COVID-19: GLOBAL IMPACT
Turkey outbreak ‘under control’
Turkey has got the coronavirus outbreak “under control” but should not relax containment measures, the country’s health minister said yesterday. Speaking to reporters after a meeting of Turkey’s scientific advisory council, Fahrettin Koca reported 117 additional Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the country’s total to 2376. The minister also reported 3083 new confirmed infections, raising the total to 98,674. The number of new reported cases was the lowest since April 4 and down from 4611 reported the previous day. The country is imposing weekend curfews and, among other measures, has banned people above the age of 65 and below the age of 20 from leaving home. A four-day curfew comes into effect today — which is a public holiday.
Experts key to Cyprus success
Cyprus has negotiated the coronavirus pandemic with a very low per capita death rate because its government closely followed the advice of medical experts and imposed a strict lockdown early on, the island nation’s president said yesterday. Nicos Anastasiades said Cyprus’ infection curve is flattening, less than seven weeks after its first confirmed case, and his government is drafting plans to gradually lift restrictions. To date, Cyprus, with a population of 880,000, has reported 13 deaths — about 1.5 per hundred thousand — and 790 infections. That does not include the breakaway northern part of the Mediterranean island republic, which has been divided along ethnic lines since a Turkish invasion in 1974 prompted by a coup that aimed to unite Cyprus with Greece.
French bistros to open in June Bars, cafe´s and restaurants in France could start reopening from June 15, more than a month after the country starts relaxing lockdown in schools and at work, according to reports. France, where the death toll is approaching 21,000, is due to start lifting confinement rules on May 11, Emmanuel Macron announced last week. However, the president gave no date for the country’s cafe´s, bistros and restaurants to start opening for business beyond takeaway orders. That prompted dire warnings that many of the country’s 210,000 bars and restaurants, in particular small, often family-run venues, could go bust if lockdown continued. However, the Elyse´e Palace has reportedly now cited
June 15 as the most likely date for them to start serving meals in situ again. Restaurant representatives are due to discuss the date at a meeting at the presidential palace tomorrow, along with how to respect distancing and other health measures.
Neo-Nazi trolls harass WHO
Neo-Nazis are attempting to use 25,000 purportedly hacked email addresses and passwords to harass members of the World Health Organisation, the US National Institutes of Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The data was stolen by unknown hackers and spread online in recent days by farRight extremists, according to Site Intelligence Group, the online terror
monitoring organisation.
Malaria drugs deemed unsafe
An American panel of experts have warned against using drugs touted by President Donald Trump as “game changers”, due to safety concerns. The group, convened by the influential National Institutes of Health (NIH), recommended against using a combination of the malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin to treat Covid-19 patients “because of the potential for toxicities” related to heart issues. Trump has repeatedly claimed the drugs are the most promising coronavirus treatments, despite there being no conclusive scientific evidence.