The International Monetary Fund would provide immediate debt relief to 25 member countries under its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to recover from the economic repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic.
Medical staff wearing protective gears visit a residential area to screen residents in the wake of COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Amritsar on April 12, 2020. (Photo by NARINDER NANU / AFP)
As the number of coronavirus cases in India crossed the 10,000 mark on Tuesday at 10,363 including 8,988 active cases, 1,035 cured and 339 deaths, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation extended the lockdown till May 3.
PM Modi in his Tuesday morning address said, “The virus is spreading fast. I held multiple meetings with chief ministers, authorities to find out ways to control the spread with minimum effect on the growth of India. Keeping in mind the suggestions and the risks, lockdown in India will be extended till May 3. We need to stop the spread of the virus.”
At least seven states — Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana — have already announced lockdowns till the end of the month.
Advertisement
The International Monetary Fund on Monday said it would provide immediate debt relief to 25 member countries under its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) to allow them to focus more financial resources on fighting the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports.
I am very pleased that the IMF’s Executive Board just agreed to provide immediate debt service relief to 25 of the poorest countries for the next 6 months. This will provide them space to reorient funding towards critical areas to address #COVID19. https://t.co/Qvn996Bzbc pic.twitter.com/8eKNoRscKt
— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgieva) April 13, 2020
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday warned officials to brace for “extraordinary” scenarios as the coronavirus pandemic grips Russia. Moscow tightened its lockdown measures as the country reported its highest daily infection figures yet, AFP reports. In a video conference with officials on Monday, Putin said the next weeks would be “decisive” for Russia’s fight against the virus as the situation “is changing practically every day, and unfortunately not for the better.” He told officials that they need to “consider all scenarios for how the situation will develop, even the most complex and extraordinary.”
Japan’s health ministry has reported 390 new cases of infection for a domestic total of 7,645. The country was put under a state of emergency last week. South Korea has reported 27 fresh cases of the new coronavirus, the 13th day in a row of below 100, as infections continued to wane in the worst-hit city of Daegu and nearby towns.
South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday reported national totals to 10,564 infections and 222 virus-related deaths. The KCDC says at least 940 of the cases were linked to passengers arriving from overseas, with most of the cases detected in the past three weeks.
Advertisement
