Ramadan begins amid coronavirus restrictions as Trump 'disinfectant' theory dismissed

Ramadan begins amid coronavirus restrictions as Trump 'disinfectant' theory dismissed
                                 

The governments of countries with large Muslim populations were divided on coronavirus restrictions as Ramadan began, with with some easing lockdowns while others enacted travel bans.

As the Muslim holy month was set to start , US health experts rushed to warn against Donald Trump’s suggestion of exploring the utilization of UV light on people and injecting disinfectant as how of combatting coronavirus.

The world’s 1.8 billion Muslims have had to regulate to a month-long holy period of fasting and reflection with a way more private tone this year, with mosques closed and feasts after dusk held privately .

Some countries have amended curfews to form it easier for people to buy for food. Egypt will allow more businesses to reopen and can shorten a night-time curfew, and shopping malls and businesses are going to be allowed to open on weekends until 5pm.

The announcement by prime minister Mostafa Madbouly came because the country confirmed its highest number of infections during a single day, with 232 new cases reported on Thursday. Another 11 people died, bringing the country’s price to 287.

Madbouly said the easing of restrictions would be reviewed in fortnight .

Algeria and therefore the United Arab Emirates also announced they might ease curfews for Ramadan.

However, in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, all non-essential travel between provinces has been banned so as to contain the virus during the vacation . The ban included domestic and international travel, with some exceptions, and police will use roadblocks to enforce the measure on the bottom .

In the US, Trump stunned onlookers at a press briefing on Thursday when he riffed on his “interest” in watching using ultraviolet lights or maybe injecting disinfectant into people to treat Covid-19.

Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and a former labor secretary, said Trump’s briefings were “actively endangering the public’s health”.

“Boycott the propaganda. hear the experts. And please don’t drink disinfectant,” he said.

At the briefing Trump, remarked on research bythe Department of Homeland Security that said the virus seemed to weaken faster under exposure to sunlight, health and humidity.

William Bryan, its acting undersecretary for science and technology, told the briefing tests using disinfectants had showed the virus might be killed within minutes by some substances.

Dr Irwin Redlener, the director of the middle for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University , told the MSNBC network: “Everything that this scientist talked about from Homeland Security was basically incoherent, nonsensical, not really supported by evidence and really quite contrary to tons of things that we do realize a number of the items he was saying.”

Australia’s chief medic , Prof Brendan Murphy, was barely ready to contain incredulous laughter when asked if anyone should follow the US president’s latest suggestion.

“Um ... i might not ... i might caution against the injection of disinfection! they might be quite toxic to people …And ultraviolet , look, I don’t know the context during which he said it, so i actually would wish to review it before I could comment.”

The US has reported almost 50,000 deaths and 870,000 cases, consistent with the toilet Hopkins University tracker, and will extend social distancing measures. Congress passed a $500bn relief package late on Thursday, bringing the US’s crisis spending to just about $3tn.

Meanwhile, China’s ambassador to the united kingdom strongly rebuked the US for suggesting Beijing wasn't truthful about the coronavirus, saying Washington shouldn't seek to bully the China during a manner like the 19th century European colonial wars.

“Some other country – their local courts sued China – it's absurd,” Liu Xiaoming said, a possible regard to action launched by Missouri. “Some politicians, some people, want to play at being the world’s policeman – this is often not the age of power politics , this is often not the age when China was a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society.”

In other global developments:

About 91 crew on Italian cruise liner , the Costa Atlantica, have Covid-19, Japanese officials said on Friday. The ship is docked in Japan’s south-western port of Nagasaki, and people who have tested negative are going to be repatriated, health minister Katsunobu Kato said on Friday. Japan is additionally taking drastic measure to discourage people from gathering outside, by cutting the buds off thousand of roses in parks to discourage public gatherings.

The Philippines extended its lockdown within the capital, Manila, until 15 May. President Rodrigo Duterte, also threatened to declare law if communist rebels disrupted the flow of relief goods for Filipinos suffering from the restrictions, and asked his military to be ready.

Tom Hanks has sent a heartfelt letter and a Corona-brand typewriter to an Australian boy who wrote to him about being bullied over his name, Corona. Hanks hand wrote at the end: “P.S. you bought a lover in ME!”

Ecuador’s health minister has said the country’s coronavirus case total is twice as high as previously confirmed, as authorities added 11,000 new infections that resulted from delayed testing. The new cases are going to be added to the confirmed total of 11,183 infections. The country has registered 560 deaths.