The Latest: Guterres: Pandemic nearing "human rights crisis”

The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

TOP OF THE HOUR:

— UN Secretary-General says pandemic is becoming human rights crisis

— Japan: 14 more crew members on Italian cruise ship test positive for coronavirus

— New Zealand announces just three new virus cases, two deaths

— China again reports no new virus deaths

— 2 pet cats in New York test positive for virus.

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UNITED NATIONS — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the coronavirus pandemic is “a human crisis that is fast becoming a human rights crisis.”

The U.N. chief said in a video message Thursday that there is discrimination in the delivery of public services to tackle COVID-19 and there are “structural inequalities that impede access to them.”

Guterres said the pandemic has also seen “disproportionate effects on certain communities, the rise of hate speech, the targeting of vulnerable groups, and the risks of heavy-handed security responses undermining the health response.”

And he warned that with “rising ethno-nationalism, populism, authoritarianism and a pushback against human rights in some countries, the crisis can provide a pretext to adopt repressive measures for purposes unrelated to the pandemic.”

The secretary-general did not name any countries or parties but stressed that governments must be “transparent, responsive and accountable,” and that press freedom, civil society organizations, the private sector and “civic space” are essential.

He stressed that any emergency measures — including states of emergency — must be “legal, proportionate, necessary and non-discriminatory, have a specific focus and duration, and take the least intrusive approach possible to protect public health.”

Guterres released a report on how human rights must guide the response to COVID-19 and recovery from the pandemic.

He said: “The message is clear: People — and their rights — must be front and center.”

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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s new cases of COVID-19 are slowly creeping up, recording more than 700 new cases a day for the second time in one week.

With 10,513 cases and 16 deaths in the last 24 hours bringing the confirmed death toll from the new virus to 224, Pakistan’s adviser on health is warning that the next three or four weeks will be critical. Still, Prime Minister Imran Khan has bowed to the country’s powerful religious clerics, refusing to close mosques during the fasting month of Ramadan which begin this week.

The Pakistan Medical Association has written Khan and the country’s clerics and open letter pleading with them to close the mosques, warning they are like a petrie dish for the spread of the virus in a country that has a fragile health care system, barely 3,000 intensive care beds for a population of 220 million. But Pakistan’s clerics who can bring mobs onto the streets and have previous engaged in violent protests to impose their decisions have demanded mosques remain open.

Khan has rejected his critics, saying adherents are being told to socially distance in mosques. But Khan has also left it to clerics to ensure that worshipers adhere to a 20-point protocol even as some of those same clerics have urged adherents to pack mosques.

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TOKYO — Japanese officials said Thursday that 14 more crew members on an Italian-operated cruise ship docked in southern Japan have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total of the on-board outbreak to 48.

The Costa Atlantica has been docked in Nagasaki since late January for repairs and maintenance by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry. The ship has 623 crew members, including a Japanese translator, and no passengers. One of the infected crew members has since become seriously ill and was sent to a hospital, where he is currently on a ventilator, Nagasaki officials said.

The remaining crew members are without serious symptoms and are being self-quarantined in single rooms on the ship, except for those on duties essential to keep the ship functions, including cooking and delivering food for their colleagues, officials said. The new cases were among those on essential duties, the officials said. Officials plan to test all the remaining crew members by Friday.

The case surfaced Tuesday when a crew member was tested after developing cough and fever, becoming the first known case on the ship.

Nagasaki officials are investigating how and where the crew members contracted the virus. Crew members who passed body temperature and other requirement had been allowed to go in and out of the ship.

As infections in Japan continue to spread nationwide, the outbreak on the cruise ship has raised concerns about testing and hospital capacity in Nagasaki. All of Japan is now under a coronavirus state of emergency.

Nagasaki officials have said they plan to have the rest of the crew members quarantine themselves on board unless they develop serious symptoms, and seek ways to let others who tested negative return to their countries.

Earlier this year, a U.S.-operated cruise ship carrying more than 3,700 people quarantined in Yokohama, near Tokyo, had 712 cases in a massive on-board outbreak. Separately, Japan has confirmed about 12,000 cases, with 300 deaths.

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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Authorities in Indonesia’s capital have extended the enforceable restrictions as Muslims start their monthlong fasting season.

Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan announced that a large-scale social restriction which initially slated to end Thursday, will be extended to May 22 after consulting with health experts.

In a streamed-live media conference late Wednesday, Baswedan urged Muslims to suspend religious activities in mosques during Ramadan in an attempt to break the coronavirus transmission chain.

Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims in which they fast from dawn to sunset, is expected to fall on Friday after Islamic clerics agreed on the sighting of the moon. Faithful Muslims usually congregate for night prayers, called as Tarawih, and share iftar and meals at mosques and among communities.

Jakarta has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia, had recorded 3,383 confirmed cases with 301 fatalities as of Wednesday. Nationwide, 7,418 cases have been recorded with 635 fatalities.

President Joko Widodo has ruled out a total lockdown for the country, which is home to nearly 270 million, citing Indonesia’s cultural characteristics, its unique demography and the potential crippling economic damage.

The new measures in Jakarta, which started April 10 and to be reevaluated every two weeks, give authorities more power to press people to stay at home and force businesses to close. Police have the power to dismiss any event with more than five participants. Violators will face up to one year in jail and a 100 million rupiah ($6,350) fine.

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Officials announced just three new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday as the number of new infections in New Zealand continues to trend downward.

Health officials also announced two additional deaths, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 1,451 and total deaths to 16. The country has been in a strict lockdown for the past month, which officials plan to begin easing a little next week.

The government also announced measures to help news media companies which have seen advertising levels plummet since the coronavirus outbreak. The measures totaling 50 million New Zealand dollars ($30 million) include temporarily cutting transmission fees for broadcasters and increased spending on news subscriptions.

Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi said there would likely be a second round of media support measures announced in May. Earlier this month, German company Bauer Media announced it was closing its New Zealand operation and would no longer publish many of the country’s magazines.

The country also marked an unusual milestone on Wednesday when no commercial flights arrived from abroad, the first time that has happened in decades, according to a report by news outlet RNZ. A handful of international flights are continuing to arrive and leave each week but their number has been dwindling since the country closed the border to everyone but citizens and residents.

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BEIJING — China again reported no additional deaths from the coronavirus and just 10 new cases, six of them brought from outside the country.

Numbers in hospital have dropped to 959, only 63 of which are considered serious cases, while just over 1,000 are under isolation and monitoring as suspected cases or for having tested positive for the virus without showing any symptoms.

The epicenter of the global pandemic, the central city of Wuhan that accounted for the bulk of China’s cases and deaths, now has just 69 people in treatment for COVID-19, just two of them listed in serious condition.

China has reported a total of 4,632 deaths among 82,798 cases, although, as in many countries, those figures are considered to have been underreported. China also stands accused by the U.S. and others of initially minimizing the extent of the outbreak after it was first detected late last year.

As new confirmed cases drop close to zero, China has re-opened many businesses and permitted middle and high school seniors preparing for exams to return to class. However, a ban on foreign arrivals and strict quarantine measures remain in place as China seeks to avoid an influx of new cases from abroad or a second wave of infections among those thought to have recovered or who have not come down sick but could still be spreading the virus.

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SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea says its economy shrank 1.4% during the first three months of the year, the worst contraction since late-2008.

It is a reflection of the massive shock the coronavirus unleashed on domestic demand and trade. The Bank of Korea on Thursday said domestic consumption decreased 6.4% from the previous quarter as people, while staying at home to avoid virus transmissions, spent less on restaurants, leisure activities, clothing and cars.

Amid worldwide lockdowns, exports shrank 2% despite a seasonal rebound in shipments of semiconductors, one of the country’s major export items.

South Korea was one of the first nations outside mainland China to be hard-hit by the virus, but its caseload has been slowing in recent weeks, allowing government officials to relax social distancing guidelines.

The country on Thursday reported eight new infections and two more deaths, bringing its confirmed totals to 10,702 cases and 240 fatalities.

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UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is repeating his appeal for an immediate cease-fire to all conflicts in the world to tackle the coronavirus pandemic as millions of Muslims begin observing the holy month of Ramadan.

The U.N. chief sent “warm wishes” to Muslims in a statement Wednesday night that noted that this would be a very different Ramadan because many traditional community activities will not be possible as a result of COVID-19.

Ramadan begins with the new moon this week and Muslims now find themselves cut off from much of what makes the month special as authorities fight the pandemic. Muslims will fast from sunrise-to-sunset fast, but traditional communal meals for the poor, large dinners with family and friends, and cultural events in some countries after sunset have been canceled.

Guterres stressed that “many people in conflict zones will once again be tragically marking this month with war and insecurity all around.”

He repeated his March 23 appeal for a global cease-fire “to focus on our common enemy — the virus — recalling the words of the Holy Quran `and if they incline to peace, then incline to it.’”

