10.59pm EDT22:59
Mexico's government and the auto industry have drafted protocols to prepare for an easing of coronavirus lockdown measures, a lobby group said on Tuesday, as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador signaled some factories could open in coming weeks.
Working with officials, three of Mexico's auto-sector lobbies have drawn up guidelines that companies should follow as a prelude to being able to relaunch production, according to an industry document published on Tuesday.
The auto industry is the backbone of Mexico's manufacturing sector and is heavily integrated with the rest of North America.
Empty work stations can be seen on 15 April 2020 at a Japanese factory that manufactures automotive parts at the Logistik Industrial Park in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Photograph: Mauricio Palos/The GuardianUS business leaders and politicians have pushed their government to press Mexico to synchronise its restart with the United States so as not to disrupt key supply chains.Detroit automakers could restart vehicle production in the United States on 18 May, after a major labor union gave the green light on Tuesday.No date has yet been set for reopening Mexico's auto sector, although Lopez Obrador aims to relax containment measures in some regions from 17 May and nationwide at the end of the month.
The president said on Tuesday that Mexico would gradually reopen construction sites, mines, auto factories and then tourist hot spots as the curbs are eased in line with medical advice.
10.45pm EDT22:45
US airlines are collectively burning more than US$10bn in cash a month and averaging fewer than two dozen passengers per domestic flight because of the coronavirus pandemic, industry trade group Airlines for America said in prepared testimony seen by Reuters ahead of a US Senate hearing on Wednesday.
Even after grounding more than 3,000 aircraft, or nearly 50% of the active US fleet, the group said its member carriers, which include the four largest US airlines, were averaging just 17 passengers per domestic flight and 29 passengers per international flight.
A Southwest Airlines flight lands at Washington Reagan Airport in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 28 April 2020. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPANet booked passengers have fallen by nearly 100% year-on-year, according to the testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee. The group warned that if air carriers were to refund all tickets, including those purchased as nonrefundable or those canceled by a passenger instead of the carrier, "this will result in negative cash balances that will lead to bankruptcy."
Separately, Eric Fanning, who heads the Aerospace Industries Association, will ask Congress to consider providing "temporary and targeted assistance for the ailing aviation manufacturing sector," in testimony made public by the group.
10.35pm EDT22:35
China reported 2 new coronavirus cases for 5 May and 20 new asymptomatic cases, data from the national health authority showed on Wednesday.
This compared with 1 new coronavirus case and 15 new asymptomatic cases reported a day earlier. The two new cases were so-called imported cases involving travellers from overseas, compared with one such case a day earlier.
China's total number of coronavirus cases now stands at 82,883, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,633, the National Health Commission said in a statement.
A woman and child watch the sunset by the Donghu Lake in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, 5 May 2020. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/ShutterstockUpdated at 10.35pm EDT
10.24pm EDT22:24
Hong Kong authorities are preparing to give every resident a specially-designed reusable mask.
Called the CuMask+, it contains several layers of materials and small quantities of copper "capable of immobilising bacteria, common viruses and other harmful substances", the government website says.
The mask serves as "an effective barrier to droplets" and will last for 60 washes before needing a replacement filter.
People with Hong Kong ID cards can register online to receive them within two weeks.
The news has been received wryly by some Hong Kongers, coming as it does when the city's virus figures are at such low levels that social distancing measures are being relaxed.
Hong Kong suffered major shortages in face masks as far back as February, with reports of thousands of people queuing overnight for shops to restock. In mid February private firms were handing out free masks to residents in need, as anger towards the government grew. Chief executive Carrie Lam said her government had sought help from China's Central Government, RTHK reported at the time.
The government-issued masks also come six months after the government passed a law banning masks (in response to mass protests), and which it has continued to defend in court.
10.07pm EDT22:07
Podcast: Protecting domestic violence victims in lockdownKate, a call handler for a domestic violence charity, discusses the challenges of trying to deal with the rising number of calls during lockdown. Guardian reporter Helen Pidd has been reporting on the domestic violence cases being heard at Manchester magistrates court over the past few weeks:
10.01pm EDT22:01
Walt Disney Co will kick off its strategy next week to begin restoring its lucrative parks business that has suffered $1bn in lost profits from the coronavirus-led shutdown.
