Month: November 2020

A key member of U.S. President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force says the nation is entering a “deadly phase” of the nearly year-long COVID-19 pandemic.  News outlets say Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force’s coordinator, issued a memo Monday urging administration officials to undertake “an aggressive balanced approach” between lockdowns and taking steps to control the virus, including urging Americans to wear masks, observe social distancing and launch an aggressive testing program.  FILE - Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator speaks during press briefing with the Coronavirus Task Force, at the White House, March 18, 2020, in Washington.Dr. Birx’s memo contradicts President Trump’s assertions during his re-election campaign speeches that the country is “rounding the corner” of the pandemic, which has claimed more than 230,000 lives and sickened…

Nicaragua is bracing for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Eta. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the potentially catastrophic hurricane could make landfall early Tuesday, with winds in excess of 248 kilometers per hour.  Thousands of people on Monday began evacuating Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast, where a hurricane warning is posted from the Honduras-Nicaragua border to Sandy Bay Sirpi.  The hurricane is located 75 kilometers east of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua.  Forecasters warn of flooding and landslides, especially in central and northern Nicaragua and most of Honduras.  Eastern Guatemala, southern Belize and Jamaica are also expected to get heavy rain. Eta is already impacting life in Honduras. Cancellations are said to be coming in ahead of a five-day national vacation aimed at bolstering tourism and bringing some financial help to the pandemic weary economy.  Eta is the eighth Atlantic storm of the hurricane season, which ends November 30.  ...

The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has surpassed 1.2 million people as many countries around the world contend with rising infection rates from the virus.  The fatalities are among the 46.8 million total cases compiled in the ongoing pandemic collected by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center and comes as the European continent reaches its own grim threshold of more than 10 million confirmed coronavirus cases.  Europe is in the grip of a second wave of the virus, with a number of nations, including Belgium, Britain, France and Germany, imposing a new set of lockdowns in an effort to contain the surge.  In Spain, the number of coronavirus infections rose by 55,019 on Monday, the biggest increase since the start of the pandemic, according to health ministry…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is defending plans to impose a nationwide lockdown beginning Thursday, warning that a failure to act could cause up to twice as many deaths this winter as during the first wave in the spring. The country is recording several hundred COVID-19 deaths and at least 20,000 new coronavirus infections every day. Government scientists say infection rates are exceeding worst-case scenarios modeled just weeks ago.  Johnson offered a stark warning to British lawmakers in Parliament Monday. “To those in this House who believe we should resist further national measures, let me spell out the medical and moral disaster we face,” Johnson told members of Parliament. “If we allow our health system to be overwhelmed, exactly as the data now suggests, then that would not only be a disaster…

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Monday she would not rule out shutting down all or part of the country to address a recent surge in new COVID-19 cases. At a news conference in Edinburgh, Sturgeon reminded reporters that when she laid out the nation’s five-tiered (0-4) alert system last week, she said she would not rule out a move to level four — a shutdown of all bars and restaurants and a ban on indoor socializing, among other restrictions — for all or parts of Scotland. According to the government’s website, no area of Scotland is currently at an alert level higher that three, which still allows for hospitality businesses to be open, though on a limited basis.   Sturgeon stressed the need for everyone to follow the restrictions that apply to…

More than 3.6 million Slovaks — around two thirds of the population — took part in a widely-watched nationwide coronavirus testing scheme over the weekend, Prime Minister Igor Matovic said on Monday.   The scheme to test the bulk of the country in a matter of days is being studied by other nations looking for ways to slow the virus and avoid overwhelming their health systems.   A total of 38,359 people or 1.06% of those who took part tested positive and must quarantine, Matovic told a news conference.   "I deeply believe that this solution will work in Slovakia on the condition that those who received certification that they are negative will continue to act responsibly and those who got a positive result will remain in quarantine with their families," he…

The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has surpassed 1.2 million people, according to data collected by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.  The fatalities are among the 46.5 million total cases compiled in the nearly year-long pandemic, and comes as the European continent reaches its own grim threshold of more than 10 million confirmed coronavirus cases.   Europe is in the grips of a second wave of the virus, with a number of nations, including Belgium, Britain, France and Germany, imposing a new set of lockdowns in an effort to contain the surge.   Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director of the World Health Organization, announced Sunday that he is in self-quarantine after he was identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.  Dr. Tedros…

The death toll from a super typhoon that struck the main Philippine island of Luzon Sunday has risen to 16. Typhoon Goni made landfall on Luzon carrying maximum sustained winds of 225 kilometers per hour, making it the strongest typhoon to hit the Pacific archipelago this year. Goni’s arrival comes a week after Typhoon Molave hit the same region, killing 22 people. Richard Gordon, the chief of the Philippine Red Cross, says up to 90% of homes across Catanduanes Island, which was in the path of Typhoon Goni on its way to Luzon were damaged or destroyed.  Goni caused power outages, infrastructure damage and major floods.  Video footage from local and social media showed rivers overflowing and some dikes destroyed, submerging villages and damaging farmland. Officials also say a landfall of volcanic ash…

Iran's daily tally of coronavirus deaths hit a record high of 434 on Sunday, the Health Ministry announced, and the head of a top medical body said the actual toll was at least three times higher than the official count.  The deaths, announced by Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari on state TV, take the official toll to 35,298 in the Middle East's worst-hit country. She said the number of confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 7,719 to 620,491. The head of Iran's Medical Council, Mohammadreza Zafarghandi, doubted the accuracy of the official toll and warned that Iran had reached a "catastrophic mortality rate", the Students News Agency ISNA reported on Sunday. "The official death toll is only based on the number of registered patients," Zafarghandi told ISNA. "Through field surveys in hospitals…

Britain Sunday became the ninth country with more than 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases. According to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, as of early Sunday, Britain had 1,014,794 infections and 46,645 deaths. After resisting mounting calls for weeks to impose a national lockdown as COVID-19 cases were rising, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Saturday joined his counterparts in France, Germany and Belgium in ordering a nationwide shutdown. New national lockdown restrictions will go into effect across England Thursday and last for a month. Wales announced a lockdown last week, and Scottish leaders say the next few days will be critical for Scotland to avoid a lockdown.   However, schools and universities as well as courts are to stay open. The construction industry will also be allowed to operate. There will,…