The Latest: Ship leaves Australia after crew recovers

By The Associated Press 19 June 2020, 12:00AM

PERTH, Australia — A livestock ship loaded with 35,000 sheep has left Australia for the Middle East three weeks behind schedule due to half the crew becoming infected with the coronavirus.

The Al Kuwait left the west coast port of Fremantle on Friday bound for Kuwait after the federal government granted it an exemption from a ban on live sheep exports during the Northern Hemisphere summer and a court later rejected an appeal by animal rights activists.

The Al Kuwait arrived at Fremantle from the United Arab Emirates on May 22 with plans to load the last shipment of sheep before the three-month export ban on animal welfare grounds took effect on June 1.

But more than 20 of its 48 crew members soon tested positive for the virus and were taken to a hospital and hotel rooms to recover. All have recovered and most left Fremantle with the ship.

Because of the higher risk to the sheep of heat stress during the summer, the number allowed to be exported under the ban exemption was slashed from the original cargo of 56,000 animals.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

Singapore opens gyms, dining out as China outbreak steadies

— Decline in new US virus deaths may be temporary reprieve

California orders people to wear masks in most indoor spaces

— A South African activist and doctor who died of COVID-19 spent his life fighting apartheid, the government’s denial of HIV/AIDS and rampant corruption. Loved ones say Clarence Mini knew the odds were against him but he was committed to what he believed was right. He died in May at age 69.

The United Nations food agency i s warning that without immediate funding it will stop delivering masks, gloves and other critical equipment to tackle the pandemic to 132 countries by the third week of July.

New York City restaurants will be allowed to open with outdoor seating on Monday as the city enters the second phase of easing coronavirus restrictions.

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Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

TOKYO — Japan and Vietnam have agreed to partially lift travel bans and ease restrictions as a way to reopen economic and bilateral exchanges between the two Asian nations where coronavirus infections have been largely under control.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters Friday that Vietnam is one of four countries that Japan has been discussing resuming mutual visits in phases. Japan is also seeking similar arrangements with Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.

Japan and Vietnam are discussing final details such as timing of resumption, Motegi said.

Japan has imposed entry bans to 111 nations as part of coronavirus measures.

Japan lifted a seven-week pandemic emergency in late May and has started reopening social and business activities to minimize economic damage. All domestic restrictions were removed Friday and people can now start travel anywhere in Japan. Physical distancing and other preventive measures remain in place.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said aggressive virus testing is crucial as the country resumes social and economic activity safely. He said testing centers for foreign visitors are also being planned.

Vietnam has reported only 342 cases and no deaths. Japan has 17,740 cases and 935 deaths.

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NEW DELHI — India has recorded the highest one-day spike of 13,586 coronavirus cases, raising the total to 380,532.

India’s death toll on Friday reached 12,573, a rise of 336. The number of recoveries touched 52% at 204,711.

India stands behind the United States, Brazil and Russia in the number of cases. But the country is continuing with unlocking the economy.

The lockdown, imposed on March 25, is now restricted to high-risk areas. The worst-hit states are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and New Delhi. They account for 60% of all cases.

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SINGAPORE — Singaporeans can wine and dine at restaurants, work out at the gym and get together but no more than five people after most lockdown restrictions were lifted Friday.

The city-state has one of the highest infections in Asia with 41,473 confirmed cases, mostly linked to foreign workers’ dorms. The government says the infections have declined, with no new large clusters emerging.

Cases outside the dorms were also stable despite a partial economic reopening two weeks ago.

Malls, gyms, massage parlors, parks and other public spaces reopened Friday, with strict social distancing and health safety rules. Tuition classes also resumed, except singing. Minor prohibitions remain including on contact sports and mass religious congregations.

Entertainment venues such as cinemas, karaoke rooms and bars are still shut while big events including trade fairs and concerts are banned.

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SEOUL, South Korea — The coronavirus continues to spread in South Korea, particularly in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan region, which is home to half the country’s 51 million people.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 49 new cases for the nation Friday, with 26 of them in Seoul and the nearby port city of Incheon. South Korea has had a total of 12,306 infections, including 280 deaths.

