The Centers for Disease Control took a step May 1 towards shedding light on the pandemic’s true death toll.
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Coronavirus Expert Warns Pandemic Won’t End ‘Anytime Soon’
BRUSSELS — A European expert on the new coronavirus is warning that people must not be lulled into thinking their lives may soon return to normal as the spread of the disease drops and some citizens return to work.
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Director Andrea Ammon told EU lawmakers Monday that “this is not going to end any time soon and people need to prepare mentally for it.”
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Spain Warns Failure To Extend State Of Emergency Could ‘Bring Chaos’
MADRID — The Spanish government is turning up pressure on opposition parties to approve another extension of the country’s state of emergency. The government says a failure to do so could “bring chaos.”
Transport and Mobility Minister José Luis Ábalos anticipates a tough debate in parliament on the issue Wednesday. He says the measure is “the most effective legal instrument” to fight the new coronavirus because it grants authorities the exceptional power to restrict freedom of movement.
Ábalos says that without it all the sacrifices made so far will have been “pointless.”
“There’s no Plan B, no alternative” to the state of emergency, Ábalos told a news conference in Madrid on Monday.
Health Minister Salvador Illa said it was “indispensable.”
Spain has managed to reduce the daily increase in the number of coronavirus infections from around 35% in mid-March to 0.16% because of a strict lockdown. More than 25,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the country.
Infections Spike In Several Countries As Lockdown Measures Start To Relax
ROME (AP) — While millions of people took advantage of easing coronavirus lockdowns to enjoy the outdoors, some of the world’s most populous countries reported worrisome new peaks in infections Sunday, including India, which saw its biggest single-day jump yet.
Second in population only to China, India reported more than 2,600 new infections. In Russia, new cases exceeded 10,000 for the first time. The confirmed total death toll in Britain climbed near that of Italy, the epicenter of Europe’s outbreak, even though the U.K. population is younger than Italy’s and Britain had more time to prepare.
The United States continues to see tens of thousands of new infections each day, with more than 1,400 additional deaths reported Saturday.
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Rigorous Testing Has Helped Iceland Weather Coronavirus Outbreak
HVAMMSTANGI, Iceland (AP) — Winter storms isolated the northern village of Hvammstangi from the rest of Iceland. Then spring brought the coronavirus, isolating villagers from each other. Now, as summer approaches, residents hope life is getting back to some kind of normal.
High schools, hair salons, dentists and other businesses across Iceland are reopening Monday after six weeks of lockdown, after this North Atlantic nation managed to tame its coronavirus outbreak.
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Italy Begins To Ease Long Coronavirus Lockdown
ROME (AP) — Millions of people were allowed to return to work in Italy Monday as Europe’s longest lockdown started to ease, while countries from Iceland to India took a patchwork of steps to loosen coronavirus restrictions. Businesses including hairdressers in Greece and restaurants in Lebanon were opening their doors under new conditions.
With pressure growing in many countries for more measures to restart the economy, politicians also were trying to boost funding for research into a vaccine for COVID-19. There are hopes that one could be available in months, but warnings that it could take much longer.
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Pence Admits He Should’ve Worn A Mask During Mayo Clinic Tour
Vice President Mike Pence acknowledged on Sunday that he should’ve worn a protective mask last Thursday when he visited the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
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Your COVID19 Turning Points #4
From TPM Reader AL …
My dad turned 80 on March 8th. I was already concerned about the coronavirus’s inevitable arrival, in no small part due to your excellent coverage, and it was in the back of my mind that he should cancel or postpone his birthday party and, if it wasn’t such a milestone, I might have pushed harder for it. But I didn’t, and I attended his party. Most of his friends were north of 70 and many of them weren’t taking the threat seriously (some of them wouldn’t for weeks after and at least one still doesn’t).
Your COVID19 Turning Points #3
From TPM Reader Anon …
I would say my COVID-19 turning point was January 25, 2020. I had also been following what was going on in Wuhan, but then saw a post at dKos by a member who goes by the name of AKALib. The post was titled “Wuhan Coronavirus – An Update, Prognosis and Projections”. It listed 18 countries that the virus was in, including 5 cases in the U.S. The post included clear graphs showing exponential growth of cases, and statements by virologists:
Your COVID19 Turning Points #2
From TPM Reader BW …
My turning point moment was in the first few days of March, when I happened upon this Feb. 29 Twitter thread from Trevor Bedford in which he concluded that the novel coronavirus had been spreading undetected in Washington state for six weeks.