bbc--2020-04-15--Coronavirus: Germany slowly eases lockdown measures

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced plans to slowly ease restrictions brought in to tackle the coronavirus pandemic .
Social distancing rules will stay in place until at least 3 May , with Ms Merkel also recommending the use of face masks in shops and on public transport .
But as of next week shops under a certain size could open their doors .
And schools will gradually start to reopen from 4 May .
Ms Merkel said the country had achieved `` fragile intermediate success '' through the strict measures .
The chancellor said the country `` must keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they `` do not have a lot of room for manoeuvre '' .
Large public gatherings including religious services will remain banned until 31 August .
Bars , cafes , restaurants , cinemas and music venues will all remain closed .
• What can the UK learn from Germany on testing ?
According to Germany 's Robert Koch Institute ( RKI ) , the country has 127,584 confirmed cases and has reported 3,254 deaths .
• Denmark has reopened schools and nurseries for children up to the age of 11 • Construction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Spain • Thousands of smaller shops in Austria reopened on Tuesday , and the country will allow outdoor sport such as tennis , golf and athletics from 1 May • Some regions in Italy have reopened bookshops and children 's clothing stores France , however , has extended its lockdown measures for four more weeks until 11 May .
Belgium will maintain its restrictions until at least 3 May .
And in Russia , veterans groups have called for President Vladimir Putin to postpone the World War Two 75th anniversary victory parade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the risk it could pose to participants .
What did Ms Merkel say ?
After a video conference with the heads of Germany 's 16 states , Ms Merkel announced the gradual loosening of the strict lockdown measures .
Schools can reopen `` gradually and very slowly '' after 4 May , she said , with new safety measures for breaks and school buses , and priority given to those students with exams .
`` It will be a great logistical effort and it needs very careful preparation , '' she said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 8,600 sq ft ) could be able to restart their businesses from Monday , provided they have `` plans to maintain hygiene '' , she said .
Car dealers , bicycle shops and book stores can all reopen , regardless of their size .
Hairdressers will be allowed to open their doors from 4 May , provided they too comply with strict hygiene measures .
But the lockdown is far from over .
The chancellor strongly recommended people don protective face masks while shopping and while taking public transport , saying this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' .
It makes Germany the latest country to issue guidance on face masks in public - although Ms Merkel did not make it mandatory .
• Why you now have to wear a mask in Austrian shops Europe 's biggest economy entered a recession in March , its economy ministry said , citing `` collapsing global demand , interruption of supply chains , changes in consumer behaviour and uncertainty among investors '' .
The German government last month passed a stimulus package worth €750bn ( £653bn ; $ 816bn ) in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus .
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : How do I protect myself ?
• AVOIDING CONTACT : The rules on self-isolation and exercise • STRESS : How to look after your mental health Economists and governments are increasingly worried about the impact of the global pandemic .
The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the world faces its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s .
Last week the EU agreed a €500bn rescue package for member states hit hard by the outbreak .
European Commission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a roadmap on Wednesday for a gradual lifting of restrictions across the 27-state bloc , but made clear it was not a signal to act immediately .
She set out key conditions involving a significant decrease in the spread of Covid-19 , capacity in the health system , surveillance and monitoring .
A donors ' conference will take place online for governments and organisations to pledge money in search of a vaccine , Mrs von der Leyen added .

Economists and governments are increasingly worried about the impact of the global pandemic. The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the world faces its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s.


bbc--2020-04-14--Italy’s coronavirus lockdown puts restaurants out of business

As the lockdown in Italy enters its sixth week , some restaurants and bars are already going out of business @ @ @ @ @ told the BBC that it may be many months before they can reopen fully , @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Europe correspondent Jean Mackenzie has spoken to owners who are struggling to see @ @ @ @ @ Sara Monetta , filmed and edited by Andy Smythe

As the lockdown in Italy enters its sixth week, some restaurants and bars are already going out of business.
The Italian government has told the BBC that it may be many months before they can reopen fully, without restrictions.
The BBC’s Europe correspondent Jean Mackenzie has spoken to owners who are struggling to see a future.
Produced by Sara Monetta, filmed and edited by Andy Smythe


