Keeping you up to date on the latest novel coronavirus (Covid-19) news from around the world.
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Brazil presidential spokesperson tests positive for virus
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's spokesperson has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the government said Wednesday, the latest case to hit close to the far-right leader, who rejects social distancing measures.
Army General Otavio Rego Barros, 59, one of the administration's top public figures, "is home following all recommended protocols" after his positive test result was confirmed Tuesday, the president's office said in a statement.
More than 20 top Bolsonaro officials have tested positive for the virus, including communications chief Fabio Wajngarten and National Security Minister Augusto Heleno.
Bolsonaro himself says he tested negative, but he has not publicly released his test results.
- AFP
Trump: Coronavirus task force being 'refocused', not dismantled
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday reversed course on plans to wind down his coronavirus task force, telling reporters at the White House that - contrary to earlier statements by Vice President Mike Pence - the task force is not being dismantled, but instead refocused.
One day after the administration suggested that its work would be done around Memorial Day (25 May), Trump said the White House task force of public health professionals and senior government officials would continue after all, indefinitely, with its focus shifting towards rebooting the economy and the development of a vaccine.
"I thought we could wind it down sooner," Trump said, adding, "I had no idea how popular the task force is."
A White House official acknowledged to the Associated Press news agency that Tuesday's statements about the task force shutting down had sent the wrong message.
- Al Jazeera
Australia fears suicide spike due to virus shutdown
Thousands of Australians are expected to take their own lives because of the financial and psychological stress of the coronavirus crisis, far outstripping the death toll from the disease itself, experts warned on Thursday.
Modelling by the Brain and Mind Centre at Sydney University predicted an additional 750 to 1 500 suicides per year for up to five years as a result of the impacts of the pandemic and economic shutdowns imposed to curb its spread.
That would mark a spike of 25 to 50% over the 3 000 suicides usually recorded each year in the country.
Youth, hit hard by the closure of schools and hospitality businesses, were expected to make up about 30% of the additional suicides, the centre said in a joint report with the Australian Medical Association and mental health experts.
- AFP
UN appeals for $4.7 billion dollars more to fight virus pandemic
The United Nations on Thursday issued a new appeal for $4.7 billion in funding to "protect millions of lives and stem the spread of coronavirus in fragile countries".
The money is on top of the $2 billion the UN already called for when it launched its global humanitarian response plan on 25 March. It has received about half of that money so far.
"The most devastating and destabilising effects" of the novel coronavirus pandemic "will be felt in the world's poorest countries," UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said in the statement.
The full $6.7 billion is expected to cover costs of the humanitarian response plan until December.
- AFP
South Korea returns largely to normal as outbreak controlled
South Korea returned largely to normal on Wednesday as workers went back to offices, and museums and libraries reopened under eased social distancing rules after new coronavirus cases dropped to a trickle.
Employees were urged to work from home where possible while the new school term was postponed from its March start, to reopen in stages starting from 13 May.
At least 100 people visited the National Museum of Korea in Seoul on Wednesday morning, and the first visitors of the day - a married couple - were given a bouquet of flowers by staff.
The South reported two new infections on Wednesday, taking the total to 10 806, the Korea Centres for Disease Control said.
- AFP