Another round of relief checks? A payroll tax cut? Republicans and Democrats have pitched a number of ideas for the next coronavirus relief package.
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The gutted carcass of a freshwater dolphin has been found in a river sanctuary in Bangladesh, officials said Sunday, sparking fears fishermen are taking advantage of the virus lockdown to poach the endangered creatures. Locals in the southeastern town of Raojan found the remains of the 62-inch (157-centimetre) long Ganges river dolphin on the banks of the Halda River, fishery department official Abdullah al Mamun told AFP. The dolphin is the second to be found dead in the same sanctuary since Bangladesh imposed its lockdown to tackle the coronavirus, said Manzoorul Kibria, coordinator of the Halda River Research Laboratory (HRRL).
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Markets across Pakistan were teeming on Monday after opening up for the first time in over a month as the country began to lift its lockdown despite a rise in the rate of coronavirus infections. Pakistan announced last week that it would begin a phased lifting of its lockdown because of the effect it was having on the economy and an impoverished workforce. "We opened today after almost two months; I am almost bankrupt and owe workers their salaries," said Muhammad Sattar, a garment shop owner in one of the busiest commercial areas of Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and financial capital.
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Homeland security questions whether Tehran wants return of Sirous AsgariA potential deal to release a renowned Iranian scientist from a US jail and return him to Iran appears to be in danger of breaking down after a senior US official questioned whether Tehran really wanted him returned.Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, claimed on Monday that Sirous Asgari had been freed by US authorities and would be able to return to Iran immediately if he tested negative for coronavirus.But his remarks were dismissed as “BS” by a senior US Department of Homeland Security official, who accused Iran of slow-walking a deal.A well-regarded materials scientist, Asgari was acquitted on charges of stealing US trade secrets but remains in immigration detention where he contracted the coronavirus.Zarif said on Monday that Asgari “has been acquitted of false charges and we have been very active in preparing the ground for his return. If his coronavirus is negative he could return on the first flight”.Zarif’s statement was reported on the margins of an Iranian parliament foreign and security committee meeting in Tehran.Speaking generally about the return of Iranian prisoners held in the US, Zarif said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to exchange all Iranian prisoners in the United States and other countries, imprisoned under American pressure, with American prisoners in Iran.”He repeated Iran’s position that further talks with the US were not necessary for a prisoner swap between Iran and the US.But the US deputy secretary for homeland security, Ken Cuccinelli , accused Zarif of stalling over Asgari, tweeting: “We have been trying to return Sirous Asgari and you suddenly wake up and say you actually want him back. You say you want all your citizens back, I call BS. How about you put your money where your mouth is? We have 11 of your citizens which are illegal aliens who have been trying to return to your country.”He proposed Zarif charter a plane and then the US would send all 11 Iranians back.He added: “If you have really been speaking the truth these last few weeks and you really want your citizens back then stop stalling and send the plane. The world is watching and expecting the usual outcome namely you will do nothing except keep talking.”Asgari arrived in the US in 2017 with his wife and with valid passports and visas, but upon arrival he discovered he was being prosecuted by the US government for alleged violations of sanctions law.After his acquittal, he was kept in jail on the basis that his visa had expired. He had offered to buy his own flight ticket home, and it looked as if he was being held until the Iranians agreed to release Americans in Iranian custody.The US has been trying to secure the full release of a US Navy veteran, Michael White, who contracted coronavirus in jail and was then transferred to the Swiss embassy in Tehran. There was no direct swap of Asgari and White on the cards, but the progress on the cases is seen as entangled.In an interview with the Guardian in March, Asgari accused the US immigration authorities of leaving inmates to contract coronavirus in overcrowded and dirty prisons. He said: “The way Ice [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] looks at these people is not like they are human beings, but are objects to get rid of.”A professor at the Sharif University of Technology, a public university in Tehran, said: “The way that they have been treating us is absolutely terrifying. I don’t think many people in the US know what is happening inside this black box.”
