FINALLY CHINA GIVES IN, AGREES FOR PROBE INTO COVID-19 ORIGIN, ONCE THE CRISIS IS OVER

China on Monday gave in to mounting international pressure for a probe into the origin of Covid-19 and a review of the World Health Organisation’s response to the pandemic. President Xi Jinping told the World Health Assembly that China had acted with ‘openness, transparency and responsibility’ when the disease, which has impacted billions of people across the world, first broke out.

President Xi, who had been invited to speak at the opening ceremony after the European Union-drafted resolution to push for a probe was supported by more than a 100 countries, said Beijing supported calls for a comprehensive review of the global response but felt this exercise should be carried out after the world gets a grip on the situation. The world’s immediate priority should be saving people.

“China supports the idea of a comprehensive review of the global response to COVID-19 after it is brought under control to sum up experience and address deficiencies,” President Xi told the assembly, the UN global health body’s policy making body.

China had previously opposed calls for such investigations from Washington and Canberra.

The health assembly is expected to formally take up the resolution backed by over 120 countries tomorrow.

At Monday’s World Health Assembly, President Xi reciprocated, telling the 194-member body that the WHO’s contribution under Dr Tedros had been applauded by the international community.

“At this crucial juncture, to support WHO is to support international cooperation and the battle for saving lives as well,” President Xi said.

President Xi’s comments, made during a video speech to the World Health Assembly, come as a resolution pushed by the European Union and Australia calling for a review of the origin and spread of the coronavirus disease picked up momentum.

The draft resolution pushed by the 27-nation European Union sought scientific and collaborative field missions to trace the origin of the coronavirus, saying such an exercise will enable targeted interventions and a research agenda to reduce the risk of similar events in future.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the call for an independent probe into the response to the pandemic saying learning was important.

The WHO chief’s remarks followed an address by Chinese President Xi Jinping who backed the review of global health response to Covid-19, but said such an evaluation should happen only after the pandemic was over.

TRUMP SAYS HE IS TAKING HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE DESPITE FDA WARNING

U.S. President Donald Trump, in a surprise announcement, said on Monday he is taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive medicine against the coronavirus despite medical warnings about the use of the malaria drug.

“I'm taking hydroxychloroquine,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “I've been taking it for the last week and a half. A pill every day.”

Mr.Trump volunteered the disclosure during a question-and-answer session with reporters as he met restaurant executives whose businesses are reeling from the impact of the virus.

Weeks ago Mr. Trump had promoted the drug as a potential treatment based on a positive report about its use against the virus, but subsequent studies found that it was not helpful. The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about its use.

In an April 24 statement, the FDA said it is aware of reports of serious heart rhythm problems in patients with COVID-19 treated with hydroxychloroquine or an older drug, chloroquine.

Mr. Trump, who is tested daily for the virus, said he had asked the White House physician if it was OK to take the drug, and the doctor told him, “well, if you'd like it.”

The President, a well-known germaphobe, has nonetheless refused to wear a protective mask in the West Wing.

CORONAVIRUS VACCINE: FIRST EVIDENCE JAB CAN TRAIN IMMUNE SYSTEM

The first hints that a vaccine can train people's immune system to fight coronavirus have been reported by a company in the US.

Moderna said neutralising antibodies were found in the first eight people who took part in their safety trials.

It also said the immune response was similar to people infected with the actual virus.

Larger trials to see whether the jab actually protects against infection are expected to start in July.

Work on a coronavirus vaccine has been taking place at unprecedented speed, with around 80 groups around the world working on them.

Moderna was the first to test an experimental vaccine, called mRNA-1273, in people.

The vaccine is a small snippet of the coronavirus's genetic code, which is injected into the patient.

It is not capable of causing an infection or the symptoms of Covid-19, but is enough to provoke a response from the immune system.

The vaccine trials, run by the US government's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, showed the vaccine led to the production of antibodies which can neutralise the coronavirus.

However, testing for these neutralising antibodies has only taken place on the first eight, out of 45, people on the trial.

AUSTRALIA WELCOMES CORONAVIRUS INQUIRY BUT CONDEMNS CHINA TARIFF

Australia on Tuesday welcomed international support for an independent coronavirus pandemic investigation as China ratcheted up a bilateral trade rift by placing tariffs on Australian barley.