bbc--2020-04-14--Coronavirus: Oprah warns black Americans about outbreak

American broadcaster Oprah Winfrey has warned African Americans to take the coronavirus outbreak seriously , saying the disease is `` taking people out '' .
The virus was hitting the black community hard , and `` people are n't getting the message '' about the risk of asymptomatic carriers , she said .
African Americans make up a disproportionate number of coronavirus deaths and hospitalisations in the US .
The US is the epicentre of the pandemic with 592,743 cases and 25,239 deaths .
Government data suggests that 33 % of those in the US hospitalised for coronavirus are black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up 13 % of the US population .
In Chicago , nearly 70 % of those who died from coronavirus were African American - while only 23 % of the population was black .
Winfrey said that initial messages around coronavirus `` did not connect to the [ US ] audience in a way they could hear '' .
• Why are African Americans hit so hard by virus ?
`` When this was happening in Wuhan , we thought it was 'over there'… and then I talked to African Americans in Milwaukee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about it in Washington , but Washington is way over there , we did n't think it had anything to do with us ' , '' she told CBS news .
It was important for `` black people to understand pre-existing conditions '' like diabetes and asthma put them at greater risk of the virus , she added .
Winfrey , who suffered from pneumonia last year , said she was also taking additional precautions because of her condition - and because many people could be asymptomatic carriers .
She added that actor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her Oprah Talks Covid-19 series , had tested positive for the virus , but shown no symptoms .
`` It 's all these people , who perhaps could be carriers , '' she said .
Why are African Americans particularly hit hard by the virus ?
Surgeon General Jerome Adams has said that many ethnic minority communities are at higher risk because they are more likely to have pre-existing health problems , or are in lower income jobs where working from home is not an option .
Winfrey told CBS on Tuesday that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is much more difficult '' , as many lived in larger households .
Socioeconomic inequality also meant that African Americans were more likely to `` live in areas where there 's been toxic waste '' , or be `` living in environments that do n't allow you to have the best access to healthcare [ or ] insurance '' , she added .
There has also been misinformation - including a fake rumour that black people can not catch the virus .
Last week , former NBA star Magic Johnson told CNN : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ word that blacks could n't get it . ''
Johnson , who is HIV-positive , said it reminded him of misinformation during the Aids crisis .
`` Blacks thought they could n't get HIV and Aids .
It 's the same thing as the coronavirus .
It reminds me going back 30 years , we were all wrong . ''
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : How do I protect myself ?
• AVOIDING CONTACT : The rules on self-isolation and exercise • STRESS : How to look after your mental health

"When this was happening in Wuhan, we thought it was 'over there'… and then I talked to African Americans in Milwaukee, and folks were saying 'we heard about it in Washington, but Washington is way over there, we didn't think it had anything to do with us'," she told CBS news.


bbc--2020-04-14--Coronavirus: Are the bodies of victims undermining Iran's official figures?

The video shows a mortuary worker at a cemetery surrounded by dozens of bodies .
Some are wrapped in white shrouds - he says those were 'done ' in the morning .
Then he shows us rows of black body bags lined up unceremoniously on the floor and waiting to be prepared for burial .
After this , he takes his camera phone into another room and then another .
The same grim situation - body after body , laid out on the ground in some kind of macabre queue .
The video was filmed in the main cemetery in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iran .
It was where coronavirus first began spreading in the country .
In the footage , the mortuary worker says all the bodies are of victims of coronavirus , though the BBC can not verify his claims .
But it 's what he says next that captured the internet 's attention .
In a passing comment , he explains that some of the corpses had been in the morgue for five or six days .
The footage , and his comments , hinted at a wider truth : Iran was struggling to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that had died , which could be far higher than it has acknowledged .
Since the video surfaced on 2 March and promptly went viral , the response of Iranian authorities to the film has given a glimpse into how the country is fighting to control the narrative around coronavirus .
The context to the video No other country in the Middle East has been hit as hard by Covid-19 as Iran .
It 's notoriously difficult to get accurate information out of the country , but many online posts suggest the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is partly because many of the professional body washers have reportedly refused to cleanse Covid-19 victims over fears they could catch the virus from the corpses .
Instead , at some mortuaries , this task of washing the dead in line with Islamic tradition falls to volunteers - usually seminary students .
While it 's not thought that coronavirus can be contracted from the dead , the World Health Organization advises people to take an `` abundance of caution '' , because so much is unknown about the virus In Italy , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus can not be transmitted posthumously , it can still survive on clothes - so corpses there are being sealed away immediately and it 's forbidden for families to visit the bodies of their loved ones .
After the mortuary footage went viral , hardliners were quick to react .
The man who filmed it was arrested , and then authorities turned their attention to reassuring the public all bodies were being treated with respect and in keeping with Islam .
According to Sharia law , loved ones must be buried soon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the corpse must be cleansed with water three times , a process called Ghosl-e Meyyet .
And at the beginning of March , Iran 's Supreme Leader , the Ayatollah Khamenei , declared that the bodies of Covid-19 victims must be treated exactly like anyone else ; cleansed , wrapped in burial shrouds and the regular prayer for the dead must be performed for them .
To quell anger that the viral footage provoked , hardline websites began focusing on one group of morgue volunteers in particular .
Known as the Corona Ladies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ volunteers , also in Qom .
Coverage portrayed them as brave women committed to giving the dead the Islamic last rite , despite the possible risks to their health .
They are made up of three teams each working seven-hour shifts to keep up with the demand , and repeat religious invocations and chants to help them through their work .
They say that when they wash the corpses of young people , they cry these out louder to help steel themselves for the task ahead .
A slogan written on their backs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have the courage of a lion , you can not undertake the journey of love . ''
With hospitals overrun and mortuaries reportedly struggling to cope , the government is facing uncomfortable questions about whether that crisis is worse than it has made out .
How bad is coronavirus in Iran ?
According to official government statistics , more than 60,000 people in Iran have contracted the virus and about 4,000 have died .
But a group of Iranian researchers in the US believes the real figures to be much , much higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government statistics , the researchers , from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Virginia Tech , developed a model that simulates the spread of the disease .
It uses data on infected Iranian travellers who tested positive at the point of entry to other countries , as well as numerous medical community estimates , to calculate what they say is a more accurate figure .
They estimated that , as of 20 March , more than 15,000 people had lost their lives and the number of infections could actually have been closer to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the official figures , which by that day was 1,433 deaths and just under 20,000 confirmed cases .
We may never know the true extent of the crisis in Iran , but the signs of its scale are being dug into the earth .
In some cases , the bodies of multiple victims are , instead of being put in individual graves , being placed side by side in long trench-like burial sites - unheard of in this part of the world .
A doctor from the Mazandaran region of northern Iran , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , told the BBC that public safety experts had been dispatched to monitor the process of enshrouding , burying and covering the graves with lime , which officials say is used to help disinfect bodies and prevent the spread of the virus .
The doctor said that despite victims ' death certificates stating cardiac arrest or the flu as the cause of death , the fact these experts had been dispatched indicated that the cause of death was in fact Covid-19 .
Meanwhile , a number of families say they have no information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' bodies .
They have been told this will be communicated to them once the crisis is over so they can go to visit the graves of those they have lost .
But in the meantime , religious figures are trying to reassure relatives that their loved ones are being treated with respect and are being buried in line with all the correct Islamic rites .

