow as Russia's death toll rose to more than 100.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 11, Spain's daily
coronavirus death toll fell for the third day in a row after 510
fatalities were reported in the past 24 hours. Spain reported 4,830
new cases. The country has confirmed 161,852 infections and 16,353
deaths.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)(SSFC, 4/12/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 11, Thailand reported
45 new coronavirus infections and two more deaths.
(Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020 Apr 12, US President
Donald Trump retweeted a call to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci after the
nation's top expert on infectious diseases said lives could have
been saved if the country had shut down sooner during the novel
coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 12, More than 20,602
people in the US have died as a result of COVID-19. At least 530,000
people in the US have tested positive and over 2.6 million Americans
have been tested for the disease. Worldwide, more than 1.79 million
people have been diagnosed since the virus emerged in China in
December and the death toll has passed 109,000.
(ABC News, 4/12/20)(Yahoo News, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, California to date
had 22,432 cases of coronavirus and 634 deaths. The SF Bay Area had
4,980 cases and 134 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, New York tallied
671 new deaths due to the coronavirus.
(SFC, 4/14/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 12, Bangladesh
announced a relief package worth about $1.7 billion to help farmers
struggling because of restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, Brazil's Health
Minister Henrique Mandetta criticized people for gathering in public
without referring directly to Pres. Jair Bolsonaro, who hit the
streets over the weekend, drawing crowds and greeting followers.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 12, Britain recorded
737 additional coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours,. PM Boris
Johnson was discharged from a London hospital where he was treated
in intensive care for the virus. The UK reported 84,279 positive
test results for COVID-19 and 10,612 deaths..
(ABC News, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, Britain said it
was pledging 200 million pounds ($248 million) to the World Health
Organization (WHO) and charities to help slow the spread of the
coronavirus in vulnerable countries and so help prevent a second
wave of infections.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, Bulgaria has
reported 669 cases of the coronavirus and 28 deaths. Churches
remained open over the Easter holidays, but most Bulgarians stayed
home.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, Chinese cities
near the border with Russia said they would tighten border controls
and quarantine measures on arrivals from abroad after the number of
imported cases of COVID-19 hit a one-month high.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, Germany's number
of confirmed coronavirus infections rose by 2,821 to 120,479. The
reported death toll rose by 129 to 2,673.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, Indonesia reported
399 new cases of the coronavirus, its biggest daily jump so far,
bringing the total number of infections in the country to 4,241.
There were also 46 new coronavirus-related deaths, taking the total
to 373. Indonesia said it has imposed curbs on public transport
ahead of the annual exodus to home villages that marks the end of
the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in a bid to slow the spread of
the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, Iran announced 117
new deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing the overall official
toll to 4,474, even as it eased some restrictions that had been
imposed to slow the spread of the illness. 1,657 new infections were
confirmed in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 71,686. Iran
announced its first coronavirus cases on February 19.
(AFP, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, The Israeli
government approved a tight quarantine of several areas of
Jerusalem, including the historic Old City, in a bid to slow the
spread of the coronavirus in the city's most susceptible
neighborhoods.
(AP, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, In Japan Ssuzuki
Naomichi, the mayor of Hokaido, reimposed a state of emergency that
had been lifted on March 18.
(Econ, 4/18/20, p.26)
2020 Apr 12, Malaysia's health
ministry reported 153 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus,
raising the cumulative total to 4,683. The data included three new
deaths, raising the total number of fatalities from the outbreak to
76.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, The Netherlands'
National Institute for Health (RIVM) reported 1,188 new coronavirus
infections over the past 24 hours, taking the total to 25,587. The
number of deaths rose by 94 to 2,737.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, The Philippines
recorded 50 coronavirus deaths, its highest in a single day, taking
the toll to 297. The health ministry said 220 new infections took
the tally of cases to 4,648.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, In Portugal the
coronavirus outbreak spread further into care homes over the Easter
weekend, with 100 new cases of COVID-19 reported in a single
residence and care homes accounting for around one in eight of the
country's 504 deaths. Total cases reached 16,585.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, Puerto Rico’s Gov.
Wanda Vazquez extended an island-wide curfew until May in an effort
to stem the spread of COVID-19 on the island. There have been about
7,700 people tested so far with more than 780 confirmed cases and 42
deaths.
(ABC News, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, South Africa,
which has banned the sale of all alcohol and cigarettes under a
coronavirus lockdown that triggered a wave of lootings of liquor
shops, said it had caught police officers who were complicit in
illegal alcohol sales.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, In Spain the
coronavirus death toll reached 16,972, with confirmed cases at
166,019. A total of 619 people died over the past 24 hours rising
for the first time in three days, Some businesses prepared to reopen
under an easing of the country's strict lockdown regime.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 12, Turkey called on
private banks to do more to help customers hurt by the economic
impact of the coronavirus, saying that state-owned banks had offered
delays in repayments for loans. More than 1,000 people have been
killed by the coronavirus in Turkey.
(Reuters, 4/12/20)
2020 Apr 13, President Donald
Trump claimed the “total” authority to decide how and when to reopen
the economy after weeks of tough social distancing guidelines aimed
at fighting the new coronavirus. But governors from both parties
were quick to push back. Ten governors on the east and west coasts
banded together in two regional pacts to coordinate gradual economic
reopenings as the coronavirus crisis finally appeared to be ebbing.
(AP, 4/14/20)(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 13, A member of the
crew of the coronavirus-infected USS Theodore Roosevelt died of
complications related to the disease, just weeks after the aircraft
carrier's captain was fired for pressing his concern that the Navy
had done too little to safeguard his crew.
(AP, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, The US Dept. of
Health awarded Swiss-based Hamilton Medical a $552 million contract
to build 14,115 ventilators by July 3.
(SFC, 4/15/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 13, California to date
had 24,029 cases of coronavirus and 721 deaths. The SF Bay Area had
5,242 cases and 146 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo said the state's death toll has topped 10,000 only
about a month after recording its first fatality.
(SFC, 4/14/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 13, Police in New
Jersey discovered 17 bodies piled inside the nursing home in Andover
in a small morgue intended to hold no more than four people. The 17
were among 68 recent deaths linked to the long-term care facility,
Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center I and II. Of those who
died, 26 people had tested positive for the coronavirus.
(NY Times, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 13, Wyoming reported
its first death from the novel coronavirus, the final US state to
report a fatality from the outbreak. Wyoming has 270 reported cases.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Grocery
distributor Performance Food Group Co said it had furloughed about
3,000 employees and cut pay, while funneling 1,100 workers to help
keep its retail clients' shelves stacked as it deals with the
pressures exerted on supply chains and its business by the
coronavirus crisis. Customers included Dollar Tree and Home Depot as
well as theater chains AMC, Cinemark and Regal Cinemas, which have
temporarily closed movie houses to prevent the spread of the
COVID-19 disease caused by the virus.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Belarus Pres.
Alexander Lukashenko said he believed nobody in Belarus would be
killed by the virus. The health ministry, which encourages people to
reduce contact to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, says 36
people in Belarus have died of it.
(Reuters, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 13, In Britain
confirmed cases of the coronavirus rose by 4,342 to a national tally
of 88,621. A total of 11,329 people have died in hospitals across
the UK after testing positive for coronavirus, up by 717 in a day.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Egypt reopened its
border crossing with the Gaza Strip after nearly three weeks,
allowing hundreds of Palestinians stranded by the coronavirus
pandemic to return home.
(AP, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, French President
Emmanuel Macron extended a virtual lockdown to May 11.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 13, Iran's death toll
from the new coronavirus rose to 4,585, with 111 deaths overnight.
There were 1,617 new infected cases in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Iraq recorded
1,378 cases of COVID-19, including 78 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 13, Israeli defence
firm Elbit Systems said it had repurposed assembly lines to
manufacture thousands of automatic ventilation machines as the
country eyes local production to off-set global shortages due to the
coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Malaysian health
authorities reported 134 new coronavirus cases, raising the
cumulative total to 4,817. One new death was also reported bringing
total fatalities to 77.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Nepal has 9
confirmed cases of the coronavirus and one person has recovered. A
lockdown, imposed on March 24, banned all flights and ground
transport, and closed markets, schools and offices.
(AP, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Nigeria's
President Muhammadu Buhari announced a two-week extension of a
lockdown in three states, including the capital Abuja, to curtail
the spread of coronavirus.
(BBC, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 13, The Philippines
reported a cumulative total of 4,932 coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Portugal's
government reported the smallest daily increase in confirmed cases
of the coronavirus since March 24.
(Bloomberg, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 13, Russia’s total
number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reached 18,328, double the
level of five days earlier. The number of deaths stood at 148.
(NY Times, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 13, It was reported
that Saudi Arabia has deported nearly 3,000 Ethiopian migrants in
recent days, despite concerns that such operations could hasten the
spread of the coronavirus. Ethiopia has reported just 74 cases of
COVID-19 and three deaths.
(AFP, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Serbian police
detained the director of a state-run center for the care of the
elderly where there has been a coronavirus outbreak. He was charged
with both "an aggravated crime against public health" and spreading
diseases. 139 people were infected with the coronavirus at the
center located in the southern city of Nis.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Singapore recorded
a new high of 386 cases of the coronavirus, its largest single-day
spike to date.
(Bloomberg, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 13, South Korea
reported that at least 116 people initially cleared of the new
coronavirus had tested positive again. Officials suggested they
would soon look at easing strict recommendations aimed at preventing
new outbreaks. South Korea reported only 25 new cases overall.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Spain started to
ease tough lockdown restrictions that have kept people confined to
their homes for more than a month and put a brake on economic
activity. Spain's cumulative death toll rose to 17,489, up 517 from
a day earlier. Confirmed cases totaled 169,496, up from 166,019 the
previous day.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Sudan inked a deal
with the United Nations World Food Program to import wheat, state
media reported, more than a year after the country was rocked by
protests sparked by bread price hikes. 10 more cases of the
coronavirus were discovered in Khartoum.
(AFP, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Sweden has
registered 899 COVID-19 deaths. So far, Sweden has banned gatherings
larger than 50 people, closed high schools and universities, and
urged those over 70 or otherwise at greater risk from the virus to
self-isolate. After a sharp spike in deaths, PM Stefan Lofven
proposed an emergency law allowing the quick closure of public
venues and transportation if needed. Lofven also warned citizens to
prepare for possibly up to thousands of deaths.
(AP, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 13, Coronavirus
infections in Turkey have jumped to more than 56,900 cases and
almost 1,200 deaths.
(SFC, 4/13/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 14, President Donald
Trump backed away from his claim that he has "total" authority over
when states relax social-distancing orders and reopen their
economies.
(The Week, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 14, A US report from
the Joint Committee on Taxation, a nonpartisan congressional body,
found that a tax provision included in the congressional coronavirus
relief package by GOP senators will overwhelmingly benefit people
making over $1 million per year while costing taxpayers $90 billion
in 2020 alone.
(The Week, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 14, California to date
had 24,371 cases of coronavirus and 731 deaths. The SF Bay Area had
5,303 cases and 146 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, In Louisiana more
than 21,000 people have confirmed coronavirus infections. 884 people
have died. Gov. John Bel Edwards was concerned that too many people
in the state were disobeying his stay-home order.
(SFC, 4/15/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 14, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo took to morning TV shows to push back against President
Donald Trump's claim of “total” authority to reopen the nation's
virus-stalled economy, noting that a president is not an absolute
monarch.
(AP, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, New York City's
health department released a revised COVID-19 death count that
included 3,700 people who were not tested but were presumed to have
died from the disease. The change increased the city's total deaths
to well over 10,000, and pushed up the national COVID-19 coronavirus
death toll to more than 26,000.
(The Week, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 14, It was reported
that 42 residents of a Virginia nursing home near Richmond have died
from the COVID-19 disease pandemic in one of the worst clusters of
the new coronavirus in the US. At least 127 elderly people out of
the 163 residents of the Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare
Center in Henrico County have tested positive for the virus in
recent weeks.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Sanofi said it
will combine its experimental coronavirus vaccine with
GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s adjuvant technology, which may allow more
doses of a shot to be produced.
(Bloomberg, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Group of Seven
(G7) finance officials vowed to continue to act as needed to combat
the coronavirus pandemic and stabilize the global economy, and threw
their support behind temporary debt relief to the poorest countries.
Nearly 2 million people globally have been infected and more than
119,200 have died.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, ASEAN leaders
linked up by video to ploot a strategy to overcome the coronavirus
crisis that has kept millions of people in their homes under
lockdowns.
(SFC, 4/15/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 14, It was reported
that a team of scientists in Australia earlier this month found that
a single dose of ivermectin, an anti-parasitic treatment dates back
to the 1970s and 1980s, could essentially remove all viral RNA of
the coronavirus by 48 hours and that even at 24 hours there was a
really significant reduction in it.
(ABC News, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Austria allowed
partial returns to work. Austria has reported 384 deaths in total.
Hospitalizations have stabilized.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Bahrain said it
has converted the multi-storey car park of a military hospital into
a 130-bed intensive care unit for patients with COVID-19, the
respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, and plans to set
up four more field ICUs. The island state reported 161 new
infections, taking its total of infections to 1,522 with seven
deaths.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, In Britain a
further 778 people have died in hospitals from the coronavirus, up
from 717 a day earlier. Confirmed cases rose to 93,873 from 88,621.
(Bloomberg, 4/14/20)(AP, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, In China of 89
cases reported, all but three were detected in people arriving from
abroad. It wasn’t immediately clear if any came from Russia. No new
deaths were reported in the country. China recorded totals of 82,249
cases and 3,341 deaths.
(AP, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Denmark said it
will release its youngest citizens from a month-long coronavirus
lockdown in a move that has fueled considerable controversy.
(Bloomberg, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, French trade union
Sud said Amazon has been ordered to limit French deliveries to
essential goods only within 24 hours to allow for a deeper
assessment of coronavirus risks at its sites in the country.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Germany's public
health chief said number of people infected with coronavirus in
Germany has "stabilized." 125,098 people in the country had tested
positive for the virus. New coronavirus cases in Germany fell for a
sixth day. There were 2,138 new infections, the lowest increase this
month, bringing the total to 132,210. Germany was set to agree on an
extension of nationwide lockdown measures until at least May 3.
(AFP, 4/14/20)(Bloomberg, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 14, India extended a
lockdown for its 1.3 billion people until at least May 3. It was
reported that state-owned banks have barred employees from posting
pictures, video clips or messages on social media on issues such as
overcrowding at bank branches during the coronavirus crisis.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Indonesia reported
60 more coronavirus deaths for a total of 459.
(SFC, 4/15/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 14, Iran had 98 deaths
overnight, taking total fatalities to 4,683. Cases rose to 74,877
after 1,574 tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours. A
parliament report said the death toll in Iran from the coronavirus
pandemic is likely nearly double the officially reported figures,
due to undercounting and because not everyone with breathing
problems has been tested for the virus.
(Bloomberg, 4/14/20)(AP, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 14, It was reported
that Iraq has suspended the license of the Reuters news agency after
it published a story on April 2 saying the number of confirmed
COVID-19 cases in the country was higher than officially reported.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, In Israel, more
than 11,800 people have contracted the coronavirus with at least 117
deaths.
(SFC, 4/15/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 14, The Kenyan
parliament voted to lower the value-added tax rate to 14% from 16%,
part of President Uhuru Kenyatta's attempts to cushion citizens from
the impact of the coronavirus crisis. Kenya has reported 216
confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, In Mexico the
Coahuila state health department said nurses at a public hospital
were told by their managers not to wear protective masks at the
start of the coronavirus epidemic to avoid sowing panic among
patients. Two doctors and a hospital administrator have died and at
least 51 staff members have been infected since the new coronavirus
was detected at the IMSS General Hospital in Monclova, Coahuila
state in late March.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, In the
Netherlands, confirmed cases rose 3% to 27,419, the slowest rate
since the country reported its first case in late February. Deaths
from the virus increased 4% to 2,945, but the figure may reflect an
administrative processing backlog over the Easter weekend.
(Bloomberg, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Portugal reported
an increase in confirmed coronavirus cases and patients in
intensive-care units as it plans to extend its state of emergency
for two more weeks. There were 514 new cases in a day, taking the
total to 17,448. Total deaths rose to 567 from 535.
(Bloomberg, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Singapore recorded
334 new cases, the second day figures have exceeded 300, bringing
the tally so far to 3,252.
(Bloomberg, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Spain reported the
lowest number of new coronavirus cases in 3 1/2 weeks. There were
3,045 new infections in the past 24 hours, taking the total to
172,541. That was the smallest increase since March 20. The death
toll rose by 567 to 18,056. Some Spanish businesses, including
construction and manufacturing, were allowed to restart.
(Bloomberg, 4/14/20)(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Sweden reported
1,033 deaths from Covid-19. The development adds to controversy
surrounding the country’s decision not to impose a lockdown, and
instead leave schools, bars, cafes and restaurants open. Sweden's
government said it would increase the amount it would pay to
companies to cover salaries of employees who had been put on reduced
hours.
(Bloomberg, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Taiwan reported no
new cases for the first time in more than a month, in the latest
sign that its early prevention methods have paid off.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Uganda's President
Yoweri Museveni extended its initial 14-day lockdown by an extra
three weeks, until May 5, as part of efforts to curb the spread of
the novel coronavirus. Uganda has so far recorded a total of 54
coronavirus cases but no deaths.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 15, A top US health
official said governors of about 20 US states, spared the worst of
the coronavirus pandemic, may start reopening their economies by
President Donald Trump's May 1 target date.
(Reuters, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, California to date
had 26,836 cases of coronavirus and 864 deaths. The SF Bay Area had
5,640 cases and 169 deaths. US cases totaled over 635,000 and rose
by 30,000, the biggest increase in five days. Coronavirus cases
worldwide reached 2 million with deaths topping 128,000.
(sfist.com, 4/15/20)(Bloomberg, 4/15/20)(Reuters,
4/16/20)
2020 Apr 15, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo (D) ordered everyone in the state to wear face
coverings in public if there's any danger they won't be able to
observe social distancing to help contain the coronavirus outbreak.
(The Week, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 15, Abbott
Laboratories said will start shipping a test on April 16 that can
identify people who have recovered from a coronavirus infection even
if they never developed symptoms.
(Bloomberg, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, Bangladesh coast
guard officials brought a ship to shore late today with 396
survivors on board. At least 32 ethnic Rohingya had died on the ship
that drifted for weeks as coronavirus lockdowns in Malaysia and
Thailand prevented the vessel from finding refuge.
(The Week, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 15, Belgium reported
2,454 new coronavirus cases, taking the total to 33,573; fatalities
rose by 283. Of these total fatalities, 46% were in nursing homes.
(Reuters, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, Britain's death
toll from COVID-19 in hospitals rose 861 to 13,729, as of 1600 GMT.
It was the biggest daily rise in five days. Deaths in English
hospitals rose by 740 to 12,396.
(Reuters, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 15, China denied
hiding early warnings of the coronavirus outbreak after The
Associated Press published a report saying Beijing delayed
announcing the threat for six crucial days.
(The Week, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 15, China reported
that among 6,764 people who tested positive for the coronavirus
infection without showing symptoms, only one fifth of them have so
far developed symptoms and been re-classified as confirmed cases.
(Bloomberg, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, It was reported
that a trial in China testing Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug,
remdesivir, in those with mild symptoms of COVID-19 has been
suspended due to a lack of eligible patients.
(Reuters, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, Denmark re-opened
nurseries and primary schools following a month-long coronavirus
lockdown.
(Econ, 4/18/20, p.45)
2020 Apr 15, The European
Commission rushed out its road map for EU members to coordinate an
exit from coronavirus lockdowns. A few months time and large-scale
testing was expected.
(SFC, 4/16/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 15, Germany’s new
coronavirus cases climbed for the first time in a week. There were
2,543 new infections, taking the total to 134,753. The number of
fatalities rose by 309 to 3,804. Chancellor Angela Merkel announced
tentative steps to begin returning the country to normal.
(Bloomberg, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, Greece said it is
extending a temporary ban on all flights to and from Italy, Spain,
Turkey, the U.K. and the Netherlands by a month to May 15 to prevent
the spread of the coronavirus. Exceptions included cargo and
humanitarian flights.
(Bloomberg, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, Indonesia expanded
a partial lockdown to more areas near Jakarta, the epicenter of the
country’s coronavirus cases, as authorities stepped up efforts to
restrict movement of people ahead of the nation’s biggest festive
season next month.
(Bloomberg, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, In Iran fatalities
from the virus reached 4,777 as the country’s toll decreased for the
fourth consecutive day with 94 deaths overnight. Total infections
reached 76,389 after 1,512 tested positive over the last 24 hours.
(Bloomberg, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, In Italy deaths
from the COVID-19 epidemic rose by 578, down from 602 the day
before, while the number of new cases slowed to 2,667 from a
previous 2,972, continuing the recent downward trend.
(Reuters, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, The Jammu and
Kashmir region has so far seen about 300 confirmed cases of the
virus, and four deaths. It was reported that many Kashmir district
authorities, have issued orders that all female poplars be cut
within a week, arguing that allergies could be mistaken for
coronavirus infection and create "unnecessary panic".
(Reuters, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, Kenyan travelers
say they are being held in a government quarantine center after the
expiry of their mandatory 14 days of isolation following their
return from abroad because they cannot pay hefty bills for their
stay. Kenya has reported 225 COVID-19 infections and 10 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, Malawi's
government announced a 21-day coronavirus lockdown, which was due to
start three days later but campaigners complained that the
government did this without providing help for those in need.
(BBC, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 15, New coronavirus
cases in the Netherlands dropped for the fifth consecutive day.
Cases rose by 734, or 3%, to 28,153. Fatalities climbed 6%, a
steeper rate than the previous days because of a reporting backlog
over the Easter weekend.
(Bloomberg, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, Nigerian doctor
Emeka Chugbo (60) died following exposure to a coronavirus patient
at his private clinic.
(BBC, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 15, Palau Pres. Tommy
Remengesau said that his country of 20,000 people had not had a
single case of the coronavirus and he was going to shut it off from
the outside world to keep the virus out.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 15, Portugal reported
the biggest increase in new confirmed cases in five days, while the
number of hospitalized patients fell. There were 643 new infections,
taking the total to 18,091. Deaths rose to 599 from 567.
(Bloomberg, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, Puerto Rico has
reported 970 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and at least 51
deaths.
(SFC, 4/16/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 15, p Amnesty
International said Qatar detained dozens of migrant workers and
expelled them last month after telling them they were being taken to
be tested for the new coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, In Russia
confirmed cases rose by 3,388 in the past day. New daily cases
exceeded 3,000 for first time and have almost tripled from last
week. The death toll reached 198 with 28 people dying overnight.
(Bloomberg, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, Singapore's health
ministry confirmed 447 new coronavirus cases in the biggest daily
jump, to bring the total number of cases in the city-state to 3,699.
404 of the new cases were linked to migrant workers' dormitories.
(Reuters, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, Spain reported the
biggest increase in the number of confirmed cases in six days, while
the daily death toll declined. There were more than 5,000 new
infections in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 177,633. The
number of fatalities rose by 523 to 18,579, compared to the April 14
increase of 637.
(Bloomberg, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, It was reported
that Tajikistan has applied for the IMF's emergency financing,
becoming the second Central Asian nation to do so amid the global
crisis prompted by the novel coronavirus outbreak. Kyrgyzstan, which
has already received $121 million from the fund.
(Reuters, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 15, The UN said some
74 million people in the water-scarce Arab region are at greater
risk of catching the novel coronavirus because they lack a sink or
soap at home.
(AFP, 4/15/20)
2020 Apr 16, President Donald
Trump issued nonbinding guidelines that recommend a patchwork
reopening of the country, backing down from an earlier assertion
that he would decide how and when to end widespread lockdowns during
the coronavirus pandemic.
(NY Times, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 16, US coronavirus
deaths rose above 31,000, as President Donald Trump prepared to
announce guidelines for reopening the economy.
(Reuters, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, The US Navy said
roughly 60 percent of the over 600 sailors who tested positive so
far have not shown symptoms of COVID-19, the potentially lethal
respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The service did not
speculate about how many might later develop symptoms or remain
asymptomatic.
(Reuters, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, California to date
had 27,634 cases of coronavirus and 951 deaths. The SF Bay Area had
5,799 cases and 185 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, In New Jersey
deaths due to the coronavirus have more than doubled in a week, to
more than 3,500.
(AP, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo noted the lack of major improvement as he announced
another 606 deaths in the state due to the coronavirus and said
current social isolation rules will stay in place through at least
May 15.
(AP, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, Brazil's President
Jair Bolsonaro fired Health Minister Henrique Mandetta, who had
garnered support for his handling of the pandemic that included
promotion of broad isolation measures enacted by state governors.
Nelson Teich, an oncologist, was named as the new health minister.
Brazil has 29,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,760 deaths.
(AP, 4/17/20)(SFC, 4/17/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 16, Britain's hospital
death toll due to the coronavirus rose to 14,576. The government
extended a nationwide lockdown for three more weeks.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)(SFC, 4/17/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 16, Ecuador reported
about 8,225 positive cases, about 403 people dead and another 632
probable deaths from coronavirus in the country. The COVID-19
outbreak has overwhelmed the health system, in some cases leaving
authorities unable to collect the bodies of the deceased and forcing
the government to temporarily store corpses in refrigerated shipping
containers.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 16, France recorded
the most new cases in a single day. President Emmanuel Macron has
extended a lockdown to May 11 and said the country was under
prepared for the outbreak.
(Bloomberg, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 16, Iran announced 92
new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the third straight day that
official fatalities remained in double digits in the Middle East's
worst-hit country. The latest deaths brought the official total to
4,869. 1,606 new infections had been confirmed in the past 24 hours,
taking the total to 77,995.
(AFP, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, Israel's military
said it has begun converting common home-use respirators into
ventilators capable of providing potentially life-saving breathing
support for COVID-19 patients. Israel has reported nearly 12,600
cases of the coronavirus and 140 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, Japan's PM Shinzo
Abe expanded a state of emergency to include the entire country and
said the government was considering cash payouts for all.
(Reuters, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, In Kenya a
Catholic priest was charged in court with spreading the novel
coronavirus, the second person to face such charges. Authorities
said he failed to adhere to coronavirus quarantine rules following a
visit to Italy. Kenya has 234 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and
11 deaths.
(AP, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, Mexico's deputy
health minister, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, said the country might have as
many as 55,951 people infected, twice the estimated number reported
last week.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 16, Nepal's top court
ordered the government to bring back vulnerable migrant workers
stranded abroad in the coronavirus crisis after the country barred
its own citizens from returning.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 16, A study of Dutch
blood donors found that around 3% have developed antibodies against
the coronavirus, an indication of what percentage of the population
may have already had the disease.
(Reuters, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, Nigeria's the
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said the country's security
forces have killed 18 people in two weeks while enforcing lockdowns
imposed to halt the spread of the new coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, Oman locked down a
textile market in a town popular with tourists as the country
reported more than 100 new infections to take its count above 1,000.
(Reuters, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, President Vladimir
Putin said Russia would postpone its May 9 celebrations including a
huge military parade across Red Square to mark 75 years since the
Soviet victory in World War Two because of the deepening coronavirus
crisis.
(Reuters, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, Spain's national
death toll exceeded 19,000, but figures from the region of Catalonia
indicated the real total could be several thousand higher.
(Reuters, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, The Swiss death
toll from the novel coronavirus reached 1,017 people, rising from
973 a day earlier. Switzerland said it will fine shoppers who ignore
coronavirus-related border restrictions in their hunt for good deals
in neighboring countries.
(Reuters, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 16, The UN warned that
hundreds of thousands of children could die this year due to the
global economic downturn sparked by the coronavirus pandemic and
tens of millions more could fall into extreme poverty as a result of
the crisis.
(Reuters, 4/16/20)
2020 Apr 17, It was reported
that President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and longtime fixer
Michael Cohen will be released from federal prison to serve the
remainder of his sentence in home confinement because of the
coronavirus pandemic. 473 federal inmates and 279 Bureau of Prisons
staff members had tested positive for the coronavirus at facilities
across the US Eighteen inmates have died since late March.
(AP, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, US coronavirus
deaths topped 35,400, rising by more than 2,000 for the fourth day
in a row. President Donald Trump said that individual states were
responsible for developing testing capabilities.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 17, California to date
had 28,903 cases of coronavirus and 1,021 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 6,006 cases and 196 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, San Francisco's
Mayor London Breed announced rules requiring face masks for people
in public. Marin, Alameda, San Mateo and Contra Costa counties
released similar mandates as part of SF Bay Area regional effort to
stem the coronavirus pandemic.
(SFC, 4/18/20, p.A1)
2020 Apr 17, In southern
California Kent Whitney (38) agreed to plead guilty to running a
church-based investment scheme that bilked people out of $33
million. Whitney, a convicted con and co-founder of the Church for
the Healthy Self, targeted the vietnamese community of Orange
County.
(SSFC, 4/19/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 17, In Connecticut
nursing home residents accounted for 375 of the state's 971 virus
deaths.
(AP, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, Tyson Foods said
four of its employees have died in southwest Georgia after becoming
infected with the coronavirus.
(SFC, 4/18/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 17, A New York survey
reported that 19 of the state's nursing homes have reported 20 or
more deaths in the past few weeks. Four homes were listed as having
at least 40 deaths. Lack of coronavirus testing meant that COVID-19
was only a possible factor.
(SFC, 4/18/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 17, Reported cases of
the coronavirus crossed 2.18 million globally and 147,265 people
have died.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, Oxford scientists
said a million doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed
by British scientists are already being manufactured and will be
available by September, even before trials prove whether the shot is
effective. The experimental product, called "ChAdOx1 nCoV-19", is a
type known as a recombinant viral vector vaccine and is one of at
least 70 potential COVID-19 candidate shots under development by
biotech and research teams around the world.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, A new report said
that cites modeling from Imperial College London said Africa could
see 300,000 deaths from the coronavirus this year even under the
best-case scenario.
(AP, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, China said it will
step up macroeconomic policies to offset the impact of the
coronavirus pandemic as its economy faces unprecedented challenges.
China also acknowledged that the coronavirus death toll for
epicenter of Wuhan was 50% higher than previously reported.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)(AP, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, It was reported
that Bogota, Colombia, has joined Panama this week in instituting a
gender-based virus protection measure designed to limit the number
of people in the streets. Men can leave the house for essentials on
odd-numbered days and women on even-numbered days. Exceptions were
made for people in critical industries.
(SFC, 4/17/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 17, The French navy
said it is investigating how the coronavirus infected more than
1,000 sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, amid
growing pressure on government leaders to explain how it could have
happened.
(AP, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, Germany’s
coronavirus cases increased at a faster rate for a second day. The
number of fatalities rose by 248, the smallest gain in three days,
to more than 4,000.
(Bloomberg, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, Guatemalan
President Alejandro Giammattei said a large number of migrants on a
deportation flight to Guatemala from the United States this week
were infected with the coronavirus, adding that US authorities had
confirmed a dozen cases.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 17, Indonesia reported
407 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number to 5,923.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, Iran said 89 more
people have died from the novel coronavirus. It was the sixth day
that the official fatality rate has dropped. The latest deaths
brought the overall toll to 4,958. 1,499 new infections had been
confirmed in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 79,494.
(AFP, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, Japanese PM Shinzo
Abe urged the international community to rally around the World
Health Organization and said the body’s problems should be addressed
once the coronavirus outbreak is contained.
(Bloomberg, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, Malawi's High
Court took the unprecedented step of blocking the government's plans
to impose a coronavirus lockdown until more had been done to help
those worst affected. It ordered the lockdown be delayed for seven
days, pending a judicial review. Following a judicial review, a High
Court judge extended the ban for a further five days.
(BBC, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 17, The Maldives
locked down its capital due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, Myanmar announced
that it was releasing of 25,000 prisoners under a presidential
amnesty marking the New year Thingyan holiday. Myanmar has reported
85 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and four deaths.
(SFC, 4/18/20, p.A2)
2020 Apr 17, In the Netherlands
confirmed coronavirus infections rose by 1,235 to 30,449. The death
toll among people known to have been infected increased by 144 to
3,459.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, Nigerian President
Muhammadu Buhari’s chief of staff, Abba Kyari, died after
contracting the coronavirus in Germany.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 17, Radio Free Asia
reported that North Korean authorities told citizens in public
lectures that there were confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the
country as early as the end of March.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 17, Worshippers around
Pakistan defied a ban on gatherings, due to the coronavirus
pandemic, by attending prayers at mosques.
(SFC, 4/18/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 17, Philippine Pres.
Rodrigo Duterte threatened martial law style enforcement of a
coronavirus lockdown in the northern region of the country. The
country has reported 5,878 coronavirus infections and 387 deaths.
(SFC, 4/18/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 17, Russia's Pres.
Vladimir Putin prodded top officials to move faster to prepare for a
surge in coronavirus cases. The virus has penetrated more deeply
into Moscow's population than official data show. Early results from
the first commercial Russian tests suggest that a much higher
proportion of people in Moscow are infected, and that the disease
has spread among residents without symptoms. Moscow has recorded
18,105, equivalent to just over 0.1% of its population. Russia's
space corporation Roscosmos said it had 42 coronavirus cases and
reported two deaths. Russia has recorded 32,008 coronavirus cases
and 273 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)(AP, 4/17/20)(SFC, 4/18/20,
p.A4)
2020 Apr 17, Spain's overnight
death toll from coronavirus was 585, a rise from 551 the previous
night as the country started to loosen the terms of its lockdown.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, Thai PM Prayuth
Chan-ocha called on the country's 20 richest people to help in
addressing the damaging economic fall-out from the coronavirus
epidemic. Thailand has reported 2,700 COVID-19 infections and 47
deaths, and the economic blow from losses of trade and tourism and
restrictions on movement has been heavy.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, Turkey's confirmed
cases of the COVID-19 disease increased by 4,353 in the past 24
hours, and 126 more people have died, taking the death toll to
1,769. The total number of cases in the country stood at 78,546.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 17, Venezuela said it
has just 204 reported cases of the coronavirus and 9 deaths in a
country of 29 million people.
(Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020 Apr 18, US President
Donald Trump said that China should face consequences if it was
"knowingly responsible" for the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, The US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 690,714 cases of new
coronavirus, an increase of 29,002 cases from its previous count,
and said that the number of deaths had risen by 2,394 to 35,443.
Over 2.3 million people worldwide have tested positive for the
coronavirus. More than 160,000 people had died.
(Reuters, 4/19/20)(Yahoo News, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 18, California to date
had 29,839 cases of coronavirus and 1,072 deaths. California
reported 87 new deaths, one of the highest daily counts so far. The
SF Bay Area had 6,227 cases and 197 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/18/20)(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, In California Dr.
Bill Kirby (72), the former mayor of Auburn, died in the crash near
the Auburn Municipal Airport. Kirby had gained notoriety last week
following social media posts criticizing Trump’s response to the
coronavirus pandemic and comparing the president’s supporters to KKK
members.
(AP, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, In New Hampshire a
few hundred demonstrators outside the Statehouse called for an end
to social restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus. New
Hampshire has reported nearly 1,300 cases and more than three dozen
deaths.
(SSFC, 4/19/20, p.A7)
2020 Apr 18, New York state
began mandating the wearing of masks or face coverings in public to
contain the pathogen's spread. 507 people died today raising the
death toll to 13,362.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)(AP, 4/19/20)(SFC, 4/20/20,
p.A5)
2020 Apr 18, New Jersey
Governor Phil Murphy said new coronavirus cases increased by less
than 10% for a 12th straight day -- 3,026 for a total of 81,420. The
231 additional fatalities followed four straight days of more than
300 deaths. Deaths have passed 4,000.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Pennsylvania
reported 80 new coronavirus deaths, the most on a single day, taking
statewide fatalities to 836. The health department had 1,628 new
cases, bringing the state’s total to 31,069.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Protesters in the
US staged several demonstrations in several cities including Austin,
Texas, to call for an end to social restrictions imposed to contain
the coronavirus. Gov. Greg Abbott had already announced that
restrictions will be easing next week.
(SSFC, 4/19/20, p.A7)
2020 Apr 18, Afghan government
sources said at least 20 officials working at President Ashraf
Ghani's palace have tested positive for coronavirus, prompting the
70-year-old leader to limit most of his contact with staff to
digital communication. Afghanistan has reported 933 coronavirus
cases, including 30 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, The Africa Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention said Africa now has more than
1,000 deaths from COVID-19 as the overall number of cases surpassed
20,000.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Algeria said it
will extend a lockdown by 10 days until April 29 as it tries to
limit the spread of the coronavirus amid increases in deaths and
confirmed cases. Algeria has so far reported 2,418 infections and
364 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, In Bangladesh
hundreds of workers poured onto the streets of the port city of
Chittagong, flouting social distancing rules to demand work and
wages during the coronavirus shutdown. The country reported 306 new
cases of coronavirus and nine more deaths, taking the total to 2,144
cases and 84 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Bhutan has
reported five coronavirus cases and no deaths.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Brazil reported
2,917 new cases and 211 deaths in 24 hours. Total deaths rose to
2,352 from 2,141.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Britain's daily
deaths rose by 888 to 15,464. The number of cases reached more than
114,000. It was reported that Britain has paid $20 million for new
coronavirus antibody test kits from two Chinese companies, AllTest
Biotech and Wondfo Biotech. The testing kits in fact proven
unsuccessful.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)(NY Times, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, PM Justin Trudeau
said Canada and the United States have agreed to extend border
restrictions for another 30 days to help control the spread of
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, China ordered that
anyone in Wuhan working in certain service-related jobs must take a
coronavirus test if they want to leave the city. China's National
Health Commission reported 16 new confirmed coronavirus, the lowest
number since March 17 and down from 27 a day earlier. No new deaths
were reported. The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in
the country reached 82,735, while the total death toll from the
virus stood at 4,632.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)(Reuters, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 18, Croatia said it is
extending its coronavirus lockdown for another 15 days. Croatia has
recorded 1,832 cases of COVID-19 and 39 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Deaths in France
rose by 642 to 19,323 fatalities, the smallest increase in five
days. The number of coronavirus infections rose by 5,715 to 173,956.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Germany reported
3,699 new coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours, increasing
at a quicker rate for a third day and taking the total to 141,397.
The number of fatalities rose by 300 to 4,352.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, A German-operated
cruise ship left Western Australia after three weeks. Three people
died on board of the virus during that time. About 79 crew and
passengers aboard the Artania had tested positive.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Hong Kong police
arrested at least 14 veteran pro-democracy lawmakers, activists and
media tycoon Jimmy Lai on charges of joining unlawful protests last
year calling for reforms.
(AP, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, India reported 991
new cases and 42 new deaths from the virus, taking the total number
of reported cases to 14,378 and deaths to 480.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Indonesia reported
325 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections to
6,248. The Health ministry also reported 15 new deaths, taking the
total to 535.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Fatalities in Iran
rose to 5,031. The daily death toll from the virus fell to the
lowest in over a month with 73 deaths in the past 24 hours. Total
known cases reached 80,868 with 1,374 new infections. Iran allowed
some businesses in Tehran and nearby towns to re-open.
(AFP, 4/18/20)(AP, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Italy reported the
fewest deaths in six days as new cases remained stable. The country
registered 482 fatalities down from 525 a day earlier, the lowest
since April 12. Total deaths were 23,227. There were 3,491 new cases
with the total now at 175,925.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, In Japan 181 new
cases were found in Tokyo. Cases in Japan exceeded 10,000. It was
reported that hospitals in Japan are increasingly turning away sick
people as the country struggles with surging coronavirus infections
and its emergency medical system collapses.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)(AP, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Malaysia reported
54 new coronavirus cases, the lowest daily increase since the
government imposed curbs on movement and business on March 18,
taking the cumulative total to 5,305. The health ministry also
reported 2 new deaths, bringing total fatalities to 88.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, The Maldives has
reported 34 coronavirus cases and no deaths.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Nepal has reported
30 coronavirus cases and no deaths.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, The Netherlands
reported 129 new hospital admissions, up just 1%, marking a record
low since the daily statistic has been reported since late March.
Total confirmed cases grew 4% to 31,589, in line with recent trends.
