The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.
TOP OF THE HOUR:
— Saudi Arabia will have full lockdown in celebration days following Ramadan
— German travel company TUI to cut 1000s of jobs due to pandemic
— South Korea: No plans to backtrack on relaxed rules despite spike in virus cases
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— Mexico advisory board issues guidelines on reopening businesses
— Pakistan tops 2,000 for a single-day total of new virus cases for 1st time
— China reports seven new virus cases, including six in Jilin province
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Saudi Arabia says it will go into a full lockdown during the days of celebration that follow the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.
The Interior Ministry made the announcement early Wednesday morning, saying the lockdown would be in effect from May 23 through May 27.
Those days mark the start of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that comes at the end of Ramadan. That holiday typically sees families invite loved ones over for meals and go out to eat and drink during the day.
Meanwhile, in the neighboring United Arab Emirates, the federation of seven sheikhdoms says it will offer free coronavirus testing for all citizens beginning next week. Foreigners in the country with coronavirus symptoms, pregnant women, those over 50 and those in contact with those who fell ill with COVID-19 also will be among those able to be tested for free.
Private beaches at hotels also are beginning to reopen in Dubai, even as the number of confirmed cases and deaths continue to rise in the country. (edited)
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BERLIN— Travel company TUI says it expects to cut thousands of jobs as it works to cut its costs amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Germany-based tour, travel and hotel operator said Wednesday that it is “prepared for a resumption of its operational activities” and its first hotels on the German coast will reopen in the coming days.
TUI was granted a German government-backed bridging loan of 1.8 billion euros ($1.95 billion) to help cushion the effects of shutdowns. The company said it will have to cut investments and costs in a globally weakened market and is aiming for a permanent 30% reduction in its overhead cost base.
CEO Fritz Joussen said in a statement that “this will have an impact on potentially 8,000 roles globally that will either not be recruited or reduced.” He added that “we must now implement the realignment quickly.”
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SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says it has no immediate plans to revive strict social distancing rules despite a spike in coronavirus cases linked to nightclubs in Seoul.
Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told reporters Wednesday the government needs more time to analyze details of recent outbreaks before determining whether to maintain relaxed social distancing guidelines.
South Korea has eased up on much of its strict social distancing rules last week before it has about roughly 30 new cases each day in the past several days. On Wednesday, South Korea recorded 26 new cases, 20 of them associated with clubs in Seoul’s Itaewon entertainment district.
Health officials say in principle they would maintain relaxed social distancing rules if the country’s daily jump is below 50 and the number of untraceable cases account for less than 5% of all confirmed cases.
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MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s top advisory body on the coronavirus pandemic says it has issued guidelines that would allow for the re-opening of construction, mining, and car and truck manufacturing.
The General Health Council said that following a Tuesday meeting it had decided to classify those industries as “essential activities” that are allowed to continue working during a lockdown aimed at fighting the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The council did not set a timeline for when the reopening would begin. But it said that by June 1, a ‘stoplight’ system should be in place to tell local populations what activities are allowed.
The council also said that restrictions on schools and businesses should be lifted in townships that have no cases of COVID-19 and whose neighboring townships also have no cases.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is set to announce a plan for the “gradual” resumption of economic activities Wednesday.
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand reported zero new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, the second day in a row without any and the fourth such day since early last week.
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said it was encouraging news as the country prepares to ease many of its lockdown restrictions from midnight. Most businesses, including malls, retail stores and sit-down restaurants, will be able to reopen. Social distancing rules will remain in place and gatherings will be limited to 10 people.
“The sense of anticipation is both palpable and understandable,” Bloomfield said.
The lifting of restrictions will coincide with the release of the government’s annual budget on Thursday. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the country faced the most challenging economic conditions since the Great Depression because of the virus.
“New Zealand is about to enter a very tough winter,” she said. “But every winter eventually is followed by spring, and if we make the right choices we can get New Zealanders back to work and our economy moving quickly again.”
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan crossed 2,000 new positive coronavirus cases in a single day for the first time since the outbreak earlier this year.