Disney said on Tuesday it will reopen its Shanghai Disneyland park on May 11 but severely limit the number of guests and enforce strict social distancing measures on rides and in restaurants.
The plans provide a glimpse at how the company - which in previous quarters generated a third of its revenue from parks, experiences and consumer products - will recover from the pandemic.
In case you missed it, here is my colleague Dominic Rushe on the coronavirus pandemic costing Walt Disney $1.4bn in the last three months:
9.55pm EDT21:55
New Zealand reports one new case, after two days in a row with no cases
After two consecutive days of zero new corona cases reported, on Wednesday New Zealand reported one new case of the virus, and one new death, a woman in her 60s with underlying health conditions from the Rosewood rest home in Christchurch. 88% of people infected with the virus have now recovered.
Director-general of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said New Zealand wasn't out of the woods yet and needed to stay the course. "We need everyone to stick to the plan and follow the rules.. not doing so risks undoing all of the good work we've done so far. Do not give it an inch" Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.
9.41pm EDT21:41
Australia's magazine industry is in crisis with more than 200 staff losing their jobs and seven fashion, lifestyle and celebrity magazines dropping out of circulation in less than a week.
On Monday, days after acquiring Seven West Media's magazine publishing arm Pacific Magazines for $40m, Bauer Media laid off 60 of the 160 staff it inherited and stood down a further 15 without pay or access to jobkeeper.
Staff were told via Zoom that several of the magazines, believed to be InStyle, Men's Health and Women's Health, would cease printing until further notice. The company has refused to comment on which titles it is suspending or to confirm the numbers of people affected.
9.26pm EDT21:26
Covid-19 lockdown risks 1.4 million extra TB deaths by 2025: studyThe global lockdown caused by Covid-19 risks a "devastating" surge in tuberculosis cases, with nearly 1.4 million additional deaths from the world's biggest infectious killer by 2025, new research showed Wednesday.
TB, a bacterial infection that normally attacks patients' lungs, is largely treatable yet still infects an estimated 10 million people every year, AFP reports.
In 2018, it killed around 1.5 million people, according to the World Health Organization, including more than 200,000 children.
Since effective medication exists, the world's TB response is centred on testing and treating as many patients as possible.
But as Covid-19 forces governments to place populations on lockdown, new disease models showed that social distancing could lead to a disastrous rebound in TB infections - the effects of which are set to persist for years.
This is because social distancing will make it impossible for health care workers to test vulnerable populations and for patients to access ongoing treatments.
9.14pm EDT21:14
Youth unemployment in Britain will reach the 1 million mark over the coming year unless the government provides job guarantees or incentives for school leavers and graduates to stay on in education, a thinktank warns.
The Resolution Foundation (RF) said that in the absence of action an extra 600,000 people under the age of 25 would swell dole queues, with a risk of long-term damage to their career and pay prospects.
The thinktank's report said the "corona class of 2020" – the 800,000 school leavers and graduates due shortly to join the labour market – was the most exposed age group to the likely unemployment surge caused by the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that 408,000 people in the 18-24 age group were unemployed.
9.04pm EDT21:04
Trump heads to Arizona mask plant to make case for reopening US Donald Trump used his first cross-country trip since the pandemic began to visit an Arizona plant manufacturing medical masks, seeking to demonstrate America's readiness to reopen the economy even as public health experts warned it was too soon.
His visit to the battleground state on Tuesday came as the White House signalled a desire to wind down the coronavirus taskforce in the coming weeks despite a continued threat from the virus.
"I'm not saying anything is perfect," Trump told reporters in Arizona. "Will some people be affected? Yes. Will some people be affected badly? Yes. But we have to get our country open and we have to get it open soon."
The visit is meant to underscore the administration's efforts to nudge a cautious nation, still grappling with economic and public health disasters inflicted by the virus, to return to a more normal way of life. Trump has cheered moves by some governors to reopen their economies, despite a failure to meet guidelines for lifting safety restrictions issued by the White House and concern from public health officials that states are acting too quickly.
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