Weekend Edition Newspaper BW

PEOPLE WITHOUT FACE MASKS FORCED TO SWEEP STREETS IN MADAGASCAR

New rule was announced on April 20 alongside the gradual lifting of lockdown measures in three main cities
Madagascar police have forced citizens caught outside without a coronavirus face mask to sweep pavements as punishment.

On Monday, around 500 people in Antananarivo and Fianarantsoa were penalised, police deputy head Christian Rakotobe said. Antananarivo commissioner Hector Razafindrazaka said 25 people were sentenced on the spot and forced to sweep the capital's dusty streets. Images of the embarrassed-looking offenders were widely circulated on social media. President Andry Rajoelina has made it compulsory to wear face coverings outdoors in the capital Antananarivo, as well as in the cities of Fianarantsoa and Toamasina, to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Authorities warned that citizens leaving the house without face masks would face community service. "Seventy percent of people on the street respected the rule ... because they are scared of having to sweep pavements," the head of anti-coronavirus operations, Elak Olivier Andriakaja, said on state television. "Measures were taken before the sanctions fell into place to raise awareness and distribute mouth covers. I think that's enough and that sanctions must now be applied." To date the Indian Ocean island-nation has detected 128 cases of coronavirus. No fatalities have been recorded so far and 75 patients have recovered.

GLOBAL HUNGER COULD DOUBLE DUE TO CORONA VIRUS PANDEMIC

COVID-19 is likely to leave 130 million people acutely hungry this year, adding to 135 million already in the category.

The number of people facing acute food insecurity could nearly double this year to 265 million due to the economic fallout of COVID-19, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The impact of lost tourism revenues, falling remittances and travel and other restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic is expected to leave about 130 million more people acutely hungry this year, in addition to 135 million already in that category.

"COVID-19 is potentially catastrophic for millions who are already hanging by a thread," said Arif Husain, chief economist and director of research, assessment and monitoring at the WFP. "We all need to come together to deal with this because if we don't the cost will be too high - the global cost will be too high: many lost lives and many, many more lost livelihoods," he told reporters at a virtual briefing in Geneva. Husain said it was critical to act quickly to prevent people already living hand-to-mouth from selling their assets as it could take them years to become self-reliant again. In some cases, such as when farmers sell their ploughs or oxen, it could have knock-on effects for food production for years to come, he added. "These were the people we were concerned about - those who were OK before COVID and now they are not," he said, adding he was "really worried" about people living in countries with little or no government safety nets. "Acute food and livelihood crisis" is category three of five UN phases, meaning a "critical lack of food access and above usual malnutrition". Category 5 means mass starvation. UN officials did not give a geographical breakdown of the growing needs but said that Africa was likely to be hardest hit.

The WFP expects to need $10-$12bn to fund its assistance programmes this year compared to a record $8.3bn raised last year, Husain added. It plans to pre-position food stocks over the coming months in anticipation of growing needs. Tuesday's fourth annual Global Report on Food Crises by the WFP and other partners found that food insecurity was already on the rise last year before the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis.

It found that 135 million people in 55 countries were in living in situations of acute food crises or outright humanitarian emergencies last year. The increase by more than 20 million people takes it to a record level in the four years the report has been compiled. Comparing the 50 countries in the reports this and last year, the number of people in food crisis rose by nearly 10 percent to 123 million people. The increase was due to conflicts, economic shocks and weather-related events such as drought.

In Yemen and South Sudan, scarred by years of conflict, more than half of the population face acute food shortages. South Sudan even prior to COVID-19 "there were over five million people who were facing starvation, many of them relying on food aid to survive - 1.7 million women and children acutely malnourished". "So with coronavirus in the picture, access to delivery of aid services is severely impaired due to travel restrictions," she added. "We're likely to see the numbers of those who are suffering from malnutrition and food insecurity rise in the coming months."

Nigeria extends corona virus lock down in key cities for two weeks

President Muhammadu Buhari says the nation's response to the COVID-19 disease is a matter of 'life and death'.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has announced a 14-day extension to a lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun states to combat the coronavirus pandemic. In a televised address on Monday, Buhari said "it has become necessary to extend the current restriction of movement" that was set to expire later in the day. Initial 14-day lock downs in the three areas began on March 30. There are currently 323 confirmed cases of the virus in Nigeria, with 71 percent of them registered in Lagos and the capital territory of Abuja. Ten people have died so far.

"It is a matter of life and death," Buhari said of the nation's response. "The repercussions of any premature end to the lock down action are unimaginable. Nigeria, with 200 million people, is Africa's most populous nation. Some 20 million reside in the mega city of Lagos. Health experts have raised alarms over the impact of a major corona virus outbreak, warning that the country's unprepared and underfunded healthcare system could quickly become overwhelmed. The extension of the lock down is expected to add to the hardship of millions of Nigerians living hand-to-mouth, often on less than one dollar a day. Buhari said he was "fully aware of the great difficulties experienced especially by those who earn a daily wage". "But despite these realities, we must not change the restrictions," he added. The government has pledged a series of support measures to ease the financial pain for the most vulnerable, but there have been widespread complaints that not enough is being done for those facing hunger.

"The vast majority of Nigerians depend on daily wages, they have to go out to get money and buy food to put it on the table for their families," . "For the next two weeks, they are going to stay at home with no work and no chance of getting money." Meanwhile, police said on Monday that they were bolstering forces in Lagos and Ogun after almost 200 suspects were arrested amid fears of a spike in crime during the lock down. Buhari said compliance with the stay-at-home order and other restrictions introduced by state governors across the country had been "generally good". But he cautioned that "a large proportion of new infections are now occurring in our communities".

China reports no new corona virus deaths for first time

Cases in mainland China have been dwindling since March, but it faces a second wave of infections from overseas.

China reported no new deaths from the corona virus on Tuesday, for the first time since authorities began publishing figures in January.

Cases in mainland China have been dwindling since March, but the country faces a second wave of infections brought in from overseas, with health officials reporting nearly 1,000 imported cases in total. The National Health Commission said there were 32 new cases nationwide at the end of Monday, all of which were imported.

There were also 30 new asymptomatic infections, health officials said, bringing the national total to 1,033. About a quarter of the current total of asymptomatic cases were also imported from overseas. With mainland China well past the peak of infections in February, authorities have turned their attention to imported cases and asymptomatic patients, who show no symptoms but can still pass on the virus. China closed its borders to foreigners as the virus spread globally, although most imported cases have involved Chinese nationals returning from overseas. International flights have been reduced to about 3,000 a day in April from the tens of thousands previously. It also started testing all international arrivals for the virus this month.

Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province where the infection first emerged late last year, has reported only two new confirmed cases in the past 14 days. It is due to allow people to leave the city on Wednesday for the first time since it was locked down on January 23 to curb the spread of the virus. The total number of confirmed cases in mainland China stood at 81,740 as of Monday, while 3,331 people have died, according to the authority