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24 MARCH 2020
...And Now the GOOD NEWS! || Episode 37 || Chinese Send Italy Masks, Canadians Start A Caremongering Campaign (video)
Robert Brzezinski, 24 March 2020
Focus: General
* JOANN Fabrics Gives Away Mask Making Supplies, US Businesses Giving Away Toilet Paper, Medical Dramas Donating TV Medical Supplies to Hospitals, IKEA Discovers Lost Medical Masks - Donates to Local University.
As the Coronavirus Approaches, Mexico Looks the Other Way (video)
The Dispatch, 24 March 2020
Focus: Mexico
* “This is going to be as bad as Italy or worse.” As much of the world shuts down amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic, Mexico City’s streets are bustling and the country’s president insists on calm.
Coronavirus en Paraguay: Dos menores en el grupo de contagiados (video)
SNT Paraguay, 24 March 2020
Focus: Paraguay
* Estas son las muestras numéricas de las personas contagiadas por el COVID-19, entre ellos se encuentran menores de 18 años.
Coronavirus: Guyanese pleading with health authorities for daily updates
St Lucia News, 24 March 2020
Focus: Guyana
* With Guyana having confirmed five cases with one death, the Ministry has only held two press conferences to address the pandemic – March 11 and March 17.
Coronavirus outbreak: This is what cities across Canada look like during the COVID-19 pandemic
Global News, 24 March 2020
Focus: Canada
* Global News filmed cities across Canada as the novel coronavirus outbreak continues to spread. In the midst of social distancing measures, streets and public spaces were largely empty.
Egypt imposes nighttime curfew to slow coronavirus
Aljazeera, 24 March 2020
Focus: Egypt
* Nationwide two-week curfew from 7pm to 6am will begin on Wednesday, as closure of schools and universities is extended.
Europe must act to stop coronavirus outbreak in Lesbos, say MEPs (video)
Euronews, 24 March 2020
Focus: Greece
* NGOs and MEPs are calling on the EU to act to prevent an outbreak of novel coronavirus in overcrowded camps in Greece.
Italy's death toll falls for the second consecutive day | Coronavirus Update (video)
DW News, 24 March 2020
Focus: Italy
* Official Coronavirus figures from Italy offer a glimmer of hope that lockdown measures introduced two weeks ago have slowed the spread of the virus.
* Official Coronavirus figures from Italy offer a glimmer of hope that lockdown measures introduced two weeks ago have slowed the spread of the virus.
Namibia announces travel ban, partial lockdown after seventh coronavirus case
Reuters via IOL, 24 March 2020
Focus: Namibia
* Health Minister Kalumbi Shangula announced on Tuesday that travel into Namibia from all countries is banned with immediate effect for a period of 30 days after the Southwest African country recorded its seventh confirmed case of coronavirus.
TB, HIV and COVID-19: urgent questions as three epidemics collide
The Conversation, 24 March 2020
Focus: South Africa
* Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV pose a significant burden on South Africa’s health system. There’s a close relationship between the two. About 60% of TB patients are also HIV-positive. The novel coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2) is likely to be of particular concern for communities with high rates of TB and HIV. Sars-CoV-2 and its resulting disease (COVID-19) haven’t been fully researched and understood yet. But speculation based on the behaviour of other viruses and chronic illnesses raises concerns that HIV and TB patients may have a higher risk of developing severe disease. Emily Wong answers some questions.
25 MARCH 2020
Coronavirus cases in Africa pass 2,400 amid fears for health services
The Guardian, 25 March 2020
Focus: Africa
* There are now more than 2,400 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across Africa and growing warnings that the pandemic will cause major challenges for the continent’s under-resourced health services.
Coronavirus deals blow to Putin's plans to stay in power until 2036
CNN, 25 March 2020
Focus: Russia
* Russian President Vladimir Putin has long provided other world leaders with a template for authoritarian rule. Now he faces a new test: Whether his top-down system can survive the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus: Iran bans internal travel to avert 'second wave'
BBC News, 25 March 2020
Focus: Iran
* Iran's government has banned internal travel and warned of a "second wave" of its coronavirus disease outbreak, as the official death toll passed 2,000.
* Spokesman Ali Rabiei lamented that some people had ignored advice and travelled during the Nowruz new year holidays.
Coronavirus is Straining Hospitals. Here's How Innovators Are Helping (video)
The New York Times News, 25 March 2020
Focus: United States of America
* Health care workers are facing a serious shortage of critical equipment needed to treat the coronavirus. We spoke to the makers who are building innovative protective gear and ventilators for them.
