May 12 coronavirus news

Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told state-run news agency RIA Novosti that he has been hospitalized with coronavirus.

Putin has largely been working from a residence in the Moscow region via videoconferencing, with only a few in-person meetings.

Later on Tuesday, Peskov told the TASS news agency that the last time he had seen the President in person was "over a month ago."

Three Russian ministers have previously tested positive for coronavirus, including Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who is still in hospital, as well as Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova and Minister of Housing Vladimir Yakushev.

Russia has struggled to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus and now has more confirmed cases -- 232,000 -- than anywhere in the world outside of the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.

While the country's official death toll is relatively low, with more than 2,000 fatalities reported, some critics and experts say the figure is almost certainly underestimated.

Moscow's mortality rate surged by 18% in April compared to the same month last year, as well as compared to the April average for the past decade, according to data released by the city’s civil register office.

Peskov's announcement came hours after a fire at a hospital in Russia left at least five coronavirus patients dead.

The fire broke out on the sixth floor of an intensive care unit at the St. George Hospital in St. Petersburg, killing five patients connected to ventilating equipment, TASS reported, citing medical personnel.

According to initial findings, the fire may have been caused by a short circuit in a ventilator or its malfunction, state news agencies said.

Northern Ireland announced on Tuesday a five-step plan to ease the coronavirus lockdown, but did not set out dates for each step.

The government said, “steps we are all taking are working and, if we continue to work together, they will enable the restrictions to be relaxed in stages when the time is right.”

Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom but has some degree of self-government, as do Scotland and Wales.

The 12-page document says the stages will be guided by the principles of necessity, proportionality, reliance on evidence, protection of healthcare capacity and control of transmission.

Under Step One, those who cannot work from home will be encouraged to return to work on a phased basis. Large outdoor based retail centers, outdoor spaces and sports amenities will be allowed to reopen. Groups of four to six people not from the same household may meet outdoors maintaining social distance. Drive-through church services will operate and worshippers will have access to the church for private worship.

Under Step Two non-food retail stores may reopen provided they apply social distancing measures. the demand for public transport is expected to increase and citizens are encouraged to walk or cycle to alleviate this. The definition of key workers will be expanded allowing further categories of people to return to work. Groups of up to 10 people may meet outdoors. Non-contact sport teams may resume training in small groups and select libraries and open air museums may open. Indoor activities between two to four people will be permitted for a period of 10 minutes.

Under Step Three there will be a phased return of office workers but work that can be done at home should be done there. Schools may begin to welcome prioritized students on a part-time basis alternating part time and remote learning. Gatherings of up to 30 people will be held with social distancing. Museums, galleries, concerts resume. Indoor activities for short periods permitted for larger groups.

Under Step Four contact retail including hairdressers and tattoo parlors may reopen. Schools will reopen to all students incorporating remote and in-school teaching. Businesses will be encouraged to stagger start times to offset increased public transport demand. Church services may resume, outdoor professional sport fixtures may take place behind closed doors and outdoor concerts will be held on a restricted basis. Indoor and outdoor gatherings of large groups must last under 10 minutes with social distancing measures.

Under Step Five all citizens are permitted to return to work with hospitality businesses allowed to reopen. Schools return on full time basis. Full public transport service will operate. Extended groups may meet subject to social distancing or other mitigation measures. Nightclubs reopen, concerts resume and close physical contact sports returns. Large indoor gatherings of people where social distance not maintained likely.

In an interview with CNN, the mayor of Seoul called the new cluster of coronavirus cases in the country “another lesson for us” and that “we should always be alert” as the reemergence of the virus can happen any place and any time.

In a briefing earlier, the mayor said over 100 cases of coronavirus have been linked to a nightclub cluster in South Korea. The cluster emerged in the capital's Itaewon entertainment district over the past few days, raising fears of a second wave of infections.

Speaking with Paula Hancocks in Seoul, Mayor Park Won-soon said Tuesday “We cannot be safe even though we have zero cases for a long time and anytime the outbreak can come to our society.”

Park said the stakes were high in containing and outbreak in the capital metro area with 25 million people. He said if “the disease penetrates Seoul, the Korean peninsula is penetrated.”

Park also called the virus a “battle of time” and that the government should be finished tracing potential cases from the Itaewon district within the week.

Some background: This week government officials have warned against the stigmatization of the virus in the LGBT community as the cluster of night clubs in question in the Itaewon district that is known to cater to LGBT patrons. Homophobia is still rife in South Korea and the country is less accepting of same-sex couples when compared to nearby democracies like Japan and Taiwan.

