US President Donald Trump again lashed out at China on Wednesday over the coronavirus pandemic, blaming Beijing for "mass Worldwide killing," AFP reports.
The early morning tweet, which also referred to an unidentified "wacko in China," was the latest heated rhetoric from the White House, where Trump is making attacks on Beijing a centerpiece of his November reelection bid.
"It was the 'incompetence of China', and nothing else, that did this mass Worldwide killing," he tweeted.
Trump initially played down the seriousness of the threat and said repeatedly that China was addressing the outbreak. He later pivoted to blaming China for allowing the international spread.
The White House has also suggested, without offering evidence so far, that the virus originated in a laboratory and was accidentally released. Trump has made repeated but vague threats of retaliation against the chief US economic rival.
He has also threatened to break off US funding to the World Health Organization or WHO over what he says was its assistance to China in covering up the extent of the outbreak.
Brazil starts using Covid-19 medicine
AFP reports that Brazil's health ministry recommended using chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat even mild cases of Covid-19, a treatment President Jair Bolsonaro has pushed for despite a lack of conclusive evidence of their effectiveness.
New federal guidelines released by the ministry recommend doctors prescribe the anti-malarial drugs from the onset of symptoms of coronavirus infection, together with the antibiotic azithromycin.
Patients will be required to sign a waiver acknowledging they have been informed of potential side effects, including heart and liver problems and retina damage.
The two medications have been swept up in a politically charged debate amid the pandemic.
Preliminary studies of the drugs in China and France showed promising results against Covid-19.
However, other studies have cast doubt on their effectiveness and raised concerns about the potential for heart, liver and kidney problems, as well as nerve damage.
Brazil has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the coronavirus pandemic.
It registered more than 1 000 Covid-19 deaths Tuesday, its highest yet, bringing its total death toll to 17 971.
Boris Johnson vows to rollout new tracing strategy
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday the country will have 25 000 virus tracing staff recruited by June so the country can "make progress" in its strategy to keep easing the nationwide lockdown, AFP reports.
The government is under pressure to get the recruits in place to operate alongside a smartphone tracing app to allow large-scale testing and tracing tactics to start next month.
"We have growing confidence that we will have a test, track and trace operation that will be world-beating and... it will be in place by June 1," Johnson told parliament.
"Already we have recruited 24 000 tracers. By June 1 we will have 25 000," he added, noting the staff will be able to trace the contacts of 10 000 new cases daily.
The UK's official coronavirus death toll is at least 41 000, with almost 10 000 dead in care homes in England and Wales alone, according to an update from the Office for National Statistics released on Tuesday.
The government's official rolling daily count of fatalities, which is less comprehensive, stands at 35 341.
Kazakhstan may shut oilfields
AFP reports that Kazakhstan may have to close its most productive oilfield after more than 900 people working there contracted coronavirus, a senior public health official in the Central Asian country said Wednesday.
The country's chief sanitary doctor, Aizhan Esmagambetova, said at a briefing that cases at the giant Tengiz oilfield have more than doubled since Friday, reaching 935.
The outbreak at the field in the oil-rich western region of Atyrau is the largest in Kazakhstan, which has a total of 6 969 confirmed virus cases.
A government commission has set targets on curbing the spread of infections at Tengiz and a failure to meet these "could lead to larger numbers sick, isolation and the natural or forced closure of the enterprise," Esmagambetova said.
Slovenia to give residents vouchers to take a vacation
Slovenia plans to give 200-euro vouchers to all citizens to encourage them to vacation in the small Alpine state instead of going abroad during the coronavirus crisis, AFP reports.
The vouchers will be exchangeable for accommodation and other tourist services in the EU member of two million people, the government said Wednesday.
Every Slovenian adult will get 200 euros, while those under 18 will receive a 50-euro voucher.
"We want to inspire Slovenian citizens to spend at least two days at a destination in the country. We want to motivate them to spend some more money there and, at the same time, help our tourism," government advisor Matej Lahovnik told private POP TV.
The voucher scheme is part of the government's latest package of measures aimed at helping tourism and other sectors hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.