The World Health Organization bowed to calls Monday from most of its member states to launch an independent probe into how it managed the international response to the coronavirus.

The comprehensive evaluation, sought by a coalition of African, European and other countries including Australia, is intended to review lessons learned from WHO’s coordination of the global response to COVID-19, but would stop short of looking into contentious issues such as the origins of the respiratory virus.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne had earlier welcomed the apparent majority support for the motion, saying her government wanted the inquiry to be impartial, independent and comprehensive.

Australia is seen as a leader in rallying global support for an inquiry, attracting Chinese criticism that it is parroting the United States and inviting a Chinese boycott of exports and services.

China’s Ministry of Commerce announced tariffs of around 80% on Australian barley from Tuesday, a crop the Chinese argue is subsidised by the Australian government.

China banned beef imports from Australia’s four largest abattoirs a week ago over labeling issues.

Many observers say the trade disputes are punishment for Australia’s demand for transparency over the pandemic.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham on Tuesday described the tariff decision as deeply disappointing, but welcomed the endorsement of a coronavirus inquiry by the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization, in Geneva.

Our government welcomes the cooperation and support from countries right around the world, Birmingham told Nine Network television.

CORONAVIRUS: FRANCE AND GERMANY PROPOSE €500BN RECOVERY FUND

France and Germany are proposing a €500bn ($545bn; £448bn) European recovery fund to be distributed to EU countries worst affected by Covid-19.

In talks on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that the funds should be provided as grants.

The proposal represents a significant shift in Mrs Merkel's position.

Mr Macron said it was a major step forward and was "what the eurozone needs to remain united".

"I believe this is a very deep transformation and that's what the European Union and the single market needed to remain coherent," Mr Macron said following discussions via video link.

Mrs Merkel, who had previously rejected the idea of nations sharing debt, said the European Commission would raise money for the fund by borrowing on the markets, which would be repaid gradually from the EU's overall budget.

Grants provided by the proposed recovery fund should also be used to help finance the bloc's investment in a greener future, the two leaders said.

JAPAN BRACES FOR WORST POSTWAR SLUMP AS PANDEMIC TIPS ECONOMY INTO RECESSION

Japan’s economy slipped into recession for the first time in 4-1/2 years in the last quarter, putting the nation on course for its deepest postwar slump as the coronavirus crisis ravages businesses and consumers.

Monday’s first-quarter GDP data underlined the broadening impact of the outbreak, with exports plunging the most since the devastating March 2011 earthquake as global lockdowns and supply chain disruptions hit shipments of Japanese goods.

Analysts warn of an even bleaker picture for the current quarter as consumption crumbled after the government in April requested citizens to stay home and businesses to close, intensifying the challenge for policymakers battling a once-in-a-century pandemic.

“It’s near certainty the economy suffered an even deeper decline in the current quarter,” said Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at Meiji Yasuda Research Institute. “Japan has entered a full-blown recession.”

The world’s third-largest economy contracted an annualised 3.4% in the first quarter, preliminary official gross domestic product (GDP) data showed, less than a median market forecast for a 4.6% drop.

Indeed, the fallout of the virus on corporate Japan was telling with exports diving 6.0% in the first quarter, the biggest decline since April-June 2011.

The shakeout in global trade was underlined in recent March data, with exports shrinking the most in nearly four years due to plunging U.S.-bound shipments.

The gloom in Japan is expected to deepen over coming months.

Analysts polled by Reuters estimate Japan’s economy will shrink an annualised 22.0% in the current quarter, which would be a record decline.

Still, many analysts warn that government support will come too little, too late.

WHO IS IRREPLACEABLE: UN CHIEF

The WHO is “irreplaceable” and needs enhanced resources especially to provide support to the developing countries facing the “devastating” impact of COVID-19, UN chief Antonio Guterres said on Monday, amid criticism of the global health agency's handling of the pandemic.

The Secretary-General said the entire United Nations family “stands" with thousands of its colleagues at the WHO who are working around the world to support the member states in saving lives and protecting the vulnerable, with guidance, training and essential testing, treatment and protective equipment. Guterres also voiced concern over the “devastating” impact the outbreak will have as it spreads across the developing nations.

“The WHO is irreplaceable. It needs enhanced resources, particularly to provide support to developing countries, which must be our greatest concern. We are as strong as the weakest health systems,” Guterres said.