Denmark eased its coronavirus lockdown on Wednesday by reopening schools and day care centers, but concerns they might become breeding grounds for a second wave of cases convinced thousands of parents to keep their children at home.
 
The rate of new cases is falling, but the government’s decision has led to a heated debate over how to balance the needs of the economy and the safety of the population – in this case its youngest citizens.
 
“I won’t be sending my children off no matter what,” said Sandra Andersen, the founder of a Facebook group called ‘My kid is not going to be a Guinea Pig’ that has more than 40,000 followers.
 
“I think a lot of parents are thinking, ‘Why should my little child go outside first’,” said the mother of two girls aged five and nine.
 
The month-long lockdown in Denmark, where the virus has infected more than 6,600 people with close to 300 deaths, has also closed shops, bars, restaurants, cinemas and gyms.
 
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen defended the move, undertaken on health authority recommendations, to ease it by resuming teaching up to fifth grade, saying this would allow parents to return to work and “get the economy going again.”
 
Christian Wejse, a scientist at the department of infectious diseases at Aarhus University, said he understood people’s concerns “because we’ve spent a month trying to avoid contact.”
 
But any new infections would be unproblematic in an age group “where few fall ill, and those who do won’t get very sick.”
 
Looking at neighboring Sweden, which has kept schools open without a drastic rise in infections, children also appeared not to be a major driver for transmission of the virus, he said.
 
Teaching staff are under instruction to keep social distancing in place between children and, with many school buildings staying closed, in some cases preparing chalk for pupils to write with on the playground tarmac.
 
“I don’t think it’s right for the kids not to hug their friends,” said Nonne Behrsin Hansen, a mother of two aged two and four.
 
“We keep the kids home, because the situation in the day cares before the COVID-19 outbreak were not okay, and the conditions they are setting up now are even worse.”
 
For now at least, most members of Momster, an online network of thousands of Danish mothers, do not believe authorities have things under control, according to its founder and CEO Esme Emma Sutcu.
 
“Suddenly, these moms feel like they just have to throw their kids to the frontline and I think their reaction is: ‘Don’t mess with our kids’,” she said. (Reporting by Nikolaj
…

Guatemala’s health minister said Tuesday that deportees from the United States were driving up the country’s COVID-19 caseload, adding that on one flight some 75% of the deportees tested positive for the virus.
Health Minister Hugo Monroy’s comments were dramatically out of line with what the government had previously said about infected deportees. Later, presidential spokesman Carlos Sandoval told reporters that Monroy was referring to a March flight on which “between 50% and 75% (of the passengers) during all their time in isolation and quarantine have come back positive.”  
Before Tuesday, Guatemala had only reported three positive infections among deportees flown back by the United States.  
Joaquín Samayoa, spokesman for the foreign affairs ministry, confirmed a fourth positive case for a migrant who arrived on a flight Monday. At least three of the migrants who arrived Monday were taken directly to a hospital for COVID-19 testing.  
President Alejandro Giammattei addressed the nation later, but made no mention of the deportees. It remained unclear why before Tuesday the government had only reported three deportees who tested positive and how many more would have been among the high percentage who tested positive aboard that March flight. Giammattei said Tuesday there were a total of 175 people who had tested positive in Guatemala and five who had died.  
“There are really flights where the deportees arrive … citizens who come with fever, and they get on the planes that way,” Monroy said. “We automatically evaluate them here and test them and many of them have come back positive.”
He added that the United States had practically become the Wuhan of the region, referring to the Chinese province where the pandemic began.
Guatemala again began receiving deportation flights from the United States Monday after a one-week pause prompted by three deportees testing positive for COVID-19.  
The Guatemalan government had asked the United States to not send more than 25 deportees per flight, to give them health exams before departure and to certify that they were not infected.
However, the flights resumed Monday with 76 migrants aboard the first and 106 on the second. Guatemala’s foreign ministry did not immediately clarify why the U.S. had not complied with its requirements, but the flights came on the same day that the U.S. State Department announced that aid would continue to Guatemala and the other Northern Triangle countries.
One of Monday’s flights also included 16 unaccompanied minors, according to the Guatemalan Immigration Institute.
Since January, the U.S. has deported nearly 12,000 Guatemalans, including more than 1,200 children.  
Citing the epidemic, the U.S. has started swiftly deporting unaccompanied minors rather than holding them in protective settings as specified by law. 
Also on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that he had informed Congress that the U.S. government would continue assistance for Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras in order to continue to lower illegal immigration and accomplish other policy objectives.
Pompeo said that since illegal immigration from those three countries peaked in May 2019, “encounters” with migrants from those countries had fallen by 76%. The U.S. government has effectively ended any possibility of seeking asylum at the southern border with emergency restrictions applied in the face of the epidemic.
Before the epidemic, the U.S. had also started sending Hondurans and Salvadorans to Guatemala and similarly had agreements in place to begin doing so in Honduras and El Salvador.
Deportations from the U.S. have continued despite the outbreak. The United States holds about 34,000 people in immigration detention, down from about 37,000 last month.  
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says 77 detainees have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Acting Deputy Homeland Security Director Ken Cuccinelli told reporters Tuesday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has released nearly 700 people from immigration detention around the country because their age or health conditions made them vulnerable to the virus. He also said authorities were taking steps to ensure that people who may have been exposed in custody are kept separate from other detainees.  
“ICE is certainly committed to ensuring that comprehensive medical care is provided for all of their detainees from the moment they arrive in ICE custody through the entirety of their state,” Cuccinelli said.  
The administration on Friday issued a memo authorizing the use of visa sanctions to punish any nation that “denies or unreasonably delays” taking its citizens as they are deported from the U.S. amid tightened border enforcement imposed last month as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.Officials have declined to identify any countries that may have prompted the announcement.  
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. 
…

