Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:
Germany to reopen shops and restart amateur sport, according to draft report
In Germany, all shops will reopen and amateur outdoor sports restart under certain conditions as part of an easing of lockdown measures, the federal government and states have agreed according to a draft document.
The paper, seen by Reuters, was prepared by federal chancellery chief Helge Braun and the heads of the regional chancelleries for a telephone conference Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to hold with premiers of the 16 states later on Wednesday.
Dated 5 May, the document shows that based on infection levels, states will decide on their own about a gradual opening of universities, restaurants, bars, hotels, trade fairs, cosmetic studios, brothels, theatres, fitness studios, cinemas and discos all under certain hygiene and distancing concepts. States will also decide on limiting contact between people, it adds.
Pope Francis calls for workers’ dignity to be respected amid pandemic
Pope Francis has urged employers to respect the dignity of workers, particularly migrants, in the face of economic difficulties brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the end of his general audience, held from the papal library instead of St Peter’s Square because of Italy’s lockdown, he said: “It’s true that the crisis is affecting everyone but the dignity of people must always be respected.”
The pope said he had received a series of messages about labour problems on 1 May, the day most countries celebrate workers’ rights. Francis said he wanted to defend “all exploited workers and I invite everyone to turn the crisis into an occasion where the dignity of the person and the dignity of work can be put back at the centre of things.”
Fans set to return to stadiums to watch baseball in Taiwan
Baseball fans will be let back into Taiwanese stadiums this week as the government begins relaxing some controls implemented to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Taiwan has been relatively successful at controlling the virus, with 439 cases to date, six deaths, and 100 active infections, thanks to early prevention and detection efforts. The island has never gone into total lockdown, though the government has promoted social distancing and face masks.
Both the baseball and football seasons got under way in Taiwan last month, but without spectators, providing rare live action for fans at home at a time when the pandemic has shut down most professional sport around the globe. The health minister, Chen Shih-chung, told reporters that 1,000 spectators would be allowed in to baseball matches on Friday in Taipei and the central city of Taichung
Europe heading for worst recession since the Great Depression, according to European commission
Europe will experience a recession this year of a depth unmatched since the Great Depression and the UK will be one of the hardest hit, the European commission has said.
Economic forecasts provided by the commission on Wednesday suggest the UK will experience an 8.3% drop in gross domestic production by the end of the year, with investment down by 14% and a doubling of unemployment.
In terms of the drop in GDP – the total value of goods and services produced in a country in a year – only Italy, Greece, Spain and Croatia among the EU member states will endure a bigger loss to the economy.
Cases in Russia rise by more than 10,000 for fourth consecutive day
In Russia, the number of new Covid-19 cases surged by 10,559 over the past 24 hours, bringing the countrywide tally to 165,929, the country’s coronavirus crisis response centre has announced. It is the fourth consecutive day that cases have risen by more than 10,000. The crisis response centre also reported 86 new coronavirus deaths, meaning the death toll in Russia has reached 1,537.
UK health secretary says professor who advocated lockdown right to step down after breaking rules
The British health secretary has said he would back the police in any action they wish to take over Prof Neil Ferguson breaking social distancing rules by having a woman visit him at his home. Ferguson, an epidemiologist who has helped shape the government’s response to coronavirus and who advocated the lockdown, made the right decision to resign. Matt Hancock told Sky News: “I back the police here. They will take their decisions independently from ministers, that’s quite right, it’s always been like that.”
Wuhan teenagers return to school for first time since outbreak hit the Chinese City
Teenagers in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the Covid-19 pandemic began, have returned to school wearing masks and walking in single file past thermal scanners. In 121 schools, older pupils were back in classrooms – sitting at individual desks spaced a metre apart – for the first time on Wednesday since the city was forced into shutdown in January. Returning pupils had to navigate thermal scanners at school gates, with anyone displaying a high temperature barred from entry.
Spain on course to extend state of emergency for another fortnight
Spain looks set to extend its state of emergency for two more weeks as it eases Covid-19 lockdown measures, with the country’s prime minister expected to secure enough parliamentary votes today to make the move.
Pedro Sanchez’s weak coalition government has the support of the regional Basque nationalist party PNV, as well as the centre-right Ciudadanos party, which said last night it would back an extension to the state of emergency set to expire on Saturday.
In an increasingly fraught political government, it means the government will guarantee enough votes to approve the state of emergency decree. It comes after the government lost the support of opposition conservatives, the People’s party (PP), for any further extensions.
Covid-19 immunity only covers up to 5% of Czech Republic population, says study
Immunity to Covid-19 is building only very slowly in the Czech Republic and probably does not cover more than 4-5% of the population, the country’s health ministry has said. The preliminary figures came from a mass testing for antibodies that started in April, the ministry added. The country, which has a population of 10.7 million, was one of the swiftest in Europe to impose curbs on travel and border crossings and shut most shops and restaurants in March.
