Covid-19 Pandemic May Cause Human Rights Disaster : UN

• Countries Around The World, Including Australia, New Zealand, Iran And Spain, Are Moving To Ease Coronavirus Lockdowns As Daily Infections And Deaths Slow. Italy Has Announced It Will Ease Its Two-Month-Old Controls From May 4.

• The UN Rights Chief Has Warned That Countries Flouting The Rule Of Law In The Name Of Fighting The Novel Coronavirus Pandemic Risk Sparking A “Human Rights Disaster”.

• At Least 1.3 Million Australians Have Downloaded The Government’s COVIDsafe Tracing App, As Support For Prime Minister Scott Morrison Surges Thanks To His Handling Of The Outbreak.

• Worldwide, The Number Of People Confirmed To Have The Coronavirus Has Risen To More Than 2.99 Million, And At Least 207,000 Have Died, According To Data Compiled By Johns Hopkins University. Some 875,000 People Have Recovered.

Here Are The Latest Updates:

Monday, April 27

14:03 GMT – Gaza Restaurants Reopen

Restaurants And Cafes In Gaza Were To Be Allowed To Reopen From Monday, The Economy Ministry Announced, Following Pleas From Restaurant Owners To Ease Economic Suffering.

Under The Decision Based On Health Ministry Recommendations, Restaurants Must Continue To Observe Social Distancing Rules, It Said.

Since The Middle Of March, The Hamas Government Has Imposed Strict Measures To Avoid A Widespread Outbreak Of COVID-19.

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This Is Mersiha Gadzo In Doha Taking Over The Live Updates From My Colleague Usaid Siddiqui.

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12:55 – Thirty Workers On Equatorial Guinea Offshore Oil Platform Test Positive

Thirty Workers At An Offshore Oil Platform In Equatorial Guinea Have Tested Positive For The New Coronavirus, Two Sources Close To The Ministry Told Reuters News Agency.

The Workers On The Serpentina Floating Production Storage And Offloading Platform Have Since Been Evacuated Back Onshore And Are In Quarantine, While Operator Exxon Mobil And Government Officials Are Working To Disinfect The Platform.

Oil Production Has Not Been Impacted, The Sources Said.

12:50 GMT – Netherlands Reports 400 New Cases, 43 Deaths 

The Netherlands’ Number Of Confirmed Coronavirus Cases Has Risen By 400 To 38,245 Health Authorities Said, With 43 New Deaths.

The Country’s Death Toll Stands At 4,518, The Netherlands’ Institute For Public Health (RIVM) Said In Its Daily Update.

The RIVM Cautioned It Only Reports Confirmed Cases, And Actual Numbers Are Higher.

12:40 GMT – Sweden Ambassador: Stockholm Could Reach Herd Immunity By May

Sweden’s Ambassador To The United States Has Said The Capital Of The Nordic Country Could Reach Herd Immunity By May – A Result Of A Controversial Response To The Coronavirus Pandemic Involving Few Public Restrictions.

“About 30 Percent Of People In Stockholm Have Reached A Level Of Immunity,” Karin Ulrika Olofsdotter Told National Public Radio (NPR).

“We Could Reach Herd Immunity In The Capital As Early As Next Month,” Olofsdotter Said In The Interview Published On Sunday.

Read More Here.

12:30 GMT – UK PM Johnson To Meet Labour Leader, Parties To Build Consensus

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson With Meet The Leader Of The Opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, This Week And Other Party Leaders Next Week, His Spokesman Has Said, Part Of Efforts To Build Consensus Over Plans To Ease A Coronavirus Lockdown.

“The PM Will Be Continuing Cross-Party Engagement That Has Been Taking Place Throughout The Last Several Weeks,” The Spokesman Told Reporters.

“He Plans To Speak With The Leader Of The Opposition This Week And The Leaders Of All The Westminster Parties Next Week Hopefully Alongside The Chief Medical Officer And The Chief Scientific Adviser.”

12:15 GMT – Pandemic Exacts Heavy Toll On UK’s Somali Community

Hanna Ali, A Volunteer Who Works With Several Community Organisations, Has Been Exceptionally Busy Since The Epidemic Began In The United Kingdom.

Much Of Her Time Is Spent Sharing Information In Somali In The Hope That Every Family Gets Access To Life-Saving Messages.

“There Are Now Almost Daily Announcements Of Somali Lives Lost Or Hospitalised Due To COVID-19,” She Told Al Jazeera.

The Virus Has Claimed The Lives Of Somalis In Britain From All Ages And Backgrounds – From 13-Year-Old Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab  And Former Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, 83, To Popular Musician Ahmed Ismail Hussein Hudeidi, 91.

