China reimposes some restrictions amid fresh outbreak; US health workers ‘still scared,’ feel toll of virus fight
Chinese authorities are reimposing some travel restrictions in the capital as they work to contain a new outbreak and prevent it spreading more widely in a country that previously appeared to have largely contained the virus.
Many of the recent cases have been linked to Beijing’s Xinfadi wholesale market and authorities have been testing market workers, anyone who visited the market in the past two weeks and anyone who came into contact with either group, reports Ken Moritsugu in Beijing.
In New Zealand, two cases were detected in people who had traveled to the United Kingdom. Until today, the country had gone more than three weeks without any new cases.
Healing Health Workers: At hospitals around the U.S., health care workers are reckoning with the psychological toll of the fight against the coronavirus, and fears that the disease could flare anew later this year. The days when gasping patients arrived at New York City’s Elmhurst Hospital and other hospitals nonstop have subsided for now, but not necessarily the pain. Jennifer Peltz has this story.
Saudi Arabia: This was supposed to be the kingdom’s year to commandeer center stage as host of the prestigious G-20 gathering of world leaders. It had only just begun to swing open its doors to tourists and concerts when the pandemic upended Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s road map of reforms, reports Aya Batrawy from Dubai. Now, even the hajj pilgrimage could be canceled or pared down.
Bin Salman’s push had come in the wake of the global furor over the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey in 2018 which he was heavily implicated in.
More from the AP Global and U.S. teams:
- Germany Tracing App: The country today launched an app that officials say is so secure even government ministers can use it. Smartphone apps have been touted as a high-tech tool in the effort to track down potential infections. But governments in privacy-conscious Europe have run into legal and cultural hurdles trying to reconcile effective tracing with the continent’s strict data privacy standards.
- Chronic Illness: A U.S. government report says death rates are 12 times higher for coronavirus patients with chronic illnesses than for others who become infected.
- Omar’s Father: Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has announced the death of her father due to complications from COVID-19. Omar said no words can describe what her father meant to her. She also asked that the public respect her and her family’s privacy.
- Trump Rally Mayor: The prospect of hosting the first rally for President Trump in months would be a boon for many mayors in deep-red states like Oklahoma. But Tulsa’s G.T. Bynum isn’t celebrating Trump’s planned rally Saturday. Bynum finds himself in a precarious position, balancing partisan politics, the city’s deep racial wounds and a virus infection rate that is suddenly spiking. The mayor has said he wouldn’t attend the rally.
- Company Waivers: Many businesses are requiring customers and workers to sign forms saying they won’t sue if they catch COVID-19. Businesses are afraid they could face lawsuits even if they follow social distancing and other government guidelines as they reopen across the U.S.
- Pen Pals: In the One Good Thing series — An effort to connect nursing home residents in two neighboring New Hampshire communities has ended up fostering friendships across the country.