German prosecutors announced Wednesday the arrest of four Islamic State members accused of planning attacks against U.S. military sites in Germany. A statement said the group had guns and ammunitions needed for their attacks, along with some materials for building explosive devices. The prosecutors said the group had already scouted U.S. Air Force bases in Germany. They identified the four, along with a fifth person in custody since last month, as nationals of Tajikistan who founded a terror cell in Germany after joining the Islamic State group last year. Authorities said they were in contact with and received instructions from high-ranking Islamic State leaders in Syria and Afghanistan. 
…

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the U.N. is going to flood the internet and social media with facts and science to counter what he says is a “dangerous epidemic of misinformation” about the coronavirus pandemic. Guterres said the huge amount of falsehoods surrounding the illness is a “misinfo-demic,” full of bad health advice, lies, wild conspiracy theories and “snake oil solutions.” He says all of this is a “poison that is putting lives at risk.” He also spoke out against those who are “stigmatizing and vilifying people and groups” because of the pandemic, and he thanking “journalists and others fact-checking the mountain of misleading stories and social media posts.” “Together, let’s reject the lies and nonsense out there,” Guterres said. “With common cause for common sense and facts, we can defeat COVID-19 — and build a healthier, more equitable, just and resilient world,” Guterres said.  The top U.S. infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told the Associated Press that when it comes to reopening the economy, the country “is not there yet.”  In the interview, Fauci said the nation still lacks what he describes as the critical testing for suspected cases and ability to track down everyone who came in contact with an infected patient.   “We have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on. … I’ll guarantee you, once you start pulling back there will be infections. It’s how you deal with the infections that’s going count,” Fauci said.  President Donald Trump is eager to reopen shuttered stores and businesses and get locked-down people back to their jobs.  He originally envisioned this week to restart the economy. He now says he would like to get things rolling again by May 1. Fauci calls that target “a bit overly optimistic” at least for many parts of the country. He told the AP that once the outbreak peaks, he “would not be surprised” to see a second wave in the fall. But he said that is not inevitable.Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, April 13, 2020, in Washington.A new report from the U.S. government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says as many as 20% of coronavirus patients are doctors, nurses, and other health care providers. It says Italy and Spain are among the countries reporting similar numbers. The CDC reports 27 medical professionals have died from COVID-19.  Meanwhile, the World Health Organization says more than 60 coronavirus vaccines are in development around the world.  It says research groups, who normally prefer to work independently, are teaming up with others to help speed up the processes. China’s CanSino Biologics said Tuesday it started its second phase of testing a potential vaccine.  The U.S National Institutes of Health has teamed up with the health science firm Moderna to also develop a vaccine. The first test subject received a second dose Tuesday.  Fauci of the NIH told the Associated Press that there are no “red flags” so far in the testing and that it may be expanded to more subjects in June.  Fauci had predicted that a COVID-19 vaccine could be ready within 18 months. But says it is possible that it could happen sooner.  “Please let me say this caveat: That is assuming that it’s effective. See, that’s the big ‘if,’” Fauci stressed. “It’s got to be effective and it’s got to be safe.” If it’s a hot summer in New York City this year, it may be hard to find a place to cool off.  Reports say Mayor Bill de Blasio could order beaches to remain closed if the coronavirus outbreak remains dire.  De Blasio did not directly comment on the report Tuesday but said “we’re going to take this very slow and carefully to make sure we get it right. I’m always going to first focus on how do we guarantee the health and safety of New Yorkers and make sure we don’t take our foot off the gas too soon.” The Czech government says it will slowly begin to reopen stores starting next Monday, but all Czechs will still be required to wear face coverings.  Austria allowed thousands of shops to reopen Tuesday, but India has extended its nationwide lockdown through May 3. 
…

Healthcare workers in Mexico City are demanding more protective gear as hospitals take in more patients infected with the coronavirus. Scores of doctors, nurses, and other medical workers rallied in the streets of the capital Monday, pleading for assistance from those in charge of the public healthcare system. Health officials recently said 329 doctors and nurses in the country’s public medical system have tested positive for COVID-19. The Associated Press spoke with a nurse, who complained she only had access to one mask each day while caring for many covid-19 patients. The federal government says it is getting more protective gear for hospitals, but the timetable for delivery is not clear. The latest outrage from Mexican health workers came on the same day President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced the private health sector will make available just over 3,000 hospital beds, about half of their inventory, to help offset the demand for covid-19 patient beds at public hospitals. Mexico says it has just over 5,000 cases of COVID-19 and 332 deaths are linked to the virus. 
…

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday the European Union will create a strategic reserve of ventilators for countries “most in need” amid the COVID-19 pandemic.In remarks recorded from EU headquarters in Brussels, von der Leyen said Romania has agreed to host this reserve, and the first 150 ventilators paid for by the EU are in production and will be sent immediately to the nations in need.  Von der Leyen cited Italy and Spain as the European nations hardest hit by the pandemic and said EU support for them was “crucial.” She noted that Denmark has already pledged to send ventilators and a field hospital to Italy.Ventilators have proven crucial in the most severe cases of COVID-19 to help patients breathe.Von der Leyen said the EU is also procuring protective equipment such as masks to be shared as needed with member nations. 
…

