EU agrees on aid deal for the bloc

R14 TRILLION: HELP FOR NATIONS HARDEST-HIT BY VIRUS

Meanwhile, WHO concerned about the acceleration of Covid-19 in Africa.

European leaders yesterday agreed on a massive aid package for their pandemic-ravaged economies, as President Donald Trump changed his tune in favour of face masks as a tool against the coronavirus in the United States.

The virus has infected more than 14.6 million people and killed over 600 000 since it emerged in China, with the alarm being sounded over its accelerating spread in Africa.

The pandemic has devastated the global economy and after a fractious summit, European leaders agreed on a rescue package of €750 billion (R14 trillion) to try and pull their bloc out of a deep recession.

“This is a historic change for Europe,” said French President Emmanuel Macron, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed relief that the EU had, in her eyes, shown itself equal to “the greatest crisis” in its history.

The package will send tens of billions of euros to countries hit hardest by the virus, most notably heavily indebted Spain and Italy, that lobbied hard for a major gesture from their EU partners.

The talks saw strong resistance from some members against sending money to nations they consider too lax with public spending. With even richer nations struggling, experts have warned the impact would be harshest in poorer regions of the world like Africa.

There are fresh concerns about the continent, particularly South Africa, where the death toll crossed 5 000 over the weekend.

“I am very concerned right now that we are beginning to see an acceleration of disease in Africa,” warned the World Health Organisation’s emergencies chief Michael Ryan.

With no effective treatment yet, there are few options available to combat the spread of the virus, though they do include face masks, which Trump and his political allies refused to encourage for months.

But he changed direction on Monday, tweeting a photo of himself wearing a mask with the message: “We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance.”

Two studies offered new hope on Monday of a vaccine. An effective vaccine is considered key for a return to normality. –