NETHERLANDS RECALLS DEFECTIVE MASKS IMPORTED FROM CHINA

Dutch officials have recalled tens of thousands of masks imported from China

and distributed to hospitals battling the coronavirus outbreak because they

do not meet quality standards.

They received a delivery of masks from a Chinese manufacturer on March 21,

the health ministry said in a statement.

The masks did not meet their standards when they were inspected. Part of the

shipment had already been distributed to health professionals, the statement

said.

"The rest of the shipment was immediately put on hold and has not been

distributed. A second test also revealed that the masks did not meet the

quality norms. Now it has been decided not to use any of this shipment," it

said.

Future shipments would undergo extra testing.

The recall concerned nearly half of the shipment of 1.3 million masks, known

as FFP2, the public television channel NOS reported.

The Netherlands was not the only country to raise concerns over faulty

supplies from China.

Spain announced last week that it would return more than 600,000,000 rapid

testing kits it had purchased from a Chinese company after testing on an

imported batch revealed they had a 30 percent detection rate, reported

Euronews.

Turkey's health minister raised similar issues during a news conference on

Friday, saying rapid testing kit samples from a Chinese company did not meet

the country's effectiveness standards. He added another Chinese firm had

instead been selected to provide the kits.

France's Health Minister Olivier Veran also announced he ordered more than a

billion masks, notably from China, to help the country fight the coronavirus

pandemic. It remains unclear if France will cancel its order.

TRUMP: 100,000 TO 200,000 CORONAVIRUS FATALITIES PREDICTED IN U.S.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the peak death rate in the United

States from the Coronavirus pandemic was likely to hit in two weeks.

During a briefing at the White House, Trump also said that he was extending

the governments “social distancing” guidelines until April 30.

“The modelling estimates that the peak in death rate is likely to hit in two

Weeks, ” the president said.

“Therefore, we will be extending our guidelines to April 30th to slow the

spread,” he said.

Trump also said he expects the country “will be well on our way to recovery”

by June 1 — dropping his previous target of Easter.

In a dire warning, the White House on Sunday projected that Americas peak

death toll from the Coronavirus is likely in two weeks coinciding with

Easter weekend and in a worst case scenario, a total of 100,000 to 200,000

Americans could eventually succumb to the virus.

“It’s possible. It’s entirely possible that would happen if we don’t

mitigate. What we’re trying to do is to not let that happen, ” Americas top

infectious diseases doctor, Anthony Fauci said at a White House briefing.

US president Donald Trump said that the grim numbers come from the “most

accurate” study so far which landed on his desk Sunday.

Trump said, “2.2 million people would have died if we did not do the social

distancing and all that. If we could hold that down to a 100,000 – its a

horrible number – we’ve done a very good job.”

CORONAVIRUS AT A GLANCE: THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Worldwide, the number of cases has reached more than 721,000. Some 151,000

people have recovered, and more than 33,000 have died.

The US has more than 142,000 cases, by far the highest number of confirmed

infections worldwide. Almost 2,500 people have died. Donald Trump extended

federal guidelines on social distancing for another 30 days after a top

public health expert warned deaths from the coronavirus could reach as many

as 200,000 in the US. The announcement on Sunday evening came as the death

toll in hard-hit New York state alone passed 1,000.

Italy has said it will extend its month-long lockdown beyond 3 April. The

decision came as the number of deaths in the country increased by 756 to

reach 10,779.

Spain awoke to its third week under near-total lockdown on Sunday, as the

government met to approve a strengthening of measures and the coronavirus

death toll rose by a record 838 cases overnight to 6,528. Second only to

Italy in fatalities, Spain also saw infections rise to 78,797 from 72,248

the day before.

France has had 292 deaths in 24 hours, and now has a total of 40,174

confirmed cases.

Up to 1,000 British nationals stranded in Peru are being repatriated by the

Foreign Office tonight. Over 100 Irish nationals and dozens of others from

13 EU countries are also on their way back via a rescue flight organised by

Ireland. The UK prime minister has said 20,000 former NHS staff have

returned to support the health service, in a video posted online as he

self-isolates with coronavirus.

Argentina which has 820 confirmed cases and 20 deaths from COVID-19 has

extended a nationwide quarantine until mid-April to stem the spread of the

coronavirus.

