Critical information on the coronavirus outbreak is not always available in languages other than English. A hospital in California's rural heartland is producing PSA-style videos to reach immigrant farmworkers in the area.
The spread of the coronavirus is scary everywhere. But in Syria, which has faced war for nine years, humanitarian aid and health care is already stretched razor-thin. David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee, spoke with The World's Marco Werman about efforts to prevent and treat the novel coronavirus in a warzone.
Drug traffickers in Rio are ordering residents to stay home, and soldiers around the world are taking on the new mandate of enforcing lockdowns. Also, a UN call for an immediate ceasefire in Yemen — which is already facing a dire humanitarian crisis — was welcomed by warring parties. And a Palestinian Canadian doctor warns about the situation in Gaza. And, as Spain continues to be hit hard by the novel coronavirus, hotels are being turned into makeshift hospitals.
Spain reports the world's second-highest number of deaths due to the novel coronavirus after Italy, as India locks down 1.3 billion people and Zimabwean doctors issue desperate calls for basic medical equipment. The US Senate is likely to vote on a $2 trillion economic stimulus package after days of intense negotiations. And while this summer's Tokyo Olympic Games have been postponed, one Mexican American breakdancer hopes to go for gold in Paris in 2024.
Europe is shuttering external — and internal — borders in a response to the pandemic, threatening the model of European solidarity. And, cramped conditions in detention facilities put detainees around the world at heightened risk for coronavirus. Iran has furloughed thousands. In the US, ICE is being sued to release immigrant detainees. Also, in Asia, the widespread use of face masks has given rise to a black market for them.
Ali, an 18-year-old from Syria, arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced he would open the border to Europe. Now, he is stuck in a makeshift camp.
The number of coronavirus cases outside of China has surpassed those within the country, where the epidemic originally was discovered. Also, governments around the world are taking extraordinatry steps to halt the spread of COVID-19. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off in a debate Sunday overshadowed by the virus. And Dr. Anthony Fauci — the US authority on infectious disease — hasn't ruled out the necessity of a national shutdown. A freelancer in Rome shares what lockdown has been like in Italy.