Fatalities rose to 3,601, also in line.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Pakistan lifted
restrictions on congregational prayers at mosques, but put in place
a host of safety conditions to avert the further spread of the
coronavirus in the country. Pakistan has registered 7,638 cases of
the virus and 143 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Portugal reported
a bigger number of new confirmed coronavirus cases, while the number
of hospitalized patients fell. There were 663 new cases in a day,
taking the total to 19,685.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, In Russia new
infections jumped by 4,785 to 36,793. Forty people died in the past
day, including 21 in Moscow, bringing the number of fatalities to
313.
(AP, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Singapore's health
ministry confirmed 942 more coronavirus infections.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, South Africa
reported 251 new coronavirus infections, its biggest daily increase,
bringing the total to 3,034.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, New cases in Spain
rose by 4,499 in the last 24 hours, pushing the total to 191,726.
Authorities reported a total of 20,043 deaths from the illness since
the outbreak started, with 565 people dying in the last 24 hours.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Sri Lanka has
reported 248 coronavirus cases, including seven deaths.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Taiwan has only
reported 398 coronavirus cases and six deaths. Taiwan said it will
put 700 navy sailors into quarantine after three cases of the new
coronavirus were confirmed among sailors who had been on a goodwill
mission to the Pacific island state of Palau.
(Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 18, Turkey reported
another 121 coronavirus deaths, raising the total to 1,890.
(Bloomberg, 4/18/20)
2020 Apr 19, Protesters in the
US held a second day of weekend rallies to call for reopening the
economy despite the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
(The Week, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 19, California to date
had 30,831 cases of coronavirus and 1,148 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 6,307 cases and 198 deaths. The US death toll from the COVID-19
coronavirus reached another grim milestone, rising above 40,000.
(sfist.com, 4/19/20)(The Week, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 19, Thousands of
Belarusians converged on churches across the country on Sunday to
celebrate Easter, ignoring calls from health authorities and church
leaders to stay at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, Belgium reported
230 deaths from coronavirus during the past 24 hours, bringing the
total to 5,683. Fatalities fell for a fourth day in a row Total
confirmed cases as reported a day earlier rose by 1,313 to 38,496.
(Bloomberg, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, In Britain a
further 596 deaths linked to the coronavirus were recorded in
hospitals, the lowest daily number since April 6. Total fatalities
climbed to 16,060.
(Bloomberg, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, Chile reported
over 10,000 cases of coronavirus, the third-highest tally in Latin
America. Chile has reported a total of 133 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, China reported 16
new coronavirus cases but no deaths. Authorities remained on guard
against a major resurgence and monitored the spread of cases in
Heilongjiang province.
(Reuters, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, In Germany there
were 2,327 new coronavirus infections in the 24 hours, taking the
total to 143,724. fatalities rose by 186, the fewest in five days,
to 4,538.
(Bloomberg, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, Guatemala said a
total of 50 migrants deported by the United States to the country
have tested positive for coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 19, India recorded its
largest daily spike in coronavirus cases, adding 1,400 new
infections to its tally of more than 16,000 amid a nationwide
lockdown that’s about to enter its fourth week. Confirmed infections
were up 78% to 16,365, from 9,200 on April 12.
(Bloomberg, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, Indonesia reported
327 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections to
6,575. The health ministry reported 47 new deaths, taking the total
to 582.
(Reuters, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, Iran added a
further 87 deaths and 1,343 new cases to its virus tally in the past
24 hours, raising total fatalities to 5,118 from over 82,000 known
cases. Iran said will extend leave for prisoners for one more month,
(Bloomberg, 4/19/20)(AFP, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, Malaysian media
reported that Sabah, the largest palm oil producing state, has
temporarily halted palm operations in one area after 11 coronavirus
cases were found there. Malaysia reported a total of 5,305 positive
coronavirus cases, 88 of whom have died.
(Reuters, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, Mexico registered
a total of 8,261 confirmed coronavirus cases and 686 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 19, The Netherlands
reported 83 coronavirus deaths. 110 patients were admitted to
hospitals, the smallest increase since the daily reporting of the
statistic started at the end of last month. Overall confirmed cases
grew by 3% to 32,655.
(Bloomberg, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, Peru reported over
15,000 cases of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 19, Russia identified
6,060 new infections in 24 hours, setting another daily record with
an increase of 27%. The total number of cases rose to 42,853, with
48 new deaths bringing the number of fatalities to 361. President
Vladimir Putin said: “The situation is completely under control”.
(Bloomberg, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, Singapore's health
ministry confirmed 596 new coronavirus infections, taking the total
number of cases in the city-state to 6,588. The vast majority of the
new cases were migrant workers living in dormitories.
(Reuters, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, South Korea’s
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it confirmed eight
new coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period, the lowest since Feb. 20.
This raised the total to 10,661 cases and 234 deaths.
(Bloomberg, 4/19/20)(SFC, 4/20/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 19, Spain reported the
smallest increase in the number of deaths in four weeks, while new
infections slowed compared with previous days. Coronavirus deaths
rose by 410 to 20,453, the smallest one-day increase since March 22.
In total 200,210 people have been infected in Spain, with 4,218 new
cases detected in the past 24 hours.
(Bloomberg, 4/19/20)(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 19, Taiwan reported 22
new coronavirus cases, almost all of them sailors who had been on a
friendly visit of Taiwanese navy ships to the Pacific island state
of Palau last month.
(Reuters, 4/19/20)
2020 Apr 19, Turkey's confirmed
coronavirus cases have risen to 86,306.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, California to date
had 33,404 cases of coronavirus and 1,203 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 6,560 cases and 210 deaths. The US death toll from the COVID-19
coronavirus rose to 40,724. Worldwide the outbreak has killed more
than 170,000 people and infected 2.5 million.
(sfist.com, 4/20/20)(The Week, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 20, The governors of
Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee said they would start relaxing
restrictions intended to curb the spread of the virus.
(NY Times, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 20, Massachusetts
reported 103 new coronavirus deaths, bringing the state's death toll
to more than 1,800. More than 1,500 new cases were reported, for a
total of more than 39,500 across the state.
(AP, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, Alexion
Pharmaceuticals Inc said it would start a late-stage study of its
rare blood-disorder drug, Ultomiris, in COVID-19 patients
hospitalized with severe pneumonia or acute respiratory distress
syndrome.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, IDEXX Laboratories
Inc said it would provide veterinarians a COVID-19 test for pets
amid evidence that infected humans could transmit the virus to their
pets.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, More than 150
Australian economists warned the government against easing social
distancing rules.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, Schools reopened
in Belarus. The number of people infected with the coronavirus was
now 6,264 and included 51 deaths.
(SFC, 4/21/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 20, Police in Chile
broke up a fresh round of anti-government protests in one of
Santiago´s central squares late today, arresting 14 and citing rules
against congregations intended to ward off the spread of
coronavirus. Health authorities have banned gatherings of more than
50 people nationwide to thwart the spread of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 20, In the Czech
Republic farmers markets, craft shops, car dealerships and dog
grooming salons opened. Strict hygiene rules remained in force.
Around 5,300 coronavirus cases have been reported with 188 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, Students in
Germany went back to class to take their final exams as schools that
had been shut last month to stem the spread of the coronavirus
epidemic began to reopen.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, A Haitian health
ministry source said three migrants the United States deported two
weeks ago to Haiti, on a flight that raised objections from human
rights advocates, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus
while in quarantine in the Caribbean country. Haiti now has 47
confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, Hong Kong reported
no new coronavirus infections for the first time in seven weeks.
(SFC, 4/21/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 20, India recorded
1,553 cases of the coronavirus, its biggest single-day spike. At
least 543 people have died. The government has eased one of the
world’s strictest lockdowns to allow some manufacturing and
agricultural activity to resume. India's government said farms and
factories could resume activity in the hinterland, which has been
less hard-hit by COVID-19.
(AP, 4/20/20)(Reuters, 4/21/20)(SFC, 4/21/20,
p.A4)
2020 Apr 20, Iran's foreign
minister used a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad to call
on the US to lift sanctions imposed on both countries. The death
toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Iran reached 5,209 with 91
deaths in the past twenty four hours. The total number of diagnosed
cases reached 83,505 as shopping malls and bazaars reopened despite
warnings by some health officials that a new wave of coronavirus
infections could ripple through the country.
(AP, 4/20/20)(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, The Kurdish Red
Crescent said Kurds in Syria have set up a specialized hospital for
coronavirus cases after the first COVID-19 death was reported in the
northeastern region.
(AFP, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, Luxembourg began
easing coronavirus restrictions along with an order that the public
cover their mouths when entering confined spaces such as public
transport or shops.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, Mexico's
Tamaulipas state said 16 migrants from several countries have tested
positive for coronavirus in the northern border state. Migrants now
make up about 10% of the state's 193 coronavirus cases.
(AP, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, A Myanmar
government health worker was injured and his driver killed when
their UN-marked vehicle was ambushed as they carried COVID-19 test
samples in conflict-ridden Rakhine state.
(AFP, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 20, Panama registered
191 new cases and 10 deaths, bringing total cases to 4,658 and the
death toll to 136.
(Reuters, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 20, In Portugal a
municipal official said the coronavirus has swept through a hostel
in Lisbon, infecting 138 of the 175 asylum seekers housed there.
Portugal has reported 20,863 coronavirus cases, with 735 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, In Russia the head
of Rospotrebnadzor, a health and consumer protection agency at the
forefront of Russia’s fight against the pandemic, said that medical
institutions accounted for more than half of 74 infection “hot
spots” so far identified across the country. It was reported that
remote northern Russian region of Komi has become Russia’s third
most infected area after Moscow and St. Petersburg. Russia has so
far reported 47,121 cases of the coronavirus with a death toll of
405.
(AP, 4/20/20)(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, Hundreds of people
protested against regional authorities in southern Russia over what
they said were restrictive and unnecessary coronavirus measures. The
Republic of North Ossetia, where the protest took place, has
officially registered only 145 cases and two deaths.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, The Serbian
government said it would allow some businesses and markets to reopen
in a cautious easing of a nationwide lockdown following signs of a
fall in the rate of virus infections. Serbia has so far reported
6,630 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 125 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, Swiss drugmaker
said Novartis it has won the go-ahead from the US Food and Drug
Administration to conduct a randomized trial of malaria drug
hydroxychloroquine against COVID-19 disease.
(Reuters, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, Syria has reported
only 39 cases of the coronavirus and two deaths.
(AP, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 20, UNICEF, the UN
children’s agency, appealed for an additional $92.4 million to help
fight the coronavirus pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa,
a conflict-battered region with the highest number of children in
need anywhere.
(AP, 4/20/20)
2020 Apr 21, US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield warned that
a second coronavirus wave in winter could be "even more difficult
than the one we just went through".
(The Week, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 21, The US Congress
approved the spending of $25bn on testing for COVID-19.
(Econ, 4/25/20, p.72)
2020 Apr 21, California to date
had 35,450 cases of coronavirus and 1,280 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 6,715 cases and 211 deaths. The US coronavirus cases rose to
788,920.
(sfist.com, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 21, Missouri's top
state prosecutor announced a lawsuit, which alleges that Chinese
officials are to blame for the pandemic that has sickened around 2.5
million worldwide, thrown tens of millions out of work and
devastated local economies, including in China. US law generally
prohibits such suits. The number of Missouri deaths from the
coronavirus rose by 16 to 215.
(AP, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 21, It was reported
that spike in prison coronavirus infections sent Ohio's broader
tally of cases to nearly 14,000, including more than 550 deaths and
over 2,600 hospitalizations.
(AP, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 21, Milwaukee's top
public health officials said that at least seven people appear to
have been infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus during activities
associated with Wisconsin's April 7 election.
(The Week, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 21, Hundreds of Amazon
and Target workers started a nationwide wave of sickouts to call
attention to what they described as inadequate efforts to protect
employees from the coronavirus pandemic.
(The Week, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 21, Chipotle Mexican
Grill agreed to pay a record $25 million to resolve criminal charges
that it served tainted food that sickened more than 1,100 people in
the US from 2015 to 2018.
(SFC, 4/22/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 21, Police in Bosnia
began moving hundreds of migrants and refugees off the streets of
the northwestern city of Bihac and transferring them into a nearby
emergency tent camp set up amid the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 21, Britain's health
ministry data a total of 17,337 people who tested positive for
coronavirus have died in hospitals in Britain, an increase of 828 on
the figure published 24 hours earlier. The number of confirmed cases
of the new coronavirus has risen to 129,044.
(Reuters, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 21, France expanded
its list of drugs that face export restrictions through the
coronavirus crisis despite repeated calls from the European Union to
lift curbs that could cause shortages in other countries. The
European Commission sent a letter on April 7 to the French
government urging it to lift export restrictions on dozens of vital
medicines to treat coronavirus patients. Manufacturers are exempted
from the export curbs.
(Reuters, 4/23/20)
2020 Apr 21, In Greece dozens
of migrants in a hostel tested positive for the novel coronavirus,
hours after the government said it would open some public services
on April 27 as part of a gradual easing of the nation's coronavirus
lockdown. Greece has registered 2,245 infections since its first
case surfaced in late February. The death toll is 116.
(Reuters, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 21, Indian authorities
said they have arrested 29 people who participated in an Islamic
missionary meeting last month in New Delhi that resulted in a large
cluster of coronavirus cases. India has 18,601 confirmed cases of
the virus. More than 4,200 cases were linked to the meeting.
(SFC, 4/22/20, p.A6)
2020 Apr 21, Iran announced 88
new deaths from the novel coronavirus as the country said it had
released more than 1,000 foreign prisoners over the outbreak. The
latest fatalities brought the country's total to 5,297. An
additional 1,297 cases of COVID-19 infection detected in the past 24
hours brought the overall total to 84,802.
(AP, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 21, Kenya has
confirmed almost 300 cases of COVID-19. It was reported that village
chiefs in Kenya will make house-to-house checks after reports some
rural communities were taking advantage of school closures due to
the coronavirus to perform female genital mutilation (FGM) on girls.
(Reuters, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 21, In Kenya as many
as 50 people escaped a quarantine area as a meal was being served at
the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC). Kenya has recorded 296
cases of Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus,
including 14 deaths.
(BBC, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 21, Mexico registered
a jump of more than 700 confirmed cases, to reach a total of 9,501.
(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 21, Montenegrin health
authorities said they would shorten a curfew and allow shops to work
longer hours. The country has reported 313 infections among a
population of 630,000. Five people have died and 90 recovered so
far.
(Reuters, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 21, Moroccan prison
authorities said 68 people, mostly staff, have come down with the
coronavirus at a prison in the southern city of Ouarzazate. Morocco
has confirmed 3,186 cases of the COVID-19 lung disease including 144
deaths.
(AP, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 21, Nigeria's Daily
Trust newspaper reported the recent deaths of around 150 people in
the northern commercial city of Kano, prompting investigations to
determine if they were related to the coronavirus pandemic. The
state government acknowledged the deaths but said they were caused
by complications from hypertension, diabetes, meningitis and acute
malaria and not the COVID-19 pandemic. Nigeria has 1,182 coronavirus
cases and a national death toll of 35.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 21, Singapore has
reported 9,125 coronavirus cases, a tenfold increase in just three
weeks, though it has reported just 11 fatalities.
(Bloomberg, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 21, Spain unveiled a
series of measures aimed at helping prostitutes and victims of
trafficking and sexual exploitation survive the country's
coronavirus lockdown. Under the new measures, victims will be able
to access improved support services.
(Reuters, 4/21/20)
2020 Apr 21, Sri Lanka ordered
all liquor stores to close indefinitely as part of its measures
aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus. Liquor stores and
bars were opened April 20 in some parts of the country, after the
government partially lifted a monthlong curfew during which all
liquor shops remained close.
(https://tinyurl.com/ybz5wqp8)(SFC, 4/22/20,
p.A6)
2020 Apr 22, It was reported
that some 1,900 VA health care workers have become sick with the
coronavirus and that 20 have died.
(AP, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, Dr. Rick Bright
said he was abruptly dismissed this week from his federal post after
pressing for rigorous testing of treatments embraced by Pres. Donald
Trump. Bright led the federal agency involved in developing a
coronavirus vaccine.
(SFC, 4/23/20, p.A3)
2020 Apr 22, US Veterans
Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie expressed support for Pres. Trump's
unverified claims about a malaria drug that can have serious side
effects and may not work. Hydroxychloroquine has not been proven as
a treatment for COVID-19.
(AP, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 22, California to date
had 37,602 cases of coronavirus and 1,432 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 6,831 cases and 238 deaths. The US coronavirus cases rose to
839,675 with 46,485 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, Mississippi’s
attorney general announced that she is preparing to file a lawsuit
against the Chinese regime to hold it accountable for “malicious and
dangerous acts” that she claims caused the CCP virus pandemic, which
resulted in widespread human and economic devastation in the United
States and internationally.
(The Epoch Times, 4/23/20)
2020 Apr 22, Tyson Foods Inc
said it plans to indefinitely suspend operations at its at Waterloo,
Iowa plant, its largest pork plant in the US, to contain the rapid
spread of the coronavirus, in the latest disruption to the country's
food supply chain.
(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, It was reported
that a review of mortality data in 11 countries showed that at least
25,000 more people have died during the coronavirus pandemic over
the last month than the official COVID-19 death counts report.
Reported cases of the coronavirus have crossed 2.57 million globally
and 178,574 people have died.
(NY Times, 4/22/20)(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, Bosnia's top court
ruled that a measure curtailing freedom of movement for people older
than 65 and younger than 18 to try and halt the spread of the
coronavirus is not in line with the constitution.
(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, In Britain the
number of people who have died in hospitals after testing positive
for the coronavirus rose by 616 to 18,738 in the last 24 hours. The
number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose to 133,495.
(Reuters, 4/23/20)
2020 Apr 22, Mainland China
reported 10 new cases as of the end of today, bringing the total to
82,798. The death toll was unchanged at 4,632.
(Reuters, 4/23/20)
2020 Apr 22, In Germany there
were 1,388 new cases in the 24 hours through this morning, bringing
the total to 148,453. Fatalities rose by 224, the most in four days,
to 5,086.
(Bloomberg, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, BioNTech SE and
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) announced that the German regulatory authority,
the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, has approved the Phase 1/2 clinical trial
for BioNTech’s BNT162 vaccine program to prevent COVID-19 infection.
(https://tinyurl.com/yclugzvt)(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, India ordered a
pause in testing for antibodies to the coronavirus because of
concern over the accuracy. India has detected 19,983 cases of the
coronavirus. There have been 640 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, Iran reported 93
more deaths from the coronavirus, with the death toll in the country
now reaching 5,574, out of more than 88,000 confirmed cases.
(AP, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 22, It was reported
that more than 30 crew members on an Italian cruise ship docked in
Japan's Nagasaki prefecture have tested positive for the
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, Lithuania's
government said shops, open-air restaurants and many other services
will be allowed to reopen in an easing of restrictions imposed last
month to limit spread of the novel coronavirus. Lithuania has
reported 1,370 coronavirus cases and 38 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, In the Netherlands
the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 708 to 34,842 with
138 new deaths. The country's death toll now stands at 4,054.
(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, The UN agency for
Palestinian refugees said a Palestinian woman from Syria has become
the first refugee living in a camp in Lebanon to test positive for
the coronavirus. Lebanon has recorded 22 deaths from among 682
confirmed cases of COVID-19.
(AP, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, In Poland
confirmed coronavirus infections surpassed 10,000.
(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, South Korean
health authorities said patients who tested positive for novel
coronavirus after recovering from their first bout of the illness
appeared to be far less infectious the second time round.
(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, Sudan has reported
140 coronavirus cases, including 13 deaths. Almost all of the cases
have been in Khartoum, now under a three-week lockdown.
(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 22, Vietnam arrested
seven people, including three officials from the Hanoi Center for
Disease Control and Prevention for "wrongdoings" linked to
procurement during the coronavirus crisis.
(Reuters, 4/22/20)
2020 Apr 23, Pres. Donald Trump
noted that researchers were looking at the effects of disinfectants
on the virus and wondered aloud if they could be injected into
people, saying the virus “does a tremendous number on the lungs, so
it would be interesting to check that.”
(AP, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 23, The US House of
Representatives overwhelmingly approved a $484 billion coronavirus
relief bill, funding small businesses and hospitals and pushing the
total spending response to the crisis to an unprecedented near $3
trillion.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 23, California to date
had 39,009 cases of coronavirus and 1,512 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 7,020 cases and 243 deaths. The US coronavirus cases rose to
843,981 with 47,272 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/23/20)
2020 Apr 23, In the US state of
Georgia the number of coronavirus cases rose past 21,000 with 847
deaths.
(SFC, 4/24/20, p.A8)
2020 Apr 23, Britain's death
toll from the new coronavirus in hospitals across the United Kingdom
rose to 19,506, an increase of 684 in 24 hours.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 23, President Xi
Jinping said China will step up investment in various sectors
including 5G, artificial intelligence, transport and energy and
boost employment. Beijing said it would contribute an additional
$30m to the WHO as the UN organization battles the Covid-19
pandemic. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the
money would support those efforts as well as “the construction of
public health systems in developing countries”.
(Reuters, 4/23/20)(The Independent, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 23, Cuba had 1,189
reported cases of the coronavirus and 40 deaths.
(Econ, 4/25/20, p.26)
2020 Apr 23, Czechs flocked to
screening centers in a project to test 27,000 people for coronavirus
antibodies to gauge how far the infection has spread and help decide
how rapidly to ease the country's lockdown.
(Reuters, 4/23/20)
2020 Apr 23, Germany’s ruling
coalition agreed on a 10 billion-euro ($10.8 billion) package of
further measures to dampen the economic impact of the coronavirus
crisis.
(Bloomberg, 4/23/20)
2020 Apr 23, India froze
inflation-linked increases in salaries and pensions for more than 11
million federal employees and pensioners to generate nearly $10
billion to help combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
(Reuters, 4/23/20)
2020 Apr 23, Iran called for
the US to be held accountable for "cruel" sanctions that have
hampered its efforts to fight a coronavirus outbreak that it said
claimed another 90 lives. The latest fatalities for the past 24
hours took the overall death toll from the coronavirus to 5,481.
(AFP, 4/23/20)
2020 Apr 23, The northern
Italian region of Lombardy began an antibody testing program as it
prepared to start opening up its economy following weeks of
lockdown. Positive cases for coronavirus across Italy rose 2,646
over the last 24 hours, bringing total cases to 189,973 and 25,549
deaths.
(Reuters, 4/23/20)(SFC, 4/24/20, p.A6)
2020 Apr 23, It was reported
that the governors of Nigeria's 36 states have agreed to ban
interstate movement for two weeks.
(Reuters, 4/23/20)
2020 Apr 23, Indigenous tribes
in Peru's Amazon said, in a letter to the UN and the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights, that the government has left them to
fend for themselves against the coronavirus, risking "ethnocide by
inaction." Eight native leaders representing 1,800 communities in
the Peruvian Amazon signed the letter which was published by
indigenous group AIDESEP.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 23, Portuguese health
officials said 40% of the country's 820 deaths attributed to the
coronavirus have occurred in nursing homes. Portugal has reported
just over 22,300 confirmed cases.
(SFC, 4/24/20, p.A6)
2020 Apr 23, More than 1,100
people have died in Stockholm as a result of the new coronavirus,
with 280 new confirmed cases. The capital has been the hardest-hit
city in Sweden, accounting for more than half of Sweden's 2,021
fatalities from COVID-19.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, President Trump
signed a $484 billion coronavirus relief bill after it was passed by
both chambers of Congress this week. The bill aids employers and
hospitals under stress from the coronavirus pandemic. The
Congressional Budget Office predicted the US GDP will contract 39.6
percent year over year during the second fiscal quarter of the year.
(The Week, 4/25/20)(AP, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, President Trump
claimed he was being sarcastic when he suggested health officials
look into treating COVID-19 with measures like injecting
disinfectants or hitting lungs with a "tremendous" amount of
ultraviolet or "very powerful light".
(The Week, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 24, It was reported
that the US Navy destroyer Kidd is believed to have a significant
coronavirus outbreak on board as it carries out a counter-narcotics
mission in the Caribbean. Over a dozen sailors had tested positive
for the virus. The Pentagon confirmed the outbreak.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, The US Food and
Drug Administration cautioned against the use of malaria drugs,
hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, in COVID-19 patients outside of
hospitals and clinical trials, citing risks of serious heart rhythm
problems.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, The parent company
of Lysol and another disinfectant warned that its products should
not be used as an internal treatment for the coronavirus after
President Donald Trump wondered about the prospect during a White
House briefing.
(AP, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, Alaska and
Oklahoma eased some coronavirus restrictions, though they included
limitations.
(AP, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 24, California to date
had 40,812 cases of coronavirus and 1,594 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 7,216 cases and 251 deaths. The US coronavirus cases rose to
889,661 with 51,017 deaths. Worldwide reported cases of the
coronavirus have crossed 2.7 million globally and 189,970 people
have died.
(sfist.com, 4/24/20)(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, In Georgia some
businesses took the first steps toward reopening as the Republican
governor eased a month-long shutdown amid experts’ warnings of a
potential new surge in coronavirus infections and a potent objection
from President Donald Trump.
(AP, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, In Massachusetts
the number of people infected increased from 46,023 over the last 24
hours. The deaths climbed from 2,360 to 2,556. 55.9% of the deaths
were reported in long-term care facilities. The data reflected a
correction of a reporting error made by Quest, a national commercial
laboratory.
(Good Morning America, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 24, Michigan Governor
Gretchen Whitmer extended her stay-at-home order through May 15 as
her state battled to control the coronavirus pandemic, but lifted
restrictions so some businesses can open and the public can
participate in outdoor activities such as golfing.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo pointed to research showing that strains of the novel
coronavirus entered his state from Europe, not China, and said that
travel bans enacted by US President Donald Trump were too late to
halt its spread.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 24, A handful of Texas
businesses reopened in defiance of state guidance in the fight
against the coronavirus, which allows retailers to offer “to go”
service but leaves other restrictions in place.
(AP, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 24, A rally outside
Wisconsin's capitol building in Madison drew hundreds of protesters
who demanded Democratic Governor Tony Evers reopen the state even as
it reported its largest single day jump of new coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 24, In Afghanistan
more than 1,300 people have tested positive for the coronavirus, and
43 have died.
(AP, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, Armenia has
recorded 1,596 coronavirus infections, with 27 deaths. Armenia began
allowing certain business activities, including fishing, mining,
financial and insurance services, agriculture and cigarette
production.
(AP, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, Azerbaijan has
reported a total of 1,592 coronavirus cases and 21 deaths. It
announced plans to lift virus-related restrictions from April 27.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, Belgium has
recorded 42,797 coronavirus cases and 6,490 deaths. The government
said has decided not to use apps to trace the path of infections,
after initially pushing the idea.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, Brazil's health
ministry confirmed nearly 53,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 3,600
deaths. Medical officials in Rio de Janeiro and at least four other
major cities have warned that their hospital systems are on the
verge of collapse.
(AP, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, Britain now has
143,464 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, Ecuador's health
minister said the country's coronavirus case total was twice as high
as previously confirmed, as authorities added 11,000 new infections
that resulted from delayed testing.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, Georgia has
reported 431 confirmed coronavirus cases and five deaths. It
announced plans to lift virus-related restrictions from April 27.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, Germany’s new
coronavirus cases and deaths rose the most in nearly a week. There
were 2,481 new infections in the 24 hours through this morning,
bringing the total to 153,129. Fatalities rose to 5,575.
(Bloomberg, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, India announced
the relaxation of some aspects of its strict coronavirus pandemic
lockdown measures.
(The Week, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 24, In eastern Lebanon
authorities closed all entrances to a Palestinian refugee camp after
four more people tested positive for the coronavirus, heightening
concerns the virus could further spread among its overcrowded
population. Lebanon has recorded 22 deaths from among nearly 700
confirmed cases of COVID-19.
(AP, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, In Somalia a
police officer in Mogadishu shot and killed at least one civilian
while enforcing coronavirus restrictions. The shooting sparked
protests and the officer was soon arrested. Somalia had more than
325 cases.
(AP, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 24, With Spain still
on almost-total lockdown, the number of fatalities rose by 367, the
fewest since March 21. Total confirmed cases rose by 2,796 for a
total of 22,524.
(Bloomberg, 4/24/20)(SFC, 4/25/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 24, Turkey's confirmed
cases of COVID-19 increased by 3,122 with the death toll rising to
2,600.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 24, The UN launched an
international push for a vaccine to defeat the pandemic.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a virtual briefing asked for
international organizations, world leaders and the private sector to
join the effort. Notably absent were the leaders of China, where the
virus first emerged late last year, and the United States.
(AFP, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 24, Venezuela has
reported 311 cases of coronavirus and 10 deaths. Acute fuel
shortages are forcing farmers to let crops rot in fields or feed
them to livestock since they cannot transport food to market during
the coronavirus quarantine.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, Vietnam said the
coronavirus outbreak has negatively affected 5 million workers and
84.8% of companies in the country. Vietnam reported two new
coronavirus cases, one day after it lifted tough movement
restrictions, bringing the total to 270 with no deaths.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 24, Zambia's President
Edgar Lungu said the nation's budget has been thrown into "disarray"
due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the country's
economy and the government needs to implement measures to support
businesses. The number of coronavirus cases rose to 84.
(Reuters, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 25, President Donald
Trump said the daily White House virus briefing is “not worth the
time and effort,” two days after his comments on fighting Covid-19
with disinfectants or sunlight caused headaches for his health
advisers.
(Bloomberg, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 25, California to date
had 42,351 cases of coronavirus and 1,686 deaths. The SF Bay Area
had 7,340 cases and 259 deaths. The US coronavirus cases rose to
936,293 with 53,511 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, Hawaii Gov. David
Ige announced he was extending the mandatory 14-day quarantine for
travelers into the state until May 31. He is also extending the
stay-at-home order until the same date. Hawaii has 604 cases and 14
deaths, including two in the past day.
(ABC News, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 25, The Tyson plant in
Logansport, Indiana, was closed after nearly 900 employees tested
positive; it resumed limited operations on May 7.
(AP, 5/11/20)
2020 Apr 25, In Minnesota a
Hormel Foods subsidiary said it is halting production at a pair of
turkey processing facilities in Willmar after 14 employees tested
positive for the coronavirus at the plants.
(SSFC, 4/26/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 25, Former New York
City Mayor Mike Bloomberg's philanthropic operation announced a $40
million pledge to support efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 in
low- and middle-income nations. Bloomberg also plans to spend $10.5
million to build a contact tracing program to help local officials
the follow the spread of the virus in an effort to contain it.
(SSFC, 4/26/20, p.A6)
2020 Apr 25, The World Health
Organization warned countries against issuing so-called coronavirus
"immunity passports" to recovered patients because there's "no
evidence" they are protected from a second infection. The global
coronavirus death toll approached 200,000.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)(AFP, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, Argentina said it
is extending its nationwide lockdown by another two weeks until May
10 to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
(Bloomberg, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 25, In Belarus
hundreds of thousands of state employees, including doctors and
nurses, took part in a government-decreed national day of civic
labor despite worries about the country's sharply rising coronavirus
infections. Belarus reported 817 new cases, the country's highest
single-day increase. It has reported a total of 9,590 confirmed
infections and 67 deaths.
(AP, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, The number of
coronavirus fatalities in Belgium increased to 6,917.
(AP, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, The British
government said that 20,319 people with COVID-19 have died in
British hospitals, an increase of 813 from the death toll reported
the day before. The figure does not include deaths in nursing homes,
which are likely to number in the thousands.
(AP, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, Burkina Faso, one
of Africa's nations hardest hit by the coronavirus, has reported 41
deaths. The country's 629 cases included the US and Italian
ambassadors as well as at least six government ministers. Last month
Rose Marie Compaore (62), Burkina Faso's second Vice President of
the parliament, became the first person in the country to die from
COVID-19.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, Canada reported a
total of 2,350 coronavirus deaths and 44,364 positive diagnoses.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 25, China reported 11
new coronavirus cases, compared to 12 on the previous day. This was
its 10th straight day with no coronavirus fatalities. The
northwestern province of Shaanxi reported seven new imported
coronavirus cases, all in citizens returning home from Russia, even
as domestic cases in the country were largely curbed.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)(Reuters, 4/26/20)(SSFC,
4/26/20, p.A6)
2020 Apr 25, In Germany deaths
due to the coronavirus dropped to the lowest in five days. Deaths in
Germany rose by 148 to 5,723 in the last 24 hours.
(Bloomberg, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, The Indian
government allowed a limited reopening of shops in neighborhoods and
residential areas, more than a month after the nation went into a
lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, Indonesia reported
396 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number to 8,607. Thirty
one more people who had tested positive for the virus died, taking
the total number of deaths to 720.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, In Iran another 76
fatalities were declared, raising the official death toll to 5,650.
Iran has now recorded 89,328 cases of COVID-19, including 1,134 over
the past 24 hours, since reporting two deaths on February 19.
(AFP, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, Italian
diagnostics group DiaSorin said it had received an Emergency Use
Authorisation (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration for a
serological test kit for COVID-19.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, Tokyo reported 103
new cases of coronavirus infections. The latest figures bring total
coronavirus infections in the capital city to 3,836 cases. The total
number of coronavirus infections in Japan reached nearly 13,000
cases, with 345 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, In Russia the
number of new coronavirus cases rose by 5,966 over the past 24
hours, bringing its nationwide tally to 74,588. The country's
coronavirus crisis response center reported 66 new deaths from
COVID-19, bringing the total death toll in Russia to 681.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, Serbia sent four
planes carrying medical equipment including gloves, masks and
protective suits to Italy as a donation to help the EU member state
tackle the spread of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, Singapore
registered 618 new coronavirus infections, taking the city-state's
total number of COVID-19 cases to 12,693.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, Spain recorded
fewer than 400 COVID-19 fatalities for the second day in row, a sign
that the outbreak may be stabilizing in the country as it grapples
with Europe’s worst outbreak. Fatalities in Spain increased by 378,
for a total of 22,902.
(Bloomberg, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, Tajikistan said it
is closing schools for two weeks to prevent the spread of the novel
coronavirus and temporarily banning exports of grains and pulses to
ensure sufficient supplies at home. The country has reported no
coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 25, Thailand reported
53 new coronavirus cases and the death of a 48-year-old Thai man who
was infected with the virus along with four other family members.
Thailand has reported a total of 2,907 cases and 51 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020 Apr 26, California to
date had 43,703 cases of coronavirus and 1,720 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 7,496 cases and 260 deaths. The US coronavirus cases rose
to 938,590 with 54,776 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Iowa, now has more
than 5,000 confirmed cases. Latinos, who make up 6% of Iowa's
population, have accounted for more than 22% of its confirmed
COVID-19 cases.
(AP, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Louisiana's state
public health department reported that African Americans represent
more than 56% of the state's 1,670 coronavirus deaths.
(AP, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Maryland Gov.
Larry Hogan said that his state received “hundreds” of calls after
President Trump suggested at a press briefing that ingesting
household disinfectants could be a treatment for the coronavirus.
(Yahoo News, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 26, In Detroit,
Michigan, more than 8,500 infections have been reported, with black
people accounting for more than 64% of them. City leaders announced
this month that the pandemic has created a projected $348 million
budget deficit.
(AP, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo said 367 new deaths have been reported in the state.
They included patients in hospitals and nursing homes.
(SFC, 4/27/20, p.A6)
2020 Apr 26, JBS USA announced
that the JBS packerland plant in Greenbay, Wisconsin, would be
temporarily closed. At least 189 COVID-19 infections had been linked
to the plant.
(SFC, 4/28/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 26, John Tyson, the
chairman of Tyson Foods Inc, said millions of pounds of beef, pork
and chicken will vanish from US grocery stores as livestock and
poultry processing plants have been shuttered by coronavirus
outbreaks among workers.
(AP, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 26, The group of 20
rich and emerging economies launched an international initiative to
accelerate access to health tools needed to fight the new
coronavirus. The finance minister of Saudi Arabia, the current G20
chair, said the group is still working to bridge an estimated $8
billion funding gap to combat the pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, The Africa Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention said more than 30,000 confirmed
cases of COVID-19 and 1,374 deaths have been reported in the 54
countries of Africa.
(SFC, 4/27/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 26, Afghanistan
reported 1,531 cases of COVID-19 and 50 deaths, but international
observers and medics on the ground believe the real number of
infections could be much higher.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, The Australian
government launched a controversial coronavirus tracing app and
promised to legislate privacy protections around it as authorities
try to get the country and the economy back onto more normal
footing. The app, based on Singapore's TraceTogether software, uses
Bluetooth signals to log when people have been close to one another.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, In Bangladesh
hundreds of textile workers in Dhaka took to the streets demanding
wages, flouting social distancing norms amid a nationwide lockdown
to control the coronavirus pandemic. Bangladesh was set to lose
export revenue of about $6 billion this fiscal year as the sector
has been hit by cancellations from some of the world's largest
brands and retailers.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, In Belgium the
number of newly reported coronavirus cases continued to decline with
809 added over the last 24 hours bringing the total to 46,134. The
death toll reached 7,094 and 10,785 patients have recovered since
March 15.
(Bloomberg, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, In Canada the
total number of people killed by the coronavirus rose by under 6% to
2,489.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, More than 200
Cuban doctors arrived in Johannesburg to help fight the coronavirus.
Cuba, with 1,337 recorded cases of Covid-19 and 51 deaths, has the
world's highest ratio of doctors to population and began preparing
for the virus early.
(BBC, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Egypt said it had
asked the International Monitory Fund for financial assistance to
deal with the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus.
(AP, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, French energy
major Total said that 14 workers including two of its staff have
tested positive for the new coronavirus at its sites in Congo
Republic, but output at the 190,000 barrels per day operations have
not been affected.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, In Germany there
were 1,968 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 156,513, the
fourth-highest in Europe.
(Bloomberg, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Indian PM Narendra
Modi appealed to citizens to strictly comply with a nationwide
lockdown and maintain social distancing norms, as cases of
coronavirus mounted steadily despite over a month-long curfew.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, In India at least
ten villagers in Bihar state were killed by lightning strikes in the
village of Khalpura.
(SFC, 4/28/20, p.A2)
2020 Apr 26, In Iran the daily
death toll from the coronavirus fell to the lowest in more than six
weeks as the country reported 60 additional deaths and 1,153 new
cases overnight. Total fatalities rose to 5,710 from 90,481 known
cases.
(Bloomberg, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Israel permitted
some businesses to reopen and said it would consider allowing
children back to school as part of trial efforts to ease coronavirus
restrictions and help the struggling economy.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Tokyo recorded 72
coronavirus cases, the first time in 13 days it was below 100.
(Bloomberg, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Kenya's government
announced that all long-distance lorry drivers will be tested before
crossing the border after Uganda confirmed that eight Kenyan drivers
had tested positive for the virus.
(BBC, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 26, Malta said it has
had no new case of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours for the first time
since the crisis began, and will start rolling back some of the
restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus in the coming days.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, The Netherlands'
number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 655 to 37,845 with 66
new deaths. The country's death toll stands at 4,475.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Russia reported
6,361 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours and said 46% did
not have symptoms. An additional 66 people have died.
(Bloomberg, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Saudi Arabia eased
curfews across the country, while keeping 24-hour curfews in the
city of Mecca and in neighborhoods previously put in isolation.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Singapore
registered 931 new coronavirus infections, taking the city-state's
total number of COVID-19 cases to 13,624. The country has one of the
highest infection rates in Asia due to outbreaks in cramped
dormitories housing over 300,000 mainly South Asian workers.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, South Korea's
large churches reopened, requiring worshipers to keep their distance
and wear masks.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Spain reported the
smallest increase in coronavirus deaths in more than a month.
Fatalities increased by 288. The daily death count peaked at 950 on
April 2. Spanish children went outside at last, emerging from their
homes for the first time after six long weeks.
(Bloomberg, 4/26/20)(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 26, Thailand reported
15 new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, bringing the total
number of cases since its outbreak in January to 2,922 cases and 51
deaths.
