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Brazil’s Sao Paulo state is building thousands of vertical funeral plots in order to meet the demand caused by the surge in coronavirus victims.Heber Vila, director of Evolution Technology Funderaria, the company that manufactures these vertical cemeteries, said the plots being constructed of recyclable materials are safe as it prevents any type of contact between cemetery visitors in the form of liquids or gases from the body.An estimated 13,000 vertical plots are being built in three cemeteries in Sao Paulo state, one of the areas in Brazil hardest-hit by the COVID-19 outbreak.The impact of the virus on Sao Paulo prompted Gov. Joao Doria to repeat his stance of gradually easing lockdown restrictions, although President Jair Bolsonaro has complained that the lockdown measures to contain the spread of the virus have hurt the economy.Brazil leads all Latin America in coronavirus infections with more than 200,000 confirmed cases, and the death toll is nearing 14,000. 
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Colombia launched new measures Thursday night aimed at stopping a rise in coronavirus infections near the border with Brazil.President Iván Duque said residents in the Amazon region are instructed to stay home unless making essential trips for food or medical help.The military has also dispatched troops to strengthen border security.The latest restrictions are aimed at helping Colombia’s overwhelmed hospital system and to provide safeguards for the indigenous people of the Amazon region, where there has been a spike in COVID-19 cases.The Associated Press says the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia reports 146 COVID-19 infections and six deaths among the population.Duque said Colombia finds itself in a situation that could turn critical, given the differences, from an epidemiological viewpoint, with its neighbors.Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro resisted anti-COVID measures and criticized many of the country’s local leaders for closing businesses in Brazil, which has the highest COVID rate in Latin America.   
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Health officials in the Yucatan area of the Mexican peninsula say coronavirus deaths peaked Thursday, with a record number of nine people losing their lives during a 24-hour period.The spike in COVID-19 deaths brings the number of people in Yucatan who have died with the virus to 92. The total number cases in Yucatan reached 982 cases.The latest human toll of the virus came on the same day Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal announced aerospace, aeronautical and automotive factories in Yucatan will resume operations on Monday, after hygiene safeguards are put in place.Dosal also announced an extension of the ban on alcohol sales until the end of the month.The Yucatan Business Council, a group of stakeholders from various industries and business experts, will resume discussions Thursday on how to resume operations in agriculture, with an announcement of a comprehensive back-to-work plan next Friday.Yucatan’s construction industry is currently preparing a plan to meet safety requirements in order to reopen June 1. 
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A powerful Venezuelan official is seeking an investigation of the nation’s academy of scientists for publishing research that questioned official figures on coronavirus cases and estimated the pandemic may hit the country hard in the coming months. Venezuela’s In this April 2, 2019 file photo, Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s socialist party boss and president of the National Constituent Assembly attends a session in Caracas, Venezuela.”The numbers that they use are not supported,” Socialist Party Vice President Diosdado Cabello said, referring to the report on his weekly show Wednesday night. “It should be investigated.”  On Thursday the academy released a statement in response, reiterating the report’s two main conclusions: that testing should be increased and that it was unlikely the pandemic’s curve would be flattened at this time, underscoring the country should prepare for a forthcoming peak in the pandemic.   “It worries us as scientists, that we are harassed and marked for a technical report intended to improve management of the pandemic,” the statement added. The report used a mathematical model that the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine had developed earlier this year.  Venezuela’s information ministry did not respond to a request for comment.  Venezuela’s testing program has largely relied on rapid blood tests donated by the Chinese government, while its polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing capacity remains low. The PCR molecular tests are recommended by the World Health Organization and are considered more reliable than the rapid blood tests.  Only positive PCR tests certified by a single, overstretched Caracas lab — the National Institute of Hygiene — that can test a maximum of 100 samples per day, are included in the government’s official coronavirus case count. This has created a backlog that has kept the country’s confirmed case count artificially low, according to four of the people with knowledge of the facility. The government has previously sought to arrest critics of the nation’s rickety health care system, where some hospitals lack basics like soap and running water. The critics have said the government is ill-prepared to confront the deadly pandemic. “Providing scientific facts in an unbiased way for the well-being of our people who are suffering the worst crisis in our history, is a heroic act that deserves to be recognized by all Venezuelans,” the opposition-controlled National Assembly said in a statement denouncing the threats against the academy. 
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Turkey is easing COVID-19 restrictions as the government claims success in containing the virus. While infection and death rates are falling, concerns remain that the move may be coming too soon. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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Once they scrambled to grab what they could from a disintegrating Soviet state, exploiting the political and economic chaos of the post-communist Boris Yeltsin era to secure state enterprises, oilfields and mineral deposits at knockdown prices. But now Russia’s uber-wealthy oligarchs are rushing to shore up a failing state effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
 
Rumblings of discontent are growing in Russia over Vladimir Putin’s handling of the pandemic. His approval ratings fell to an historic low for him — down to 59 % last month from 63 % the previous month, according to the independent pollster Levada Center.
 
