Coronavirus: PM’s push to give WHO new powers as Donald Trump halts US immigration
Australia wants the World Health Organisation to have the powers of an international “weapons inspector” to enter countries without permission to assess their response to any future health crises.
Coronavirus
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Trump suspends immigration
Global cases pass 2.5 million
Oktoberfest, Spanish running of bulls cancelled
Morrison discusses economic start-up with Trump
Australia wants the World Health Organisation to have the powers of an international “weapons inspector” to enter countries without permission to assess their response to any future health crises.
It is understood Scott Morrison has flagged the need for the international agency to have a more robust mandate to trace the source of disease outbreaks with other world leaders as Australia seeks to gather a coalition of like-minded countries to back the idea.
Bolstering WHO’s authority to intervene earlier in potential global health crises is seen as the best way forward to ensure the delays in information sharing in the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak does not happen again.
Australia is pushing for an independent inquiry of the COVID19 outbreak and response, but will argue the need to improve the capability to deal with future pandemics should be worked on at the same time as waiting for a review could take as long as five years.
Support for an independent review - outside the WHO or the UN - is gathering support, as the mechanism would need to have the trust of world leaders.
There is also concern that if the WHO lead the review, none of the recommendations would be implemented, as occurred after its inquiry into the ebola outbreak.
TRUMP BANS IMMIGRATION
US President Donald Trump has vowed to temporarily ban immigration to the United States to combat the “invisible enemy” of the coronavirus, as the pandemic threatens to push the global economy into free fall.
Trump says his new immigration ban will last for 60 days and apply to those seeking “green cards” for permanent residency in an effort to protect Americans seeking to regain jobs lost because of the coronavirus. Trump plans to institute the ban through an executive order, which he said he was likely to sign on Wednesday.
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That news came as Australia’s death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 74 as two more deaths were reported in NSW.
On Wednesday morning, the Department of Health reported: Of the 6,647 confirmed cases in Australia, 74 have died and 4,291 have been reported as recovered from COVID-19. More than 444,000 tests have been conducted across Australia.
It said there were 22 new cases yesterday.
President Trump said it would not apply to individuals entering the US on a temporary basis and would be re-evaluated once the 60-day period had passed. “It would be wrong and unjust for Americans laid off by the virus to be replaced with new immigrant labour flown in from abroad.
“We must first take care of the American worker,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.
He said there would be some exemptions in the order and he could renew it for another 60 days or even longer.
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Critics saw his announcement as a move to take advantage of a crisis to implement a long-sought policy goal.
The order could spark legal action.
A senior administration official said the administration was looking at a separate action to cover others affected by US immigration policy, including those on so-called H-1B visas.
The order would include exemptions for people involved in responding to the coronavirus outbreak, including farm workers and those helping to secure US food supplies, he said.
The official said as the country begins to open up its economy, immigration flows were expected to increase, and the administration wanted to ensure that employers hire back fired workers rather than giving jobs to immigrants at lower wages.
MORRISON AND TRUMP DISCUSS ECONOMIC START-UP
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and US President Donald Trump discussed the challenges of the coronavirus crisis during a phone call on Wednesday morning.
The two leaders talked about their respective responses to the virus, highlighting the need to get economies up and running as soon as possible.
They also discussed the importance of transparency and the need to work together to improve the ability of the international community - including the World Health Organization - to respond to pandemics.
It is understood Mr Morrison also raised Australia’s focus on supporting countries in the region, particularly south east Asia and the Pacific.
It comes after the prime minister spoke with US billionaire Bill Gates on Tuesday.
The pair discussed vaccines, the impact of coronavirus on the Indo Pacific and the WHO.
The Microsoft founder and philanthropist this week said he was optimistic there would be a vaccine for COVID19 by the end of 2021.
Just got off the phone with US President @realDonaldTrump. We had a very constructive discussion on our health responses to #COVID19 and the need to get our market-led and business centres economies up and running again.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) April 22, 2020
We also talked about the @WHO & working together to improve the transparency & effectiveness of international responses to pandemics.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) April 22, 2020
Australia & the US are the best of mates & we’ll continue to align our efforts as we work towards the recovery on the other side of this virus.
He made the comments during the virtual One World: Together at Home concert on Saturday night.
“There are a lot of vaccine candidates now that we are backing, and I’m optimistic by late next year one of those will come out, and we need to make sure that it gets out to everyone in the world,” Mr Gates said.
“The eventual end comes when we get a vaccine that protects all of us, not just in the US - in the entire world.”
