The Latest: Climate activist Thunberg says she’s recovered
The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 398,000 people and killed over 17,000. The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or those with existing health problems. More than 103,000 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.
TOP OF THE HOUR:
— IOC, Japan agree to postpone Tokyo Olympics.
— NY Gov. Cuomo says infection rate accelerating.
— Climate activist Thunberg says she’s recovered from virus.
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STOCKHOLM — Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg says on social media that she believes she has recovered from mild symptoms of COVID-19 experienced during a period of quarantine following a European trip.
The teenager called on young people to protect groups at greater risk from the disease. Thunberg says her mild symptoms are “what makes it so much more dangerous” due to the risk of on passing the virus without knowing it.
Sweden only tests patients for coronavirus if they require hospital care. Others are urged to isolate themselves and rest. She urged people to stay at home to slow the spread of the pandemic.
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WASHINGTON — The federal Bureau of Prisons is instituting a 14-day mandatory quarantine for all new inmates entering any of the 122 federal correctional facilities in the U.S. in response to coronavirus concerns.
The announcement comes as the number of confirmed cases continues to grow among inmates and staff members at Bureau of Prisons facilities. There are more than 175,000 inmates in the federal prison system.
Union officials have raised concerns about whether there are adequate supplies of personal protective equipment for officers and inmates to slow the spread of the virus.
The Bureau of Prisons says it is working with court officials, local and state correctional institutions and the U.S. Marshals Service to “mitigate the risk of exposure in pretrial detention and jail facilities” and ensure safe inmate transfers.
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HONOLULU — The state of Hawaii has recorded its first death from COVID-19.
State officials say the unidentified adult suffered from multiple underlying health conditions, and that the available history of the person suggests they had a potential indirect travel-related exposure.
The person was tested at a clinical commercial laboratory, but the results were indeterminate.
Authorities say the person died Friday, and follow-up testing at a state lab on Monday confirmed the cause was COVID-19. Other than they lived on Oahu, officials didn’t release the person’s age or gender. The state health department says Hawaii has 77 positive cases with a majority of those on Oahu.
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NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sounded his most dire warning yet about the coronavirus pandemic, saying the infection rate in New York is accelerating and the state could be as close as two weeks away from a crisis that projects 40,000 people in intensive care.
Such a surge would overwhelm hospitals, which now have just 3,000 intensive care unit beds statewide.
Cuomo says the rate of new infections is doubling about every three days. While officials once thought the peak in New York would come in early May, they now say it could come in two to three weeks.
“We are not slowing it. And it is accelerating on its own,” he said during a briefing in New York City. “One of the forecasters said we were looking at a freight train coming across the country. We’re now looking at a bullet train.”
There were nearly 26,000 positive cases in New York state with 210 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
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NEW DELHI — India will begin the world’s largest lockdown.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced it in a TV address Tuesday night, warning that anyone going outside risked inviting the coronavirus inside their homes. He pledged $2 billion to bolster the country’s beleaguered health care system.
“To save India and every Indian, there will be a total ban on venturing out of your homes,” said Modi, adding that if the country failed to manage the next 21 days, it could be set back by 21 years.
India’s stay-at-home order puts nearly one-fifth of the world’s population under lockdown.
Indian health officials have reported 469 active cases of COVID-19 and 10 deaths. Officials have repeatedly insisted there is no evidence yet of communal spread but have conducted relatively few tests for the disease.
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LONDON — Britain’s Treasury chief says a financial support package is being considered to help the 5 million self-employed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Rishi Sunak told lawmakers the Treasury has been looking at this issue “in intense detail.” No timetable was offered.
Last week, Sunak said the government would pay four-fifths of the wages of workers if companies kept them on their payroll, up to 2,500 pounds ($2,950) a month.
With the government effectively closing down large chunks of the economy, many self-employed people face financial ruin — electricians, gym instructors and make-up artists cannot ply their trade over coming weeks.
Sunak said the government is “determined to find a way to support them” and make it “fair to the vast majority of the British workforce.”
Sunak said it’s more difficult to design a plan for the self-employed, largely because they don’t pay tax the same way as salaried workers.
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MEXICO CITY — Mexican health officials called on all businesses and organizations to suspend most work that requires travel.
Deputy health secretary Hugo López-Gatell said at a news conference hosted by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that work requiring people to travel between home and work sites or to public spaces must stop.
The measure, which could bring much of the country’s economic activity to a halt, was included in a list of measures the government has already implemented. There was no discussion of how it would be enforced or whether there would be penalties.
Many companies have already implemented plans to have employees working from home, but most businesses remain open, including restaurants and gyms.
López-Gatell called on employers to implement plans to keep working. “Institutions, private organizations can’t stop because we all depend on them,” he said.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called on business owners not to fire workers. Some Mexicans have criticized the government for not implementing stricter controls earlier.
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MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a Moscow hospital for coronavirus patients and wore a protective suit.
During a visit to the Kommunarka hospital on the outskirts of Moscow, Putin praised its doctors for high professionalism, saying they were working “like clockwork.”