(Reuters, 4/26/20)
2020 Apr 27, America cut
funding for a group conducting broader research into how bat
coronaviruses jump to humans, seemingly because of its collaboration
with scientists in Wuhan, China.
(Econ., 5/2/20, p.10)
2020 Apr 27, California to
date had 44,949 cases of coronavirus and 1,721 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 7,657 cases and 264 deaths. The US coronavirus cases rose
to 965,942 with 54,883 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 27, San Francisco Bay
Area health officials said that orders to shelter in place to curb
the spread of the coronavirus will be extended through the month of
May.
(SFC, 4/28/20, p.A1)
2020 Apr 27, Democratic
Governor Jared Polis of Colorado began a partial reopening of the
coronavirus shutdown to help ease the burden on state unemployment
benefit filings.
(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 Apr 27, Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals Inc and Sanofi SA said they would test their
arthritis drug, Kevzara, in critically ill COVID-19 patients after
the drug showed no benefit for patients with a less severe form of
the disease.
(Reuters, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 27, Australia's
government said more than two million Australians have downloaded an
app to trace contacts of COVID-19 patients hours after its release.
(Reuters, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 27, It was reported
that 30 workers at an offshore oil platform in Equatorial Guinea
have tested positive for the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 27, In Germany a total
of 157,770 people have been infected with the coronavirus, an
increase of 1,257 in the 24 hours through this morning. Deaths rose
by 99 to 5,976.
(Bloomberg, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 27, India's federal
medical research agency asked state government to stop using testing
equipment from China because of conflicting results.
(Reuters, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 27, Iran's death toll
from the outbreak of new coronavirus rose by 96 in the past twenty
four hours to 5,806. The total number of diagnosed cases reached
91,472.
(Reuters, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 27, Metropolitan Tokyo
confirmed 39 more coronavirus cases, the fewest since March 30 and
the second consecutive day of new cases below triple digits.
(Reuters, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 27, The Netherlands'
number of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen by 400 to 38,245
with 43 new deaths. The country's death toll stands at 4,518.
(Reuters, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 27, Norwegian children
returned to school as hair salons and tattoo parlors reopened under
easing coronavirus restrictions.
(SFC, 4/28/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 27, Nigeria's
President Muhammadu Buhari said the coronavirus lockdowns, which had
been due to end today, needed to continue until 4 May. He also
ordered new nationwide measures against Covid-19, including a
night-time curfew and mandatory face masks. Nigeria has reported
1,273 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 40 deaths. Buhari said a
lockdown would be imposed in Kano for an additional two weeks, and
that he was sending a government team to investigate a high number
of unexplained deaths.
(BBC, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 27, In Peru nine
inmates died following a prison riot over the demand for better
sanitary measures and coronavirus medical care at the Miguel Castro
Castro prison.
(Reuters, 4/28/20)(SFC, 4/29/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 27, Russia reported
87,147 confirmed coronavirus cases and nearly 800 deaths. News
reports from a dozen regions in the past two weeks suggest at least
450 medical workers have had COVID-19, with 11 doctors and five
nurses dying.
(Reuters, 4/27/20)(AP, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 27, In Senegal the
coronavirus has infected over 736 people and killed 9. The capital's
40,000 street children have become more vulnerable since the
government declared a state of emergency over the epidemic in late
March.
(Reuters, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 27, Switzerland eased
coronavirus curbs. More than 1,350 people in Switzerland have died
of COVID-19 as the number of people with positive tests neared
30,000.
(Reuters, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 27, Turkish officials
said 402 people have been detained in the past 42 days for allegedly
sharing "false and provocative" social media postings concerning the
coronavirus outbreak.
(SFC, 4/28/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 27, The UN human
rights office voiced concern about more than a dozen countries that
have declared states of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic where
police have arrested or detained hundreds of thousands of people and
killed others.
(Reuters, 4/27/20)
2020 Apr 28, President Donald
Trump took executive action to order meat processing plants to stay
open amid concerns over growing coronavirus cases and the impact on
the nation's food supply. Unions fired back, saying the White House
was jeopardizing lives and prioritizing cold cuts over workers'
health.
(AP, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, Dr Sirous Asgari
(59), an Iranian scientist who has been pleading for weeks to be
released from a US immigration jail due to his fragile health, has
contracted Covid-19, according to his family and attorneys. Asgari
was exonerated in a US sanctions trial last year, but Ice has
refused to release him or allow him to return to Iran.
(The Guardian, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, California
to date had 45,471 cases of coronavirus and 1,805 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 7,823 cases and 277 deaths. The US coronavirus cases rose
to 1,002,498 with 57,266 deaths.
(sfist.com, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, NYC Mayor Bill de
Blasio lashed out at Hasidic residents of the Williamsburg section
in Brooklyn late today after personally overseeing the dispersal of
a crowd of hundreds of mourners who had gathered for the funeral of
a rabbi who died of the coronavirus.
(NY Times, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 28, Officials in
Massachusetts said 68 veteran residents who tested positive for the
virus have died at the state-run Holyoke Soldiers' Home. Another 82
residents and 81 employees have tested positive.
(AP, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, In South Dakota
federal inmate Andrea Circle Bear, who gave birth while on a
ventilator four weeks ago, died from the coronavirus. She was
serving a 26-month sentence for maintaining a drug-involved
premises.
(AP, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 28, In Utah a
left-leaning nonprofit group filed a price gouging complaint with
state regulators, arguing the $40 per pack drug was grossly
overpriced. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert had defended the state’s $800,000
purchase of 20,000 packets of hydroxychloroquine compounded with
zinc, but later ordered an investigation of a no-bid contract with a
local company that had been promoting the drugs.
(AP, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, Afghanistan has
reported 1,703 coronavirus cases, including 57 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, Bangladesh has
reported 6,462 coronavirus cases, including 155 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, Belarus reported
900 new cases of the coronavirus bringing the total to 12,208. The
UN urged Belarussians to stay home amid the growing outbreak
(SFC, 4/29/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 28, Data released in
Canada showed the total coronavirus national death toll had risen by
more than 10% for the first time in nine days, climbing 11.1% to
2,766. There have been 49,025 confirmed cases in Canada.
(AP, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, Mainland China
reported 22 new cases, against 6 a day earlier, bringing total
infections to 82,858.
(Reuters, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 28, In India the
number of people infected with the coronavirus stood at 29,434, a
rise of 1,543 over the previous day. So far 934 people have died.
(Reuters, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, India-based Serum,
the world's largest maker of vaccines by volume, said it is
mass-producing the vaccine candidate developed by the University of
Oxford, which started testing it on humans last week. Trials of the
Oxford vaccine are due to finish in about September.
(Reuters, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, Iran announced 71
deaths from the novel coronavirus, and said there were also more
than 1,000 new cases of infection in the Islamic republic. The
fatalities recorded in the past 24 hours brought to 5,877 the
overall death toll. Total number of infections reached 92,584.
(AFP, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, Pakistan reported
14,079 coronavirus cases including 301 deaths, 20 of them over the
past day.
(AP, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, Russia's President
Vladimir Putin extended a non-working period aimed at containing the
spread of the novel coronavirus until May 11. The head of Russia's
state atomic corporation expressed concern about the spread of the
new coronavirus to three 'nuclear cities', including one that houses
a top-secret research institute that helped develop the Soviet
atomic bomb. Russia now ranks eighth worldwide with 93,558 confirmed
cases, though its death toll of 867 is still far below that of many
other nations.
(Reuters, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, In Serbia about
8,500 people have been confirmed to have the coronavirus and 168
people have died from it. The government has already allowed small
businesses to open, shortened a night curfew and eased a 24-hour
lockdown for people aged 65 and above.
(Reuters, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, Sri Lanka has
reported 592 cases, including seven deaths.
(Reuters, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 28, Radio Free Europe
reported that doctors in Turkmenistan are not allowed to talk about
the coronavirus. RFE said face masks are banned, and citizens are
punished for talking about the global pandemic.
(The Week, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 28, UAE reported it
had seen over 11,300 confirmed cases of the virus with 89 deaths.
Recent days have seen numbers rise around 500 daily. Even as
confirmed coronavirus cases spike, the UAE was opening up its
cavernous malls and restaurants in a gamble to stimulate its economy
while still trying to fight off the pandemic.
(AP, 4/28/20)
2020 Apr 29,
California to date had 48,565 cases of coronavirus and 1,939 deaths.
The SF Bay Area had 7,965 cases and 281 deaths. The US coronavirus
death toll reached 61,000.
(sfist.com, 4/29/20)(The Week, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 29, It was reported
that hospital admissions for the coronavirus in New York state
remained at about 1,000 a day. Thousands of out of state nurses have
come to help NY hospitals.
(SFC, 4/29/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 29, In NYC police were
called to a Brooklyn neighborhood after a funeral home overwhelmed
by the coronavirus resorted to storing dozens of bodies on ice in
rented trucks, and a passerby complained about the smell.
Investigators found that the home had rented four trucks to hold
about 50 corpses.
(AP, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 29, Gilead Sciences
announced that the company was “aware of positive data” from a
federal study of its experimental coronavirus drug, remdesivir.
(NY Times, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, Bosnia reported
its sharpest daily rise in coronavirus infections this month after
its two autonomous regions had gradually begun to ease lockdowns.
There were 93 new infections and two deaths in the previous 24
hours, compared with 20 new infections a day earlier and 49 the day
before that.
(Reuters, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, Britain's official
death toll from the coronavirus jumped to 26,097 after deaths in
nursing homes were added to the daily total for the first time.
(SFC, 4/30/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 29, Canadian hospitals
had beds to spare as the country hit 50,373 confirmed coronavirus
cases. Several provinces were relaxing public health measures. The
virus has killed 2,904 in total and health experts worried about a
future wave of infections.
(Reuters, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, India has recorded
its 1,000th novel coronavirus death, but the head of a government
think-tank said that its 1.3 billion people, strained from weeks of
lockdown, were not experiencing the feared exponential surge in
infections. India has now reported 31,331 cases, including 1,007
deaths.
(Reuters, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, Indonesia
confirmed 260 new infections, taking its total to 9,771, while
deaths rose by 11 to 784.
(Reuters, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, Iran's health
ministry announced that 80 new deaths from the novel coronavirus had
taken the country's overall toll to 5,957. Another 1,073 people
tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours. 93,657 people
have contracted the illness since mid-February. The government has
allowed many businesses to reopen since April 11 after shutting most
down in mid-March to stem the spread of the disease.
(AP, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, Malawi has
recorded 36 cases of coronavirus confirmed. Of those, three people
are recorded to have died. President Peter Mutharika announced an
emergency cash transfer program for the poorest people in what is
one of the world's poorest countries.
(BBC, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, Pakistan said it
is preparing to loosen coronavirus lockdown restrictions as the
number of infections and deaths are well below previous projections.
Pakistan has registered 15,289 cases of COVID-19 including 335
deaths.
(Reuters, 4/29/20)(SFC, 4/30/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 29, The Philippines'
tally of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to more than 8,000.
(Reuters, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, Russia reported
972 deaths in total for the coronavirus. A Remembrance List showed
74 medical staff who had died from the virus, this included 4 from
Belarus. Confirmed cases neared 100,000 after 5,841 new cases were
registered overnight along with a record daily rise in the death
toll.
(AFP, 4/29/20)(Reuters, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, Serbia has
reported 8,497 confirmed cases and 1,678 deaths from COVID-19.
Citizens, stuck at home under curfew, vented their anger in a
cacophony of tin pans, drums, whistles, and horns at the government
and its tough containment measures to curb the new coronavirus.
(Reuters, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, Rioting broke out
at the central prison in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown following
confirmation of a coronavirus case there.
(Reuters, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, South Africa has
reported most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Africa, with more than
4,360, including 86 deaths. Disabled migrants faced hunger as a
lockdown continued for a fifth week.
(AP, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, Spain recorded 325
deaths overnight, against 301 the previous day. Health officials
said the coronavirus epidemic was evolving favorably ahead of a
gradual easing of its lockdown next week.
(Reuters, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, In Sweden the
total confirmed coronavirus cases topped 20,000.
(Reuters, 4/29/20)
2020 Apr 29, Tanzania reported
509 coronavirus cases and 21 deaths. At this point the government
stopped releasing data. The US embassy in Tanzania later warned that
there is a risk of "exponential growth" of Covid-19 cases in the
country.
(BBC, 5/13/20)
2020 Apr 29, The UN said more
than 40 cases of COVID-19 and at least three deaths have been
reported in Syria.
(AP, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 29, Authorities in the
southern Yemeni port city of Aden announced a three-day, 24-hour
curfew starting at midnight local time, after five confirmed cases
of new coronavirus infection were announced. Yemen recorded its
first two coronavirus deaths. The deaths come after aid
organizations warned any coronavirus outbreak could have dire
consequences after six years of civil war.
(Reuters, 4/29/20)(AFP, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, US President
Donald Trump said he was confident the coronavirus may have
originated in a Chinese virology lab, but declined to describe the
evidence he said he had seen. The Chinese government said that
any claims that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory are
"unfounded and purely fabricated out of nothing."
(Reuters, 5/1/20)(SFC, 5/1/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 30, The Trump
administration shelved a CDC document, titled “Guidance for
Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework.” It was
researched and written to help faith leaders, business owners,
educators and state and local officials to reopen communities during
the coronavirus pandemic. After the AP reported on May 7 that the
document had been buried, the Trump administration ordered key parts
of it to be fast-tracked for approval.
(AP, 5/8/20)
2020 Apr 30, The US Office of
the Director of National Intelligence said the new coronavirus was
"not man-made or genetically modified." They were still
investigating if the coronavirus pandemic might have resulted from
an accident at a Chinese lab.
(SFC, 5/1/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 30, It was reported
that the US economy contracted at an annual rate of 4.8 percent in
the first quarter of 2020 as businesses lost customers or shut down
entirely because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has now killed
more than 60,000 people in the United States. It was the first
quarterly drop in six years, and the steepest since the Great
Recession.
(The Week, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, Washington DC
officials announced 217 new COVID-19 infections, bringing its total
to 4,323. New deaths rose by 19 for a total of 224.
(SFC, 5/1/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 30, California's Gov.
Gavin Newsom temporarily closed the beaches of Orange County
starting May 1 after people thronged the seashore during a
sweltering weekend despite his social distancing order that aims to
slow the spread of the coronavirus.
(AP, 4/30/20)(SFC, 5/1/20, p.A1)
2020 Apr 30,
California to date had 50,129 cases of coronavirus and 2,029 deaths.
The SF Bay Area had 8,130 cases and 293 deaths. Total cases
nationwide reached 1,068,696 with the death toll at 61,881.
(sfist.com, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, Tyson Foods said
it was temporarily suspending operations at a Nebraska beef
processing plant following a surge of coronavirus cases in the area.
(SFC, 5/1/20, p.A5)
2020 Apr 30, NYC Mayor Bill de
Blasio said more than 1,000 city employees will be assigned to
patrol parks and other public spaces to ensure people are adhering
to social distancing guidelines as the city prepares to battle the
coronavirus pandemic into the summer months. The USNS Comfort left
NYC after treating just 182 people. New York City saw 2,637
confirmed new cases of the coronavirus, and 202 people in the city
died.
(AP, 4/30/20)(Good Morning America, 5/1/20)
2020 Apr 30, SF Bay Area-based
Bio-Rad Laboratories said it has received FDA authorization for an
antibody test with "limited use in authorized laboratories."
Bio-Rad said its test had 98% sensitivity and 99% specificity in
clinical evaluations.
(SFC, 5/2/20, p.C2)
2020 Apr 30, Pfizer said it
aims to make 10-20 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine it is
developing with Germany's BioNtech by the end of 2020 for emergency
use depending on trial results.
(AP, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, Australia's
Capital Territory declared itself free of all known cases of the
coronavirus. Australia has recorded 6,746 cases, including 90
deaths.
(SFC, 5/1/20, p.A4)
2020 Apr 30, Brazil’s virtually
uncontrolled surge of COVID-19 cases spawned fear that construction
workers, truck drivers and tourists from Latin America’s biggest
nation will spread the disease to neighboring countries that are
doing a better job of controlling the coronavirus. The official
count of coronavirus cases rocketed past 85,000 and deaths surpassed
5,900 — more than the amount suffered by China. Experts considered
both figures to be significant under-counts due to a lack of
widespread testing.
(AP, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, The Indian Ocean
island nation of Comoros announced its first confirmed case of the
coronavirus, making it the 53rd of Africa's 54 countries to report
COVID-19.
(AP, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, The International
Monetary Fund approved $650 million in emergency financial
assistance to help the Dominican Republic respond to the coronavirus
pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, In Georgia a
transgender woman set herself on fire in Tbilisi to highlight the
plight of trans sex workers with no income during the coronavirus
lockdown. She was taken to a hospital suffering from burns but her
conditions were not critical. LGBT+ groups in response called for
more state support.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 Apr 30, Confirmed
coronavirus cases in Ghana surged above 2,000, increasing 24% in a
matter of days. The Ghana Health Service reported 403 new cases,
bringing the total to 2,074. The spike was announced 10 days after
President Nana Akufo-Addo eased a three-week lockdown in the capital
of Accra and in the city of Kumasi.
(AP, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, It was reported
that India has shipped 50 million tablets of hydroxychloroquine to
the United States. This followed a request by President Donald Trump
for New Delhi to release supplies of the drug as a possible
treatment for the respiratory disease. US regulators have warned the
anti-malarial drug may have harmful side effects in the treatment of
COVID-19.
(AP, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, Indonesia
confirmed 347 new coronavirus infections, taking its total to above
10,000.
(Reuters, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, Iran's health
ministry said that 71 new deaths from the novel coronavirus took the
country's overall toll to 6,028. 983 people tested positive for the
virus over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 94,640.
(Reuters, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, Paraguay has fewer
than 250 confirmed coronavirus cases and its borders have been
closed since March 24, with enforcement particularly focused on the
largely open frontier with Brazil.
(AP, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, Russian television
aired a video call between Mishustin and Russian President Vladimir
Putin. During the call, Mishustin told Putin about his positive
coronavirus diagnosis, and encouraged Russians to take the threat of
COVID-19 seriously. There are now more than 100,000 confirmed
COVID-19 cases in Russia, with the death toll at 1,073.
(The Week, 5/1/20)
2020 Apr 30, South Korea
reported that for the first time since the virus’s Feb. 29 peak, it
had no new domestic cases and just four cases among people who came
in from outside the country.
(NY Times, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, It was reported
that Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has donated a $100,000
prize she won from a Danish foundation to the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF) for use against the COVID-19 pandemic.
(AFP, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, Tajikistan has
confirmed its first 15 coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 4/30/20)
2020 Apr 30, Ukraine reached
10,000 coronavirus cases and its health minister urged people not to
violate lockdown measures. Cherkasy mayor Anatoliy Bondarenko
decided to open shops, hairdressers and restaurants after appeals
from businesses. His decision prompted police to launch criminal
proceedings against the Cherkasy authorities and summon the mayor
for questioning.
(Reuters, 4/30/20)(AP, 5/5/20)
2020 Apr, Operation Warp Speed
(OWS), a US government effort to have a coronavirus vaccine by the
end of the year, was begun as a partnership between Health and Human
Services, The Dept. of Defense and an alphabet soup of
health-related agencies. Pres. Trump announced OWS on May 15.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Warp_Speed)(Econ., 7/18/20,
p.19)
2020 Apr, French researchers
reported late this month that habitual smokers were significantly
underrepresented among those requiring hospital treatment for
COVID-19. This suggested that something in tobacco smoke was having
a protective effect.
(Econ., 5/2/20, p.69)
2020 May 1, President Donald
Trump seemingly increased his estimate of possible deaths in the US
from the coronavirus, telling a White House event he hopes for less
than 100,000 fatalities, a higher upper limit than the 60,000 to
70,000 deaths he discussed on April 27.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 1, It was reported
that the Trump administration has pulled funding for a group of
scientists studying coronaviruses in bats and the risk of their
spillover into humans -- the very kind of infection that started the
COVID-19 pandemic.
(Good Morning America, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Washington's
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction ((SIGAR)
said the US mission in Afghanistan has for the first time refused to
publicly release its data on insurgent attacks amid the
implementation of a peace agreement between the US and the Taliban.
(SFC, 5/2/20, p.A2)
2020 May 1, Alaska Airlines and
Southwest became the latest airlines to announce they will require
passengers wear face coverings as of May 11. This means all major US
airlines have made that a requirement for passengers.
(Good Morning America, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1,
California to date had 51,775 cases of coronavirus and 2,111 deaths.
The SF Bay Area had 8,257 cases and 304 deaths. Total cases
nationwide reached 1,102,703 with the death toll at 64,789.
(sfist.com, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, According to
Florida's Department of Health, 34,728 people in the state have
tested positive for COVID-19, and 1,337 people have died from it.
Health officials halted the publication of up-to-the-minute death
statistics related to the coronavirus pandemic that have, by law,
been compiled by medical examiners in the state. The death count
compiled by the Medical Examiners Commission was often found to be
higher than the figures provided by Florida’s Department of Health,
prompting a review of the data and a suspension of its publication.
(Yahoo News, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, In Massachusetts a
group of about 10 immigrants in US government custody clashed with
officials at the Bristol County C. Carlos Carreiro Immigration
Detention Center in Dartmouth. The inmates had reported symptoms of
COVID-19. This was at least the ninth instance since Pres. Trump
declared a national emergency over the coronavirus.
(CBS News, 5/2/20)(SSFC, 5/3/20, p.A5)
2020 May 1, Mississippi Gov.
Tate Reeves said his state had just had its largest single-day
increase in COVID-19 cases and its largest increase in deaths.
Mississippi has more than 7,200 diagnosed coronavirus cases and at
least 281 deaths.
(Good Morning America, 5/2/20)
2020 May 1, In New Mexico
COVID-19 infections in Gallup and surrounding McKinley County
surpassed 1,060 confirmed cases and accounted for 30% of cases
stateside, surpassing infections in much larger communities such as
Albuquerque. In all, more than 3,500 cases have been reported in the
state, with more than 130 deaths. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
invoked the state's Riot Control Act and ordered residents of Gallup
to remain home except for emergencies and blocked roads leading in
and out of town to nonessential travel and any vehicles carrying
more than two people.
(AP, 5/1/20)(SFC, 5/2/20, p.A7)
2020 May 1, In New York City
the Isabella Geriatric Center in Manhattan reported the deaths of 98
residents believed to have had the coronavirus, a death toll that
shocked public officials.
(AP, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Ohio and Texas
pushed ahead with a phased relaxation of restrictions that U.S.
states put in place weeks ago to curb the coronavirus pandemic, as
Georgia took another step toward a full restart by allowing all
businesses to reopen.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Gilead Science
Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir was granted emergency use
authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration for COVID-19.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 1, JPMorgan Chase
& Co said that the US Small Business Administration gave it the
green light to make $15 billion in new loans to some 211,000
business customers hurt by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Supermarket chain
Kroger Co said it has put purchase limits on ground beef and fresh
pork at some of its stores following growing concerns over meat
shortages due to coronavirus-induced supply disruptions.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Afghanistan has
reported over 2,335 coronavirus cases and 68 deaths, but
international observers believe numbers could be much higher.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Australian PM Scott
Morrison, who has angered Beijing by calling for a global inquiry
into the coronavirus outbreak, said he had no evidence to suggest
the disease originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Bangladesh has
confirmed 7,667 people infected with the coronavirus and 168 deaths.
Garment factories began reopening this week after nearly a month of
closures.
(SFC, 5/2/20, p.A5)
2020 May 1, China reported 12
new cases of the coronavirus, six of them brough from overseas, and
no new deaths for the 16th day. Total deaths stood at 4,633 from
about 83,000 cases.
(SFC, 5/2/20, p.A5)
2020 May 1, It was reported
that Hangzhou-based startup Rokid has developed a pair of glasses to
help screen for coronavirus symptoms. It is making wearable T1
glasses that measure temperatures on the move.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, The European
Investment Bank (EIB) said it would boost its cooperation with the
World Health Organization (WHO) as it seeks to fight the COVID-19
pandemic around the world, in particular in vulnerable African
countries.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, It was reported
that Guatemala's indigenous Maya towns are spurning migrants
returned from the US. Local health officials have said that nearly
one fifth of the 585 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Guatemala can
be traced to people deported from the United States, most of them on
two flights in a single day.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, India's PM Narendra
Modi extended the coronavirus lockdown for two weeks, but some
restrictions were relaxed.
(AP, 5/3/20)
2020 May 1, Iran's death toll
from the outbreak of the new coronavirus increased by 63 in the past
24 hours to 6,091. The outbreak has infected 95,646.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Malaysia detained
hundreds of refugees and migrant workers for illegally living in the
country. Malaysia has reported a total of 6,071 coronavirus cases
and 103 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, The Netherlands'
number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 475 to 39,791, with 98
new deaths. The country's death toll stands at 4,893.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Russia reported a
record daily rise in confirmed coronavirus cases that pushed the
national tally to 114,431. The country has recorded 1,169 deaths
from the virus.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Slovak PM Igor
Matovic said authorities have lifted a quarantine on three Roma
settlements locked down in early April to block the spread of the
coronavirus, leaving one remaining village under restrictive orders.
Slovakia had 1,403 confirmed coronavirus cases with 23 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, South Africa began
easing one of the world's strictest lockdowns, with runners and
dog-walkers returning eagerly to the streets but not all wearing the
face masks that are now mandatory. South Africa has more than 5,600
cases of COVID-19.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Spain's death toll
from the coronavirus rose by 281 overnight, a small rise from the
previous day but still one of the lowest daily tolls in weeks. The
crisis has now claimed the lives of 24,824 people.
(Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Police in Istanbul
detained at least 15 people, including trade union leaders who tried
to stage a May Day march in defiance of a coronavirus lockdown and a
ban on demonstrations at Taksim Square. Turkey ranks seventh in the
world for the number of confirmed infections with 120,204 cases. The
country's official death toll stands at 3,174.
(AP, 5/1/20)
2020 May 1, Yemen reported the
first case of the coronavirus in a third province late today,
raising the number of diagnosed infections to seven with two deaths
in one of the world's most vulnerable countries.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2,
California to date had 52,237 cases of coronavirus and 2,134 deaths.
The SF Bay Area had 8,319 cases and 305 deaths. Total cases
nationwide reached 1,107,815 with the death toll at 65,068. The
United States suffered its largest daily fatality increase after
recording 2,909 deaths in 24 hours.
(sfist.com, 5/2/20)(The Week, 5/3/20)
2020 May 2, Washington state
reported that Yakima County had 1,203 positive cases of the
coronavirus, a rate of 455 cases per 100,000 residents, the highest
in the state. The county has a large number of people in the
agriculture and food processing industries. Many live and work in
close quarters, which can spread the disease.
(AP, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, Australian health
officials said a small coronavirus cluster has emerged at a meat
factory in the state of Victoria, as parts of the country started
easing social distancing restrictions after suppressing the
infection rate to below 1 %. Victoria reported seven new cases,
three of which were related to a meat-processing facility. A total
of 8 employees have tested positive.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, It was reported
that Inmates at a prison in Manaus, Brazil, a city deep in the
Amazon that has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, have
taken seven prison guards hostage. Local television stations cited a
video allegedly recorded by an unidentified inmate, who complained
of sweltering heat and a lack of electricity in the prison.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, In Brazil there
have been 4,970 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 421 deaths
over the last 24 hours. The nation has now registered 95,559
confirmed cases of the virus and 6,750 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, It was reported
that a top British hospital will use blood plasma treatment for
COVID-19 patients as part of a trial that transfuses plasma from
recovered people into sick people to give their immune systems a
boost to fight the virus.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, The northeastern
Chinese city of Harbin, struggling with the country's biggest
coronavirus cluster, shut dine-in services, as the rest of China
eases restrictions designed to hamper the spread of the disease.
China reported two new coronavirus cases for today, up from one the
day before. The number of confirmed cases in China has reached
82,877. With no new deaths reported, the death toll remained at
4,633. The Harbin cases outbreak was traced to a to a Chinese
student who flew from America in March.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)(Reuters, 5/3/20)(Econ., 5/2/20,
p.33)
2020 May 2, The French health
ministry said travelers to France, including French citizens
returning home, will face a compulsory two-week quarantine and
possible isolation when they arrive in the country to help slow the
spread of coronavirus.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, It was reported
that India has mandated that all public and private sector employees
use a government-backed Bluetooth tracing app and maintain social
distancing in offices as New Delhi begins easing some of its
lockdown measures in lower-risk areas.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, Indonesia recorded
292 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections to
10,843. 31 new deaths took the total number of fatalities to 831.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, Iran's death toll
from the coronavirus increased by 65 in the past 24 hours to 6,156.
Total diagnosed cases reached 96,448, up by 802 in the past 24
hours.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, Ireland said it
will allow firms impacted by the coronavirus crisis to warehouse tax
liabilities for 12 months, offering a "lifeline" as part of an
additional package of business supports that could reach 6.5 billion
euros.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, In Italy deaths
from the COVID-19 epidemic jumped by 474, against 269 the day
before. The daily tally of new infections was broadly stable for a
third day running at 1,900 against 1,965 a day earlier. The total
death toll now stands at 28,710. The total number of confirmed cases
amounted to 209,328, the third highest global tally behind those of
the US and Spain.
(AP, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, Ivory Coast's PM
Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who is the ruling party’s candidate in
October’s presidential election, was evacuated to France for medical
checks Ivory Coast has recorded more than 1,300 cases of the
coronavirus, one of the highest totals in West Africa, and 15
deaths.
(Reuters, 5/3/20)
2020 May 2, In the Netherlands
the number of confirmed coronavirus infections increased by 445 to
40,236. 94 new deaths took the total COVID-19 fatalities to 4,987.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, New Zealand
recorded one new coronavirus death, bringing the toll to 20. There
were two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections, that raised the
total to 1,134.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, The Philippines
said it has recorded 156 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 24
more deaths, bringing the total number of infections in the country
to 8,928 and the fatalities to 603.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, A 5.4 magnitude
earthquake hit southern Puerto Rico hours after the government
announced the island's biggest spike in COVID-19. At least 50
families were forced to relocate.
(SSFC, 5/3/20, p.A4)
2020 May 2, Russia reported
9,623 new cases of coronavirus, its highest daily rise since the
start of the pandemic, bringing the total to 124,054, mostly in the
capital Moscow, where the mayor threatened to cut the number of
travel permits.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, In South Korea a
man (29) visited five nightclubs and bars in Seoul's Itaewon
entertainment neighborhood in a single night before testing positive
for the virus on Mas 6. More than 100 infections soon appeared
linked to the nightspots.
(AP, 5/12/20)
2020 May 2, In Spain joggers,
cyclists and surfers across the country emerged from their homes,
with adults allowed out for exercise for the first time in seven
weeks as the government began easing tough coronavirus restrictions.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 2, Thailand reported
six new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, bringing the total
number of cases to 2,966. Since Thailand first detected the
coronavirus in January, a total of 54 patients have died.
(Reuters, 5/2/20)
2020 May 3, President Trump
predicted that the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic ravaging
the country may reach as high as 100,000 in the United States, twice
as many as he had forecast just two weeks ago, even as he pressed
states to reopen the shuttered economy. Trump also struck a note of
urgency to restart the nation's economy.
(AP, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3,
California to date had 54,923 cases of coronavirus and 2,215 deaths.
The SF Bay Area had 8,560 cases and 308 deaths. Total cases
nationwide reached 1,158,041 with the death toll at 67,682.
(sfist.com, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, Ohio Gov. Mike
DeWine said that a statewide order mandating face masks be worn in
stores went "too far." Ohio has over 19,000 cases of coronavirus
with over 1,000 deaths.
(ABC News, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, It was reported
that thousands of desperate migrants around the world are trapped in
limbo and even at risk of death without food, water or shelter in
scorching deserts and at sea, as governments close off borders and
ports amid the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, Afghan health
officials said one-third of 500 random coronavirus tests in Kabul
have come back positive. The official death toll was at 85.
(AP, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, Brazil's President
Bolsonaro, who has drawn criticism from across the political
spectrum for dismissing the threat of the coronavirus, attacked
Congress and the courts in a speech to hundreds of supporters as the
number of cases blew past 100,000.
(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 3, In Canada the total
number of people killed by the coronavirus rose by 4.6% to 3,606.
The figure for those diagnosed with the coronavirus rose to 57,148.
(Reuters, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, India recorded its
largest single-day jump of 2,600 coronavirus infections. 83 new
deaths raised the death toll to 1,301. Total confirmed cases neared
40,000.
(SFC, 5/4/20, p.A4)
2020 May 3, Indonesia reported
349 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections in
the country to 11,192. 14 new coronavirus-related deaths were
confirmed, bringing the total to 845.
(Reuters, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, Iran said it would
reopen schools and mosques in some locations, even though the nation
has been the regional epicenter of the pandemic since mid-February.
Authorities said that 47 people had died in the preceding 24-hour
period raising the death total to 6,203. Total case number reached
97,424.
(AP, 5/3/20)(Reuters, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, Israel reopened
some schools but the bid to edge back to normality as coronavirus
concerns ease was boycotted by several municipalities and many
parents who cited poor government preparation.
(AP, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, In the Netherlands
the number of confirmed coronavirus infections increased by 335 to
40,471. The National Institute for Public Health reported 69 new
deaths taking the total COVID-19 fatalities to 5,056.
(Reuters, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, The number of
coronavirus cases in the Philippines climbed to 9,223 after the
Health Ministry reported 295 new infections. The Philippines barred
incoming passenger flights from this morning for one week to contain
the spread of the coronavirus and help reduce pressure on quarantine
facilities housing thousands of Filipino repatriates.
(Reuters, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, Russia reported
10,633 new cases in the last 24 hours. More than half the cases were
in Moscow
(SFC, 5/4/20, p.A4)
2020 May 3, South Korea
recorded just 13 new coronavirus cases and no deaths.
(The Week, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, Spain's coronavirus
death toll rose by 164 to 25,264, marking the lowest one-day
increase since March 18.
(Reuters, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, Swiss-based Roche
said the US Food and Drug Administration has cleared a coronavirus
antibody test produced by the company for emergency use. Roche said
its test has proven 100 percent accurate at detecting antibodies in
the blood and 99.8 percent accurate at ruling out the presence of
those antibodies.
(The Week, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, Tanzania's
President John Magufuli said coronavirus test kits used in the
country were faulty, because he said they had returned positive
results on samples taken from a goat and a pawpaw. Tanzania had
recorded 480 cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths. Magufuli said he will
send a plane to Madagascar to import a herbal tonic, produced from
the artemisia plant, which has been touted as a cure for coronavirus
by the country's president. The drink was launched as Covid-Organics
and was being marketed after being tested on fewer than 20 people
over a period of three weeks. Congo-Brazzaville's president has also
promised to import the drink.
(Reuters, 5/3/20)(BBC, 5/3/20)
2020 May 3, The Tanzanian
health ministry said there would be no more night burials and that
from now on, family members would be fully involved in funeral
preparations to ensure that the dignity of the deceased is
preserved.
(BBC, 5/4/20)
2020 May 3, Thailand reported
three new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, as the country
started lifting restrictions on some businesses and aspects of life.
Thailand has seen a total of 2,969 coronavirus cases and 54 deaths
since the outbreak began in January. Residents of Bangkok enjoyed
their first day of eased coronavirus restrictions.
(Reuters, 5/3/20)(Reuters, 5/4/20)(SFC, 5/4/20,
p.A4)
2020 May 3, Vietnam reported
its first new coronavirus infection in nine days. The country has
registered a total of 271 coronavirus cases and no deaths.
(Reuters, 5/3/20)
2020 May 4, The US National
Institutes of Health said it has started enrolling participants in a
study to find out the infection rate of COVID-19, caused by the new
coronavirus, in children and their families in the United States.
Global coronavirus cases surpassed 3.5 million and deaths neared a
quarter of a million.
(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4,
California to date had 55,657 cases of coronavirus and 2,254 deaths.
The SF Bay Area had 8,763 cases and 312 deaths. The United States
recorded more than 22,000 new cases of COVID-19. Total cases
nationwide reached over 1,180,000 with the death toll at 68,689.
(sfist.com, 5/4/20)(Good Morning America, 5/5/20)
2020 May 4, Michigan has
reported 43,754 confirmed COVID-19 virus cases and 4,049 deaths due
to complications from the disease.
(AP, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, New York state
reported more than 1,700 previously undisclosed deaths at nursing
homes and adult care facilities. At least 4,813 people have died
from COVID-19 in the state's nursing homes since March 1.
(AP, 5/5/20)
2020 May 4, NYC health
officials said 15 children, many of whom tested positive for or had
previously been exposed to the novel coronavirus, have recently been
admitted to city hospitals with a mysterious illness possibly linked
to COVID-19. They showed various symptoms associated with toxic
shock or Kawasaki disease, a rare inflammatory syndrome typically
affecting children under the age of 5.
(ABC News, 5/5/20)
2020 May 4, Apple and Google
shared more details about the technological tools they’ve been
developing to help governments and public health authorities trace
the spread of the coronavirus and notify citizens about exposure,
including a set of privacy requirements for use of those tools. If
countries want to adopt the technology, location services are
forbidden.
(Yahoo News, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, Bangladesh reported
more than 10,000 coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, Belgium began a
cautious easing of its coronavirus lockdown, allowing some
businesses to reopen while obliging all passengers on public
transport to wear a mask under a new rule to minimize the risk of a
new outbreak.
(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, Britain as of today
had recorded nearly 190,000 coronavirus cases and almost 28,500
deaths.
(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, In El Salvador at
least 300 people held in two centers set up by the government
protested, demanding to be released and given their test results.
(Reuters, 5/5/20)
2020 May 4, France reported 306
new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the nationwide tally to 25,201.
(AP, 5/5/20)
2020 May 4, Chancellor Angela
Merkel said that Germany would contribute 525 million euros ($573.51
million) to a global fund-raising push to search for vaccines and
for a treatment for the novel coronavirus. World leaders in a video
conference launched a pledging "marathon" - without the United
States - to raise at least $8.2 billion for research into a possible
vaccine and treatments for the coronavirus, but warned that it is
just the start of an effort that must be sustained over time to beat
the disease.
(AP, 5/4/20)(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, In Iceland high
schools, hair salons, dentists and other businesses began reopening
after six weeks of lockdown. Iceland has confirmed 1,799 cases of
the coronavirus, but just 10 people have died.
(AP, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, Iran reopened
mosques in parts of the country deemed at low risk from coronavirus,
as it said almost 80,000 people hospitalized with the illness had
recovered and been released. 74 new fatalities brought the total to
6,277. Another 1,223 cases of COVID-19 infections were recorded in
the past 24 hours, raising that total to 98,647.
(AFP, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, In Israel former
Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, winner of the 2020 Genesis Prize,
announced that he will donate the $1 million award to organizations
fighting the coronavirus pandemic and assisting people most affected
by the outbreak.
(AP, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, Millions of people
were allowed to return to work in Italy as Europe’s longest lockdown
started to ease. Italy's statistics bureau ISTAT said the
coronavirus death toll is much higher than reported, in an analysis
pointing to thousands of fatalities that have never been officially
attributed to COVID-19.
(AP, 5/4/20)(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, Kuwaiti said
security officials have dispersed what they described as a riot by
stranded Egyptians unable to return home amid the coronavirus
pandemic.
(https://tinyurl.com/yd8a8tee)(SFC, 5/5/20, p.A5)
2020 May 4, Lebanon entered a
new phase of its coronavirus lockdown, allowing restaurants to open
at 30% capacity during the day. But many business owners say they
will not reopen because they would be losing more money if they
operate under such restrictions during a faltering economy.
(AP, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, Thousands of
Malaysians joined the morning rush hour as the government eased
curbs on movement and businesses for the first time in six weeks.
(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, Malaysia criticized
the World Health Organization for advising adults to avoid palm oil
in their diet during the COVID-19 outbreak and use alternatives such
as olive oil.
(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, In the Netherlands
the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 199 to 40,770,
with 26 new deaths. Total deaths in the country rose to 5,082.
(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, In Nigeria
businesses reopened on the first working day after the easing of a
lockdown imposed on key urban areas in a bid to restart Africa's
largest economy. The government said this is the first phase of
easing the lockdown and that the situation will be assessed in the
next two weeks. Nigeria has recorded 2,558 cases of coronavirus and
87 deaths.