The Gates Foundation is one of the WHO’s biggest voluntary donors, providing $836 million in the last two years.
Mr Morrison also recently spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emannuel Macron about the pandemic.
COUNTRIES PLAN EXIT STRATEGIES
Freezes on whole sectors of commerce are playing out dramatically on oil markets, where shrinking energy demand and a supply glut have crashed prices.
In hard-hit Europe, some countries are cautiously creeping out from confinement to soften the economic costs, though large gatherings appear to be out of the question for the foreseeable future.
While Germany is allowing smaller shops to reopen, authorities cancelled Oktoberfest, a beloved beer-swilling festival in southern Bavaria, for the first time since World War II.
Spain also announced it was scrapping its annual bull-running festival in Pamplona, a centuries-old tradition that normally draws hundreds of thousands.
The US is home to the world’s deadliest outbreak, with more than 42,000 people dead and 784,000 infected nationwide.
As the downturn starts to bite, Mr Trump has stoked conflict with Democratic state governors by lending support to a spate of anti-lockdown protests.
He also drew criticism with his vague announcement to temporarily halt immigration to the country, claiming it would save American jobs — some 22 million of which have vanished in the wake of the virus.
“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!” he tweeted.
The White House did not provide any further details about the measure or how long it would last.
Meanwhile, the US State of Missouri filed a lawsuit against the Chinese government over the coronavirus, alleging that nation’s officials are to blame for the global pandemic.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court by the state’s top prosecutor, alleges Chinese officials are “responsible for the enormous death, suffering, and economic losses they inflicted on the world, including Missourians”.
“The Chinese government lied to the world about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19, silenced whistleblowers, and did little to stop the spread of the disease,” Attorney General Eric Schmitt said in a written statement. “They must be held accountable for their actions.”
DEBATE RAGES AROUND THE GLOBE ABOUT WHEN TO ‘RE-OPEN’
Debates are raging worldwide over when and how to relax clampdowns on business and ordinary life.
Many governments fear triggering another wave of infections but are also worried about the mounting economic costs and signs of social tension.
Meanwhile, the first doses of Britain’s coronavirus vaccine will be given to human volunteers on Thursday, the British Government has revealed.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that a potential jab which has been developed by Oxford University will start being tested in just two days.
TRUMP, JOHNSON TALK FOR FIRST TIME SINCE PM’S ILLNESS
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took the first steps towards returning to work on Tuesday after being hospitalised with coronavirus, speaking to Mr Trump by telephone.
The two leaders discussed the importance of international action against the COVID-19 pandemic and plans for a post-Brexit trade deal, a Downing Street statement said.
Mr Johnson is also to speak with the Queen in the coming days for their first weekly audience for three weeks.
However, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab continues to deputise for the Conservative leader and will step in for Johnson during prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Mr Johnson “isn’t formally doing government work”, his spokesman said. The 55-year-old was admitted to hospital with coronavirus on April 5, and spent three nights in intensive care before he was discharged on April 12.
Mr Johnson has been recovering ever since at his official countryside retreat of Chequers, with his pregnant partner, Carrie Symonds.
During his phone call with Mr Trump, Mr Johnson thanked the president for his good wishes while he was ill, the Downing Street statement said.
“The leaders agreed on the importance of a co-ordinated international response to coronavirus, including through the G7, which the US currently chairs,” it said.
“They also discussed continued UK-US co-operation in the fight against the pandemic.
“The leaders committed to continue working together to strengthen our bilateral relationship, including by signing a free-trade agreement as soon as possible.”
ITALY’S PM SIGNALS LONGER LOCKDOWN
In Europe, several countries including Germany, Austria, Norway and Denmark have begun to relax restrictions while still calling for the public to practice social distancing.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has also promised to soon unveil a plan to start reopening the hard-hit country.
But he did prepare Italians for a longer lockdown on Tuesday (local time) despite a second successive drop in the number of registered coronavirus cases.
Italy is approaching a fateful decision on whether to lift stay-at-home orders and reopen businesses for the first time in nearly two months on May 4.
Its virus death total of 24,648 is still Europe’s highest and second globally after the United States.
Mr Conte is being pushed into erring on the side of caution by leading doctors — and to think more about the economic toll by big business leaders and some regional chiefs.
Governments across the world fear that premature lockdown exits could set off a second pandemic wave that requires another economically devastating closure.