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Greg Abbott has allowed businesses, stores and barber shops to open their doors even as the risk of increased cases remains highTim Handren, the chief executive of Santikos Entertainment, a small cinema chain in San Antonio, admits his business is not essential. But while the giants of the industry keep their screens closed, he has taken a different approach.Since last weekend, three of nine Santikos cinemas have reopened to the public, among the first in America to do so during the coronavirus pandemic.“Take your mask off and relax,” Handren said in a recorded message to customers. “Breathe in some great buttery popcorn smells, watch a great movie, and just enjoy some time with your family.”The reopening is among the starker examples in Texas, where one of the quickest and most expansive efforts to reignite the economy has drawn significant controversy.On the one hand, some civil liberty advocates have argued that their right to drink at bars, have their hair cut and dine at restaurants has been curtailed. On the other, many public health experts warn thousands will become infected as the state reopens.Handren, who is also the mayor of the small town of Boerne, said that although his cinemas would keep patrons 6ft apart and offer a reduced menu there remained debate in the community about whether the shutdown had been necessary at all.“Unfortunately, I still interact with people that believe Covid-19 is a hoax concocted by the media after all this time. That’s the extreme on that side of the equation … ‘We should have never shut down’. Even the lieutenant governor said that. And then there are others who want to hunker down and hibernate for the next six months. I’ve had to, as a mayor, balance health and economics.”Abbott, a Republican, last week ended a stay-at-home order and allowed businesses including barber shops and retail outlets to open. The move followed decisions in other southern states including Florida and Georgia, and earned praise from Donald Trump.The president told reporters: “Texas is opening up and a lot of places are opening up. And we want to do it, and I’m not sure that we even have a choice. I think we have to do it. You know, this country can’t stay closed and locked down for years.”In private, Abbott has acknowledged that his decision to reopen is likely to cause an increase in coronavirus cases. Leaked audio obtained by the Daily Beast captured comments during a private call with state lawmakers.Abbott, who has sought to downplay the increased risk to the public, said: “The more that you have people out there, the greater the possibility is for transmission. The goal never has been to get transmission down to zero.”Infectious disease experts predict the average daily Covid-19 positive test rate in Texas could rise from 1,053 at the beginning of May to up to 1,800 by June.As of this weekend, Texas had an estimated 16,670 active cases and 1,049 deaths. With the occasional dip, the number of cases continues to rise even while testing lags behind other states.Harris county, which includes Houston, has 157 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people – 31% higher than the state average. Last month, officials said African Americans accounted for two-thirds of Covid-19 deaths in the city despite making up only 22.5% of the population.Harris county judge Lina Hidalgo, a Democrat, has attempted to enforce a mandatory mask order. Abbott has publicly criticized her.Dr Andrew Miller, a pediatric ophthalmologist in Harris county, reopened his clinic last week with social distancing in place. He told the Guardian that even after his decision to reopen, because of the pressing needs of patients, he was experiencing significant anger from those who refuse to wear masks.He said: “We’ve had some pushback from families because we won’t let them in without a mask. They’ve been ugly to the staff. While I respect their civil liberties, I am entitled to not see them.”Last week, Abbott took power away from officials who arrest Texans for certain Covid-19 violations. The move was prompted by a conservative backlash against the arrest of a salon owner in Dallas – another hotspot – who opened up against local rules. In an act that exacerbated the divisions on the case, Texas senator Ted Cruz appeared at the salon to receive a haircut from the recently released owner.Houston lies in a sprawling industrial region with more than 500 petrochemical facilities, a busy shipping channel, large highways and commercial railroads, and one of the highest densities of polluting industries in the country, if not the world.Air quality, specifically particulate matter, which increases the risk of multiple lung and heart conditions also associated with Covid-19 complications, has been worse in some parts of the city despite the lockdown, leading environmentalists to criticise the decision to reopen so quickly.“It’s a blind, uninformed decision based on optimism that everything will be better, even though the evidence points to the contrary,” said Elena Craft, senior director at the Environmental Defence Fund (EDF), which coordinates a local project tracking air quality.The meatpacking industry is also linked to several emerging hotspots in the Texas panhandle, a semi-rural region of 26 northern counties where Trump won 79.9% of the vote in 2016 and the Republican party dominates every level of government.Moore county has the highest infection rate in Texas. Its death rate is 28 per 100,000 people, almost 10 times higher than Harris county and the state average.Moore, where around 55% of residents identify as Latino or Hispanic, is home to the massive Brazilian-owned JSB meatpacking plant, which employs mostly Hispanic and migrant workers, many bussed in on company shuttles from towns including Amarillo. Nationwide, industrial meat plants have emerged as incubators for coronavirus spread.Amarillo, the region’s largest city, situated across Potter and Randall counties, had 1,304 cases as of last Wednesday, including at least 18 deaths. The infection rate is rapidly rising. Potter county has the second worst rate in Texas, with infections doubling every seven or eight days.Just to the south, in the city of Odessa, a group of armed militia men were arrested last week as they protested alongside bar owner Gabrielle Ellison, who attempted to reopen in violation of an executive order which mandates bars should remain closed.The six men were members of a militia named Open Texas, which according to reports has operated across the state, offering armed support to business owners.Ellison, who was also arrested, told local news from jail: “I think some rights were taken away from us, which one of them was like a right to survive. We have to survive and I think those rights were stripped from us.”• This story was amended on 11 May to more fully reflect the quotation from Tim Handren, the mayor of Boerne.
