Wednesday 30 September
- UK spent £569m on 20,900 ventilators for Covid care but most remain unused.
- German Chancellor warns of drastic increase in Covid-19 cases over winter.
- India’s coronavirus infections surge to 6.23 million.
- Disney lays off 28,000 at US theme parks.
- New York City to impose masks fines as Covid-19 cases climb.
- SoftBank unveils food service robot to reduce Covid-19.
UK spent £569m on 20,900 ventilators for Covid care but most remain unused
The Guardian says the government spent £569m buying 20,900 ventilators to keep people alive during the Covid-19 pandemic but lack of demand means NHS hospitals have used just a few of them.
All but 2,150 of the machines it bought are still being held in a Ministry of Defence warehouse in case they are needed in the coming second wave of the disease.
Read the full story on The Guardian
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German Chancellor warns of drastic increase in Covid-19 cases over winter
CNN says German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced an array of new measures aimed at stopping a recent spike in coronavirus infections in the country.
“We know that a more difficult time is coming, fall and winter,” Merkel said as she justified the new restrictions, which also include fines of at least 50 euros for patrons in bars and restaurants who provide false contact data used by authorities for tracing.
Read the full story on CNN
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India’s coronavirus infections surge to 6.23 million
Arab News says India’s coronavirus case tally surged to 6.23 million after it reported 80,472 new infections in the last 24 hours, data from the health ministry showed on Wednesday.
Deaths from coronavirus infections rose by 1,179 in the last 24 hours to 97,497, the ministry said.
Read the full story on Arab News
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Disney lays off 28,000 at US theme parks
BBC News says Disney has announced it will lay off 28,000 employees, mostly at its US theme parks.
The company said limited visitor capacity and uncertainty about how long the coronavirus pandemic would last were the reasons for the layoffs.
“We have made the very difficult decision to begin the process of reducing our workforce at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment at all levels,” Josh D’Amaro, chairman of the parks unit, said in a statement.
Read the full story on BBC News
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New York City to impose masks fines as Covid-19 cases climb
Aljazeera says NYC will impose fines on people who refuse to wear a face-covering as the rate of positive tests for the novel coronavirus climbed above 3 per cent for the first time in months, Mayor Bill de Blasio has said.
Officials will first offer free masks to those caught not wearing one. If the person refuses, they will face an unspecified fine, de Blasio told reporters on Tuesday.
Read the full story on Aljazeera
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SoftBank unveils food service robot to reduce Covid-19
Japan Times says SoftBank Group Corp.’s robot making unit on Monday unveiled its new food service robot in a move designed to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections between staff and customers at restaurants and other eateries.
SoftBank Robotics Group Corp. said it will start renting out its Servi robot, which can automatically deliver meals and drinks from the kitchen to tables at eateries, in January.
Read the full story on Japan Times
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A quick look at the other top stories
Trump, Biden battle in ‘ugly’ first US election debate
Aljazeera says Trump and Biden engaged in a heated and at times ugly exchange of words in the first presidential debate of the US election.
Trump accused Biden of being a leftist and promoting socialism. Biden openly called Trump a racist and told him to “shut up” as Trump repeatedly tried to goad Biden with interruptions.
South Africa: Township residents lose illegal power connections
Africanews says residents of the Diepsloot township, Johannesburg, South Africa have no electricity so most of them are forced to install illegal lightning rods to be able to live with power. But the authorities have however now come to tear out these illegal electricity connections.
Netanyahu says Trump’s critics ‘dead wrong’ on Middle East peace efforts
Fox News says Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that President Trump’s critics were “dead wrong” in predicting that the Trump administration’s attempts to bring peace to the Middle East would fail — after a series of landmark U.S.-brokered deals were signed earlier this month.
