Trump Offers Condolences To Families Of America’s 100k COVID-19 Victims; Brazil Passes 400k Cases: Live Updates

Summary:

• Trump tweets condolences
• Brazil cases top 400k
• South Korea reports alarming jump in cases
• Blue House mulls reinstating strict social distancing measures
• Philippines President to end Manila lockdown
• Denmark decision to partially reopen schools deemed a ‘success’
• New evidence of ‘Community Spread’ found in certain African countries

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With Johns Hopkins finally confirming that the US death toll had passed the 100k mark…

…President Trump tweeted his condolences to the families of all those who lost loved ones during the pandemic.

We have just reached a very sad milestone with the coronavirus pandemic deaths reaching 100,000. To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2020

With the US temporarily preoccupied by looting in Minneapolis and elsewhere – the focus during the early morning hours was on Asia, as Japanese health officials reported a new cluster: A hospital in Koganei city, located on the outskirts of Tokyo, have confirmed 3 infected patients, with 18 more reporting symptoms, including a fever. South Korea recently uncovered a ‘silent’ cluster after testing tens of thousands of people who had traveled to a popular nightlife district of Seoul one evening after a nightclubber tested positive, raising fears of a new ‘superspreader’ cluster.

With testing ramping up once again, officials are reportedly weighing whether to revive more-strict social distancing rules due to a recent increase in confirmed cases.

In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte approved a recommendation to ease the lockdown in the capital Manila beginning on June 1 as he tries to pull his country’s economy back from the brink of what would likely be a bruising recession.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged her fellow world leaders to provide more money to multinational NGOs like the UN and WHO in the name of accelerating the global recovery from the virus.

Expanding on that point, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres agitated for more comprehensive sovereign debt relief for the poorest nations, insisting that “relief must be extended to all developing, middle-income countries that request forbearance as they lose access to financial markets” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Later today, PM Johnson will set out the next steps on easing Britain’s lockdown, describing what will be possible from June 1.

As France and Germany abandon the drugs, Indonesia said Thursday it will continue to prescribe two anti-malarial drugs – chloroquine and its derivative, hydroxychloroquine – for coronavirus patients but monitor their use closely.

UK police have said Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings did breach the coronavirus lockdown but that it was minor and they will take no further action, the Telegraph has reported.

Source: Al Jazeera

Though Africa has been largely spared the brunt of the global outbreak, Al Jazeera warned that cases of community transmission of the coronavirus are growing, particularly in Ethiopia, and that a new strategy for testing is needed to prevent further spread.

“We are beginning to see sustained community transmission within Ethiopia and many other countries across Africa. That means we need to increase our public health measures like distancing, wearing of masks, washing of hands,” Head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention John Nkengasong told journalists.

Brazil recorded more than 1,000 new deaths from the coronavirus over the past day, officials said Wednesday. The 1,086 new casualties bring the total number of deaths to 25,598. With 20,599 new cases, one of the largest single-day increases yet, the number of infected people has reached 411,821.

And finally, a partial reopening of schools in Denmark has not lead to an increase in coronavirus infections among pupils, a doctor of infectious disease epidemiology and prevention at the Danish Serum Institute said Thursday, citing newly released government data.

Denmark was one of the first countries to reopen, as it allowed some younger students – up to the fifth grade – to return to school on April 15 after a month-long break.

“You cannot see any negative effects from the reopening of schools,” the scientist said. In the US, NJ Gov Phil Murphy said earlier this week that he would allow outdoor high school graduation ceremonies to continue.