Coronavirus

Ecuador builds emergency cemeteries due to coronavirus outbreak

Ecuador’s government is preparing an emergency burial ground on land donated by a private cemetery in Guayaquil, the country’s largest city, to address a shortage of burial plots as the…

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COVID-19 and the increased risk for Roma communities

The living conditions for Roma communities across Europe have always raised a lot of concerns, they constantly face problems such as overcrowding and poor access to sanitation. Established in 1990, …

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Photo Story: Drastic measures for drastic times

Workers drive tractors to upend a rape flower field, in a popular tourist field on Jeju Island, South Korea, 08 April 2020. The flowers were destroyed to prevent people from…

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COVID-19 cases top 10,000 in Africa

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has risen to more than 10 000 and caused more than 500 deaths. While the virus was slow to reach the continent…

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The UK is nowhere near lifting of lockdown

The UK is nowhere near lifting of lockdown The UK is nowhere near ready to lift the lockdown measures it put in place to tackle the spread of Covid-19, London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has…

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Iran passes 4,000 fatalities from the coronavirus

Iran's new coronavirus death toll has climbed to 4,003 with 121 more deaths in the past 24 hours, a Health Ministry spokesman told state TV on Wednesday, adding that the…

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Giulia is born – She is the daughter of Italy’s Coronavirus patient 1

Giulia is born! She is the daughter of patient 1 from Codogno. The 38-year old father, Mattia, was the first Italian to test positive to the Sars-Cov-2 virus. The news…

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Pope salutes ‘saints next door’ in fight against coronavirus

Pope Francis has admitted to moments of selfishness while living in lockdown at the Vatican, and has saluted people on the frontline of the fight against the coronavirus, including doctors and…

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Photo Story: Rising awareness in Los Angeles

Two women wearing face masks walk past a mural reading 'Stay Home Life Is Beautiful' amid the coronavirus pandemic in Los Angeles, California, USA. Countries around the world are taking…

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Lufthansa helps deliver 8 million protective masks to Munich

A Lufthansa Cargo aircraft carrying eight million protective masks on board landed in Munich, late Tuesday afternoon. The Boeing 777F, named "Olá Brazil", departed Shanghai earlier this morning and after…

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UN warns spread of coronavirus in Libya depends on end to fighting

Fighting must stop immediately in Libya if it is to have any chance of staving off the COVID-19 outbreak, the top United Nations official in the North African country said…

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Russia reports over 1,000 new cases

The number of coronavirus cases in Russia rose by more than 1,000 for the second day running, taking the total to 8,672, the crisis response centre said on Wednesday.…

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Twitter founder pledges $1 billion for coronavirus relief efforts

Twitter Inc Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey pledged $1 billion of his stake in Square Inc, the payments processor that he co-founded and heads, to help fund relief efforts…

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Spain’s number of coronavirus deaths rises to over 14,500

The number of daily coronavirus deaths rose in Spain for the second day on Wednesday as 757 people died over the past 24 hours, though the pace of the proportional…

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Marathon talks over EU virus rescue package stall

EU talks on how to help southern Eurozone countries badly affected by the coronavirus epidemic have stalled after 16 hours. The European Central Bank says the bloc may need…

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Romania to host EU stockpile of medical equipment

Romania is the first EU country that volunteered to purchase and host, on behalf of the European Union, a stockpile of ventilators, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the…

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Recommendation to extend French lockdown

France should extend its lockdown period for several weeks in order to contain the coronavirus epidemic, the head of the medical council advising the government said on France Info radio…

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Maltese Editors’ Viewpoints

Today’s Editorials react to yesterday’s surge in coronavirus cases in Malta, discussing their outlook on expectations for the coming days. The Times of Malta asks a question that many have…

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Two Peruvian women with COVID-19 give birth to healthy babies

Two pregnant women diagnosed with the new coronavirus in Peru have given birth to babies who have tested negative for the disease, a hospital in the capital Lima said…

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Bortex To Produce Face Masks, Medical Scrubs to support Maltese healthcare authorities

The Bortex Group of Companies has announced that it has switched its local production capacity to produce face masks and medical scrubs. The initiative undertaken by the group is being…

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New York’s virus toll surpasses that of 9/11

New York City faced one of its darkest days with the death toll from the coronavirus surging past 4,000 — more than the number killed on 9/11. Despite the staggering…

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Lufthansa grounds Germanwings and cuts fleet size

Lufthansa is shutting down its budget Germanwings subsidiary and getting rid of dozens of planes to weather the impact of the coronavirus crisis. Demand for flights has plummeted as countries around…

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Sweden registers ‘increase’ in daily rate of coronavirus deaths

Sweden on Tuesday reported another 114 coronavirus deaths, bringing the total to 591 in a country that has adopted a softer approach to containing the outbreak than some of its…

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Italy’s Patient 1 becomes a father

The daughter of Patient 1, identified as Mattia residing in Codogno and believed to be the first confirmed case of Coronavirus in Italy, was born on Tuesday at the Buzzi…

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Lady Gaga organizes coronavirus international benefit concert

Lady Gaga is to curate One World: Together at Home, a live-streamed and televised benefit concert in support of the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 solidarity response fund and in celebration…

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New Zealand optimistic as it records lowest number of Covid-19 cases so far

New Zealand has recorded its lowest number of new coronavirus cases in a fortnight, one day after testing a record number of people. There were 50 new confirmed or probable…

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Andrea Bocelli to perform Easter concert in empty Milan Duomo

Andrea Bocelli will hold an Easter Sunday concert in an empty Milan Duomo starting at 19:00, Mayor Giuseppe Sala said Tuesday. Sala said the blind tenor would sing some "sacred…

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Czech Republic eases lockdown restrictions

The Czech Republic has become the first European country to relax its coronavirus lockdown measures, with a further loosening of the rules to come. As of Tuesday, residents were allowed to…

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Epicentre of coronavirus outbreak in Italy offers glimmer of hope

On 21 February, the Lombardy province of Lodi was at the centre of Italy’s coronavirus outbreak when the first locally transmitted case was confirmed in the town of Codogno. The…

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US records highest death toll in single day

The US recorded the most coronavirus deaths in a single day with 1,736 fatalities reported on Tuesday. It brings the total number of deaths in the country to 12,722, according…

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Turkey has world’s fastest rising infection rate

Turkey’s number of coronavirus infections is increasing by more than 3,000 a day, reaching 30,217 since the first case was confirmed four weeks ago. Reported fatalities remain much lower than…

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UK projected to become worst hit by the coronavirus in Europe

World-leading disease data analysts have projected that the UK will become the country worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic in Europe, accounting for more than 40% of total deaths across the…

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Live Update: Covid-19 Bulletin Malta – Wednesday 8th April 2020

Updated 1232 1,018 swab were carried out yesterday, resulting in 38 new cases. Malta now has 337 positive cases. 25 cases concern women, including an expectant mother and a four-year…

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US folk and country singer John Prine dies from Covid-19

John Prine, the US folk and country singer beloved of Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson and more, has died aged 73 due to complications from Covid-19. Prine worked as a postman…

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Millions more job losses loom – ILO

More than a billion workers are vulnerable to job losses or sharp wage cuts because of measures to lockdown economies and fight the spread of the coronavirus, according to…

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Claims of power vacuum as British PM battles COVID-19

Senior cabinet ministers are facing questions about who is making the big decisions in government while Boris Johnson battles coronavirus in intensive care. Some MPs are calling for a…

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Wuhan’s lockdown ends after 11 weeks, China’s new coronavirus cases surge

Mainland China’s new coronavirus cases doubled in 24 hours as the number of infected overseas travellers surged, and new asymptomatic infections more than quadrupled, pressuring authorities to tighten measures to…

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Boris Johnson to spend another night in Intensive care as his battle with Coronavirus continues

Boris Johnson will be spending another night in hospital where he is being treated for coronavirus. Earlier, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's condition was “stable” during his first night in…

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The Cruise Lines International Association and Greek government announce agreement for short-term berthing

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) announced on Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with the Greek government for the creation of a framework so that cruise ships can…

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Public hospital doctors in Greece stage protests demanding additional staff, more ICU beds

Public hospital doctors around Greece staged protests today to demand additional staff, more ICU beds, better protective equipment and mobilization of private clinics. POLITICO reports that doctors’ union members, wearing…

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Covid-19 pandemic increases demand for sex toys and puts strain on condom production

The coronavirus shutdown has brought swaths of the global economy to a standstill, but for producers and purveyors of condoms and sex toys, business is booming. Ritex, Germany’s largest domestic…

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China returns the favour for EU aid

The EU delivered a consignment of protective equipment that was donated by China to support local efforts against the spread of coronavirus. The EU redirected two million surgical masks, 200,000…

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The EU should procure and distribute medical supplies – MEP Miriam Dalli

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread to every corner of the continent, nations and hospitals are struggling to secure the necessary medical equipment required to support the increasing number…

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Last chance for Maltese nationals who want to come back home – Government

Malta nationals currently abroad have been urged by Government to make their way to the island by this Sunday. In a statement issued by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs,…

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A walk, a Man, Humanity … A Poem A Song – Rajt Raġel (I saw a man)

On Friday 27th March, Pope Francis meditated on the calming of the storm from the Gospel of Mark during the prayer service over which he presided on the steps of…

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Malta’s President, PM and other world leaders send support messages to Boris Johnson

News of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson being admitted to an intensive care unit drew messages of support from leaders across the world Monday. The UK leader’s symptoms worsened a day…

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China reports zero Covid-19 deaths for first time since January

China has reported zero new Covid-19 deaths for the first time since January, despite struggles with ongoing outbreaks including in Wuhan where dozens of residential blocks have been locked down…

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Italy’s government announces €750 billion support in ‘Cure Italy’ decree

A 750 billion support for businesses was announced by the Italian government. The 'Cure Italy' degree is made up of 200 billion loan guarantees and 200 billion for exports which…

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Italian post deploys military to deliver pensions

The Italian post office will deploy military police to deliver pensions to retired people in a new effort to reduce the contagion from the coronavirus outbreak, Poste Italiane said on…

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Germany urges ‘European solidarity’ to combat economic fallout

The coronavirus is the European Union’s biggest ever challenge and member states must show greater solidarity so that the bloc can emerge stronger from the economic crisis unleashed by the…

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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has coronavirus, has been taken to intensive care

Boris Johnson has been moved to intensive care after his condition worsened, Downing Street has said. Since Sunday evening, the Prime Minister has been under the care of doctors at…

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Italy suffers setback as Monday’s death tally increases again

Yesterday's glimmer of hope in Italy was followed by a setback today with 636 persons losing their lives after being infected with coronavirus.On Sunday 525 people had died. On the…

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Pep Guardiola’s mom dies from coronavirus

Pep Guardiola’s mother, Dolors Sala Carrió, has died aged 82 from coronavirus, in news greeted by an outpouring of condolences across football for the Manchester City manager and his family.…

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Photo Story: Preventative measures against coronavirus in Indonesia

Barber Herman Mulyana (R) gives a haircut to a customer while wearing protective attire made from plastic garbage bags at a barbershop in Bogor, Indonesia, 06 April 2020. The Trade…

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France to test plasma of coronavirus survivors to treat sick

France is to begin clinical trials involving transfusions of blood plasma from coronavirus survivors into patients who have severe symptoms in a bid to treat the illness. Pharmaceutical companies are…

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Photo Story: Soft toys in Tasmanian towns to cheer up isolated residents

Soft toys, including one depicting the character 'Sulley' from the 2001 Pixar movie 'Monsters Inc.,' are taped to street posts lining a bike path along a street in the small…

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Artificial intelligence used to predict which coronavirus patients are at greater risk

An artificial intelligence tool is being developed which researchers hope could be used to predict which coronavirus patients will suffer life-threatening lung damage. The team behind the initial study…

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