Trump officials deflect blame for US death toll, escalate reopening push

CNN says two of President Trump’s top officials are now pointing the finger at the administration’s own scientists and Americans’ pre-existing health conditions to explain the country’s world-leading Covid-19 death toll.

Alex Azar suggested Sunday that underlying health conditions, including among minorities, were one reason for the high American death toll — nearly 90,000 as of Sunday evening. And Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro added the government’s own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to its list of scapegoats alongside China and the Obama administration.

Read the full story on CNN

…………………………………………..

Coronavirus: Stations put crowd control measures in place 

BBC News says new measures have been deployed on trains and at stations amid fears that more people might use public transport to return to work in England this week.

Train firms have operated reduced services due to coronavirus, but more frequent trains are now running.

Security guards with crowd management training will be at some stations.

People are being encouraged to go back to work in England, but to only use public transport for essential journeys when they have no alternative.

Read the full story on BBC News

…………………………………………..

Over three-quarters of BAME medics fear they will contract the disease

The Guardian says more than three-quarters of black, Asian and minority ethnic doctors are worried about contracting coronavirus in the course of their work, according to a survey that highlights the continuing lack of protection for frontline NHS staff.

Doctors said poor access to personal protective equipment, insufficient training on how to fit masks and lengthy waits for virus testing left them in fear of catching the virus and passing it on to those they lived with.

Read the full story on The Guardian

…………………………………………..

Japan slips into recession, but worse is still to come

Japan Times says Japan’s economy sank into a recession last quarter that’s likely to deepen further as households limit spending to essentials and companies cut investment, production and hiring to stay afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Gross domestic product shrank an annualized 3.4 per cent in the January-March quarter compared with the previous quarter as exports slid and social distancing crimped consumer spending, Cabinet Office figures showed.

Read the full story on Japan Times 

…………………………………………..

Iran faces ‘second wave of virus’ as death toll surges towards 7,000

 Arab News says large swaths of Iran faced a lethal “second wave” of coronavirus infections on Sunday as the official death toll surged toward 7,000.

The southwestern province of Khuzestan is the new focal point, with the most critical “red” ranking on the country’s colour-coded risk scale. “Khuzestan is in a critical situation,” Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said

Read the full story on Arab News