Good morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 16 April.
Coronavirus
The Covid-19 pandemic has infected over two million people, with more than 130,000 dying from the disease globally. New York has revised its death toll to more than 10,000 – adding 3,778 victims that were not tested but are presumed to have died from the virus, with over 27,000 fatalities across the US. World leaders continue to criticise Donald Trump’s decision to cut funding from the World Health Organization, with health experts labelling the move a “crime against humanity”. The European Union’s medicine regulator has predicted it could take a year before a vaccine is available for widespread use, while the G20 has moved to suspend loan debt repayments from poorer nations, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Caribbean from 1 May until the end of the year.
One of Australia’s biggest youth travel operators has changed its refunds policy and applied it retrospectively, denying customers who had trips cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Topdeck instead will offer future credit, including to customers previously promised cash refunds. Around Australia, 63 people have died from Covid-19, but South Australia recorded no new cases overnight and Queensland just five new infections in a 24-hour period.
Sweden’s “light-touch approach” to restricting the movements of its citizens has been criticised as the nation marks 1,200 deaths – nearly 100 times the rate of neighbouring Finland, which enacted a strict early lockdown. The nation’s deputy chief epidemiologist maintains he is “cautiously positive” the Scandinavian nation has approached the peak of the infections curve. German chancellor Angela Merkel has announced plans to partially reopen schools and shops in coming weeks, hailing the slowing of new cases as a “fragile intermediary success”. And Amazon owner Jeff Bezos has seen his personal fortune rise $24bn since the coronavirus pandemic began, due to his 11% stake in the company that has seen record online sales.
Australia
Six major Australian environmental organisations have petitioned the government to delay its once-a-decade review of national environmental laws, asking for more time for public submissions given the twin crises of bushfires and the coronavirus.
The defence department’s use of toxic firefighting chemicals is the subject of a major new class action, with 40,000 residents from towns around Australia having been potentially exposed to carcinogenic chemical compounds, lawyers have argued.
An ambitious $150m government-backed research and development program could arrest coral die-off on the Great Barrier Reef, with ideas being considered ranging from brightening clouds with salt crystals to deploying slicks of coral larvae.
The world
Frontline doctors, nurses and hospital staff in France working during the Covid-19 pandemic will receive bonuses of up to €1,500 as part of a €8bn “urgent economic plan” announced by the prime minister. There will also be €4bn allocated for increased protective surgical equipment for staff.
Elizabeth Warren has endorsed Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee, the third significant declaration in as many days following Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders, as the Democratic party unifies ahead of the November election.
Scientists have documented a dramatic melting of Greenland’s ice sheet, with a volume of ice equivalent to 197 gigatonnes disappearing during July 2019 alone. High-pressure systems for 63 days during summer – instead of the average of 28 – are believed responsible for what’s been called a global “alarm signal”.
Recommended reads
In the era of self-isolation and physical distancing, if you can’t touch others, you may as well touch yourself. Since entering lockdown, the sale of sex toys in New Zealand has tripled and in the US there has been a 30% uptake. “Iso for many singles is the equivalent of a sexual ice age. For those who have tried virtual dating, the experience can be frustrating,” writes Brigid Delaney. So is the silver lining of isolation a golden opportunity to explore your own sexuality?
“It’s never good to experience the worst growth for a decade right before a global pandemic.” But with private sector building activity declining precipitously and travel arrivals all but completely nonexistent, is a public sector wage freeze the answer? According to Greg Jericho and a new survey from the Centre for Future Work: no.
Donald Trump’s decision to suspend funding to the World Health Organisation is unconscionable. As the Guardian’s editorial states: “The attempt to shift blame for his disastrous failure to protect his country, despite repeated warnings from the international body and others, could not be more naked or repugnant.”
Listen
Coronavirus Q&A: how does the virus survive outside the human body and why is soap so effective at deactivating it? On this episode of Full Story, we look at some of the fundamental questions our listeners have about the coronavirus.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
With Football Federation Australia and its chief broadcaster Fox Sports on a collision course, it appears like many codes that Australian football is in dire straits. But could the Covid-19 pause offer a major chance to reframe the power imbalance between the A-League’s administrators and the one-time kingmaker of Australian sport?
How do you fit three grand tours, five one-day classics and a world championship in a diminished professional cycling calendar? That’s the headache organisers face, but it appears the Tour de France has been given priority, with a late August rescheduling.
Media roundup
Schools around Australia could reopen “within four to six weeks”, reports the Australian, with senior high school students the main priority given major end-of-year exams. The Sydney Morning Herald writes that retrenched workers are missing out on $1,500-a-fortnight jobkeeper payments because employers aren’t putting them back on the books. And nearly one in 10 Australians are still going grocery shopping every day, the Daily Telegraph reveals, with a YouGov poll detailing the extent to which many people remain confused about lockdown guidelines.
Coming up
National cabinet meets for the first time in a week, where leaders will consider ways to make Australian schools safer.
And if you’ve read this far …
Settling on baby names can be a tricky process. But for celebrity comedian Amy Schumer the laughter has all dried up nearly a year after welcoming her son: Gene Attell Fischer. Probably best if we just leave that one there.
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