Waiting for another few weeks or even months could potentially avert that cost. But many businesses warn that they will not be able stand idle much longer and Italy’s push for a comprehensive economic rescue from the European Union is running into resistance in Brussels.
Mr Conte has convened a taskforce comprised of leading economists and health experts to weigh all the pros and cons.
But he indicated Tuesday that Italians will probably have to put up with various forms of restrictions for some time to come.
“I would like to be able to say, let’s open everything. Right away,” Mr Conte wrote on Facebook.
“But such a decision would be irresponsible.”
GERMANY CANCELS OKTOBERFEST, SPAIN DITCHES RUNNING WITH BULLS
It comes as Germany’s annual Oktoberfest has become the latest victim of the coronavirus pandemic and Spain calls off its famous Pamplona running with the bulls festival.
Markus Söder, Bavaria’s minister president, and Dieter Reiter, Munich’s lord mayor, announced the cancellation in Munich on Tuesday (local time), citing the coronavirus pandemic as the reason for the cancellation.
“It hurts, it’s such a pity,” Mr Söder said. “We have agreed that the risk is simply too high.”
The German beer festival, scheduled to take place from September 19 through October 4, expected nearly six million guests to attend. The event reportedly brings in 1 billion euros ($A1.9 billion) into Munich.
Pamplona’s town hall said the difficult decision to call off the running with the bulls was taken as “the fight against Covid-19 has become a world priority”, and ruled out the possibility of organising an alternative date.
The famous nine-day festival sees hundreds of runners sprint through the cobbled streets trying to outrun the ferocious bulls.
Coronavirus could spread rapidly through beer tents, streets and alleyways if guests crowded Munich for the festival.
Germany has seen more than 147,500 cases of coronavirus, and more than 4,860 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins data.
“A decision that saddens us all: It affects me, deeply and personally. A festival for millions, which stands for Munich, for the joy of life, for Bavaria, cannot take place,” said Clemens Baumgärtner, the head of Oktoberfest.
FEARS FOR FRESH OUTBREAKS IN WUHAN
In a sign of what lies ahead, the gradual awakening of Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus first emerged, remains tinged with fear about fresh outbreaks of the disease.
The industrial city was released from quarantine two weeks ago, but many restaurants, for instance, have not reopened or are still only able to offer outdoor seating and takeout.
“We have very, very few customers,” said Han, the 27-year-old owner of a soy drink stall.
“Everyone is worried about asymptomatic infected people,” she said. “Business is just not as good as before.” Singapore, meanwhile, has become a sober example of how infections may
ebb and flow, with the financial hub extending lockdown measures as it battles a second wave of contagion.
“Many will be disappointed by the extension,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, acknowledging that businesses and workers were “hurting greatly”.
Meanwhile, activists warned that press freedom was becoming another victim of the virus, with countries like China and Iran accused of censoring reporting on the crisis.
Some regimes are taking “advantage of the fact people are stunned … to impose measures that would be impossible to adopt in normal times”, Christophe Deloire, the secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said.
Similarly “in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, strongmen are consolidating their grip on news
and information,” the watchdog warned.
AUSTRALIA’S DEATH TOLL GROWS
A third elderly resident of beleaguered Newmarch House aged care home has lost their battle with COVID-19.
The home’s managers Anglicare said they were “saddened” the woman, 92, who struggled with multiple health issues, passed away on Tuesday morning. The cause of death is still to be formally determined. Two men aged 93 and 94 also died after recontracting the disease.
Anglicare Sydney’s CEO Grant Millard said: “I have spoken personally to the immediate family of the resident to convey our deepest sympathies”.
Staff at Newmarch House aged care facility near Penrtih, where 42 residents and staff have been infected, say they are working round the clock to halt the spread of the disease.
Anglicare drafted in infectious diseases experts from Napean Hospital at the weekend to manage the cluster.
Infections spread at the sprawling home after a care worker worked five shifts over six days while unknowingly infected. She exhibited mild symptoms, of fatigue and a sore throat but put it down to juggling two jobs and home commitments.
The permanent part time carer, a mother from Western Sydney, was said to be “deflated” at the news of a third death at the Anglicare home where 14 staff and 28 residents have been effected.
“She’s not good, we’re worried about her, she’s really upset by what‘s happened,” a source close to the woman said.
“She won’t be going back to work until she has completed her 14 day isolation.
“She did everything possible as soon as she was told she had been in contact with someone outside the home with the virus.
“She went and got herself immediately checked. But she is still beating herself up.”
Anglicare said residents at Newmarch House were in isolation and staff were now wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).
