RTSat, 11 Apr 2020 16:14 UTC
© Russian Consulate in Harbin
Just out of its own fight against the coronavirus, China has sent several tons of medical supplies as well as a team of virologists and doctors that will share their firsthand experience with their Russian colleagues.
Invited by the city authorities of Moscow, the Chinese medical team boarded their flight on Saturday, Russia's consulate in Harbin, China said. The task force is comprised of "renowned Chinese virologists and doctors who have huge clinical experience and practical knowledge," the consulate stated.
The mission, run by China's National Health Commission, isn't restricted to experience sharing only. Heilongjiang province, which borders Russia's Far East, has also sent "several tons" of protective gear and equipment to support Russia's frontline hospitals and first responders.
Last week, 26 tons of humanitarian cargo arrived from China, with face masks, respirators, hazmat suits, and infrared thermometers donated by Beijing.
In February, when the coronavirus epidemic was raging through Hubei province and the rest of China, Russia sent similar cargo of protective suits and masks, along with crucial medicine and other essentials.
Beijing officially claims to have largely defeated Covid-19 following several months of stringent lockdown and enormous effort made by the government and medical community.
Recently, it emerged that Wuhan, the epicenter of the crisis, has recorded no new cases in a week; the city is steadily opening up, as are other places throughout China.
Comment: While China engages in some PR aid campaigns, the U.S. doesn't seem to care much for its image.
Cuba is highlighting the continued effect of U.S. sanctions on the country:
"The United States' economic-financial blockade is the most unfair, severe, prolonged system of sanctions of all time by one country against another," Nestor Marimon, the Cuban Health Ministry's international relations director, told reporters.
Imposed at the height of the Cold War, the American blockade has become "even more cruel and genocidal than it normally is... when we don't have an epidemic," he said, adding that it has severely hindered Cuba's procurement of medical supplies on foreign markets, as cited by AFP. "It's very difficult to buy equipment, supplies, medicines. We're forced to buy them in far away markets that double, triple the costs and on many occasions they arrive late."
According to Marimon, the Health Ministry lost $160 million between April 2019 and March 2020 due to the sanctions, $60 million more than the year prior.
Despite recording only 881 Covid-related deaths in the first week of April, the Netherlands reports that overall mortality for that time period is still much higher than usual, with 5,100 deaths when around 3,000 were expected:
In some municipalities, the weekly death toll exceeded the average twofold and even fourfold, the CBS said. The abnormally large figures alone, however, cannot conclusively show that Covid-19 is to blame, and the spike may be "coincidental and not necessarily related to the coronavirus crisis," the statistics body noted.
The same has been reported for areas of Spain and Italy - spikes in mortality not attributed wholly to coronavirus. Whether it's effects of the lockdown, unreported Covid deaths, responses to hospital treatment, or something else entirely, something weird is going on. (MOMO, the European mortality tracking website,
shows increased mortality in March for Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and England - sometimes reaching or exceeding that of previous flu seasons for the past 4 years.)
The US DHS seems to want to keep America under lockdown.
They say that if containment measures are lifted after 30 days, there will be a summer surge in cases, with 200k deaths. Needless to say, they don't actually
know this, it's just what their 'models' tell them:
At a White House briefing on Friday, Trump offered a much less dire prediction, stating that the epidemic may be nearing its apex, but nonetheless said he was now weighing whether to extend the federal guidelines. "I'm going to have to make a decision, and I ... hope to God that it's the right decision," he said. "It's the biggest decision I've ever had to make."
Trump is also considering
visa sanctions against countries who "delay or deny" return of their citizens - citing the health risk they pose.
Iran has
reopened 'low-risk' businesses, and car production has
resumed in China. But while China reopens its economy, the current lockdown in
India could have longer lasting effects:
While it is not yet clear how much longer Indians will have to stay home, if the lockdown continues for an additional month, it could put 32 million livelihoods at risk and the country's economy could contract by around 20 percent in the first quarter, McKinsey's analysts warn.
However, annual results in this case would not be too devastating, with growth falling between two and three percent in the fiscal year 2021.
The worst-case scenario envisaged by the report said there could be an even deeper annual economic contraction of around eight to 10 percent. This might happen if the epidemic continues to ravage the country and the authorities have to impose additional restrictions that spill into the second quarter and beyond. This scenario would result in an "even greater reluctance among migrants to resume work, and [ensure] a much slower rate of recovery."
Here are the streets of
Turkey 2 hours before a 48-hour curfew goes into effect:
See also:
Comment: While China engages in some PR aid campaigns, the U.S. doesn't seem to care much for its image. Cuba is highlighting the continued effect of U.S. sanctions on the country: Despite recording only 881 Covid-related deaths in the first week of April, the Netherlands reports that overall mortality for that time period is still much higher than usual, with 5,100 deaths when around 3,000 were expected: The same has been reported for areas of Spain and Italy - spikes in mortality not attributed wholly to coronavirus. Whether it's effects of the lockdown, unreported Covid deaths, responses to hospital treatment, or something else entirely, something weird is going on. (MOMO, the European mortality tracking website, shows increased mortality in March for Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and England - sometimes reaching or exceeding that of previous flu seasons for the past 4 years.)
The US DHS seems to want to keep America under lockdown. They say that if containment measures are lifted after 30 days, there will be a summer surge in cases, with 200k deaths. Needless to say, they don't actually know this, it's just what their 'models' tell them: Trump is also considering visa sanctions against countries who "delay or deny" return of their citizens - citing the health risk they pose.
Iran has reopened 'low-risk' businesses, and car production has resumed in China. But while China reopens its economy, the current lockdown in India could have longer lasting effects: Here are the streets of Turkey 2 hours before a 48-hour curfew goes into effect:
See also: