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Iran said on Saturday there was a “clear drop” in the number of new coronavirus infections as it reported 802 fresh cases, the lowest daily count since March 10.

The new cases brought to 96,448, the number recorded in Iran since it announced its first cases in mid-February.

“This shows a clear drop in the number of new infections compared to recent weeks, despite our active testing,” health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on state television.

He added that 77,350 of those hospitalised have since been discharged, claiming it is a “one of the highest recovery percentages in the world.”

New deaths from Covid-19 rose slightly to 65 in the past 24 hours, reaching a total of 6,156, Jahanpour said.

Doubts have been cast over Iran’s coronavirus figures by experts and officials both at home and abroad.

Iran’s deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi warned that the fall in the number of infections could quickly reverse.

“I emphasise that this steady decline is fragile,” said Harirchi, who has himself recovered from COVID-19.
“Carelessness in gatherings, reopening (businesses) and observing health protocols can make the country face serious problems again.”

He also called on the government to increase health sector spending, which he said had been hit by fiscal pressures resulting from sweeping US sanctions and the global economic contraction sparked by the coronavirus.

Iran has tried to contain the spread of the virus by shutting schools, universities, cinemas and stadiums among other public spaces since March.

But it has allowed a phased reopening of its economy since April 11, and authorities are now mulling allowing sports, cultural and religious centres too.

Tehran authorities, who have kept public transportation running despite warnings from health experts, made it mandatory for passengers to wear masks as of Saturday.

The virus has not spared public figures, with at least 12 current or former government officials or lawmakers dead and more infected.

One of the most senior — parliament speaker Ali Larijani — made his first public appearance in a month on Saturday, donning a protective mask to attend a televised meeting alongside the president and the head of the judiciary.

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Since the Covid-19 outbreak, the US has committed over $775 million in emergency health, humanitarian and economic assistance that will help over 120 countries, including India, in fighting the pandemic, the State Department has said, as the deadly disease claimed over 230,000 lives and infected over 3.3 million people.

According to a fact sheet released by the US State Department on Friday, the over $775 million assistance is specifically aimed at helping governments, international organisations, and NGOs to fight the pandemic.

This funding, provided by Congress, will save lives by improving public health education, protecting healthcare facilities, and increasing laboratory, disease-surveillance, and rapid-response capacity in more than 120 countries, it said.

India has received $5.9 million in health assistance to hinder the spread of the disease by providing care for the affected, disseminating essential public health messages to communities and strengthen case-finding and surveillance, it said.

This builds on a foundation of nearly $2.8 billion in total assistance to India over the last 20 years, which includes more than $1.4 billion for health.

In South Asia, Afghanistan ($18 million), Pakistan ($15 million) and Bangladesh ($12.3 million), have received more in Covid-19 health assistance from the US, it said.

America’s Covid-19 assistance to-date includes nearly $200 million in emergency health assistance from USAID’s Global Health Emergency Reserve Fund for Contagious Infectious-Disease Outbreaks and Global Health Programs account.

These funds prioritised interventions to mitigate and prepare communities in developing countries affected and at a risk of Covid-19.

It has provided nearly $300 million in humanitarian assistance from USAID’s International Disaster Assistance (IDA) account.

These funds prioritise populations affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis, particularly displaced people, because of their heightened vulnerability, the elevated risk of severe outbreaks in camps and informal settlements and anticipated disproportionate mortality in these populations.

It has provided more than $150 million from the Economic Support Fund (ESF). These funds will promote American foreign policy interests by supporting shorter-term mitigation efforts and addressing second-order impacts from the pandemic in the long term, across a variety of sectors.

More than $130 million in humanitarian assistance from the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account, provided through the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. These funds will help international organisations and NGO partners address challenges posed by the pandemic in refugee, IDP, and hosting communities as well as other migrants and other vulnerable people in both global and local humanitarian responses.

This new assistance is in addition to the over $100 billion in global health funding and nearly $70 billion in overseas humanitarian assistance provided by the US in the last decade alone.

The ceasefire appeal by United Nations chief Antonio Guterres amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic is global and should be applied everywhere, including along the Line of Control, his spokesperson said, as Pakistani forces engaged in unprovoked firing along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir this week that killed an Indian national.