PM MEETS WITH GATES
Meanwhile, Scott Morrison has discussed the future of the World Health Organisation with one of its biggest donors.
The Prime Minister spoke with Bill Gates on Tuesday, just days after the Microsoft founder and philanthropist used a global broadcast organised by Lady Gaga to appeal for support for the embattled global health body.
Mr Morrison and Mr Gates are also understood to have discussed vaccines and the Indo-Pacific’s health challenges.
The Gates Foundation is one of the WHO’s biggest voluntary donors, providing $836 million over the past two years.
Mr Gates has been publicly critical of a decision by US President Donald Trump to suspend his country’s funding for the WHO.
The US is the largest donor to the WHO, providing more than $631 million in 2019 – about 15 per cent of its budget.
“Halting funding for the World Health Organisation during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds,” Mr Gates tweeted recently.
“Their work is slowing the spread of COVID-19 and if that work is stopped no other organisation can replace them.” Mr Trump has argued the WHO failed to adequately “obtain, vet and share information” in a timely and transparent way, leaving a global trail of death and destruction.
Mr Morrison recently expressed some sympathy for Mr Trump’s criticisms, pointing to the way Australia pre-emptively declared a pandemic before the WHO. Australia has worked closely with the WHO for more than seven decades.
Former PM Kevin Rudd said earlier that the WHO’s “powers” are restricted to “assembling technical information, pointing to the existence of a pandemic, providing international notifications of the same and helping to build capacity to deal with those as we saw with ebola in poor countries”.
Mr Rudd suggested it may be time to attach sanctions to regimes that ignore future WHO directions.
WHO CONTINUES TO DEFEND CHINA
The World Health Organisation conceded its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic must be reviewed, as it continued to defend the way China handled the virus.
The regional director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the Pacific Dr Takeshi Kasai told a public briefing its expert committee had initially been divided on whether to declare the disease outbreak a public health emergency.
However, he said the organisation had been in constant contact with China after it revealed it had an outbreak of a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown cause.
“We as organisations, we try our best to, as quickly as possible and then as transparently as possible to respond to these diseases but we have to review later and we need to be evaluated later,” he said.
The concession came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison has backed an independent international inquiry into the origins of coronavirus while claiming it would not be a criticism of China.
“Such an inquiry is important and we can respectively have a difference of view,” Mr Morrison said in Canberra.
“So it’s not pursued as an issue of criticism, it’s pursued as an issue of importance for public health,” he said.
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The WHO has come in for major criticism for being too slow to act and Mr Trump has withdrawn funding from the body claiming it was too China centric.
Mr Trump has also called for an investigation into whether the virus escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan in China.
China has also been criticised for initially suppressing information on the spread of the virus and reprimanding doctors who tried to warn authorities about the outbreak, allowing it to spread out of control.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne on the weekend called for an independent review into the genesis of the virus and China’s response to it and said the WHO’s role in the pandemic should also be reviewed.
Dr Takeshi defended China’s response to the virus outbreak.
The Chinese Government had responded to the WHO’s inquiries about the cluster of pneumonia cases that signalled the start of the outbreak and had since then had a daily information exchange with the WHO, he said.
“They announced to us this is a new virus and they also shared the sequence of the virus that allowed other parts of the world to set up testing,” he said.
In the last two years Australia provided a total of $US67 million to WHO, well in excess of the $US22.3 million compulsory contribution it was required to provide.
The extra funding supported Australian initiatives to improve health security and development in the Pacific and South East Asia.
Asked whether Australia would join the US in withdrawing funding from the WHO a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said “the Australian Government supports an independent review of the global coronavirus outbreak”
This review should consider “the genesis of the epidemic in China, its development into a pandemic, and the World Health Organisation’s response,” the spokesman said.
“Transparency is essential to the success of this review – everything needs to be on the table. If mistakes were made we must learn from them.”
United Kingdom.
A spokesman for Health Minster Greg Hunt said “the Australian Government recognises the important work the World Health Organisation plays in our region on a range of health issues.
Australia continues to provide funding to the WHO.”
Australia had acted early in its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, based on its own expert medical advisers and the assessment which the National Security Committee of Cabinet made of the risks to Australians, the spokesman said.
“There was criticism by the WHO of our early border closure with China but our belief is stronger than ever that this decision was fundamental to protecting to Australians,” he said.
Originally published as Coronavirus: PM’s push to give WHO new powers as Donald Trump halts US immigration