Even the normally loyal state-owned broadcaster Russia Today ran a report last week warning that the country risks a double-digit unemployment rate and a “return to the pain of the economic miasma of the Yeltsin years [that] would have unpredictable consequences for President Putin.”
 
The Russian leader is facing the biggest test of his presidency, but has passed on most of the responsibility for battling the deadly virus to the country’s regional governors.
 
Tasking regional governors with the main responsibility for tackling the coronavirus reverses the policy Putin has pursued since coming to power, say analysts and Russian media commentators. The Kremlin has over the years curbed the powers of the governors, insisting Russia needs a strong a central government.
 
“It is in the interest of all of us for the economy to return to normal quickly,” Putin said Monday when announcing the end of the non-working period. But a return to normality seems a long way away. On Tuesday his own spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, checked himself into a hospital after testing positive, the fifth senior official to have to do so.FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen during a teleconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, May 11, 2020.Putin is being accused of wanting to distance himself from the pandemic, fearing the political fallout, say some analysts. Earlier this week the Russian leader announced the end of a nationwide “non-working period,” leaving to the governors to decide whether to ease lockdowns in their regions or not. His announcement draw derision from many Muscovites, who pointed out that just hours before his announcement, health authorities reported the biggest one-day increase so far in infections.
 
“Despite having created a highly centralized political system, he is not going to be the commander-in-chief of this war. Instead, he would rather force local leaders to take the tough decisions, demanding they both save lives and save the economy, while sniping at them from the sidelines,” according to Mark Galeotti, an analyst at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), and a columnist for the Moscow Times.“He is retaining real power, but handing his boyars the burden of coronavirus,” he adds.  
 FILE – Russian steel magnate Alexei Mordashov speaks during an interview at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, in St. Petersburg, Russia, May 25, 2018.In their turn the governors have found Russia’s oligarchs ready to try to help them to plug the holes left by the state in the struggle to curb the virus.  The embrace of social responsibility by some of Russia’s prominent high-rollers — including steel magnate Alexei Mordashov, who instructed four regional governors to lock down their cities where he has mills, and mining magnate Vladimir Potanin, who has spent more than a hundred million dollars on testing kits, protective masks and ventilators — has surprised some.  
 
When the virus was bearing down on Russia, some independent news outlets reported wealthy Russians were rushing to buy ventilators, adding to shortages. Moscow-based medical pulmonologist Vasiliy Shtabnitskiy, told reporters he was aware of rich Muscovites hoarding ventilators. Although he added that might not do them any good without plenty of supplies of pressured oxygen and other crucial equipment as well as trained staff. But for the super wealthy — especially the mega-rich oligarchs — bespoke medical teams would not be beyond their reach.FILE – Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska is seen outsite his GAZ car production plant in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, April 16, 2019.But in recent weeks as cases have mounted — Russia has the second fastest rate of new infections globally — and discontent increased with a smattering of protests, the oligarchs started to intervene. Metals magnate Oleg Deripaska is funding three COVID-19 clinics in Siberia. The oligarchs have presented their involvement as being motivated by patriotism, avoiding overt criticism of the state strategy, although Deripaska publicly urged in March the Kremlin to seal shut all borders and to impose a 60-day quarantine on the country.
 
Analysts say oligarchs need to be mindful of the unwritten deal between them and Putin of not getting involved in politics. They have examples to warn them of the danger of breaking the deal, including the case of oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was the world’s 16th richest man when arrested in 2003 on charges of fraud and embezzlement and sentenced to a nine-year prison stretch.   
 
Patriotism or not, some analysts hazard that the oligarchs are moving now to try to fill in the holes for fear that the system Putin presides over — which also protects their wealth — is facing serious risks.  
 
The Russian president has had to put on hold his plans to rewrite the Russian constitution, which would allow him another 12 years in office, “while the Kremlin tries to deal with both the virus and a new economic crisis,” says Tatiana Stanovaya, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center, a think tank. “These twin challenges represent the biggest shock the Putin regime has ever faced and are likely to feed popular dissatisfaction,” she adds.  
 
The economic fallout is mounting. A quarter of working-age Russians say they have lost their jobs or expect they will soon. Six out of ten Russians have no savings. There have been isolated protests and analysts say there’s a real prospect of much wider unrest, once the pandemic starts to accelerate beyond Moscow and St. Petersburg, where hospitals and local health services have been neglected for years.  FILE – Medical personnel wearing protective gear move what appears to be a bag containing a human body, outside a hospital for coronavirus patients, on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia May 12, 2020.On Monday, the Kremlin appeared to understand the danger. Putin made his fifth address to the nation since the coronavirus outbreak, announcing new measures for supporting ordinary Russians as well as small businesses. Among the measures — bonuses for doctors and social workers, benefits for families with children, preferential credit terms for company owners and tax exemptions for small businesses. There had been mounting public criticism of the neglect of small business with preferential treatment going to much bigger concerns previously.
 
