Virus cases rise in China, South Korea

3 children die in New York from coronavirus complication

ROME, May 10, (AP): Both China and South Korea reported new spikes in coronavirus cases on Sunday, setting off fresh concerns in countries where local outbreaks had been in dramatic decline.

China reported 14 new cases on Sunday, its first double-digit rise in 10 days. Eleven of 12 domestic infections were in the northeastern province of Jilin and one in Hubei, whose capital Wuhan was the epicenter of the global pandemic. The Jilin cases prompted authorities to raise the threat level in one of its counties, Shulan, to high risk, just days after downgrading all regions in the country to low risk.

Authorities said the Shulan outbreak originated with a 45-year-old woman who had no recent travel or exposure history, but spread it to her husband, her three sisters and other family members. Train services in and out of the county were being suspended through the end of the month.

Responding to the latest, cases, the Jilin Communist Party secretary, Bayin Chaolu, the province’s highest official, told local media that “epidemic control and prevention is a serious and complicated matter, and local authorities should never be overly optimistic, war-weary, or off-guard.”

Jilin also shares a border with North Korea, where the virus situation is unclear but whose vastly inadequate health system has been offered help by China in dealing with any outbreak.

South Korea on Sunday reported 34 additional cases as a spate of transmissions linked to clubgoers threatens the country’s hard-won gains in its fight against the virus. It was the first time that South Korea’s daily jump has marked above 30 in about a month.

On Sunday, President Moon Jae-in said citizens must neither panic nor let down their guard, but warned that “the damage to our economy is indeed colossal as well.”

Around the world, the US and other hard-hit countries are wrestling with how to ease curbs on business and public activity without causing the virus to come surging back.

60 cases in Austria:

Sixty more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in Austria, bringing its overall count of cases up to 13,928, said the Ministry of Health on Saturday.

One patient died of the highly contagious ailment over the past 24 hours, taking this European country’s mortality rate to 615, the ministry said in a press statement.

The United States has suffered nearly 80,000 deaths from COVID-19, the most of any nation.

In Australia, Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government supports a European Union motion for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19 in China, a proposal stiffly resisted by Beijing, Australia’s No. 1 trading partner.

“We support the EU motion which includes an independent investigation, regulatory work on wet markets and also the potential for independent inspection powers,” Hunt told Sky News on Sunday.

Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive arm, said last week she would like to see China work together with her organization, and others, to determine how the virus emerged.

While the virus is believed to have originated in Wuhan, most scientists say it was most likely transmitted from bats to humans via an intermediary animal such as the armadillo-like pangolin. That has placed the focus on a wet market in the city where wildlife was sold for food.

Attention

However, Trump and allies have expressed confidence in an unsubstantiated theory linking the origin of the outbreak to a possible accident at a Chinese virology laboratory in Wuhan, something Chinese officials and state media have called an attempt to divert attention from US failings through the dissemination of groundless accusations.

China says its too early to launch an investigation into the virus’ origin and angrily rejects accusations that it covered up the initial outbreak and didn’t do enough to prevent the global pandemic.

In New York, the deadliest hot spot in the US, Gov Andrew Cuomo said three children died from a possible complication of the coronavirus involving swollen blood vessels and heart problems.

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.

A total of 311,690 Covid-19 tests have been conducted for people nationwide, it said, putting the number of hospitalizations at 309, including 79 in intensive care units.

Austria has allowed malls, shops and parks to reopen after one month of nationwide shutdown. (KUNA)

1,251 cases in Germany:

Germany, on

Worldwide, 4 million people have been confirmed infected by the virus, and more than 279,000 have died, including over 78,000 in the US, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Spain, France, Italy and Britain have reported around 26,000 to 32,000 deaths each.

Businesses in the US continue to struggle as more employers reluctantly conclude that their laid-off employees might not return to work anytime soon.

Some malls have opened up in Georgia and Texas, while Nevada restaurants, hair salons and other businesses were able to have limited reopenings Saturday or once again allow customers inside after nearly two months of restrictions.

About 1,500 opponents of Washington’s stay-at-home order to slow the coronavirus rallied again Saturday at the state Capitol, while some residents who reported stay-at-home violators said they’ve received threats after far-right groups posted their personal information on Facebook. Such protests have drawn relatively small crowds in several states despite encouragement from the White House, which is anxious to see the economy reopen.

The federal government said it was delivering supplies of remdesivir, the first drug shown to speed recovery for COVID-19 patients, to six more states, after seven others were sent cases of the medicine earlier this week.

In the US Southwest, some small Native American villages are embracing extraordinary isolation measures such as guarded roadblocks to turn away outsiders as the virus ravages tight-knit communities.

Italy saw people return to the streets and revel in fine weather and Rome’s Campo dei Fiori flower and vegetable market was also bustling in Rome. But confusion created frustrations for the city’s shopkeepers.

In Spain, certain regions can scale back lockdowns starting Monday, with limited seating at bars, restaurants and other public places. But Madrid and Barcelona, the country’s largest cities, will remain shut down.

Saturday, reported 1,251 new coronavirus infections, taking the total to 168,551.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the virus death toll climbed to 7,369 after confirming 103 cases in the last 24 hours.

The RKI announced that the number of recoverees had reached around 143,300 with 1,600 new ones. Angela Merkel is the Chancellor of Germany. (KUNA)

967 deaths in Colorado:

Colorado has reached 967 deaths from the coronavirus, and more than 19,300 people have tested positive for the illness, state health officials said.

The state Department of Public Health and Environment said Saturday more than 100,000 people have now been tested for COVID-19.

State data show more than 3,600 people have been hospitalized since the outbreak. Fewer than 600 people were in Colorado hospitals with symptoms of the illness as of Friday.

On Saturday, a host of Denver businesses — from clothing stores to hair salons — opened their doors for the first time in nearly two months as Mayor Michael Hancock’s stay-at-home order expired,

The Denver Post reported. Business owners who have been hard hit financially say it’s the only way to stay afloat as they try to recoup lost sales while giving their employees a much-needed paycheck.

But despite the go-ahead from city leaders, many business owners are choosing to keep their stores shut, at least for now. (Agencies)