Here is a look at other COVID-19 developments around the world:
Virus in the workplace
As U.S. states begin to loosen stay-at-home restrictions and businesses get up and running, an Associated Press analysis shows thousands of people are getting sick from COVID-19 on the job.
Recent figures show a surge of infections in meatpacking and poultry-processing plants. There’s been a spike of new cases among construction workers in Austin, Texas. Of the 15 U.S. counties with the highest per-capita infection rates between April 28 and May 5, all have meatpacking and poultry-processing plants or state prisons, according to data compiled by the AP.
Earlier in the pandemic, many health workers were testing positive and they continue to be infected in large numbers.
Gerard Brogan, director of nursing practice for the California Nurses Association, says as many as 200 nurses a day tested positive in California recently. Nationwide, he says the National Nurses United had tallied more than 28,000 positive tests and more than 230 deaths among health workers.
The developments provide a cautionary note to communities around the United States as they gradually loosen restrictions on business.
Hard-hit Italy sees jump in cases
A big jump in confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy’s hardest-hit region, Lombardy, contributed to the country’s highest day-to-day increase in several days.
According to Health Ministry data, 1,033 cases were confirmed in Lombardy since Monday evening, accounting for the majority of Italy’s 1,402 new cases. In contrast, the last few days had seen Lombardy’s daily new caseload running in the few hundreds.
Overall, Italy counts 221,216 confirmed coronavirus infections. Experts say the true number is doubtlessly much higher, pointing out that many people with mild symptoms often don’t get tested.
Authorities registered 172 deaths in infected patients in the 24-hour period ending Tuesday evening, raising to 30,911 the confirmed death toll. Nearly half of those deaths have occurred in Lombardy, where the country’s outbreak began in late February.
Health officials are anxiously awaiting daily case numbers later in the week to determine if a partial lifting of lockdown restrictions on May 4 caused any rise in contagion rates.
Virus provies opportunity for fraud
Counterfeit COVID-19 test kits. Fake treatments. Fraudulent masks or cleaning products. False promises of being able to deliver protective equipment.
Law enforcement officials say the virus has served as an invitation to people seeking to perpetrate money-making schemes by pedaling fake or non-existent goods.
Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, has opened over 370 cases and so far arrested 11 people, as part of “Operation Stolen Promise,” according to Matthew Albence, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“It’s incredibly rampant and it’s growing by the day,” Albence said. “We’re just scratching the surface of this criminal activity. ”