12:00 GMT – Trump Admin Considering Protocols To Keep US Factories Open: Adviser

The Trump Administration Is Focusing On Protocols To Keep US Factories Open As The Country Continues To Grapple With The Coronavirus Outbreak, Including Screening Workers For Potential Cases, White House Adviser Peter Navarro Has Said.

“We’re Trying To Figure Out The Best Protocols To Keep Our Factories Going,” Navarro Said In An Interview On Fox News. “We’re Going To Have To Use Appropriate Protocols, Different Social Distancing. You’re Going To Have To Reconfigure Factories. “

11:45 GMT – Belgium Admits Lowest Number Of Patients To Hospital Since Lockdown Began

Belgian Hospitals Have Admitted The Lowest Number Of COVID-19 Patients Since The Start Of The Lockdown Almost Seven Weeks Ago, Figures Showed On Monday, A Week Before The Country Starts To Ease Restrictions.

In An Encouraging Sign, The Number Of Hospital Admissions, A Key Number To Monitor The Disease’s Evolution, Fell To 127 On Sunday, The Lowest Level Since March 18. Daily Admissions Peaked At Over 600 At The End Of March And Have Hovered At Around 200 For The Past Week.

The Number Of New Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Also Declined To A Month Low Of 553, Although Health Officials Said The Decline Might Be In Part Due To A Weekend Effect.

Read More Here About How Belgium Has Been Able To Control The Virus. 

11:30 GMT – Indian Medical Body Asks States To Stop Using Test Kits From Two Chinese Firms

India’s Federal Medical Research Agency Has Asked State Government To Stop Using Coronavirus Testing Equipment Brought From China Because Of Conflicting Results.

More Than Half A Million Kits For Testing For Antibodies To Coronavirus Were Ordered From China This Month As A Way To Ramp Up India’s Screening. But The Indian Council Of Medical Research Said Several States Had Complained About The Quality Of The Equipment From Two Firms And These Need To Be Sent Back To China.

“ICMR, Thereafter, Has Also Evaluated The Kits Of Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech And Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics. The Results Have Shown Wide Variation In Their Sensitivity, Despite Early Promise Of Good Performance For Surveillance Purposes.”

“In View Of This, States Are Advised To Stop Using These Kits Procured From Above Mentioned Companies And Return Them To Be Sent Back To The Suppliers,” It Said.

11:15 GMT – Coronavirus Forces Delay In US Extradition Case Against Assange

Hearings In The United States Extradition Case Against WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Will Not Go Ahead Next Month As Scheduled Because Of The Coronavirus Lockdown Which Prevents Lawyers From Attending Court, A British Judge Decided.

The 48-Year-Old Is Held At London’s Belmarsh Prison Where He Is Fighting A Request By The United States To Send Him To Stand Trial For Conspiring To Hack Government Computers And Espionage.

Assange Was Dragged From The Ecuador Embassy In London Last Year After A Seven-Year Stand-Off.

He Says He Could Spend Decades In Prison If Convicted, And Calls The Case Against Him Political And A Threat To Free Speech. The US Says He Put The Lives Of Informants In Danger By Publishing Secrets.

11:05 GMT – China Police Detain Three Linked To Censored Coronavirus Archive

Chinese Police Have Detained Two People Who Contributed To An Online Archive Of Censored Articles About The Coronavirus Outbreak, A Friend And A Family Member Of One Told Reuters.

The Two – Chen Mei And Cai Wei – Have Been Out Of Contact Since April 19, When Police Detained Them In Beijing, Chen Kun, Chen Mei’s Brother, Told Reuters.

Cai Was Held On Charges Of “Picking Quarrels And Stirring Up Trouble”, On A Notice From Chaoyang District Police In Beijing, Chen Kun Said, An Accusation Often Used Against Political Activists In China.

Chen Kun Said He Did Not Know What Charges, If Any, His Brother Was Held On.

A Third Person, Cai’s Girlfriend, Surnamed Tang, Was Held On Similar Charges, Chen Kun Said, Although It Was Not Immediately Clear If She Was Directly Involved In The Archive Project.

Chen Mei, 27, And Cai, Who Are Old Friends, Were Volunteers With A Project Called Terminus2049, An Open-Source Archive That Keeps Records Of Censored Articles From Chinese Media On Github, A Coding Platform, Chen Kun Said.

In Recent Months, The Project Has Been Active In Making Records Of Articles On The Coronavirus Outbreak, Which Originated In The Central City Of Wuhan Late Last Year.

10:35 GMT – Pandemic Could Create ‘Human Rights Disaster’: UN

The UN Rights Chief Warned That Countries Flouting The Rule Of Law In The Name Of Fighting The Novel Coronavirus Pandemic Risk Sparking A “Human Rights Disaster”.