Officials have been reporting around 30 to 50 new cases a day since late May, inspiring second guessing on whether officials were too quick to ease social distancing guidelines in April after the country’s first wave of infections waned.

Hundreds of cases in the Seoul area have been linked to leisure and religious activities and low-income workers who can’t afford to stay home.

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma has a big surge in new coronavirus cases, to a new daily high double the previous record-setting number two days earlier.

State health officials listed 450 new cases Thursday, compared to the previous one-day high of 229 reported Tuesday. The additional cases increased the state’s overall total 5.1% to 9,354 since the outbreak began.

Two deaths Thursday brought the Oklahoma COVID-19 death toll to 366.

Tulsa County continues as the state’s leading COVID-19 hot spot with 120 new cases, for a total of 1,945. Second-place Oklahoma County reported 107 new cases, bringing its total to 1,861.

The new wave comes amid demonstrations to protest police killings of black citizens and ahead of Juneteenth celebrations and a Saturday rally planned by President Donald Trump

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BEIJING — New coronavirus cases remained stable in China’s capital Friday, a day after a public health official declared Beijing’s latest outbreak under control.

Beijing recorded 25 new cases, up by just four from Thursday, out of a total of 32 cases reported nationwide.

Beijing has confirmed 183 new cases over the past week, but an official of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that the daily numbers should begin to decline soon. Wu Zunyou said such outbreaks are inevitable, though this one was larger than expected because it spread from Beijing’s main wholesale market.

Classes in the city have been suspended and opening-up plans for everything from sports events to art exhibitions are hold.

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UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations’ food agency says ít needs immediate funding to prevent a shutdown in late July of the global transport system that has been delivering tons of masks, gloves and other critical equipment for the coronavirus pandemic in 132 nations.

The World Food Program’s director of operations said Thursday that the agency also would have to ground aircraft that have transported 2,600 humanitarian and health workers free of charge to 40 destinations across Africa, Asia and the Middle East since the pandemic began.

Amer Daoudi says the WFP requested $965 million to sustain its transport services through 2020 but so far has received only $132 million even though “the entire humanitarian and health community is relying on WFP’s logistic services now more than ever.”

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will require people to wear masks in most indoor settings and outdoors when distancing isn’t possible under a statewide order issued Thursday.

The order comes as California broadly reopens the economy; in most counties, people can now shop, dine in at restaurants, get their hair done and go to church, among other things. Meanwhile, coronavirus cases are increasing, something the state says is expected as more people get tested. More than 3,400 people were in the hospital as of Wednesday, the most patients hospitalized since April.

The order will require people to wear masks when inside or in line for any indoor public spaces, in healthcare settings like hospitals and pharmacies, while waiting for or riding public transportation and in outdoor spaces where its not possible to stay 6 feet (1.8 meters) apart from other people.

Until now, the Democratic governor had let local governments decide whether to mandate masks, an issue that’s become politically fraught as some Americans resist orders to wear them. He said he’s issuing the order now because too many people are going out in public without face coverings as businesses, restaurants and other sectors of the economy reopen.

There are exceptions for children under age two, people who can’t wear masks for medical reasons and if it would violate workplace safety guidelines.

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NEW YORK -- Restaurants, a key part of New York City’s identity, will be allowed to open with outdoor seating Monday as the city enters the second phase of easing coronavirus restrictions, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday.

The outdoor seating plan will provide a lifeline for New York’s crucial restaurant industry as the city emerges cautiously from lockdown.

“We have to save this industry,” he said. “It’s part of our identity.”

Restaurateurs will be able to go online starting Friday to apply to open with seating on the sidewalk, in a backyard patio or using parking spaces. He estimated that 5,000 restaurants employing 45,000 workers would be able to open starting next week.

Offices, hair salons, retail stores and playgrounds in public parks will also be allowed to open during Phase 2 of the reopening, de Blasio said. He said 150,000 to 300,000 more people should be back at work.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo had indicated that the city would be ready for Phase 2 on Monday, but de Blasio had said previously that he thought it might take longer. De Blasio said Thursday that he has spoken with the governor’s office about the reopening plan and that “there’s been a high degree of unity.”

By The Associated Press 19 June 2020, 12:00AM

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