They are made up of three teams each working seven-hour shifts to keep up with the demand, and repeat religious invocations and chants to help them through their work. They say that when they wash the corpses of young people, they cry these out louder to help steel themselves for the task ahead.


bbc--2020-04-14--The woman who discovered the first coronavirus

The woman who discovered the first human coronavirus was the daughter of a Scottish bus driver , who left school at 16 .
June Almeida went on to become a pioneer of virus imaging , whose work has come roaring back into focus during the present pandemic .
Covid-19 is a new illness but it is caused by a coronavirus of the type first identified by Dr Almeida in 1964 at her laboratory in St Thomas 's Hospital in London .
The virologist was born June Hart in 1930 and grew up in a tenement near Alexandra Park in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school with little formal education but got a job as a laboratory technician in histopathology at Glasgow Royal Infirmary .
Later she moved to London to further her career and in 1954 married Enriques Almeida , a Venezuelan artist .
The couple and their young daughter moved to Toronto in Canada and , according to medical writer George Winter , it was at the Ontario Cancer Institute that Dr Almeida developed her outstanding skills with an electron microscope .
She pioneered a method which better visualised viruses by using antibodies to aggregate them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Radio Scotland her talents were recognised in the UK and she was lured back in 1964 to work at St Thomas 's Hospital Medical School in London , the same hospital that treated Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he was suffering from the Covid-19 virus .
On her return , she began to collaborate with Dr David Tyrrell , who was running research at the common cold unit in Salisbury in Wiltshire .
Mr Winter says Dr Tyrrell had been studying nasal washings from volunteers and his team had found that they were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cold-associated viruses but not all of them .
One sample in particular , which became known as B814 , was from the nasal washings of a pupil at a boarding school in Surrey in 1960 .
They found that they were able to transmit common cold symptoms to volunteers but they were unable to grow it in routine cell culture .
However , volunteer studies demonstrated its growth in organ cultures and Dr Tyrrell wondered if it could be seen by an electron microscope .
They sent samples to June Almeida who saw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which she described as like influenza viruses but not exactly the same .
She identified what became known as the first human coronavirus .
Mr Winter says that Dr Almeida had actually seen particles like this before while investigating mouse hepatitis and infectious bronchitis of chickens .
However , he says her paper to a peer-reviewed journal was rejected `` because the referees said the images she produced were just bad pictures of influenza virus particles '' .
The new discovery from strain B814 was written up in the British Medical Journal in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she had seen were published in the Journal of General Virology two years later .
According to Mr Winter , it was Dr Tyrrell and Dr Almeida , along with Prof Tony Waterson , the man in charge at St Thomas 's , who named it coronavirus because of the crown or halo surrounding it on the viral image .
Dr Almeida later worked at the Postgraduate Medical School in London , where she was awarded a doctorate .
She finished her career at the Wellcome Institute , where she was named on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ viruses .
After leaving Wellcome , Dr Almeida become a yoga teacher but went back into virology in an advisory role in the late 1980s when she helped take novel pictures of the HIV virus .
June Almeida died in 2007 , at the age of 77 .
Now 13 years after her death she is finally getting recognition she deserves as a pioneer whose work speeded up understanding of the virus that is currently spreading throughout the world .