The secretary-general said Ramadan is also about supporting the most vulnerable, and he thanked people in the Muslim world who support “those fleeing conflict in the best Islamic tradition of hospitality and generosity — a remarkable lesson in this world where so many doors have been closed to those in need of protection, even before COVID-19.”

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SANTA FE, N.M. -- New Mexico will extend an emergency public health order through May 15 as it convenes mayors and businesses leaders to consider the first minor changes to restrictions on economic activity.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat in her first term, said Wednesday the state will forge its own path toward stamping out infections through increased testing to uncover asymptomatic cases, rapid contact tracing to notify and isolate residents who were exposed, and new testing methods that can detect antibodies.

She warned that the state is not yet ready to lift most restrictions on nonessential businesses and that a large-scale reopening of the economy is still far away. New Mexico is likely to insist that people wear masks in public until broad immunity is established through a vaccine — a solution unlikely to arrive this year.

Lujan Grisham said her administration will continue to enforce uniform statewide health guidelines, without exceptions for several counties with no confirmed cases. That is a response to increasing evidence that the virus is spreading among people without symptoms and is still highly infectious, she said.

“The virus is in every community,” she said. “We are not going to be pressured by nuances in other states. We are going to focus on what’s right for New Mexico.”

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A federal judge on Wednesday said he will deny a bid by three Southern California churches to hold in-person church services during the pandemic, saying that government’s emergency powers trump what in normal times would be fundamental constitutional rights.

U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal in Los Angeles said he will reject the temporary restraining order the churches sought against Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials. They argued that the state’s stay-at-home orders violate the First Amendment right to freedom of religion and assembly.

Bernal said he will soon issue a formal ruling.

Many churches have been holding online services. California officials on Friday said religious organizations can have drive-in services so long as congregants don’t have personal contact.

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UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations special envoy for Africa’s Great Lakes region says the number of COVID-19 cases is growing, though at “a moderate rate compared to other regions in the world."

Huang Xia told the U.N. Security Council that according to the World Health Organization, “more than 4,766 cases and nearly 131 deaths have been reported in the region.” It includes Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Rwanda and South Sudan.

Huang said countries in the region are taking similar measures to limit the spread: restricting movements, imposing quarantine measures, implementing social distancing and curfews, and closing borders except for movement of cargo.

He said “at this stage, these measures seem to have enabled the region to curb the progression of the pandemic.”

But Huang cited significant economic repercussions, including almost a complete cessation in air transport, tourism, agriculture and oil production, mining and other minerals.

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will temporarily suspend the issuance of certain green cards for 60 days as the country continues to combat the coronavirus.

Trump announced the signing during a White House briefing.

He says the order will “ensure that unemployed Americans of all backgrounds will be first in line for jobs as our economy re-opens.”

The order signed by Trump includes a long list of exceptions, including for those who are currently in the country, those who have valid immigrant visas, people seeking entry to work as physicians and nurses, and the spouses and unmarried children of U.S. citizens.

Trump has said he will reassess whether to extend the order in 60 days

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HARRISBURG, Pa. — Residents of north central and northwestern Pennsylvania are projected to be the first in the state to be released from Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order, and many retail stores in those areas should be able to reopen under a statewide plan to be released Wednesday night.

Wolf wants to begin easing some pandemic restrictions on May 8 in areas of Pennsylvania that have been lightly impacted by the new coronavirus.

His reopening plan sets a target of fewer than 50 positive cases of the virus per 100,000 residents for 14 days. Many counties in rural Pennsylvania have reported just a few cases total, though the hardest-hit counties have reported hundreds of virus cases per 100,000 residents.

The virus has infected more than 35,000 people in Pennsylvania and killed more than 1,600, but Wolf, a Democrat, says the state has made sufficient progress in its fight against COVID-19 to begin a gradual loosening of restrictions. Republicans are pressing for a more aggressive timetable.

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is taking issue with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to begin reopening businesses like hair salons and tattoo parlors when the coronavirus continues to spread.

Trump says at a White House briefing that he disagrees “strongly” with the Republican governor’s decision to allow the reopening of businesses like barber shops where social distancing is impossible, saying they stand “in violation of the phase one guidelines” his administration released last week.

While Trump says he wants Kemp to do what he thinks is right, Trump says he thinks opening beauty salons and barber shops during phase one ’is just too soon.”

“They can wait a little bit longer,” he says, “Just a little bit not much, because safety had to predominate.”

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MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota has struck a deal with the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic to test as many as 20,000 people per day for the coronavirus.