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On April 10, Tony Thompson, the sheriff for Black Hawk County in Iowa, visited the giant Tyson Foods pork plant in Waterloo. What he saw, he said, "shook me to the core."Workers, many of them immigrants, were crowded elbow to elbow as they broke down hog carcasses zipping by on a conveyor belt. The few who had face coverings wore a motley assortment of bandannas, painters' masks or even sleep masks stretched around their mouths. Some had masks hanging around their necks.Thompson and other local officials, including from the county health department, lobbied Tyson to close the plant, worried about a coronavirus outbreak. But Tyson was "less than cooperative," said the sheriff, who supervises the county's coronavirus response, and Iowa's governor declined to shut the facility."Waterloo Tyson is running," the company said in a text message to employees April 17. "Thank you team members! WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!"Five days later, the plant was closed. Tyson said the reason was "worker absenteeism." As of Thursday, the county health department had recorded 1,031 coronavirus infections among Tyson employees -- more than one-third of the workforce. Some are on ventilators. Three have died, according to Tyson.The plant didn't stay closed for long. As meat shortages hit grocery stores and fast-food restaurants, political pressure built to get the dozens of plants across the country that had shut down because of virus outbreaks up and running again. After an executive order by President Donald Trump declared the meat supply "critical infrastructure" and shielded the companies from certain liability, Tyson reopened its Waterloo facility Thursday.New safety precautions have been added, like plexiglass barriers along the production line, infrared temperature scanners to detect fevers, and face shields and masks for the workers.Now the question is: Will America's appetite for meat be sated without sickening armies of low-wage workers, and their communities, in new waves of infection?Workers and their advocates say Tyson's actions -- and recent federal safety guidelines -- have come far too late. They point to lapses that Tyson made in the first three weeks of April as the virus tore largely unimpeded through the Waterloo plant.As high-level executives lobbied the White House to help protect Tyson from lawsuits, the company was failing to provide adequate safety equipment to Waterloo workers and refusing the requests of local officials to close the plant, according to more than two dozen interviews with plant employees, immigrant-rights advocates, doctors, lawyers and government officials.While Tyson began changing its policies on short-term disability benefits in late March to encourage sick workers to stay home, many employees were not certain of the rules, and some went to work sick to avoid losing pay. Rumors and misinformation spread among workers, many of whom are not native English speakers. As the workforce dwindled, fear gripped the plant.Steve Stouffer, head of Tyson's beef and pork operations, said in an interview that the company had made the best safety decisions it could in a rapidly evolving situation. But he acknowledged that the company might have done more."Looking at it in the rearview mirror, you can always be better," he said.Thompson said that he was thankful for the new safety precautions but that Tyson had been too slow to act."Which is more important?" he asked. "Your pork chops or the people that are contracting COVID, the people that are dying from it?"'A Time of Fear and Panic'A squat gray building branded with the slogan "A Cut Above the Rest," the Waterloo plant is Tyson's largest pork operation in the United States, responsible for almost 4% of the nation's pork supply. Before the pandemic, it operated around the clock, breaking down up to 19,500 hogs a day into cuts of meat that traveled on a fleet of trucks across the country.It is tough, demanding work, usually performed by workers standing close together.During a conference call March 9, union leaders in the meat industry discussed how to spread out workers in plants and take other precautions to prevent an outbreak. But at the time, the problem seemed a long way away from eastern Iowa, said Bob Waters, president of the local union for the Waterloo plant."We thought it might come, but we hoped it didn't," he said. Iowa, like several other Midwestern states, never issued a statewide stay-at-home order.By early April, however, the Black Hawk County emergency operation center had started getting complaints about dangerous conditions at the plant.Workers and their relatives reported a lack of protective gear and insufficient safety protocols and said employees were starting to test positive for the virus.Tyson had put some precautions in place. In March, it began checking workers for fevers as they entered the plant and relaxed its policies so workers who tested positive or were feeling unwell would be paid a portion of their salary even if they stayed home.But workers were still crowded together on the factory floor, in the cafeteria and in the locker room, and most did not wear masks. Tyson said it offered cloth bandannas to workers who asked, but by the time it tried to buy protective gear, supplies were scarce.At least one employee vomited while working on the production line, and several left the facility with soaring temperatures, according to a worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job, and local advocates who have spoken with workers at the plant.Because of patient privacy laws, Tyson and the union had difficulty obtaining information from state officials about which workers had tested positive -- hampering their efforts to isolate colleagues in close contact with them.Older employees, as well as those with asthma or diabetes, became increasingly afraid of entering the plant."It was really a time of fear and panic," said state Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, who works at a coronavirus clinic in Waterloo. "They had not slowed the line down. They were not practicing any sort of social distancing."On the night of April 12, she said, nearly two dozen Tyson employees were admitted to the emergency room at a hospital, MercyOne.Tyson employed interpreters to communicate with its diverse