The new discovery from strain B814 was written up in the British Medical Journal in 1965 and the first photographs of what she had seen were published in the Journal of General Virology two years later.


bbc--2020-04-14--Coronavirus: Why lockdowns may not be the answer in Africa

Many African countries have introduced lockdowns in order to halt the spread of coronavirus , but , as Alex de Waal and Paul Richards argue , ordinary people have to be involved in choosing the solutions that will work for them .
Countries on the continent have learned much from tackling epidemics such as HIV and Ebola that should be put to good use as they face the impact of Covid-19 .
The most important lesson is that communities must be at the forefront of responding .
This is not a pious mantra but fact of life .
First , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communities , according to social conditions that only local people can know .
Second , no control measures , for example lockdowns , can be imposed without the consent of the people affected .
It is only when local people are fully involved in planning and implementing epidemic control measures , that they can work .
Public health officials developed a useful guide during the Aids epidemic : `` Know your epidemic , know your response , and act on its politics . ''
It is useful to think of Covid-19 not as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a simultaneous outbreak of innumerable local epidemics , each one slightly different .
The basic transmission mechanisms of the virus are the same everywhere .
But the speed and pattern of spread varies from place to place .
A densely populated township will have a different trajectory to a middle-class suburb or a village .
The epidemic will spread differently again in refugee camps and among nomadic peoples .
In each case , the key factors are social behaviours such as greetings , mingling among the generations , hand washing , or maintaining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ models based on assumptions and averages , but only communities can know what these mean for their particular circumstances .
Africa has a burden of diseases different to other continents .
There are good reasons to fear that Covid-19 will be particularly dangerous to tens of millions of people with tuberculosis or whose immune systems are compromised by HIV .
Little is known about what infection with the coronavirus means for people who have malaria or are malnourished .
On the other hand , Africa 's population is young .
One reason given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been that it has a large proportion of elderly people - 23 % of the population is over the age of 65 - who are most at risk should they contract the disease .
By contrast , less than 2 % of Africa 's population is over 65 .
For this reason alone , the virus ' mortality rate may be lower on the continent .
It is clear that each African country will have to design its own response , suitable for its own need .
Why governments need to talk to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data and models for precise expert prediction , and will not get them quickly enough .
But there is a better method , tried and tested : talking with the communities .
Doctors and epidemiologists can provide the medical facts , communities can provide the contextual details and knowledge of what has worked for them in the past .
China , Europe and North America all adopted much the same epidemic control policy : lockdown .
African governments followed suit , but in general lockdowns may be simply unworkable in the continent .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Rwanda and South Africa , have the capacity to administer a centralised strategy .
For people living from day to day , reliant on earning cash in the market to buy food , a few days ' lockdown is the difference between poverty and starvation .
For people already suffering hardship because of unemployment , drought or a swarm of locusts , social welfare is provided by relatives .
If a lockdown cuts these social ties , adversity becomes destitution .
Lockdowns also threaten to interrupt supply chains of essential drugs to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If any form of lockdown is to work , emergency assistance measures are needed .
These include aid to those who have lost either their jobs or the money they received from family in Europe and America to keep food and fuel supply chains open .
Some countries , for example Uganda and Rwanda , are distributing free food .
Ghana has announced free electricity , water and a tax holiday .
But African governments simply do not have the funds to sustain these kinds of measures without international aid .
You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ How the spread of coronavirus is testing Africa If basic livelihoods can not be secured , a comprehensive lockdown is not practical .
Poor people will prefer the lottery of infection over the certainty of starvation .
In the Ebola epidemic , when the Liberian government ordered the army to impose isolation on West Point in the capital , Monrovia , in 2014 , it discovered within a few days that the lockdown was so unpopular as to be unfeasible .
It did not stop transmission either .
Very quickly the government shifted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to design and enforce their own control policies .
The simple lesson that public health works by consent was learned in Sierra Leone too .
Communities took the lead in designing their own quarantine measures , which were then adopted by international agencies .
What is needed in Africa The key lessons for epidemic response are to act fast but act locally .
That is what African countries should be doing .
Africa 's health systems are already overstretched .
Covid-19 demands an emergency response at scale and that begins with governments .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ materials for hygiene , personal protective equipment for the professional health workers , and equipment for assisted breathing .
There is a global shortage of all of these and a shameful scramble among developed countries to get their own supplies - relegating Africa to the back of the queue .
But as the international response gains momentum , African governments should coordinate their needs assessments and supplies .
A second pressing need is to set up field hospitals for the surge of cases that will arrive at the peak of the epidemic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks after transmission in the community first becomes evident .
Of necessity , these must be very simple : tents in a school field or even thatched sheds in the bush .
There simply will not be enough respirators or intensive care units .
The modest aim is to ensure that family members can nurse patients with Covid-19 without disabling local hospitals or health centres .
Keeping health facilities open to groups such as mothers and babies , free of cross-infection with Covid-19 , is another key aim or else the increased illness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus itself .
Communities can help by finding sites , constructing camps and nursing patients according to a home-care protocol for the virus , with health professional supervising from a safe distance .
An even bigger challenge will be keeping economies functional and stopping a slide into destitution and hunger .
African countries can not close its fresh produce markets or people will starve .
But market goers can readily work out how to reduce the risks of transmission , through measures such as better hygiene , crowd control , and physical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of sale .
Another proposal is that each household should designate a single person to buy food , and the market authorities provide that person with an identifier such as a coloured bangle .
The designated shopper would then be isolated from other household members on returning home .
Some markets could be temporarily relocated to safer sites .
In some countries , a switch to cashless mobile phone transactions may be workable ; in others , companies that send remittances home can be enlisted .
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : How do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ How to look after your mental health What is most important is not a list of good ideas , but proper discussion with traders , customers , market authorities , chiefs and local government .
They are the ones who will know what will work for them , and how it can be monitored and enforced .
Lockdowns have the potential to create a serious social crisis .
This is not just in terms of creating poverty , hunger and resentment , but also endangers the roll out of workable epidemic control measures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not proposed alternatives to comprehensive lockdown .
They have not explored local variants of isolation , movement restriction , contact tracing and quarantine .
That is because they have not yet asked local communities for their proposals .
There is no time to lose and community consultations should begin now .
The experience of handling epidemics such as HIV and Ebola provide an encouraging lesson .
Ordinary people are not the problem , rather they are the solution .
The good news is that communities can quickly learn to think like epidemiologists provided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communities .
Alex de Waal is the director of the World Peace Foundation , Tufts University , and author of Aids and Power : Why there is no political crisis - yet .
Paul Richards is an anthropologist , and author of Ebola : How a people 's science helped end an epidemic