(AP, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, PM Erna Solberg
said Norway will give $1 billion to support the distribution
worldwide of any vaccine developed against COVID-19 as well as for
vaccines against other diseases. The $1 billion will go to GAVI, the
Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. Norway has financed
GAVI since its inception in 2000.
(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, Portugal began to
slowly ease its lockdown measures imposed to fight the coronavirus.
A three-phase plan began to open up different sectors every 15 days,
starting with hairdressers, small neighborhood shops, car
dealerships and bookshops. Portugal has so far reported 25,525 cases
of the coronavirus and 1,063 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 4, In Russia the
number of cases rose by 10,581 over the past 24 hours compared with
a record of 10,633 the previous day.
(Reuters, 5/4/20)
2020 May 5, President Donald
Trump dismissed concerns that the number of deaths from the
coronavirus could nearly double in the next three months. Trump said
that the COVID-19 task force would be winding down and be replaced
with a new group to focus more on rebooting the economy.
(Yahoo News, 5/5/20)(AP, 5/6/20)
2020 May 5, The US Treasury
Department said it will begin distributing $4.8 billion in
pandemic-relief funds today to Native American tribal governments in
all US states. A newly revised coronavirus mortality model predicts
nearly 135,000 Americans will die from COVID-19 by early August,
almost double previous projections.
(Reuters, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, Rick Bright, former
director of the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development
Authority, filed a whistle-blower complaint saying he was ousted
from his position and reassigned to a lesser position after raising
concerns that the Trump administration wanted to "flood" coronavirus
hot spots with the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.
(SFC, 5/6/20, p.A6)
2020 May 5, In Michigan people
in some 50 communities participated in largely mail-based local
elections. The state secretary had sent absentee ballots to all
740,000 registerred voters in those municipalities to discourage in
person voting. More than 4,180 people in Michigan have died from the
coronavirus.
(SFC, 5/6/20, p.A4)
2020 May 5, New York lost 232
residents to the coronavirus, including 25 people who died in
nursing homes.
(ABC News, 5/6/20)
2020 May 5, Pfizer Inc and
BioNTech SE said they have begun delivering doses of their
experimental coronavirus vaccines for initial human testing in the
United States.
(Reuters, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, Argentina confirmed
that coronavirus cases have topped 5,000.
(Reuters, 5/6/20)
2020 May 5, In Brazil the mayor
of Manaus, the biggest city in the Amazon rainforest region, asked
world leaders for help fighting the novel coronavirus, which has
brought his city's health system to the brink of collapse. Brazil
hit a record for daily coronavirus deaths, indicating that it is
still in the thick of its battle even as some areas of the country
begin to reopen.
(AFP, 5/5/20)(Reuters, 5/6/20)
2020 May 5, Britain became the
first country in Europe to confirm more than 32,000 coronavirus
deaths.
(Reuters, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, China reported no
new deaths from COVID-19, three weeks since the country recorded its
last fatality from the disease. More than 3.59 million people have
been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and
250,386 have died.
(Good Morning America, 5/5/20)(Reuters, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, In France deaths in
care homes reached 9,471, nearly two-fifths of the country's
official COVID-19 death toll.
(Econ., 5/9/20, p.41)
2020 May 5, A study by French
scientists suggested a man was infected with COVID-19 as early as
Dec. 27, nearly a month before France confirmed its first cases.
(Reuters, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, Hong Kong said it
will relax restrictions on public gatherings and allow gyms, cinemas
and beauty parlors to re-open this week as new cases dwindle.
(Reuters, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, Indonesia reported
its biggest daily rise in infections with 484 new cases, taking the
total to 12,071.
(Reuters, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, Iran announced that
confirmed coronavirus infections had reached almost 100,000 in the
country as fresh cases picked up again after a brief drop in recent
days. Iran recorded 63 deaths in the past 24 hours, reaching a total
of 6,340 from COVID-19 to date. Another 1,323 people tested positive
for the virus, bringing the overall number to 99,970.
(AFP, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, It was reported
that Italy plans to give work permits to thousands of irregular
migrants to help farms deal with the Covid-19 epidemic that has cut
the flow of cheap labor from abroad.
(Reuters, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, Mexico registered
26,025 coronavirus cases and 2,507 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/6/20)
2020 May 5, Pakistan said it
raised concerns with the United Arab Emirates that workers are
returning home with high infection rates and that crowded living
conditions in the UAE may be helping the virus spread.
(Reuters, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, Russia reported
10,102 new cases of COVID-19 for the third day in a row, with the
country's overall caseload soaring past 150,000. Russia now has
155,370 diagnosed cases. However, the country's death toll remains
relatively low with just 95 fatalities reported in the past 24
hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 1,451.
(ABC News, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, South Korea
reported no new locally transmitted infections of the novel
coronavirus and just three imported cases over the past 24 hours.
(ABC News, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, Spain reported its
third day in a row of under 200 deaths, as well as a record number
of people claiming social security benefits for April. Spain
reported 185 deaths over the last 24 hours. The overall coronavirus
death toll in the country rose to 25,613. The overall number of
diagnosed cases rose to 219,329.
(Reuters, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, Ukraine has
recorded 12,697 coronavirus cases, including 316 deaths.
(AP, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, In Yemen the
Houthis, who control the north, reported their first case of
COVID-19. By the end of May they claimed a total of four infections
in Sana'a.
(Econ., 7/6/20, p.35)
2020 May 6, Pres. Donald Trump
said that the COVID-19 task force would continue indefinitely, but
focus more on rebooting the economy.
(AP, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, The first immigrant
in US detention died of the novel coronavirus at the US Immigration
and Customs Enforcement's Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego.
(Reuters, 5/7/20)
2020 May 6,
California to date had 58,724 cases of coronavirus and 2,379 deaths.
The SF Bay Area had 9,032 cases and 328 deaths. The United States
recorded more than 22,000 new cases of COVID-19. Total cases
nationwide reached over 1,206,886 with the death toll at 71,220.
(sfist.com, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, In San Francisco a
new UCSF Pandemic Workforce Training Academy opened with an $8.7
million state grant to train workers to follow the spread of the
COVID-19 disease through widespread contact tracing and case
investigation.
(SFC, 5/13/20, p.A1)
2020 May 5, A federal appeals
court blocked, for now, a judge’s order forcing Florida's Miami-Dade
County to give masks, soap and cleaning supplies to inmates at Metro
West Detention Center, a jail wracked by the novel coronavirus.
Metro West is where 163 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19,
the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. In all three Miami
jails, about 340 inmates have tested positive in the cramped
quarters where social distancing is challenging.
(Miami Herald, 5/5/20)
2020 May 6, All of New York
City's 472 subway stations closed early today for cleaning for the
first overnight subway shutdown in at least 50 years. The subway
trains will now stop running from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. local time each
day.
(ABC News, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, The Development
Bank of Latin America (CAF) said it will loan Argentina $4 billion
to help finance projects to combat the growing coronavirus impact.
(Reuters, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, Brazil, one of the
world's emerging hot spots, registered a record number of cases and
deaths, prompting the health minister to flag the possibility of
strict lockdowns in hard-hit areas.
(Reuters, 5/7/20)
2020 May 6, Colombia's
president said mandatory quarantine will be extended by a further
two weeks.
(Reuters, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, El Salvador's
President Nayib Bukele announced still tougher measures to fight the
coronavirus pandemic, including shopping trips limited to twice a
week.
(AP, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania said they will open their borders to each others' citizens
from May 15, creating a Baltic "travel bubble" within the European
Union.
(Reuters, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, The European Union
predicted “a recession of historic proportions this year” due to the
impact of the coronavirus as it released its first official
estimates of the damage the pandemic is inflicting on the bloc’s
economy.
(AP, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, The German
government and the 16 federal states agreed at a meeting to extend
until June 5 social distancing measures designed to help fight the
spread of the novel coronavirus. Germany's confirmed coronavirus
cases increased by 947 to 164,807.
(Reuters, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, In India health
authorities scrambled to contain an outbreak at a huge fruit and
vegetable market in Chennai. Hundreds of Indian police tested
positive for the coronavirus in recent days, raising alarm as it
attempts to enforce the world's largest lockdown.
(AP, 5/6/20)(Reuters, 5/6/20)(SFC, 5/7/20, p.A6)
2020 May 6, Indian forces
killed Riyaz Naikoo (35), a top commander of the Hizbul Mujahedeen
rebel group, along with his aide in the disputed Kashmir region.
(SFC, 5/7/20, p.A2)
2020 May 6, Iran warned of a
"rising trend" in its coronavirus outbreak as it said 1,680 new
infections brought the country's overall number of confirmed cases
to 101,650. There were 78 new COVID-19 fatalities in the past 24
hours bringing that total to 6,418.
(AFP, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, In Italy deaths
from the COVID-19 epidemic climbed by 369. The total death toll now
stands at 29,684. The number of confirmed cases amounted to 214,457.
(Reuters, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, Nigeria said it
will extend a ban on all flights by four weeks as part of measures
to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, Confirmed
coronavirus cases in Peru have now exceeded 50,000.
(Reuters, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, Poland postponed
its upcoming presidential election due to concerns about the spread
of the novel coronavirus. Nearly 15,000 people in Poland have been
diagnosed with COVID-19 and at least 737 have died.
(AP, 5/7/20)(SFC, 5/7/20, p.A2)
2020 May 6, Russia recorded
more than 10,000 new cases for the fourth day in a row, bringing the
total number of confirmed infections to 165,929, with 1,537 deaths.
President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting to discuss a gradual
withdrawal from lockdown as Russia registered the world's sixth
highest total number of coronavirus cases.
(AP, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, South Korea
reported no new locally transmitted infections of the novel
coronavirus and just two imported cases over the past 24 hours --
its lowest daily tally in 78 days.
(ABC News, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, South Korea’s spy
agency that the coronavirus pandemic has likely taken a heavy toll
on North Korea, forcing leader Kim Jong Un to avoid public
activities and his people into panic buying for daily necessities.
(AP, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, Spanish PM Pedro
Sanchez announced that his government will declare a national state
of mourning for the more than 25,000 people in the country who have
died from the novel coronavirus.
(ABC News, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, Taiwan's health
minister Chen Shih-chung said Taiwan’s exclusion from the upcoming
World Health Assembly would harm the global response to the
coronavirus pandemic and cannot be excused by mere rules of
procedure. The island of more than 23 million people has recorded
just 438 cases of COVID-19 and six deaths.
(AP, 5/6/20)
2020 May 6, Yemen reported the
first three cases of the novel coronavirus in the southern province
of Lahaj, one of whom has died, and another infection in the
southern port of Aden.
(Reuters, 5/6/20)
2020 May 7, The Associated
Press reported that President Donald Trump's administration has
shelved a CDC document containing step-by-step advice to local
authorities on how and when to reopen restaurants and other public
places during the current pandemic.
(AP, 5/7/20)
2020 May 7, US House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi laid out the broad outlines of
the next massive coronavirus-response. Major components included
additional aid to state and local governments, more money for
coronavirus testing and help for the financially troubled US Postal
Service.
(Reuters, 5/7/20)
2020 May 7, Eleven members of
the US Secret Service tested positive for COVID-19, the disease
caused by the coronavirus, according to Department of Homeland
Security documents.
(Yahoo News, 5/8/20)
2020 May 7, California said it
will face a budget deficit of $54.3 billion due to a huge drop in
revenue combined with increased expenses linked to the coronavirus
pandemic, according to a newly released projection by state
financial advisers.
(Reuters, 5/7/20)
2020 May 7,
California to date had 60,635 cases of coronavirus and 2,462 deaths.
The SF Bay Area had 9,247 cases and 335 deaths. The United States
recorded more than 22,000 new cases of COVID-19. Total cases
nationwide reached over 1,231,992 with the death toll at 73,573.
(sfist.com, 5/7/20)
2020 May 7, The US Dept. of
Health and Human Services awarded California $97.3 million to 179
state health centers to expand coronavirus testing in low income
communities.
(SFC, 5/8/20, p.A7)
2020 May 7, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo extended a moratorium on evictions for non-payment of
rent for another 60 days until August 20 to alleviate anxiety over
the economic impact of the novel coronavirus. New York reported 952
new deaths from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours. 323,978 people
across the state have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and
at least 20,597 have died.
(AP, 5/7/20)(ABC News, 5/7/20)
2020 May 7, GlaxoSmithKline
said it will start trials of an experimental rheumatoid arthritis
drug on patients suffering from pneumonia related to COVID-19 at the
end of the month.
(AP, 5/7/20)
2020 May 7, In Belgium hundreds
of chefs' jackets were laid down in the center of Brussels to
highlight the plight of hotels, restaurants and cafes that have been
shuttered for nearly two months during the coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 5/7/20)
2020 May 7, Brazil's Health
Ministry registered 9,888 new cases, bringing its total to 135,106
with 9,146 deaths. Jair Bolsonaro went to the Supreme Court to ask
that state be forced to roll back restrictive measures, despite the
surge in the nation's coronavirus cases and deaths.
(Reuters, 5/8/20)(SFC, 5/9/20, p.A4)
2020 May 7, British physicians
in The Lancet reported that a rare, life-threatening condition is
developing in some children after exposure to the new coronavirus
that researchers are calling "Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory
Syndrome Potentially Associated with COVID-19.
(Reuters, 5/8/20)
2020 May 7, China's National
Health Commission said that just two new cases of COVID-19 had been
reported on the Chinese mainland -- both of which were imported from
abroad.
(ABC News, 5/7/20)
2020 May 7, Chinese researchers
said that a minority of men infected with COVID-19 had the new
coronavirus in their semen, opening up a small chance the disease
could be transmitted sexually.
(Reuters, 5/7/20)
2020 May 7, It was reported
that a coronavirus outbreak has infected more than 30% of inmates at
the prison in Villavicencio, in central Colombia. The prison
currently has nearly double the 899 inmates it is meant to hold.
(AP, 5/7/20)
2020 May 7, El Salvador began a
quarantine under orders from Pres. Nayib Bukele. Residents will be
allowed to leave their homes only twice a week to buy food. The
country has already spent a month under a mandatory shelter-in-place
order. El Salvador has recorded 695 confirmed infections and 15
deaths.
(SFC, 5/7/20, p.A6)(Econ., 5/9/20, p.23)
2020 May 7, Coronavirus cases
in India rose past 50,000, with the pace of new infections showing
no signs of abating despite a strict weeks-long lockdown.
(Reuters, 5/7/20)
2020 May 7, The Italian
government and a bishops conference reached an agreement to resume
Masses starting May 18, with strict protocols, after a two-month
shutdown. Some conservative Catholics issued a petition, signed
mostly by Italian clergy, academics and journalists, claiming the
coronavirus is an overhyped “pretext" to deprive the faithful of
Mass and impose a new world order. The petition called the pandemic
a “pretext” by unnamed actors to manipulate and control people
through panic and deprive them of their fundamental freedoms,
including the freedom of worship.
(AP, 5/8/20)
2020 May 7, Nigeria has
recorded 3,145 cases of coronavirus and 103 deaths.
(Econ., 5/9/20, p.34)
2020 May 7, Russia saw a record
daily rise in COVID-19 cases, with 11,231 new infections reported
over the past 24 hours. Russia has reported 165,929 confirmed cases
of COVID-19 and 1,625 deaths.
(ABC News, 5/7/20)
2020 May 7, The United Nations
issued a new appeal for £3.8 billion in funding to "protect millions
of lives and stem the spread of coronavirus in fragile countries."
(The Telegraph, 5/7/20)
2020 May 8, President Donald
Trump broke with health experts, telling reporters that the
coronavirus will “go away without a vaccine.”
(Yahoo News, 5/9/20)
2020 May 8, Former President
Barack Obama harshly criticized President Donald Trump’s handling of
the coronavirus pandemic as an “absolute chaotic disaster” during a
conversation with ex-members of his administration.
(AP, 5/9/20)
2020 May 8, The US blocked a
vote on a UN security council resolution calling for a global
ceasefire during the Covid-19 pandemic, because the Trump
administration objected to an indirect reference to the World Health
Organization.
(The Guardian, 5/9/20)
2020 May 8, US regulators
approved the first saliva-based coronavirus test, developed by
Rutgers Univ., that allows people to collect their own sample at
home. The sample must be shipped to a laboratory for processing.
(SFC, 5/9/20, p.A5)
2020 May 8, California
to date had 62,721 cases of coronavirus and 2,555 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 9,482 cases and 342 deaths. The United States recorded more
than 22,000 new cases of COVID-19. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,271,755 with the death toll at 76,368.
(sfist.com, 5/8/20)
2020 May 8, Hawaii reported no
new cases of COVID-19. Positive cases remained at 629 with 17
deaths.
(SFC, 5/8/20, p.A6)(SSFC, 5/10/20, p.A7)
2020 May 8, In Nevada magician
Roy Horn (75, who alongside Siegfried Fischbacher starred in a
popular, long-running Las Vegas act built around rare tigers, died
in las Vegas from of complications of COVID-19.
(Reuters, 5/8/20)
2020 May 8, Abbott Laboratories
said its antibody test for the new coronavirus is highly likely to
correctly determine whether people have ever been infected with the
fast-spreading virus. Researchers at the University of Washington
School of Medicine found Abbott's test had a specificity rate of
99.9% and a sensitivity rate of 100%.
(Reuters, 5/8/20)
2020 May 8, Brazil's 5th
largest city, Fortaleza, became the nation's third metropolis to
enter lockdown for COVID-19.
(SFC, 5/9/20, p.A4)
2020 May 8, Britain's COVID-19
death toll rose to 31,241.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 8, The World Health
Organization said that although a market in the Chinese city of
Wuhan selling live animals likely played a significant role in the
emergence of the new coronavirus, it does not recommend that such
markets be shut down globally.
(AP, 5/8/20)
2020 May 8, China said it is
open to an independent investigation to determine the origins of the
coronavirus now sweeping the world.
(Reuters, 5/8/20)
2020 May 8, The World Bank
approved $506 million in emergency loans and grants for Ecuador to
help it grapple with one of the worst outbreaks in Latin America.
(Reuters, 5/8/20)
2020 May 8, In Germany local
governments activated emergency measures in three districts that
have seen flare-ups of the coronavirus. All the spikes were
associated with local meatpacking centers in the states of North
Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein.
(Business Insider, 5/17/20)
2020 May 8, Iran allowed
worshippers to attend Friday prayers for the first time in more than
two months, but the capital remained under restrictions. Iran
announced 1,556 new cases of coronavirus infection. 55 new virus
fatalities in the past 24 hours took the overall death toll in the
health crisis to 6,541. The country's caseload overall rose to
104,691.
(AFP, 5/8/20)
2020 May 8, Mexican police said
three nurses have been found strangled to death in Torreon, Coahuila
state, amid an alarming increase of assaults on health care workers
in the country, who are being wrongly accused of spreading the
coronavirus. The country has recorded at least 44 attacks against
medical personnel between mid-March and mid-April. Two men were soon
arrested for the strangulation deaths of the three nurses. Police
said they had planned to robe the women and rules out links the
pandemic anxiety.
(Business Insider, 5/10/20)(SSFC, 5/10/20, p.A4)
2020 May 8, In Mexico Moises
Escamilla May (45), a high-ranking member of the dangerous Los Zetas
crime syndicate, died from the coronavirus at a maximum-security
prison in Jalisco state. May was arrested shortly after he was
alleged to have beheaded 12 people in Yucatan, Mexico, in August
2008.
(The Independent, 5/12/20)
2020 May 8, Coronavirus cases
in Pakistan surged past 25,000, just hours before the government was
due to lift lockdown steps.
(Reuters, 5/8/20)
2020 May 8, Russia's
coronavirus cases rose by over 10,000 for the sixth straight day,
bringing the nationwide tally to 187,859. Around 100 central bank
employees have been diagnosed, most of them in Moscow.
(Reuters, 5/8/20)
2020 May 8, Saudi Arabia
reported 1,701 new cases, taking the total to 35,432. The kingdom
has recorded a daily average of around 1,500 new cases over the past
week.
(Reuters, 5/8/20)
2020 May 8, Slovakia recorded
no new cases of coronavirus for the first time since March 10. Cases
totaled 1,455 while 26 people have died and 919 have already
recovered.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 8, South African
President Cyril Ramaphosa said that African countries needed a
two-year debt standstill due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,
longer than a moratorium agreed by G20 governments last month.
(Reuters, 5/8/20)
2020 May 8, The UN agency for
Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) launched an emergency coronavirus
appeal, saying Palestinians across the Middle East were suffering a
devastating socio-economic impact.
(AFP, 5/8/20)
2020 May 8, Yemen reported nine
new coronavirus cases in Aden, the interim headquarters of the
government, including one death. This brought the total count to 34
infections with 7 deaths. The Houthi movement, which controls the
capital Sanaa and most big urban centers, has so far reported one
infection, a Somali national who was found dead in a hotel.
(Reuters, 5/8/20)
2020 May 9, The US Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) approved emergency use authorization (EUA)
to Quidel Corp for the first COVID-19 antigen test. The emergency
use authorization was issued late May 7 to Quidel for the Sofia 2
SARS Antigen FIA.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, Three members of
the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci,
placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who
tested positive for COVID-19.
(AP, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, The US Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it would allow state health
departments to distribute Gilead Sciences Inc's remdesivir drug to
fight COVID-19, and the United States would receive about 40% of the
drug maker's global donation.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, California
to date had 64,532 cases of coronavirus and 2,630 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 9,558 cases and 342 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,288,569 with the death toll at 77,344.
(sfist.com, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, China said it will
reform its disease prevention and control system to address
weaknesses exposed by the coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, China issued a
lengthy rebuttal of what it said were 24 "preposterous allegations"
by some leading US politicians over its handling of the new
coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 5/10/20)
2020 May 9, China's National
Health Commission reported 14 new confirmed coronavirus cases, the
highest number since April 28 and up from only one case a day
earlier.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, The number of
people who have died from coronavirus infections in France rose by
80 to 26,310.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, In India about 70
people fled a quarantine center in Bihar state's Nawada district,
alleging poor facilities and lack of food. A district magistrate
said some fled after one of the occupants tested positive for
COVID-19.
(SSFC, 5/10/20, p.A6)
2020 May 9, Indonesia reported
533 new coronavirus infections, the biggest daily increase, taking
the total number to 13,645. 16 more have died from the disease,
taking the total number of death to 959, while 2,607 have recovered.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, Iran reported 1,529
new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, taking the overall total
to 106,220. 48 new deaths took the overall toll to 6,589. Experts at
home and abroad said the actual number of cases could be much
higher.
(AFP, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, Deaths from the
COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 194, against 243 the day
before, while the daily tally of new cases fell to 1,083.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, Tokyo reported 36
new cases of coronavirus infections, three less than a day earlier
and the seventh consecutive day that new infections have remained
below 100. This brought the total coronavirus infections in the
capital city to 4,846 cases.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, Mexico said the
number of deaths from the coronavirus in the border city of Tijuana
has soared and the COVID-19 mortality rate is twice the national
average. It was reported that Mexico City officials have tabulated
more than 2,500 deaths from the coronavirus and serious respiratory
illnesses that doctors suspect are related to COVID-19, as opposed
to 700 reported by the government in the area. Nationwide the
government has reported 3000 confirmed deaths.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)(SFC, 5/9/20, p.A4)
2020 May 9, In Mexico
coronavirus patients were being turned away from hospitals in Mexico
City, as both public and private medical facilities quickly fill up
and the number of new infections continues to rise. The health
ministry confirmed 1,938 new cases of coronavirus infection, along
with 193 additional deaths. Government models projected that
infections could peak this weekend. Reported coronavirus cases in
the country total 33,460, with 3,353 deaths attributed to the highly
contagious respiratory disease caused by the virus.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, Pakistani
authorities reported a jump of 1,637 coronavirus cases with 24 new
fatalities.
(SSFC, 5/10/20, p.A6)
2020 May 9, The Philippines
recorded eight new coronavirus deaths, bringing the total to 704.
Infections increased by 147 to 10,610. Total deaths have reached
704.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, Russia reported
that the number of confirmed coronavirus infections had risen by
another 10,817 to reach a total of 198,676 and 1,827 deaths as
President Vladimir Putin presided over a muted 75th anniversary
celebration of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World
War II. The regional branch of Russia's consumer health watchdog
said 89 cases of the novel coronavirus have been recorded among
employees of Polyus Krasnoyarsk, a unit of Russia's largest gold
producer Polyus.
(AFP, 5/9/20)(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, In South Korea the
mayor of Seoul ordered all the capital’s bars and nightclubs shut
down indefinitely after many of the 34 new coronavirus infections
were traced to a single nightlife district. Cases had lingered at
around ten or below for weeks.
(NY Times, 5/10/20)(Business Insider, 5/17/20)
2020 May 9, Spain's daily death
toll from the coronavirus fell to its second lowest since mid-March,
as half the country prepared to move to the next phase of an exit
from one of Europe's strictest lockdowns. Spain's daily death toll
from the coronavirus fell to 179. Overall deaths rose to 26,478. The
number of diagnosed cases rose to 223,578.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, Sweden has recorded
3,175 fatalities from COVID-19. That's more than 31 deaths per
100,000 population, compared with about 8 per 100,000 in neighboring
Denmark.
(AP, 5/8/20)
2020 May 9, Swiss drugmaker
Novartis said Chinese regulators have approved its drug Mayzent for
the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis in adults.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, Thailand reported
four new coronavirus cases and one more death, bringing the total to
3,004 cases and 56 deaths since the outbreak started in January.
(Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020 May 9, The World Health
Organization (WHO) suspended staff activity late today at its hubs
in Houthi-held areas of Yemen, in a move sources said aimed to
pressure the group to be more transparent about suspected
coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, Sen. Charles
Schumer of New York, the Senate’s top Democrat, called on the
Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it allowed the use
of hydroxychloroquine, an unproven drug, on veterans for the
coronavirus, saying patients may have been put at unnecessary risk.
(AP, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, California
to date had 67,055 cases of coronavirus and 2,695 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 9,817 cases and 347 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,321,223 with the death toll at 79,058.
(sfist.com, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, Austria's finance
ministry said some local companies are abusing state subsidies for
staff on short-time working or using illegal workers during the
coronavirus pandemic. Inspections of 5,119 people at 1,946 companies
uncovered 460 violations of laws.
(Reuters, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, Britain's PM Boris
Johnson announced a modest easing of the country's coronavirus
lockdown and outlined his government's roadmap for further lifting
restrictions.
(SFC, 5/11/20, p.A4)
2020 May 10, Chinese
authorities reported what could be the beginning of a new wave of
coronavirus cases in the northeast, with one city in Jilin province
being reclassified as high-risk. 11 cases were reported in Jilin and
one in Hubei province. China has reported 4,633 deaths and 82, 901
cases.
(Reuters, 5/10/20)(SFC, 5/11/20, p.A4)
2020 May 10, It was reported
that new coronavirus infections are accelerating again in Germany
just days after its leaders loosened social restrictions, raising
concerns that the pandemic could once again slip out of control. The
number of confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 667 to 169,218.
The reported death toll rose by 13 to 7,395.
(Reuters, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, Ghana's President
Nana Akufo-Addo said that one worker at a fish factory in the
coastal city of Tema had infected 533 other employees last month.
The factory, owned by Thai Union Group PCL, was closed on April 17
and partially reopened on May 11. As of May 12 Ghana has reported
5,127 cases, including 22 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/12/20)
2020 May 10, Indonesia's Health
Ministry confirmed 387 new coronavirus cases. The country 14,032
confirmed cases, including 973 deaths. COVID-19 infections in Mimika
Regency, where Freeport's gold and copper Grasberg mine is located
on Papua island, reached 112 cases.
(SFC, 5/11/20, p.A4)(AP, 5/13/20)
2020 May 10, Iran warned of a
resurgence of the novel coronavirus as it reported 51 new deaths,
almost a month after it started to relax a nationwide lockdown.
1,383 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours,
raising total infections to 107,603. The new fatalities raised the
overall confirmed death toll to 6,640. Authorities reimposed more
stringent measures in the southwestern Khuzestan province, reversing
a phased return to work meant to revitalize the battered economy.
(AFP, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, Iran said it is
ready for unconditional prisoner swap talks with the United States
because of fears that the coronavirus could put the lives of the
prisoners at risk.
(AP, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, In Japan about
5,000 people in Tokyo were confirmed to have been infected with the
virus, representing nearly one-third of Japan's total infections of
around 16,000.
(AP, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, It was reported
that the Maldives has seen a rapid rise in coronavirus cases over
the past few weeks. Three deaths have been reported so far.
(SSFC, 5/10/20, p.A6)
2020 May 10, Authorities in
Nigeria's oil-rich southern Rivers state demolished two hotels over
an alleged breach of lockdown rules intended to contain the spread
of coronavirus. The state currently has 15 active cases of the virus
and has recorded two deaths. One owner said authorities were asking
for a bribe and denied that the hotel was operating.
(BBC, 5/11/20)
2020 May 10, Peru has about
65,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 1,800 deaths.
(AP, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, Russia registered
a total of 1,915 deaths from the new coronavirus. Cases of infection
rose by 11,012 in the last 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally
to 209,688.
(Reuters, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, South Africa's
Western Cape province has 5,621 coronavirus cases, and of the
country's 206 deaths registered from COVID-19, 116 have occurred in
the province. South Africa has eased its restrictions to allow an
estimated 1.6 million people to return to work in selected mines,
factories and businesses. Western Cape premier Alan Winde said South
Africa is expected to reach its peak of cases in August.
(AP, 5/11/20)
2020 May 10, South Korea
reported 34 new coronavirus cases. Of the new cases, 26 were
domestically transmitted infections and eight were imported cases.
(Reuters, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, Spain's daily
death toll from the coronavirus fell to 143, down from 179 the
previous day. Overall deaths rose to 26,621. The number of diagnosed
cases rose to 224,390.
(Reuters, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, Thailand reported
five new coronavirus cases but no deaths, bringing the total to
3,009 cases and 56 deaths since the outbreak started in the country
in January. These numbers did not include four more infected people
from the resort island of Phuket.
(Reuters, 5/10/20)
2020 May 10, In Turkey senior
citizens were allowed to venture out for the first time in seven
weeks. Turkey has recorded 137,115 coronavirus infections, including
3,739 deaths.
(SFC, 5/11/20, p.A4)
2020 May 10, Zambia has
confirmed 267 Covid-19 infections, with seven deaths. 76 of 85
reported new cases in the northern town of Nakonde were either sex
workers or lorry drivers. Last week, President Edgar Lungu announced
the reopening of restaurants, casinos and gyms after a month-long
shutdown to enforce social distancing measures.
(AP, 5/10/20)
2020 May 11, President Donald
Trump accused Democrats of moving to reopen US states from
coronavirus lockdown measures too slowly for political advantage,
without providing evidence to support his claim.
(AP, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, Vice President
Mike Pence strongly recommended to governors that all residents and
staff at such facilities be tested for the coronavirus in the next
two weeks. More than 27,000 residents and staff have died from
outbreaks of the virus at the nation's nursing homes and long-term
care facilities.
(AP, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, California
to date had 68,944 cases of coronavirus and 2,776 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 9,936 cases and 352 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,346,723 with the death toll at 80,352.
(sfist.com, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, Massachusetts
reported 129 new coronavirus deaths, bringing the total to 5,108
with 78,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases. The state’s death toll is most
likely higher because the count does not include people who have
died but were never tested.
(AP, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo (D) said his state had just 488 new confirmed COVID-19
cases statewide in the last 24 hours.
(The Week, 5/12/20)
2020 May 11, In South Carolina
Roman Catholic churches across the state reopened for services for
the first time since a coronavirus-related shutdown began on March
17, allowing parishioners to attend Mass in person.
(Reuters, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, The World Health
Organization said that coronavirus cases had jumped in countries
that eased their stay-at-home orders.
(The Week, 5/12/20)
2020 May 11, Belgium allowed
most of its shops to reopen with strict hygiene rules for customers,
following in the footsteps of Spain in an easing of its eight-week
lockdown as the number of COVID-19 cases fall. Belgium has reported
55,000 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and 8,707 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, The British
government published its plan for exiting the coronavirus lockdown.
The 51-page document, entitled "Our Plan to Rebuild: The UK
Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy", gives an outline of how
the United Kingdom could return to normal life.
(Reuters, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, In China the Wuhan
Municipal Health Commission issued an emergency notice announcing a
"10 Day Battle" to ramp up its ability to conduct nucleic acid tests
on the city's 11 million residents. Wuhan reported six new cases,
breaking a 35-day streak of zero daily new cases.
(AP, 5/12/20)(Business Insider, 5/17/20)
2020 May 11, Thirsty Czechs
were allowed to return to beer gardens in one of the government's
most eagerly anticipated measures to relax coronavirus restrictions.
Authorities also eased travel restrictions, allowing residents from
outside the EU to enter the country if they can show a negative
COVID-19 test and are taking up certain kinds of work, such as in
the healthcare sector.
(Reuters, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, There are now 107
coronavirus cases in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, including about 50
crew members still aboard the Celebrity Flora, a luxury ship
operated by a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises. The islands'
first four cases were diagnosed in late March, all believed to have
come from Guayaquil before travel was cut off. Tourism has ground to
a halt and an economic crisis has left many of the 30,000 residents
jobless.
(AP, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, Iran, which was
one of the earliest coronavirus hotspots, imposed a new lockdown on
the southwestern province of Khuzestan.
(Business Insider, 5/17/20)
2020 May 11, In Italy deaths
from the COVID-19 epidemic rose by 179. The daily tally of new cases
fell to 744. The total death toll now stands at 30,739 and the total
number of confirmed cases amounted to 219,814.
(Reuters, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, Lebanon's health
ministry recorded 14 new infections today after recording 36 a day
earlier, the highest one-shot uptick in at least a month.
(Reuters, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, In Nicaragua
doctors and family members of apparent coronavirus victims say, the
government has gone from denying the disease’s presence in the
country to actively trying to conceal its spread. The government
says the country has seen 16 coronavirus cases and five deaths since
its first case was diagnosed.
(AP, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, Markets across
Pakistan were teeming after opening up for the first time in over a
month as the country began to lift its lockdown despite a rise in
the rate of coronavirus infections. Of its 667 deaths from the
coronavirus, around 200 have been registered over the past week, and
there are almost 31,000 confirmed infections.
(Reuters, 5/11/20)
2020 May 11, Russian Pres.
Vladimir Putin declared an end to a nationwide partial economic
shutdown but noted that some restrictions will remain. Putin said
that it will be up to regional governors in the far-flung Russian
Federation to determine what industrial plants could reopen starting
May 12. The Financial Times reported that the real death toll could
be 70% higher.
(AP, 5/11/20)(Econ., 5/23/20, p.39)
2020 May 11, About half of
Spain's 47 million population entered the second stage of a
four-phase plan to lift a coronavirus lockdown and return to normal
by the end of June. Spain reported the lowest number of infections
in weeks. There were 123 deaths in the last 24 hours bringing that
total to almost 27,000. 400 new cases brought the overall recorded
infections to 268,000.
(Reuters, 5/11/20)(SFC, 5/12/20, p.A4)
2020 May 12, Dr. Anthony Fauci,
warned senators in a videoconference hearing that the "consequences
could be really serious" if states and localities reopen too soon.
(Good Morning America, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, California
to date had 69,417 cases of coronavirus and 2,789 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 10,049 cases and 366 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,358,901 with the death toll at 81,805.
(sfist.com, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo called face masks a sign of respect for others on a day
the state reported 195 new deaths, a jump from 161 the previous day.
(AP, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, Mayor Bill de
Blasio said New York City has 52 confirmed cases of what the state
is calling Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome Associated
with COVID-19, an inflammatory syndrome which has features that
overlap with Kawasaki disease. Out of the city's 52 cases, 25 tested
positive for COVID-19 and 22 others had antibodies. New data showed
that nine out of 10 people arrested for virus-related offenses in
NYC have been black or Hispanic.
(Good Morning America, 5/12/20)(AP, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, LabCorp said its
$119 at-home sample collection kit for COVID-19 testing would now be
available to all individuals with symptoms and possible exposure to
the virus, after limiting delivery to healthcare workers during its
launch last month. Customers can get the kit with no upfront
out-of-pocket costs if they are found to be eligible after filling
in a survey on the company's website.
(Reuters, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, Moderna Inc said
the US Food and Drug Administration granted "fast track" designation
to its experimental coronavirus vaccine, a move that speeds up the
regulatory review process. Moderna expects to start a late-stage
study of the vaccine in early summer and says there is potential for
a marketing application approval in 2021.
(Reuters, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, Canada's National
Research Council said China's CanSino Biologics Inc , the company
behind one of the few coronavirus vaccine candidates already in
clinical trials, is collaborating with the NRC to "pave the way" for
future trials in Canada.
(Reuters, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, China reported
seven new coronavirus cases on the mainland, versus one a day
earlier. Jilin city in the country's northeast warned of a huge risk
of COVID-19 spreading further.
(Reuters, 5/13/20)
2020 May 12, In Iran another
1,481 people tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours,
bringing the total number of cases to 110,767 since the start of the
crisis. Another 48 deaths from the virus took the overall toll to
6,733. A minister said Iran will reopen its mosques for three nights
over the next week so that worshippers can pray during one of the
holiest times of year.
(AP, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, In Italy deaths
from the COVID-19 epidemic climbed by 172, against 179 the day
before, but the daily tally of new cases doubled to 1,402. The
Lombardy region said it had found 419 infections from previous weeks
that it had not logged. The total death toll now stands at 30,911
with confirmed cases at 221,216.
(AP, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, Madagascar has
reported 193 Covid-19 cases and no deaths. President Andry Rajoelina
has said criticism of Covid-Organics, an untested herbal tonic that
he is touting as a treatment for Covid-19, shows the West's
condescending attitude towards Africa.
(BBC, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, In Montenegro
hundreds of Serbian Orthodox pilgrims used hand sanitizer and wore
face masks as they entered the Ostrog Monastery to mark the Day of
St Vasilije Ostroski the Miracle Maker, a 17th century bishop after
whom the monastery is named. Montenegro has reported 324 cases of
the coronavirus and nine deaths.
(Reuters, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, Russia moved to
ease a nationwide coronavirus lockdown. It was reported that Russian
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman has been hospitalized for the
coronavirus. He is the fifth senior government official in Russia to
get the virus, and the second from within Putin's inner circle.
Another 10,899 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing
the country's total number of confirmed infections to 232,243. At
least 2,116 people have died.
(AFP, 5/12/20) (Business
Insider, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, In Russia a fire
broke out in a Saint Petersburg hospital early today and killed five
coronavirus patients. Preliminary reports suggested an overheated
ventilator had short-circuited and caught fire. On May 9 a fire
caused by a faulty ventilator in the Spasokukotsky Hospital in
Moscow killed one patient.
(Good Morning America, 5/12/20)(SFC, 5/13/20,
p.A2)
2020 May 12, The UN said
COVID-19 has been confirmed in a crowded civilian protection camp in
Juba, South Sudan's capital.
(AP, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, In Uruguay the 86
crew members of the Greg Mortimer cruise ship, stranded in local
waters since March 27, began their evacuation to Montevideo
following an outbreak of the new coronavirus on board. At least 37
positive cases of coronavirus were detected in the last several
days.
(AP, 5/12/20)
2020 May 12, Yemen's
Saudi-backed government reported the first outbreak of the new
coronavirus in three more southern provinces, taking the total
number of cases in areas under its control to 65, including 10
deaths.
(Reuters, 5/12/20)
2020 May 13, US officials said
China-linked hackers are breaking into American organizations
carrying out research into COVID-19.
(Reuters, 5/13/20)
2020 May 13, California
to date had 72,749 cases of coronavirus and 2,958 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 10,213 cases and 372 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,389,935 with the death toll at 84,059. California's Gov.
Gavin Newsom gave the go-ahead for 17 counties to reopen their local
economies.
(sfist.com, 5/13/20)(SFC, 5/14/20, p.A7)
2020 May 13, In Iowa deaths
from the coronavirus surged for a 2nd straight day surpassing 300.
