News
Prince Charles tests Positive for Coronavirus + Other Recent World Updates
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 5: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales attends a reception to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the investiture of the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace on March 5, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Dominic Lipinski – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Since the coronavirus was confirmed in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December 2019, cases have been confirmed in over scores of countries across the globe.
With over thousands of people currently at home exercising social distancing, the government continues to roll out increasingly robust measures to halt the spread and to contain the pandemic which has claimed a number of lives.
Here are some latest developments as authorities implement measures to contain the spread of the virus.
Prince Charles tests positive to coronavirus “but otherwise remains in good health”
The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles has tested positive to the coronavirus but the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, tested negative.
Prince Charles and Camilla are now self-isolating at Balmoral, and “has been working at home throughout the last few days”.
According to BBC, an official statement read:
In accordance with government and medical advice, the prince and the duchess are now self-isolating at home in Scotland. The tests were carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire, where they met the criteria required for testing. It is not possible to ascertain from whom the prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks.
Cristiano Ronaldo & Jorge Mendes donate equipment to Portuguese hospitals
Italy has announced strict new punishments to help curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country, including possible jail time for people who have the virus and violate quarantine.
According to CNN, the new orders, include:
- Those who have tested positive and do not stay home could face one to five years in prison.
- Fines for violating quarantine rise from 400 euros ($430) to 3,000 euros ($3,245).
- Businesses that break rules designed to keep the virus from spreading could be closed from five to 30 days.
- The regulations will be reviewed each month until July 31, and could be made stricter, the government decree says.
Li Keqiang warns local officials: never hide infections for the sake of reporting “zero”
China’s No.2 leader, Premier Li Keqiang warns local officials against underreporting coronavirus statistics.
He urged the local governments on Monday to “seek truth from facts” and be “open and transparent” in releasing information on the epidemic.
According to an official government statement posted online on Tuesday, March 24, he said, “Being open and transparent means a new case must be reported once it’s discovered. It is what it is. There must be no concealing or underreporting,
Read the statement below:
Greta Thunberg and her dad actor Svante Thunberg under self-isolate after showing possible symptoms
Climate activist, Greta Thunberg shared that she and her dad, actor Svante Thunberg have been observing self-isolation after showing possible coronavirus symptoms.
The pair were travelling across central Europe before lockdowns were imposed by many countries in a bid to halt the spread of the virus
In an Instagram post, she wrote:
The last two weeks I’ve stayed inside. When I returned from my trip around Central Europe I isolated myself (in a borrowed apartment away from my mother and sister) since the number of cases of COVID-19 (in Germany for instance) were similar to Italy in the beginning.
Around ten days ago I started feeling some symptoms, exactly the same time as my father – who traveled with me from Brussels. I was feeling tired, had shivers, a sore throat and coughed. My dad experienced the same symptoms, but much more intense and with a fever.
In Sweden, you can not test yourself for COVID-19 unless you’re in need of emergent medical treatment. Everyone feeling ill are told to stay at home and isolate themselves.
I have therefore not been tested for COVID-19, but it’s extremely likely that I’ve had it, given the combined symptoms and circumstances.
Now I’ve basically recovered, but – AND THIS IS THE BOTTOM LINE: I almost didn’t feel ill. My last cold was much worse than this! Had it not been for someone else having the virus simultaneously I might not even have suspected anything. Then I would just have thought I was feeling unusually tired with a bit of a cough.
And this it what makes it so much more dangerous. Many (especially young people) might not notice any symptoms at all, or very mild symptoms. Then they don’t know they have the virus and can pass it on to people in risk groups.
We who don’t belong to a risk group have an enormous responsibility, our actions can be the difference between life and death for many others.
Please keep that in mind, follow the advice from experts and your local authorities and #StayAtHome to slow the spread of the virus. And remember to always take care of each other and help those in need.
Indian Medical Staff demand secure residence due to discrimination by communities
Medical staff in the national capital, New Delhi say they have been excluded and discriminated against by their communities due to fears that they may be infected after working with coronavirus patients.
A letter from the Resident Doctors’ Association of New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences, sent on Tuesday, March 24 to Union Home Minister Amit Shah revealed that some doctors have even reported being evicted, or facing threats that their electricity will be cut off.
Parts of the letter stated that:
Doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers involved in Covid care are being asked to vacate their rented homes and some have been even forcefully evicted from their temporary residence by landlords and house-owners due to the fear that those healthcare professionals make them susceptible to coronavirus infection.
Many doctors are now stranded on the roads with all their luggage, nowhere to go, across the country.
COVID-19 Pandemic :
Indian health professionals demand secure residence and transport facilities during the lockdown.@PMOIndia @MoHFW_INDIA @drharshvardhan @AmitShahOffice @nitin_gadkari @narendramodi @HindustanTimes @the_hindu @timesofindia @NavbharatTimes @aajtak pic.twitter.com/UDBVRmKcI8— RDAAIIMS (@AIIMSRDA) March 24, 2020
Cases in South Africa still on the rise
So far, South Africa has recorded several coronavirus cases in Africa and on Tuesday, March 24, 554 new cases been recorded.
Across Africa, 43 of its 54 countries now have cases, with the total at 1,788. Thirteen countries have reported 58 deaths. South Africa has not recorded one.
On Monday, the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa announced the 21-day lockdown in order to disrupt the rise of the coronavirus. According to the President, the lockdown will start effectively on Thursday, March 26. He said:
The next few days are crucial. Without decisive action, the number of actions will increase. This extremely dangerous for a population like ours. Our fundamental task is to contain the spread of the disease. We must, therefore, do everything to reduce the overall number of infections.
He stressed that “Individuals will not be allowed to leave their homes except in exceptional circumstances”.
Escalation of measures to combat the #COVID19 pandemic #CoronaVirusSA https://t.co/JYuZoOqhRD
— Cyril Ramaphosa ?? (@CyrilRamaphosa) March 23, 2020
Botswana President, Eric Masisi commences 14-days self-isolation after a trip to Namibia
Eric Masisi, Botswana President, has started his 14-day self-isolation after a trip to Namibia, which will include testing for COVID-19. The president will work from home over the period and stay quarantined from his family.
Egypt to observe nightly curfew starting from Wednesday 7 PM
As from today, Wednesday, March 25, Egypt will be observing a to counter the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Schools and universities, which were shut on March 14 for two weeks, will be extended for a further two weeks, most public services and government offices will close their doors to the public during the curfew period and a measure to limit the number of government employees going to work will be prolonged until mid-April.
According to Africa News, the Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said: “We announce a (nightly) curfew on public movement on all public roads starting from 7 p.m. Wednesday (1700GMT) until 6 a.m. the next day (0400GMT). I am stressing here that all the announced measures will last for two weeks.”
Photo Credit: Prince Charles by Dominic Lipinski – WPA Pool/Getty Images