A second pressing need is to set up field hospitals for the surge of cases that will arrive at the peak of the epidemic, which seems to typically be about eight weeks after transmission in the community first becomes evident.


bbc--2020-04-14--Coronavirus: What do all the terms mean?

• A person who has a disease but is displaying no symptoms of that illness .
A study of one village in Italy suggests 50-75 % of Covid-19 cases there could be asymptomatic .
• The first part of the UK 's strategy to deal with coronavirus involved trying to catch cases early and trace anyone who had been in close contact • A generic name for a group of viruses which cause illness and disease in humans and animals .
The disease caused can be severe or mild .
The common cold and influenza ( flu ) are examples @ @ @ @ @ @ @ name of the specific disease caused by the type of coronavirus first detected in Wuhan in China in late 2019 .
It primarily affects the lungs .
• The second part of the UK strategy to deal with coronavirus involves delaying its spread by introducing 'social distancing ' where people avoid close contact with others by working from home , avoiding public transport and restricting major events .
• Describes measures to prevent a very high number of cases of disease occurring at the same time and potentially overloading health services .
By @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distancing , cases take place over a longer period of time and hospitals remain within capacity - the 'peak ' of cases is flattened into a smoother curve on a chart .
• Flu is a virus which routinely causes disease in humans and animals .
There are two main types or strains of flu , A and B .
These are responsible for seasonal flu epidemics .
• Describes how the spread of a disease can be limited by a certain number of people ( or animals ) being exposed to it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread .
• A person whose body can withstand or fend off disease is said to be immune to that disease .
Once a person has recovered from Covid-19 , they are thought to have some immunity to the disease - that is , they can not get it again - for a certain period of time .
However how long immunity lasts is not known , and there have been some reports of people testing positive for a second time .
• Any restriction on movement or daily life , where public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remain at home behind closed doors .
Lockdowns have been imposed in several countries as part of drastic efforts to control the spread of disease .
• The fourth part of the UK 's strategy to deal with coronavirus involves mitigating the impact of a high number of case on public services .
This could mean the NHS stopping all non-critical care and police only responding to major crimes and emergencies .
• The NHS 's 24-hour phone line which offers medical advice to anyone who rings it .
Anyone who suspects they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ call NHS 111 rather than attend a GP surgery or hospital A & E .
• Taking measures to avoid coming into direct contact with others .
This can mean avoiding any social gatherings , and in daily life , keeping a distance of at least 2 metres from other people .
• Usually refers to measures taken by a government to restrict daily life while it deals with a crisis .
This can involve closing schools and workplaces , restricting the movement of people and even possibly deploying the armed forces to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are any outward physical sign of disease , such as a cough , sore throat or fever .
They are triggered by the body 's immune system as it attempts to fight off the infection .