The small Italian village of Celleno thought it had escaped the coronavirus — nearly a month into Italy’s national lockdown. No confirmed cases of the potentially deadly virus had been recorded. The more than one thousand residents of the village on the outskirts of Rome breathed a collective sigh of relief.But in the past week all that has changed. First there were seven cases — stemming from a dinner friends had on the eve of the lockdown announced last month by Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. And then came a big shock last week when a nursing home in the village for the elderly, Villa Noemi, recorded more than 30 cases among the frail residents. The virus has now spread. One of the nursing-home residents died midweek from coronavirus, shocking the closely-knit village. Celleno and its modest little farms dotted around the rugged northern Lazio hills has now been sealed off by alarmed regional authorities with police checkpoints mounted on the four roads leading in and out of the village to prevent anyone leaving or entering, except for emergency workers.“The situation is quite tough,” says Moira Emidi, a 36-year-old restaurant worker.Celleno’s mayor, Marco Bianchi, says the whole crisis feels “surreal” and that village is fearful.  The cases at the nursing home have “shaken the entire community.” And he added: “Currently, 35 of the residents are positive for the virus; another four are negative and they have been transferred to a nearby farmhouse where they are being looked after.” He says he finds comfort from how Celleno is pulling together, though, saying the village “has never been so united.” He adds: “The beautiful solidarity of many, many citizens comes as a great relief.”Celleno: the hilltop Lazio village on Rome’s outskirts thought it had escaped the coronavirus — nearly a month into Italy’s national lockdown, no confirmed cases of the potentially deadly virus had been recorded. (Dettmer/VOA)Death still lurksThe village of Celleno is unlikely to be the last in Italy to discover that the virus has been lurking in nursing homes, only belatedly to reveal itself. Italian authorities are now engaged in what they call a “mapping exercise” of the country’s residential homes for the elderly as fears mount that what is found could reverse Italy’s declining numbers of confirmed cases and deaths. Officials worry that an unseen surge in fatalities in nursing homes has been happening unnoticed with the old dying untested for the virus.As things are now, only patients who are hospitalized with severe symptoms are normally being tested for the virus. Two weeks ago, the mayor of the north Italian city of Bergamo, a coronavirus hotspot, issued a warning about nursing homes. “There are significant numbers of people who have died but whose death hasn’t been attributed to the coronavirus because they died at home or in a nursing home and so they weren’t swabbed,” Giorgio Gori, Bergamo’s mayor said.Worst may not be overNurses and relatives say they believe there has been an unnoticed spike in nursing home deaths, which is not showing up in the official coronavirus statistics. Emilio Tanzi, director of a 460-bed residence in the northern Italian town of Cremona, told Reuters that nursing homes are on the front lines of a crisis that predominantly affects the elderly but that, nonetheless, nursing homes have been overlooked and not adequately supported.He said there had been a significant and “anomalous” increase in deaths since early March in nursing homes. “We don’t know if there have been coronavirus deaths because the swabs haven’t been done. We’ve certainly seen high fevers and breathing difficulties. If we’d been in a position to know, we could have isolated these patients properly and avoided the epidemic,” Tanzi said.Researchers are now trying to get to the bottom of where nursing homes fit into the coronavirus crisis. According to incomplete data analyzed by researchers at the London School of Economics, about half of all coronavirus deaths in parts of Europe may be happening in care homes for the elderly. In this photo taken on April 1, 2020, 103-year-old Ada Zanusso, poses with a nurse at the old people’s home “Maria Grazia” in Lessona, northern Italy, after recovering from Covid-19 infection.Death trapsThe researchers are warning that a greater effort must be put into fighting the virus in nursing homes, otherwise deaths may keep climbing. Homes are ill-equipped to deal with the crisis, they say, because of chronic staffing shortages, lack of protective gear and the paucity of testing for the virus.“Care homes are places where physical distancing is almost impossible. It’s like a perfect storm: a susceptible population, not being able to implement the measures and the staff are not well supported and trained enough. Many of the staff are care assistants with very little medical knowledge,” said Adelina Comas-Herrera, one of LSE’s data researchers.A government survey in Italy suggests 45% of all deaths in the country from the virus may end up having originated in residential homes for the elderly. Tricky numbers    Italy reported a lower number of new coronavirus cases Monday — although daily fatalities rose — three days after the government decided to extend a lockdown. There were 3,153 new cases, the fewest documented since April 7, compared with 4,092 on Sunday, according to the country’s civil protection officials. Italy recorded 566 deaths linked to the virus Monday compared with 431 the day before. The total number of fatalities from the virus late Tuesday stood at 20,465.A woman wearing a protective mask walks her dog in Piazza Navona, as Italians remain under lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Rome, Italy, April 4, 2020.Italian officials are not the only ones in Europe wondering how a full accounting of nursing homes may alter the picture. Earlier this month, French officials abruptly revealed 1,416 nursing-home residents had succumbed to the virus since the pandemic emerged. French health officials have made clear the number of cases and fatalities they report every day does not include deaths in nursing and care homes.Cases have also been reported this month in more than a hundred care homes around Stockholm, Sweden’s capital. The authorities there have not given actual case figures, but the country’s public broadcaster SVT estimates more than 400 residents have been infected and around 50 have died.In Britain, official counts do not include virus-linked deaths outside hospitals, such as those in care homes. A former regional public health director, John Ashton, has publicly warned that the number of people officially recorded as dying from the virus could be double what is officially being announced. “We need to be able to see the data and crawl over it and really see what’s going on,” he told British broadcaster Sky News.Meanwhile, as national authorities try to understand the full impact of the epidemic in nursing homes, the villagers of Italy’s Celleno had some good news this week. Test results of residents in another nursing facility in the village have all come back negative.An earlier version of this story attributed one more death in Celleno to the coronavirus. It turned out to be not related to COVID-19.
 
…

Guatemala again began receiving deportation flights from the United States this week after a one-week pause prompted by three deportees testing positive for COVID-19.The Guatemalan government had asked the United States to not send more than 25 deportees per flight, to give them health exams before departure and to certify that they were not infected.However, the flights resumed Monday with 76 migrants aboard the first and 106 on the second. Guatemala’s foreign ministry did not immediately clarify why the U.S. had not complied with its requirements, but the flights came on the same day that the U.S. State Department announced that aid would continue to Guatemala and the other Northern Triangle countries.At least three of the migrants who arrived Monday were taken directly to a hospital for COVID-19 testing. One of the flights also included 16 unaccompanied minors, according to the Guatemalan Immigration Institute. Citing the epidemic, the U.S. has started swiftly deporting unaccompanied minors rather than holding them in protective settings as specified by law.  Also on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that he had informed Congress that the U.S. government would continue assistance for Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras in order to continue to lower illegal immigration and accomplish other policy objectives.Pompeo said that since illegal immigration from those three countries peaked in May 2019, “encounters” with migrants from those countries had fallen by 76%. The U.S. government has effectively ended any possibility of seeking asylum at the southern border with emergency restrictions applied in the face of the epidemic.Before the epidemic, the U.S. had also started sending Hondurans and Salvadorans to Guatemala and similarly had agreements in place to begin doing so in Honduras and El Salvador. 
…

Russia is ready to discuss hypersonic missiles and other arms control issues with the United States as part of wider discussions about strategic stability, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.Cold War-era arms control agreements have been in jeopardy as Russia’s relations with the West have soured in recent years.In August 2019, the United States pulled out of a landmark strategic arms accord, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), citing Russian non-compliance.Both countries are developing hypersonic missiles to expand their defense capabilities, with Russian President Vladimir Putin overseeing a test in Crimea in early January.Such missiles, which fly several times the speed of sound and can be steered in flight, are harder to stop than other generations of weapons. Some experts fear their deployment could trigger a new nuclear arms race.Lavrov said he wanted to speak to U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo again after receiving a call from him a couple of days ago during which he said Pompeo touched on resuming talks on arms control and strategic stability.”We welcome such interest from our American partners because we have encouraged them to address these problems more actively for a long time,” Lavrov said.”We are open to talks about new promising developments, including hypersonic weapons in the context of, and I emphasize this especially, taking into account all aspects and factors that influence strategic stability, without exception.”Moscow has taken steps to mend ties with the West since the coronavirus outbreak.Russia has flown medical supplies and equipment to the United States and Italy to help them fight the epidemic. Lavrov said Moscow was prepared to fly over more supplies should Washington request them. 
…

Spain is following Italy in talking about scaling back coronavirus restrictions as its numbers start to recede.  The nightmare is far from over in the country’s nursing homes, where the virus has claimed its largest percentage of victims.  In this report from Barcelona narrated by Jon Spier, Alfonso Beato tells us Spain is shocked by reports that elderly coronavirus patients have been found dead in their beds and some facilities have been abandoned.
…

India, France and Nigeria are among several countries whose leaders are extending lockdowns aimed at stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus, as the number of confirmed cases worldwide topped 2 million. With the number of infections in his country at more than 10,300, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Tuesday a nationwide lockdown would run through May 3. French President Emmanuel Macron gave a late Monday televised address saying France’s lockdown would last through May 11, at which time authorities will begin to reopen schools. “On the French mainland and in France’s overseas territories, the system is under tension and the epidemic is not yet under control. We must therefore continue our efforts and continue to apply the rules. The more they are respected, the more lives will be saved,” he said. Nigeria also is adding two more weeks to lockdown orders in three states – Lagos, Abuja and Ogun – while Turkey’s president says a 48-hour weekend lockdown will be repeated this week. By far the most cases have been found in the United States, which accounts for about 600,000 known infections with the hardest-hit area being New York. There are about 106,000 cases in New York City and 195,000 cases in the entire state, more than Spain or Italy. But Governor Andrew Cuomo declared Monday the “worst is over,” but only if New Yorkers “continue to be smart going forward.”  California was one of the earliest states to tell people to stay home. Governor Gavin Newsom plans to announce Tuesday his administration’s plans for starting to resume normal life. Giuseppe Fonsino, listens to the speech of French President Emmanuel Macron on TV, in Ville d’Avray, near Paris, Monday, April 13, 2020. Macron said that the country’s coronavirus lockdown will be extended till May 11.Tuesday also brings small steps away from a total lockdown in Italy, which is allowing some shops to open again. The country has seen steadily improving numbers of critically ill patients after being a hotspot of the outbreak. The pandemic has battered the world economy, leading many governments to enact massive rescue packages. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been among those pushing for help for poorer nations that need to focus limited resources on health responses. The International Monetary Fund gave its approval Monday to a $500-million effort to help 25 countries by canceling six months of their debt payments. Some of those nations include Afghanistan, Congo, Haiti, Mali, Sierra Leone and Yemen. In the United States, part of the government’s plan to boost the flagging economy is sending cash payments to households to either help people cover their bills amid massive job losses, or to encourage people to spend money and boost business activity. 
 
