/Coronavirus live updates: U.S. leads world in deaths

Coronavirus live updates: U.S. leads world in deaths

Trump eager to restart economy by May despite risks

WASHINGTON — With his hoped-for Easter timeline having come and gone, President Donald Trump now appears more determined than he has ever been to open up the economy with a “big bang” early next month, according to multiple people familiar with the decision-making process.

As the U.S. leads the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths, aides are cautioning the president about too quickly lifting national social distancing guidelines, now set to expire April 30. An internal debate continues about how best to reopen certain sections of the country at the end of the month, these people said.

“I think we are all expecting or planning for May 1,” said a senior administration official, cautioning that major new outbreaks in cities could change the thinking and that no final determination has been made.

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Vietnamese designer wins acclaim for colorful masks

A model poses in designer Do Quyen Hoa’s colorful hand-embroidered face masks at her workshop in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday.NHAC NGUYEN / AFP – Getty Images

North Korea’s rubber-stamp Parliament meets amid global pandemic

A session of 14th Supreme People’s Assembly at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang on Sunday, as released by North Korea’s official news agency.STR / AFP – Getty Images

North Korea’s rubber-stamp Parliament gathered on Sunday, a day after leader Kim Jong Un presided over a ruling party politburo meeting where he called for strict measures to prevent an outbreak of the new coronavirus.

Photos released by state news agency KCNA on Monday showed hundreds of lawmakers sitting in close proximity to each other with no masks or other visible anti-infection measures.

North Korea has said it has tested at least 700 people and has put more than 500 in quarantine, but has no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) told Reuters last week.

Trump hails ‘great deal’ as OPEC and allies agree largest oil output cut in history

Oil prices moved higher early Monday morning stateside after OPEC and its allies agreed to cut production by 9.7 million barrels per day. The deal, which was finalized on Sunday after marathon discussions that spanned four days, is the single largest output cut in history.

President Donald Trump, who was heavily involved in brokering a deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia after a price war broke out between the two countries, cheered the agreement. “Great deal for all!” he said on Twitter late Sunday.

Inside first clinical trial testing malaria drug as coronavirus treatment

Some Italian and Spanish citizens set to return to work

Commuters wearing face masks sit on a train at the Atocha Station in Madrid on Monday as some companies were set to resume work.JAVIER SORIANO / AFP – Getty Images

In Italy and Spain some non-essential workers will be able to return to work this week, as the two southern European countries attempt to shore up their ailing economies.

In Italy, some shops will be permitted to reopen from Tuesday including bookstores, stationery stores and those selling children’s clothes. Forestry businesses will also be able to restart operations to ensure the supply of wood.  

While in Spain, any worker who cannot work from home will be able to return to work this week, with more than 10 million masks being distributed at bus, metro and train stations throughout the country.

 

 

Turkey’s president reject’s minister’s resignation over lockdown announcement

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu speaks during a news conference for foreign media correspondents in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2019.POOL New / Reuters

Turkey’s president has rejected the resignation of the country’s interior minister who took responsibility for a poorly timed announcement of a weekend lockdown that prompted thousands of people to rush into the streets to stock up on supplies.

The 48-hour lockdowns across 31 cities — which were aimed to contain the spread of the coronavirus — were announced just two hours before taking effect on Friday night. Thousands of people rushed into the streets to stock up on goods, many without wearing mandatory face masks as closely-bunched crowds sparked criticism of the government’s planning.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, one of the most senior figures in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, announced late Sunday that he was stepping down, saying: “responsibility for implementing the weekend curfew decision … belongs entirely to me.”

But Erdogan’s office said it would not accept the resignation.

Coronavirus is making America’s rats desperate

America’s rats are being hit hard by the coronavirus.

As millions of Americans shelter indoors to combat the deadly virus, which has claimed over 21,000 U.S. lives, many businesses — including restaurants and grocery stores— have closed or limited operations, cutting off many rodents’ main sources for food. On deserted streets across the country, rats are in dire survival mode, experts say.

“If you take rats that have been established in the area or somebody’s property and they’re doing well, the reason they’re doing well is because they’re eating well,” Bobby Corrigan, an urban rodentologist, told NBC News. “Ever since coronavirus broke out, not a single thing has changed with them, because someone’s doing their trash exactly the same in their yard as they’ve always done it — poorly.”

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FDNY emergency medical technician who worked 9/11 rescue dies

An emergency medical technician for the New York City Fire Department who worked on the World Trade Center rescue and recovery effort after 9/11 has died, the department said early Monday

Gregory Hodge, 59, was a 24-year veteran of FDNY most recently working as a watch commander at the emergency management office.

“EMT Hodge was a skilled first responder who provided outstanding emergency medical care to thousands of New Yorkers throughout his long and distinguished career of service,” said Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro. “This pandemic has impacted our Department at every level, especially our EMS members who are responding to more medical calls than ever before.”

The Manhattan resident began his career assigned to a station in Harlem and later worked in the Bronx. He is survived by an adult son.

Photo: Young love in Wuhan

A couple embrace near the Yangtze River in Wuhan on Sunday. Noel Celis / AFP – Getty Images

Displaced Syrians wary of virus risk return to war-torn Idlib

IDLIB, Syria — Thousands of displaced Syrians have begun moving back to their homes in war-torn Idlib province despite the risk of renewed conflict, some driven by fear that the coronavirus could wreak havoc on crowded camps near the Turkish border.

About 1 million Syrians fled Idlib and its surrounding countryside in northwest Syria this past year after Russian-backed government forces stepped up a campaign to retake the last rebel stronghold after nine years of war.

Syria’s northwest does not yet have a confirmed case of coronavirus, but doctors fear the area’s ravaged medical infrastructure and overflowing camps would quickly turn any outbreak into a humanitarian disaster.

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