| Pence suggests coronavirus social distancing won’t end soon Posted: 09 Apr 2020 07:07 PM PDT  At the daily briefing of the White House coronavirus task force on Thursday evening, Vice President Mike Pence indicated that the end to those restrictions might not come anytime soon.
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| The one data point that suggests both New York and California are getting coronavirus under control Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:02 AM PDT  Good news about the coronavirus is in short supply. The United States' confirmed case count is approaching half a million — more than triple any other country's. But if it's good news you're after, pay attention to the hospitalization data in New York and California.
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| Wuhan is open and infections are down, but China's coronavirus numbers can't be trusted Posted: 10 Apr 2020 12:14 PM PDT  China this week reopened Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus pandemic was first detected, claiming that new infections were in the single digits. But in recent days Beijing has been accused of reporting inaccurate counts of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
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| U.S. Navy destroyer transits Taiwan Strait on same day as Chinese drills Posted: 10 Apr 2020 07:15 PM PDT |
| Cruise workers on Holland America's Rotterdam ship say they were forced into a perilous rescue mission of the COVID-19 stricken Zaandam, and now hundreds of crew members are stranded onboard wondering what's next. Posted: 11 Apr 2020 08:27 AM PDT  "The Rotterdam was told it was on a humanitarian mission to bring supplies to the Zaandam," one crew member said.
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| Yemen's Houthi rebels sentence 4 reporters to death Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:26 AM PDT  A court run by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday sentenced four journalists to death after their conviction on spying charges, their defense lawyer said. The four were among a group of 10 journalists who were detained by the Iran-backed rebels and accused of "collaborating with the enemy," in reference to the Saudi-led coalition that has been at war with the Houthis since 2015, lawyer Abdel-Majeed Sabra said. Sabra identified the four who were sentenced to death as Abdel-Khaleq Amran, Akram al-Walidi, Hareth Hamid and Tawfiq al-Mansouri.
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| Rand Paul, Thomas Massie slam Kentucky Gov. Beshear over quarantine plan for Easter churchgoers Posted: 11 Apr 2020 07:04 AM PDT  Kentucky Gov. Beshear said Friday that law enforcement will record license plate numbers of those attending religious services to enforce quarantines.
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| Coronavirus: New York has more cases than any country Posted: 10 Apr 2020 04:14 AM PDT  Photos emerge of workers in hazmat outfits stacking coffins in a mass grave in New York City.
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| Faulty masks. Flawed tests. China's quality control problem in leading global COVID-19 fight Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:18 AM PDT  Chinese companies producing faulty testing kits and masks are marring Beijing's attempts to assert leadership in the fight against the coronavirus.
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| Experimental drug may help very sick coronavirus patients, early research suggests Posted: 10 Apr 2020 04:38 PM PDT  While promising, the drug still needs to undergo rigorous clinical trials to know for sure how effective it is.
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| Saudi, Russia outline record oil cut under U.S. pressure as demand crashes Posted: 09 Apr 2020 06:46 PM PDT  OPEC, Russia and other allies outlined plans on Thursday to cut their oil output by more than a fifth and said they expected the United States and other producers to join in their effort to prop up prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis. The planned output curbs by OPEC+ amount to 10 million barrels per day (bpd) or 10% of global supplies, with another 5 million bpd expected to come from other nations to help deal with the deepest oil crisis in decades. Global fuel demand has plunged by around 30 million bpd, or 30% of global supplies, as steps to fight the virus have grounded planes, cut vehicle usage and curbed economic activity.
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| Boeing's Washington facilities closed indefinitely due to COVID-19. Take a look at the greatest successes and failures which were built there. Posted: 11 Apr 2020 05:58 AM PDT  Boeing has been building iconic passenger aircraft at three production facilities in the Seattle area since World War II.
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| African nations, U.S. condemn racism against blacks in China Posted: 11 Apr 2020 09:09 AM PDT  African officials are condemning China publicly and in private over the mistreatment of Africans in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, and the U.S. says African-Americans have been targeted too.