Gov. Tim Walz calls the partnership a breakthrough for rapid and widespread testing for COVID-19, which is seen as a key across the country for reopening businesses amid the pandemic. He says everyone with symptoms of the coronavirus can get tested once the plan ramps up.

Walz adds the plan should allow Minnesota to test at a higher rate than any other state, and potentially any other country. The state will tap $36 million to cover the costs from a fund the Legislature has already approved.

Neither the governor nor other officials who briefed reporters would give a firm timetable for reaching 20,000 tests per day except to say that they were aiming to do it in the next few weeks.

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BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. John Bel Edwards says masks will be recommended attire for Louisiana residents even when stay-at-home orders and restrictions on business activity are eased.

He noted medical experts’ guidance saying proper masks keep patients infected with coronavirus from spreading it to others.

It remained unclear exactly how and when restrictions will be lifted but Edwards said he expects to deliver more information as early as Monday.

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BOSTON — Google’s security team says it has identified more than a dozen government-backed malicious groups using COVID-19 related themes for phishing and hacking.

The company’s Threat Analysis Group says in a blog post that some have tried to trick people into downloading malware by impersonating international health organizations. It said one South American group, known as Packrat, spoofed the World Health Organization’s login page.

Google says people who work at public health agencies are becoming targets due to the new coronavirus and it’s proactively adding extra security for such people — more than 50,000 high-risk accounts in all.

One campaign Google highlighted targeted personal accounts of U.S. government employees — the specific employers were not named — with phishing lures. Senders posing as American fast-food franchises offering free meals and coupons tried to get recipients to enter their Google account credentials.

While Google said it has not seen an overall increase in phishing attacks by government-backed groups, the use of COVID-19 themes represents a change in tactics.

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BOSTON — The Massachusetts death toll in the coronavirus pandemic has surged past 2,000, about doubling in seven days as the state becomes a hot spot.

There were 221 new deaths, pushing the overall toll to 2,182, officials said. It was the most virus deaths reported in a single day in Massachusetts, and the first time the state has recorded more than 200 in a day.

There were more than 1,700 new cases reported, bringing the number of confirmed cases close to 43,000. More than half the deaths — 1,205 — were reported in long-term care centers, such as nursing homes. The average age of people who have died of confirmed COVID-19 is 82, officials said.

Vice President Mike Pence recently said the White House is closely watching the Boston area, and the coordinator of the federal coronavirus task force said officials are “very much focused” on Massachusetts.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California hospitals are allowed to resume scheduled surgeries.

Gov. Gavin Newsom calls it the first significant change to the state’s stay-at-home order that has been in place for more than a month due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The change covers surgeries that are not emergencies. Newsom says examples include procedures for tumors, heart valves and chronic disease. The change does not include purely cosmetic surgeries.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Highway Patrol says it is temporarily banning rallies at the state Capitol and other state facilities because of the pandemic.

The change in policy came after hundreds of protesters gathered on the Capitol grounds in Sacramento on Monday, many without wearing masks or following recommendations to remain more than six feet apart to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

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GENEVA — The World Health Organization chief says he hopes the United States will reconsider its freeze in funding for his agency and vowed to keep working on “saving lives” despite calls for his resignation from some U.S. lawmakers.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he hopes the U.S. believes WHO is “an important investment, not just to help others, but for the U.S. to stay safe” amid the coronavirus outbreak.

President Donald Trump last week announced a temporary halt to funding for the U.N. health agency from the United States — its biggest donor — alleging a WHO cover-up and missteps handling the outbreak.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated some of the U.S. allegations, while other U.S. officials said the halt involved new funding and was expected to continue for 60 to 90 days.

A group of Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives last week suggested that Trump condition any voluntary U.S. contributions to the WHO this year on Tedros’ resignation.

Asked about whether he was considering that, Tedros said: “I will continue to work day and night because this is a blessed work, actually, and responsibility saving lives, and I will focus on that.”

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NEW YORK — Two pet cats in New York state have tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the first cases in companion animals in the United States, federal officials say.

The cats, which had mild respiratory illnesses and are expected to recover, are thought to have contracted the virus from people in their households or neighborhoods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say.

The finding, which comes after positive tests in seven tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo, add to a small number of confirmed cases of the virus in animals worldwide. U.S. authorities say that while it appears some animals can get the virus from people, there’s no indication the animals are transmitting it to human beings.

The two cats live in different parts of the state; the USDA and CDC wouldn’t say where specifically.

Authorities are recommending that any pet owners with COVID-19 avoid contact with their animals as much as possible, including wearing a face covering while caring for them.

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