Rep. Gov. Kim Reynolds said she will allow some businesses,
including restaurants, salons, barber shops and gyms, to open on May
15.
(SFC, 5/14/20, p.A5)
2020 May 13, NYC Mayor Bill de
Blasio announced the launch of a public service campaign to inform
parents of the Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome
Associated with COVID-19. Three children diagnosed with the syndrome
have died in the state.
(SFC, 5/14/20, p.A5)
2020 May 13, British PM Boris
Johnson said that the deaths of 144 health care workers and 131
social care workers had been reported as involving COVID-19. The
United Kingdom's total COVID-19 death toll now exceeds 40,000, by
far the worst yet reported in Europe. England tentatively began
easing its coronavirus lockdown, with some people who cannot do
their jobs at home urged to return to work.
(Reuters, 5/13/20)
2020 May 13, Burundi has
reported only 15 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
(Econ., 5/16/20, p.38)
2020 May 13, Authorities in
Wuhan, the Chinese city where the novel coronavirus emerged,
launched an ambitious campaign to test all of its 11 million
residents, after a cluster of new cases raised fears of a second
wave of infections.
(Reuters, 5/13/20)
2020 May 13, Hong Kong reported
its first two coronavirus cases in three weeks not linked to anyone
who travelled overseas, with authorities scrambling to trace the
origin of the infections. Hundreds of protesters gathered in
shopping malls across Hong Kong, flouting coronavirus-related social
distancing rules to mock unpopular Chief Executive Carrie Lam on her
birthday.
(Reuters, 5/13/20)
2020 May 13, Indonesia reported
its biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections, with 689 new
cases, taking the total number to 15,438. Some 1,028 people have
died from the virus.
(Reuters, 5/13/20)
2020 May 13, A World Health
Organization report into Italy's coronavirus response was posted
after it had received necessary approvals within the UN system. It
was written by Francesco Zambon, WHO's chief field coordinator for
Italy and its regions, and a team of WHO public health experts and
consultants. The WHO later said it was withdrawn because of “factual
inaccuracies” that it has not detailed and denied that it received
any pressure from the Italian government to remove it.
(AP, 12/18/20)
2020 May 13, Lebanese rushed to
food stores to stock up on vegetables and basic items, hours before
the government was to reinstate a four-day nationwide lockdown,
following a spike in reported coronavirus cases.
(AP, 5/13/20)
2020 May 13, Lesotho recorded
its first case of COVID-19.
(Reuters, 5/13/20)
2020 May 13, Moscow said it had
ascribed the deaths of more than 60% of coronavirus patients in
April to other causes as it defended what it said was the superior
way it and Russia counted the number of people killed by the novel
virus.
(Reuters, 5/13/20)
2020 May 13, Kirill Dmitriev,
the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund head, said 60% of the
40 coronavirus patients taking tablets of favipiravir, which was
first developed in Japan under the name Avigan, tested negative for
the virus within five days and said the treatment could cut
coronavirus recovery times in half. Favipiravir is undergoing trials
in India by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. In Japan Avigan was found
to cause birth defects.
(Reuters, 5/13/20)
2020 May 13, Saudi Arabia said
it will go into a full lockdown during the days of celebration that
follow the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, May 23 – May 27.
(AP, 5/13/20)
2020 May 13, In Thailand
professional chefs started cooking up around 40,000 lunches in
Bangkok for communities affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Thailand reported no new daily cases for the first time in two
months.
(Reuters, 5/13/20)
2020 May 13, Yemen's
Saudi-backed government reported the first coronavirus case in Marib
province and four other infections elsewhere, taking the tally of
cases in areas under its control to 70, including 12 deaths. The
Aden-based government's coronavirus committee said two cases
including one death were reported in Aden, and two in Lahej,
including one death.
(Reuters, 5/13/20)
2020 May 14, Whistleblower Dr.
Rick Bright warned a congressional panel that the US lacks a plan to
produce and fairly distribute a coronavirus vaccine when it becomes
available. The nation could face “the darkest winter in modern
history” unless leaders act decisively. A federal watchdog agency
has found “reasonable grounds” that Bright was removed from his post
as head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development
Authority after sounding the alarm at the Department of Health and
Human Services.
(AP, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, The US Securities
and Exchange Commission said it has charged two companies and a
chief executive officer with making misleading claims related to
COVID-19. Turbo Global Partners Inc. and its CEO Robert W. Singerman
were charged with making false and misleading claims related to
equipment to detect individuals with fevers. The SEC said Applied
BioSciences Corp had begun offering and shipping finger-prick
COVID-19 tests to the general public, when in fact the tests could
only be administered in consultation with a medical professional.
(Reuters, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, Los Angeles Mayor
Eric Garcetti ordered everyone in the city to wear a mask when
outside their homes as some restrictions eased to allow people to
return to work and recreation under the coronavirus Panama.
(SFC, 5/15/20, p.A8)
2020 May 14, California
to date had 74,564 cases of coronavirus and 3,042 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 10,352 cases and 381 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,415,894 with the death toll at 85,807.
(sfist.com, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, New York City
reported 100 cases of a rare inflammatory disease in children
apparently tied to COVID-19.
(The Week, 5/15/20)
2020 May 14, Texas recorded
single day highs of 1,458 new cases of the coronavirus and 58
deaths.
(SFC, 5/16/20, p.A6)
2020 May 14, Diagnostic
services provider LabCorp said it would make its COVID-19 tests
available at workplaces, as employers across the US look to bring
people back to work safely.
(Reuters, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, Bangladesh
officials said the novel coronavirus has been detected in one of the
southern camps that are home to more than one million Rohingya
refugees.
(Reuters, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, In Bulgaria some
two thousand supporters of a fringe ultra-nationalist and
pro-Russian party marched through central Sofia accusing the
government of imposing confusing restrictions aimed at combating the
coronavirus. The center-right government of PM Boyko Borissov has
extended restrictions until June 14. Bulgaria has reported 2,100
registered cases, including 99 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, The European
Commission said it has suspended the delivery of 10 million Chinese
masks it purchased for health workers after two countries complained
about the poor quality of the batches they received.
(AP, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, Germany's unlisted
CureVac said its experimental coronavirus vaccine was shown to
trigger an immune response in animals when given a low dose and the
biotech firm was looking at carrying out its first human trials in
June.
(Reuters, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, Iran warned of a
possible coronavirus cluster hitting another province as it
announced 71 new deaths and more than 1,800 infections nationwide.
the latest deaths brought the official toll to 6,854. The total
number rose to 114,553 as 1,808 new cases of COVID-19 infection were
detected.
(AFP, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, Italy said will
start testing a representative sample of 150,000 people in 2,000
cities next week to understand the extent of its COVID-19 epidemic.
Italy has had more than 222,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and over
31,000 deaths since its outbreak came to light on February 21.
(Reuters, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, Japanese PM Shinzo
Abe announced the lifting of a coronavirus state of emergency ahead
of schedule in most of the country except for eight high-risk areas.
It remains in effect in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hokkaido.
(AP, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, New Zealand began
reopening malls, retail store and restaurants. Gatherings were
limited to ten people and social distancing guidelines remained in
place.
(SFC, 5/15/20, p.A7)
2020 May 14, The government of
Panama said 43 migrants have tested positive for the novel
coronavirus and 119 others who came in contact with them are in
quarantine at a relief station near the border with Colombia.
(AP, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, Typhoon Vongfong
slammed into the eastern Philippines, knocking out power and
threatening food crops in a new emergency for a country already
overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic. More than 11,600
coronavirus infections, including 772 deaths, have been reported in
the country.
(AP, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, Russian health
officials said they had registered 9,974 new infections in the last
24 hours, bringing Russia's tally to 252,245 with a total of 2,305
deaths.
(AFP, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, Saudi Arabia
country recorded some 2,000 new coronavirus cases, its highest ever
count. The country has so far seen more than 46,000 cases.
(Business Insider, 5/17/20)
2020 May 14, Slovenia became
the first European country to declare an official end to its
coronavirus epidemic. The country has reported 1,466 coronavirus
cases and 104 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/17/20)
2020 May 14, South Africa said
it will assign levels of lockdown restrictions for each of the
country's roughly 50 districts, depending on the number of active
coronavirus infections there.
(Reuters, 5/14/20)
2020 May 14, Yemen's
Saudi-backed government reported the first cases of the novel
coronavirus in the southern province of Al Dhalea, among 15 new
infections that took the total in areas under its control to 85 with
12 deaths. Al Dhalea became the ninth province to record cases, with
its first three infections.
(Reuters, 5/14/20)
2020 May 15, US Pres. Donald
Trump introduced Moncef Slasoui, a former chairman of vaccines at
GlaxoSmithKline as the new chief of what he called Operation Warp
Speed, an effort to have a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the
year.
(SFC, 5/16/20, p.A6)
2020 May 15, It was reported
that five sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier
sidelined in Guam due to a COVID-19 outbreak have tested positive
for the virus for the second time and have been taken off the ship.
(AP, 5/15/20)
2020 May 15, California
to date had 76,618 cases of coronavirus and 3,136 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 10,515 cases and 388 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,441,172 with the death toll at 87,427.
(sfist.com, 5/15/20)
2020 May 15, Most of Louisiana
eased coronavirus restrictions as many businesses and houses of
worship were allowed to reopen at 25% capacity.
(AP, 5/16/20)
2020 May 15, Hologic Inc said
the US Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use
authorization for its COVID-19 diagnostic test that can provide
initial results in about three hours and process more than 1,000
tests in 24 hours.
(AP, 5/15/20)
2020 May 15, In Belgium some
children, many with face masks, returned to school as the country
further eased a two-month coronavirus lockdown. Belgium has to date
reported 54,644 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 8,959 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/15/20)
2020 May 15, Brazil’s health
minister Dr. Nelson Teich resigned after less than a month on the
job in a sign of continuing upheaval over how the nation should
battle the coronavirus pandemic, quitting a day after President Jair
Bolsonaro stepped up pressure on him to expand use of the
antimalarial drug chloroquine in treating patients. Officials say
almost 15,000 people have died in Brazil from COVID-19, the disease
caused by the coronavirus, though some experts say the figure is
significantly higher due to insufficient testing.
(AP, 5/15/20)
2020 May 15, In Britain
government scientific advisers said the reproduction ('R') rate of
the coronavirus in the United Kingdom is now somewhere between 0.7
and 1.0.
(Reuters, 5/15/20)
2020 May 15, Denmark Health
authorities reported no coronavirus deaths for the first time since
March 13.
(Reuters, 5/18/20)
2020 May 15, A regional health
body said the new life-threatening inflammatory syndrome associated
with COVID-19 has affected 230 children in Europe and killed two so
far this year.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 15, French nurses and
doctors faced off with President Emmanuel Macron at a leading Paris
hospital, demanding better pay and a rethink of a once-renowned
public health system that found itself quickly overwhelmed by tens
of thousands of virus patients.
(AP, 5/15/20)
2020 May 15, In Germany draft
government proposal said Germany will order meatpacking plants to
stop using subcontractors and to improve hygiene standards in the
workplace and accommodations, after more than 600 cases of
coronavirus among workers in the industry.
(Reuters, 5/15/20)
2020 May 15, Iran reported its
highest number of new coronavirus infections in more than a month as
it warned of clusters hitting new regions. 2,102 new cases were
confirmed across the country in the past 24 hours, bringing the
overall total to 116,635. the virus had claimed another 48 lives
over the same period, raising the overall death toll to 6,902.
(AfP, 5/15/20)
2020 May 15, Mexico's health
ministry confirmed 290 additional coronavirus deaths and 2,437 new
infections in a fresh one-day record rise in cases since the start
of the pandemic. This brought confirmed coronavirus cases to 45,032
and 4,767 deaths in total. Between 590 and 800 Cuban doctors have
arrived in Mexico City in recent weeks.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)(Miami Herald, 5/15/20)
2020 May 15, It was reported
that in northern Nigeria tens of thousands of Koranic school
children were recently crammed into open vans and sent back home
from cities and towns across 19 states in a controversial move by
state governments to prevent the spread of coronavirus within their
territories. Hundreds of the children already had coronavirus, so
officials inadvertently contributed to spreading the virus rather
than containing it.
(BBC, 5/15/20)
2020 May 15, Moscow began
testing thousands of randomly-chosen residents for coronavirus
antibodies under a mass screening program authorities hope will help
them determine when it is safe to lift the city's lockdown
restrictions.
(AP, 5/15/20)
2020 May 15, Slovakia lifted a
quarantine on the last of five Roma settlements that were closed off
in April to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 15, It was reported
that hundreds of people in Aden, southern Yemen’s main city, have
died in the past week with symptoms of what appears to be the
coronavirus.
(AP, 5/15/20)
2020 May 16, A US federal judge
issued an order that allows North Carolina religious leaders to
reopen their doors to their congregations in spite of Gov. Roy
Cooper's warning that they risk spreading coronavirus.
(Good Morning America, 5/17/20)
2020 May 16, California
to date had 77,515 cases of coronavirus and 3,166 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 10,682 cases and 390 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,456,941 with the death toll at 88,230.
(sfist.com, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, An at-home
coronavirus testing project in Seattle backed in part by the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation said it was working with US regulators
to resume the program after being suspended by the Food and Drug
Administration.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Australia's
Victoria state reported 11 new coronavirus cases, including some
linked to known clusters at a meat factory and a McDonald's
restaurant.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Brazil's Health
Ministry registered 14,919 new confirmed cases in the prior 24
hours, taking the total to 233,142.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 Mar 16, Britain's PM Boris
Johnson advised people to avoid all unnecessary contact due to
coronavirus pandemic.
(Econ., 6/20/20, p.46)
2020 May 16, Cambodia's health
ministry said the last patient with the new coronavirus has
recovered and left hospital, leaving the Southeast Asian country
with zero cases. Cambodia has reported 122 cases of the virus that
causes COVID-19 and no deaths.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Mainland China had
five new confirmed COVID-19 cases, down from eight the previous day.
The city of Wuhan, where the new coronavirus outbreak originated in
China, conducted 222,675 nucleic acid tests.
(Reuters, 5/17/20)
2020 May 16, French health
authorities reported 96 new coronavirus deaths, as the country eases
from a two month lockdown. This brought France's total fatalities to
27,625.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Thousands of
Germans across the country took to the streets to protest against
restrictions imposed by the government to contain the coronavirus
pandemic. The new coronavirus has so far infected more than 173,000
people in Germany and killed nearly 7,900.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Greeks flocked to
the seaside when more than 500 beaches reopened, as the country
sought to walk the fine line between protecting people from COVID-19
while reviving the tourism sector that many depend on for their
livelihoods.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, India's total
novel coronavirus cases rose to 85,940 with 2,752 fatalities.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Indonesia reported
529 new coronavirus infections, taking the total number of cases to
17,025. Indonesia also reported 13 new deaths, taking the total
number of COVID-19 deaths to 1,089.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Iran reported 35
new deaths from the coronavirus, the lowest number since March 7
despite infections rising, and announced a further relaxation of
COVID-19-related closures. The new deaths brought the overall toll
to 6,937. However, 1,757 new coronavirus cases were confirmed across
Iran in the last 24 hours, bringing the overall total to 118,392.
(AFP, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Kenya's President
Uhuru Kenyatta ordered a cessation of movement between the country
and neighboring Tanzania and Somalia to help curb the spread of the
novel coronavirus. He exempted cargo trucks but said drivers would
have to be tested for the disease.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Malaysian reported
17 new coronavirus cases, bringing the cumulative total to 6,872.
Health authorities there reported one new death, with total
fatalities at 113.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Mexico registered
47,144 cases of coronavirus, with the country's death toll rising to
5,045.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, The Philippines'
health ministry reported 11 more coronavirus deaths and 214
additional infections. Total confirmed cases of the novel
coronavirus have risen to 12,305, most of which are in the capital,
while deaths reached 817. The Philippines started loosening its
lockdown in the capital and other major cities to slowly restart an
economy.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Qatar reported
another 1,547 cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the country's
total number of confirmed infections to more than 30,000.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Russia reported
9,200 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. The overall
number of cases nationwide stood at 272,043. The official death toll
rose to 2,537 after 119 people died over the last 24 hours.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, In Saudi Arabia
the number of coronavirus cases topped 50,000. The health ministry
reported 2,840 new cases, taking the cumulative total to 51,980. The
death toll in the kingdom increased by 10 to 302.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, South Africa's
Impala Platinum said it had detected 19 positive cases of the
COVID-19 disease at its Marula operation in northern Limpopo
province, and that it would close the plant until it had taken
necessary health measures.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Spain's overnight
death toll from the coronavirus was 102, marking the lowest 24-hour
rise since mid March. The cumulative death toll rose to 27,563,
while the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 230,698.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 16, Thailand reported
no new coronavirus cases or deaths as the country begins to reopen
businesses and ease restrictions. Thailand extended a ban on
international passenger flights until the end of June. A previous
order was set to run until the end of May. Thailand has reported a
total of 3,025 cases of the coronavirus and 56 fatalities.
(Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020 May 17, California
to date had 78,859 cases of coronavirus and 3,208 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 10,821 cases and 390 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,478,241 with the death toll at 89,207.
(sfist.com, 5/17/20)
2020 May 17, The latest number
of coronavirus cases in Texas jumped by 1,801 in a single day, the
highest daily rate since the state started tracking data. The number
of cases reported now stands at 46,999. Texas reported 1,305 total
fatalities, an increase of 33.
(Good Morning America, 5/17/20)
2020 May 17, Dagestan's health
minister told a local blogger that the true number of coronavirus
infections was four times that reported, and that outbreaks had
killed 657 people, not the officially recorded 27.
(SSFC, 6/7/20, p.40)
2020 May 17, India's National
Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) requested that a nationwide
lockdown to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus be extended to
May 31. The Health Ministry reported a record jump of nearly 5,000
cases in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 5/17/20)(SFC, 5/18/20, p.A5)
2020 May 17, It was reported
that Indonesia is planning an $8.6 billion bailout for 12
state-owned firms, to reduce the impact of the coronavirus pandemic,
mostly as cash compensation and working capital investments.
(Reuters, 5/17/20)
2020 May 17, Iran said the
COVID-19 illness has claimed a further 51 lives over the last 24
hours. 1,806 new cases were confirmed across in the past day,
bringing the total to 120,198. The health ministry raised the
overall death toll to 6,988.
(AFP, 5/17/20)
2020 May 17, In Italy the daily
death toll from the COVID-19 epidemic fell to 145, the lowest since
March 9. The total death toll now stands at 31,908. Confirmed cases
amounted to 225,435. PM Giuseppe Conte outlined a further loosening
of movement restrictions, including opening borders to travelers
from Europe from next month.
(Reuters, 5/17/20)
2020 May 17, Kuwait and Qatar
both said they would start jailing people or fining them thousands
of dollars for failing to wear a facemask to combat the novel
coronavirus. Qatar, a nation of some 2.8 million, has the second
highest infection count in the region at above 32,600, with 15
deaths.
(Reuters, 5/17/20)
2020 May 17, Madagascar's
national COVID-19 taskforce said it has registered its first
coronavirus death. A medical worker (57), who suffered from diabetes
and high blood pressure, had died the previous evening.
(Reuters, 5/17/20)
2020 May 17, The Philippine
government called for vigilance against the coronavirus, a day after
hordes of people trooped to shopping malls and ignored safety
protocols, as authorities began loosening a two-month lockdown. The
country has reported 12,513 cases of coronavirus infections and a
death toll of 824.
(Reuters, 5/17/20)
2020 May 17, South Africa
reported 1,160 new coronavirus infections, the highest daily numbers
yet. The country has the highest number of cases in Africa - 15,515,
with 264 deaths.
(BBC, 5/18/20)
2020 May 17, South Korea
reported five new domestic cases of coronavirus, all linked to a
cluster of cases centered around bars and nightclubs in the capital
which has raised fears in the country of a fresh wave of contagion.
(Reuters, 5/17/20)
2020 May 17, Spain reported 87
new deaths, bringing the total deaths in the country from the
coronavirus pandemic to 27,650. The Health Ministry reported 652 new
cases. Spain has had 231,350 confirmed COVID-19 cases. PM Pedro
Sanchez said the government will seek to extend its coronavirus
state of emergency one last time until late June.
(Good Morning America, 5/17/20)(Reuters,
5/17/20)
2020 May 17, Tanzania's Pres.
John Magufuli said there has been a "sharp decline" in the number of
coronavirus patients in the country's hospitals. Tanzania has had
509 recorded coronavirus cases and 21 deaths according to data from
the African Union's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(BBC, 5/17/20)
2020 May 17, Thailand reported
three additional cases of the new coronavirus, bringing its total
cases to 3,028 as the country relaxes local restrictions and
re-opens malls and department stores.
(Reuters, 5/17/20)
2020 May 17, Venezuela reported
504 coronavirus illnesses raising the national total to 504 with 10
deaths.
(SFC, 5/18/20, p.A5)
2020 May 18, California
to date had 81,373 cases of coronavirus and 3,278 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 11,104 cases and 390 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,506,84 with the death toll at 90,309.
(sfist.com, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, New York City
Mayor Bill de Blasio called attention to the new name of a
COVID-19-related illness in children. Now known as Multi-system
Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed that the illness does
have a link to COVID-19.
(Good Morning America, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, The Navajo Nation,
spanning across parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, reported 69
new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 4,071.
(Good Morning America, 5/19/20)
2020 May 18, The Oregon Supreme
Court halted a lower court's order that had invalidated the
statewide restrictions imposed by Gov. Kate Brown to curb the spread
of the novel coronavirus.
(AP, 5/19/20)
2020 May 18, American
biotechnology company Moderna announced that its experimental
vaccine for the novel coronavirus has so far shown to be "generally
safe and well tolerated" in the first phase of a clinical trial.
(AP, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, Brazil recorded
674 new deaths and announced a total of 254,220 confirmed cases.
(Reuters, 5/19/20)
2020 May 18, Britain expanded
its testing scheme to allow anyone aged over five with COVID-19
symptoms to book a test to see if they have the virus. PM Boris
Johnson announced that schools would close due to coronavirus
pandemic.
(AP, 5/18/20)(Econ., 6/20/20, p.46)
2020 May 18, Experts warned
that the Oxford University vaccine tipped as a "front runner" in the
race to develop a coronavirus jab does not stop the virus in monkeys
and may only be partially effective.
(The Telegraph, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, China's President
Xi Jinping called for an independent review of the global response
to the coronavirus pandemic under the World Health Organization once
the virus is under control, and defended Beijing's own handling of
the pandemic. Xi Jinping made a high-profile pledge of $2 billion to
the WHO, plus more aid to countries in need.
(Reuters, 5/18/20)(Business Insider, 5/19/20)
2020 May 18, Danes returned to
cafes and restaurants, confident that the coronavirus outbreak is
under control.
(Reuters, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, France's highest
administrative court ruled that Paris police could no longer use
drones to surveil public compliance with coronavirus-related
restrictions.
(Good Morning America, 5/19/20)
2020 May 18, The leaders of
France and Germany unveiled a post-covid EU recovery plan.
(Econ., 5/23/20, p.40)
2020 May 18, Iran said it was
entering a new phase of trying to eliminate the novel coronavirus
after bringing the Middle East's deadliest outbreak under control in
many regions. 2,294 new infections were confirmed in the past 24
hours, raising the total to 122,492. The virus death toll was raised
to 7,057, with 69 fatalities in the past day.
(AFP, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, Iraq said it will
impose a complete lockdown on some areas of the capital, amid an
uptick in coronavirus cases in recent weeks since curfew hours were
relaxed. At least 123 people have died among 3,404 confirmed cases
of coronavirus in the country.
(AP, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, Italy registered
99 fatalities over the last 24-hour period, bringing the nationwide
death toll to 32,007. More than 225,000 people in Italy have been
diagnosed with COVID-19.
(Good Morning America, 5/19/20)
2020 May 18, Mexico issued
guidelines for restarting operations in the automotive, mining and
construction sectors, pushing ahead with reopening the economy
despite a growing toll and concerns about unsafe work sites. Local
governments across Mexico pushed back against President Andrés
Manuel López Obrador's call to reopen the economy in some 300
townships that do not have active cases of coronavirus. Leaders said
they preferred to wait until June before resuming normal activities.
Mexico has reported 51,633 total cases and 5,332 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/19/20)(AP, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, It was reported
that a registry of death certificates in Mexico City suggests there
were 4,577 cases where doctors mentioned coronavirus or COVID-19 as
a possible or probable cause of death, more than three times the
official death toll in the city. The additional 3,245 deaths in
Mexico City, if they are confirmed or added to official counts,
would push the national death toll from the 5,332 reported by
federal officials to 8,577.
(AP, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, Nigeria said it
would impose precisely targeted lockdown measures in areas that
report rapid increases in coronavirus cases, while the phased
reopening of the economy as a whole would go ahead more slowly than
planned.
(Reuters, 5/19/20)
2020 May 18, Russia's Pres.
Vladimir Putin promised to send aid to Dagestan, and asked residents
not to gather for the Eid celebration marking the end of Ramadan
this weekend. 657 people had died of pneumonia in the region,
including 40 medics.
(AFP, 5/19/20)
2020 May 18, Russia reported
8,926 new cases of COVID-19, a new low in a gradual declining trend.
Total cases numbered 290,678. 91 new fatalities were reported over
the past 24 hours, bringing that total to 2,722.
(AP, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, It was reported
that Russia's defence ministry is setting up a mobile field hospital
at the largest Siberian mine of the country's top gold producer,
Polyus, to treat miners who contract the new coronavirus.
(Reuters, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, Slovenia said it
plans to tighten border controls for some EU citizens to prevent a
possible import of the new coronavirus, partially rowing back from a
decision last week to let all EU nationals in. Slovenia has so far
reported 1,466 coronavirus cases and 104 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, It was reported
that the Vice-President of South Sudan, Riek Machar, who was part of
a taskforce to fight coronavirus, is in self-isolation after testing
positive for Covid-19. His wife, Defense Minister Angelina Teny,
some bodyguards and other staff also have the virus. South Sudan so
far has recorded 236 cases of Covid-19 and four deaths.
(BBC, 5/19/20)
2020 May 18, Spain reported
that its overnight death toll from the coronavirus was 59, the
lowest figure in two months. The cumulative death toll rose to
27,709, while the number of confirmed cases rose to 231,606.
(AP, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, Sweden's
Statistics Office said the coronavirus pandemic has caused around
3,700 deaths since the first reported fatality in March, but this
has not been as deadly as some seasonal flu tolls over the last
three decades. Deaths were higher in December 1993 and January 2000
as compared to April 2020.
(Reuters, 5/18/20)
2020 May 18, Switzerland's
Pres. Simonetta Sommaruga opened the World Health Organization's
annual assembly in Geneva, pledging her country's "full support and
cooperation" to its leader as it coordinates the global response to
the coronavirus pandemic. A two-day, virtual World Health Assembly
meeting began as more than 100 countries backed a resolution calling
for a probe into the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The US said
that the pandemic had "spun out of control" in great part due to a
costly "failure" by the World Health Organization, and called for a
more effective WHO.
(Reuters, 5/18/20)(The Week, 5/18/20)
2020 May 19, The United States
rejected language about reproductive healthcare and intellectual
property rights in a World Health Organization resolution on the
coronavirus pandemic, hours after President Donald Trump threatened
to quit the body. Washington did not block the consensus adoption of
the text, which calls for a review into the global response to the
crisis and which diplomats had striven to pass without a vote.
(Reuters, 5/19/20)
2020 May 19, The US Department
of Justice warned California's governor that his COVID-19
restrictions discriminated against places of worship by preventing
them from meeting while businesses and film studios are allowed to
carry on working.
(Reuters, 5/19/20)
2020 May 19, California
to date had 83,320 cases of coronavirus and 3,374 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 11,305 cases and 404 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,525,637 with the death toll at 91,730.
(sfist.com, 5/19/20)
2020 May 19, Maryland reported
1,784 new COVID-19 cases, the state's highest one-day rise.
(Good Morning America, 5/19/20)
2020 May 19, In Afghanistan
more than 200 doctors and medical staff took part in protests in the
western city of Herat, saying they had not been paid for three
months while risking their lives to treat coronavirus patients.
Afghanistan has confirmed 7,653 COVID-19 infections and 178 deaths
from the respiratory disease.
(Reuters, 5/19/20)
2020 May 19, Britain's COVID-19
death toll neared 43,000.
(Reuters, 5/19/20)
2020 May 19, The Czech Republic
reported its biggest daily rise in new coronavirus cases in four
weeks, climbing by 111 to 8,594, partly due to an outbreak at a coal
mine.
(Reuters, 5/19/20)
2020 May 19, Ecuador said it is
closing several embassies and state enterprises to save money amid
an economic crisis provoked by the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly
34,000 people in the country have been infected and at least 2,800
have died. Authorities have reported another 1,700 deaths probably
caused by the virus but not included in the official death toll.
(AFP, 5/19/20)
2020 May 19, India's government
said it will run more special trains and buses to allow millions of
distressed migrant workers to leave big cities. Coronavirus cases in
India reached 100,000, matching its number of intensive care beds,
and the rate of increase of new infections showed little sign of
slowing.
(Reuters, 5/19/20)
2020 May 19, Russian health
officials reported 9,263 new infections in Russia over the last 24
hours, bringing the total to 299,941. PM Mikhail Mishustin returned
to his duties on Tuesday after recovering from the coronavirus.
(AP, 5/19/20)
2020 May 19, It was reported
that the Seychelles has banned all cruise ship tourism through the
end of 2021 as part of its efforts to prevent the spread of the
novel coronavirus. The archipelago has just 11 diagnosed cases of
COVID-19 and no reported deaths.
(Good Morning America, 5/19/20)
2020 May 19, Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, welcomed a European Union (EU)
resolution, adopted by consensus by WHO's 194 member states, that
calls for an independent evaluation of the international response to
the coronavirus, "including, but not limited to, WHO’s performance".
(Reuters, 5/19/20)
2020 May 20, California
to date had 85,728 cases of coronavirus and 3,485 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 11,419 cases and 410 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,550,959 with the death toll at 93,406.
(sfist.com, 5/20/20)
2020 May 20, US immunotherapy
company Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc said its experimental vaccine to
prevent coronavirus infection produced protective antibodies and
immune system responses in mice and guinea pigs.
(Reuters, 5/20/20)
2020 May 20, Britain's death
toll from confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose by 338 to 36,042
according to the health ministry. Broader figures based on suspected
COVID-19 deaths put the toll at over 43,000.
(Reuters, 5/21/20)
2020 May 20, Brazil's Pres.
Jair Bolsonaro unveiled rules expanding the prescription of
chloroquine, the predecessor of an anti-malaria drug promoted by
U.S. President Donald Trump, for coronavirus patients despite a lack
of clinical proof that it is effective.
(AP, 5/20/20)
2020 May 20, It was reported
that Estonia has started to test one of the world's first digital
immunity passports, created by a team including founders of global
tech startups Transferwise and Bolt, seeking a safer return to
workplaces following the coronavirus lockdown.
(Reuters, 5/20/20)
2020 May 20, Iran said it was
close to "curbing" the new coronavirus outbreak. 2,346 new
infections were confirmed across the country in the past 24 hours,
raising the total to 126,949. The death toll rose to 7,183 with 64
fatalities in the past day.
(AP, 5/20/20)
2020 May 20, The Lebanese
military said it has detained two soldiers caught on camera slapping
and pushing a doctor in an emergency ward at a hospital in the
northern city of Tripoli. The attacked doctor was trying to keep the
soldiers from interrogating two patients receiving urgent medical
care Lebanese authorities have reported over 950 cases of
coronavirus, including 26 deaths.
(AP, 5/20/20)
2020 May 20, The Philippines'
health ministry recorded 279 additional confirmed cases of the novel
coronavirus, the highest daily increase in nine days, and five
additional deaths. Total deaths reached 842, while infections rose
to 13,221.
(Reuters, 5/20/20)
2020 May 20, Russia reported
8,764 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the
total to 308,705. There were also 135 coronavirus-linked fatalities
over the same period. The nationwide death toll rose to 2,972.
(Good Morning America, 5/20/20)
2020 May 20, The UAE delivered
14 tons of protective gear, medical items and ventilators to help
curb the spread of the new virus in the Palestinian territories. The
Palestinian Authority later said it was not informed about the aid
shipment.
(AP, 5/22/20)
2020 May 21, California
to date had 87,939 cases of coronavirus and 3,581 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 11,591 cases and 416 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,576,542 with the death toll at 94,661.
(sfist.com, 5/21/20)
2020 May 21, A spokesman for PM
Boris Johnson said Britain has agreed a deal to acquire antibody
tests for the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 5/21/20)
2020 May 21, The Arab Network
for Human Rights Information said that Egyptian security forces have
disappeared one of its former researchers, Shayma Samy, a journalist
who had recently written for a news outlet run by a socialist
opposition party. The group also said the government has arrested at
least 10 journalists since the coronavirus was detected in the
country. Egypt confirmed about 14,000 cases of the coronavirus.
(AP, 5/21/20)(Econ., 5/23/20, p.35)
2020 May 21, Indian
pharmaceutical company Strides Pharma Science Ltd received
regulatory approval in India to start clinical trials of antiviral
drug favipiravir, which has been touted as a potential treatment for
COVID-19. Favipiravir is manufactured under the brand name Avigan by
a unit of Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp and was approved for use as
an anti-flu drug in the country in 2014. Kyodo News has reported
that so far there has been no clear evidence of efficacy for Avigan
in treating the novel coronavirus in some clinical trials.
(Reuters, 5/21/20)
2020 May 21, Iran put the total
number of dead from the coronavirus at 7,249, or 66 more than a day
earlier. 2,392 new cases raised the total confirmed cases to more
than 129,000. The virus has infected more than 10,000 health care
workers in the country.
(AP, 5/21/20)
2020 May 21, Lebanon's Health
Ministry reported 63 new cases of the coronavirus, the largest
single-day increase since the outbreak of the pandemic. The country
has recorded 1,024 cases and 26 deaths.
(Reuters, 5/21/20)
2020 May 21, It was reported
that at least 9,479 Russian medical workers in more than 70 regions
have been infected with the coronavirus in the past month, and more
than 70 have died. Health care workers believe the death toll to be
much higher and they have compiled a list of more than 250.
(AP, 5/21/20)
2020 May 21, Russian state
media reported that Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's strongman leader, was
flown to Moscow and hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms.
(The Week, 5/21/20)
2020 May 21, The International
Committee of the Red Cross warned of a worsening crisis in northeast
Syria, where water cuts, food shortages and depleted health services
are proving as dangerous as coronavirus.
(AFP, 5/21/20)
2020 May 21, Turkey reported
its lowest daily increase in confirmed coronavirus cases in the past
two months, with 961 new infections in the past 24 hours along with
27 more deaths. The total number of infections in the country now
stands at 153,548, with a total of 4,249 deaths.
(AP, 5/21/20)
2020 May 21, The UN launched a
new initiative to sign up millions of “digital first responders”
around the world to counter misinformation about the coronavirus
pandemic and spread fact-based information and advice to their
networks of family, friends and followers.
(AP, 5/22/20)
2020 May 21, Doctors Without
Borders in Yemen said that as many as 80 people have been dying in
Aden per day during the past week, up from a pre-outbreak normal of
10.
(AP, 5/24/20)
2020 May 22, President Donald
Trump labeled churches and other houses of worship as “essential"
and called on governors nationwide to let them reopen this weekend
even though some areas remain under coronavirus lockdown.
(AP, 5/23/20)
2020 May 22, The United States
called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to begin work
immediately on investigating the source of the novel coronavirus, as
well as its own handling of the response to the pandemic.
(Reuters, 5/22/20)
2020 May 22, The US National
Institutes of Health (NIH) said that data from its trial of Gilead
Sciences Inc's remdesivir show that the drug offers the most benefit
for COVID-19 patients who need extra oxygen but do not require
mechanical ventilation.
(Reuters, 5/22/20)
2020 May 22, It was reported
that a total of 14 Theodore Roosevelt sailors who had appeared to
have recovered from the disease have tested positive again. The
carrier is now back at sea after being sidelined in Guam since late
March by a COVID-19 outbreak that infected more than 1,100 members
of its roughly 4,900-strong crew
(Yahoo News, 5/22/20)
2020 May 22, Hollywood producer
William Sadleir was arrested. The former chairman and CEO of Aviron
Pictures, is accused of defrauding the government out of millions of
dollars meant for coronavirus relief, and of using nearly $30
million in investor funds for his personal use — including buying a
$14-million Beverly Hills Mansion.
(Business Insider, 5/26/20)
2020 May 22, California
to date had 90,251 cases of coronavirus and 3,663 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 11,963 cases and 421 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,599,740 with the death toll at 95,886.
(sfist.com, 5/22/20)
2020 May 22, Minnesota reported
an increase of 847 positive coronavirus cases, the highest daily
total. There have been 19,845 positive cases in the state thus far.
(Good Morning America, 5/24/20)
2020 May 22, The Africa Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention said Africa's coronavirus cases
have surpassed 100,000, as the continent with many fragile health
systems has not yet seen the high numbers of other parts of the
world.
(AP, 5/22/20)
2020 May 22, China-based
Sinovac Biotech Ltd said it had started mid-stage human trials of
its experimental coronavirus vaccine in China earlier this month.
Chinese researchers reported that the coronavirus vaccine developed
by CanSino Biologics Inc appears to be safe and induced a rapid
immune response in its first human trial.
(Reuters, 5/22/20)(Reuters, 5/22/20)
2020 May 22, India reported
6,088 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, its biggest
single-day spike. This brought total cases to 118, 447. The death
toll rose to 3,583.
(SFC, 5/23/20, p.A5)
2020 May 22, Iran said it had
detected another 51 deaths from its novel coronavirus outbreak,
bringing the country's overall fatalities to 7,300. The health
ministry said 2,311 new positive tests for COVID-19 took the
country's caseload to 131,652.
(AFP, 5/22/20)
2020 May 22, President Vladimir
Putin said the coronavirus outbreak in Russia has begun to abate.
Russia has recorded 326,448 cases, including 3,249 deaths. Russia
recorded its highest one-day coronavirus death toll of 150.
(AP, 5/22/20)(AP, 5/23/20)
2020 May 22, Spain's
overnight death toll from the new coronavirus rose by 56 to a total
of 28,628. The number of diagnosed cases rose to 234,824.
(AP, 5/22/20)
2020 May 23, California
to date had 92,555 cases of coronavirus and 3,735 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 12,209 cases and 424 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,613,476 with the death toll at 96,662.
(sfist.com, 5/23/20)
2020 May 23, Gov. Andrew Cuomo
said daily deaths in New York state fell to 84, marking the first
time since late March the number was below 100.
(Good Morning America, 5/23/20)
2020 May 23, Missouri has
recorded has more than 11,844 diagnosed cases of COVID-19, with at
least 677 deaths.
(Good Morning America, 5/23/20)
2020 May 23, North Carolina
reported its highest one-day increase of confirmed cases, with 1,107
cases. Total confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose to 22,725 with 737
deaths.
(Good Morning America, 5/23/20)
2020 May 23, India reported
6,654 new coronavirus cases bringing the nationwide total to
125,102, including 3,720 deaths.
(SSFC, 5/24/20, p.A9)
2020 May 23, Iran announced a
further relaxation of coronavirus lockdown measures and said it has
started to control the outbreak in nearly a third of its provinces.
The health ministry recorded 1,869 new positive tests for
coronavirus in the past 24 hours raising the country's tally to
133,521. The death toll was raised to 7,359, with 59 new deaths over
the same period.
(AFP, 5/23/20)
2020 May 23, The crowded Gaza
Strip recorded its first death from the coronavirus, amid fears an
outbreak could paralyze the territory's already overstretched health
care system.
(AP, 5/23/20)
2020 May 23, In Russia the new
daily coronavirus case counts fell to 9,434.
(AP, 5/23/20)
2020 May 23, Sudan's PM Abdalla
Hamdok met with representatives of doctors to find “decisive and
strict solutions” to “the phenomenon of repeated attacks on health
workers," amid the coronavirus pandemic. Sudan has reported at least
63 deaths from COVID-19 among around 3,380 confirmed cases of the
coronavirus.