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| Libya War Escalation Is Straining ‘Decimated’ Health System Posted: 10 Apr 2020 04:41 AM PDT |
| Donald Trump prepares task force to lift coronavirus lockdown but health experts warn it is too soon Posted: 10 Apr 2020 05:15 PM PDT  Donald Trump says he will soon be announcing a second coronavirus task force, creating a council to focus on re-opening the country after the worst of the pandemic passes. "We will be announcing that in a short while. Probably Tuesday," Mr Trump told reporters during the daily coronavirus task force briefing. The US president said he would be announcing the launch of what he dubbed the "Opening our Country" task force "as soon as possible". With the US economy reeling and job losses soaring, Mr Trump has been itching to reopen the country, drawing alarm from health experts who warn that doing so too quickly could spark a deadly resurgence that could undermine current distancing efforts. Experts on Friday insisted that the US was not ready to lift social distancing measures.
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| 'We're Catching It Double.' Amid Coronavirus Lockdowns, Gun Violence Continues to Plague Chicago Posted: 11 Apr 2020 09:20 AM PDT  Since Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced a stay-at-home order for the state that went into effect on March 21, there have been over 80 shootings and at least 70 shooting victims, according to the Chicago Police Department (CPD). In the same period at least 12 people have died.
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| African community targeted in China virus crackdown Posted: 10 Apr 2020 11:00 PM PDT  Africans in southern China's largest city say they have become targets of suspicion and subjected to forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines and mass coronavirus testing as the country steps up its fight against imported infections. China says it has largely curbed its COVID-19 outbreak but a recent cluster of cases linked to the Nigerian community in Guangzhou sparked the alleged discrimination by locals and virus prevention officials. Local authorities in the industrial centre of 15 million said at least eight people diagnosed with the illness had spent time in the city's Yuexiu district, known as "Little Africa".
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| NYC mayor says schools will stay closed rest of year, Cuomo says not so fast Posted: 11 Apr 2020 10:39 AM PDT  "He didn't close them, and he can't reopen," Cuomo said of the the vast school district that serves over 1.1 million students in 1,800 schools.
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| Iran renews coronavirus warning as 'low risk' activities re-start Posted: 11 Apr 2020 01:32 AM PDT  President Hassan Rouhani urged Iranians to continue to respect measures to guard against the new coronavirus as "low-risk" business activities resumed in most of the country on Saturday, state news agency IRNA reported. "Easing restrictions does not mean ignoring health protocols ... Social distancing and other health protocols should be respected seriously by people," Rouhani was quoted saying. In Qom, a city of 1.2 million which was the early epicentre of Iran's coronavirus outbreak, some 24,000 businesses were expected to re-open, state TV said.
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| Teams are retrieving up to 280 bodies a day from NYC homes. Not all of them are counted in the official death tally. Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:01 AM PDT  Health officials say the actual number of people dying from COVID-19 in New York City is likely far higher than the official daily death tolls show.
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| Vietnam reports thousands of people linked to COVID-19 hot spot tested negative Posted: 10 Apr 2020 01:11 PM PDT  More than 1,000 health care workers and 14,400 others linked to a COVID-19 outbreak at a hospital in Hanoi have tested negative for the coronavirus, the Vietnamese capital's ruling body said on Thursday.
