The EconomistMay 16th 2020 5
The world this week Politics
BorisJohnson,Britain’sprime
minister,setouta pathfor
easinglockdowninEngland.
Hismessagehaschangedfrom
“stayathome”to“stayalert”.
Restrictionswillbeeasedin
phases,dependingonhow
quicklyinfectionsfall.Those
whocan’tworkfromhomeare
urgedtoreturncautiouslyto
theirjobs.NorthernIreland,
ScotlandandWalespublished
theirownadvice.Emerging, into the light
Francelifted many lockdown
restrictions. Primary schools
and nurseries have reopened.
Most people are allowed to go
back to work, with social dis-
tancing. Even hairdressers are
operating again, but with
compulsory masks and no
coffee to chat over.New York statealso took
tentative steps towards re-
opening; three of its regions
have met seven criteria, such
as a 14-day decline in hospital
admissions from covid. In
Wisconsinthe state Supreme
Court ruled against the Demo-
cratic governor and overturned
an extension to his stay-at-
home order.Anthony Fauci, an expert on
infectious diseases who is
advising the White House, told
the Senate (via a video link)
that rushing to end lockdowns
before the pandemichas
ended would result in more
“suffering and death” and do
more economic harm in the
long run.The governor of California,
Gavin Newsom, said that ballot
papers for November’s elec-
tions would be posted to all
homes. Far fewer polling sta-
tions will open than normal.William Barr, America’s at-
torney-general, astounded
Washington by dropping the
criminal case against Michael
Flynn, Donald Trump’s first
national security adviser, who
had pleaded guilty to mis-
leading the Mueller inquiry.Two advisers to Juan Guaidó,
who is recognised by scores of
democracies as Venezuela’s
interim president, resigned
after a failed attempt to topple
the regime of Nicolás Maduro.
One of them, Juan Rendón, a
Miami-based member of the
Venezuelan opposition, ad-
mitted negotiating a prelimi-
nary agreement with the Amer-
ican security firm behind the
botched raid, but says he
backed away from the plan.Moisés Escamilla May, a leader
of Los Zetas, a Mexicandrug
gang, died in prison of co-
vid-19. He was serving a 37-year
sentence for crimes, including
beheading 12 people in Yuca-
tán. Mr Escamilla supplied
cocaine to Cancún.Avianca, Colombia’smain
airline, filed for bankruptcy
protection in New York.
Founded in 1919, it claims to be
the world’s second-oldest
continuously operating air-
line. Its boss blamed covid-19.India’sgovernment said it
would spend $266bn (10% of
gdp) on stimulus measures to
diminish the economic dam-
age done by its covid-19 lock-
down. Around 120m Indians
have lost their jobs over the
past two months.Terrorists attacked a maternity
ward in Afghanistan, killing
24 people including mothers,
babies, medics and a police-
man. A suicide-bomber killed
32 mourners at a funeral. The
Taliban denied responsibility
for both attacks, but the gov-
ernment ordered the army to
go back on the offensive, after a
period in which it had sought
to reduce violence.Indianand Chinesesoldiers
brawled at two different spots
along the two countries’ long
and ill-defined border.Beef beef
Chinaannounced a ban on
imports of meat from four
abattoirs in Australia, citing
“food safety”. In unrelated
news, Chinese officials are
furious that Australia is calling
for an international probe into
the origins of covid-19. China
also threatened to impose a
tariff of over 80% on Australian
barley in response to alleged
dumping.Donald Trump’s administra-
tion said work visas given to
Chinese journalistswould
have to be renewed every 90
days. Previously they were
open-ended. Liberals fretted
that America cannot outdo a
dictatorship in curbing report-
ing, and should not want to.China warned France not to
sell weapons to Taiwan, which
is seeking an upgrade of
French-made warships it
bought in 1991. France said it
respected its contractual obli-
gations to Taiwan.A missile fired by an Iranian
naval vessel mistakenly struck
an Iranian support ship, killing
19 sailors.The imfagreed to lend Egypt
$2.8bn to help it cope with the
economic fallout from
covid-19. “The global shock has
resulted in a tourism
standstill, significant capital
flight, and a slowdown in
remittances,” said the fund.
Meanwhile, President Abdel-
Fattah al-Sisi approved
changes to Egypt’s state of
emergency that grant him and
the security services more
power. Human-rights groups
say he has used the pandemic
to tighten his grip.Ethiopian troops accidentally
shot down a Kenyan plane
carrying humanitarian sup-
plies to Somalia, according to a
leaked report of the incident.Three un peacekeepers were
killed when a un convoy in
northern Malihit a roadside
bomb. The peacekeeping mis-
sion is the un’s most danger-
ous ongoing operation.CoronavirusbriefsTheChinesecityofWuhan,
which recently ended a strin-
gent lockdown, recorded its
first new infections since early
April. South Korea, which had
also largely brought the epi-
demic under control, reported
a cluster of new cases linked to
nightclubs in Seoul.Lebanon reimposed its lock-
down after a spike in covid-19.
The government has faced
widespread protests recently. It
blamed people who ignore
social-distancing rules.Brazilrecorded its highest
daily death toll. It is the sixth-
worst affected country by cases
and fatalities.Disneyland Shanghai
reopened for business after
shutting for three months. The
limited number of visitors
must have a digital health code.The White Houseordered
everyone in the building to
wear a face mask, except
Donald Trump and Mike Pence.For our latest coverage of the
virus and its consequences
please visit economist.com/
coronavirus or download the
Economist app.Dayssinceonedeathper100,000peopleNewconfirmedcasesbyarea,’To 6am GMT May 14th 2020Confirmeddeathsper100,000people
logscaleSources: Johns Hopkins University CSSE;
UN; The Economist3002001000SwedenMar Apr May100101
0 645040302010BrazilBritainBelgiumUSSpain
ItalyFranceUSOther
EuropeGermany