The increase comes just days after Prime Minister Imran Khan eased lockdown restrictions and stepped up the return of Pakistanis stranded overseas, ignoring please for stricter controls by Pakistan’s medical professionals.
Scenes of crowds of people crammed into markets throughout the country greeted the let up in restrictions despite the government’s call for safe distancing, which has been largely ignored by many of Pakistan’s 220 million people. The latest figures show 34,312 positive cases following a 24-hour high of 2,255 new cases.
Khan has been criticized for downplaying the severity of the pandemic, refusing to close down mosques particularly since the start of Islam’s fasting month of Ramadan which ends in two weeks with the holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr. Islamic clerics in Pakistan wield considerable control, often frightening political leaders with their ability to bring angry mobs onto the street.
Khan has argued the lockdown has hurt the country’s poorest the hardest. A vast majority of Pakistanis earn barely $75 a month mostly doing construction and daily wage work.
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SEOUL, South Korea —— South Korea has reported 26 additional cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours amid a new spike in infections linked to nightclubs in Seoul.
Figures released Wednesday by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought the national tally to 10,962 with 259 deaths. The agency says 9,695 of them have recovered from the illness.
It says 22 of the 26 new cases were locally infected patients while the rest four came from overseas.
South Korea’s caseload has been on a slight yet steady upward trajectory since last week, with most cases linked to nightlife establishments in Seoul. Earlier the country’s daily jump had been single digits or around 10 for many days, prompting authorities to ease up on social distancing guidelines.
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BEIJING — China reported seven new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday. Six of them were in the northeastern province of Jilin where authorities have raised alert levels and suspended rail connections to once county where a cluster of unknown origin has appeared over recent days.
Another 754 people are in treatment for being suspected cases or for having tested positive but not shown symptoms, while 104 people are in hospital undergoing treatment.
China has reported a total of 4,633 deaths among 82,926 cases.
On Tuesday, local media reported the government would conduct tests on all 11 million residents of Wuhan, the central industrial city where the virus was first detected late last year.
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PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Parks and Recreation says it will not open seasonal public swimming pools this summer and will cancel all camps and activities because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the department announced the measures Tuesday.
Parks, trails and nature areas remain open and park greeters will be deployed “to make sure people know how to use their park system safely during the pandemic.”
Portland Parks and Recreation Director Adena Long said in a statement they have had to layoff or not hire hundreds of seasonal employees.
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CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro says the nationwide lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the new coronavirus will last another month.
Maduro said Tuesday the measure is necessary to protect the nation. He says one new case had been diagnosed for the day, bringing Venezuela’s reported illnesses amid the pandemic to 423. Officials say 10 people have died since the first coronavirus cases were discovered in mid-March.
Venezuela, with an estimated population of 25 million, is gripped by a political and social crisis. Most residents don’t have access to running water and regular electrical service. Health care workers warn that the country’s broken hospitals could easily be overwhelmed by the spread of the virus.
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NEW ORLEANS — Dining in restaurants can resume in New Orleans beginning Saturday — with reservations.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Tuesday announced a loosening of restrictions on businesses adopted to combat the spread of the new coronavirus. Restaurants, which have been limited to take-out orders in New Orleans, will be able to provide outside table service and dine-in service at 25% of capacity. But diners will have to make reservations, providing a name and phone number.
Walk-in diners will be allowed to enter, but they will have to provide a name and number for an on-the-spot reservation. The information will have to be kept by the restaurant for 21 days to aid in contact tracing if needed.
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas is starting widespread coronavirus testing in state prisons, where at least 30 people have died and inmates have tested positive at far higher rates than outside one of the nation’s largest prison systems.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced Tuesday that tens of thousands of COVID-19 tests are on the way to the state’s prisons. More than 1,700 inmates have tested positive in Texas.
Agency spokesman Jeremy Desel says the tests are designed to be self-administered and a dozen “strike teams” are receiving training this week.
It’s the second announcement of widespread testing in Texas in as many days. On Monday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered coronavius testing for every nursing home resident and staff member in the state.
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