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| 10 Cosmic Close Calls That Changed Spaceflight Posted: 11 Apr 2020 06:46 AM PDT |
| The Secret Weapon Giving Mexico Power in the Oil Price War Posted: 11 Apr 2020 02:22 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- As Mexico and Saudi Arabia fight over a deal to bring the oil-price war to an end, Mexico has a powerful defense: a massive Wall Street hedge shielding it from low prices.With talks well into their third day, the Mexican sovereign oil hedge, which insures the Latin American country against low prices and is considered a state secret, is a factor that may make the country less inclined to accept the OPEC+ agreement.For the last two decades, Mexico has bought so-called Asian style put options from a small group of investment banks and oil companies, in what's considered Wall Street's largest -- and most closely guarded -- annual oil deal.The options give Mexico the right to sell its oil at a predetermined price. They are the equivalent of an insurance policy: the country banks all gains from higher prices but enjoys the security of a minimum floor. So if oil prices remain weak or plunge even further, Mexico will still book higher prices.The hedge isn't the only reason Mexico is holding out. But it strengthens the country's hand and makes it less desperate for a deal than countries whose budgets have been ravaged by the collapse in oil prices since the start of the year -- first because of the coronavirus and then because of the price war launched by Saudi Arabia.The main reason driving President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a left-wing populist, to resist the deal is his pledge to revive oil production via state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos. Slashing 400,000 barrels a day to comply with the OPEC+ deal, rather than the 100,000 barrels a day that Mexico has counter-offered to Saudi Arabia, would put on hold his ambitious plan to return Pemex to its former glory.The hedge has shielded Mexico in every downturn over the last 20 years: it made $5.1 billion when prices crashed in 2009 during the global financial crisis, and it received $6.4 billion in 2015 and another $2.7 billion in 2016 after Saudi Arabia waged another price war.The operation comes at a cost. In recent years, Mexico has spent about $1 billion annually buying the options."The insurance policy isn't cheap," Mexican Finance Minister Arturo Herrera told broadcaster Televisa on March 10. "But it's insurance for times like now. Our fiscal budget isn't going to be hit."Pemex, the state-owned company, has its own separate, smaller oil hedge. This year, Pemex hedged 234,000 barrels a day at an average of $49 a barrel.State SecretMexico has disclosed very few details about its insurance for 2020 after it declared the sovereign hedge a state secret. However, based on limited public information, alongside historical data about previous years, it's possible to make a rough estimate of the potential payout if prices remain low.The government told lawmakers it has guaranteed revenues to support the assumptions for oil prices made in the country's budget -- of $49 a barrel for the Mexican oil export basket, equivalent to about $60-$65 a barrel for Brent crude.It locks in that revenue via two elements: the hedge, and the country's oil stabilization fund. The fund historically has only provided $2-$5 a barrel, so it's realistic to assume that Mexico hedged at $45 a barrel at least for its crude. In the past, Mexico has hedged around 250 million barrels, equal to nearly all its net oil exports in an operation that runs from Dec. 1 to Nov. 30.Using all those elements, a rough calculation suggests that if the Mexican oil export basket were to remain at current levels, the country would receive a multi-billion dollar payout. Since December, the Mexican oil basket has averaged $42 a barrel.If current low prices for Mexican oil continue until the end of November, the average would drop to just above $20 a barrel, and the hedge would pay out close to $6 billion, according to Bloomberg News calculations.Representatives of the Finance Ministry and Energy Ministry declined to comment.(Updates tenth paragraph with Pemex hedge volume and final paragraph with Finance Ministry and Energy Ministry comments.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Exclusive: Russia collecting intelligence on U.S. supply line failures amid coronavirus crisis, DHS warns Posted: 10 Apr 2020 04:05 PM PDT  Russian spies are using the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to collect intelligence on U.S. supply lines, which have struggled to provide sufficient medical equipment, according to an intelligence report issued earlier this week by the Department of Homeland Security and obtained by Yahoo News.
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| Coronavirus forces adjustments in Good Friday worship Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:36 AM PDT  Coronavirus forces changes in Good Friday worship.
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| Iran begins lifting restrictions after brief virus lockdown Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:05 AM PDT  Iran began reopening government offices Saturday after a brief nationwide lockdown to help contain the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East, which has killed more than 4,300 people in the country. Authorities had ordered most government agencies and all non-essential businesses to remain closed for a week after the Nowruz holiday ended on April 4. In Egypt, meanwhile, police used tear gas to disperse a group of villagers who tried to stop the burial of a physician who died from the COVID-19 illness caused by the virus.
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| NYC mayor says schools will stay closed rest of year, Cuomo says not so fast Posted: 11 Apr 2020 10:39 AM PDT "He didn't close them, and he can't reopen," Cuomo said of the the vast school district that serves over 1.1 million students in 1,800 schools.
