French parliament greenlights lockdown exit plan

A customer buys washable masks in Paris, France, on April 28. The French National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, has adopted the government’s plan to cautiously and progressively ease anti-coronavirus lockdown starting May 11. To inject life back into economic activities without prompting a second wave of virus outbreak, the government pledged enough masks for all French .Xinhua

Remdesivir shows promise in coronavirus trial: US

Hospitalized patients with advanced COVID-19 and lung involvement who received remdesivir recovered faster than similar patients who received a placebo, according to a release from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) last week.

The conclusion came out of preliminary data analysis from a randomized, controlled trial involving 1,063 patients, which began on February 21. Preliminary results indicated that patients who received remdesivir had a 31 percent faster time to recovery than those who received a placebo, according to the release. Specifically, the median time to recovery was 11 days for patients treated with remdesivir compared with 15 days for those who received a placebo.

1,000-year-old English mill resumes to meet demand

A 1,000-year-old water mill in southwest England, which previously witnessed global pandemics such as the plague in the 17th century and the 1918 influenza pandemic, has resumed production to meet demand for flour during the current coronavirus outbreak.

The Sturminster Newton Mill was last fully operational in 1970, before becoming a museum and only producing flour just two days a month during the summer.

It has now produced more than 2,200 pounds of flour in the last few weeks, the same amount as it would usually produce in an entire year.

US economy shrank 4.8% in Q1

The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8 percent pace in the first quarter of the year as the coronavirus spread, the steepest contraction since the last recession.

A report shows the early impact of widespread disruptions in the U.S. economy caused by business and school shutdowns, social distancing and other initiatives aimed at containing the virus. These responses to the pandemic started in the final three weeks of the first quarter and were an abrupt shift from steady economic activity before the virus arrived.

Most of the quarter came before the coronavirus pandemic forced widespread shutdowns and layoffs. Economists expect figures from the current quarter to show GDP contracting at an annual rate of 30 percent or more.

Putin extends national paid leave to May 11

Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended the national paid leave introduced to contain the spread of COVID-19 to May 11.

“We are now facing a new, perhaps the most intense stage in the fight against the epidemic. The risks of getting infected have reached a climax. The threat, the mortal danger of the virus persists, and this can affect everyone,” Putin said in a televised address to the nation during his online meeting with the government and regional governors.

Olympics could be canceled if virus persists

The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be canceled if the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be brought under control by next year, said Yoshiro Mori, the organizing committee’s president.

With the worldwide infection rate climbing and experts suggesting a vaccine is still a long way off, questions are being asked about whether the huge setpiece event might need to be delayed further.

“No. In that case, the Olympics will be scrapped,” Mori said, but added that the Olympics will be held next summer if the virus is successfully contained. (SD-Agencies)