(Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
Restarting crucial industries
India is planning to restart some crucial manufacturing to ease the difficulties of the poor, despite expectations it will extend a 21-day lockdown beyond April 15, two government sources said.
Spain lifts restrictions on some businesses on Monday after shutting down all non-essential operations nearly two weeks ago. This will allow businesses that cannot operate remotely, including construction and manufacturing, to reopen. The move has been criticised by some as risking a resurgence in the spread of the virus.
Patients testing positive again
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that it was looking into reports of COVID-19 patients testing positive again after clinically recovering from the disease.
South Korean officials had reported on Friday that 91 patients cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again. Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a briefing that the virus may have been “reactivated” rather than the patients being re-infected.
Russian border becomes China’s new frontline
China’s northeastern border with Russia has become its new frontline in the fight against a resurgence in the epidemic, as new daily cases rose to a six-week high.
Half of the imported cases from the daily tally involved Chinese nationals returning home from Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District through border crossings in the Heilongjiang province.
Widespread testing needed
The United States needs to ramp up testing for the coronavirus as the White House considers when and how to lift stay-at-home restrictions and lockdowns triggered by the pandemic, U.S. health experts said on Sunday.
Diagnostic testing determines if somebody is infected with the virus and antibody testing shows who has been infected and is therefore immune. Both will be important in getting people back into the workplace and containing the virus as that happens, the experts said.
‘Ghosts’ patrol streets to keep Indonesians indoors
An Indonesian village on Java island has summoned up ghosts to help it persuade locals to stay indoors during the coronavirus outbreak.
The ghosts are in fact villagers dressed up as “pocong”, ghostly figures wrapped in white shrouds with powdered faces and kohl-rimmed eyes.
“We wanted to be different and create a deterrent effect because ‘pocong’ are spooky and scary,” said Anjar Pancaningtyas, head of a village youth group that coordinated with the police on the unconventional initiative.
In Indonesian folklore, “pocong” represent the trapped souls of the dead.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh)