(AP, 5/23/20)
2020 May 23, Thailand began
trials of an experimental coronavirus vaccine using monkeys, one of
at least 100 potential vaccines in the works around the world.
(Reuters, 5/25/20)
2020 May 24, President Trump
said the United States would suspend travel from Brazil, after a
surge in coronavirus cases made the South American nation one of the
world's hotspots. Brazil now has more than 22,000 deaths and 347,000
confirmed cases.
(AP, 5/24/20)
2020 May 24, California
to date had 93,022 cases of coronavirus and 3,739 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 12,411 cases and 425 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,635,192 with the death toll at 97,495.
(sfist.com, 5/24/20)
2020 May 24, In Belarus about
1,000 protesters denouncing authoritarian President Alexander
Lukashenko’s seeking of another term in an upcoming election held
the largest opposition demonstration of the year in the capital
Minsk. Many of the demonstrators wore masks, defying Lukashenko’s
dismissal of coronavirus concerns as a “psychosis.” Belarus has
recorded more than 36,000 cases of coronavirus infection.
(AP, 5/24/20)
2020 May 24, Brazil has now
surpassed Russia with a total number of confirmed cases standing at
347, 398.
(Good Morning America, 5/24/20)
2020 May 24, China reported 11
new confirmed coronavirus cases in the mainland as of today's end,
up from three a day earlier. The total number of cases to date in
the mainland stood at 82,985. The death toll remained unchanged at
4,634.
(Reuters, 5/24/20)
2020 May 24, French authorities
reported the smallest daily rise in new coronavirus cases and deaths
since before a lockdown began on March 17. Confirmed cases rose by
115 to 144,921. The death toll increased by 35 to 28,367.
(Reuters, 5/24/20)
2020 May 24, India reported
6,767 new coronavirus infections, the country’s biggest one-day
increase. India has confirmed 125,102 coronavirus cases, including
3,867 deaths.
(The Telegraph, 5/24/20)(AP, 5/24/20)
2020 May 24, In Pakistan more
than 1,000 worshippers gathered and prayed shoulder-to-shoulder in
an open field in Karachi, with only a few of them wearing masks.
Muslims around the world began celebrating Eid al-Fitr, a normally
festive holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan,
with millions under strict stay-at-home orders and many fearing
renewed coronavirus outbreaks.
(AP, 5/24/20)
2020 May 24, Russia reported
their updated coronavirus figure at a total of 344,481.
(Good Morning America, 5/24/20)
2020 May 24, It was reported
that operations at the world's deepest gold mine, in South Africa,
have been halted after 164 cases of coronavirus were detected there.
(BBC, 5/24/20)
2020 May 24, It was reported
that Switzerland's Bachem has begun round-the-clock production of
Propofol, a drug needed to sedate ventilated patients whose plight
during the pandemic has become emblematic of COVID-19's hit to
healthcare systems.
(Reuters, 5/24/20)
2020 May 25, California
to date had 94,590 cases of coronavirus and 3,756 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 12,505 cases and 426 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,653,904 with the death toll at 97,948.
(sfist.com, 5/25/20)
2020 May 25, Missouri's health
director issued a dire warning after photos and video showed
Memorial Day weekend revelers partying close together. Missouri has
confirmed 11,988 cases of COVID-19 and 681 deaths.
(SFC, 5/26/20, p.A5)
2020 May 25, Egypt’s medical
union blamed the government for increasing levels of coronavirus
infections and deaths among healthcare professionals, its sharpest
criticism yet of the country’s handling of the pandemic.
(AP, 5/25/20)
2020 May 25, Germany-based
Siemens Healthineers said it stands ready to ramp up production of
its antibody test to more than 50 million per month from June as
governments across the world are keen to identify those who may have
developed immunity to the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 5/26/20)
2020 May 25, Greece restarted
regular ferry services to its islands. Cafes and restaurants
reopened for business as the country accelerated efforts to salvage
its tourism season.
(SFC, 5/26/20, p.A7)
2020 May 25, Iran reopened
major Shiite shrines across the Islamic republic, more than two
months after they were closed, as it reported its lowest deaths from
coronavirus since March.
(AfP, 5/25/20)
2020 May 25, Japan's PM Shinzo
Abe lifted a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and four other
remaining areas, ending nationwide restrictions as businesses began
to reopen.
(SFC, 5/26/20, p.A4)
2020 May 25, Spain's health
ministry revised the country's coronavirus death toll down by nearly
2,000 to 26,834 after checking data provided by regions. The total
number of cases recorded since the outbreak began was also been
revised down, and is now 235,400.
(Reuters, 5/25/20)
2020 May 25, Sweden reported
that deaths from COVID-19 had risen to 4,029 from 3,998 a day
earlier while the number of confirmed cases amounted to 33,843 up
from 33,459.
(Reuters, 5/25/20)
2020 May 26, California
to date had 97,182 cases of coronavirus and 3,779 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 12,813 cases and 432 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 1,672,714 with the death toll at 98,636.
(sfist.com, 5/26/20)
2020 May 26, Merck & Co Inc
said it was buying Austrian vaccine maker Themis Bioscience and
would collaborate with research nonprofit IAVI to develop two
separate vaccines.
(Reuters, 5/26/20)
2020 May 26, US biotechnology
company Novamax began injecting a coronavirus vaccine candidate into
people in Australia with hopes of releasing a proven vaccine this
year.
(AP, 5/26/20)
2020 May 26, Police in Rio de
Janeiro raided the governor's residence and 10 other addresses as
part of a widening probe into the alleged embezzlement of part of
the $150 million in public funds earmarked for building field
hospitals. Gov. Wilson Witzel denied any wrongdoing and accused
Pres. Bolsonaro of ordering the raid as political retribution.
Brazil has 375,000 coronavirus cases and 23,000 deaths so far.
(AP, 5/26/20)(SFC, 5/27/20, p.A4)
2020 May 26, Chile's LATAM
Airlines Group filed for US bankruptcy protection, becoming the
world's largest carrier so far to seek an emergency reorganization
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chile was averaging 4,000 new
coronavirus cases daily.
(Reuters, 5/26/20)(SFC, 5/27/20, p.A4)
2020 May 26, Costa Rica became
the latest country to legalize same-sex marriage when a ruling from
its supreme court went into effect.
(SFC, 5/27/20, p.A2)
2020 May 26, The EU ended its
controls on the export of coronavirus protective equipment after
concluding that supplies for European medical and other workers were
now adequate.
(Reuters, 5/26/20)
2020 May 26, Germany extended
social distancing rules aimed at containing the spread of the
coronavirus to June 29. Germany's virus caseload now tops 179,000
with just over 8,300 deaths.
(AFP, 5/27/20)
2020 May 26, India's Ministry
of Health reported that there had been a daily increase of 6,535
coronavirus cases, bringing the toll up to 145,380 cases. In total,
there have been 4,167 officially recorded coronavirus deaths.
(Good Morning America, 5/26/20)
2020 May 26, India-based
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd said it would begin a clinical trial in
India to test a combination of two anti-viral drugs, favipiravir and
umifenovir, as a potential COVID-19 treatment.
(Reuters, 5/26/20)
2020 May 26, Iran further eased
restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus by
allowing restaurants to accept customers, as it announced another 57
deaths from the virus, bringing the total number of fatalities in
the country to 7,508. The health ministry said 1,787 new cases of
infection over the same period brought the total caseload to
139,511.
(AFP, 5/26/20)
2020 May 26, President Vladimir
Putin said that Russia has passed its peak of coronavirus infections
and ordered a World War II victory parade postponed by the pandemic
to be held next month. Russia recorded its highest daily death toll
of 174, bringing the nationwide toll to 3,807. Russia reported 8,915
new cases of COVID-19 over the same 24-hour period, placing the
country's total count at 362,342.
(AFP, 5/26/20)(Good Morning America, 5/26/20)
2020 May 26, South Korea
reported 19 new coronavirus cases, mostly from the Seoul area.
(SFC, 5/27/20, p.A4)
2020 May 26, Turkey’s COVID-19
death toll reached 4,397 after 28 new deaths were reported in 24
hours. Turkey also recorded 948 more confirmed cases, bringing the
total to 158,762. Today was the final day of a four-day nationwide
lockdown for Turkey’s 83 million residents.
(AP, 5/26/20)
2020 May 27, California
to date had 100,038 cases of coronavirus and 3,830 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 13,038 cases and 435 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 1,697,495 with the death toll at 100,271.
(sfist.com, 5/27/20)
2020 May 27, It was reported
that Tennessee will soon stop providing the names and addresses of
COVID-19 patients to first responders, after initially arguing that
doing so would protect those on the front line. An Associated Press
review has found public officials in at least two-thirds of states
are sharing the addresses of people who tested positive with first
responders.
(AP, 5/27/20)
2020 May 27, Novavax Inc said
it is buying Praha Vaccines, a Czech-based manufacturing plant, from
privately held Serum Institute of India, the world's largest maker
of vaccines by volume. The US company aims to produce 1 billion
doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate next year.
(Reuters, 5/27/20)
2020 May 27, Britain closed its
embassy in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang and ordered its
staff to leave the country. The surprise closure was linked to
coronavirus-related restrictions in place since earlier this year.
(The Telegraph, 5/27/20)
2020 May 27, India reported
6,387 new coronavirus infections, a new single-day record. A total
of 151,767 cases have been confirmed including 4,337 deaths.
(SFC, 5/28/20, p.A5)
2020 May 27, For the fifth
consecutive day New Zealand has no new COVID-19 cases, with the
total remaining at 1,154 diagnosed cases.
(Good Morning America, 5/27/20)
2020 May 27, Peru has
registered 135,905 COVID-19 cases and 3,983 deaths.
(AP, 5/28/20)
2020 May 27, South Korea
reported 40 new coronavirus cases, its biggest daily jump in about
50 days. The country has significantly relaxes its rigid social
distancing rules as a result of waning coronavirus cases. South
Korea now has a total of 11,265 confirmed cases with 269 deaths.
(AP, 5/27/20)
2020 May 27, Flags were lowered
to half-mast across Spain as the European country began 10 days of
official mourning for the victims of the coronavirus pandemic. Spain
has recorded more than 236,000 diagnosed cases of COVID-19 with at
least 27,117 deaths.
(Good Morning America, 5/27/20)
2020 May 27, Researchers in
Spain identified two anti-inflammatory medications that might
inhibit the main enzyme that helps the coronavirus to replicate:
Celecoxib, sold by Pfizer Inc for arthritis pain under the brand
name Celebrex, and carprofen, used for pets under several brand
names, including Rimadyl from Zoetis Inc.
(Reuters, 5/27/20)
2020 May 27, Turkey’s health
minister said that the country recorded 34 coronavirus-related
deaths since the day before, bringing the country's COVID-19 death
toll to 4,431. Turkey confirmed 1,035 new virus cases in the past 24
hours. The total number of confirmed cases in Turkey now stands at
159,797.
(AP, 5/27/20)
2020 May 27, The UN World Food
Program warned that upward of at least 14 million people could go
hungry in Latin America as the coronavirus pandemic rages on,
shuttering people in their homes, drying up work and crippling the
economy.
(AP, 5/27/20)
2020 May 28, California
to date had 103,605 cases of coronavirus and 3,983 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 13,221 cases and 437 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 1,719,855 with the death toll at 101,562.
(sfist.com, 5/28/20)
2020 May 28, CVS Health Corp
said it would open more COVID-19 testing sites at some of its
pharmacy drive-thru locations, completing the last leg of the
drugstore chain's planned 1,000 sites across more than 30 US states.
(Reuters, 5/28/20)
2020 May 28, It was reported
that British drugmaker AstraZeneca last week started phase 2 and 3
trials of a coronavirus vaccine, looking to recruit around 10,000
adults and children in Britain. AstraZeneca revealed that new data
showed that its drug Tagrisso reduced the risk of relapse in some
early-stage lung cancers by 83%.
(Reuters, 5/28/20)(Econ., 7/6/20, p.57)
2020 May 28, Oxford Biomedica
said it has signed a one-year clinical and commercial supply
agreement with AstraZeneca to provide multiple batches of a
coronavirus vaccine, called AZD1222, and that the majority of the
batches would be produced throughout 2020.
(Reuters, 5/28/20)
2020 May 28, Brazil had 411,821
confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 25,598 deaths. A study by the
Federal Univ. of Pelotas and Rio Grande de do Sul state has
concluded that the caseload is seven time the official number.
(Econ., 5/30/20, p.26)
2020 May 28, China reported
just two new coronavirus cases.
(AP, 5/28/20)
2020 May 28, India’s top court
ordered state authorities to provide free train rides and proper
food and water to hundreds of thousands of migrant workers returning
to their villages in the blazing heat after being thrown out of
work. India reported another record single-day jump of 6,566
coronavirus cases, pushing up the total to 158,333 confirmed cases
and 4,531 deaths.
(AP, 5/28/20)(Good Morning America, 5/28/20)
2020 May 28, Indonesia recorded
687 new coronavirus cases bringing its total to 24,538. The total
death toll was near 1,500.
(SFC, 5/29/20, p.A6)
2020 May 28, In Malawi manhunts
have begun after more than 400 people, recently repatriated from
South Africa and elsewhere, fled a center at a stadium in Blantyre.
At least 46 escapees had tested positive for the virus. Authorities
worry they will spread COVID-19 in countries whose health systems
can be rapidly overwhelmed.
(AP, 5/28/20)
2020 May 28, Russia reported
more than 8,300 new infections. The total number of infections
topped 379,000. Russian officials reported 174 new deaths, for a
total of almost 4,150.
(AP, 5/28/20)
2020 May 28, South Korea
reported its biggest jump in coronavirus cases in more than 50 days.
The Korean Centers for Disease Control reported 79 newly diagnosed
COVID-19 cases.
(AP, 5/28/20)(Good Morning America, 5/28/20)
2020 May 28, Swiss-based
Novartis said its gene therapy unit AveXis it has signed a
manufacturing deal to help produce a novel genetic COVID-19 vaccine
candidate being developed by US researchers in Massachusetts.
(Reuters, 5/28/20)
2020 May 28, In Zimbabwe
manhunts have begun after more than a hundred people, some with the
coronavirus, fled quarantine centers. Nearly all of Zimbabwe’s 75
new cases this week came from the centers that hold hundreds of
people who have returned, sometimes involuntarily, from neighboring
South Africa and Botswana.
(AP, 5/28/20)
2020 May 29, US President
Donald Trump said that he has terminated Washington's relationship
with the World Health Organization (WHO), accusing the United
Nations agency of bowing to pressure from China and allowing the
Covid-19 pandemic to spread out of control.
(South China Morning Post, 5/30/20)
2020 May 29, California
to date had 106,402 cases of coronavirus and 4,071 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 13,435 cases and 441 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 1,745,606 with the death toll at 102,798.
(sfist.com, 5/29/20)
2020 May 29, Georgia's
confirmed cases of the coronavirus rose to 5,260 as Gov. Brian Kemp
announced plans to ease restrictions meant to stem the spread of the
coronavirus.
(SFC, 5/30/20, p.A6)
2020 May 29, Illinois Gov. J.B.
Pritzker announced the end of a 10-week stay-at-home order meant to
stem the spread of the coronavirus.
(SFC, 5/30/20, p.A6)
2020 May 29, Dagestan officials
said the new coronavirus is sweeping through some mountain villages
and that they are struggling to treat patients properly, protect
medics or even count the dead. Dagestan had recorded 686 coronavirus
deaths as of May 17.
(Reuters, 5/30/20)
2020 May 29, The European
health regulator said healthcare professionals should closely
monitor COVID-19 patients receiving malaria drug hydroxychloroquine
for serious side effects, stressing the need for in-depth clinical
data on benefits and risks.
(Reuters, 5/29/20)
2020 May 29, Iran announced its
highest number of new coronavirus infections in nearly two months
and warned the Middle East's deadliest outbreak was worsening in
some regions. 2,819 new cases were confirmed across the country in
the past 24 hours, bringing the overall total to 146,668. The virus
claimed 50 lives over the same period, raising the overall toll to
7,677.
(AFP, 5/29/20)
2020 May 29, Italy's civil
protection agency reported 345 new coronavirus infections in the
Lombardy region, bringing the total in the region to 88,500. This
was about 40% of Italy's total.
(SFC, 5/30/20, p.A5)
2020 May 29, The Maldives
reported 1,513 coronavirus cases and five deaths as it began
relaxing of restrictions imposed since mid-April.
(SFC, 5/30/20, p.A5)
2020 May 29, New Zealand
reached a milestone in its effort to end its coronavirus outbreak,
with just one person in the nation of 5 million still known to be
infected. The country has reported 22 COVID-19 deaths out of 1,504
infections.
(The Week, 5/29/20)
2020 May 29, In Nigeria nearly
9,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed as worries grew about
undetected spread in the north.
(AP, 5/29/20)
2020 May 29, The Philippines
reported 21 more novel coronavirus deaths and 1,046 additional
infections. Total deaths rose to 942 while confirmed cases reached
16,634.
(AP, 5/29/20)
2020 May 29, Police in Moscow
and St. Petersburg detained 25 people who came out to protest, in
violation of city coronavirus restrictions, against the arrest of a
prominent Russian journalist. The activists were protesting against
the arrest of journalist Ilya Azar, who was sentenced to 15 days in
jail the night before, also for holding a one-man protest amid the
lockdown.
(AP, 5/29/20)
2020 May 29, South Africa said
it has a backlog of nearly 100,000 unprocessed tests for the
coronavirus, a striking example of the painful shortage of testing
kits and reagents across Africa as cases steadily rise. The country
has the most confirmed cases in Africa with 27,403.
(AP, 5/29/20)
2020 May 29, UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the deaths of the first
two UN peacekeepers from COVID-19. He made the announcement at a
ceremony marking the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, saying
both peacekeepers, who died over the last 24 hours, were serving in
Mali. One was from Cambodia and the other from El Salvador.
(AP, 5/30/20)(SSFC, 5/31/20, p.A7)
2020 May 30, California
to date had 107,535 cases of coronavirus and 4,091 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 13,709 cases and 442 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 1,764,671 with the death toll at 103,605.
(sfist.com, 5/30/20)
2020 May 30, In Bangladesh the
first death of a Rohingya refugee was recorded. At least 29 refugees
have tested positive for the virus.
(SFC, 6/3/20, p.A6)
2020 May 30, Brazil reported a
record 33,274 new cases of the novel coronavirus. Brazil now has
498,440 confirmed cases, a level of contagion second only to the
United States. The death increased to 28,834, with 956 new deaths in
the last 24 hours.
(Reuters, 5/30/20)
2020 May 30, Burundi has
registered 42 cases of the coronavirus.
(Econ., 5/30/20, p.39)
2020 May 30, India registered
another record jump with 7,964 coronavirus cases and 265 deaths.
Total cases now stand at 173,763 with 4,971 deaths.
(SSFC, 5/31/20, p.A7)
2020 May 30, Iran's President
Hassan Rouhani announced that collective prayers will resume in
mosques. A further 57 people who tested positive for the virus died
over the last day, taking the total confirmed death toll to 7,734.
The health ministry announced 2,282 new confirmed infections, taking
the total number of declared infections since February to 148,950.
(AP, 5/30/20)
2020 May 30, Slovakia has
recorded 1,513 cases of the coronavirus and 28 deaths.
(Econ., 5/30/20, p.44)
2020 May 30, South Korea
reported 39 new cases of the coronavirus. South Korea has confirmed
11,441 cases and 269 deaths.
(SSFC, 5/31/20, p.A7)
2020 May 30, Taiwan's
government said it had approved Gilead Sciences' potential COVID-19
treatment, remdesivir, to treat the illness caused by the novel
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 5/30/20)
2020 May 31, California
to date had 111,893 cases of coronavirus and 4,171 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 13,926 cases and 444 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 1,788,762 with the death toll at 104,356.
(sfist.com, 5/31/20)
2020 May 31, Authorities in
Bogota, Colombia, began locking down an area of nearly 1.5 million
people as coronavirus cases continued to rise.
(AP, 5/31/20)
2020 May 31, In Iran 2,516 new
cases were confirmed across the country in the past 24 hours,
bringing the total to 151,466. The virus claimed another 63 lives
over the same period, raising the overall toll to 7,797.
(AFP, 5/31/20)
2020 May 31, Pakistan's daily
death toll from COVID-19 kept climbing, hitting a new high of 88
overnight putting the death toll at 1,483. The country has counted
69,496 positive cases of COVID-19.
(AP, 5/31/20)
2020 May 31, Tens of thousands
of mosques across Saudi Arabia reopened for the first time in more
than two months, with worshipers ordered to follow strict guidelines
to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Islam's holiest site in
Mecca remained closed to the public. Saudi Arabia also lifted a ban
on domestic air travel and permitted some public sector workers to
resume office work again, though full attendance will not be allowed
until mid-June.
(AP, 5/31/20)
2020 May 31, Spain's PM Pedro
Sánchez said that he would ask Parliament for a final two-week
extension of the nation’s state of emergency that is set to expire
on June 7. That allows the government to keep ordering lockdown
measures to control its coronavirus outbreak, which has claimed at
least 27,000 lives.
(AP, 5/31/20)
2020 May, In Kenya more than
100 people arriving from Tanzania tested positive for coronavirus
and were sent back. At Ugandan border testing points, at least 15
Tanzanian lorry drivers tested positive. The authorities in Tanzania
have not released official figures on the extent of the outbreak
there since the start of May.
(BBC, 6/19/20)
2020 Jun 1, California
to date had 114,732 cases of coronavirus and 4,218 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 14,184 cases and 446 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 1,809,109 with the death toll at 105,099.
(sfist.com, 6/1/20)
2020 Jun 1, Abiomed Inc said
the US Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use
authorization for its temporary invasive heart pump to help patients
suffering from COVID-19 related right heart failure. It was approved
for use in the United States for treating right ventricular failure
after cardiac surgery in 2017.
(Reuters, 6/1/20)
2020 Jun 1, The World Health
Organization said officials have confirmed a second Ebola outbreak
in Congo. Congolese health authorities have identified six cases in
the north near Mbandaka in Equateur province, including four
fatalities. Congo has also confirmed 611 cases of COVID-19,
including 20 deaths, and the number was rising.
(AP, 6/1/20)
2020 Jun 1, India registered
230 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing that total to
5,394.
(SFC, 6/2/20, p.A3)
2020 Jun 1, Iran announced
almost 3,000 new coronavirus infections, its highest daily count in
two months. The caseload was raised to 154,445 with 2,979 new
infections recorded in the past 24 hours. 81 deaths in the past day
raised that total to 7,878. Half Iran's fatalities for the past day
were recorded in three provinces.
(AP, 6/1/20)
2020 Jun 1, The Philippine
health ministry reported three new deaths and 552 more confirmed
cases of the coronavirus. Total deaths increased to 960 and
confirmed cases reached 18,638 as the government eased strict
quarantine measures in Manila.
(Reuters, 6/1/20)
2020 Jun 1, Moscow residents
ventured out to exercise, stroll and shop as the city eased a strict
nine-week lockdown, but millions remained largely confined to their
homes as Russia recorded thousands more coronavirus cases. Russia
recorded 9,035 new infections bringing its total to 414,878. The
death toll was put at 4,855.
(AFP, 6/1/20)
2020 Jun 1, South Korea
reporter 24 new coronavirus cases linked to a group of churches near
Seoul. The country has reported 11,503 cases and 271 deaths.
(SFC, 6/2/20, p.A3)
2020 Jun 1, South Korea-based
Celltrion said its experimental antibody COVID-19 treatment
demonstrated an up to 100-fold reduction in viral load of the
disease in animal testing, saying it aims to start human clinical
trials in late July.
(AP, 6/2/20)
2020 Jun 1, Spain recorded 71
new COVID-19 infections over the last 24 hours and no officials
deaths from the virus. The official death toll stands at 27,127 with
240,000 confirmed cases.
(SFC, 6/2/20, p.A3)
2020 Jun 1, Uruguay's
government began reopening schools, with sample testing for COVID-19
of teachers and students.
(Econ., 6/20/20, p.28)
2020 Jun 1, Aid organizations
in war-torn Yemen made an urgent plea for funding to shore up their
operations, saying they have already been forced to stop some of
their work even as the coronavirus rips through the country.
(AP, 6/1/20)
2020 Jun 2, A top immigration
official for the Trump administration admitted that immigrants are
not systematically tested for the coronavirus when they are
apprehended, nor when they are removed from the United States.
(Yahoo News, 6/2/20)
2020 Jun 2,
California to date had 117,214 cases of coronavirus and 4,305
deaths. The SF Bay Area had 14,342 cases and 449 deaths. Total cases
nationwide reached over 1,830,066 with the death toll at 106,120.
(sfist.com, 6/2/20)
2020 Jun 2, US drugmaker
Bristol Myers Squibb Co said its treatment Zeposia, which it gained
through its $74 billion buyout of Celgene last year, met the main
goals of a late-stage study testing it in patients with an
inflammatory bowel disease.
(Reuters, 6/2/20)
2020 Jun 2, High-flying shares
in Novacyt dropped as much as 12% after the healthcare diagnostics
firm said a French regulator had decided against approving the
company's coronavirus test for reimbursement by the state.
(Reuters, 6/2/20)
2020 Jun 2, Iran reported 3,117
new cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours bringing the
overall caseload to 157,562. The virus claimed another 64 lives in
the past day, raising the overall death toll to 7,942. The health
ministry lamented that people were ignoring social distancing rules.
(AFP, 6/2/20)
2020 Jun 2, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko
Koike issued a coronavirus alert after 34 new cases were reported in
the city, where infections had slowed to a few per day in late May.
(AP, 6/2/20)
2020 Jun 2, Japan approved
saliva-based tests for the coronavirus, offering a safer, simpler
way to diagnose infection than nasal swabs as it looks to boost its
testing rates.
(Reuters, 6/2/20)
2020 Jun 3,
California to date had 119,228 cases of coronavirus and 4,377
deaths. The SF Bay Area had 14,486 cases and 453 deaths. Total cases
nationwide reached over 1,849,560 with the death toll at 107,093.
(sfist.com, 6/3/20)
2020 Jun 3, Afghanistan has
recorded 16,400 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more than 270
deaths.
(SFC, 6/3/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 3, Iran officially
confirmed 3,134 new cases, bringing the total number of infections
to 160,696. Another 70 people have died taking the death toll to
8,012. Infections have been on a rising trajectory in the Islamic
republic since hitting a near two-month low on May 2.
(AFP, 6/3/20)
2020 Jun 3, Lebanon has
recorded a total 1,256 cases of COVID-19 and 27 deaths. The first
confirmed case was reported on February 21 among a group who flew in
from a pilgrimage in hard-hit Iran.
(AFP, 6/4/20)
2020 Jun 3, Dutch broadcaster
RTL reported that the government intends to cull the mink at farms
where animals have been infected with the coronavirus. Coronavirus
has so far been detected on eight farms in the Netherlands. A law
banning mink farming in the Netherlands was passed in 2013, and the
remaining 120 farms are due to cease operations in 2023.
(Reuters, 6/3/20)
2020 Jun 3, A South African
court has found some coronavirus lockdown regulations imposed by the
government "unconstitutional and invalid". The judge picked out
rules around funerals, informal workers and amount of exercise as
"irrational". The government was given 14 days to overhaul the
regulations.
(BBC, 6/3/20)
2020 Jun 3, South Korea
reported 49 new cases of COVID-19 bringing the national total to
11,590 and 273 deaths.
(SFC, 6/4/20, p.A5)
2020 Jun 3, Swedish
epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who has overseen the country’s
laissez-faire response to the coronavirus, defended the country's
coronavirus strategy but acknowledged that the country has had too
many deaths from Covid-19 and should have done more to curb the
spread of the virus.
(NY Times, 6/4/20)(SFC, 6/4/20, p.A5)
2020 Jun 3, Uganda has reported
507 cases of COVID-19 with no deaths. Medical workers say they lack
adequate supplies of personal protective equipment for tackling
COVID-19 and the risk of infection is making some reluctant to treat
patients. Seven health workers including two doctors and two nurses
have recently contracted the virus.
(Reuters, 6/3/20)
2020 Jun 4, Arizona reported
nearly a 1,000 new coronavirus cases amid a recent surge in
hospitalizations. The state now has tallied more than 22,000 and 981
deaths.
(SFC, 6/5/20, p.A8)
2020 Jun 4,
California to date had 122,238 cases of coronavirus and 4,444
deaths. The SF Bay Area had 14,735 cases and 453 deaths. Total cases
nationwide reached over 1,870,156 with the death toll at 108,051.
(sfist.com, 6/4/20)
2020 Jun 4, An influential
medical journal article that found hydroxychloroquine increased the
risk of death in COVID-19 patients was retracted, adding to the
controversy around a drug championed by US President Donald Trump.
The observational study published in the Lancet on May 22 said it
looked at 96,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, some treated with
the decades-old malaria drug.
(Reuters, 6/4/20)
2020 Jun 4, Brazil recorded a
record 1,473 coronavirus fatalities taking its total tally to more
than 34,000. The official number of infections rose to nearly
615,000, second only to the US.
(The Guardian, 6/4/20)
2020 Jun 4, It was reported
that violence in Burkina Faso linked to jihadists has spread from
the north to the western breadbasket in the Boucle du Mouhoun
region. Reports were rising of jihadists burning granaries and
looting food warehouses at schools. Burkina Faso has reported 884
cases of the coronavirus and 53 deaths.
(SFC, 6/4/20, p.A2)
2020 Jun 4, India registered
9,304 new cases of the coronavirus raising its totals to 216,919
cases and 6,075 deaths.
(SFC, 6/5/20, p.A7)
2020 Jun 4, Iran announced
3,574 new coronavirus infections, the most in one day since the
pandemic started. Authorities increase health warnings following the
resurgence. 59 people died of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours,
taking the overall official toll to 8,071. A total of 164,270 people
have tested positive for the virus since the first cases were
announced in February.
(AP, 6/4/20)
2020 Jun 4, The Mexican
Ministry of Health registered a record 1,092 deaths from COVID-19 in
the past 24 hours, more than double the previous single-day record.
The nation's official death toll now stands at 11,729.
(Good Morning America, 6/4/20)
2020 Jun 4, The Pakistani
government registered 4,688 new cases of COVID-19 and 82 new
fatalities across the country in the past 24 hours, bringing the
total to 85,264 confirmed cases and 1,770 deaths.
(Good Morning America, 6/4/20)
2020 Jun 4, Russia's
coronavirus headquarters said it had registered 8,831 new cases of
COVID-19 and 169 deaths in the past 24 hours. The country's tally
now stands at 441,108 diagnosed cases with 5,384 deaths.
(Good Morning America, 6/4/20)
2020 Jun 5,
California to date had 125,718 cases of coronavirus and 4,525
deaths. The SF Bay Area had 15,025 cases and 461 deaths. Total cases
nationwide reached over 1,894,502 with the death toll at 109,000.
(sfist.com, 6/5/20)
2020 Jun 5, US drugmaker AbbVie
Inc said it would develop an antibody therapy to prevent and treat
COVID-19 in partnership with three organizations including the
Netherlands' Utrecht University.
(Reuters, 6/5/20)
2020 Jun 5, The UK became the
second country to officially record more than 40,000
coronavirus-related deaths as more than 100 scientists wrote the
British government to urge it to reconsider lifting virus lockdown
restrictions.
(AP, 6/5/20)
2020 Jun 5, British scientists
halted a major drug trial after it found that the anti-malarial
hydroxychloroquine, touted by US President Donald Trump as a
potential "game changer" in the pandemic, was "useless" at treating
COVID-19 patients.
(Reuters, 6/5/20)
2020 Jun 5, Iran registered
2,886 new cases of infection, bringing the total number to 167,156.
The health ministry said 63 more people had died, with the official
death toll now at 8,134.
(AFP, 6/5/20)
2020 Jun 5, Iraq's Health
ministry reported at least 1,006 new coronavirus cases over the last
24 hours bringing the nationwide total to 9,846. The death toll
stood at 285.
(SFC, 6/6/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 5, Pakistani security
forces shut down more than 3,000 shops and markets across the
country for violating social distancing regulations. Pakistan
recorded 68 more coronavirus-related deaths raising the overall toll
to 1,838. Total infections reached 89,249.
(SFC, 6/6/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 5, It was reported
that medicinal oxygen to treat the coronavirus has become a scarce
commodity in Peru. President Martín Vizcarra has issued an emergency
decree ordering industrial plants to ramp up production or purchase
oxygen from other countries.
(AP, 6/5/20)
2020 Jun 6, California
to date had 126,329 cases of coronavirus and 4,538 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 15,270 cases and 461 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 1,909,077 with the death toll at 109,127.
(sfist.com, 6/6/20)
2020 Jun 6, Algeria has
reported about 700 deaths due to the coronavirus. The government has
used the outbreak to to repress the Hirak, as the country's protest
movement is known.
(Econ., 7/6/20, p.38)
2020 Jun 6, Brazil's government
stopped publishing a running total of coronavirus deaths and
infections in an extraordinary move that critics call an attempt to
hide the true toll of the disease in Latin America's largest nation.
President Jair Bolsonaro tweeted that disease totals are “not
representative” of the country's current situation.
(AP, 6/6/20)
2020 Jun 6, Colombia has had
33,466 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,099 deaths.
(Econ., 7/6/20, p.26)
2020 Jun 6, India reported
9,887 new cases of the coronavirus bringing the total to 236,657.
(SSFC, 6/7/20, p.A8)
2020 Jun 6, Iran's total number
of coronavirus cases rose to 169,425 with 2,269 new infections
confirmed in the past 24 hours. 75 people who were infected died in
the same period, bringing the overall fatalities to 8,209. President
Hassan Rouhani warned Iranians to prepare to live with the novel
coronavirus "for a long time", as the country gradually rolls back
restrictions imposed to curb the outbreak. Universities reopened
after being closed for more than three and a half months.
(AFP, 6/6/20)(Reuters, 6/6/20)
2020 Jun 6, In Poland a rapid
growth of coronavirus infections among miners at the state-run coal
producer JSW boosted the increase in daily cases to the highest
since May 12. There were 576 new cases in the country, of which 346
were linked to the JSW mine at Zofiowka. The daily increase brought
the total number of people infected in the country to 25,986, with
1,153 deaths.
(Reuters, 6/6/20)
2020 Jun 7, California
to date had 129,099 cases of coronavirus and 4,608 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 15,481 cases and 463 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 1,931,325 with the death toll at 110,110.
(sfist.com, 6/7/20)
2020 Jun 7, India reported
9,971 new cases of the coronavirus taking its total to 246,628 with
6,929 fatalities.
(SFC, 6/8/20, p.A4)
2020 Jun 7, Iran confirmed
2,364 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, bringing the
total number to 171,789. Another 72 people died in the same period,
raising the overall death toll to 8,281.
(AFP, 6/7/20)
2020 Jun 7, South Korea
reported 57 additional cases of the coronavirus taking the country's
total to 11,776 cases, with 273 deaths.
(SFC, 6/8/20, p.A4)
2020 Jun 7, Tanzania's
President John Magufuli declared the country "coronavirus-free"
thanks to prayers by citizens. Mr Magufuli said last week that only
four patients were receiving treatment in the largest city, Dar es
Salaam.
(BBC, 6/8/20)
2020 Jun 8, The US Food and
Drug Administration allowed emergency use of a COVID-19 saliva test
made by privately held Phosphorus Diagnostics LLC that allows people
to send in their saliva samples to the company's laboratory for
testing.
(Reuters, 6/8/20)
2020 Jun 8, California
to date had 131,138 cases of coronavirus and 4,634 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 15,746 cases and 464 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 1,951,722 with the death toll at 110,771.
(sfist.com, 6/8/20)
2020 Jun 8, The Chinese
government vigorously defended its actions in a new, detailed
account that portrays the country’s approach to combating the
outbreak as a model for the world.
(NY Times, 6/7/20)
2020 Jun 8, Iran urged its
citizens to wear masks in public as it announced another 70 deaths
from the novel coronavirus and 2,043 new cases of infection. The
latest figures took the overall toll to 8,351 dead out of a total of
173,832 people infected.
(AFP, 6/8/20)
2020 Jun 8, Poland said it will
close two coal mines owned by state-run JSW and ten mines of PGG
group for three weeks to stop the spread of the new coronavirus
among miners.
(Reuters, 6/8/20)
2020 Jun 8, South Africa's
President Cyril Ramaphosa said that he's worried about fast rising
coronavirus infections. More than half of South Africa’s more than
48,000 confirmed cases have been recorded in the last two weeks.
(AP, 6/8/20)
2020 Jun 8, South Africa
partially reopened its schools. After 5 weeks nearly 800 schools
reported cases of COVID-19.
(Econ., 7/18/20, p.50)
2020 Jun 8, UN General Assembly
Pres. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande said that world leaders will not be
coming to New York for their annual gathering in late September for
the first time in the 75-year history of the United Nations because
of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(AP, 6/8/20)
2020 Jun 8, It was reported
that the coronavirus is spreading throughout Yemen. Rebels in the
Houthi-controlled north have suppressed information about the virus
and severely punished those who speak out.
(AP, 6/9/20)
2020 Jun 9, It was reported
that Arizona, Utah and New Mexico all posted COVID-19 rises of 40%
or higher for the week ended June 7 compared with the prior seven
days.
(Reuters, 6/9/20)
2020 Jun 9, California
to date had 136,039 cases of coronavirus and 4,730 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 16,062 cases and 475 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 1,973,083 with the death toll at 111,751.
(sfist.com, 6/9/20)
2020 Jun 9, AstraZeneca
received $23.7 million in funding from a US government agency to
advance the development of antibody-based COVID-19 treatments as the
British drugmaker ramps up efforts beyond its potential vaccine to
combat the pandemic.
(Reuters, 6/9/20)
2020 Jun 9, Glass maker Corning
Inc said it would receive $204 million from the US government to
boost the manufacturing capacity of its vials that will be used to
store coronavirus vaccines and treatments.
(Reuters, 6/9/20)
2020 Jun 9, Argentina confirmed
more than 1,000 new cases as the rate of new infections continued to
rise just days after it extended lockdown measures in the capital
Buenos Aires.
(Reuters, 6/10/20)
2020 Jun 9, Britain has seen
the deadliest coronavirus outbreak in Europe, with nearly 40,700
confirmed deaths. Official statistics released today suggested that
thousands more have died in the pandemic, and the true toll could be
over 50,000 dead.
(AP, 6/9/20)
2020 Jun 9, Iran announced
another 74 deaths from the coronavirus. Cases of infection increased
by 2,095 over the last 12 hours to total 175,927 and the overall
death toll rose to 8,425. A health official said nearly one in five
Iranians may have been infected with the novel coronavirus since the
country's outbreak started in February.
(AFP, 6/9/20)
2020 Jun 9, Israel's internal
security service Shin Bet said it has halted its cell-phone tracking
of coronavirus carriers, citing the success of alternatives to the
controversial method of containing contagions.
(Reuters, 6/9/20)
2020 Jun 9, Moscow lifted a
strict anti-coronavirus lockdown after more than two months of
restrictions. Health officials reported 8,595 new cases and 171
deaths. The total death toll reached 6,142. The overall number of
infections rose to 485,253.
(AFP, 6/9/20)
2020 Jun 10, The US National
Institutes of Health (NIH) launched a study to evaluate drugs
prescribed to treat COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the
new coronavirus, among children and adolescents across the United
States.
(Reuters, 6/10/20)
2020 Jun 10, Arizona again told
hospitals to activate the coronavirus emergency plans after cases
spiked following reopening. The state's stay-at-home order ended on
May 15, and its cases have increased 115 percent since then.
(Reuters, 6/10/20)
2020 Jun 10, California
to date had 139,622 cases of coronavirus and 4,853 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 16,231 cases and 478 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 1,999,392 with the death toll at 112,878.
(sfist.com, 6/10/20)
2020 Jun 10, Johnson &
Johnson said it would start human trials of its potential COVID-19
vaccine in the second half of July, two months earlier than planned.