The measures received praise from economists. “For the first time during the crisis we are seeing that the size of payments is at least somewhat in line with what economists wrote about, and what opposition leaders suggested,” Konstantin Sonin, a professor at the University of Chicago and Russia’s Higher School of Economics, told Meduza, an independent news site.
 
Evsey Gurvich, an economist, agrees, but told Meduza it would have been better “if there had been a large-scale, anti-crisis program announced at the very beginning of the crisis — this would have helped many to decide not to close their businesses.”
 
Whether the new measures will dampen political frustration is unclear. For working-class Russians the new payments will cover their grocery costs for one month.
 
And few believe the coronavirus death toll the Kremlin has been publishing. In Moscow alone, the country’s coronavirus hotspot where 52 % of the officially registered confirmed cases have occurred, analysts as well as the city’s mayor say coronavirus-related cases and fatalities are being seriously under-reported.  
 
Russia confirmed 9,974 new coronavirus infections Thursday, bringing the country’s official tally of cases to 252,245. The total nationwide death toll is put at 2,305 — a mortality rate much lower than other European countries with better reserved and rated health-care systems. The Kremlin says Russia was able to learn lessons from the experiences of western Europe.
 
Trust in the mortality rate officially given is low. Russia’s first recorded virus-related fatality — an elderly woman who died on March 19 — was reclassified as having died from a blood clot.
 
