UNGA ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON COVID-19, CALLS FOR GLOBAL COOPERATION TO FIGHT

PANDEMIC

The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution,

co-sponsored by 188 nations including India, on COVID-19, calling for

intensified international cooperation to defeat the pandemic that is causing

severe disruption to societies and economies.

The resolution titled Global solidarity to fight the coronavirus disease

2019 (COVID-19)' was the first such document on the global pandemic to be

adopted by the world organisation.

The UN Security Council is yet to discuss the coronavirus outbreak, even as

the total number of coronavirus cases across the world crossed one million.

The resolution said the 193-member General Assembly notes with great concern

the threat to human health, safety and well-being caused by the coronavirus

disease 2019 pandemic, which continues to spread globally.

It recognises the "unprecedented effects of the pandemic, including the

severe disruption to societies and economies, as well as to global travel

and commerce, and the devastating impact on the livelihood of people".

The resolution called for intensified international cooperation to contain,

mitigate and defeat the pandemic, including by exchanging information,

scientific knowledge and best practices and by applying the relevant

guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization.

Recognising that the COVID-19 pandemic requires a global response based on

unity, solidarity and renewed multilateral cooperation, the resolution said

the General Assembly reaffirms its commitment to international cooperation

and multilateralism and its strong support for the central role of the

United Nations system in the global response to the coronavirus disease 2019

(COVID-19) pandemic.

It also emphasised the need for full respect for human rights, and stressed

that there is no place for any form of discrimination, racism and xenophobia

in the response to the pandemic.

The resolution was sponsored by Ghana, Indonesia, Liechtenstein, Norway,

Singapore and Switzerland. Since the General Assembly is not holding

meetings due to the pandemic, the resolution was adopted under a silence

procedure.

The draft resolution was under silence procedure until April 2 at 6pm. If

there were no objections to the resolution within the specified time period

from member states, the President of the General Assembly circulates a

letter confirming adoption.   

'MAJOR RECESSION' LIKELY TO HIT POOREST COUNTRIES HARDEST AMID CORONAVIRUS

CRISIS: WORLD BANK

The world's two leading financial institutions have warned of dire economic

disruptions as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread around the

world, with record number of deaths and infections reported in Europe and

the United States.

World Bank Group President David Malpass on Friday said the health emergency

was expected to cause a "major global recession" that would likely hit the

poorest and most vulnerable countries the hardest, while the International

Monetary Fund described the situation as a "crisis like no other".

The death toll in Europe has surged to around 40,000, while in the United

States the number of deaths hit more than 7,000, bringing the number of

deaths worldwide to more than 58,000, according to the data compiled by

Johns Hopkins University.

The number of cases also continue to rise, with the US reporting more

275,000 infections, while Italy, Spain and Germany combined recorded more

than 300,000 cases.

Worldwide, the number of cases is closing in at 1.1 million, with the number

of recoveries close to 226,000.

JAPAN SLAMS WHO: 'RENAME WHO AS CHINESE HEALTH ORGANIZATION'

Japan's Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso has said the World Health

Organization (WHO) should be renamed as the "Chinese Health Organization" as

he accused the global body of toeing the China line on the coronavirus

pandemic.

Aso slammed WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for what he called his

"inadequate evaluation to address the coronavirus outbreak". He also

referenced to a petition on change.org calling for Ghebreyesus to resign

over his handling of the pandemic.

The petition has now received nearly 7 lakh signatures worldwide. It was

started by Osuka Yip and blames the WHO chief for underestimating Covid-19

and refusing to "declare China virus outbreak as a global health emergency"

in late January.

CDC RECOMMENDS WEARING MASKS IN PUBLIC, BUT TRUMP SAYS GUIDANCE IS VOLUNTARY

US President Donald Trump has said he will not wear a face mask despite new

medical guidance advising Americans to do so.

He could not see himself greeting "presidents, prime ministers, dictators,

kings, queens" in the Oval Office while wearing one, he said.

He stressed that the guidance released on Friday was "voluntary".

