Tygerberg Hospital staff protest over PPE, transport on International Nurses Day
As it begins to ease its nationwide lockdown, Russia becomes the country with the world’s second-highest number of coronavirus infections after reporting another 10 899 new cases, according to an AFP tally.
The new cases bring Russia’s total to 232 243, surpassing the number of infections in Britain and Spain and now behind only the United States.
In Saint Petersburg, five people died in a hospital for coronavirus patients, including some attached to ventilators.
The city’s governor says it appears one of the ventilators at the hospital short-circuited and caught fire.
At least 286 122 coronavirus deaths have been recorded since the epidemic surfaced in China late last year, according to an AFP tally at 1100 GMT on Tuesday based on official sources.
There have been more than 4.18 million officially recorded cases in 195 countries and territories.
The United States has recorded most deaths at 80 684. It is followed by Britain (32 065), Italy (30 739), Spain (26 920) and France (26 643).
The Chinese city of Wuhan, original epicentre of the pandemic, plans to conduct tests on its entire population of 11 million people after new cases emerge for the first time in weeks.
India’s enormous railway network tentatively grinds back to life as a gradual lifting of lockdown gathers pace even as new cases surge.
Two trains leave New Delhi with 2 300 people on board. Others leave different cities including Mumbai.
Happy #InternationalNursesDay!
Today we celebrate the nurses who provide the backbone of every health system – performing essential services or responding to a crisis. We celebrate them today, but we depend on them every day.To all nurses everywhere: THANK YOU! WE OWE YOU. pic.twitter.com/nbN8nVXk3W
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 12, 2020
People arriving in Spain will face a mandatory 14-day quarantine, the government announces, with the measure to come into effect on Friday and remain in place until 24 May, and beyond if necessary.
The measure will not apply to cross-border workers, those transporting goods, airline staff and medical personnel as long as they have not been in contact with anyone infected by the virus.
The French government shoots down a request by the Paris mayor to reopen parks and public gardens in the city, closed since mid-March.
“It can be all too tempting with the sun out, for people to gather in groups that are too large… and to not respect the social-distancing measures,” says Health Minister Olivier Veran.