Antibodies test A medical test that can show if a person has had the coronavirus and now has some immunity. The test detects antibodies in the blood, which are produced by the body to fight off the disease.
Asymptomatic Someone who has a disease but does not have any of the symptoms it causes. Some studies suggest some people with coronavirus carry the disease but don't show the common symptoms, such as a persistent cough or high temperature.
Containment phase The first part of the UK's strategy to deal with the coronavirus, which involved trying to identify infected people early and trace anyone who had been in close contact with them.
Coronavirus One of a group of viruses that can cause severe or mild illness in humans and animals. The coronavirus currently sweeping the world causes the disease Covid-19. The common cold and influenza (flu) are other types of coronaviruses.
Covid-19 The disease caused by the coronavirus first detected in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. It primarily affects the lungs.
Delay phase The second part of the UK's strategy to deal with the coronavirus, in which measures such as social distancing are used to delay its spread.
Fixed penalty notice A fine designed to deal with an offence on the spot, instead of in court. These are often for driving offences, but now also cover anti-social behaviour and breaches of the coronavirus lockdown.
Flatten the curve Health experts use a line on a chart to show numbers of new coronavirus cases. If a lot of people get the virus in a short period of time, the line might rise sharply and look a bit like a mountain. However, taking measures to reduce infections can spread cases out over a longer period and means the "curve" is flatter. This makes it easier for health systems to cope.
Flu Short for influenza, a virus that routinely causes disease in humans and animals, in seasonal epidemics.
Furlough Supports firms hit by coronavirus by temporarily helping pay the wages of some staff. It allows employees to remain on the payroll, even though they aren't working.
Herd immunity How the spread of a disease slows after a sufficiently large proportion of a population has been exposed to it.
Immune A person whose body can withstand or fend off a disease is said to be immune to it. Once a person has recovered from the disease caused by the coronavirus, Covid-19, for example, it is thought they cannot catch it again for a certain period of time.
Incubation period The period of time between catching a disease and starting to display symptoms.
Intensive care Hospital wards which treat patients who are very ill. They are run by specially-trained healthcare staff and contain specialist equipment.
Lockdown Restrictions on movement or daily life, where public buildings are closed and people told to stay at home. Lockdowns have been imposed in several countries as part of drastic efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus.
Mitigation phase The third part of the UK's strategy to deal with the coronavirus, which will involve attempts to lessen the impact of a high number of cases on public services. This could mean the NHS halting all non-critical care and police responding to major crimes and emergencies only.
NHS 111 The NHS's 24-hour phone and online service, which offers medical advice to anyone who needs it. People in England and Wales are advised to ring the service if they are worried about their symptoms. In Scotland, they should check NHS inform, then ring their GP in office hours or 111 out of hours. In Northern Ireland, they should call their GP.
Outbreak Multiple cases of a disease occurring rapidly, in a cluster or different locations.
Pandemic An epidemic of serious disease spreading rapidly in many countries simultaneously.
Phase 2 This is when the UK will start to lift some of its lockdown rules while still trying to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
PPE PPE, or personal protective equipment, is clothing and kit such as masks, aprons, gloves and goggles used by medical staff, care workers and others to protect themselves against infection from coronavirus patients and other people who might be carrying the disease.
Quarantine The isolation of people exposed to a contagious disease to prevent its spread.
R0 R0, pronounced "R-naught", is the average number of people who will catch the disease from a single infected person. If the R0 of coronavirus in a particular population is 2, then on average each case will create two more new cases. The value therefore gives an indication of how much the infection could spread.
Recession This happens when there is a significant drop in income, jobs and sales in a country for two consecutive three-month periods.
Sars Severe acute respiratory syndrome, a type of coronavirus that emerged in Asia in 2003.
Self-isolation Staying inside and avoiding all contact with other people, with the aim of preventing the spread of a disease.
Social distancing Keeping away from other people, with the aim of slowing down transmission of a disease. The government advises not seeing friends or relatives other than those you live with, working from home where possible and avoiding public transport.
State of emergency Measures taken by a government to restrict daily life while it deals with a crisis. This can involve closing schools and workplaces, restricting the movement of people and even deploying the armed forces to support the regular emergency services.
Statutory instrument These can be used by government ministers to implement new laws or regulations, or change existing laws. They are an easier alternative to passing a full Act of Parliament.
Symptoms Any sign of disease, triggered by the body's immune system as it attempts to fight off the infection. The main symptoms of the coronavirus are a fever, dry cough and shortness of breath.
Vaccine A treatment that causes the body to produce antibodies, which fight off a disease, and gives immunity against further infection.
Ventilator A machine that takes over breathing for the body when disease has caused the lungs to fail.


bbc--2020-04-14--Coronavirus: 'I lost my mum on Mother's Day'