(Reuters, 6/10/20)
2020 Jun 10, Chinese
researchers said a potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed showed
promise in trials in monkeys, triggering antibodies and raising no
safety issues and that a human trial with more than 1,000
participants is under way.
(Reuters, 6/10/20)
2020 Jun 10, Ghana's Incas
Diagnostics expects the country's regulator to approve its new
COVID-19 antibody test by the end of July, saying its kits could
help health authorities ease pandemic restrictions.
(Reuters, 6/10/20)
2020 Jun 10, Indonesia reported
its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases for a second
successive day, with 1,241 new infections, taking its total to
34,316.
(Reuters, 6/10/20)
2020 Jun 10, Iran announced
2,011 infections confirmed in the past 24 hours raising its overall
caseload to 177,938. Fatalities reached 8,506 with 81 new deaths
over the same period.
(AP, 6/10/20)
2020 Jun 10, Japanese biotech
AnGes Inc said it expects its coronavirus vaccine to be ready as
early as the first half of 2021, if it can overcome supply chain and
production hurdles.
(AP, 6/10/20)
2020 Jun 10, It was reported
that authorities in Zimbabwe have started publicly naming people who
have escaped from quarantine centers and urging the public to report
them to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Zimbabwe has reported
314 cases of COVID-19. The figures have risen from the 56 recorded
toward the end of May. Most of the new cases have been reported at
the quarantine centers.
(AP, 6/10/20)
2020 Jun 11, California
to date had 139,863 cases of coronavirus and 4,857 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 16,456 cases and 484 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,011,341 with the death toll at 113,341.
(sfist.com, 6/11/20)
2020 Jun 11, It was reported
that coronavirus cases are rising in 21 US states, a worrying trend
that could worsen as people return to work and venture out during
the summer. It was also reported that outbreaks of the virus are
emerging at US fruit and vegetable farms and packing plants.
(AP, 6/11/20)(Reuters, 6/11/20)
2020 Jun 11, Gov. Kate Brown of
Oregon said that she was pausing efforts to reopen the state’s
economy for a week because of a recent rise in virus cases.
(NY Times, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 11, Moderna Inc
confirmed it plans to start a trial of 30,000 volunteers of its
much-anticipated coronavirus vaccine in July as the company enters
the final stage of testing.
(Reuters, 6/11/20)
2020 Jun 11, Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals Inc said it has begun human testing of its
experimental antibody cocktail as a treatment for COVID-19, the
disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
(Reuters, 6/11/20)
2020 Jun 11, Emergent
BioSolutions Inc said it has signed an $87 million deal to make
AstraZeneca Plc's experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the United
States, boosting the British drugmaker's efforts to bring a vaccine
to the market.
(Reuters, 6/11/20)
2020 Jun 11, Brazil reported
30,412 new coronavirus cases, bringing its cumulative total to above
800,000. Shops reopened in the country's two largest cities.
(Reuters, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 11, Beijing, a city of
21 million people, confirmed a new coronavirus case, the first
confirmed case in the capital in nearly two months.
(Reuters, 6/11/20)(Econ., 6/20/20, p.34)
2020 Jun 11, In Haiti
coronavirus infections spiked to 3,334 with 51 deaths.
(SFC, 6/12/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 11, In India
coronavirus cases shot up, rising by a record of nearly 10,000,
raising questions about whether authorities have done enough to
avert catastrophe. The total count of infections reached 286,579,
the fifth highest in the world, with 8,102 deaths.
(AP, 6/11/20)
2020 Jun 11, Indonesia added
979 new coronavirus cases.
(Reuters, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 11, In Iran 2,238 new
coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours took the country's total
to 180,156. The overall death toll rose to 8,584 with 78 new deaths.
(AFP, 6/11/20)
2020 Jun 11, South Korean
health officials reported 45 new cases of the coronavirus raising
national totals to 11,947 and 276 deaths.
(SFC, 6/12/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 12, California
to date had 146,358 cases of coronavirus and 4,978 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 16,811 cases and 493 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,043,656 with the death toll at 114,471.
(sfist.com, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 12, Oklahoma health
officials said a spike in coronavirus cases in the Tulsa area is
linked to indoor events and warned that people who attend such
gatherings should take health precautions.
(AP, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 12, Texas reported
2,166 patients in hospitals with the coronavirus. 19 deaths were
reported bringing the overall toll to 1,939.
(SSFC, 6/14/20, p.A9)
2020 Jun 12, Australia's chief
medical officer, Brendan Murphy said the coronavirus has been
eliminated in many areas of the country, as more than half of the 38
cases reported over the past week were travelers returning from
abroad and remaining quarantined.
(NY Times, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 12, In China the local
government in Beijing said that it would suspend the resumption of
school for young primary school students after the appearance of
three new cases of Covid-19 in the city.
(NY Times, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 12, Hong Kong
protesters marched in a shopping mall marking the one-year
anniversary of a clash with police outside the city's legislature.
(SFC, 6/13/20, p.A2)
2020 Jun 12, India’s nationwide
caseload overtook Britain to became the fourth highest in the world
with 297,535 confirmed coronavirus cases and 8,498 deaths. The
number of cases had increased by 10,956 from the previous day.
(AP, 6/12/20)(Reuters, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 12, Indian drugmaker
Zydus Cadila said it signed a non-exclusive licensing pact with
Gilead Sciences Inc to manufacture and market antiviral drug
remdesivir, the first treatment to show improvement in COVID-19
trials.
(Reuters, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 12, Indonesia reported
1,111 new coronavirus infections and 48 new deaths, taking the total
number of cases to 36,406 and fatalities to 2,048.
(Reuters, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 12, Iran reported 75
deaths and more than 2,369 new cases of novel coronavirus as calls
mounted for all people to wear masks in public. The new infections
in the past 24 hours took the total to 182,545. The new deaths
brought that overall toll to 8,659.
(AFP, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 12, Lebanon's central
bank agreed to inject fresh dollars into the market to prop up the
national currency following a night of protests spurred by the
dramatic plunging of the Lebanese pound.
(SFC, 6/13/20, p.A2)
2020 Jun 12, In the Philippines
hundreds of activists in Manila staged protests against a proposed
terrorism law they say could be used to quash dissent.
(SFC, 6/13/20, p.A2)
2020 Jun 12, Russia reported
8,987 new coronavirus infections, taking the total to 511,423 cases.
Russia has confirmed a total of 6,715 coronavirus deaths. President
Vladimir Putin said an "absolute majority" of Russians backed his
controversial plan to change the constitution, as he made his first
public appearance after weeks of lockdown.
(AFP, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 12, In southern
Somalia Al-Shabab unveiled a COVID-19 isolation and care facility in
Jilib, a major stronghold of the extremist group. The facility
included a round-the-clock hotline.
(AP, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 12, South Korea
reported 56 new cases of the coronavirus bringing the national
totals to 12,003 cases and 277 deaths.
(SFC, 6/13/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 12, Sudan has reported
6,879 coronavirus infections and 433 deaths. Of those, 193 cases and
54 fatalities have been confirmed across Darfur — a figure experts
believe is a vast undercount.
(AP, 6/12/20)
2020 Jun 13, California
to date had 147,938 cases of coronavirus and 4,994 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 17,007 cases and 493 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,068,591 with the death toll at 115,251.
(sfist.com, 6/13/20)
2020 Jun 13, Florida health
officials reported 2,581 new coronavirus cases. Fatalities now stand
at over 3,000 out of 73,552 confirmed cases.
(SSFC, 6/14/20, p.A9)
2020 Jun 13, In North Carolina
two more prisoners died at the Federal Correctional Complex at
Butner from COVID-19 complications. Both men were in the
low-security prison, which has the largest coronavirus outbreak in
the federal prison system, with 623 total active cases, eight among
staff members.
(Charlotte Observer, 6/15/20)
2020 Jun 13, West Virginia
reported a significant number of coronavirus outbreaks linked to
houses of worship. A total of five churches have seen outbreaks.
Pres. Donald Trump insisted in late May that churches reopen,
threatening governors who continued to impose restrictions on houses
of worship.
(Yahoo News, 6/15/20)
2020 Jun 13, It was reported
that the percentage of Argentines in poverty is expected to reach as
high as 45% this year as the coronavirus pandemic worsens. Argentina
already faced a 50% rate of inflation, overwhelming debt and
difficulty accessing credit.
(SFC, 6/13/20, p.A2)
2020 Jun 13, Brazil has
recorded nearly 40,000 deaths from the coronavirus, th world's third
highest number.
(Econ., 6/13/20, p.26)
2020 Jun 13, The Chinese
capital of Beijing reported 36 confirmed cases of the new
coronavirus, setting an all-time high for new daily infections in
the city.
(Reuters, 6/14/20)
2020 Jun 13, India reported its
biggest single-day jump in coronavirus cases, adding 11,458
confirmed infections and taking its total count to more than
300,000. India has 145,779 active cases, and has recorded 8,884
deaths.
(Reuters, 6/13/20)
2020 Jun 13, Indonesia reported
1,014 new coronavirus infections and 43 more deaths, taking the
total number of cases to 37,420 and fatalities to 2,091.
(Reuters, 6/13/20)
2020 Jun 13, Iran reported
2,410 new coronavirus cases raising the total count to 184,955. The
death of 71 people in the past 24 hours raised total fatalities to
8,730. President Hassan Rouhani said Iran will reimpose restrictions
to stem the surge if health regulations are not observed.
(Reuters, 6/13/20)
2020 Jun 13, The Philippines'
health ministry reported 607 new coronavirus infections and 22 more
deaths, taking the total number of cases to 25,392 and fatalities to
1,074.
(Reuters, 6/13/20)
2020 Jun 13, In Turkey the
number of new coronavirus cases rose to 1,459 in the last 24 hours
and 14 people died, bringing total fatalities to 4,792. Turkey has
reported a total 176,677 cases of COVID-19.
(Reuters, 6/13/20)
2020 Jun 14, California
to date had 152,285 cases of coronavirus and 5,082 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 17,262 cases and 497 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,093,448 with the death toll at 115,730.
(sfist.com, 6/14/20)
2020 Jun 14, Egypt announced
1,677 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus. This raised the totals
to 1,484 deaths and 42,980 confirmed cases.
(SFC, 6/15/20, p.A5)
2020 Jun 14, It was reported
that at least 58 employees of Guatemala's presidential offices have
tested positive for the coronavirus. Guatemala has reported 8,600
infections and 351 deaths.
(SSFC, 6/14/20, p.A8)
2020 Jun 14, Indonesia reported
857 new coronavirus infections and 43 more deaths, taking the total
number of cases to 38,277 and fatalities to 2,134.
(AP, 6/14/20)
2020 Jun 14, Iran reported 107
Covid-19 fatalities in the past 24 hours, raising the overall toll
to 8,837. There were 2,472 new cases confirmed in the past day,
bringing the total infection caseload to 187,427.
(AFP, 6/14/20)
2020 Jun 14, The Philippines
reported 539 more coronavirus infections, bringing the total number
of confirmed cases to 25,930. Health authorities said 14 additional
fatalities related to the novel coronavirus took the death toll to
1,088.
(Reuters, 6/14/20)
2020 Jun 14, Russia confirmed
8,835 new virus cases, taking the total to 528,964.
(AFP, 6/14/20)
2020 Jun 14, South Korea
confirmed 34 more coronavirus cases raising the country's total to
12,085 cases and 277 deaths.
(SFC, 6/15/20, p.A5)
2020 Jun 15, California
to date had 155,044 cases of coronavirus and 5,107 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 17,495 cases and 498 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,110,795 with the death toll at 116,090.
(sfist.com, 6/15/20)
2020 Jun 15, Florida reported a
daily increase of 1,758 COVID-19 infections. That number follows two
days with more than 2,000 new coronavirus cases.
(Yahoo News, 6/16/20)
2020 Jun 15, Cameroon recorded
one of the highest number of coronavirus cases in the sub-Sahara
Africa region. It hit the 10,000 cases milestone, with 277 deaths
and remains one of the continents hotspot for the pandemic.
Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala diocese, who has practiced herbal
medicine for several years, says he has developed two plant-based
remedies for COVID-19 which are given free to those who test
positive for the respiratory disease.
(Reuters, 6/16/20)
2020 Jun 15, In China several
districts of Beijing set up security checkpoints, closed schools and
ordered people to be tested for the coronavirus after an unexpected
spike of cases linked to the biggest wholesale food market in Asia.
Beijing said it had tracked down 79 infections over the previous
four days.
(Reuters, 6/15/20)(SFC, 6/16/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 15, India's Health
Ministry reported a jump of more than 11,000 infections nationwide
for a third straight day.
(AP, 6/15/20)
2020 Jun 15, Iran said 113 new
fatalities took to 8,950 the total number of COVID-19 deaths since
the country's outbreak began in February. Another 2,449 people had
tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours, taking the
Islamic republic's overall caseload to 189,876.
(AFP, 6/15/20)
2020 Jun 15, Montenegro
reported a new COVID-19 case, a person who arrived from neighboring
Bosnia, three weeks after declaring it was free of the coronavirus.
(Reuters, 6/15/20)
2020 Jun 15, North Macedonian
health authorities announced 103 new confirmed coronavirus cases and
five deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 4,157 and the
death toll to 193 in this country of around 2 million people.
President Stevo Pendarovski declared an eight-day state of emergency
ahead of an early national election after the country’s main
political leaders agreed the vote will be held on July 15.
(AP, 6/16/20)
2020 Jun 15, Norway said it
will halt its track and trace app and delete all data collected so
far after criticism from its data protection watchdog.
(Reuters, 6/15/20)
2020 Jun 15, The Russian cities
of Penza, Pyatigorsk and Yakutsk joined a growing list of places
that are cancelling June 24 military parades over coronavirus fears
despite a decision by President Vladimir Putin to press ahead with
the main event in Moscow. Coronavirus cases rose by 8,246 cases over
the last 24 hours raising the total to 537,210 and 7,091 deaths.
(Reuters, 6/15/20)(SFC, 6/16/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 15, Ukraine resumed
flights to countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, India,
Israel and the United Arab Emirates, relaxing a ban in place since
March 17. Ukraine's own caseload has spiked in recent days to nearly
32,000 following a decision in May to resume public transportation
and reopen of malls and gyms.
(AP, 6/15/20)
2020 Jun 16, The US Department
of Health and Human Services said the Trump administration is
narrowing its list of promising experimental coronavirus vaccines to
about seven from 14.
(Reuters, 6/16/20)
2020 Jun 16, California
to date had 157,293 cases of coronavirus and 5,156 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 17,813 cases and 504 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,134,973 with the death toll at 116,854.
(sfist.com, 6/16/20)
2020 Jun 16, Florida reported a
record-high one-day increase of 2,783 coronavirus cases. 55 more
virus-related deaths raised that toll to 2,993.
(SFC, 6/17/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 16, Vermont health
officials said 83 cases of the coronavirus have been recorded in the
Bhutanese community of Winooski and that the virus is expanding into
neighboring Burlington.
(SFC, 6/17/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 16, The World Health
Organization's regional director for the Americas Carissa Etienne
said that the region is fast approaching 4 million cases of
coronavirus and the pandemic continues to accelerate. Etienne said
Brazil accounts for 23% of the more than 3.8 million cases in the
Americas and 23% of the almost 204,000 deaths in the region.
(Reuters, 6/16/20)
2020 Jun 16, Researchers in
England said they have the first evidence that a drug can improve
COVID-19 survival: A cheap, widely available steroid called
dexamethasone reduced deaths by up to one third in severely ill
hospitalized patients. Japan-based Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical Co was
among those that produce dexamethasone.
(AP, 6/16/20)(Reuters, 7/21/20)
2020 Jun 16, China National
Biotec Group (CNBG) said its experimental coronavirus vaccine has
triggered antibodies in clinical trials and the company plans
late-stage human trials in foreign countries.
(Reuters, 6/16/20)
2020 Jun 16, Iran said a third
straight day of more than 100 coronavirus deaths took its overall
toll past 9,000, attributing the spike to increased travel by its
citizens. 115 new deaths in the past 24 hours took Iran's overall
toll to 9,065. Another 2,563 people tested positive for COVID-19,
bringing the total to 192,439 since the start of Iran's outbreak.
(AFP, 6/16/20)
2020 Jun 16, Netherlands-based
Signify, the world's largest lighting manufacturer, said researchers
at Boston University had confirmed an ultraviolet light made by the
company works to degrade most coronavirus in a laboratory setting in
a matter of seconds.
(Reuters, 6/16/20)
2020 Jun 16, In New Zealand,
two new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in recent arrivals
from Britain, only days after the government had declared the
country’s epidemic eradicated.
(NY Times, 6/18/20)
2020 Jun 16, Tanzania's PM
Kassim Majaliwa reported 66 active coronavirus cases, releasing data
for the first time since April when Pres. John Magufuli questioned
the reliability of the figures.
(BBC, 6/18/20)
2020 Jun 17, Arizona confirmed
1,827 new cases of the coronavirus and 20 new deaths. Total
confirmed cases rose to 40,924 and 1,239 deaths.
(SFC, 6/18/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 17, California
to date had 163,445 cases of coronavirus and 5,282 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 18,103 cases and 511 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,163,290 with the death toll at 117,717.
(sfist.com, 6/17/20)
2020 Jun 17, Shares of Chembio
Diagnostics Inc slumped more than 60% after the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) revoked the emergency use authorization for its
COVID-19 antibody test kit on concerns about its accuracy.
(Reuters, 6/17/20)
2020 Jun 17, China's President
Xi Jinping announced that Beijing will write off all interest-free
loans advanced to African countries that are due this year. Speaking
at the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against the
Covid-19 Pandemic, which was conducted by video link, he said China
will also build hospitals and send more medical experts to Africa to
aid in the coronavirus fight.
(South China Morning Post, 6/18/20)
2020 Jun 17, Danish authorities
said mink at a farm in Denmark were found to be infected with the
new coronavirus and all 11,000 of the animals there will have to be
culled.
(Reuters, 6/17/20)
2020 Jun 17, In Turkey the
governors of Istanbul, Ankara and Bursa announced that wearing masks
to curb COVID-19 are now obligatory following an uptick in confirmed
cases.
(SFC, 6/19/20, p.A7)
2020 Jun 17, Iran reported more
than 100 deaths from the novel coronavirus for a fourth straight
day. 120 new deaths in the past 24 hours took Iran's overall toll to
9,158. Another 2,612 tested positive for COVID-19, bringing total
confirmed cases to 195,051.
(AFP, 6/17/20)
2020 Jun 17, Japanese
researchers confirmed the presence of the coronavirus in wastewater
plants, a finding that could serve as a signal for future outbreaks.
The findings mirror similar studies in Australia, the United States,
and Europe.
(AP, 6/17/20)
2020 Jun 18, Arizona reported
2,519 new cases of the coronavirus and 32 new deaths. This raised
the state's total to 43,443 and 1,271 deaths.
(SFC, 6/19/20, p.A7)
2020 Jun 18, California
to date had 167,348 cases of coronavirus and 5,355 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 18,590 cases and 519 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,192,279 with the death toll at 118,467.
(sfist.com, 6/18/20)
2020 Jun 18, California health
officials issued a mandate that all citizens wear masks when in an
indoor public place or in line waiting to enter as well as riding
public transport and in public outdoor spaces where people cluster.
This followed a a day after the state reported the largest number of
new coronavirus cases in a single day.
(SFC, 6/19/20, p.A1)
2020 Jun 18, The Beijing
government said that the number of coronavirus cases in a recent
outbreak had risen to 158, after an additional 21 cases were
reported today.
(NY Times, 6/18/20)
2020 Jun 18, China released
genome sequencing data for the coronavirus responsible for a recent
outbreak in Beijing. Officials the next day said it identified a
European strain based on preliminary studies.
(Reuters, 6/19/20)
2020 Jun 18, It was reported
that Honduras, Pres. Juan Orlando Hernandez and his wife have tested
positive for COVID-19. Honduras has nearly 10,000 confirmed cases
and 330 deaths.
(SFC, 6/18/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 18, India reported its
highest one-day increase of 12,281 coronavirus cases. Deaths rose by
334 to 12,237.
(SFC, 6/19/20, p.A7)
2020 Jun 18, Scientists in
Italy said they have found traces of the new coronavirus in
wastewater collected from Milan and Turin on December 18, 2019,
suggesting COVID-19 was already circulating in northern Italy before
China reported the first cases.
(Reuters, 6/19/20)
2020 Jun 18, Russia revised
steeply higher, to nearly 500, the number of medical workers who
have died after contracting COVID-19. The official figure rose to
489, some 6.4% of the overall nationwide death toll. The Health
Ministry had reported on May 26 that 101 medics had died from the
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 6/18/20)
2020 Jun 18, Uruguay to date
has recorded 849 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 24 deaths.
(Econ., 6/20/20, p.26)
2020 Jun 19, The US State
Department said COVID-19 infections have been reported at its
embassy in the Afghan capital and affected staff include diplomats,
contractors and locals.
(AP, 6/20/20)
2020 Jun 19, It was reported
that several US hospitals in states with fresh surges of COVID-19
cases have started treating their sickest patients with
dexamethasone rather than await confirmation of preliminary results
of a study by British researchers, who said the inexpensive steroid
saves lives.
(Reuters, 6/19/20)
2020 Jun 19, Arizona's city of
Phoenix approved a measure requiring people to use face masks in
public to ward off the spread of the coronavirus. The state reported
3,246 additional cases increasing the statewide total to 46,689. 41
new deaths raised that total to 1,312.
(SSFC, 6/21/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 19, California
to date had 170,581 cases of coronavirus and 5,420 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 18,814 cases and 521 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,219,977 with the death toll at 119,099.
(sfist.com, 6/19/20)
2020 Jun 19, Oklahoma reported
359 new cases of the coronavirus. The state's death toll rose to
367.
(SFC, 6/20/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 19, US drug developer
Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc said it would begin an early stage study
of its experimental treatment, Ampion, in COVID-19 patients after it
received regulatory clearance from the US Food and Drug
Administration.
(Reuters, 6/19/20)
2020 Jun 19, Brazil’s Health
Ministry said that total coronavirus cases now stood at 1,032,913,
up more than 50,000 from a day earlier.
(AP, 6/19/20)
2020 Jun 19, Haiti's government
announced that Fritz Gerard Cerisier, an assistant to the government
prosecutor, was assassinated in Port-au-Prince. Haiti reported 4,916
confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 84 deaths.
(Miami Herald, 6/20/20)
2020 Jun 19, Mumbai-based
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd said it has received Indian regulatory
approval to make and sell oral antiviral drug favipiravir for
treating mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infections in the country.
(AP, 6/19/20)
2020 Jun 19, Pakistan reported
4,944 new confirmed cases for the coronavirus raising that total to
165,062. The death toll rose by 136 for a total of 3,229.
(SFC, 6/20/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 19, Spain updated its
coronavirus numbers for the first time in nearly two weeks. At least
28,313 people have died with a COVID-19 diagnosis.
(SFC, 6/20/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 19, Zimbabwe's health
minister, Obadiah Moyo, was arrested after the government came under
pressure from the opposition and on social media over the
procurement of coronavirus tests and equipment. He was released on
bail after appearing in court on corruption charges. Zimbabwe says
it has confirmed nearly 500 virus cases, including four deaths, but
the actual number of cases is thought to be higher.
(BBC, 6/20/20)
2020 Jun 20, President Donald
Trump returned to the rally stage in Tulsa, Oklahoma, only to find
the venue about two-thirds full, a surprising and undoubtedly
disappointing turn of events for a politician who values crowd size.
Trump said he's asked his administration to slow down coronavirus
testing because robust testing turns up too many cases of COVID-19.
Trump's campaign said six staff members helping set up for his rally
have tested positive for coronavirus.
(AP, 6/20/20)
2020 Jun 20, Alabama had more
than 29,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with more than a quarter of
the cases reported in the last two weeks. Over the past two weeks,
Alabama had the second highest number of new cases per capita in the
nation.
(AP, 6/21/20)
2020 Jun 20, California to
date had 170,923 cases of coronavirus and 5,425 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 19,068 cases and 525 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 2,241,023 with the death toll at 119,475.
(sfist.com, 6/20/20)
2020 Jun 20, Chinese officials
reported 22 new coronavirus cases in Beijing, along with five others
elsewhere in the country. There were no new deaths.
(AP, 6/20/20)
2020 Jun 20, Germany reported
that some 800 workers at one of the country’s largest
slaughterhouses were confirmed positive for the coronavirus.
Authorities reported 601 new cases over the last 24 hours, following
on from 770 the previous day. Earlier in June the number of new
cases was as low as 300. The R number, which estimates how many
people the average carrier infects, rose to 1.7.
(AP, 6/20/20)
2020 Jun 20, Guatemala replaced
its health minister. The country has reported more than 11,000
coronavirus cases and 449 deaths.
(SSFC, 6/21/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 20, Iranian health
authorities announced 115 new deaths from coronavirus raising the
country's death toll to 9,507. Another 2,322 new cases of infection
brought the confirmed case total to 202,584.
(AFP, 6/20/20)
2020 Jun 20, In Iraq
coronavirus infections spiked seven-fold to over 29,000, up from
less than 4,000 at the end of May. Deaths also spiked, with over
1,013 killed among the confirmed cases, according to Health Ministry
figures.
(AP, 6/21/20)
2020 Jun 20, Mexico reported
4,717 new infections and 387 additional deaths from the coronavirus,
bringing the total number in the country to 175,202 cases and 20,781
deaths.
(Reuters, 6/20/20)
2020 Jun 20, South Africa
reported 5,000 new COVID-19 cases as the country continued to loosen
lockdown measures under economic pressure.
(SSFC, 6/21/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 20, South Korea
recorded 67 new coronavirus cases, the largest 24-hour increase in
about three weeks. Many cases have been linked to exposure in
nightlife outlets.
(AP, 6/20/20)
2020 Jun 21, The World Health
Organization reported the largest single-day increase in coronavirus
cases by its count, at more than 183,000 new cases in the latest 24
hours. The WHO said Brazil led the way with 54,771 cases tallied and
the US next at 36,617. Over 15,400 came in in India.
(NBC News, 6/21/20)
2020 Jun 21, California
to date had 175,449 cases of coronavirus and 5,499 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 19,472 cases and 529 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,271,414 with the death toll at 119,921.
(sfist.com, 6/21/20)
2020 Jun 21, Iraqi officials
sounded the alarm over a surge in virus cases in Baghdad.
(AP, 6/21/20)
2020 Jun 21, It was reported
that the coronavirus is spreading in Pakistan at one of the fastest
rates in the world, and its overwhelmed hospitals are turning away
patients. But the government is pushing ahead with opening up the
country, trying to salvage a near-collapsed economy.
(AP, 6/21/20)
2020 Jun 22, California
to date had 184,284 cases of coronavirus and 5,559 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 20,103 cases and 537 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,310,334 with the death toll at 120,384.
(sfist.com, 6/22/20)
2020 Jun 22, Florida reported
that over 100,00 people in the state have been diagnosed with the
coronavirus infection. More that 3,100 people in the state have
died.
(SFC, 6/23/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 22, The African Center
for Disease Control and Prevention said that the continent now has
306,567 confirmed cases of the coronavirus including 8,115 deaths.
South Africa accounted for nearly a third of the cases.
(SFC, 6/23/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 22, Global cases of
the novel coronavirus surpassed 9 million, as Brazil and India
grappled with a surge in infections, and the United States, China
and other hard-hit countries reported new outbreaks.
(Reuters, 6/22/20)
2020 Jun 22, It was reported
that a nursing home owned by Life Care Centers of America Inc has
fired one nurse and banned another from the premises after the two
were quoted in a Reuters investigation detailing horrific
conditions, a staff exodus and a botched management response to the
facility’s deadly COVID-19 outbreak. Life Care terminated Nurse
Colleen Lelievre last week after managers at the Littleton,
Massachusetts, home accused her of making clerical errors involving
narcotics for residents. Nurse Lisa Harmon said a manager barred her
from the building on June 12 without explaining why.
(Reuters, 6/22/20)
2020 Jun 22, Hong Kong reported
30 imported new coronavirus cases, taking the number of cases in the
city to 1,162.
(Reuters, 6/22/20)
2020 Jun 22, India reported a
record number of new coronavirus cases and a death toll of more than
400 people in the past 24 hours as foreign embassies warned their
citizens in the country that hospitals might not have beds for them.
14,821 new cases brought India's total to more than 425,000. Nearly
14,000 people in India have now died from the disease caused by the
virus since the country reported its first case in January.
(Reuters, 6/22/20)(SFC, 6/23/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 22, Iran's health
ministry announced 119 new coronavirus deaths and another 2,573
cases of infection. That takes the overall toll to over 9,742 dead
out of more than 207,500 cases in the outbreak. The Iranian rial
plunged to new depths against the US dollar in what economists said
was a slump partly induced by the Middle East's deadliest
coronavirus outbreak.
(AFP, 6/22/20)
2020 Jun 22, Israeli company
Sonovia said it expects that a fabric it has developed will be able
to neutralize close to 99% of the coronavirus, even after being
washed multiple times, following a successful lab test.
(Reuters, 6/22/20)
2020 Jun 22, The UN says the
coronavirus outbreak in South Sudan is growing rapidly, with nearly
1,900 cases, including more than 50 health workers infected, more
than 30 deaths and no way to know the true number of infections.
(AP, 6/22/20)
2020 Jun 23, The United States
recorded the second-largest increase in coronavirus cases since the
health crisis began, with a rise of 35,588 new infections. A dozen
states saw infections surge.
(Reuters, 6/24/20)
2020 Jun 23, The US extradited
former Haitian paramilitary leader Emmanuel Constant. He was
immediately arrested as he landed in Haiti, where he faced murder
and torture charges from the 1990s. constant has alleged that he was
on the CIA payroll.
(SFC, 6/24/20, p.A4)
2020 Jun 23, Arizona reported a
daily record of nearly 3,600 coronavirus cases.
(SFC, 6/24/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 23, California
to date had 191,372 cases of coronavirus and 5,618 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 20,857 cases and 538 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,347,022 with the death toll at 121,228.
(sfist.com, 6/23/20)
2020 Jun 23, Washington state
Gov. Jay Inslee ordered residents to wear face masks in public as
officials across the country sought new means to control the
coronavirus pandemic while easing clamp-downs on residents and
reopening the economy.
(Reuters, 6/23/20)
2020 Jun 23, Inovio
Pharmaceuticals Inc said it has received $71 million from the US
Department of Defense (DoD) to scale up production of the company's
devices that are used to administer its experimental COVID-19
vaccine into the skin.
(Reuters, 6/23/20)
2020 Jun 23, Researchers
reported that a trial in pigs of AstraZeneca's experimental COVID-19
vaccine has found that two doses of the shot produced a greater
antibody response than a single dose.
(Reuters, 6/23/20)
2020 Jun 23, China National
Biotec Group (CNBG) said it has won approval to run a large-scale
"Phase 3" clinical trial of its novel coronavirus vaccine candidate
in the UAE.
(Reuters, 6/23/20)
2020 Jun 23, In Germany
Guetersloh becoming the first area in the country to be ordered back
into lockdown. More than 1,500 workers at the Guetersloh meatpacking
plant have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.
Meat-processing plants around the world have proven to be
coronavirus infection hotspots.
(AP, 6/23/20)
2020 Jun 23, Indian drugmaker
Cipla Ltd said it will price its generic version of Gilead Sciences
Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir for use in COVID-19 patients at less
than 5,000 rupees ($66).
(AP, 6/23/20)
2020 Jun 23, Iran reported 121
new coronavirus deaths, its highest daily toll in over two months,
as it battles to contain the Middle East's deadliest COVID-19
outbreak. 2,445 people had tested positive for COVID in the past 24
hours, raising the country's caseload to 209,970. The new fatalities
brought the overall virus death toll to 9,863.
(AP, 6/23/20)
2020 Jun 23, Kazakhstan has
reported almost 29,000 COVID-19 cases, up from about 5,000 at the
end of the lockdown. Almaty's the city's healthcare chief said the
city may convert two sports arenas into COVID-19 hospitals as
existing facilities for patients with suspected and confirmed cases
are nearly full.
(Reuters, 6/23/20)
2020 Jun 23, Kyrgyz President
Sooronbai Jeenbekov abandoned plans to attend the Moscow 75th
anniversary Victory Day parade when two members of his delegation
tested positive for the virus after arriving in Moscow. He and the
delegation returned to Kyrgyzstan and the president went into
self-isolation. The parade for the May 9 Victory Day, Russia’s most
important secular holiday, was postponed to June 24 due to the
pandemic.
(AP, 6/24/20)
2020 Jun 24, The US recorded
36,880 coronavirus cases, the highest single-day total so far. While
some of that reflects an increase in testing, the virus really is
spreading more rapidly than it was several weeks ago. The University
of Washington computer model of the outbreak projected nearly
180,000 US deaths by Oct. 1.
(NY Times, 6/25/20)(AP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 24, California
to date had 194,726 cases of coronavirus and 5,713 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 21,325 cases and 543 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,378,648 with the death toll at 121,932.
(sfist.com, 6/24/20)
2020 Jun 24, The governors of
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced that visitors from
states with high coronavirus infection rates must self-quarantine
for 14 days on arrival.
(Reuters, 6/24/20)
2020 Jun 24, It was reported
that CVS Health Corp has begun selling companies a diagnostic
testing program. CVS also will offer symptom screenings, flu
vaccines and other immunizations and add-on services like contact
tracing for employees exposed to the virus.
(Reuters, 6/24/20)
2020 Jun 24, Africa's first
participation in a COVID-19 vaccine trial started today as
volunteers received injections developed at the University of Oxford
in Britain. The large-scale trial is being conducted in South
Africa, Britain and Brazil.
(AP, 6/24/20)
2020 Jun 24, The Czech Republic
recorded 127 cases of the new coronavirus. The country of 10.7
million has recorded 10,780 cases of the disease and 344 deaths.
(Reuters, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 24, Indian authorities
launched a massive coronavirus survey taking down health details
from New Delhi's entire population of 29 million, and testing
everyone with symptoms by July 6. In the past 24 hours, 3,788 new
cases were confirmed in Delhi, compared to 1,118 in Mumbai.
(AP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 24, Mexico's health
ministry reported 947 new deaths from the coronavirus and 5,437 new
cases.
(Reuters, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 24, Russian President
Vladimir Putin presided over a long-awaited military blowout to
celebrate 75 years since Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II.
Authorities in at least 20 cities have canceled their Victory Day
parades outright, citing concerns over the coronavirus epidemic.
Russia reported 7,176 new cases of the coronavirus, pushing its
nationwide case total to 606,881, the world's third highest tally.
(NBC News, 6/24/20)(Reuters, 6/24/20)
2020 Jun 24, Saudi officials
effectively canceled this year’s hajj, one day after restricting the
journey to people already in the country. Because of the
coronavirus, only about 1,000 people will be permitted to make the
pilgrimage to Mecca, compared with the 2.5 million who did so last
year.
(NY Times, 6/24/20)
2020 Jun 24, Sicily's regional
leader Nello Musumeci said dozens of migrants rescued in the
Mediterranean have tested positive for the new coronavirus while
held in a quarantine ship off the southern Italian coast.
(Reuters, 6/24/20)
2020 Jun 25, US officials
estimated that 20 million Americans have been infected with the
coronavirus since it first arrived in the United States, meaning
that the vast majority of the population remains susceptible.
(AP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, The US CDC
reported that pregnant women are more likely to be admitted to the
intensive care unit and to be put on mechanical ventilators than
non-pregnant women.
(Reuters, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, California
to date had 201,036 cases of coronavirus and 5,804 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 22,038 cases and 557 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,422,310 with the death toll at 124,416.
(sfist.com, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, Officials with the
Mississippi Health Department took to Facebook to warn of an
increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state.
(Good Morning America, 6/27/20)
2020 Jun 25, Texas Gov. Greg
Abbott said he is pausing any further phases of reopening as
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations increase in the state. Abbott
again halted elective surgeries in the state's biggest counties in a
bid to free up hospital beds. Texas reported more than 11,000 new
cases in the past two days.
(Good Morning America, 6/25/20)(SFC, 6/26/20,
p.A9)
2020 Jun 25, LabCorp said it
has launched a new test that could assess the capacity of antibodies
in patient plasma to inhibit the novel coronavirus.
(AP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, Moderna Inc said
it was partnering with contract drugmaker Catalent Inc to prepare an
initial 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine for the United
States, starting in the third quarter of this year.
(Reuters, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, A study of
residents in the Alpine ski resort of Ischgl, the site of Austria's
biggest coronavirus outbreak, has found 42% have antibodies for the
virus, the highest rate ever proven.
(Reuters, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, China reported 19
newly confirmed cases nationwide amid mass testing in the capital.
(AP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, India said it will
carry out a survey for the coronavirus targeting the 29 million
population of New Delhi, to be completed by July 6. India registered
another record high of 16,922 cases, taking the total to 473,105.
(AP, 6/25/20)(SFC, 6/26/20, p.A9)
2020 Jun 25, Maharashtra,
India's richest state, banned a "spurious" coronavirus treatment
manufactured by a company founded by popular yoga guru, which he
says has a 100% record in curing patients. Baba Ramdev, co-founder
of Patanjali and a household name in India, launched Coronil to much
fanfare on June 23, but hit a roadblock when New Delhi and some
state governments expressed skepticism.
(Reuters, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, Indonesia exceeded
the 50,000 mark for confirmed infections as the government allowed
businesses to reopen amid increasing economic pressures.
(AP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, Iran announced 134
new deaths from the novel coronavirus took the overall toll in the
Middle East's deadliest outbreak to 10,130. Another 2,595 people
tested positive for the virus in the last 24-hours, bringing the
country's overall caseload to 215,096.
(AFP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, Iraq registered
2,437 new coronavirus cases and 107 deaths, setting new records in a
country whose health sector had been bracing itself for such a
spike. This brought the total in the country to over 39,000 the
total death toll to 1,437.
(AFP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, Israel and the
United Arab Emirates said they will cooperate in the fight against
the coronavirus, a possible boost to Israeli efforts to normalize
relations with Gulf Arab countries.
(Reuters, 6/26/20)
2020 Jun 25, Kazakhstan's
health minister resigned, saying COVID-19 complications prevented
him from leading efforts against the coronavirus outbreak. The
number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kazakhstan has nearly
tripled this month to 32,000, with 136 deaths.
(AP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, The Peruvian
government said it had struck an agreement with the country's
private health clinics on the cost of COVID-19 care. A day earlier
President Martin Vizcarra warned they would be expropriated within
48 hours if negotiations did not progress. Peru has reported 264,689
confirmed cases and 8,586 deaths.
(Reuters, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, Portugal reported
311 new cases of the coronavirus, 222 of them in the Lisbon
metropolitan area. Since emerging on May 2 from a state of emergency
and 45-day lockdown, the country has recorded an average of 275 new
cases a day.
(AP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, South Africa's
Minerals Council said the mining industry has recorded 1,796 cases
of COVID-19 with six deaths, as mines ramp up after an extended
shutdown. The country has seen 2,205 deaths from COVID-19.
(AP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, South Korea
reported 28 new coronavirus cases, mostly associated with nightlife,
churches, a huge e-commerce warehouse and door-to-door sales.
(AP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 25, UN humanitarian
chief Mark Lowcock warned that without massive financial support,
Yemen will “fall off the cliff,” with many more people starving to
death, succumbing to COVID-19, dying of cholera and watching their
children die because they haven’t been immunized for killer
diseases.
(AP, 6/25/20)
2020 Jun 26, The US
government's coronavirus task force briefed the public for the first
time since April. VP Pence announced that 16 states were seeing
worrisome increases, as the number of confirmed new coronavirus
infections per day in the US rose to more than 45,000.
(AP, 6/27/20)(Reuters, 6/27/20)
2020 Jun 26, California
to date had 206,654 cases of coronavirus and 5,865 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 22,532 cases and 562 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,467,837 with the death toll at 125,039.
(sfist.com, 6/26/20)
2020 Jun 26, Florida banned
alcohol consumption at its bars after its daily confirmed
coronavirus cases neared 9,000.
