U.K.’s Johnson urges Brits to avoid ‘unnecessary physical contact’ on Mother’s Day
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson advised the public to “avoid any unnecessary physical contact” on Mother’s Day.
“This time the best thing is to ring her, video call her, Skype her, but to avoid any unnecessary physical contact or proximity,” Johnson said in an open letter published in The Sunday Times newspaper. “And why? Because if your mother is elderly or vulnerable, then I am afraid all the statistics show that she is much more likely to die from coronavirus, or COVID-19. We cannot disguise or sugarcoat the threat.”
Johnson told reporters Friday he hoped to see his own mother on Sunday, but he later changed his mind, according to media reports in the country, where his government told restaurants, pubs, gyms and cinemas to close down on Friday in a bid to contain the epidemic.
Inside hard-hit Italian hospital as coronavirus death toll surges
Spanish PM warns ‘worst is yet to come’ as country’s death toll tops 1,300
Spain’s prime minister warned “the worst is yet to come” for his nation Saturday, as the country’s death toll topped 1,300.
“These past days, regional leaders have said that this situation is the most critical we have lived since Second World War. I think they’re right,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in televised national address Saturday evening. “These circumstances are putting us to the test.”
Sanchez said Spain, which has recorded 1,326 deaths and nearly 25,000 confirmed cases, has implemented the toughest measures in Europe, and one of the toughest in the world. The country’s 47 million inhabitants were put under partial lockdown last week as part of a 15-day state of emergency to combat the coronavirus epidemic.
“Sadly, the worst is yet to come,” Sanchez said. “We have very tough days ahead.”
Outdoor exercise banned in new restrictive order in Italy’s Lombardy region
The governor of Italy’s Lombardy region, one of the hardest hit areas in the coronavirus epidemic, signed a new order Saturday imposing even more stringent restrictions on residents.
The order, signed by Attilio Fontana and valid until at least Apr. 15, banned outdoor exercise and implemented temperature checks at supermarkets and pharmacies.
The new, tougher measures come as the number of coronavirus deaths across Italy reached 4,825, with 53,578 cases confirmed to date.
Meanwhile, country’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte addressed the nation in a Facebook live stream Saturday night to announce that every plant in the country that’s not absolutely necessary to guarantee essential goods and services will be shuttered effective Sunday.
Police in Arizona say man stole 29 test kits
A man was wanted by authorities in Tucson, Arizona, for allegedly walking off with 29 coronavirus test kits, police said Saturday.
The suspect was dressed as a delivery driver and made off with the kits as the city’s El Rio Health Center was just about to close Friday night, Tucson police said in a statement.
The move was all for naught, authorities said, as the kits are virtually useless outside a lab, and the center has already replaced them.
“Do not buy kits from anyone claiming to have Corona Virus Test Kits or COVID-19 Test Kits,” the department said. “It is a scam! There are currently no home test kits for the virus.”
China reports 46 new COVID-19 cases, ending 3-day streak
China ended a three-day streak of reporting no new coronavirus cases on Saturday after 46 people tested positive positive for COVID-19.
On the same day, China’s National Health Commission also reported six new deaths. Five of the deaths occurred in Wuhan in Hubei province, where the outbreak originated late last year.
China said 45 of the new cases were imported.
Colombia reports first COVID-19 death
Colombia reported on Saturday the country’s first death from COVID-19.
The patient was a 58-year-old taxi driver from the coastal city of Cartagena, health minister Fernando Ruiz said in a tweet.
The driver had recently transported Italian tourists and developed symptoms two days later on March 16, Ruiz said. He was first tested on March 13 but two tests came back negative.
Multiple people who came into contact with the taxi driver, including his sister, a doctor and a passenger, also tested positive for coronavirus, according to Martha Ospina, director of Colombia’s National Institute of Health.
More than 200 people have tested positive for the virus in Colombia, according to the health ministry.
L.A. police could start 12-hour shifts, raising COVID-19 fears among rank and file
LOS ANGELES — As residents settle in for weeks of isolation, police Chief Michel Moore has told officers he hopes the city’s stay-at-home initiative designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus can be gently enforced.
He said most residents were following the “Safer at Home” order, which allows essential businesses to remain open and critical public functions to continue but directs most other people to stay home and avoid gatherings.
“Enforcement of it is through awareness, through education, through outreach,” Moore said in a video message and an internal memo to Los Angeles Police Department officers, which also directed the rank-and-file to begin providing security at emergency shelters for the homeless.
He told officers the city is entering a new phase in its response to the pandemic and could begin to move officers to 12-hour shifts with fewer days off as soon as Monday.
