New Delhi: The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate several countries across the world — the latest count is 44,29,969 cases and more than 2,98,180 deaths.
US security agencies are accusing Chinese hackers of trying to steal coronavirus research.
A Trump-Cuomo-like spat is now emerging in Japan while the much-hailed Swedish model to tackle Covid-19 comes at a steep price. Elsewhere, people in Antarctica, the region with zero COVID-19 cases, are practicing social distancing.
ThePrint brings you the most important global stories on the coronavirus pandemic and why they matter.
Chinese hackers targeting coronavirus research, US claims
As the US-China diplomatic relations continue to crumble, several US agencies such as FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have warned that Chinese hackers are trying to steal coronavirus research being conducted by American groups, reports the Financial Times.
“These actors have been observed attempting to identify and illicitly obtain valuable intellectual property and public health data related to vaccines, treatments, and testing. Healthcare, pharmaceutical and research sectors working on Covid-19 response should all be aware they are the prime targets of this activity,” the public warning stated.
The two agencies have also urged research groups to boost their cybersecurity against such looming attacks of theft.
Tensions between US and China escalated after US President Donald Trump adopted an increasingly anti-China stance during the Covid-19 pandemic and blamed the country for the havoc that the virus is wreaking across the world.
Also read: Boris Johnson put to the test as UK economy records largest monthly contraction
Government vs governor – Japan style
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to strain relations between central and provincial-municipal authorities — most famously the Trump-Cuomo affair in US — a similar crisis is now emerging in Japan, GZero Media is reporting.
“In Japan, long-standing political rivals, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Tokyo’s Governor Yoriko Koike have been bickering over the national pandemic response strategy,” notes the report. “Koike, for her part, has criticized Abe for his slow response to the outbreak, which she says cost the country precious time in curbing the virus’ spread.”
“Critics say that Abe’s inconsistent messaging – he waited until mid April to declare a ‘state of emergency’ that he insisted was ‘not a lockdown’ – has not resonated with Japanese residents, an overwhelming majority of whom (some 74 percent) support a more aggressive response to the coronavirus crisis,” the report adds.
The high price of freedom in Sweden
The Swedish model to deal with the pandemic is being hailed by many across the world as the only sustainable way to deal with the coronavirus going ahead, but this model comes at a steep price, reports Der Spiegel.
“At Stockholm’s Nytorget Square, the coronavirus crisis feels far away. Groups of people sit outside, soaking up the spring sunshine. The cafes that skirt the square are full and there’s not a face mask in sight. In front of one restaurant, a small sign reminds people to keep their distance from one another. But many of the people waiting for a table don’t appear to care,” the report notes.
However, this freedom comes at a cost. More than 3,000 people have died in a country with a population of 10.2 million, and a large number of these deaths have been concentrated in the 2-million populated Stockholm.
Also read: DIY lockdowns and barricades: How Myanmar’s poorest took virus fight into their own hands
Countries cautiously reopening travel
As the pandemic has devastated most country’s economies, especially their tourism sector, many countries are now beginning to gradually lift travel restrictions and open their borders, according to The New York Times.
On Wednesday, UAE’s Emirates Airlines said that it would be restarting a limited number of flights to nine select destinations. Germany’s interior minister has also said that his country, along with Austria, Switzerland, and France are looking to ease border restrictions by mid-June. Iceland, which heavily relies on tourism revenue, also plans to reopen its borders by mid-June.
“The European Commission on Wednesday recommended the reopening of borders closed in the pandemic — cross-border vacation travel had been expected to generate 1.3 billion euros, or $1.4 billion, in spending in 2020 before the lockdowns,” reports NYT.
Meanwhile, some countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and the Baltic states have come up with the idea of “travel bubbles”— which allows intra-regional travel, as their borders remain shut to the rest of the world.
1% increase in US unemployment could lead to thousands of deaths of despair
A new study published by the Robert Graham Centre shows that increasing unemployment in US could lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths of despair — deaths caused due to drugs, alcohol and suicide.
The study shows that one-point-increase in US unemployment could lead to 27,644 to 1,54,037 additional deaths of despair in the country.
These findings come at a time when unemployment in the country has surged to a post-war high of 14.1 per cent and many parts of the country have been undergoing a major opioid crisis for at least a decade.
Also read: Covid pandemic may push 130 million people to extreme poverty by 2030, says UN
Other diseases are spreading under the shadow of Covid
According to Der Spiegel, as the world has redirected all its health resources towards combating the Covid-19 pandemic, several life threatening diseases such as tuberculosis and cancer are continuing to grow, and are increasingly receiving lesser funding.
“This will likely have fatal consequences. Experts fear millions of deaths in the coming months and years, not as a result of the coronavirus, but due to other diseases that are actually treatable. Progress made by governments and NGOs is at risk of being lost,” the report notes.
Why are people in Antarctica following coronavirus isolation rules?
Till now, Antarctica has reported zero cases of the novel coronavirus. Yet, the research teams living there are practicing social distancing and isolating themselves. A new report by the BBC tries to find why the researchers are doing so.
“A case of Covid-19 here could be disastrous. So, we are taking lockdown measures, too. It feels like we are isolated within the isolation. Prevention is much better than the cure,” Pradeep Tomar, a doctor at the Indian base told BBC.
Researchers fear that even if a single case reaches Antarctica, the whole place would be overwhelmed. Twenty nine countries have their bases there and there is an acute lack of medical facilities in the region.
Also read: Uber will require drivers and passengers to wear masks in cars
Republicans to Trump: Please wear a mask
US President Donald Trump has received a lot of criticism from Democrats for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and for not wearing a mask. Now a new poll suggests that even his fellow Republicans are asking the president to start wearing a mask, reports Politico.
“More than 70 percent of respondents in a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll to be published Wednesday say that when Trump and Pence travel, they should wear face coverings in public places. Concurring with that position are 82 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of independents and 58 percent of Republicans,” the report notes.
“It’s a rare point of bipartisan consensus during a public health crisis that’s become deeply politicized,” it adds.
What else we are reading:
Russia’s coronavirus cases are spiking and the health system is struggling to keep pace: Washington Post
In Italy, Some Fear the Virus Is a Get-Out-of-Jail Card for Mafiosi: The New York Times
A Guide to Pandemic Scams, and What Not to Fall For: The New York Times
The First Great Original Play of Quarantine: The New Yorker
‘Why should you cry?’ Ghana’s dancing pallbearers find new fame during Covid-19: The Guardian