(SFC, 6/27/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 26, Louisiana reported
a jump of over 1,300 cases of the coronavirus. Total confirmed cases
rose to 54,769. The death toll rose by 26 for a total of 3,077.
(SSFC, 6/28/20, p.A11)
2020 Jun 26, A US federal judge
blocked New York state from enforcing coronavirus restrictions
limiting indoor religious gatherings to 25% capacity when other
types of gatherings are limited to 50%.
(AP, 6/26/20)
2020 Jun 26, Texas Gov. Greg
Abbott issued an executive order limiting certain businesses as the
state's positivity rate soared above 10%.
(Good Morning America, 6/26/20)
2020 Jun 26, The World Health
Organization's chief scientist said Astrazeneca's COVID-19 vaccine
candidate is probably the world's leading candidate and most
advanced in terms of development. Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine
candidate was not far behind.
(Reuters, 6/26/20)
2020 Jun 26, ASEAN leaders held
their annual summit by video, with the coronavirus pandemic and the
long-raging territorial disputes high on the agenda.
(AP, 6/27/20)
2020 Jun 26, Britain's official
death toll from confirmed COVID-19 cases rose by 186 to 43,414.
(Reuters, 6/26/20)
2020 Jun 26, India confirmed
17,296 new coronavirus infections bringing its total to 490,401.
Another 407 deaths brought that total to 15,301.
(SFC, 6/27/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 26, Japan recorded
more than 100 new infections for the first time since May 9, hitting
its highest daily total since it eased a lockdown.
(Reuters, 6/26/20)
2020 Jun 26, It was reported
that Kenyan police have killed three people when a crowd of
motorcycle taxi drivers protested against the arrest of a colleague
for ignoring coronavirus restrictions. Kenya has 5,384 confirmed
cases of coronavirus and 132 people have died.
(BBC, 6/26/20)
2020 Jun 26, Russia reported
6,800 new coronavirus cases, the first daily rise below 7,000 since
late April, taking its nationwide tally of infections to 620,794.
(Reuters, 6/26/20)
2020 Jun 26, Venezuela has
reported 4,525 confirmed coronavirus cases and 39 deaths, although
the true numbers appear to be significantly larger. It was reported
that hospitals in Maracaibo, Venezuela's main oil-producing state,
are filled with coronavirus patients and that dozens of health
workers have been infected.
(AP, 6/27/20)
2020 Jun 27, California
to date had 206,928 cases of coronavirus and 5,868 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 22,746 cases and 563 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,492,246 with the death toll at 125,240.
(sfist.com, 6/27/20)
2020 Jun 27, The Florida
Department of Health reported a total of 132,545 cases of COVID-19
with 9,636 new positive cases, and 24 additional deaths from
COVID-19.
(Reuters, 6/27/20)(Good Morning America, 6/28/20)
2020 Jun 27, Georgia reported a
record high in coronavirus cases at almost 2,000. The 7-day average
for cases has nearly tripled since late May.
(Good Morning America, 6/28/20)
2020 Jun 27, Nevada reported
almost 1,100 coronavirus cases, although health officials later said
hundreds of those cases could be attributed to a delay in lab
testing and were not new cases in the last 24 hours.
(Good Morning America, 6/28/20)
2020 Jun 27, South Carolina
blew past its original record mark for most COVID-19 cases in a
single day with nearly 1,599 positive tests.
(Good Morning America, 6/28/20)
2020 Jun 27, Egypt lifted many
restrictions put in place against the coronavirus pandemic,
reopening cafes, clubs, gyms and theaters after more than three
months of closure, despite a continued upward trend in new
infections. Egypt has reported 62,755 infections, including 2,620
deaths.
(AP, 6/27/20)(SSFC, 6/28/20, p.A10)
2020 Jun 27, India confirmed
cases of the coronavirus jumped 18,552 raising its total to over
half a million. 384 new deaths raised that total to 15,685.
(SSFC, 6/28/20, p.A10)
2020 Jun 27, Iran's supreme
leader warned that the country's economic problems would worsen if
the novel coronavirus spreads unchecked. There were 2,456 new cases
of COVID-19 infection in the past 24 hours, raising the country's
caseload to 220,180. Overall fatalities reached 10,364 as 125 of
those infected had died during the same period.
(AFP, 6/27/20)
2020 Jun 27, Mexico reported
5,441 new cases of the coronavirus for a total of 208,392. Deaths
rose by 719 to 25,779.
(SSFC, 6/28/20, p.A10)
2020 Jun 27, It was reported
that new daily coronavirus cases in Panama have nearly trippled from
below 200 per day and that deaths this month were coming twice as
fast.
(SFC, 6/27/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 28, A new milestone
was reached early today, with more than 10 million confirmed cases
of COVID-19 worldwide.
(Good Morning America, 6/28/20)
2020 Jun 28, It was reported
that some Arizona hospitals have begun activating surge plans as
coronavirus cases rise. The state has recorded more than 70,100
cases with 1,580 deaths.
(SFC, 6/29/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 28, California Gov.
Gavin Newsom ordered bars to close in seven counties due to the
"rising spread" of COVID-19.
(Good Morning America, 6/28/20)
2020 Jun 28, California
to date had 210,820 cases of coronavirus and 5,900 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 23,455 cases and 568 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,531,733 with the death toll at 125,691. More than
38,800 new cases of COVID-19 were identified in the United States,
according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
(sfist.com, 6/28/20)(Good Morning America,
6/29/20)
2020 Jun 28, San Antonio
officials urged residents to stay home as the city recorded its
highest number of cases in a single day. An emergency alert was sent
out early today just minutes after the city reported 795 new
COVID-19 cases. That brings the city's total number of cases to
9,652. Two new deaths were reported and the death toll is now at
107.
(AP, 6/28/20)
2020 Jun 28, China National
Biotec Group (CNBG) said that early human test results for a
coronavirus vaccine candidate suggested it could be safe and
effective, the second vaccine candidate from the firm to show
encouraging results in a clinical trial. Mainland China reported 17
new coronavirus cases, mostly in the Chinese capital of Beijing.
(Reuters, 6/28/20)
2020 Jun 28, Greece reported 10
new coronavirus cases and no new deaths for a total of 3,376
confirmed cases and 191 deaths.
(SFC, 6/30/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 28, Iran said it will
make mask-wearing mandatory in certain areas and has allowed
virus-hit provinces to reimpose restrictions. Iran counted 144 new
fatalities from the COVID-19 disease in the last 24 hours, raising
the total to 10,508. Total confirmed infections rose to 222,669,
with 2,489 new cases during the same period.
(AFP, 6/28/20)
2020 Jun 28, Poland had nearly
34,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among its 38 million people, with
over 1,400 deaths.
(AP, 6/28/20)
2020 Jun 29, Arizona Gov. Doug
Ducey ended a somewhat contentious news conference by imploring
people to wear face masks. Arizona has seen its cases go from 13,000
on May 15 to 74,500 today, and deaths from the virus have nearly
doubled in the last six weeks. More than 1,500 people have died.
(AP, 6/29/20)
2020 Jun 29, California
to date had 222,046 cases of coronavirus and 5,970 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 24,464 cases and 573 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,586,844 with the death toll at 126,123.
(sfist.com, 6/29/20)
2020 Jun 29, Jacksonville, Fl.,
ordered the wearing of face coverings amidst a surge in coronavirus
infections.
(SFC, 6/30/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 29, Some 205 people in
West Virginia were being asked to quarantine themselves and watch
for symptoms after a Planet Fitness member in Morgantown tested
positive for COVID-19. People who were there between 9 a.m. and 3
p.m. local time on June 24 were asked to stay home for 14 days since
being exposed.
(Good Morning America, 6/29/20)
2020 Jun 29, Medical device
maker Danaher Corp said its COVID-19 blood test for detecting if a
person had ever been infected with the new coronavirus received
emergency use clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration.
(AP, 6/29/20)
2020 Jun 29, Gilead announced
that it will charge $2,340 for a typical treatment course of
remdesivir for patients covered by government health programs in the
United States and other developed nations where the drug is
authorized for use. The price would be $3,120 for patients with
private health insurance in the United States.
(Good Morning America, 6/29/20)
2020 Jun 29, China reported
just 12 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths, as the
country which was the original epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic
continues to see a downward trend in infections.
(Good Morning America, 6/29/20)
2020 Jun 29, Greece eased
coronavirus lockdown measures and allowed movie theaters, casinos
and children's summer camps to reopen.
(SFC, 6/30/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 29, India reported
nearly 20,000 new coronavirus infections. The country has confirmed
548,318 cases with the death toll at 16,475.
(SFC, 6/30/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 29, Iran reported 162
more deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest single-day toll
since the country's outbreak began in February. The additional 2,536
new cases brought the total to 225,205. The overall official death
toll is now at 10,670.
(AFP, 6/29/20)
2020 Jun 29, Puerto Rico's Gov.
Wanda Vazquez extended a coronavirus curfew for three more weeks,
even as she authorized the reopenings of certain businesses and
government agencies.
(SFC, 6/30/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 29, Russia's
coronavirus headquarters reported 6,719 new cases of COVID-19,
bringing the nationwide total to 641,156. Russia's death toll from
the disease now stands at 9,166, after an additional 93 patients
died over the past 24 hours.
(Good Morning America, 6/29/20)
2020 Jun 29, In Serbia
authorities in Belgrade made the wearing of face masks mandatory in
all closed spaces in the capital. The country reported 242 new cases
today.
(SFC, 6/30/20, p.A6)
2020 Jun 29, The UN World Food
Program said millions of people have been pushed into hunger by the
coronavirus pandemic, as it appealed for nearly $5 billion to help
feed the growing numbers in poor and middle-income countries.
(AP, 6/29/20)
2020 Jun 30, It was reported
that one four people incarcerated at San Quentin prison were
infected with the coronavirus. One Death Row inmate (71), who died
there last week, tested positive for the virus marking the first
known COVID-19 death inside the prison.
(SFC, 6/30/20, p.A7)
2020 Jun 30, California
to date had 231,960 cases of coronavirus and over 6,000 deaths. The
SF Bay Area had 25,411 cases and 578 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,618,480 with the death toll at 126,628.
(sfist.com, 6/30/20)(SFC, 7/1/20, p.A1)
2020 Jun 30, New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo said that people arriving in New York from an
additional eight states must quarantine themselves for 14 days amid
the coronavirus pandemic. The order applied both to visitors and New
Yorkers returning home from one of the 16 listed states.
(Reuters, 6/30/20)
2020 Jun 30, Voters in Oklahoma
narrowly approved an expansion of Medicaid night, making it the
latest conservative-leaning state to approve of the Obamacare
provision at the ballot box. Oklahoma has reported nearly 14,000
cases of coronavirus and at least 387 people have died of the
disease.
(Yahoo News, 7/1/20)
2020 Jun 30, In Washington
state 171 inmates and 47 staff members tested positive for COVID-19
at the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center.
(SFC, 7/2/20, p.A7)
2020 Jun 30, Washington state's
top health official said in a letter to a senior administration
official that COVID-19 testing supplies distributed by the federal
government have failed quality checks and are arriving late.
(Reuters, 7/2/20)
2020 Jun 30, In Australia
Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said Melbourne will lock down
36 suburbs until July 29 in a bid to stop the spread of the
coronavirus.
(SFC, 7/1/20, p.A5)
2020 Jun 30, The state of
Bavaria approved plans for universal testing for COVID-19, prompting
debate elsewhere in Germany about whether to follow suit or stick
with the current targeted approach to prevent a possible second wave
of infections.
(Reuters, 6/30/20)
2020 Jun 30, Iran announced 147
new coronavirus fatalities, raising overall deaths to 10,817. The
caseload rose to 227,662, with 2,457 new infections in the past 24
hours. Iran has announced that wearing masks will be made mandatory
in covered public spaces as of next week.
(AP, 6/30/20)
2020 Jul 1, New research was
reported that damage done by the coronavirus to the membranes of red
blood cells that carry oxygen may explain why many COVID-19 patients
have alarmingly low oxygen levels.
(Reuters, 7/1/20)
2020 Jul 1, Arizona Gov. Doug
Ducey told VP Mike Pence that the state needed an additional 500
health care workers as the number of cases of COVID-19 continues to
set records there.
(Yahoo News, 7/1/20)
2020 Jul 1, California
dramatically rolled back efforts to reopen its economy, banning
indoor restaurant dining in much of the state, closing bars and
stepping up enforcement of the restrictions as COVID-19 infections
surge. Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered 19 counties with surging
coronavirus outbreaks to shut public venues in an effort to keep the
pandemic from spiraling out of control.
(Reuters, 7/1/20)(SFC, 7/2/20, p.A1)
2020 Jul 1, California
to date had 232,466 cases of coronavirus and 6,088 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 26,144 cases and 583 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,658,324 with the death toll at 127,681.
(sfist.com, 7/1/20)
2020 Jul 1, The healthcare unit
of US supermarket chain Kroger Co said the US Food and Drug
Administration had issued emergency use authorization for its
at-home sample collection kit for COVID-19.
(Reuters, 7/1/20)
2020 Jul 1, German biotech firm
BioNTech and US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said a jointly developed
COVID-19 vaccine has shown potential and was found to be well
tolerated in early-stage human trials.
(AP, 7/1/20)
2020 Jul 1, India reported
18,653 new cases of the coronavirus and 507 deaths over the last 24
hours. Total cases reached 585,493.
(SFC, 7/2/20, p.A7)
2020 Jul 1, Israel's parliament
approved a law granting the country's internal security agency
limited authority to use phone surveillance to track coronavirus
cases as the country struggles to contain a second outbreak.
(AP, 7/1/20)
2020 Jul 1, In South Africa
some protesters against Africa’s first COVID-19 vaccine trial burned
their face masks as experts note a worrying level of resistance and
misinformation around testing on the continent.
(AP, 7/1/20)
2020 Jul 2, The United States
reported more than 55,000 new COVID-19 cases, the largest daily
increase any country has ever reported.
(Reuters, 72/3/20)
2020 Jul 2, California
to date had 246,841 cases of coronavirus and 6,264 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 26,854 cases and 590 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,739,879 with the death toll at 128,740.
(sfist.com, 7/2/20)
2020 Jul 2, Florida shattered
records when it reported over 10,000 new coronavirus cases, the
biggest one-day increase in the state since the pandemic started. In
June, Florida infections rose by 168% or over 95,000 new cases. The
percent of tests coming back positive has skyrocketed to 15% from 4%
at the end of May.
(Reuters, 7/2/20)
2020 Jul 2, In New Jersey
casinos reopened in Atlantic City following a 108-day closure
due to the coronavirus. Gamblers wore facemasks and di without
smoking and drinking.
(SFC, 7/3/20, p.A9)
2020 Jul 2, Texas Governor Greg
Abbott decreed that face masks must be worn in all counties with
over 20 coronavirus cases, billing the measure as a requirement to
avoid another economic shutdown.
(Reuters, 7/2/20)
2020 Jul 2, GlaxoSmithKline's
HIV business ViiV said it is within weeks of resubmitting its
request for approval of its long-acting injection Cabenuva to US
drug regulators.
(Reuters, 7/2/20)
2020 Jul 2, In India the number
of coronavirus infections surpassed 600,000, resulting in 17,834
deaths as authorities battled to contain the pandemic while easing
lockdown rules.
(Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 2, Mexico posted a
record daily tally of infections, as 6,741 cases carried the overall
figure to 238,511.
(Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 2, It was reported
that dozens of US embassy employees in Saudi Arabia became sick last
month, and more than 20 others were quarantined after a birthday
barbecue became a potential vector for the spread of the disease. A
Sudanese driver for the top diplomats died.
(NY Times, 7/2/20)
2020 Jul 2, Serbia reported 359
cases of the coronavirus and six deaths in the last 24 hours. In
total Serbia has recorded more than 15,200 cases and nearly 290
deaths.
(SFC, 7/3/20, p.A9)
2020 Jul 2, Thailand said it
would prohibit online sales of alcohol in a clampdown on underage
drinking after a rise in sales during the coronavirus outbreak.
(Reuters, 7/2/20)
2020 Jul 3, The US set another
record with 52,300 newly reported coronavirus infections, according
to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
(AP, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 3, California
officials said the coronavirus is suspected of killing two more
death row inmates at San Quentin State Prison, where about 40% of
inmates are now infected.
(AP, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 3, California
to date had 250,431 cases of coronavirus and 6,312 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 27,745 cases and 595 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,793,022 with the death toll at 129,405.
(sfist.com, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 3, In Florida
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued a new overnight curfew
effective immediately closing casinos, movie theaters and other
entertainment venues to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
(SFC, 7/4/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 3, Medical technology
company Becton Dickinson and Co said it received an order from the
UK government for 65 million injection devices to support Britain's
COVID-19 vaccination program.
(AP, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 3, Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals Inc and Sanofi said their rheumatoid arthritis drug
Kevzara failed to meet the main goals of a US study testing it in
the most critically ill COVID-19 patients.
(Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 3, Zydus, part of
Cadila Healthcare Ltd, said it has received approval from Indian
regulators to begin human studies for its COVID-19 vaccine
contender, as the novel coronavirus infections continue to surge in
the world's fourth worst-hit nation.
(Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 3, Australia reported
a drop in new coronavirus cases, with a surge in the second most
populated state Victoria appearing to have eased, although more than
10,000 people have refused to be tested in hotspot suburbs of
Melbourne.
(Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 3, Bolivia has
reported more than 32,000 cases of the coronavirus and more than
1,000 deaths. Cases were expected to peak around the time of
presidential elections planned for September.
(SFC, 7/3/20, p.A9)
2020 Jul 3, China reported
three new coronavirus cases in the mainland, compared with five
cases a day earlier.
(Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 3, The European
Commission said it had given conditional approval for the use of
antiviral remdesivir in severe COVID-19 patients following an
accelerated review process, making it the region's first authorized
therapy to treat the virus.
(Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 3, German scientists
began a nationwide study to gain a better overview of the actual
prevalence of the new coronavirus in the country's population and
test how well measures to prevent its spread are working.
(Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 3, India reported
another single-day record high of new coronavirus cases. The new
20,903 cases took the national total to 625,544. Another 379 deaths
took that total to 18,213.
(SFC, 7/4/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 3, Two Israeli defence
contractors said they will partner with Abu Dhabi-based technology
company Group 42 to develop technologies to help fight the new
coronavirus.
(Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 3, Tokyo reported 124
new cases, up from 107 the day before, partly due to increased
testing among nightlife workers in the Shinjuku and Ikebukuro
districts.
(Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 3, Oman's health
minister said the sultanate had witnessed a "scary" surge in cases
that required boosting hospital capacity, especially intensive care
units.
(Reuters, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 3, A Russian Orthodox
Church panel in Yekaterinburg defrocked a coronavirus-denying monk
who has defied Kremlin lockdown orders and taken control of a
monastery. Father Sergiy urged his backers to come to defend the
Sredneuralsk women's monastery where he has holed up since last
month.
(AP, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 3, Serbia reported 309
new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours along
with 11 deaths.
(SFC, 7/4/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 3, South Africa
reported another record high of daily coronavirus cases with 8,728.
Total cases now numbered more than 168,000.
(SFC, 7/4/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 3, Uganda so far has
900 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 847 recoveries and no deaths.
(BBC, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 4, California
to date had 251,175 cases of coronavirus and 6,318 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 27,931 cases and 596 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,809,108 with the death toll at 129,478.
(sfist.com, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 4, Florida reported
11,445 new coronavirus cases, a single-day record, bringing the
state total to more than 190,000.
(SSFC, 7/5/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 4, Texas reported a
record daily increase in confirmed coronavirus cases, the latest
sign that the virus is surging in many parts of the United States,
casting a pall over Fourth of July celebrations.
(AP, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 4, Australia’s
Victoria state locked down nine public housing towers and three more
Melbourne suburbs after 108 new coronavirus cases.
(AP, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 4, Brazil's Pres. Jair
Bolsonaro approved a law requiring masks on streets and in public
transportation. He vetoed clauses requiring masks in churches,
schools, shops and factories. Brazil has confirmed more than 61,500
deaths and over 1.5 million coronavirus infections, the 2nd most in
the world behind the US.
(SSFC, 7/5/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 4, France said it is
sending medics to its South American territory of French Guiana,
where infections have surged as the virus swept neighboring Brazil.
(AP, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 4, India reported its
highest single-day spike, with 22,771 new confirmed cases for a
total of more than 648,000, including 18,655 deaths.
(AP, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 4, President Hassan
Rouhani said Iranians who do not wear masks will be denied state
services and workplaces that fail to comply with health protocols
will be shut for a week. The total number of cases hit 237,878 and a
further 148 deaths brought the country's toll to 11,408.
(Reuters, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 4, Tokyo confirmed 131
new cases, exceeding 100 for the third day in a row and hitting a
new two-month high, prompting Governor Yuriko Koike to ask residents
to avoid nonessential out-of-town visits.
(AP, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 4, Russia marked a
milestone as the death toll rose above 10,000. The national
coronavirus task force reported 6,632 new infections, raising the
total for the outbreak to 674,515.
(AP, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 4, South Africa
reported another record daily high in confirmed coronavirus cases.
Confirmed cases climbed to more than 177,000, with a record 9,063
reported in the most recent 24-hour period.
(AP, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 4, Authorities in
northeast Spain ordered the lockdown of El Segriá county around the
city of Lleida, home to over 200,000 people, after health officials
recorded a jump in 60 cases in 24 hours.
(AP, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 4, The World Health
Organization (WHO) said that it was discontinuing its trials of the
malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and combination HIV drug
lopinavir/ritonavir in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 after
they failed to reduce mortality.
(Reuters, 7/4/20)
2020 Jul 5, Arizona reported
3,212 new hospitalized COVID-19 patients, a record high. Confirmed
cases in the state have now passed 100,000.
(SFC, 7/7/20, p.A6)
2020 Jul 5,
California to date had 255,024 cases of coronavirus and 6,337
deaths. The SF Bay Area had 28,771 cases and 598 deaths. Total cases
nationwide reached over 2,852,807 with the death toll at 129,718.
(sfist.com, 7/5/20)
2020 Jul 5, Broadway star Nick
Cordero (41) died in Los Angeles of complications from COVID-19
following a 3-month battle with the disease.
(Good Morning America, 7/6/20)
2020 Jul 5, In Florida recorded
some 10,000 new coronavirus cases bringing its total to more than
200,000 people infected.
(SFC, 7/6/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 5, Croatia has
reported around 113 deaths and some 3,100 confirmed coronavirus
infections.
(AFP, 7/6/20)
2020 Jul 5, Iran instituted
mandatory mask-wearing as fears mount over newly spiking reported
deaths from the coronavirus, even as its public increasingly shrugs
off the danger of the COVID-19 illness it causes. Iran recorded
2,560 new confirmed cases over the last 24 hours, with 163 new
deaths. That put its death toll since the start of the outbreak at
more than 11,500, out of 240,438 confirmed cases.
(AP, 7/5/20)
2020 Jul 5, Israel ordered
thousands of people into quarantine after a contentious phone
surveillance program resumed while Palestinians in the West Bank
returned to life under lockdown amid a surge in coronavirus cases in
both areas. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that more than 30,000
people were notified they must enter quarantine since July 2. Israel
has seen more than 29,000 cases and 330 deaths.
(AP, 7/5/20)
2020 Jul 5, Mexico's confirmed
COVID-19 infections topped 252,000 with more than 30,000 total
deaths.
(SFC, 7/6/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 5, Pakistan reported
93 more coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, increasing the
country’s fatalities from COVID-19 to 4,712 since the start of its
outbreak at the end of February. As many as 3,191 new cases were
reported in the previous 24 hours, increasing the country’s overall
cases to 228,474.
(AP, 7/5/20)
2020 Jul 5, South Africa for
the first time recorded over 10,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases.
This brought its total to more than 187,000.
(SFC, 7/6/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 5, Spain's PM Pedro
Sanchez proclaimed that "we have defeated the virus and controlled
the pandemic."
(Econ., 10/3/20, p.43)
2020 Jul 6, California Gov.
Gavin Newsom announced a COVID-19 outbreak in San Quentin State
Prison was his "top focus and priority," and that nearly 1,000
inmates would be released early or relocated.
(Insider, 7/7/20)
2020 Jul 6, California
to date had 273,039 cases of coronavirus and 6,450 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 30,170 cases and 609 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,934,499 with the death toll at 130,271.
(sfist.com, 7/6/20)
2020 Jul 6, Atlanta mayor
Keisha Lance Bottoms (50) announced that she had tested positive for
COVID-19. She reported no symptoms.
(AP, 7/7/20)
2020 Jul 6, Emergent
BioSolutions Inc said it has signed a five-year contract to make the
drug substance used in Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine
candidate, adding to a series of deals likely to put it at the heart
of future global vaccine production.
(AP, 7/6/20)
2020 Jul 6, Egypt's Health
Ministry has recorded 76,253 coronavirus infections, including 3,343
deaths. At least 10 doctors and six journalists have been arrested
since the virus first hit Egypt in February.
(AP, 7/5/20)
2020 Jul 6, India reported
24,248 new cases of the coronavirus and has now confirmed over
697,000 cases including 19,693 deaths.
(SFC, 7/7/20, p.A6)
2020 Jul 6, Netherlands-based
Mylan NV said it would launch a generic version of Gilead Sciences
Inc's COVID-19 antiviral remdesivir in India at 4,800 rupees
($64.31), about 80% below the price tag on the drug for wealthy
nations.
(Reuters, 7/6/20)
2020 Jul 6, Pakistan has now
recorded 231,813 coronavirus infections and 4,762 deaths. Pakistan's
foreign minister and health minister have recently tested positive
for he virus.
(SFC, 7/7/20, p.A6)
2020 Jul 6, Spanish health
officials said results from the final stage of a nationwide antibody
study show some 5.2% of Spain's population has been exposed to the
new coronavirus, confirming findings from earlier stages.
(Reuters, 7/6/20)
2020 Jul 6, The UN warned that
COVID-19 could cause an additional half a million AIDS deaths if
treatment is disrupted long term. The UN also said the pandemic was
jeopardizing years of progress against HIV.
(AFP, 7/6/20)
2020 Jul 6, In Zimbabwe at
least 12 nurses were arrested when they demonstrated against their
working conditions, complaining that they do not have adequate
protective gear to safely treat COVID-19 patients. The country has
recorded about 700 cases of coronavirus infection and 8 deaths.
(AP, 7/6/20)
2020 Jul 7, It was reported
that the US government has awarded Novavax Inc $1.6 billion to cover
testing and manufacturing of a potential vaccine for the novel
coronavirus in the United States, with the aim of delivering 100
million doses by January.
(Reuters, 7/7/20)
2020 Jul 7, California
to date had 283,750 cases of coronavirus and 6,569 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 30,940 cases and 621 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 2,948,397 with the death toll at 130,430.
(sfist.com, 7/7/20)
2020 Jul 7, It was reported
that a local health department In southwestern Missouri revealed
earlier this week that an overnight summer camp has seen scores of
campers, counselors and staff infected with the coronavirus.
(AP, 7/8/20)
2020 Jul 7, Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals Inc said that the US government has signed a $450
million contract with the company for Reg-COV2, its potential
COVID-19 antibody cocktail.
(Reuters, 7/7/20)(Econ., 7/18/20, p.20)
2020 Jul 7, Florida reported
7,347 new cases, with the total number of diagnosed cases now at
213,794. The state's death toll has reached 3,943.
(Good Morning America, 7/7/20)
2020 Jul 7, Brazil's Pres. Jair
Bolsonaro said he has tested positive for COVID-19. Sources close to
the president said that Bolsonaro began exhibiting symptoms of the
virus July 4.
(Good Morning America, 7/7/20)
2020 Jul 7, Britain's GSK said
that an injection of its cabotegravir drug given every two months
was found to be 66% more effective in preventing HIV infections than
Gilead's Truvada daily oral pills.
(Reuters, 7/7/20)
2020 Jul 7, UK-based Reckitt
Benckiser Group Plc said that the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has approved use of its Lysol Disinfectant Spray against
COVID-19.
(Reuters, 7/7/20)
2020 Jul 7, In India 467 people
have died from the coronavirus in the last day, bringing the
nation's death toll to 20,160. Authorities reported a one-day
increase of 22,252, bringing India's total number of coronavirus
cases to 719,665.
(Good Morning America, 7/7/20)
2020 Jul 7, It was reported
that all schools in Kenya will remain closed until next January
because of the coronavirus pandemic. Kenya has confirmed more than
8,000 cases of coronavirus with at least 164 deaths along with a
recent surge in new infections.
(BBC, 7/7/20)
2020 Jul 7, South Africa has
confirmed 159,333 total cases of the coronavirus and 2,749 deaths.
(BBC, 7/7/20)
2020 Jul 8, California
to date had 290,199 cases of coronavirus and 6,575 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 31,808 cases and 626 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 3,046,351 with the death toll at 132,195.
(sfist.com, 7/8/20)
2020 Jul 8, Florida announced
nearly 9,000 new cases and 120 new coronavirus deaths, a record
daily increase in lives lost. Positive test rates reached a new
daily high of 18%, up from 12%-13% two weeks ago.
(AP, 7/9/20)(SFC, 7/9/20, p.A7)
2020 Jul 8, Tulsa City-County
Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart said President Donald
Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa in late June that drew thousands of
participants and large protests "likely contributed" to a dramatic
surge in new coronavirus cases.
(AP, 7/8/20)
2020 Jul 8, In Australia the
city of Melbourne and part of its surroundings began a six-week
lockdown. Victoria authorities announced 134 new cases in the past
24 hours.
(SFC, 7/9/20, p.A7)
2020 Jul 8, The Brazilian
Supreme Court ruled that Brazil must take emergency measures to
protect its Indigenous communities from the novel coronavirus.
(The Conversation, 7/9/20)
2020 Jul 8, Iran said that its
deaths from the novel coronavirus had surpassed 12,000, with
authorities considering reimposing restrictive measures in Tehran to
contain a resurgence of the disease. Another 153 deaths had been
recorded over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 12,084. Total
cases had risen to 248,379 with 2,691 more people testing positive.
(AP, 7/8/20)
2020 Jul 8, Palestinian PM
Mohammad Shtayyeh said 82 percent of new coronavirus cases in the
West Bank were linked to weddings and funerals. Over the past few
weeks more than 4,000 new cases and 15 deaths have been reported.
(SFC, 7/9/20, p.A7)
2020 Jul 8, The UN warned that
lives are at risk as the new coronavirus pandemic has led to a surge
in the trafficking of substandard masks, sanitizers and other
medical products.
(AFP, 7/8/20)
2020 Jul 9, More than 60,500
new COVID-19 infections were reported across the United States,
setting a one-day record as Americans were told to take new
precautions and the pandemic becomes increasingly politicized.
infections rose in 41 of the 50 states over the last two weeks.
(Reuters, 7/10/20)
2020 Jul 9, The WHO said former
Liberian pres. Ellen Johnson and former New Zealand PM Helen Clark
will lead a new panel to give an assessment of the global response
to the coronavirus pandemic.
(SFC, 7/10/20, p.A7)
2020 Jul 9, California
to date had 300,319 cases of coronavirus and 6,847 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 32,636 cases and 638 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 3,108,141 with the death toll at 133,106.
(sfist.com, 7/9/20)
2020 Jul 9, It was reported
that at least 26 lawmakers in Mississippi have been diagnosed with
the coronavirus in the biggest known outbreak in any state
legislature in the nation. The state has seen a rapid rise in
confirmed cases in the past two weeks, with the total hitting nearly
33,600.
(AP, 7/9/20)
2020 Jul 9, Texas hit a record
number of daily coronavirus fatalities, with 105 new deaths
recorded.
(Good Morning America, 7/10/20)
2020 Jul 9, Moderna Inc said it
has signed an agreement with Spain's Laboratorios Farmacéuticos Rovi
SA to scale up the manufacturing and production of its potential
COVID-19 vaccine to supply markets outside the United States.
(AP, 7/9/20)
2020 Jul 9, Bolivia’s interim
president announced that he has been infected with the new
coronavirus. Three Cabinet ministers in the administration of
Bolivian leader Jeanine Áñez have also tested positive for the
virus, including Health Minister Eidy Roca and Presidency Minister
Yerko Nuñez, who is hospitalized. The country has 42,984 confirmed
coronavirus cases and 1,577 deaths, and is seeing a rebound in the
number of new cases amid reports that hospitals are being
overwhelmed in some regions.
(AP, 7/9/20)
2020 Jul 9, India's Health
Ministry said that India was doing “relatively well” managing
COVID-19, pointing to 13 deaths per 1 million people, compared to
about 400 in the United States and 320 in Brazil. India has tallied
793,802 infections and more than 21,600 deaths, with cases doubling
every three weeks.
(AP, 7/10/20)
2020 Jul 9, Indonesia has
confirmed more than 68,000 cases of the coronavirus, including over
3,350 deaths, the most infections and fatalities in Southeast Asia.
(AP, 7/9/20)
2020 Jul 9, Serbia’s
authorities banned gatherings of more than 10 people in the capital
Belgrade after two nights of violent clashes between police and
thousands of demonstrators protesting coronavirus lockdown measures.
(AP, 7/9/20)
2020 Jul 9, Efforts by the
United Arab Emirates to fight the coronavirus have renewed questions
about mass surveillance in this US-allied federation of seven
sheikhdoms.
(AP, 7/9/20)
2020 Jul 9, In Venezuela
socialist party chief Diosdado Cabello (57), the country's No. 2
leader, announced that he has been infected with the new
coronavirus. The government has reported 8,010 confirmed cases and
75 deaths.
(AP, 7/9/20)
2020 Jul 10, The California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said it will release
more inmates to help protect the prisons from COVID-19.
(Good Morning America, 7/10/20)
2020 Jul 10, California
to date had 307,499 cases of coronavirus and 6,893 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 33,447 cases and 639 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 3,173,466 with the death toll at 133,940.
(sfist.com, 7/10/20)
2020 Jul 10, Florida reported
11,433 new cases, bringing the state's total cases to 244,151.
(Good Morning America, 7/10/20)
2020 Jul 10, The Navajo Nation,
spanning parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, began a weekend
shutdown as the death from the coronavirus rose to 396 with nearly
8,100 cases.
(SFC, 7/13/20, p.A6)
2020 Jul 10, China reported two
new coronavirus cases in the mainland. As of today mainland China
had 83,587 confirmed coronavirus cases. The death toll remained at
4,634.
(Reuters, 7/11/20)
2020 Jul 10, China said it was
suspending imports from three Ecuadorean shrimp producers after
detecting coronavirus in recent shipments, prompting one of the
Ecuadorean producers to accuse China of "tarnishing the reputation"
of the industry.
(Reuters, 7/10/20)
2020 Jul 10, French prosecutors
said organized crime groups sought to defraud the state of millions
of euros meant for workers left jobless by the coronavirus lockdown.
(SFC, 7/11/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 10, India reported
25,506 coronavirus cases, and another 475 deaths in the past 24
hours, raising the total fatality toll to 21,604.
(SFC, 7/11/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 10, Japan reported 243
new cases of the coronavirus in Tokyo as businesses have largely
returned to normal.
(SFC, 7/11/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 10, In Pakistan daily
coronavirus infections dropped to 2,751 over the last 24 hours as
testing decreased. Total deaths crossed the 5,000 mark.
(SFC, 7/11/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 10, South Africa
overnight posted another record daily high of confirmed cases,
13,674, as Africa’s most developed country is a new global hot spot
with 238,339 cases overall. More than a third are in Gauteng
province. Gauteng Premier David Makhura announced he had tested
positive with mild symptoms.
(AP, 7/10/20)
2020 Jul 10, A leading doctor
in Syria's overcrowded opposition-held enclave said hospitals are
suspending non-emergency procedures and outpatient services
following the detection of the first case of coronavirus. The first
case of COVID-19 was reported a day earlier in Idlib province.
(AP, 7/10/20)
2020 Jul 10, Mike Ryan, head of
the World Health Organization's emergencies program, said that an
outbreak of pneumonia in Kazakhstan, reported to be highly lethal,
was "certainly on our radar". He also said it was possible it might
be COVID-19. Kazakhstan's healthcare ministry branded Chinese media
reports as "fake news".
(Reuters, 7/10/20)
2020 Jul 11, California
to date had 318,947 cases of coronavirus and 7,026 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 34,109 cases and 641 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 3,242,073 with the death toll at 134,729.
(sfist.com, 7/11/20)
2020 Jul 11, In Australia,
health officials in Victoria reported 216 new coronavirus cases in
the past 24 hours, down from the record 288 the previous day.
(AP, 7/11/20)
2020 Jul 11, In Belgium wearing
a face mask to slow the spread of the coronavirus became mandatory
in shops, theaters, entertainment venues and other indoor spaces.
(SFC, 7/11/20, p.A5)
2020 Jul 11, A new UK study,
which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that COVID-19 antibodies
may start to decline 20 to 30 days after the onset of symptoms and
that detectable amounts of antibodies fell rapidly in the weeks
afterward.
{Britain, COVID-19}
(Yahoo News, 7/19/20)
2020 Jul 11, India reported a
new daily high of 27,114, its biggest daily spike as the total
number of coronavirus cases passed 820,916. The death toll rose by
519 for a total of 22,123.
(AP, 7/11/20)(SSFC, 7/12/20, p.A11)
2020 Jul 11, Iran said that it
cannot afford to shut down its sanctions-hit economy, even as the
country's novel coronavirus outbreak worsens with record-high death
tolls and rising infections. The Health Minsitry said 88 people had
died from the respiratory disease in the past 24 hours, raising the
overall toll to 12,635. The country's caseload rose to 255,117, with
2,397 new infections recorded.
(AP, 7/11/20)
2020 Jul 11, Okinawa Gov. Denny
Tamaki said dozens of US Marines at two bases on the southern
Japanese island have been infected with the coronavirus in what is
feared to be a massive outbreak. The next day officials reported 61
cases – 38 at Marine Corps Air Station in Futenma and another 23 at
Camp Hansen.
(AP, 7/11/20)(SFC, 7/13/20, p.A6)
2020 Jul 11, The Philippines by
this time had recorded some 50,440 cases of the coronavirus and
1,300 deaths.
(Econ., 7/11/20, p.31)
2020 Jul 11, South Africa now
has more than 250,000 confirmed cases, including more than 3,800
deaths.
(AP, 7/11/20)
2020 Jul 12, California
to date had 319,507 cases of coronavirus and 7,030 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 34,970 cases and 643 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 3,271,549 with the death toll at 135,029.
(sfist.com, 7/12/20)
2020 Jul 12, Florida announced
15,299 new coronavirus cases, the highest single-day total in any
state. This raised Florida's total to 269,811.
(SFC, 7/13/20, p.A6)
2020 Jul 12, Indian drugmaker
Lupin Ltd shut one of its manufacturing plants in Gujarat state
after at least 17 employees at the site tested positive for
COVID-19.
(Reuters, 7/14/20)
2020 Jul 12, Iran reported 194
deaths from the COVID-19 disease and 2,186 new cases in the past 24
hours. In total, 257,303 cases have been reported in the country,
including 12,829 deaths. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged all citizens
to help stem the region's deadliest outbreak.
(AFP, 7/12/20)
2020 Jul 12, Deaths in Mexico
from the coronavirus pandemic rose above 35,000, with the Latin
American country overtaking Italy for the world's fourth-highest
death total.
(Reuters, 7/13/20)
2020 Jul 12, South Africa
introduced new restrictions, including another ban on alcohol sales,
to prevent drunks from taking up precious space in hospitals and to
help contain the spread of coronavirus.
(BBC, 7/12/20)(Econ., 8/8/20, p.37)
2020 Jul 13, A US federal judge
agreed to suspend a rule that requires women during the COVID-19
pandemic to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an
abortion pill.
(SFC, 7/15/20, p.A6)
2020 Jul 13, California's
governor clamped new restrictions on businesses as coronavirus cases
and hospitalizations soared, and the state's two largest school
districts, in Los Angeles and San Diego, said children would be made
to stay home in August.
(Reuters, 7/14/20)
2020 Jul 13, California
to date had 333,356 cases of coronavirus and 7,089 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 36,150 cases and 656 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 3,353,348 with the death toll at 135,524.
(sfist.com, 7/13/20)
2020