India on Friday registered a strong protest with Pakistan over the killing of an Indian national in unprovoked firing by Pakistani forces along the LoC in Poonch district on Thursday.

“The Secretary-General’s appeal for a global ceasefire is exactly that. It is global, and it should be applied everywhere,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday.

Dujarric was responding to a question on the unprovoked firing by Pakistan at the Line of Control even as the UN chief has appealed for a global ceasefire in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Pakistan Army targeted Qasba, Kirni, Shapur and Mankote sectors of Poonch, Indian officials said.

There have been frequent incidents of ceasefire violation by the Pakistani side since India announced its decision to withdraw special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate it into two union territories in August last year.

Pakistan often resorts to ceasefire violations to push militants into the Indian side. Indian troops have also been retaliating to Pakistani actions under its policy of hot pursuit.

Pakistan Army on Thursday claimed that a 34-year-old Pakistani soldier and two women were killed in firing allegedly by the Indian troops across the Line of Control (LoC) on April 29.

Dujarric added he has not got any updates from the UN colleagues in the United Nation Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) on the situation.

The UNMOGIP, established in January 1949, observes and reports on ceasefire violations along and across the LoC and the Working Boundary between the two neighbours in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as reports developments that could lead to ceasefire violations.

India, however, maintains that UNMOGIP has “outlived its relevance” after the Simla Agreement signed between the two countries in 1972.

IndiaToday.in has plenty of useful resources that can help you better understand the coronavirus pandemic and protect yourself. Read our comprehensive guide (with information on how the virus spreads, precautions and symptoms), watch an expert debunk myths, check out our data analysis of cases in India, and access our dedicated coronavirus page. Get the latest updates here.

Estonia, the president of the United Nations Security Council for May, said it was a “shame” that the powerful UN body did not fulfill its responsibility in tackling the Covid-19 outbreak and slammed “stumbling blocks” in passing a resolution on the pandemic.

“I think it is a shame that we have not been able to take the leadership. There are certain reasons for that. But Estonia has been one of the most active in pushing very strongly for more than a month already to be there, and for the Security Council to stand where it should stand,” said Ambassador Sven Jürgenson, permanent representative of the Republic of Estonia to the United Nations and president of the Security Council for May on Friday.

During a virtual press briefing, Jürgenson responded to questions on the lack of action by the council to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and its failure to adopt a single resolution on the global crisis.

The ambassador said he personally hoped that a Security Council resolution on Covid-19 “would have been voted two or three weeks ago.”

He said a vote on the resolution “might happen now, it might happen next week”.

“There are stumbling blocks. The situation is blocked at the moment. But the talks are very intensely continuing and they are continuing at a high level and I hope that we can really come out of the gridlock,” Jürgenson said.

Two separate resolutions — one by the five permanent members of the council drafted by France and one by the elected 10 non-permanent members drafted by Tunisia — have now been combined and there is one resolution on the table, Jürgenson said, adding that there is still no consensus on the draft due to differences between two permanent members — referring to the US and China.

“There are some political differences between some security council member states. The work is continuing. I hope that these differences will be resolved as swiftly as possible,” he said.

Stating that the council is responsible to deal with the crisis, Jürgenson said the other members were “looking forward” to moving ahead with the resolution

“I know very well as a member of the council (of) the responsibility we have. I know the world is looking up to us and I really truly hope that as a president of the council, I will be able to in some way facilitate and help to get this thing moving,” he said.

The coronavirus, which first surfaced in China’s Wuhan city in December last, has claimed over 238,000 lives and infected 3.3 million people across the world.

The 15-nation UN Council is yet to adopt a single resolution on the crisis despite weeks of negotiations.

According to some media reports, diplomats say a key sticking point between the US and China is related to the World Health Organization (WHO) in the council resolution.

Washington has strongly criticised the WHO for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. US President Donald Trump last month stopped American funds to the specialised UN agency.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in response to a question on global leadership dealing with the pandemic during a press conference this week, said, “It is obvious that there is a lack of leadership. It is obvious the international community is divided in a moment where it would be more important than ever to be united. There is, indeed, a problem of leadership or, if you want, a disconnect between leadership and power.