In the weeks leading to Mother 's Day , 33-year-old Aya ( not her real name ) was preoccupied with which gift to get her mum .
Little did she know that she would be burying her instead .
Aya 's mother was among Egypt 's first 10 coronavirus deaths .
Although Egypt announced the presence of Covid-19 in mid-February , it was not until the first week of March when the country started seeing new cases regularly .
So far , more than 2,000 people in Egypt have been infected and at least 160 have died with the disease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but I can't' Even though her mother had been poorly for a week , Aya never thought this would be the end .
She recalls collapsing upon hearing the news .
`` I told my brother he was lying .
He told me earlier that she was getting better , '' Aya says .
`` We were hoping that she 'd be back home in time for her birthday in April , since she 'd been admitted to hospital a few days before Mother 's Day .
We were going to combine both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : How do I protect myself ?
• AVOIDING CONTACT : The rules on self-isolation and exercise • MAPS AND CHARTS : Visual guide to the outbreak Aya 's mother was taken to a quarantine hospital in Helwan district , south of Cairo , one day before her death after testing positive for Covid-19 .
The 69-year-old had been at a private hospital since Monday of that week , when she first tested negative for coronavirus before repeating the test a couple of days later , Aya says .
`` The last time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was with my dad all the time as he had a coronary stenting procedure on Sunday . ''
Not being able to say goodbye was not the only challenge for Aya .
On the same day of Aya 's mother 's death , all prayers and sermons were suspended across the country .
All mosques were ordered to shut down as well .
So , Aya found herself forced to perform the funeral prayers inside the hospital 's mortuary .
The process of getting her mother 's body out of the hospital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only managed to bury her at night , she says .
`` Very few family members came .
We were all wearing masks and gloves .
My sister-in-law held my hand and whispered : ' I want to hug you but I ca n't ' .
My brother 's mother-in-law was devastated .
But none of us could comfort the other . ''
`` My dad could n't say goodbye to mum as well .
He attended the burial but he had n't seen her for a week '' .
After her mother @ @ @ @ @ @ @ admitted to the same quarantine hospital , as he tested positive for Covid-19 .
`` When he left , I lost it .
I kept wailing on the floor , '' she says .
Her father made a recovery and returned home this past weekend .
Although neither Aya nor her brother tested positive , they both had to stay in isolation .
`` As a family , we could n't even be there for each other . ''
Realising the challenges faced by those who have lost loved ones , Rana Sameeh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of circulating the names of those who have died so that people could pray for them .
Rana , a 31-year-old engineer , collects these names from social media posts .
Also , some of those who have lost loved ones reached out to her asking to include the name of their deceased relative in the group 's list .
`` Mosques are closed but people wo n't stop dying .
Funeral prayers are very important for us , '' says Rana .
There is more than one Hadith ( sayings attributed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the value of having a large number of people participating in the funeral prayer .
Rana 's WhatsApp group was created on 24 March and in few days it reached the maximum number of members allowed by the app : 256 .
Ramy Saad set up `` Salat al-Ghaib '' , which translates as `` absentee funeral prayer '' , after seeing a picture of a small group of people praying in the street in front of a coffin .
Usually , many people would take part in such prayers .
`` It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I decided to do something about it , '' Ramy , a 30-year-old entrepreneur , says .
The group was also created on 24 March and attracted over 4,000 followers in just 10 days .
Aya says the virtual groups started out as to get more people to pray for lost loved ones , but they have become much more than that .
`` I received many condolence messages from people I do n't know when they read about my mother 's death on Facebook… a fourth-grade classmate even called me to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I did n't remember him at first . ''
This support , Aya says , has helped her through her grief .
`` This ordeal makes my mum a martyr .
I believe in this and this gives me strength , which I did n't know I had in me .
Had she died under normal circumstances , I would have completely collapsed . ''

"Very few family members came. We were all wearing masks and gloves. My sister-in-law held my hand and whispered: 'I want to hug you but I can't'. My brother's mother-in-law was devastated. But none of us could comfort the other."


bbc--2020-04-11--Coronavirus: Why has the virus hit African Americans so hard?

