BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING

In today’s briefing update, The headlines are – UK, a headteachers’ leader has said many schools will not make it past Friday. Adding large schools would struggle to stay up and running as more and more staff get sick. 

India, hundreds of women have ignored the government’s orders not to mass gather, as they took to the streets to protest the citizenship law. One woman said the virus was less of a threat than the Citizenship Amendment Act.

EU, European leaders have agreed to close the external borders to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The borders will be closed for 30 days and it’s up to individual member states to implement it.

Coronavirus, CNN says for the past 24 hours the world has been in a state of confusion. As governments put nations into lockdown why are some more extreme than others? 

Entertainment, Vanessa Hudgens says sorry for ‘heartless’ virus comments. 

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Coronavirus: Many schools ‘will have to shut in days’

BBC News says many schools across the UK will not be able to remain open past the end of the week, says a headteachers’ leader.

ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton said experienced headteachers in large schools were saying the would struggle to stay up and running past Friday.

It comes after teaching unions spoke of the “intolerable pressure” of staying open as more and more staff get sick.

Read the full story on BBC News

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Hundreds of women in India brave the virus threat to protest citizenship law

Arab News says hundreds of women took to the streets in the Indian capital on Tuesday, in defiance of the government’s orders against mass gatherings, to protest the citizenship law.

The activists demanded chief ministers from 29 Indian states de-link the census from the National Population Register (NPR). “It would render many women as stateless, regardless of caste and community, as the majority of them leave their natal homes upon marriage without any documents in tow.,” they said.

Humera Sayed, 26, says she’s not afraid of the coronavirus outbreak despite the government’s warnings about mass gatherings. 

“For me, coronavirus is less dangerous than the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register for Citizens (NRC) that threaten the very existence of the Muslim community in India,” Sayed told Arab News.

Read the full story on Arab News

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EU leaders agree to close external borders to limit the spread of coronavirus

RT News says European Council President Charles Michel has announced that the EU’s external borders will be closed for 30 days to combat the spread of the coronavirus. It is up to member states to implement the ban.

“The EU and its member states will do whatever it takes to address the current challenges,” Michel announced. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the recommendation for the ban on Monday. “The less travel, the more we can contain the virus,” she said, adding the idea received overwhelming support and member states would work on how to implement the ban individually.

Read the full story on RT News

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Coronavirus lockdown: 24 hours of confusion around the world

CNN says tens of millions of people around the world have suddenly found themselves under various forms of lockdown as governments scrambled to impose new coronavirus-related restrictions over the past 24 hours.

But with different governments taking different approaches, many people have been left confused. If schools are shut in one country, is it safe to send children into class in another? Why are restaurants closed but shops still open? Why are some countries banning non-essential travel and others just advising against it? 

It depends in part on how severely the epidemic is in each country. In Britain, the government justified its initial reluctance to impose restrictions saying the country was behind Europe in terms of the spread of the virus.

Read the full story on CNN

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Vanessa Hudgens criticised for ‘heartless’ comments on pandemic

Sky News says Vanessa Hudgens has apologised after making “heartless” comments about the coronavirus outbreak. 

The actress complained about the US response to the pandemic in an Instagram Live video.

“Umm, yeah, ‘til July sounds like a bunch of bulls**t,” she said in response to the potential timeline for being quarantined. 

The 31-year-old continued: “I’m sorry, but like, it’s a virus, I get it, like, I respect it, but at the same time I’m like, even if everybody gets it, like yeah, people are going to die, which is terrible but like, inevitable?”

Read the full story on Sky News

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