"You do not have to do it," he said. "I don't think I'm going to be doing

it."

The guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the

government's public health advisory agency, came as the US reported at least

270,473 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with nearly 7,000 deaths.

"From recent studies we know that the transmission from individuals without

symptoms is playing a more significant role in the spread of the virus than

previously understood," Mr Trump said on Friday.

However, he told reporters after announcing the CDC's new guidance: "I just

don't want to do it myself."

"Sitting in the Oval Office... I somehow don't see it for myself."

Americans are now advised to use clean cloth or fabric to cover their faces

whilst in public. Officials have stressed that medical masks remain in short

supply, and should be left for healthcare workers.

KUWAIT BACKS OPEC+ MEETING, RESUMES NEUTRAL ZONE SHIPMENTS WITH SAUDI

Kuwait supports Saudi Arabia's invitation for a meeting between meeting of

OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers, an informal grouping known as OPEC+, to

curb global oil supply and halt the oil price rout, oil minister Khaled

al-Fadhel said on Friday.

The minister, cited by the state-news agency KUNA, also announced the

resumption of crude shipments from the so-called Neutral Zone the country

shares with Saudi Arabia for the first time in five years.

The shipment, of about one million barrels will be loaded on a tanker on

Saturday and Sunday, for export to Asia, he said.

AS JAPAN CORONAVIRUS CASES RISE, TOKYO NUDGES PM ABE TO DECLARE STATE OF

EMERGENCY

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Friday that Japan declaring a national

state of coronavirus emergency would send a "strong message" that could help

dodge an explosive outbreak, her most explicit nudge so far for the

government to make the call.

Amid growing clamour for tighter curbs on people's movements to stem a

rising tide of infections, the government has so far been reluctant to pull

the trigger, warning of the heavy damage that could ensue in the world's

third-biggest economy, already close to recession.

Instead, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has urged school closures and called on

citizens to avoid unnecessary and non-urgent gatherings and outings while

preparing to roll out an economic stimulus plan next week - even as he

acknowledged the country was barely avoiding a major jump in infections.

"If the country makes a move, it would send a strong message to people,"

Tokyo Governor Koike said at a news conference. "If that is coupled with the

economic stimulus package being prepared, it would give Tokyo a big boost"

in dealing with the epidemic, she said.

Nobuhiko Okabe, director general of the Kawasaki City Institute for Public

Health, said judging the timing for declaring a state of emergency was

tough.If issued too soon, it would have a big economic impact and have a

serious effect on society, but if too late, the number of infected patients

would rise, he said."This is not merely a question of numbers," he told

Reuters in an interview.

"A balance of merits and demerits must be considered."

TOMB SWEEPING FESTIVAL: CHINA PAYS 'VIRTUAL' RESPECTS TO ANCESTORS

People in China are paying their respects to dead ancestors digitally as the

country continues to face the coronavirus outbreak.

The Qingming festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, is usually a time

when people visit the graves of friends and family, sprucing up the area and

making offerings to their spirits.

But amid fears of another outbreak, the government has advised people to

stay away and maintain social distancing.

That's led to some cemeteries allowing people to come as long as they've

booked a slot, while others are banning visits completely.

But other companies and burial places have turned to modern technology as

they look for ways for families to continue the centuries-old tradition.

Li Quanxi, an official at Beijing's civil affairs bureau, said: "We want to

encourage people to transform social traditions amid the coronavirus

outbreak."

UK OPENS NEW HOSPITAL ERECTED IN CONFERENCE CENTRE

A new hospital, built in under two weeks in a conference centre in London to

provide thousands of extra beds to treat those who have contracted

coronavirus, will open its doors on Friday. The Nightingale Hospital, which

will initially provide up to 500 beds equipped with ventilators and oxygen

with the capacity increased to treat about 4,000 patients, has been created

in the Excel Exhibition Centre in the Docklands area of east London, near

the River Thames. Built with help from the military, it is the first of six

new temporary hospitals to be set up across the country to cope with the

outbreak.