Puppet master fantasy come true: Half of humanity is self-isolating - and other Covid-19 news

DW
Thu, 02 Apr 2020 17:24 UTC

Over 3.9 billion people — more than half of humanity — are in confinement due to the coronavirus, according to Thursday tally conducted by French news agency AFP. Coronavirus prevention measures that include required or recommended confinement, curfews, and quarantines have been put in place in over 90 countries and territories. Thailand was the most recent country to enact a curfew, which will come into effect on Friday, pushing the tally over the halfway point.

Comment: Putin has extended the "paid holiday" period until the end of April:

The move comes a day after the President acknowledged that the situation with COVID-19 in Russia was becoming "complicated," during a meeting with officials, conducted remotely. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova used the opportunity to suggest extending the paid time off.

Putin said the peak of the coronavirus epidemic is yet to come both globally and in Russia. Moscow, which is the hardest hit Russian city, announced almost 600 new confirmed cases on Thursday.
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According to Putin, the combination of isolation regimes and holidays will allow Russia "to buy time for proactive measures." However, he conceded its too early to talk about turning the tide of infections.

The UK will remain in lockdown until at least after Easter. (The British MoD is keeping silent on the number of infections among soldiers.) Trump has announced $25bn in emergency cash for public transit systems. According to a French official, the US bought a shipment of face masks bound for France with cash - they apparently offered to pay double the price, essentially outbidding France. Aid to Cuba, on the other hand, was blocked at the last minute due to US sanctions. The Pentagon is stocking up on body bags (100 thousand of them) to distribute to hospitals and morgues. And poor Netanyahu, just out of self-isolation, is back in it (along with other top officials) after Israel's health minister tested positive.

See also:

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• The New York Times embarrasses itself over coronavirus misinformation, again
• Tucker Carlson: DHS offering 100,000 seasonal worker visas amid unemployment crisis
• UK: Woman fined £660 for refusing to tell police why she was out
• Facebook removes Project Veritas video for violating policy against coronavirus misinformation
• What seems unnatural about COVID-19 (SARS CoV-2)?
• US alcohol sales increase 55 percent in one week amid coronavirus pandemic
• The US just signed a $450 million coronavirus vaccine contract with Johnson & Johnson