Those payments are in the process of being distributed, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he expects some 80 million Americans will have the funds in their bank accounts by Wednesday. 
…

Healthcare workers in Mexico City are demanding more protective gear as hospitals take in more patients infected with the coronavirus. Scores of doctors, nurses, and other medical workers rallied in the streets of the capital Monday, pleading for assistance from those in charge of the public healthcare system. Health officials recently said 329 doctors and nurses in the country’s public medical system have tested positive for COVID-19. The Associated Press spoke with a nurse, who complained she only had access to one mask each day while caring for many covid-19 patients. The federal government says it is getting more protective gear for hospitals, but the timetable for delivery is not clear. The latest outrage from Mexican health workers came on the same day President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced the private health sector will make available just over 3,000 hospital beds, about half of their inventory, to help offset the demand for covid-19 patient beds at public hospitals. Mexico says it has just over 5,000 cases of COVID-19 and 332 deaths are linked to the virus. 
…

Some European countries, including Denmark, Austria and the Czech Republic, are starting to lift the tight restrictions they imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The countries say their quick actions in locking down earlier than their neighbors give them the opportunity to relax their rules.With the number of confirmed cases and deaths decreasing, Spain on Monday allowed some nonessential workers to return to their jobs but is keeping much of its lockdown. Workers in industry and construction will be allowed to return after a two-week shutdown, which closed all sectors apart from health care and food. The tentative relaxation comes as the country, one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus, reported its lowest daily growth in confirmed infections in three weeks. Health officials say 517 new deaths were recorded on Monday, falling from 619 on Sunday.  Commuters wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus at Atocha train station in Madrid, Spain, April 13, 2020.Those who return to work are being told to maintain social distancing, said Maria Jose Sierra, deputy head of health emergencies. “If there is a person who shows the slightest symptom, they should contact the health system and remain in self-isolation,” she added. Other countries remain cautious, warning that any loosening of restrictions is still weeks away.  The different approaches reflect the struggle all countries are having — and not just in Europe — deciding between nation wealth and public health.  Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his government must balance its response to the pandemic which “threatens to destroy lives and at the same time destroy the economic and social fabric of our country.” FILE – Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen addresses a press conference on the novel coronavirus COVID-19 at the State Department in Copenhagen, Denmark, April 6, 2020.As Denmark prepares to lift its lockdown, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen acknowledged that the decision is “a bit like walking the tightrope.” “If we stand still along the way, we could fall. And if we go too fast, it can go wrong. Therefore, we must take one cautious step at a time,” she said. The 46-year-old politician credits Denmark’s prompt lockdown for the gradual reopening of the country but says the number of infections must remain stable. The Danish government will reopen day care centers and elementary schools on Wednesday, but bars, restaurants, hair salons and shopping malls will remain shuttered until at least May 10. Bans on large gatherings will remain until August. There has been criticism from some Danish parents about the reopening of elementary schools and kindergartens. More than 35,000 have joined a Facebook group, saying their children will be serving as guinea pigs. Some are refusing to send their children to school. FILE – Austrian ministers arrive for a news conference about the coronavirus situation in Austria, in Vienna, Austria, April 6, 2020.Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz also credited his decision to impose early tough restrictions for “the opportunity to get out of this crisis faster.” He has warned Austrians to continue to minimize personal contact. On Tuesday, small shops and businesses in Austria will be allowed to reopen.   Department stores and shopping malls will join them in May. Restaurants and hotels can start working again in mid-May. “We will very closely monitor the number of new infections and immediately pull the emergency brake if need be,” Kurz said in a news conference.  Much of the drive to begin a cautious unlocking rests with rising alarm about the economic impact of the shutdowns. Governments are coming under mounting pressure from businesses to loosen up. In some countries, desperation is sparking official concerns about a social revolt. News of supermarket looting and customer refusal to pay for food at checkout counters have been reported in Italy’s south. Impatience with the lockdown is greater in Mezzogiorno, the underdeveloped southern part of Italy that has long trailed behind the country’s wealthy north. “In the south the concern is greater, because this crisis is combined with a fragility of the economic and social fabric. In the south, the wounds of the earlier crisis of 2008 to 2009 have not yet healed,” Giuseppe Provenzano, Italy’s minister for the south, warned recently. Police officers pull over cars at a road block on a main road leading out of the city, in Rome, April 13, 2020.The Italian government explored the possibility of loosening restrictions, but a full lockdown will remain in place at least until May 3 to stem the tide of new infections, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced Friday.  “If we gave up now, we would put all the positive results achieved so far at stake and restart with a new rise in the death toll,” he said.  On Friday, Italy’s Civil Protection Department announced that deaths rose by 570 within 24 hours to 18,849 — an increase of 3.1% and the lowest daily growth since the lockdown went into effect a month ago.  The numbers of people being treated in intensive care units has also fallen, from 4,068 people a week ago to 3,497.  The rising economic damage will also figure into a review of the lockdown by German officials Wednesday when Chancellor Angela Merkel will try to plot a path out of the shutdown with leaders of the country’s 16 partly sovereign states. Health department employees in protective clothes measure the body temperature of around 160 Romanian seasonal workers after landing at Hahn Airport in Hahn, Germany, April 13, 2020.Germany’s influential Academy of Sciences Leopoldina favors following Denmark’s route with a gradual reopening of schools — high schools first — where pupils can be trusted more to wear face masks.  Another research group, the German Institute for Economic Research, says the government should identify industries with the highest economic value — telecommunications and carmakers — and start reopening them. Regions with low infection rates could also start a gradual reopening, the institute has recommended in a report.  On Wednesday, the British government will review exit strategies from the lockdown. The COVID-19 death toll passed 10,000 Sunday, and British disease modelers and epidemiologists have warned that the country will not hit the peak of infections for another week at least.  Polling data being gathered by the government suggests Britons want a tight lockdown to continue, fearful that any easing could worsen the health crisis, officials say.  
…

A total of 11,329 people have died in hospitals across the United Kingdom after testing positive for coronavirus, up by 717 in a day, the health ministry said on Monday. The number of confirmed cases has risen by 4,342 to a national tally of 88,621. The deaths numbers are as of 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Sunday, while the confirmed cases numbers are as of 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Monday. 
 
