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 'World in disorder'
A collective failure by political leaders to heed warnings and
prepare for an infectious disease pandemic has transformed "a world
at risk" to a "world in disorder", according to a report on
international epidemic preparedness.
"Financial and political investments in preparedness have been
insufficient, and we are all paying the price," said the report by
The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB).
"It is not as if the world has lacked the opportunity to take these
steps," it added. "There have been numerous calls for action ...
over the last decade, yet none has generated the changes needed."
The GPMB, co-convened by the World Bank and the World Health
Organization, is chaired by former WHO director-general Gro Harlem
Brundtland.
Trump holds rally indoors
President Donald Trump held a Nevada campaign rally at an indoor
venue on Sunday despite public health professionals' warnings
against such gatherings. People in the crowd were seated close
together and many did not wear masks.
The president's campaign portrayed the rally at a large warehouse in
Henderson as an opportunity for supporters to exercise their rights
to peaceful assembly.
"If you can join tens of thousands of people protesting in the
streets, gamble in a casino, or burn down small businesses in riots,
you can gather peacefully under the First Amendment to hear from the
president of the United States," spokesman Tim Murtaugh said.
'Reckless' 30cm distancing rule
Experts described as dangerous and premature the Philippines'
decision to cut the social distancing minimum to 30 centimetres (12
inches) on public transport, as the country saw another daily record
in new deaths.
Reducing gaps between passengers incrementally to a third of the 1
metre minimum could backfire, experts and medical professionals
warned, and prolong a first wave of infections that the Philippines
has been battling since March.
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The new rules took effect on Monday, when the country reported 259 new confirmed
deaths. Total fatalities increased to 4,630, while infections have doubled in
the past 35 days to 265,888, Southeast Asia's highest number.
Berlusconi's 'dangerous' COVID battle
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi left hospital on Monday after
overcoming the coronavirus, saying he had survived "the most dangerous
challenge" of his life.
"I said to myself, with satisfaction, 'You have got away with it again'," a
smiling Berlusconi told reporters at the gates of Milan's San Raffaele hospital,
where he was admitted on Sept. 3 after testing positive.
His personal doctor Alberto Zangrillo said the 83-year-old media tycoon would
have died had he faced the same symptoms in March or April, but that doctors had
learnt a lot from the initial onslaught.
Marseille soccer celebrations condemned
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin criticised Olympique Marseille's fans
for celebrating en masse on the streets of the city after Marseille beat Paris
Saint Germain, given the risks from COVID-19.
"One can only condemn the images that we are seeing," Darmanin told LCI
television, when shown TV footage of hordes of supporters partying in close
proximity, many without masks.
Marseille is among the mainland French cities hardest hit by the virus'
resurgence.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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