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| UK pledges 200 million pounds in aid to help stop second coronavirus wave Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:04 PM PDT  Britain said on Sunday it was pledging 200 million pounds ($248 million) to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and charities to help slow the spread of the coronavirus in vulnerable countries and so help prevent a second wave of infections. More than 1.6 million people are reported to have been infected by the novel coronavirus globally and deaths have topped 100,000 according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in 210 countries since the first cases were identified in China in December last year and British aid minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said assisting the poorest nations now would help prevent the virus returning to the United Kingdom.
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| Sweden said it didn't need a lockdown because people could be trusted to socially distance themselves. The government still says the strategy is working. Posted: 10 Apr 2020 03:33 AM PDT  Sweden's Parliament is preparing in case it needs to introduce more restrictions, but for now the government is defending its unusual strategy.
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| Alaska Dems says they received twice as many ballots than in 2016 Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:28 PM PDT  Joe BIden is the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee after Sanders suspended his campaign earlier this week, although Sanders remained on the ballot in Alaska.
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| Coronavirus: Why Pakistan's doctors are so angry Posted: 10 Apr 2020 07:40 AM PDT  A photograph of the president in PPE has further inflamed tensions during the coronavirus crisis.
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| Europe Is Looking at Several More Weeks of Virus Lockdowns Posted: 10 Apr 2020 03:34 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Italy and Spain are preparing for several more weeks under lockdown as volatile coronavirus infection rates prevent Europe's governments from easing curbs on public life.Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, whose country has reported the most virus-linked deaths worldwide, is leaning toward an extension to early May, though a small number of businesses may be allowed to reopen. Spain prolonged a state of emergency until April 25 and the U.K. also is likely to extend restrictions.German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined Spain and Italy on Thursday in upholding curbs on people's movement and face-to-face contacts, saying progress in defeating the pandemic is "fragile" and it's too early to relent. In a plea echoed elsewhere in Europe, she called on Germans to abide by the measures over the long Easter weekend."We must stay focused," she said after a cabinet meeting.As the pandemic maintains its grip on Europe, policy makers are caught between the urgent need to restart battered economies and calls by health officials to maintain lockdowns. Political uncertainty in the U.K. eased after Prime Minister Boris Johnson was released from intensive care, though he remained hospitalized to recover from a coronavirus infection.Merkel's cautious words echo the approach in other European countries faced with major outbreaks. Italy reported a rise in deaths and infections, while France's death toll increased with a backlog of data from nursing homes. U.K. deaths, though lower than in Europe's worst-hit countries, rose by 881 to almost 8,000."We're not done yet, we must keep going," Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, who is deputizing for Johnson, said in London. "Deaths are still rising, and we still haven't seen the peak of the virus."Conte's DilemmaItaly's containment measures run until Monday. Conte is inclined to keep those restrictions fundamentally unchanged, according to three trade union and business representatives who met with him on Thursday. The Italian premier is expected to announce an extension as early as Friday, according to two officials.Any slight easing will be gradual and on a regional basis, according to the officials, who asked not to be identified by name in line with policy. Businesses that could be allowed to open include bookshops and stationary stores, agricultural machinery makers, forestry companies and perhaps sellers of baby clothes, according to newspaper Corriere della Sera.With expanded testing under way, Italy recorded Thursday a second straight increase in the number of daily new coronavirus cases, counting 4,204 confirmed infections compared with 3,836 on Wednesday. Another 610 patients died, bringing the death toll to 18,279, according to civil protection authorities.Infections in Spain rose to more than 157,000 and deaths surpassed 15,800 on Friday, underscoring the severity of Europe's most-extensive outbreak, even as daily fatalities slowed to the lowest since March 24.Spanish lawmakers extended a national state of emergency for a second time on Thursday as the opposition People's Party joined Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's coalition government in supporting the measure. His government's poll ratings have declined as the virus ravaged Spain's health system.Get Going AgainFrance reported 1,341 new deaths from the coronavirus on Thursday after including two days of data from nursing homes, while the number of intensive-care patients declined for the first time since the outbreak began."So we can hope for a leveling off, but it's a very high leveling off," Jerome Salomon, head France's public health agency, said at a briefing. "It remains to be confirmed in the days ahead."New cases in Germany climbed the most in five days, according to figures Thursday from Johns Hopkins University. Merkel and the premiers of Germany's 16 states plan to meet on Wednesday to consider the next steps."I would really love to be the first one to say to you that everything is how it was and we can get things going again," Merkel said Thursday. "But that's not the case. My job right now is to say what is happening now."(Updates with Spanish data from Friday in 11th paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Report: Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen moved to solitary confinement Posted: 10 Apr 2020 03:45 AM PDT  President Trump's former personal attorney has reportedly been placed in solitary confinement at a federal prison.
