Trump vows to ban immigration
● Millions of jobs already lost as coronavirus swathe of destruction continues
US-President Donald Trump pledged a temporary ban on immigration to the US because of the “invisible enemy” of coronavirus, as the disease sparked angry demonstrations on American streets to demand an end to c,rippling lockdowns.
In just four months, the virus has turned the world upside down, confining half the planet indoors and killing nearly 170,000 people on its march through virtually every country.
Drastic measures never before seen in peacetime have shredded the global economy, resulting in the extraordinary spectacle of oil prices turning negative as demand evaporates.
World leaders are agonising over when to loosen restrictions, terrified of a second wave but aware their citizens need to work and live amid growing signs of social tension.
Trump, who has encouraged anti-lockdown protests roiling parts of the country, said on Monday he would halt immigration — a theme long popular with his supporters.
“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!” he tweeted.
At least 22-million jobs have been lost in the US since sweeping lockdowns were implemented to slow the spread of the virus, and exasperation is growing in some parts of the country.
Hundreds took part in a “Patriots Rally” in Pennsylvania, one waving a banner proclaiming “Give me liberty or give me death”.
Rose Bayer, 50, said it was crazy to shut down the world over a disease she said has a recovery rate of about 98%.
“People will starve, they’ll commit suicide, they’ll lose everything.
“Like Trump said, the cure cannot be worse than the disease,” she said. While such demonstrations have captured much attention, more than four in five Americans would approve of a national stay-athome order, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll.
But isolated protests are also springing up elsewhere from Russia to France, where demonstrators in a run-down northern Paris suburb clashed with police they accuse of enforcing lockdown rules too harshly.
In hard-hit Europe, several countries are cautiously creeping out from confinement measures, buoyed by mounting signs the worst of the virus might be behind them.
Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Germany was “still a long way from being out of the woods”, as she allowed smaller shops from florists to fashion stores to reopen.
There were also encouraging signs in other major European countries such as Italy, France and Britain, although authorities warned citizens against letting their guard down.
Ghana became the first African country to lift coronavirus restrictions, sparking a mixed reaction on streets in Accra teeming with citizens after a three-week lockdown.
“It is a huge reprieve,” hawker Jemima Adwoa Anim said.
“It was like a war situation. We had no money but couldn’t go out to earn some cash.”
But others were furious the restrictions had been lifted so early.
“This is totally ridiculous. How is it possible?” student Francis Collison said.
The coronavirus fallout has sparked fears of a second Great Depression, with millions of job losses around the world as economies shudder to a halt.
Another consequence of the economic pandemonium wrought by the virus was an unprecedented day of trading in the oil markets that saw a barrel of US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery close at -$37.63.
The price turned negative because once the May contract expired yesterday, buyers would need to take possession of the oil or move it to storage, which will cost them more.
Futures prices rebounded back above zero in Asian trade yesterday but the oil market movements weighed heavily on US and Asian stocks.
The virus has sent the aviation sector into a tailspin with cash-strapped Virgin Australia announcing yesterday it had entered voluntary administration — the largest airline so far to collapse.
After cutting a swathe through the global sporting schedule, the coronavirus has claimed another high-profile annual event as authorities cancelled this year’s Oktoberfest in southern Bavaria, Germany. —