“We see remarkable examples of leadership, but they are usually not associated with power. And where we see power, we sometimes do not see the necessary leadership. I hope this will be overcome sooner rather than later,” the UN Chief said.

The draft resolution by Tunisia on behalf of the 10 non-permanent members calls for “an urgent, coordinated and united international action to curb the impact of COVID-19.”

The French resolution focusses on Guterres’s call for a global ceasefire as part of a “humanitarian pause” to combat the pandemic.

IndiaToday.in has plenty of useful resources that can help you better understand the coronavirus pandemic and protect yourself. Read our comprehensive guide (with information on how the virus spreads, precautions and symptoms), watch an expert debunk myths, check out our data analysis of cases in India, and access our dedicated coronavirus page. Get the latest updates here.

The World Health Organisation has praised China for handling the coronavirus pandemic, and said that the other countries need to learn from Wuhan on how the epicentre of the virus was bringing the society back to normal, a day after US President Donald Trump likened the global health body to a public relations agency for Beijing.

Trump on Thursday said the WHO should be “ashamed” of itself, as he compared the UN”s health organ to a public relations agency for China amidst the coronavirus pandemic after it originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

The Trump administration has launched a probe into the role of the WHO on coronavirus, and has temporarily suspended the US’ financial assistance to it.

Many countries, including Germany, Britain and Australia, are blaming China for the spread of coronavirus, that has killed over 2,35,000 people globally, including 64,000 Americans, and has infected 3.3 million.

Noting that there are zero Covid-19 cases in Wuhan, Maria van Kerkhove, the technical lead for the WHO”s Health Emergencies Programme at a virtual press briefing in Geneva, said, “that”s very very welcome news to hear that there are no more severe cases, no more patients in Wuhan.”

“So congratulations on this achievement,” state-run Xinhua news agency quoted her as saying on Saturday.

“The world has learned from China and we need to continue to learn from Wuhan on how they are lifting those measures, how they are bringing society back to normal, or a new normal, in terms of how we”re going to live with this virus going forward,” she said.

Health officials in Wuhan, where the coronavirus emerged in December last year, said all Covid-19 cases were cleared from hospitals on Sunday.

The Hubei province and its capital Wuhan have not reported coronavirus cases for 28 consecutive days since April 4, the local health commission said on Saturday.

The central province also lowered its emergency level from highest to next level on Saturday.

The lowering of the emergency level shows a major breakthrough in Hubei’s prevention and control against Covid-19, Vice-Governor of Hubei Yang Yunyan told the media on Friday.

The province, however, reported 647 asymptomatic cases, which are under medical observation. Hubei has so far reported 68,128 confirmed Covid-19 cases in total, including 50,333 in Wuhan.

Amid criticism of under reporting of cases, Wuhan on April 17 revised its death toll by 50 per cent, taking the number of fatalities to 3,869.

The death toll in China stood at 4,633 as of Thursday, with 82,874 overall confirmed cases.

As one of the China-WHO joint experts, who visited China in February for a field study, van Kerkhove said, “China has worked very hard to bring the outbreak under control.”

“I was there for two weeks and working directly with ministry officials, and officials from all different sectors, from hospitals, through communities, to really see what was put in place to bring those numbers down,” she said.

Van Kerkhove said she appreciated the “tireless efforts” of the people in Wuhan — “not just the healthcare workers but the individuals who stayed in their homes, who adhered to the public health measures.”

“We take our hats off to you, and we thank you for your commitment and your service, and for sharing with us in the world what you”ve been able to do,” she said.

She also asked people in Wuhan to “remain vigilant,” in case new cases appear.

IndiaToday.in has plenty of useful resources that can help you better understand the coronavirus pandemic and protect yourself. Read our comprehensive guide (with information on how the virus spreads, precautions and symptoms), watch an expert debunk myths, check out our data analysis of cases in India, and access our dedicated coronavirus page. Get the latest updates here.

More than a dozen states let restaurants, stores or other businesses reopen Friday in the biggest one-day push yet to get their economies up and running again, acting at their own speed and with their own quirks and restrictions to make sure the coronavirus doesn’t come storming back.

People in Louisiana could eat at restaurants again but had to sit outside at tables 10 feet (3 meters) apart with no waiter service.