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| U.S. now leads world in deaths, day after Trump announces 'opening our country' task force Posted: 11 Apr 2020 02:18 PM PDT  As the president mulls when restrictive coronavirus measures might start to be lifted, the U.S. passed a grim milestone of leading the world in deaths from the virus.
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| Texas governor vows to issue an executive order to end state's lockdown and help residents 'get back into the workforce' Posted: 11 Apr 2020 11:56 AM PDT  "One thing about Texans, they enjoy working and they want to get back into the workforce," said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
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| Doctors, nurses in Good Friday procession at Vatican Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:48 AM PDT  A pair of white-coated doctors who care for coronavirus patients participated in a torch-lit Good Friday procession, watched over by Pope Francis and held in a hauntingly nearly empty St. Peter's Square instead of at Rome's Colosseum because of the safety measures aimed at containing the virus' spread. Francis presided over the late-night ceremony from the steps outside St. Peter's Basilica as the procession circled 10 times around the square's central obelisk, slowly following a path marked by candles set on the square's cobblestones. The Way of the Cross procession, also known by its Latin name, Via Crucis, evokes Jesus suffering on his way to be crucified.
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| Iran's virus, sanctions-hit economy slowly reopens Posted: 11 Apr 2020 07:58 AM PDT  Iran allowed small businesses outside the capital to reopen Saturday, arguing the sanctions-hit economy in the country with the deadliest coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East cannot stay in lockdown. Iranians in several provinces reported a significant increase in cars on the roads as people went back to work, as some said the government's relaxation of measures was sending mixed messages.
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| 'The curve is continuing to flatten': Cuomo says New York coronavirus hospitalizations have hit an apex Posted: 11 Apr 2020 12:10 PM PDT  The death toll in New York is "stabilizing at a horrific rate," Cuomo said in his daily coronavirus update on Saturday.
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| India to export wheat to Afghanistan, Lebanon in diplomatic deals Posted: 10 Apr 2020 06:59 PM PDT  India will export 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan and 40,000 tonnes of the grain to Lebanon in diplomatic deals, the Indian farm minister said on Friday. Since India has produced more wheat than it consumes, New Delhi has decided to export the grain to Afghanistan and Lebanon after receiving requests from the two countries, Narendra Singh Tomar said in a Tweet. The Indian government has asked the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd, a farmers' cooperative, to supply wheat to Afghanistan and Lebanon under a government-to-government deal, Tomar said.
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| US Postal Service investigating issues with absentee ballots in Wisconsin that went undelivered Posted: 10 Apr 2020 06:52 PM PDT  The Postal Service said in a statement that it's looking into claims about absentee ballots that weren't delivered in time for Wisconsin's primary.