Costa Rica has confirmed 19 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours,

bringing the total number of cases in the country up to 314. This follows

Bolivia and Uruguay both announcing their first coronavirus deaths today.

Egyptian banks have been instructed to apply temporary caps on daily

withdrawals and deposits, while Zimbabwe has legalised the use of foreign

currency in domestic transactions as the countries deal with the outbreak.

NigeriaÂ’s president Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a lockdown in Lagos and the

capital city of Abuja, AFP reports. Nigeria has recorded 97 confirmed

coronavirus cases and one death.

Moscow has announced a citywide lockdown beginning tomorrow, confining

residents of the city of nearly 12 million people to their homes.

Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal, has announced it will cap the

number of people allowed to enter its islands to 100 a week from Tuesday.

Malians voted in a long-delayed Parliamentary election on Sunday, barely a

day after the country recorded its first coronavirus death and with the

leading opposition figure kidnapped and believed to be in the hands of

jihadists. Prime Minister Boubou Cissé admitted earlier that the turnout had

not been very high. “I appeal to the voters: remember to respect the barrier

gestures and use the sanitary measures,” he said as he voted, adding that

the numbers voting were “sufficiently satisfactory.”

The number of COVID-19 infections in China continues to slow, with health

authorities in Beijing reporting 31 new cases at the end of Sunday. The

cumulative death toll increased to 3,304.

BORIS JOHNSON WARNS BRITONS TO BE PREPARED FOR THE WORST

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is self-isolating after testing

positive for the coronavirus, has written to every UK household to ask

people to stay at home and follow the social distancing rules to fight the

pandemic, warning them things will get worse before they get better.

In letters which will arrive through the post for nearly 30 million homes

along with a leaflet outlining the UK governments advice, Johnson says he

will not hesitate to impose stricter measures.

The British Prime Minister, who has been working from home with mild

symptoms, warned that things are set to get worse before they start getting

better as the UKÂ’s death toll from the outbreak crossed 1200.

The warning came as the UK governments leading epidemiology adviser,

Professor Neil Ferguson, told ‘The Sunday Times’ that the UK population

could need to stay at home for nearly three months.

GERMAN STATE MINISTER KILLS HIMSELF AS CORONAVIRUS HITS ECONOMY

Thomas Schaefer, the finance minister of Germany's Hesse state, has

committed suicide apparently after becoming "deeply worried" over how to

cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus, state premier Volker

Bouffier said on Sunday.

Schaefer, 54, was found dead near a railway track on Saturday. The Wiesbaden

prosecution's office said they believe he died by suicide.

"We are in shock, we are in disbelief and above all we are immensely sad,"

Bouffier said in a recorded statement.

Police and prosecutors said factors, including the questioning of witnesses

and their own observations at the scene, led them to conclude that Schaefer

killed himself.

A visibly shaken Bouffier recalled that Schaefer, who was Hesse's finance

chief for 10 years, had been working "day and night" to help companies and

workers deal with the economic impact of the pandemic.

"Today we have to assume that he was deeply worried," said Bouffier, a close

ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"It's precisely during this difficult time that we would have needed someone

like him," he added.

Popular and well-respected, Schaefer had long been touted as a possible

successor to Bouffier.

AS IRAN CORONAVIRUS DEATHS RISE, ROUHANI HITS BACK AT CRITICISM

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hit back at criticism over the

country's response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying he had to weigh

protecting the country's sanctions-hit economy while tackling the worst

outbreak in the region.

Iran, one of the world's hardest-hit countries from the virus, reported 123

more deaths on Sunday in the past 24 hours, pushing its overall toll to

2,640 amid 38,309 confirmed cases.

The president reacted on Sunday at criticism of its lagging response to the

worst coronavirus outbreak in the region, which has so far infected 38,309

people in the Islamic Republic, and killed more than 2,600 others -

according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University in the United

States.

Rouhani described international outcry at the government's handling of the

COVID-19 outbreak in Iran as a "political war", saying he had to weigh

protecting the economy while tackling the virus, labelled a pandemic by the

World Health Organization (WHO).

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Rouhani said the government had to consider

the effect of mass quarantine efforts on Iran's beleaguered economy, which

is under heavy US sanctions.

"Health is a principle for us, but the production and security of society is

also a principle for us," Rouhani said. "We must put these principles

together to reach a final decision."