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In a world full of bad news on coronavirus, the good deeds of quiet people often go unnoticed. In a report narrated by Jonathan Spier, Ricardo Marquina and Sergey Smolyakov bring us the story of an octogenarian in St. Petersburg, Russia, who – despite being in the highest-risk group – goes out every day to help those who need it most. 
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Spain’s health ministry reported Thursday the country’s daily coronavirus death toll rose above 200 for the first time in five days, with 217 fatalities reported since Wednesday.Spain’s death toll currently stands at more than 27,100, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 dashboard. COVID-19 is the illness caused by the virus.At news briefing in Madrid, the health ministry’s director of emergency coordination, Fernando Simón, said the higher number of deaths does not necessarily reflect a change in the situation in Spain. Rather, these were patients who were already hospitalized, likely in intensive care. He said it would take about a week to assess if this reflects a trend of any kind.Simon also said there were 506 new confirmed COVID cases Thursday, a slight increase (0.22 percent) that raises the number of cases to almost 230,000.More than half of the new cases were in Catalonia, where 195 were recorded. Eighty-eight cases were reported in Madrid.The two regions are not yet part of the national plan to ease lockdown restrictions due to their high infection rates.Simon also said that it was too soon to see an impact of the easing of the measures.
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The European Medicines Agency predicted that there could be licensed drugs to treat the new coronavirus in the next few months and that a vaccine might even be approved in early 2021, in a “best-case scenario.”
Dr. Marco Cavaleri, who heads the European regulator’s vaccines department, told a media briefing on Thursday that approving medicines to treat COVID-19 might be possible “before the summer,” citing ongoing clinical trials. Recent early results for the drug remdesivir suggested it could help patients recover from the coronavirus faster, although longer-term data is still needed to confirm any benefit.  
Although it typically takes years to develop a vaccine, Cavaleri said that if some of the shots already being tested prove to be effective, they could be licensed as early as the beginning of next year.  
Cavaleri cautioned, however, that many experimental vaccines never make it to the end and that there are often delays.  
“But we can see the possibility that if everything goes as planned, vaccines could be approved a year from now,” he said.  Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyMore than 140 heads of states and health experts, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz issued an appeal Thursday calling on all countries to unite behind a “people’s vaccine” against COVID-19, to ensure any effective treatments and vaccines be available globally to anyone who needs them, for free.
At the moment, there are about a dozen vaccine candidates being tested in China, Britain, Germany and the U.S. The World Health Organization has estimated it could take about 12 to 18 months for an effective vaccine to be found.  
While some experts have proposed dropping the requirement for large-scale advanced clinical trials altogether, Cavaleri said that wasn’t currently being considered.  
“Our current thinking is all vaccines under development should undergo large phase 3 trials to establish what is the level of protection,” he said.  
But he acknowledged that could change if the situation worsened.  
“Things may evolve as the pandemic will evolve and we will see if we need to do something else,” Cavaleri said.
Some officials have warned that a vaccine might never be found; previous attempts to develop a vaccine against related coronaviruses like SARS and MERS have all failed. But Cavleri was optimistic an immunization against COVID-19 would eventually be discovered, as there are various technologies being tried globally.  
“I think it’s a bit early to say, but we have good reason to be sufficiently optimistic that at the end of the day, some vaccines will make it,” he said.
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Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra said the rate of coronavirus cases is peaking and will begin a gradual decline as the country moves into the “final stage” of a lockdown which began more than two months ago.Vizcarra said until the lockdown ends on May 24, citizens will remain under a nightly curfew and social distancing will be enforced at markets, other businesses and on public transportation.Vizcarra said some markets in Lima temporarily closed after more than half the merchants in the capital city tested positive for coronavirus.Peru has the second-highest rate of coronavirus cases in Latin America, with Wednesday’s count reaching 76,306.Peru’s health ministry said 2,169 people have died from the virus.Peru’s all-important mining, fishing and construction industries have already begun a measured restart of operations. 
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she has “hard evidence” that Russia hacked the website of Germany’s parliament in 2015 and allegedly stole documents from her own parliamentary office. German news reports said prosecutors had issued an arrest warrant for a suspected member of the Russian military intelligence agency GRU. “I can say honestly that this pains me,” Merkel said during a question-and-answer session with lawmakers Wednesday. “On the one hand, I work every day for a better relationship with Russia, and when you see on the other hand that there is such hard evidence that Russian forces are involved in acting this way, this is an area of tension.” Merkel said she was “very glad” investigators had identified someone she called a “concrete” suspect. When asked about what the Russians were looking for, Merkel said she got “the impression that they picked up relatively indiscriminately what they could get.” It was unclear what Russian was allegedly trying to find. German authorities would categorize it only as intelligence data on German organizations and institutions.Merkel said that the charges didn’t make efforts to keep good relations with Russia easier and that Germany had the right to take measures against Russia or anyone who carried out such spying.  Russia has consistently denied conducting cyberattacks on Germany, the United States or any other Western nation. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has said the only time Russia broke into the German parliament was in 1945.  
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Mexico’s death toll from tainted alcohol has soared to at least 70 in the past two weeks, with dozens of deaths occurring since Sunday.Authorities said at least 40 people died on Mother’s Day after drinking tainted alcohol in Puebla and Morelos.Officials said at least 20 victims died in Chiconcuautla, Puebla, after consuming a local drink called Refino, which may have been tainted with methanol.Puebla State Interior Secretary David Méndez said the victims were among dozens of people attending a funeral last weekend.The mayor’s office in Puebla declared a health emergency and people are being urged not to drink alcohol, and if they do and require medical attention, the mayor is promising a full investigation.Meanwhile, 15 other people died in two jurisdictions in Morelose state, south of the capital, Mexico City, after drinking an unnamed alcohol that was later confiscated by authorities.Late last month, 28 victims died In Jalisco state after drinking El Chorrito, cane alcohol tainted with methanol.Authorities have not said publicly whether the surge in Mexico’s tainted alcohol deaths is related to the coronavirus restrictions, which included the closing of many alcohol retailers. 