After a meeting with the hospital’s chief doctor, Putin donned a yellow hazmat suit with a mask and went into the area where patients were treated.
Russia has registered 495 cases of the coronavirus and reported no deaths, which contrasts with the quick spread of contagion in Europe. Some experts say the low numbers could be attributed to a relatively slow pace of screening. Until recently, just one lab in Novosibirsk was analyzing tests from all over Russia and authorities have moved to open new labs and increase the number of tests.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported to Putin the number of coronavirus tests performed in the capital will increase from about 3,000 a day to 13,000 later this week. Sobyanin says the situation could quickly exacerbate.
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HELSINKI — Finland’s National Emergency Supply Agency says it has opened its storages of medical equipment to satisfy high demand for protective respiratory masks needed in hospitals.
The agency, which maintains substantial supplies of fuel, grain, raw materials and health equipment in various locations around the nation of 5.5 million, says it will immediately start shipments of the masks to hospitals and health centers.
The agency declined to give precise information on the amount of masks or locations of its medical equipment storage, saying that information was confidential. Finland had confirmed 792 coronavirus cases and one death.
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TIRANA, Albania — Albanian justice ministry says it temporarily will release 600 inmates in an effort to stop the virus spreading in prisons.
The government decided all prisoners not jailed for grave crimes, like criminal organizations or terror, and those suffering from diseases making them more vulnerable to the virus, will leave jail for three months and self-quarantine at home.
Such a move “will facilitate health protection in prisons and strengthen the effect of the preventive measures to COVID-19,” said Justice Minister Etilda Gjonaj.
The minister added there have been no positive virus cases among inmates so far. Albania has five deaths and 123 virus cases.
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ATHENS, Greece — Greek police say patrol cars will be using loudspeakers to broadcast messages in 10 languages to notify people of the new strict restrictions on outdoor movement.
The police say the broadcasts would be made in Greek, English, French, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Pashto, Farsi and Dari. The recorded message warns people to stay home and informs them they need identification documents and special permits to venture outside.
Stringent restrictions on movement in Greece, which has a sizeable migrant and refugee population, was enacted Monday. People are only allowed out for work that cannot work from home or to buy food, exercise or visit the doctor.
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The Dutch public health institute has reported 63 more deaths from the coronavirus and another 811 positive tests, the biggest daily increases in the Netherlands so far.
The national death toll in the outbreak stands at 276 and the total number of confirmed infections has risen to 5,560.
The institute says any effect of restrictions imposed by the government intended to slow the spread of the virus likely won’t be seen before the end of the week.
The Dutch government tightened its coronavirus measures Monday night, including banning all gatherings, events and meetings until June 1 and urging people to stay home. It is giving local mayors beefed-up powers to enforce the restrictions.
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BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania’s president says the country will upgrade a nighttime curfew and make it mandatory for Romanians to stay home all day with a few exceptions.
President Klaus Iohannis says only people going to work, the pharmacy or food store for “essential shopping” will be allowed out.
Iohannis says the new restrictions were needed to slow the spread of the coronavirus infections.
People leaving their homes will have to show authorities proof from employers stating they cannot work from home or “statements of personal responsibility” justifying their movements. Iohannis says the army will support the police in enforcing the measure.
People over 65 are banned from leaving their homes, while people in quarantine will be equipped with electronic monitoring devices.
Romania has 762 confirmed cases of people infected with the coronavirus. So far, eight deaths have been linked to COVID-19.
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — A U.S. Navy sailor has become the first person to test positive for the coronavirus at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The base says in a statement Tuesday the unidentified sailor is isolated at home at the naval station along the southeastern coast of Cuba. The base says health authorities are attempting to track anyone who had contact with the sailor.
Medical personnel have been screening anyone who arrives at the base and the Navy has imposed social-distancing rules.
The naval station has a population of about 6,000 people. That includes about 2,000 foreign laborers from Jamacia and the Philippines.
There are still 40 prisoners held at the Guantanamo detention center. Most base personnel have no contact with the men held there
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TOKYO — The International Olympic Committee along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and local organizers have decided that the Tokyo Games cannot go ahead as scheduled this year because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The IOC says the games will be held “not later than summer 2021” but they will still be called the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh reported another death from coronavirus, raising the death toll to four, while the number of infected people rose to 39.
The latest death happened in a hospital during treatment and the man was around 70, said Meerjady Sabrina Flora, director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research. The announcement came as the country was moving toward a possible lockdown for 10 days from March 26 when all the government and private offices would remain closed.
The South Asian country suspended all railway communication Tuesday and the civil aviation authority has suspended all domestic flights Wednesday to April 4. Experts say Bangladesh is at the high risk of community transmission of the virus as hundreds of thousands of expatriate workers in recent weeks have attended many social gatherings after returning from Italy and other countries.
The government has asked the citizens to stay at home, but the authorities are struggling to enforce the decision. Military soldiers have been called in large cities and towns to assist enforcement of social distancing.
