Coronavirus live news: US cases pass 500,000 as Trump faces ‘biggest decision’ on curbs | World news

Publicly-funded US broadcaster Voice of America has rubbished criticism from the White House that it is promoting Chinese “foreign propaganda” on the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement on Friday, Donald Trump’s administration claimed VOA pushed Beijing’s message by tweeting a video of celebrations at the end of Wuhan’s quarantine measures, and noting the US had surpassed China’s death toll.

“VOA too often speaks for America’s adversaries – not its citizens,” the White House claimed, adding: “Journalists should report the facts, but VOA has instead amplified Beijing’s propaganda.”

At least 18,000 Americans have died from Covid-19, compared with about 3,000 Chinese nationals, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

VOA director Amanda Bennet pushed back at the criticism, while not mentioning the Trump administration, noting that the broadcaster had reported on China’s efforts to initially hide the coronavirus outbreak.

Congo has been battling an Ebola outbreak that has killed thousands of people for more than 18 months, and now it must also face the coronavirus pandemic.

Ebola has left those living in the country’s east weary and fearful, and, just as they were preparing to declare an end to the outbreak, a new case popped up. Now, they will now have to manage both threats at once.

The new virus has overwhelmed some of the worlds best hospital systems in Europe and ripped through communities in New York. In Congo, it could spread unchecked in a country that has endured decades of conflict. It’s also unclear how forthcoming international support will be at a time when the whole world is battling coronavirus.

It all feels like one big storm, said Martine Milonde, a Congolese community mobiliser who works with the aid group World Vision in Beni, which has been the center of the Ebola outbreak. Truly, this is a crisis within a crisis within a crisis. The community suffers from insecurity, and suffered under Ebola, and now may have to face Covid-19.

The Philippines has temporarily banned health workers from leaving for overseas jobs in an attempt to strengthen its own health systems.
On Friday the death toll from the coronavirus in the country reached 221, while confirmed cases totalled 4,195.
The ruling preventing doctors, nurses and others from taking work abroad has prompted an online petition from nurses and as well as criticism from medical groups.
“If the government wants to keep our health workers within our country, then we must offer competitive salaries and benefits so they will choose to stay, instead of being forced to,” Leah Paquiz of the nursing advocacy group Ang Nars told the Rappler website.

Here is a summary of the latest developments:

• Cases of coronavirus in the US have now topped 500,000, while 18,693 deaths have been recorded. Donald Trump, who is agitating for a reopening of the economy, said: “The facts are going to determine what I do.”
• More than 100 Australian and New Zealand passengers from the Antarctic cruise ship the Greg Mortimer have disembarked in Uruguay. Six Americans, five British citizens and passengers from other countries, as well 83 crew members, remain on board.
• South Korea has announced plans to strap tracking wristbands on people who ignore quarantine orders, with officials warning that stricter controls were required to enforce self-isolation rules.
• The head of the World Bank said he is confident that progress is being made towards debt relief for the world’s poorest countries.
• The UK’s health secretary, Matt Hancock, has said the Easter weekend will be a “test of the nation’s resolve” and issued another warning to the public to stay at home amid the coronavirus crisis.
• Singapore has suspended the use of video-conferencing tool Zoom by teachers after “very serious incidents” in the first week of a coronavirus lockdown that has seen schools move to home-based learning.

Thailand recorded 45 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, bringing the total in the country to 2,518. The death toll also rose from 33 to 35.

Earlier this week, officials defended the country’s approach to testing and surveillance, saying that health teams were focused on targeted testing, rather than rolling out mass tests. Some have questioned if the country’s low case numbers are due to a lack of testing. Between January and April, 71,860 samples have been tested.

South Korea has announced plans to strap tracking wristbands on people who ignore quarantine orders, with officials warning that stricter controls were required to enforce self-isolation rules.

Some of the 57,000 people who are under orders to stay home have apparently slipped out by leaving behind their smartphones, which are currently used to monitor movement.

A South Korean health official, Yoon Tae-ho, acknowledged privacy concerns but said the wristbands were necessary because the number of people under self-quarantine has soared over recent weeks. Since April 1, the country has required new arrivals from abroad to isolate for 14-day.

Lee Beom-seok, an official from the ministry of the interior and safety, said the government could not force people to wear the wristbands, but that citizens would be asked to sign consent forms. Those who agree to do so could be considered for lighter punishment. People can face up to a year in prison or fined as much as $8,200 for breaking quarantine orders in the country.

South Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 886 of the countrys 10,480 coronavirus infections have been traced to international arrivals.

Here’s a bit of positive news from Turkey, where doctors are celebrating the recovery of a 93-year-old woman, Alye Gunduz, who was discharged from an Istanbul hospital following 10 days of treatment.

“It is promising because patients at this age and with chronic diseases are most of the time unable to recover because they are at highest risk from Covid-19,” chief physician Zekayi Kutlubay told AFP.

Turkey has registered more than 47,000 Covid-19 cases – ranking it among the 10 most infected countries in the world. It has recorded over a thousand deaths.

“A 93-year-old woman walking out of intensive care sound and safe is inspiring for us as well as for other coronavirus patients at her age,” said Kutlubay.

The World Bank president David Malpass has said he is confident that progress is being made, following his call for debt relief for the world’s poorest countries.

The call for a temporary pause in payments, made jointly with the International Monetary Fund, will be discussed next week by finance officials of both the G7 and G20 economies, he said.

It has been proposed that China and other big creditors should suspend debt payments from International Development Association (IDA) countries beginning May 1, freeing up resources for them to fight against the pandemic. The IDA countries are home to a quarter of the world’s population and two-thirds of the world’s population living in extreme poverty.

The issue is particularly critical for G20 member China, which has sharply increased lending to developing countries over the past two decades.
China’s government, banks and companies lent some $143 billion to Africa between 2000-2017, much of it for large-scale infrastructure projects, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. By some estimates, Chinese lending now dwarfs World Bank loans in Africa.