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As people around the world wonder when the coronavirus might go away, experts say: Maybe never.The World Health Organization warned Wednesday that the new virus, which has infected 4.3 million people worldwide, may become endemic, just like the HIV virus, and that people may have to learn to live with it.It could stay embedded in communities even if a vaccine is found, said WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan during a virtual news conference from Geneva.”HIV has not gone away, but we have come to terms with the virus,” he said.About 100 organizations worldwide are working on developing a coronavirus vaccine. Even if they find one that works, containing the virus will take a “massive effort,” the WHO official said.Meanwhile, the California-based Gilead drug company has reached agreements with several companies to make its antiviral drug Veklury, the brand name of remdesivir, available in 127 countries to help treat COVID-19.After weeks or months under lockdown, people around the world are eager to return to their normal lives, but the pandemic is showing no signs of going away, at least for now. Some countries, like New Zealand and Thailand, reported no new cases Wednesday, and Australia came close. Once hardest hit, Italy and Spain have both slashed the number of new cases.An employee cleans the floor at Riverside Market in Christchurch on May 14, 2020. New Zealand will phase out its coronavirus lockdown over the next 10 days after successfully containing the virus.But Russia has reported more than 10,000 new infections per day for the past 11 days. It has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases after the United States. The country’s prime minister and the president’s spokesman are being treated for COVID-19. There are fears the situation may worsen because the country’s official nonworking period ended Tuesday.Some countries that seem to have halted the spread, like Germany and South Korea, have seen a resurgence of cases. A spike of new infections in Lebanon prompted the government to reimpose a four-day lockdown Wednesday after it began gradually lifting restrictions earlier this month.Governments are struggling between the need to restart their economies and the necessity to contain the virus. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has instructed local governments to reinstate shutdowns if they record more than 50 new cases per 100,000 residents. Russian President Vladimir Putin left to local governors to decide whether to extend shutdowns or reinstate the ones that have been lifted.In the United States, the government’s top virology expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned the public and leaders of the dangers of reopening too soon. Fauci told a Senate committee Tuesday that premature lifting of restrictions could lead to an outbreak that could be impossible to control.But U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that people want the country reopened, including businesses and schools.“We have to open our country. Now, we want to do it safely, but we also want to do it as quickly as possible. We can’t keep going on like this,” Trump said.The mayor of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser, extended the U.S. capital’s stay-at-home order, which was to expire Friday, until June 8. She said she wanted to see a steady decline of new cases over two weeks before lifting restrictions. Governors of neighboring states Virginia and Maryland are planning to ease their lockdowns in places where the spread of the virus has halted.Sheila Kelly, center, owner of Powell’s Steamer Co. & Pub, stands behind makeshift barriers as she helps patrons at her restaurant in the El Dorado County town of Placerville, Calif., May 13, 2020.Los Angeles County, California, the most populous county in the U.S., with 10 million residents, is expected to announce a three-month extension of its lockdown.The largest four-year public university system in the U.S., California State University, announced the cancellation of in-person classes in the fall at its 23 campuses, the first large U.S. university to do so. Almost all instruction will be moved online, Chancellor Timothy White said in a statement.Elsewhere in the world, Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday that it would go into complete lockdown for the end of the holy month of Ramadan after a sharp rise in new cases. The Interior Ministry said the measure would be in effect from May 23 through May 27.Worldwide, there were about 4.3 million confirmed infections and more than 297,000 deaths late Wednesday evening EDT, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. The United States was leading the world in the number of infections, with close to 1.4 million, and the number of coronavirus-related deaths, over 84,000. 
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More than 40 people have been detained as alleged participants in last week’s unsuccessful attempt to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as security forces continue to round up suspects.Three Venezuelan men were captured Monday in Carayaca, 35 miles west of Caracas. Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Guard said in a social media post that the men were “terrorists who entered the country intending to provoke violence.”Late Sunday, Venezuelan army chief Remigio Ceballos tweeted to announce that government forces had arrested eight other “enemies of the fatherland” allegedly tied to the foiled raid.ALERTA! Pueblo de Venezuela la Patria se crece su FANB sigue garantizando la Seguridad de la Nación, hemos capturado hoy a esta hora 8 terroristas mercenarios, Felicitaciones REDI Capital y Central seguimos escudriñando y capturando a los enemigos de la Patria!!! pic.twitter.com/6c1NadqwNT— A/J REMIGIO CEBALLOS (@CeballosIchaso) May 11, 2020Maduro’s forces reportedly killed eight men during the May 3 raid and captured more than 20 others, including Americans Airon Berry and Luke Denman, both former members of the U.S. special forces. Berry and Denman are being held in Venezuela on charges of terrorism, arms trafficking and conspiracy.Maduro announced last week that his government was working toward the extradition from the U.S. of Jordan Goudreau, the operator of a Florida-based security contracting company implicated in the botched mission, to stand trial for his alleged role in the raid attempt.Venezuelan authorities say that the operatives traveled by speedboat from Colombia to Venezuela and that Venezuelan forces foiled the attack, having been warned about it ahead of time.