workforce, which includes immigrants from Bosnia, Mexico, Myanmar and the Republic of Congo. But misinformation and distrust spread.One worker who died had taken Tylenol before entering the plant to lower her temperature enough to pass the screening, afraid that missing work would mean forgoing a bonus, said a person who knows the worker's family and who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their privacy.Workers at the plant were confused about why so many colleagues seemed to be getting sick and missing work. Supervisors told them that it was the flu, some said, or warned them not to talk about the virus at work.In an emailed statement, Tyson said it had "worked with the information available to us at the time to help keep our team members safe." The company said earlier information from the Black Hawk County Health Department would have helped its decision-making.Dr. Nafissa Cisse Egbuonye, director of the Black Hawk County Health Department, said that before the state changed the rules on April 14 to help speed public health investigations, she was legally prevented from sharing the names of employees who had tested positive with the company. But she said that she had been in constant communication with the plant and shared her concerns."I think they had enough information," she said, "to take the necessary measures."A Vulnerable WorkforceIowa, an overwhelmingly white state, has long had a complicated relationship with meatpacking plants. While the industry is an engine of the state's economy and the country's food supply, it also employs many immigrants, who have faced periodic raids to enforce immigration laws.Even with union representation, immigrants at the plant say they are afraid to raise concerns about working conditions."The narrative is shifting the blame to the workers instead of focusing on the true incompetence, in my opinion, of the government -- not just the governor, but also leaders here at Tyson," said Nilvia Reyes Rodriguez, president of the Waterloo chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens. "It was their responsibility to protect their workers."She added, "Because of the population in those industries, I think there is a disregard for those communities."Tyson said in a statement that it took pride in its diversity and that its immigrant workers have advanced to management positions, including at the Waterloo plant. But some of those tensions simmered as local politicians became locked in a struggle with the state and then the federal government over closing the plant.After Thompson's visit, he and other local politicians began lobbying Tyson and Gov. Kim Reynolds for a shutdown. The governor sided with Tyson. She issued an executive order April 16 stating that only the state government, not local governments, had the authority to close businesses in northeast Iowa, including the Waterloo plant."We're making sure that the workforce is protected and, most importantly, that we're keeping that food supply chain moving," Reynolds said.But the number of infections continued to increase. After Tyson closed the plant, the company invited workers back for coronavirus testing. But that process may have infected more workers, said Christine Kemp, chief executive of a local health clinic. Employees bunched together outside the plant and crowded the stairwells. Some left without being tested, afraid they would catch the virus in line.The virus had already spread through the community, including to a nursing home where several workers are married to Tyson employees. The Tyson employees who have died included a Bosnian refugee, survived by a grieving husband, and a man with three daughters. The mother died from cancer last year, and the oldest daughter, 19, will take guardianship of her sisters.A maintenance worker at the plant, Jose Ayala, 44, is lying unresponsive on a ventilator. Zach Medhaug, 39, a fellow worker, has been calling him to talk to him and play his favorite music.Medhaug also caught the coronavirus but has recovered and said he was ready to return to work. "But I'm also in a different position than some other people are," he said. "I'm over COVID. For other people, it's very scary."Reopening the PlantThe political stakes of the reopening in Waterloo are high.With meat supplies disrupted nationwide, the White House has pushed Tyson and other meat companies to continue operating. And Tyson officials have had plenty of chances to air concerns, dining at the White House and participating in several calls with the president and vice president in recent months.Since he issued the executive order April 28, Trump has been quick to declare that the supply chain is back on track.Asked Wednesday about a hamburger shortage at Wendy's, he turned to the secretary of agriculture, Sonny Perdue. "Basically, you're saying, in a week and a half, you think everything is going to be good, or sooner?" the president asked."Yes. These plants are opening as we speak," Perdue said."You're going to have to push them," the president replied. "Push them more."But the reopening may have to proceed in fits and starts. Tyson executives cautioned that it would take time to return to normal. The Waterloo plant reopened Thursday at about 50% capacity. And ramping back up could take weeks as workers return from quarantine.Stouffer, the Tyson executive, said he hoped the worst was over. But health officials warn that a rush to full production could cause a second wave of infections."History will be the judge, eventually," Stouffer said. "But we have attempted very hard -- our entire team, our entire organization, from the chairman of the board on down -- to do the right thing."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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South Korean officials scrambled on Monday to contain a new coronavirus outbreak, searching for thousands of people who may have been infected in a cluster of cases linked to nightclubs and bars in the capital Seoul. Officials reported 35 new cases as of midnight on Sunday, the second consecutive day of new cases of that magnitude and the highest numbers in more than a month. Twenty-nine of the new cases were linked to several Seoul nightclubs and bars, many of them catering to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.
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