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| Italy Extends Lockdown to May in Signal to European Business Posted: 10 Apr 2020 09:02 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Italy extended a national lockdown until May 3, rejecting calls by business leaders to allow a gradual restart of the economy.The decision reflects a pattern playing out in many parts of Europe as health officials and politicians warn against letting up too early on restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus and avoid a second wave of infections.As deaths surpassed 100,000 worldwide on Friday, the absence of public Easter holiday celebrations in Europe underscored the pandemic's decimating impact on public life and business. Italy, Spain, France and the U.K. reported more than 3,000 new virus-linked deaths over the latest 24-hour period."There are clear indications that the restrictive measures are bearing fruit," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said at a news conference. "If we yield now we would risk, as our experts tell us, losing all the positive results we have achieved so far."With a ban on non-essential business crippling Europe's weakest major economy, Conte said he was giving a limited range of business and shops a waiver to resume activity. He held out the prospect of a gradual restart of normal life after May 3, though strict health protocols would remain in force.Conte named Vittorio Colao, former chief executive officer of Vodafone Group Plc, to head a task force that will help map Italy's exit from the lockdown. The country "can't wait for the virus to disappear completely," Conte said.Meanwhile, the U.S. said it will provide medical supplies and help set up field hospitals in Italy, according to a memorandum released by the White House on Friday night.The U.K. reported its biggest daily increase in deaths since the outbreak began as 980 patients succumbed to the coronavirus in the latest period, increasing the death toll to almost 9,000.Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been receiving treatment for coronavirus in a London hospital, has "been able to do short walks, between periods of rest, as part of the care he is receiving to aid his recovery," a spokesman said.Spain, which has Europe's second-highest death toll after Italy, reported the smallest increase in coronavirus fatalities since March 24 on Friday.Pale SunlightPeople in Spain are settling in for at least another two weeks of a lockdown that only allows people out to supermarkets and pharmacies. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the state of emergency, prolonged on Thursday, is likely to be extended again beyond April 25.France reported the most new coronavirus deaths among Europe's four worst-hit countries. After more than three weeks of lockdown, President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation on Monday about extending confinement measures.While the number of patients in intensive care in France fell for the second consecutive day, a senior health official cautioned against reading too much into the data."It's a very slight decrease," Director General for Health Jerome Salomon said at a briefing. "It's a pale ray of sunlight."Italy's restrictions ban movement within the country and confine people to their homes except for work, health or emergency reasons. The euro area's third-biggest economy is poised to shrink by 15% this year, according to UniCredit SpA.Conte made limited concessions on Friday, saying bookshops, stationery stores, sellers of baby clothes and companies linked to forestry could reopen.'Insufficient' ResponseHe said he'll continue pressing for common European debt — so-called eurobonds — as the best instrument for the European Union response to the devastating economic impact.Euro-area finance ministers on Thursday agreed on a 540 billion-euro ($590 billion) package of measures, including a temporary fund to spark the recovery. They avoided the most divisive question, mentioning only "innovative financial instruments" rather than an explicit reference to joint debt as demanded by Italy and other countries.Conte rebuffed allegations by the League party's Matteo Salvini and other opposition leaders that his government had signed up to seek the help of the European Stability Mechanism, the euro area's bailout fund.Italy won't tap a credit line worth as much as 240 billion euros for medical spending and will veto any "insufficient" aid package, Conte said.(Adds U.S. offer to help Italy in seventh paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| "It's been torture": LGBTQ health care suffers amid coronavirus Posted: 10 Apr 2020 03:39 PM PDT  Access to adequate health care has always been a struggle for the transgender community. Coronavirus just made it even worse.
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| U.S. now leads world in deaths, day after Trump announces 'opening our country' task force Posted: 11 Apr 2020 02:18 PM PDT As the president mulls when restrictive coronavirus measures might start to be lifted, the U.S. passed a grim milestone of leading the world in deaths from the virus.
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| We can't shelter in place forever: How the coronavirus lockdown might end Posted: 10 Apr 2020 04:00 AM PDT  The coronavirus changed our lives. Health experts discuss how we might get back to normal.
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| UN chief warns COVID-19 threatens global peace and security Posted: 09 Apr 2020 05:49 PM PDT  Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic is threatening international peace and security — "potentially leading to an increase in social unrest and violence that would greatly undermine our ability to fight the disease." The closed meeting was the first by the council on the pandemic and afterward it issued its first brief press statement expressing "support for all efforts of the secretary-general concerning the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to conflict-affected countries and recalled the need for unity and solidarity with all those affected."