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The European Union Wednesday announced its plan to help European citizens salvage their summer vacations and resurrect Europe’s damaged tourism industry after months of coronavirus lockdowns.At a Brussels news conference, EU commissioners stressed safety as they announced their gradual, careful steps to restart travel and tourism among European countries.The commissioner’s over-arching advice is that EU countries with similar rates of coronavirus infections and comparably strong health care systems should begin lifting border measures between each other.Earlier Wednesday, Germany announced, after consultations with its neighbors, the opening of its borders with France, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Austria.  Tourists from outside Europe cannot enter Germany until at least June 15.The EU commissioners also announced guidelines for reimbursing consumers with vouchers for cancelled flights or other vacation plans that can be used for future travel plans. The vouchers, they said, would be preferable to cash reimbursements as they would encourage travel and not create a financial burden on cash-strapped airlines and travel companies.  Even with easing restrictions, social distancing rules would still apply, and Brussels is recommending that robust disease monitoring measures are put in place – including good testing capacity and contact tracing – so that people have the confidence to return to hotels and camping sites abroad. 
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Spain – one of the nations hardest hit by the pandemic – is seeing its daily coronavirus death rate drop this week.  That is allowing a limited number of businesses to reopen after weeks of paralysis. Although business owners are happy to be open again, they continue to see their losses mount – and normality seems distant. In a report narrated by Jonathan Spier, Alfonso Beato has the story from Barcelona
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Germany’s interior minister said Wednesday the country wants to end some COVID-19 checks at land borders by the middle of next month.Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told reporters Germany had set the goal of free travel in Europe by mid-June and would open borders with France, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Austria by Saturday.Seehofer said the plans are contingent on a continued favorable rate of COVID-19 infection.Seehofer said agreements on loosening the measures had been reached in bilateral talks with neighboring nations this week.He said that travel from non-EU countries such as the United States and Russia would remain restricted until at least June 15.German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the border openings before the German parliament Wednesday. She, like Seehofer, warned of complacency regarding the virus, saying it would be sad if Germans had to return to the restraints of full COVID-19 restrictions if the virus flairs up again. 
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New Zealand and Thailand each reported no new coronavirus cases Wednesday as the governments prepared to further ease lockdown restrictions. New Zealand has now had four such days during the past two weeks, showing continued success that followed a month of strict stay-at-home orders. Thursday brings the latest step back to normalcy there with most stores and restaurants allowed to open again with social distancing rules in place. “The sense of anticipation is both palpable and understandable,” Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said. Thailand reached the zero daily cases milestone for the first time since early March.  The government is urging people to continue wearing masks if they go out in public and will meet Friday to decide on additional easing measures such as allowing shopping malls to reopen. In another sign of progress, Austria announced Wednesday its border with Germany would fully reopen on June 15 after talks between leaders of the two countries. Mexico’s General Health Council has classified the construction, mining and automobile manufacturing industries as “essential activities,” meaning they will be allowed to operate while other businesses remain under lockdown restrictions.A medical worker from the COVID-19 triage carries paperwork at the Mexico General Hospital, in Mexico City, Tuesday, May 12, 2020.The move came ahead of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s expected announcement Wednesday of his plan for gradually resuming economic activity in Mexico.  The country’s health ministry has reported 38,000 confirmed cases and more than 3,900 deaths. While many countries, especially in Europe, are starting to allow businesses to reopen, health officials remain cautious about the risk for moving too quickly and allowing a resurgence of infections. The top U.S. infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told a Senate committee he is concerned that if states skip stages such as waiting for a two-week decline in confirmed cases before opening up, “we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks.” “If you think that we have it completely under control, we don’t,” Fauci told lawmakers.  “If you look at the dynamics of the outbreak, we are seeing a diminution of hospitalizations and infections in some places, such as in New York City, which has plateaued and starting to come down, New Orleans. But in other parts of the country, we are seeing spikes.” The United States has the most confirmed cases in the world, followed by Russia, which has seen a spike in cases, including reporting more than 10,000 new cases again Wednesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced Tuesday that he has contracted the virus. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin had to relinquish his duties two weeks ago after being diagnosed with COVID-19.  President Vladimir Putin is conducting all his communication via video links from his official retreat outside Moscow.  Worldwide, there are about 4.3 million confirmed cases and 292,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. 
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A videotape has emerged showing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro telling his Cabinet that he wanted to personally choose the head of the federal police office in Rio de Janeiro to shield his family from investigation. The videotape was viewed Tuesday by investigators looking into accusations made by former Justice Minister Sergio Moro that the president is trying to interfere in ongoing police investigations.    Sources say Bolsonaro told his Cabinet in the videotape that he wanted to change the leadership of the federal police office because his family is being persecuted. But hours after the videotape was viewed, the president said that he was instead expressing concern about his family’s safety. Bolsonaro also said there has never been any investigation of his family by the federal police, and that the videotape should have been destroyed.  Rio de Janeiro is Bolsonaro’s hometown and where his two sons are prominent politicians:  Flavio, a senator, and Carlos, a Rio city councilman.  Both sons are under investigation for various allegations by local prosecutors and police.   Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered an investigation into Moro’s accusations after Moro, a popular anti-corruption crusader, abruptly resigned from Bolsonaro’s cabinet last month after the president fired the federal police chief.  The growing scandal is likely to further damage Bolsonaro’s already sinking approval ratings over his stubborn approach to the coronavirus pandemic, which has soared to over 177,000 confirmed cases, including 12,400 fatalities.  The health ministry reported 881 fatalities over a 24 hour period on Tuesday, its deadliest day since the start of the outbreak. 
