Displaying items by tag: coronavirus

China filed a patent for a drug seen as one of the best potential weapons against coronavirus the day after Beijing confirmed coronavirus was transmissible to humans. The revelation that it moved so fast fuels concerns about a cover-up of the pandemic when it erupted and suggests that China’s understanding of the virus was far more advanced than the impression given in public. The chairman of the US foreign affairs select committee joined the growing global call for a full, independent inquiry into China’s role, saying, ‘It is quite clear there is an awful lot that we do not know about the emergence of this disease and the responses to it. We all need to learn the lessons of the outbreak so that the international community can respond better in the future.’ Leaked documents showed that China’s officials knew they faced an epidemic but delayed warning the public for six days.

On 29 April, banks across Lebanon were torched and vandalised by hundreds of demonstrators during the second night of protests over their currency recently losing 50% in value. The largest and most violent protests were in Tripoli, the second-largest, and poorest, city. One 26-year-old protester died from army gunshot wounds and many were hospitalised from heavy-handed responses to protests. Human Rights Watch called for transparent investigations into the death. Poverty has worsened during the nationwide pandemic lockdown. The social affairs minister estimated that 75% of the population require aid in a country of about six million - but that aid has been meagre and slow to come. Massive anti-government protests began in October but paused during lockdown. Now they are angrier and more desperate. On 30 April the Daily Star reported 23 soldiers wounded overnight in Tripoli and Sidon.

In 2018 Brazilians elected controversial Jair Bolsonaro as president to break up a corrupt political class. But he has antagonised political forces, upset environmentalists by severely damaging the Amazon, dismissed journalists as peddling fake news, and badly mishandled the coronavirus pandemic fearing what shutdowns might do to Brazil's economy. He dismissed the seriousness of the outbreak with self-importance and backed anti-quarantine protests. Then he fired his health minister, who had become more popular than himself. With irregular testing, Brazil reported 5,017 Coronavirus deaths, hundreds more than in China. On 26 April Brazil's supreme court opened an enquiry into Bolsonaro’s son being involved in illegal schemes and fake news rackets, and Brazil's justice minister accused Bolsonaro of meddling in law enforcement and quit. The next day Bolsonaro named a family friend, Alexandre Ramagem, to head the federal police. Today the allegations of improper interference by the outgoing justice minister are triggering impeachment and criminal investigation rumours. See

‘Praise God for the compassion and creativity that survivors of bonded-labour and sex-trafficking are showing within their own communities in this season. We are so impressed by many of the survivors we serve who have overcome heart-breaking violence as they offer to distribute food aid, sew face masks, or do anything else they can to help others who are less fortunate. It has been a great surprise and delight for IJM staff to see these women and men grow in leadership and empowerment this way. Pray for their ongoing health and safety, and for God to bless their outreach within their communities.’

Smartphones and social media have connected families who are separated in lockdown. They have also generated a blizzard of dangerous fake news. In Bradford online posts of non-white patients being left to die in hospitals are being shared thousands of times among black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities. One reason for the high number of deaths in this people group is that they often live in densely overcrowded housing. Many have diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease - all high risk factors. Dr John Wright of Bradford Royal Infirmary said, ‘I know from my work in African epidemics that where there is fear and panic, and patients become isolated from their families, it doesn't take long for rumours and fake news stories to start circulating. We have noticed that some patients are scared to be admitted, and some want to self-discharge, because they think doctors are trying to kill them.’

Everyone has movement restrictions, and millions are working from home or have stopped working. As a response, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced huge packages of financial assistance in grants for the self-employed and paying wages for employed workers. Yet in announcing his help for self-employed, he acknowledges the scheme could facilitate opportunities for perpetrating fraud. He recognises that whatever the health of an economy - or the financial standing of an individual or a company - there will always be those looking to make fraudulent gains. Coronavirus has produced new openings for committing fraud, which is like a virus: it will spread and cause the maximum amount of harm unless the right precautions are taken.

Conmen are preying on virus fears, with bogus online stores selling face masks and hand sanitiser and fake emails mimicking official health bodies to trick recipients into downloading computer viruses or giving away passwords. There are fake sites offering refunds on cancelled holidays. Fraudsters are gaining access to homes by offering to take residents' temperatures or selling anti-virus tests, face masks and hand sanitiser. They are posing as charity workers volunteering to do vulnerable people's shopping. Savers must avoid making rash pension decisions as criminals exploit fears over market turmoil, especially with offers in emails. Criminals are targeting cash-strapped businesses applying for emergency funds by sending out fake emails claiming to be from HMRC. They are also posing as police and issuing fines via email to businesses they claim are 'trading unlawfully' during lockdown. Everyone is advised to be on their guard, and always ask for identification.

Saaremaa island, off the coast of Estonia, has been labelled by locals as ‘corona island’ after becoming a hotspot for the virus and being placed into strict quarantine. The first Covid-19 cases on Saaremaa began in March, after a sports event was held there with a team from Italy. Now health officials estimate that half of the island's population have contracted the virus. An overcrowded refugee camp on Chios had reports of an Iraqi asylum seeker dying after being cleared of having coronavirus. This caused riots and widespread damage by fire, leaving hundreds of people homeless. Many still believe she died of Covid-19. Sicily’s health services are stretched because of coronavirus, and 156 migrants on a German rescue ship were refused entry to its western coast. They had to be transferred to another vessel and quarantined.

EU leaders met electronically on 23 April to begin tentatively to unlock the nations’ businesses as the immediate health crisis eases. Restarting Europe’s economy has led to divisive debates over grants: ultimately, how should the wealthier north help out the harder-hit south? The argument over solidarity has become a bitter one, with some favouring ‘coronabonds’ or ‘Eurobonds’ and others preferring grants or a 1.5 trillion recovery fund. Let us pray that all decisions made will successfully help those most in need. May the next steps include a huge increase in the EU budget, so that every member state overcomes the crisis together, leaving no nation behind carrying heavy unmanageable debts. Observers note that EU institutions have struggled to get leaders to put aside their national interests.

The Golden Week will fall between 2 and 6 May. Families usually take advantage of this holiday period to go on long trips. Despite early signs that the number of new coronavirus cases may be slowing, the government has warned that everyone must continue to stay home and avoid non-essential travel, even during the Golden Week holidays. The economic minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who spearheads the government’s coronavirus measures, said, ‘I am alarmed that efforts to decrease the number of new patients have been insufficient’. Recently doctors warned that the medical system could collapse. Emergency rooms cannot treat seriously ill patients due to extra virus cases. One ambulance carrying a coronavirus patient was turned away by eighty hospitals before he could be seen. Japan now has tens of thousands of confirmed cases: it did not prepare well for coronavirus, despite being the second country outside China to record infection. See