China: US failing in virus fight, ‘abused American people’s trust’

BEIJING — China’s foreign ministry says U.S. authorities have failed to effectively fight the global coronavirus pandemic and “abused American people’s trust.”

Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian did not identify any officials by name but appeared to be firing back against accusations from the Trump administration that China mishandled or deliberately delayed releasing information about the outbreak first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

U.S. officials were “engaged in political manipulation of buck-passing and shirking responsibilities,” Zhao said at a daily briefing Thursday. He dismissed discussion of legal action against the Chinese government as “frivolous” and said the U.S. should “focus more on fighting the epidemic and safeguarding the lives and health of the American people and stop playing such buck-passing game.”

WHO sees slight slowing of virus in Europe

The World Health Organization says it has seen an overall slowing of the pandemic” in its vast European region, but there is “no room for complacency” and people should “remain vigilant.”

Hans Kluge, head of the WHO’s Europe office, stressed at a news conference Thursday that the pandemic has not been stopped and an increase in cases has been reported in the eastern part of its region.

“The lesson here is: no time for celebration but time for preparation,” said Kluge.

It was not the first time the world faced a pandemic but “definitely, this has been a very, very devastating one.” He notes noting that “even if we have had few cases, we have seen the strongest health systems can be overwhelmed in a couple weeks.”

The regional office serves the body’s European region that comprises 53 countries, covering a vast geographical region from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans.

Germany to boost payments

Germany’s parliament has approved plans to increase the amount paid to people who spend months in a government-backed short-time work program during the coronavirus crisis.

Companies are making extensive use of the program, which was credited with keeping down unemployment in the financial crisis more than a decade ago. It allows them to keep employees on the payroll while they await better times.

The federal labor agency pays 60% of the salary of employees who are on reduced or zero hours, or 67% in the case of people with children.

Lawmakers on Thursday approved a government plan to increase the proportion paid to 70 or 77% from the fourth month, and 80 or 87% from the seventh month. The new rule will apply until the end of this year.

More than 10.1 million people were registered for the program by the end of April, when 2.64 million people were registered as jobless — an unemployment rate of 5.8%. Germany has a population of 83 million.

Japan ends most emergency measures

Japan’s prime minister has announced the end of the state of emergency for most regions of the country, but restrictions are being kept in place in Tokyo and seven other high-risk areas, including Osaka, Kyoto and Hokkaido.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday lifted the measure ahead of schedule in 39 of the country’s 47 prefectures, effective immediately.

Abe declared a month-long state of emergency on April 7 in Tokyo and six other urban prefectures, later expanding it to the whole country through May 31.

With signs of the infections slowing, Abe is seeking to relax restrictions while balancing disease prevention and the state of the economy.

Abe said: “Today is the new beginning for our daily lives, a new normal.” He warned of a likely resurgence of the infections, urging people to keep their guards up.

He said experts will meet again next week to decide if the measure in the remaining areas can be lifted, pledging to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control by the end of May.

Japan now has more than 16,000 confirmed cases, with about 680 deaths. The number of new cases has significantly decreased nationwide.

Many leaders call for free vaccine

The leaders of South Africa and Pakistan, along with dozens of former world leaders, are calling for a “people’s vaccine” against the coronavirus that should be made available for everyone, everywhere, and for free.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan signed the letter dated Thursday and coordinated by UNAIDS, an advocate for global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and Oxfam, an anti-poverty charity, amid growing fears that richer countries will get first access to any vaccine.

The letter, also signed, among others, by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Helen Clark, a former prime minister of New Zealand, also urges equitable access to COVID-19 testing materials and treatments as countries around the world compete for scarce supplies, saying that “now is not the time to allow the interests of the wealthiest corporations and governments to be placed before the universal need to save lives.”

The World Health Organization and a number of countries, but not the United States, have also called for equitable access to a vaccine.

UK approves antibody test

British health authorities have for the first time approved an antibody test that shows whether people have previously been exposed to the new coronavirus.

The test, manufactured by Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche, has already been approved for use in the United States and the European Union.

Public Health England says government scientists found the test to be 100% accurate. It shows whether people have been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 and have developed antibodies against it, which may provide some immunity.

The British government says it is working on plans to offer antibody tests to health care workers and the public.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said an antibody test could be a “game changer” in allowing the U.K. to end its national lockdown. But attempts to find a reliable test have been troubled. Some 17.5 million tests ordered from various suppliers all failed to meet U.K. standards.

Finland reopens schools

Finland has reopened elementary and secondary schools after a two-month hiatus amid the government’s strict distancing and hygiene guidelines for students and teachers in efforts to avoid a rise in COVID-19 infections.

The Nordic country introduced a lockdown in mid-March, including the mandatory closure of schools for all children older than 10 and a recommendation for younger children to stay home.

After weeks of remote classes and distance learning, schools reopened Thursday for two weeks before the summer break starts in early June.

Students are being kept at a safe distance from each other in classrooms, frequent hand-washing is required and only one class at a time is allowed to stay outside during breaks.

Principal Jorma Kauppila from the Katariina school in the southern city of Turku told Finnish news agency STT that “kids and youngsters have been happy to return here. Arrangements have worked out as planned.”

Typhoon slams eastern Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — A strong typhoon slammed into the eastern Philippines on Thursday after authorities evacuated tens of thousands of people while trying to avoid the virus risks of overcrowding emergency shelters.

The first typhoon to hit the country this year rapidly gained force as it blew from the Pacific then barged ashore in San Policarpio town in Eastern Samar province around noon. Video showed fierce rain and wind swaying coconut trees, rattling tin roofs and obscuring visibility. Some towns lost power.

Typhoon Vongfong was packing maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour) and was forecast to blow northwestward and barrel across densely populated eastern provinces and cities before exiting in the north Sunday.

The Philippines remains under a lockdown to fight the coronavirus.

Governors say social distancing will be nearly impossible in emergency shelters. Some shelters are now serving as quarantine facilities, and they may have to be turned back into emergency storm shelters.

The typhoon is forecast to largely bypass Manila, but authorities say tents being used as temporarily medical facilities in the capital might be damaged in strong winds.