Coronavirus: ‘Many thousands of Covid-19 cases’ across NI
BBC News, 25 March 2020
Focus: Northern Ireland
* There are "many thousands" of Covid-19 cases across Northern Ireland, Michael McBride, the chief medical officer, has said.
* At Stormont's daily briefing, Dr McBride warned that the spread of coronavirus is a lot wider than statistics indicate.
Coronavirus Pandemic: Ole Solvang, Norwegian Refugee Council (video)
TRT World Now, 25 March 2020
Focus: Norwegian Refugee Council (different countries)
* Ole Solvang of the Norwegian Refugee Council explains how coronavirus restrictions are preventing hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced people from accessing its aid.
France coronavirus death toll jumps 240 to 1,100: official
East Coast Radio, 25 March 2020
Focus: France
* Jerome Salomon told reporters that 22,300 people had tested positive for the virus in France, with a total of 10,176 hospitalised of whom 2,516 people are in intensive care.
* Officials believe that the published number of those infected largely underestimates the real figure, as only those showing severe symptoms are usually tested.
Ill man makes plea for public to take coronavirus seriously
Guardian News, 25 March 2020
Focus: United Kingdom, Personal account
* A 51-year-old man suspected of having coronavirus has made an emotional plea for the public to take Covid-19 seriously. Gasping for breath and struggling to speak, Andy Hardwick says he has been floored by it. 'I wouldn't wish it on my enemy,' he says. 'My spine hurts, my back hurts. You don't want to talk, you get shortness of breath if you move around.'
India struggles with coronavirus shutdown; Pakistan cases top 1,000
Reuters, 25 March 2020
Focus: India
* Reuters photographers witnessed several cases of Indian police officers hitting people out on the street with sticks. One rickshaw driver, who showed bruises on his calf, said he was defying the lockdown because he was unable to feed his four children otherwise.
Inside new makeshift temporary coronavirus hospital at ExCel Centre (video)
The Telegraph, 25 March 2020
Focus: United Kingdom (London)
* A new 4,000 bed field hospital to treat coronavirus patients will be functioning as of next week, the Health Secretary has announced.
Pakistan daily wagers struggle to survive in coronavirus lockdown
Aljazeera, 25 March 2020
Focus: Pakistan
* Daily wage workers and poor face hunger as authorities in Pakistan impose lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19.
Sudan frees thousands of prisoners over coronavirus fears
News24, 25 March 2020
Focus: Sudan
* Authorities in Sudan have ordered the release of thousands of prisoners to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading in the country's jails, state media reported Wednesday.
* Authorities in Sudan have ordered the release of thousands of prisoners to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading in the country's jails, state media reported Wednesday.
Thailand to Impose Broad Lockdown to Fight Novel Coronaviru
Bloomberg, 25 March 2020
Focus: Thailand
* Thailand will become the latest country to go into a broad lockdown when a state of emergency is enforced from Thursday to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus.
BusinessTech, 25 Marc 2020
Focus: South Africa
* The number of confirmed Covid-19 coronavirus infections in South Africa climbed 28% to 709 by late Tuesday, with zero fatalities to date, although two patients are in Intensive Care, according to the latest figures from the government.
26 MARCH 2020
Sky News, 26 March 2020
Focus: Italy
* Stuart Ramsay speaks to the residents of Bergamo about life in their ‘apocalyptic’ town.
Covid-19: SolGold reduces Ecuador operations amid national lockdown
Mining Technology, 26 March 2020
Focus: Ecuador
* SolGold has announced it has reduced operations across Ecuador, following the “stay at home” policy announced by the Emergency Operations Committee (COE) in the country.
Kyodo News, 26 March 2020
Focus: Japan
* A government panel of experts on Thursday said new-coronavirus infections in Japan appear highly likely to be "rampant," an assessment paving the way for the launch of a national headquarters to better respond to the outbreak.
France24, 26 March 2020
Focus: Mali
* Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced a nationwide night-time curfew on Wednesday to limit the spread of coronavirus, but said a parliamentary vote planned for this week will go ahead.
* Freight will still be allowed into the West African state, he said, and markets will remain open.
South African-based Facebook groups stoked coronavirus fears to sell face masks (article includes videos on different aspects of the lockdown)
News24, 26 March 2020
Focus: South Africa
* A Facebook page linked to Cape Town-based digital marketing firm Fansgate created at least 33 groups between January and March that leveraged fears around the coronavirus to build their respective audiences, a DFRLab investigation has found.
Fox News, 26 March 2020
Focus: United States of America
* If President Trump is for it, the media is against it, even if it might save American lives.