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| 'There are two pandemics': Chicago's gun violence persists amid lockdown Posted: 11 Apr 2020 06:05 AM PDT  Shootings and murders have remained fairly consistent during shelter-in-place, with the city registering more shootings in March than the previous year * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageThe coronavirus pandemic has forced Chicago into lockdown, closing restaurants, bars, stores and even its celebrated lakefront. But the crisis hasn't slowed the city's devastating gun violence epidemic.While crime overall has ticked down slightly amid shelter-in-place orders from local leaders, shootings and murders have remained fairly consistent so far, with the city registering more shootings in March this year than the previous year.During the first weekend of April, two were killed and 18 were wounded, mostly on the city's predominantly black and brown South and West Sides. On Tuesday, as unseasonably warm temperatures in Chicago rose into the 80sF (27C), the city endured its most violent day of 2020, with at least 21 shot – including a five-year-old girl – and six killed."Violence of any kind is never acceptable," the mayor, Lori Lightfoot, said at a news conference this week decrying the violence. "But the fact that this is especially urgent right now as our ability to treat all Chicagoans is being stretched to the breaking point, we cannot allow this to happen and we will not allow this to happen."The ongoing violence in America's third-largest city puts additional strain to a healthcare system struggling to combat the novel coronavirus – and could be exacerbated by the pandemic that has dramatically altered life in the city for the foreseeable future.default "Anger, frustration and depression doesn't get put on hold while there's a pandemic going on," said Pastor Michael Pfleger of St Sabina, on the city's South Side. "It's still there, and it's heightened right now. All it does is heighten the reality of the neglect."The coronavirus has brought to the fore the existing racial disparities in Chicago, with black residents representing a majority of Covid-19 deaths in the city and Cook county. Experts fear that the health and economic impacts of the pandemic may worsen the structural conditions that feed the violence issues, compounding the city's already pronounced race and class inequalities."I think there's going to be a lasting impact on this, even beyond the direct public health impact of Covid," said Max Kapustin, senior researcher at the University of Chicago Crime Lab.The continued violence comes as hospitals in Chicago, like New York and other communities across the US that have been hit hard so far by the outbreak, grapple with a pandemic that has stretched their limited resources.Illinois's governor, JB Pritzker, has warned that intensive care unit beds are filling up quickly and that the state needs more ventilators, as the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases here rises above 15,000 and its death toll nears 500."Every one of those beds, every one of those ER beds, taken up by a gunshot victim could be somebody's grandmother, somebody with pre-existing conditions, somebody that is in danger of losing their lives because of the pandemic," Charlie Beck, the city's interim police chief, said in a news conference with Lightfoot."There are two pandemics in Chicago," Beck said, "and only one is virus-induced."> Anger, frustration and depression doesn't get put on hold while there's a pandemic going on> > Pastor Michael PflegerAt Mount Sinai hospital in Douglas Park on Chicago's West Side, one of the busiest trauma centers in the country, the dueling crises of Covid-19 and gun violence have stretched staff and resources.Even for longtime medical professionals at the facility on the frontline of the city's violence epidemic, the coronavirus pandemic has been shocking."I'm amazed by it," said Michele Mazurek, chief nurse officer and vice-president of patient care services. "We're used to trauma patients here. Covid is almost like its own trauma itself."The continued gun violence has forced the hospital to put into place its surge plan, with educators, nurse practitioners and Mazurek herself providing patient care at the hospital."The influx sometimes is incredible," Mazurek said. "It is stressing on our emergency room."Mount Sinai officials said it has been able to maintain a high level of care despite the obstacles, thanks to the efforts of staff. But, they said, the situation has already taken a toll on healthcare workers."I've been a nurse since 1993," Mazurek said. "This has been the hardest experience I've ever lived through."As of Wednesday, Chicago had seen a reported 550 shootings in 2020 – up 64 from last year. That number will probably continue to grow, particularly as the weather warms into the summer months, when violence in the city tends to spike."Unfortunately, the epidemic of gun violence continues to plague us every day, every hour of the day," Lightfoot said on Wednesday. "This level of violence is never acceptable. Never, ever."
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