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Italy plans to reopen bars and restaurants after suffering one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks Europe has seen so far.  Getting around the country remains a concern, as social distancing guidelines all but forbid using mass transit.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports that Italy’s capital built a special bike lane to keep commuters safe.
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Turkey is starting to ease COVID-19 restrictions, as the government claims success in containing the coronavirus. While infection and death rates are falling, concerns remain, the move may be premature, driven more by economic rather than health considerations. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.”May God gives us good business and protect us from corona,” said Gul Ali Simsek as he opened his barbershop in Istanbul’s Moda district.Simsek’s business has been in lockdown since March, as part of a nationwide shutdown of barbers, cafes, bars, restaurants and numerous other establishments.But the lockdown was lifted on hairdressers and barbers, as the government lifted some COVID-19 controls.  “I am opening the shop with such excitement as if it is the first time. Because I missed it,” said Simsek, holding back tears. “I missed the people. I am so used to here,” gesturing to his barbershop.Even though it was seven in the morning, Simsek didn’t have to wait long for his regular customers.”Brother Ali is my barber for almost 40 years. Since I was a child, he has cut my hair,” said Yakup, who has a tailor shop nearby.Tailor Yakup, a customer of barber Gul Ali Simsek for forty years, welcomes the reopening but worries of a second lockdown if there are more infections. (D. Jones)”We waited for this day too long,” said Yakup, who asked that his last name not be used. “I hope it would be good for our nation, of course. With the condition that we all abide by the rules.”Simsek explains he has disinfected his shop and is wearing a mask and gloves following safety regulations issued by Turkey’s National Barber Association.  Both men say they have suffered substantial economic losses, while struggling to live with the uncertainty of when restrictions will end.On Monday, shopping malls opened for the first time since March. Customers entering some malls had their temperatures taken as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus.  Critics are questioning the opening of the malls, pointing out the health risks of confined places with large numbers of people.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pointing to declining COVID-19 infection and death rates, said the time is right to ease controls. On Sunday, people over the age of 65 were allowed out of their homes for four hours a day after a nearly two-month lockdown.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, listens during a teleconference with his cabinet in Istanbul, May 11, 2020.”Like all the countries in the world, they (the Turkish government) are caught between a rock and a hard place,” said international relations expert Soli Ozel of Istanbul’s Kadir Has University.   “How much should we engineer our policies that the health issues don’t get out of hand? Second, what do we do to avoid the devastation of the economy, which was already very weak?” he asked.Ozel says Turkey, through a combination of factors, including having Europe’s youngest population, appears less vulnerable to infection. He says the country has large numbers of intensive care facilities, along with well-trained doctors and is among the most successful in Europe in containing the virus.”Other than some major initial errors, the government has rather rapidly reacted to the threat,” said Ozel.”Turkey has done well, and in terms of the number of deaths per million inhabitants, it has done even better than Germany, which is the best western European country.”The Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus dashboard says Turkey currently has close to 140,000 infections and 3,841 deaths. On Monday, Turkey’s Health Ministry reported 1,114 new COVID-19 cases, 55 deaths and 3,089 people recovering.  The political opposition accuses the government of underreporting, a charge it denies. Observers point out similar claims have been made against many European countries.But fears of rising complacency are starting to be voiced within the government. Photographs Friday of Istanbul’s famous Istiklal shopping street crowded with people, many unmasked, alarmed Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.  Photos of Istanbul’s famous Istiklal shopping street Friday crowded with people, many unmasked, alarmed Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, warning of dangerous complacency. (D. Jones)”This is not a very good picture. It is too early for so many people to appear in a single photo frame. Let’s try to stay at home. If we go out, let’s wear face masks and adhere to social distancing rules,” Koca wrote on Twitter.Koca’s reputation has surged during the epidemic, with one poll naming him the country’s most popular politician.  Critics are warning the government’s easing of restrictions threatens to accelerate complacency within the population, risking a surge in infections. On Wednesday, people under 20 (those working are exempt) will be allowed out of their homes for four hours, for the first time since March.The government announced Monday the lockdown will end starting May 27 for people under 20 and over 65.Erdogan is voicing caution. “We have seen the examples in the world of how complacency could lead to big catastrophes,” he said Tuesday.The Turkish president announced a new nationwide lockdown from May 16 to 19 to coincide with a public holiday.Erdogan’s balancing act between health and economic concerns comes amid mounting criticism that not enough is being done to alleviate the financial fallout of the pandemic.”If Erdogan delivered 5,000 lira ($700) to every person at the beginning of the epidemic to help people get through, Erdogan would have been a national hero. But he didn’t. There is a lot of economic pain,” said analyst Atilla Yesilada of consulting group Global Source Partners.”The government’s allocation resources to the working population really wasn’t sufficient,” Ozel said. “It is also debatable whether small- and medium-size enterprises received enough support from the government. One of the most staunch supporters of the government is shopkeepers, and they have been hit very hard.”But even business owners like barber Simsek say the hope instilled by returning to work is tempered by fear that Turkey is taking a gamble.  “Of course, there is fear. There is fear. You can’t be without fear because this is not a matter of a joke. We have to be scared,” he said, while applying the finishing touches to the haircut for friend and life-long customer Yakup.Looking at his haircut, Yakup concurs.”The future is uncertain; the limitations can be introduced again. But we are putting up our own fight as much as we can. There is not much more we can do.”
 