…

Crowds swarm Stockholm’s waterfront, with some people sipping cocktails in the sun. In much of the world, this sort of gathering would be frowned upon or even banned.Not in Sweden.It doesn’t worry Anders Tegnell, the country’s chief epidemiologist and top strategist in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.The 63-year-old has become a household name in Sweden, appearing across the media and holding daily briefings outlining the progression of the outbreak with a precise, quiet demeanor.As countries across Europe have restricted the movement  of their citizens, Sweden stands out for what Tegnell calls a “low-scale” approach that “is much more sustainable” over a longer period.President Donald Trump has suggested that a rising number of COVID-19 deaths indicate Sweden is paying a heavy price for embracing the idea of herd immunity — that is, letting many individuals get sick to build up immunity in the population. He said: “Sweden did that — the herd. They called (it) the herd. Sweden is suffering very, very badly. It’s a way of doing it.”But Swedish Health Minister Lena Hallengren recently told The Associated Press: “We have never had a strategy for herd immunity.”So far, Sweden has banned gatherings larger than 50 people, closed high schools and universities, and urged those over 70 or otherwise at greater risk from the virus to self-isolate.The softer approach means that schools for younger children, restaurants and most businesses are still open, creating the impression that Swedes are living their lives as usual.Yet as Johan Klockar watches his son kick a ball around a field during a soccer practice in Stockholm, the 43-year-old financial analyst says it’s not like that. He and his wife work from home and avoid unnecessary outings. They socialize in a very small circle, and limit their son’s contacts to people he sees at school or soccer practice.”Society is functioning, but I think it’s quite limited,” Klockar said. “Other than this sort of situation — schools, soccer practice — we basically stay at home.”And while most businesses in Sweden are still operating, the economic cost of the pandemic is already being felt. Last week, 25,350 Swedes registered as unemployed, according to the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce — a larger increase than during the 2008 financial crisis.In contrast, just across a narrow strip of sea, neighboring Denmark is already talking about reopening society. They imposed a much stricter lockdown four weeks ago, closing borders, schools and businesses. This week, the prime minister said by acting early, Denmark averted the tragedy that struck hard-hit nations like Italy and Spain, which together have seen at least 37,000 virus-related deaths, and will be ready after Easter for a slow return to normal life that starts with reopening preschools and primary schools.For weeks, the numbers of COVID-19 cases and fatalities were proportionally similar between Sweden and Denmark, but while the economic results of the strict isolation are being felt in Denmark, Sweden’s mortality rate has reached more than 88 dead per million, compared with around 47 dead per million in Denmark.Sweden, with a population of 10 million, has registered 899 deaths, while Denmark, with 5.8 million people, has 273 deaths. Worldwide, the virus has infected a reported 1.8 million people  and killed 114,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Still, due to limited testing, different ways of counting the dead and deliberate under-counting by some governments, experts believe those numbers vastly understate the pandemic’s true toll.After a sharp spike in deaths in Sweden, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven proposed an emergency law allowing the quick closure of public venues and transportation if needed. Lofven also warned citizens to prepare for possibly up to thousands of deaths.Nevertheless, Tegnell, the chief epidemiologist, insists that Sweden’s approach still seems to make sense, though he also acknowledges that the world is in uncharted territory with the virus.
He argues that while Sweden might have more infections in the short term, it will not face the risk of a huge infection spike that Denmark might face once its lockdown is lifted.”I think both Norway and Denmark are now very concerned about how you stop this complete lockdown in a way so you don’t cause this wave to come immediately when you start loosening up,” he said.He said authorities know that the physical distancing Swedes are engaging in works, because officials have recorded a sudden end to the flu season and to a winter vomiting illness.Lars Ostergaard, chief consultant and professor at the Department of Infectious Diseases at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, agrees it is too soon to know which approach is best.”Every day a person is not being infected because of the strict lockdown, we are a day closer to a cure,” Ostergaard said, underlining the advantage of the Danish approach. But he acknowledges that the long-term consequences of a locked-down community could also be “substantial.””There is no right or wrong way,” Ostergaard said. “No one has walked this path before, and only the aftermath will show who made the best decision.”
…

Spain is loosening some of its coronavirus restrictions Monday with workers in the manufacturing and construction sectors allowed to go back to work. With the threat of spreading the virus still present, companies are required to provide employees with protective equipment and make sure they maintain the recommended two meters of spacing from other workers. Spain has been one of the hardest-hit countries with more than 165,000 confirmed cases and 17,000 deaths.  Much of the country has been on lockdown for about a month. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Sunday the pandemic is a threat not only in terms of its impacts on health, but also economically and socially. “Therefore, the response requires combining measures that prevent contagion, that allow the recovery of our health system and that at the same time prevent paralysis and the collapse of our economy with the harmful effects it may have on employment in our country,” Sanchez said. The balance between how long to keep in place stay-at-home measures and when to send people back to work to restore economic function is one being weighed by governments all over the world. South Korea’s Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Monday officials were discussing potential new guidelines that would keep in place social distancing rules while allowing some “economic and social activity.” Couples enjoy the view while practicing social distancing during the global spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at an observatory near “N Seoul Tower” located atop Mt. Namsan in Seoul, South Korea, April 7, 2020.South Korea has seen its number of daily new cases steadily fall, with the government reporting Monday 25 new cases. U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled his desire for economic activity to return to normal as soon as possible.  His administration has advised people to stay home if they can through the end of the month, while the governors of most of the country’s 50 states have gone further and ordered lockdowns with exceptions for activities such as exercise and grocery shopping. Top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a CNN interview Sunday that he thinks some of those measures could be lifted as early as next month. “We are hoping that, at the end of the month, we could look around and say, OK, is there any element here that we can safely and cautiously start pulling back on? If so, do it. If not, then just continue to hunker down,” Fauci said. He added that a key piece will be the ability to quickly identify anyone who becomes infected, isolate them, and track down who they have been in contact with, and that any reopening efforts would depend on the specific situation in different parts of the country. As of early Monday, there were 1.85 million confirmed cases worldwide, with 114,000 deaths, according Johns Hopkins University statistics.  The United States accounted for more than 550,000 cases. 
…

