Swiss coronavirus deaths reach 235, confirmed cases top 13,000

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland’s death toll from the new coronavirus has increased to 235 people from 197 on Friday, the health ministry said on Saturday, with the number of cases also increasing to 13,213 from 12,161.

The Alpine country of 8.6 million is deploying army medical units at hospitals to help in crisis regions like Ticino, which borders hard-hit Italy, and has began tapping its strategic stockpile of pharmaceuticals to cover rising demand.

Like other European countries, Switzerland is pumping money into its crisis-hit economy, and state-backed loans worth 20 billion Swiss francs ($21 billion) became available on Thursday.

Finance Minister Ueli Maurer made clear on Saturday the government was happy to help with loans, but that it needed the money back and could not compensate for income losses.

“We are not distributing federal money, but taxpayers’ money,” Maurer told SRF radio.

“Many of those who pay taxes are now partially unemployed, their jobs are in question, and now we take the money away from them and distribute it somewhere where there are also problems.”

The government is due to give an update later on Saturday on the epidemic situation.

Turkey limits transport, opposition calls for 'stay-at-home' order over virus

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey halted inter-city trains and limited domestic flights on Saturday, as the main opposition called for a stay-at-home order after coronavirus cases jumped by a third in a day.

President Tayyip Erdogan called on Friday for a “voluntary quarantine” in which Turks stay at home except for shopping or basic needs to help contain the fast-growing outbreak.

But after the number of infections jumped to 5,698, with 92 dead, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) called for a comprehensive stay-at-home order to be imposed.

“At this stage, it is evident that we need a comprehensive, wide and effective stay-at-home and quarantine,” CHP Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu said in a statement on Saturday.

“It is not possible to solve this issue with campaigns like ‘Stay Home Turkey’ and by leaving it to the will and initiative of our citizens while not providing any wage or job security and abandoning them to fate,” he said.

Erdogan announced further measures to contain the spread of the virus, halting international flights, inter-city trains and making other domestic travel subject to a governor’s approval.

More https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-turkey/turkey-limits-transport-opposition-calls-for-stay-at-home-order-over-virus-idUSKBN21F09C

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-swiss/swiss-coronavirus-deaths-reach-235-confirmed-cases-top-13000-idUSKBN21F0IA

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Japan's Abe vows unprecedented stimulus as Tokyo virus cases rise

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday promised an unprecedented package of steps to cushion the world’s third-biggest economy from the coronavirus pandemic, saying the country was close to a national emergency as infections surged.

Abe said the “huge, powerful” measures will include fiscal stimulus, monetary steps and tax breaks for companies, though the details have not been finalized.

“We are in a critical stage. We need to be ready for a long-term battle,” Abe said in a nationally televised news conference, adding: “I want to be straightforward about that.”

Infections in Japan have climbed to more than 1,500, with 52 deaths, excluding those from a cruise ship quarantined last month, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Officials confirmed a further 60 cases in Tokyo and on Saturday announced 57 new coronavirus cases at a center for the disabled in Chiba prefecture near the capital, NHK said.

Hit early by the coronavirus in its initial spread from China, Japan had seen a more gradual rise than the recent surge in much of Europe and the United States that has led to lockdowns of billions of people around the world.

Abe held back from declaring a state of emergency though he announced plans to approve the drug Avigan that has proved helpful in treatment.

“The pandemic is inflicting extremely big damage to Japan’s economy,” he said. “We’ll deploy a huge, powerful package that will include a full range of fiscal, monetary and tax measures.”

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-japan/japans-abe-vows-unprecedented-stimulus-as-tokyo-virus-cases-rise-idUSKBN21F05Y

Escobar: Why Is France Hiding A Cheap And Tested Virus Cure?

My initial question to a serious, unimpeachable Paris source, jurist Valerie Bugault, was about the liaisons dangereuses between Macronism and Big Pharma and especially about the mysterious “disappearance” – more likely outright theft – of all the stocks of chloroquine in possession of the French government.

Respected Professor Christian Perronne talked about the theft live in one of France’s 24/7 info channels: “The central pharmacy for the hospitals announced today that they were facing a total rupture of stocks, that they were pillaged.”

With input from another, anonymous source, it’s now possible to establish a timeline that puts in much-needed perspective the recent actions of the French government.

Let’s start with Yves Levy, who was the head of INSERM – the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research – from 2014 to 2018, when he was appointed as extraordinary state councilor for the Macron administration. Only 12 people in France have reached this status.

Levy is married to Agnes Buzy, who until recently was minister of health under Macron. Buzy was essentially presented with an “offer you can’t refuse” by Macron’s party to leave the ministry – in the middle of the coronavirus crisis – and run for Mayor of Paris, where she was mercilessly trounced in the first round on March 16.

Levy has a vicious running feud with Professor Didier Raoult – prolific and often-cited Marseille-based specialist in communicable diseases. Levy withheld the INSERM label from the world-renowned IHU (Hospital-University Institute) research center directed by Raoult.

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https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/escobar-why-france-hiding-cheap-and-tested-virus-cure

Abbott Labs Unveils COVID-19 "Gamechanger": Portable Test Can Detect Virus In Under 5 Minutes

One week after the FDA granted emergency approval to a point-of-care test purporting to produce results in under 45 minutes, the agency has granted "emergency use authorization" to Abbott Labs so the company can bring to market a rapid-response test for COVID-19 that can tell if somebody is infected in under five minutes, and is portable enough to be used in practically any health-care setting.

The medical-device maker plans to supply 50,000 tests a day beginning April 1, said John Frels, vice president of research and development at Abbott Diagnostics. The molecular test scans samples for fragments of the coronavirus genome, which can quickly be detected when present at high levels. An even more thorough search to definitively rule out an infection can take up to 13 minutes, BBG reports.

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https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/abbott-labs-unveils-portable-test-can-detect-covid-19-under-5-minutes

US Becomes First Country To Record 100,000 Cases Of COVID-19, 5th Congressman Tests Positive: Live Updates

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/house-prepares-vote-2-trillion-stimulus-bill-us-reports-more-1300-deaths-covid-19-live