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In an effort to try to prevent importing new cases of the coronavirus, Spain is requiring people arriving from abroad to go into quarantine for two weeks. The country has started to emerge from a seven-week, strict lockdown after an explosion of cases made it one of the world’s COVID-19 hot spots. A health ministry order published Tuesday said the quarantine rules will go into effect on Friday and will apply both to visitors from other countries as well as Spanish citizens who are returning home. People will be allowed only to go grocery shopping or to seek medical care during the 14-day period. China instituted a similar strategy as it saw its locally transmitted cases sharply decline and authorities began easing lockdown restrictions. Governments all over the world are currently weighing their strategies and whether it is time to impose new measures to stop the spread of the virus or allow people to resume parts of normal life. In Singapore, Tuesday brought a new phase in reopening with people allowed to get a haircut, visit bakeries or go to laundromats.   India is resuming some train service Tuesday for the first time since March.  Passengers must pass temperature checks and adhere to social distancing guidelines. South Korean authorities are worried about a resurgence of cases and are working to track down people who recently visited nightclubs in Seoul where a cluster of new infections has emerged.Quarantine workers spray disinfectants at night spots of Itaewon neighborhood, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Seoul, South Korea, May 11, 2020.Officials said Tuesday teams are using phone and credit card data to try to track down about 2,000 more people so they can be tested. So far, there are more than 100 confirmed cases linked to nightclubs. So-called contact tracing has been a major element as governments try to stop the spread of the coronavirus by finding who may have been close enough to someone who has tested positive. Those people can then be tested themselves, and isolated if necessary. Testing is a big focus in the United States, with the Trump administration saying about 9 million people have been tested and that the capacity for more tests is increasing. A senior administration official told reporters that a new antigen test will speed up the testing process further because it looks only for the presence of the viral protein in the nose, unlike the more complicated and time-consuming nucleic acid tests.     “The machines for these tests — there are already 20,000 of them out in the United States because they’re a commonly used platform for things like flu testing and strep throat,” the official said.  The World Health Organization is advising nations to ensure that the pandemic is under control before reopening. WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday that countries should also have surveillance systems in place to be able to detect and manage any resurgence of cases and ensure that their health systems can cope with a possible resurgence after reopening.   He also said there are about seven or eight of what he called “top” vaccine candidates among the many currently being developed around the world.  He said that while several months ago experts expected the process of getting a vaccine ready for public use would take 12 to 18 months, there are efforts to accelerate that process with the support of $8 billion in pledges made last week.   Worldwide, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases is about 4.2 million. The global death tally is more than 286,000, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. 
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In an effort to try to prevent importing new cases of the coronavirus, Spain is requiring people arriving from abroad to go into quarantine for two weeks. The country has started to emerge from a seven-week, strict lockdown after an explosion of cases made it one of the world’s COVID-19 hot spots. A health ministry order published Tuesday said the quarantine rules will go into effect on Friday and will apply both to visitors from other countries as well as Spanish citizens who are returning home. People will be allowed only to go grocery shopping or to seek medical care during the 14-day period. China instituted a similar strategy as it saw its locally transmitted cases sharply decline and authorities began easing lockdown restrictions. Governments all over the world are currently weighing their strategies and whether it is time to impose new measures to stop the spread of the virus or allow people to resume parts of normal life. In Singapore, Tuesday brought a new phase in reopening with people allowed to get a haircut, visit bakeries or go to laundromats.   India is resuming some train service Tuesday for the first time since March.  Passengers must pass temperature checks and adhere to social distancing guidelines. South Korean authorities are worried about a resurgence of cases and are working to track down people who recently visited nightclubs in Seoul where a cluster of new infections has emerged.Quarantine workers spray disinfectants at night spots of Itaewon neighborhood, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Seoul, South Korea, May 11, 2020.Officials said Tuesday teams are using phone and credit card data to try to track down about 2,000 more people so they can be tested. So far, there are more than 100 confirmed cases linked to nightclubs. So-called contact tracing has been a major element as governments try to stop the spread of the coronavirus by finding who may have been close enough to someone who has tested positive. Those people can then be tested themselves, and isolated if necessary. Testing is a big focus in the United States, with the Trump administration saying about 9 million people have been tested and that the capacity for more tests is increasing. A senior administration official told reporters that a new antigen test will speed up the testing process further because it looks only for the presence of the viral protein in the nose, unlike the more complicated and time-consuming nucleic acid tests.     “The machines for these tests — there are already 20,000 of them out in the United States because they’re a commonly used platform for things like flu testing and strep throat,” the official said.  The World Health Organization is advising nations to ensure that the pandemic is under control before reopening. WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday that countries should also have surveillance systems in place to be able to detect and manage any resurgence of cases and ensure that their health systems can cope with a possible resurgence after reopening.   He also said there are about seven or eight of what he called “top” vaccine candidates among the many currently being developed around the world.  He said that while several months ago experts expected the process of getting a vaccine ready for public use would take 12 to 18 months, there are efforts to accelerate that process with the support of $8 billion in pledges made last week.   Worldwide, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases is about 4.2 million. The global death tally is more than 286,000, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. 
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Jamaica will begin relaxing its COVID-19 restrictions this week with the reopening of churches for a two-week trial period. Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced during a press briefing Monday that beginning May 16 services may resume based on an agreement with the religious community that face masks are worn and social distancing is maintained inside the church. The prime minster also said no more than 10 people can be gathered outside places of worship while each person stays six-feet apart.    The government will also allow community bars to reopen on May 19 while authorities review how the managers are conducting operations. Under the criteria for bars reopening, social and physical distancing must be maintained and a limit of five people, including the bartender, are to be in the bar at any given time.  Prime Minister Holness said it is crucial that Jamaicans do their best to maintain the integrity of the relaxed restrictions to help move the nation’s economy back to its capacity.  Jamaica has confirmed 502 coronavirus cases and nine deaths. 
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