Park said the government is working closely to ensure patient confidentially.

Park added that the government guarantees led to an increase in people getting tested on Monday and Tuesday.

When pressed if it was the right decision to reopen nightclubs before other venues like schools, Park said the country had to prepare for the expansion of the virus alongside allowing life to continue. “There is high demand of the citizens to allow some extent of activities including the economic activities” he said.

Brussels Airlines has said it is cutting its workforce by 25%. The airline has a total of 4,200 employees, according to its website.

In a statement on its website, the airline, which is part of the Lufthansa group, says it is taking measures to combat the impact of the coronavirus.

A press officer for the company tells CNN, “our turnaround plan is a plan only and exclusively focusing on Brussels Airlines.”

A Lufthansa Press Officer said Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr in April commented the company post-crisis would end up with 100 fewer planes and 10,000 fewer employees. 

Last week, Lufthansa, which owns airlines in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium, unveiled a €1.2 billion (or about $1.3 billion) first quarter loss and said it is burning through its cash reserves at a rate of €1 million ($1.1 million) per hour.

The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 4.1 million people globally. If you're just joining us, here are the latest developments:

Around 17,600 inmates in the western Indian state of Maharashtra will be temporarily released from prison in an attempt to control the spread of Covid-19.

A special committee ordered the release of the group, which accounts for half of the state’s prison population.

Prisoners convicted of less serious crimes, or those awaiting trial for them, will be released after submitting a parole request.

Inmates convicted of more serious offences, such as money laundering, organized crime, and drug trafficking will not be eligible under the scheme.

Maharashtra's decision comes after India's Supreme Court directed all states to form "High Powered Committees" to consider the release of prisoners.

The committee can "determine which class/category of the prisoners can be released on interim bail or parole depending not only upon the severity of the offence, but also the nature of offence or any other relevant factor,” the court's order said.

Maharashtra has the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India, with 23,401 recorded cases and 868 deaths.

Gaming equipment maker Razer is aiming to give out millions of free face masks in Singapore as the country grapples with a recent surge in coronavirus cases.

The tech firm, which is headquartered in both Singapore and the United States, had already pivoted to making masks in response to the pandemic. Now it's planning to double that production, as well as set up its own public vending machines.

To start off, Razer will place 20 machines at various malls and co-working spaces over the next few weeks. To pick up a mask, the company says that users will have to download its digital wallet app and scan a QR code at the vending machine.

The plan is to give all Singaporean adult residents one free surgical mask — adding up to about 5 million in total, according to the company. Once the program kicks off, more locations may be added.

In response, the firm set up an automated factory in Singapore last month to churn out about 5 million surgical masks monthly.

It's now taking those plans another step further, with the goal of manufacturing as many as 10 million masks a month. The increased production is to "ensure a continuous resupply" in Singapore, the company said.

Read more here.

The proportion of all coronavirus related deaths in nursing care homes and private homes in England and Wales is increasing, according to the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Meanwhile the proportion of deaths occurring in hospitals in England and Wales is decreasing.

In the week ending May 1, deaths in care homes made up 35.7% of all coronavirus deaths, but that percentage has since increased.

The most recent ONS data available shows that 68.5% of Covid-19 deaths in England and Wales, registered up to May 1, occurred in hospitals, with the remainder mainly occurring in care homes, private homes and hospices.

Despite the proportion of deaths in care homes increasing, the overall number of coronavirus related deaths in the facilities decreased for the week ending May 1. Among all deaths in nursing care homes reported that week, 38.7% involved coronavirus.

Boris Johnson's government has been heavily criticised over the spread of coronavirus in care homes.

As the coronavirus pandemic plunges economies around the world into recession, governments and businesses are scrambling to find ways to get people back to work. One tool many are banking on is the antibody test.

The hope is that people who have been infected with the virus may have developed enough antibodies to make them immune to the virus and their return to work safe, though the science around this is far from settled. Some governments have even mulled issuing "immunity passports" or certificates for those who test positive.

But experts warn that going down this route could create new problems, including discrimination in workplaces, or people deliberately trying to get infected so they can return to their jobs sooner, "playing Russian roulette" with their lives, as one doctor put it.

In a brief by scientific advisers to the UK government published last week, experts said widespread antibody testing could incentivize employers to take steps that would amount to discrimination.

Certain tasks, like customer-facing work, could end up only being allocated to those who tested positive.

"In some circumstances this may be appropriate, but in others this might constitute adverse discrimination," the brief said.

Read more here.