"This is not the time to gather followers," he added. "This is not a time

for political war."

"We must prepare to live with this virus until a treatment or vaccine is

discovered, which has not yet happened to date," he added.

"The new way of life we have adopted" is to everyone's benefit, Rouhani

noted, adding that "these changes will likely have to stay in place for some

time".

On a positive note, Rouhani said he had been told by top health experts and

doctors that "in some provinces, we have passed the peak [of the epidemic]

and are on a downward trajectory".

MANILA MEDEVAC PLANE EXPLOSION KILLS EIGHT ON TAKEOFF

A medical evacuation plane exploded in a ball of flames during the takeoff

in the Philippine capital, Manila, on Sunday, killing all eight passengers

and crew on board.

The Lion Air plane - bound from Manila to Haneda, Japan - burst into flames

at the end of the runway at about 8pm (12:00 GMT), the capital's main

airport said.

Video footage showed a huge plume of smoke rising into the night sky as fire

crews doused the fuselage with foam.

The twin-jet West Wind 24 was carrying three medical personnel, three flight

crew, a patient and a companion, Richard Gordon, a senator and head of the

Philippine Red Cross, said on Twitter.

Manila airport general manager Ed Monreal told a news conference two of the

eight on board were foreigners - one American and one Canadian - and the

rest were Filipinos.

"There were no survivors," Monreal said.

An investigation by the Civil Aeronautics Authority of the Philippines was

under way, the Manila International Airport said in a statement.

US-LED FORCES PULL OUT OF THIRD IRAQI BASE THIS MONTH

The United States-led coalition forces in Iraq withdrew on Sunday from a

military base in the country's north that nearly launched Washington into an

open war with neighbouring Iran.

The K1 airbase is the third site coalition forces have left this month, in

line with the US plans to consolidate its troops in two locations in Iraq.

A rocket attack on the base in late December had killed an American

contractor and led to a series of tit-for-tat attacks between the US and

Iran-backed Iraqi militia groups. The attacks culminated in the US-directed

killing of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and a senior Iraqi militia

leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Coalition forces handed over the K1 base in the northern Iraqi province of

Kirkuk to Iraq's military, according to a coalition statement. At least

$1.1m of equipment was transferred to the Iraqis as 300 coalition personnel

departed.

POPE BACKS UN CHIEFÂ’S CALL FOR CEASE-FIRES ACROSS THE GLOBE

Pope Francis is backing the UN chief's call for a cease-fire in all

conflicts raging across the globe to help slow the spread of the

coronavirus.He also said his thoughts are with those constrained to live in

groups, citing in particular rest homes for the elderly, military barracks

and jails. During his traditional Sunday blessing, the pope called for ''the

creation of humanitarian aid corridors, the opening of diplomacy and

attention to those who are in situations of great vulnerability.'' He cited

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' appeal this past week for a global

truce ''to focus together on the true fight of our lives'' against the

coronavirus.

IN RARE CASE, BABY IN US DIES FROM CORONAVIRUS

An infant who had tested positive for COVID-19 has died, the first known

death of a child younger than a year old infected with the virus in the

United States.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reported Saturday the death

of the infant in Chicago who tested positive for the coronavirus disease

(COVID-19).

"There has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant.

A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of death," IDPH

Director Ngozi Ezike said.

"We must do everything we can to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. If

not to protect ourselves, but to protect those around us."

Illinois Governor J B Pritzker told reporters, "I know how difficult this

news can be, especially about this very young child. Upon hearing it, I

admit I was immediately shaken, and it's appropriate for any of us to grieve

today."

The Illinois governor also said that the virus is "rarely fatal" among

children.

TWITTER TAKES DOWN BOLSONARO POST

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro had a tweet taken down by Twitter for

violating the platform's public health rules.

He'd posted a video of himself touring a poor suburb of the capital Brasilia

and talking to a man selling meat skewers on a market.

"We have to work," the vendor said in the clip. "There are deaths, but that

is up to God, we cannot stop. If we do not die of the illness, we will die

of hunger."

Twitter removed the video, saying it recently changed its rules on content

that counters public health recommendations.

Mr Bolsonaro has frequently downplayed the danger the virus poses and has

lashed out at state and municipal officials who implemented lockdowns.