Covid-19: Russia reports new
cases as US allows use of emergency drug
 |
| Experimental drug is authorized by US regulators |
Russia and Pakistan reported their biggest one-day jumps in
new coronavirus infections, but there was some good news as other countries
began to allow an easing of restrictions. The world is also watching U.S.
regulators who are allowing emergency use of an experimental drug that appears
to help some coronavirus patients recover faster.
By Stefan Bos
Pakistan, on Saturday, announced 1,297 new cases,
raising the total in the country of 220 million people to 18,114. The increase
coincides with increased testing, officials explained. The government said more
than 9,000 tests took place in the previous 24 hours. Prime Minister Imran Khan
has set a goal of 20,000 per day.
In Europe, Russia is also under pressure to step up measures
after even Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin was infected. He has
now been hospitalized after being diagnosed with the coronavirus disease
COVID-19. His positive test came as Russia of coronavirus cases passed the
100,000 this week, after a record daily rise in new infections.
And President Vladimir Putin has warned the peak of the
outbreak was yet to come. That forced him to cancel military parades and a
constitutional vote that critics claim would potentially give him more owers.
But elsewhere in Europe, Britain claims it has past the peak
of its coronavirus outbreak. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who himself
survived a severe bout of COVID-19 in hospital, promised to reveal a "road
map" out of national lockdown. But he warned it should not overwhelm the
National Health Service or NHS. "We are coming through the peak,
or rather we are coming over what could have been a vast peak. And we are on
the downward slope," the British leader told reporters.
Sounding spiritual, Johnson added: "It's as though we
have been going through some huge Alpine tunnel. And we can now see the
sunlight and the pastures ahead of us."
No dates
But Johnson declined to provide specific target dates.
Instead, the prime minister made clear that those would be determined by how
quickly the number of new infections, hospital admissions, and deaths continues
to decrease.
Johnson warned: "We all must make sure that the
measures we take due not to risk a second spike that would overwhelm the NHS.
It's vital that we don't now lose control and run slap into a second and even
bigger mountain."
His remarks came amid reports that lockdowns have taken its
toll on families with a rise in domestic abuse across Europe. In Belgium, for
instance, a European Parliament building is housing 100 homeless women - many
victims of domestic abuse. They have been severely affected by Belgium's
coronavirus lockdown. The Helmut Kohl building, an office block in the city
center, opened its doors to them this week.
Belgium and other nations are under pressure to end or at
least ease lockdown restrictions soon. Ireland has become the latest country to
signal an easing of lockdown restrictions from Tuesday. People who are
over 70 and can leave their homes as long as they avoid contact with others.
The decision came as European governments in both West and
Eastern Europe and the Balkans face protests of increasingly frustrated
citizens. They have been under lockdown for many weeks. That is, for instance,
the case in Serbia, where opposition parties leaders and angry people on
balconies joined anti-lockdown protests.
Challenges remain
But it remains challenging in the Balkan nations such as
Serbia and Eastern Eastern Europe to end lockdowns completely. Already
underfunded healthcare institutions cope with new outbreaks in at least some
areas.
Authorities in Bosnia's semi-autonomous Serb-run territory
even conceded that a failure to enforce strict social distancing over the
Orthodox Easter led to a sharp spike in registered coronavirus cases.
However, amid the turmoil, it's tough for journalists in
several countries to report on the extent of the coronavirus pandemic.
A survey by the International Federation of Journalists
shows three in every four journalists have faced official what it calls
restrictions, obstruction or intimidation. In reporting on the new coronavirus
disease COVID-19 both in Europe and other areas of this troubled world.
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