Master chocolatier Dominique Persoone stood forlorn on his huge workfloor, a faint smell of cocoa lingering amid the idle machinery — in a mere memory of better times.  Easter Sunday is normally the most important date on the chocolate makers’ calendar. But the coronavirus pandemic, with its lockdowns and social distancing, has struck a hard blow to the 5-billion-euro ($5.5-billion) industry that’s one of Belgium’s most emblematic. “It’s going to be a disaster,” Persoone told The Associated Press through a medical mask. He closed his shops as a precautionary measure weeks ago, and says “a lot” of Belgium’s hundreds of chocolate-makers, from multinationals to village outlets, will face financial ruin. For the coronavirus to hit is one thing, but to do it at Easter — when chocolate bunnies and eggs are seemingly everywhere — doubles the damage.  Yet amid the general gloom Belgians are allowing themselves some levity for the long Easter weekend. Some producers, like Persoone’s famed The Chocolate Line, offer Easter eggs or bunnies in medical masks, while the country’s top virologist has jokingly granted a lockdown pass to the “essential” furry workers traditionally supposed to bring kids their Easter eggs.  For young and old here, Easter Sunday usually means egg hunts in gardens and parks, sticky brown fingers, the satisfying crack of an amputated chocolate rabbit’s ear before it disappears into a rapt child’s mouth.  “People love their chocolates, the Easter eggs, the filled eggs, the little figures we make,” said chocolatier Marleen Van Volsem in her Praleen shop in Halle, south of Brussels. “This is really something very big for us.” The country has an annual per capita chocolate consumption of six kilograms (over 13 pounds), much of it scoffed during the peak Easter period.  “It is a really big season because if we don’t have this, then we won’t … be OK for the year,” Van Volsem said.  Persoone makes about 20% of his annual turnover in the single Easter week. This year, reduced to web sales and pick-ups out of his facility in western Belgium while his luxury shops in tourist cities Bruges and Antwerp are closed? “2% maybe, if we are lucky — not even.” Guy Gallet, chief of Belgium’s chocolate federation, expects earnings to be greatly reduced across the board this year. One of Belgium’s top chocolate producers Dominique Persoone stands in one of his production rooms with no workers, at his Chocolate Line warehouse in Bruges, Belgium, Friday, April 10, 2020.He said companies that sell mainly through supermarkets are doing relatively well but firms depending on sales in tourist locations, restaurants or airport shops “are badly hit.”  Persoone has a firm local base of customers but knows how tourists affect the books of so many chocolatiers.  “Of course, we won’t see Japanese people or Americans who come to Belgium for a holiday,” he said. “I am afraid if we do not get tourists anymore it will be a disaster, even in the future.” For most people, the coronavirus causes mild to moderate symptoms such as fever and cough. But for some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause pneumonia and in some cases death. The immediate challenge is to keep the Easter spirit — and the chocolatiers’ craft — alive in these trying times.  A big part is humor and the use of medical masks made of white chocolate is an obvious one. Persoone puts them on eggs.  “It is laughing with a hard thing. And on the other hand, we still have to keep fun, no? It is important to laugh in life.” Genevieve Trepant of the Cocoatree chocolate shop in Lonzee, southeast of Brussels, couldn’t agree more. And like Persoone, who donated sanitary gel no longer needed in his factory to a local hospital, Trepant also thought of the needy.  That’s how the Lapinou Solidaire and its partner the Lapinou Confine — the Caring Bunny and the Quarantined Bunny, both adorned with a white mask — were born. Customers are encouraged to gift Trepant’s 12-euro ($13) bunnies to local medical staff to show their support. Part of the proceeds go to charity.  One of the country’s top coronavirus experts also knows the medical virtues of laughter. Professor Marc Van Ranst told Belgian children that their Easter treats weren’t at risk.  Tongue well in cheek, he told public broadcaster VRT that the government had deeply pondered the issue of delivery rabbits’ movements in these dangerous times. The rabbits bring — Santa-like — eggs to the gardens of children, roving all over Belgium at a time when it is forbidden for the public at large.  “The decision was unanimous: it is an essential profession. Even the police have been informed that they should not obstruct the Easter bunny in its work,” he said.  There was a proviso, though. “Rabbits will deliver to the homes of parents, not grandparents,” who are more at risk from COVID-19, Van Ranst said. 
…