Maine residents could attend church services as long as they stayed in their cars. And a Nebraska mall reopened with plexiglass barriers and hand-sanitizing stations but few shoppers.

“I feel like I just got out of jail!” accountant Joy Palermo exclaimed as she sat down with a bacon-garnished bloody Mary at the Gretna Depot Cafe outside New Orleans.

Meanwhile, the first drug shown to help fight COVID-19 won emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In a major study, remdesivir shortened patients’ recovery time from 15 days to 11 on average and may have also reduced deaths.

The virus has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide, including over 64,000 in the U.S. and more than 20,000 each in Italy, Britain, France and Spain, forcing lockdowns that have shuttered factories and businesses, thrown tens of millions out of work and throttled the world’s economies.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he’s hoping the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States will be below 100,000, which he acknowledged is a “horrible number.”

Trump’s predictions of the expected U.S. death toll have changed over time, with his earlier 60,000 projection now being eclipsed.

But he said at a White House event that “maybe millions of lives” have been saved by shutting down the economy.

With the crisis stabilizing in Europe and in many places in the U.S., countries and states are gradually easing their restrictions amid warnings from health experts that a second wave of infections could hit unless testing for the virus is expanded dramatically.

In much of Colorado, people could get their hair cut and shop at stores again, though stay-at-home orders remained in place in Denver and surrounding counties. Wyoming let barbershops, nail salons, gyms and daycare centers reopen.

In Maine, golf courses, hairdressers and dentists opened.

Hotels near South Carolina beaches opened and state parks unlocked their gates for the first time in more than a month.

But in Myrtle Beach, the state’s most popular tourist destination, hotel elevators will be restricted to one person or one family – a potential inconvenience at the area’s 15- and 20-story resorts.

Texas’ reopening got underway with sparse crowds at shopping malls and restaurants allowing customers to dine in, though only at 25 per cent capacity in most places.

A video posted on social media showed a city park ranger in Austin getting shoved into the water Thursday while asking people in a crowd to keep 6 feet (2 meters) apart from each other. Police charged a 25-year-old man with attempted assault.

At Gattuso’s Restaurant in Gretna, Louisiana, Kent and Doris Alimia and their daughters, Molly and Emily, celebrated Molly Alimia’s 22nd birthday at one of the outdoor tables, which were screened by plants in wooden planters 5 feet high.

“It’s a nice change of scenery to actually get out of the house,” Molly Alimia said.

Outside Omaha, Nebraska, Jasmine Ramos was among a half-dozen shoppers wandering the open-air Nebraska Crossing mall. Most wore masks.

“I do think it’s a little soon, but it’s kind of slow and there aren’t a lot of people here, so I’m not too worried,” Ramos said.

Restrictions were still in place in Arizona, but warnings from police and health officials didn’t stop Debbie Thompson from serving food Friday inside her Horseshoe Cafe in Wickenburg, a town of 6,300 people about 65 miles (105 kilometers) west of Phoenix.

Cheered on by a few customers, Thompson was not arrested, but she later received a call from the state Department of Health Services telling her to stop violating Gov. Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order.

Around the country, protesters have demanded governors reboot the battered economy.

More than 100 people chanted and carried signs in front of Chicago’s Thompson Center, where Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has an office, to call for an end to the statewide lockdown.

Pritzker has said he will not lift his order until it’s safe, and several counterprotesters expressed support for his position.

Nurse anesthetist Benjamin Salazar held up a sign that read, “Stay home. We are getting tired of seeing people die.”

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham invoked the state’s Riot Control Act as she sealed off all roads to nonessential traffic in the city of Gallup, population 70,000, to help control a surging coronavirus outbreak in the former trading post on the outskirts of the Navajo reservation.”

In the hardest-hit corner of the U.S., New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said schools and colleges will remain closed through the rest of the academic year.

In Washington state, where the nation’s first COVID-19 case was confirmed in January, Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday that he is extending the state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order through at least May 31 and that he will ease the restrictions in four stages.

IndiaToday.in has plenty of useful resources that can help you better understand the coronavirus pandemic and protect yourself. Read our comprehensive guide (with information on how the virus spreads, precautions and symptoms), watch an expert debunk myths, check out our data analysis of cases in India, and access our dedicated coronavirus page.

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