United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights Michelle Bachelet Called On Countries To Refrain From Violating Fundamental Rights “Under The Guise Of Exceptional Or Emergency Measures.”

“Emergency Powers Should Not Be A Weapon Governments Can Wield To Quash Dissent, Control The Population, And Even Perpetuate Their Time In Power,” She Warned In A Statement.

“They Should Be Used To Cope Effectively With The Pandemic – Nothing More, Nothing Less.”

10:18 GMT – Over 200 Cuban Health Experts Arrive In South Africa For Virus Fight

More Than 200 Cuban Doctors And Health Workers Arrived In South Africa On Monday To Help The Fight Against Coronavirus, The Presidency Said.

“217 Cuban Health Specialists And Workers Have Arrived In South Africa Today… To Assist With The Fight To Curb The Spread Of The COVID-19 Pandemic,” The Presidency Said In A Statement.

It Is The Second Country In The Region To Receive Medical Support From Cuba After Angola.

South Africa Has The Highest Number Of Coronavirus Cases On The Continent With 4,546 Infections, Of Which 87 Have Been Fatal.

10:15 GMT – India Reports Positive Results From Lockdown

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Has Said The Monthlong Ongoing Lockdown Has Yielded Positive Results And That The Country Has Managed To Save “Thousands Of Lives”.

Modi, Who Had A Videoconference With Various Heads Of The States, Said The Impact Of The Coronavirus, However, Will Remain Visible In The Coming Months, According To A Press Statement Released By His Office.

During The Meeting With State Heads, Modi Advocated For Social Distancing Of At Least Two Yards (6 Feet) And The Use Of Face Masks As A Rapid Response To Tackle COVID-19.

India Has Confirmed Over 27,000 Cases Of The Coronavirus, Including 872 Deaths.

09:05 GMT – Boris Johnson ‘Cannot Spell Out’ How UK Lockdown Will Ease

After Suffering From A Severe Case Of Coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson Returned To Work To The Biggest Dilemma Of His Premiership: How To Lift The Lockdown That Is Destroying Swathes Of The British Economy Without Triggering A Deadly Second Wave Of The Outbreak.

Speaking Outside Downing Street Early On Monday, He Said The Government “Simply Cannot Spell Out” When Or How Restrictive Measures Will Ease, But Offered Hope By Adding Progress Was Being Made With Fewer Hospital Admissions And That The UK Was “Passing The Peak”.

08:45 GMT – Bangladesh Restarts Some Garment Factories

More Than 500 Garment Factories In Bangladesh Have Reopened After A Month-Long Shutdown To Curb The Spread Of The Coronavirus, While In India Calls Grew For An Easing Of Its Lockdown, Which Has Caused Deep Economic Pain.

Factories In Bangladesh’s Capital Dhaka And The Port City Of Chittagong Have Been Permitted To Resume Work. Some Of The World’s Biggest Clothing Firms, Including Gap Inc, Zara-Owner Inditex And HM, Source Their Supplies From Bangladesh.

Industry Groups For The Sector, Which Boasts Some 4,000 Factories Employing 4.1 Million Workers, Had Warned The Shutdown Could Lose The Country $6bn In Export Revenue This Financial Year.

Bangladesh Has Reported More Than 5,000 Cases Of The Coronavirus And 145 Deaths.

08:25 GMT – Philippines’ Coronavirus Death Toll Rises To 511, Cases To 7,777: Ministry

The Philippines Has Reported 198 New Coronavirus Cases And 10 More Deaths, Bringing The Country’s Tally To 7,777 Cases And 511 Fatalities.

The Department Of Health Also Said 70 Individuals Have Recovered From The Infection, Bringing The Total Number Of Recoveries To 932.

00:00 GMT – Trump Rejects Reports He Plans To Fire Health Secretary

US President Donald Trump Has Rejected – In A Tweet – Reports That He Plans To Fire Secretary Of Health And Human Services Alex Azar.

Trump Described The Reports As “Fake News” And Said Azar Was Doing An “Excellent Job”.

Reports That H.H.S. Secretary @AlexAzar Is Going To Be “Fired” By Me Are Fake News. The Lamestream Media Knows This, But They Are Desperate To Create The Perception Of Chaos Havoc In The Minds Of The Public. They Never Even Called To Ask. Alex Is Doing An Excellent Job!

— Donald J. Trump (@RealDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020

Hello And Welcome To Al Jazeera’s Continuing Coverage Of The Coronavirus Pandemic. I’m Kate Mayberry In Kuala Lumpur.