Italy is reporting its lowest number of new coronavirus deaths in three weeks and officials say hospitalization, including the number of patients admitted to intensive care, are also down. Italy has been Europe’s COVID-19 hot spot with more than 156,000 confirmed cases overall. But some Italian experts say the actual number may be much higher because of the high rate of fatalities in nursing homes where many of the patients were not tested before they died.   The Associated Press, which has kept its own count, reports the number of coronavirus deaths in U.S. nursing homes has jumped since the start of April to more than 3,300. But just like Italy, the true number may never be known because of patients dying before they could be tested.  Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House COVID task force believes testing in facilities for the elderly should be a priority.  “We need to really ensure that nursing homes have sentinel surveillance. And what do I mean by that? That we’re actively testing in nursing homes, both the residents and the workers, at all times,” Birx said. Back in Europe, France is also reporting a drop in coronavirus deaths and Spanish officials are letting construction and other industrial workers return to their jobs on  Monday after a two-week shutdown. But Spanish stores, except pharmacies and food stores, will continue to be closed and anyone who can work from home are still being told to do so.  Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu handed in his resignation Sunday after a two-day coronavirus-related curfew across the country took Turks by compete surprise.Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu delivers a speech in Ankara, Oct. 3, 2019.The government announced the curfew late Friday just two hours before it was to go into effect, sending thousands of Turks pouring into the streets and packing stores to stock up. Many left their houses without face masks.  “Responsibility for implementing the weekend curfew decision, which was aimed at preventing the epidemic, belongs entirely to me,” Soylu tweeted.  President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to accept Soylu’s resignation. Turkey has ordered only scattered lockdowns since the coronavirus pandemic reached there. “Our most important sensibility is the continuation of the supply of basic needs and ensuring the uninterrupted continuation of production to support exports,” Erdogan said last week. “Turkey is a country which in all conditions and circumstances must maintain production and ensure that the wheels (of production) carry on turning.” The government has urged people to avoid too much mobility and carry out what Erdogan has called your “own state of emergency.” But he has said stronger measures would be taken if the outbreak in Turkey does not subside.  In New York City, there is still no decision on whether to keep public schools closed for the rest of the academic year.  The city has the nation’s largest public school system. Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have been squabbling over who must make the decision.  De Blasio says the decision is his and said schools will stay shut. Cuomo says he is the one to decide.  “We won’t open schools one minute sooner than they should be opened but we won’t open schools one minute later than they should be opened either,” the governor said Sunday. The city school system has been conducting virtual classrooms for the last month, but some school officials say some teachers and students are having a hard adjusting. The Sri Lankan government is ordering that anyone who died or suspected of dying of coronavirus be cremated “for the purpose of prevention of any potential biological threat.” The order is certain to upset the island’s minority Muslims who say under Islamic law, bodies must be buried, not burned.  But the head of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Rauff Hakeem, is asking Muslims to remember that these are not ordinary times on Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka or anywhere else. Israel’s former chief rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron has died of the coronavirus. He was 79. He served as chief rabbi for Sephardic Jews from 1993 until 2003.  Despite his involvement in a scandal surrounding fraudulent college degrees for police officers, he remained a popular and respected cleric,  “His essence was wisdom, tolerance and love for the people and the country,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.  Coronavirus has also claimed the life of another prominent 79 year old –British comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor.  He was best known as a member of the Goodies comedy team and the BBC radio panel game I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue. 
…

The coronavirus pandemic could send Latin American and Caribbean economies plunging nearly 5% this year, the World Bank predicts.The bank’s acting vice president for Latin America, Humberto Lopez, said the sharp drop in these economies may force Latin governments to partially take over some businesses to keep them afloat.“To support jobs and firms, governments may need to take ownership stakes in strategically important firms. To avert a financial crisis, they may need to recapitalize banks and absorb nonperforming assets,” Lopez said in a new World Bank report.He added that the bank will have to step in to help “limit the damage and lay the groundwork for recovery as fast as possible.”The report urges Latin governments to be “transparent and professional” in helping beleaguered businesses to avoid any signs of corruption and possible future punishment.The World Bank forecast of a 4.6% contraction in Latin economies is much more dire than an earlier U.N. prediction of a shrinkage of between 1.8 to 4%.The World Bank report said that although Latin economies may fall hard this year because of the pandemic, it predicts a 2.6% recovery by 2021.  Latin and Caribbean countries that rely on tourism and foreign dollars have been particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic. 
…

Greek forces are on heightened alert as reports have surfaced that Turkey is preparing to push through a fresh wave of migrants to Europe. Officials in Athens say, they fear that refugees infected with the coronavirus may be among the new wave of asylum seekers.Greek government officials contacted by VOA say the heightened alert follows intelligence reports showing Turkish authorities moving refugee groups from remote inland areas to Turkey’s western shores, where smugglers could secretly ferry then to Greek islands less than a few kilometers away.They say Greece’s coastguard, Air Force and Navy are increasing patrols along the Aegean waterway that divides Greece and Turkey… anticipating what they call an organized attempt by Ankara to push through thousands of asylum seekers to Europe.Whether that push will include migrants infected by the coronavirus remains unclear, officials told VOA.But on Sunday, leading Greek media reported that Turkey was in fact considering such a plan… hoping to exert fresh pressure on Europe to extract added financial aid for hosting nearly 4 million Syrian refugees and sparing the continent a fresh migration crisis.Relations between Athens and Ankara have been strained since Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced earlier this year that he would no longer block migrants and refugees from seeking entry to Europe.He rescinded that order late last month, moving tens of thousands of migrants who had amassed along the Greek-Turkish land border to secluded camps to cslow the spread of the coronavirus in his country.Turkey, though, has publicly vowed to open its border anew to migrants once it manages to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.That’s a threat officials in Athens are not underestimating. 
…

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu resigned late Sunday, taking responsibility for a poorly timed announcement of a weekend coronavirus curfew that prompted thousands of people to rush into the streets.Soylu is one of the most senior figures in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.  In a statement posted on his Twitter account, Soylu said: “Responsibility for implementing the weekend curfew decision, which was aimed at preventing the epidemic, belongs entirely to me.”The 48-hour lockdown of 31 cities was announced just two hours before it took effect on Friday night. Thousands of people ran out to stores to stock up on goods, many without wearing mandatory face masks.  Images of large, closely-bunched crowds sparked criticism of the government’s planning for the lockdowns.Soylu, who was appointed interior minister in August 2016, said his “countless experiences should not have led to such scenes.”Turkey reported 4,789 more virus cases for a total of 56,956, including 1,198 deaths, as of Sunday.Soylu, 50, joined Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party in 2012, having switched from the center-right Democrat Party. Since then, he has risen to be viewed by some as a potential successor to Erdogan and as a rival of the president’s son-in-law, Finance Minister Berat Albayrak.
…