To a lot of Americans , the racial disparities shown in the number of people dying of coronavirus-related causes have sadly been unsurprising .
The cities of Chicago , New Orleans , Las Vegas and states of Maryland and South Carolina are among those now starting to report data based on race , and show an over-representation of victims who are black .
While some of this could be due to the long-standing inequality issues in the US that we have become familiar with , other reasons are perhaps more unexpected and could potentially have been dealt with .
Here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the crisis in different ways - their stories explore why black Americans appear to be more at risk .
`` My sister Rhoda was the matriarch of our family .
She was the first in our family to go to college , got a degree and became a public school teacher , '' says Reverend Marshall Hatch of Chicago .
`` She was just a very warm and friendly person .
Very , very genuine .
Pure in her personality and very generous . ''
Reverend Hatch had been extremely close to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the organ in his church .
But 73-year-old Rhoda Hatch passed away on 4 April after spending eight days on a ventilator .
Two days earlier Reverend Hatch 's best friend , Larry Harris , also died .
He was 62 .
Both had contracted Covid-19 .
In fact , four people close to him have now died from it and he talks of it utterly ravaging the mainly African American neighbourhood of West Garfield Park in which he lives .
`` We have been trying to find a grave for my sister @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been harder than ever , '' says the Reverend .
`` But it 's almost like we could have predicted that when a plague like this came along , that it would disproportionately affect people who are already under siege of economic violence . ''
According to census data , West Garfield Park already had a life expectancy a full 16 years lower than a predominantly white neighbourhood of Chicago just three miles away .
The data released so far shows 68 % of the coronavirus deaths in the city have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up around 30 % of the population .
People in Reverend Hatch 's area are less likely to have health insurance and more likely to live in overcrowded accommodation as compared to the general population .
Young black men have also posted on social media that they have been harassed by security guards in shops or even told to leave if they use a cloth covering for their mouth and nose .
'If I get sick , I 'm still working' '' The customers who are coming up in there , you never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twenty-four-year-old Clarionta Jones from New Orleans is scared of catching the virus , but feels she has few options .
She works in a shop and as such is considered essential .
`` I 've got the only income that 's coming into our house and even with everybody getting laid off , they have still told us we have to come up with April 's rent , '' Clarionta tells me .
`` And honestly , if I 'm sick I 'm just going take something for it and go to work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my check , I have two kids .
This is not a choice . ''
Clarionta tells me her managers have even told staff they can not wear gloves and masks when interacting with customers .
She did not feel she could argue for fear of losing her job .
• Why some US churches are still open this Easter In countries around the world we are seeing essential and service workers , often with low incomes , in the line of Covid-19 's fire .
In the US , `` low income @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` brown '' .
But then Clarionta said something surprising .
`` First I heard black people were n't affected by the coronavirus .
I mean there are n't really black people in China and when it started here it was a lot of other races affected . ''
This was not just misinformation in New Orleans but was widespread in communities across the country .
In mid-March , Atlanta rapper Waka Flocka appeared on a radio show and said : `` Minorities ca n't catch coronavirus .
Name one .
It does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' In retrospect , some health experts feel more could have been done to fill a vacuum in knowledge about the virus much earlier .
As health commissioner in a city where nearly 40 % of the residents are black , this misinformation was something Dr Jeanette Kowalik dealt with on a daily basis in her work in Milwaukee , Wisconsin .
But just as her department was forming strategies to counter the narrative that the virus was something associated with foreign travel , Covid-19 struck her city .
`` In the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the city , and 70 % of them were black , '' Dr Kowalik tells me .
She lays bare what she thinks is the major reason why African Americans are at a disadvantage when it comes to Covid-19 .
`` African-Americans have more of the underlying health conditions associated with fatality ( among those with coronavirus ) ; the heart disease , diabetes , asthma , obesity , '' says Dr Kowalik .
She also talks of more subtle ways in which the health of African Americans may be compromised , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raising of stress hormone levels like cortisol lead to premature aging of the body , and that some of that `` weathering '' has been tied to encountering racism .
`` These are all things that can be tied back to the structural racism , the policies and practices that have been in place in this country for a very long time , '' she says .
Dr Kowalik says the way African Americans are being impacted by this crisis and the difficulties that remain in getting a coronavirus test in low-income communities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neglected yet again .
The story behind the myth - BBC Disinformation Team Rumours that people with dark skin may be immune to Covid-19 have been circulating on social media since late January .
The speculation was apparently initially fuelled by the absence of coronavirus cases reported in Africa and the successful recovery in China of a Cameroonian student infected with the virus .
Several posts circulated on Facebook in mid-February wrongly claimed that the 21-year-old had been cured of the disease `` because of his black skin '' .
But of course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recovery had anything to do with his complexion .
Nonetheless , the inaccurate claims were picked up by several English-language news websites and spread on social media in a number of African states , including Nigeria , Kenya , Uganda and Zambia .
The immunity myth has also been widely circulated online in the African American community , where it has featured in memes and viral jokes .
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : What are the symptoms ?
• LEADING THE WAY : The US governor who saw it coming early • ON @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to play god • GRIEVING CHILDREN : Killed by a virus he thought had been overhyped • REASON TO HOPE : The good that may come out of this crisis

She also talks of more subtle ways in which the health of African Americans may be compromised, pointing to studies that suggest that prolonged raising of stress hormone levels like cortisol lead to premature aging of the body, and that some of that "weathering" has been tied to encountering racism.


bbc--2020-04-13--Coronavirus: When home gets violent under lockdown in Europe

Flags were lowered to half-mast and three days of mourning were declared in the Spanish town of Almassora to mark Carina 's death .
In normal times , this community near Valencia would have gathered in silence to remember their 35-year-old neighbour .
But confined to their homes by coronavirus , they paid their respects at a distance .
The bells tolled and Mozart 's Requiem boomed out from the town hall as residents came to their windows and balconies .
Carina was killed at home in front of her two young children .
Her husband José turned himself in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confessed .
National lockdowns have heightened the danger for women forced to stay at home with their abusers , cut off from the respite of work and less able to call for help undetected .
Children , mostly home from school , are now even more exposed to trauma .
Carina was the 17th woman killed by a current or ex-partner in Spain this year .
She was the first since restrictions to try to limit the spread of Covid-19 were imposed .
Fearing the aggressor indoors and virus outside Less than a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it is too soon to see the full impact on gender violence from official statistics .
But in abusive households , experts see a potentially devastating combination of emotions brewing .
Women fear the aggressor inside the home and the virus outside .
Stress makes abusers even more volatile , while heightened privacy gives them a feeling of impunity .
In Spain , Kika Fumero traces it back to the state of alert declared on 14 March .
`` From that moment I knew that what was good for stopping Covid-19 was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and their children who were in a violent situation at home , '' the head of the Canary Islands Institute for Equality told the BBC .
She had seen the spikes in abuse from periods of confinement before , when women were forced to spend more time with their partner during floods or holidays .
Italy , like Spain , has been at the forefront of the pandemic .
More than 100 doctors there have lost their lives treating the sick .
Lorena Quaranta , 27 , was on the brink of qualifying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 30 March .
But she was not a victim of Covid-19 .
Her boyfriend Antonio told police he had killed her .
When her coffin returned to her hometown of Favara in Sicily , people hung white sheets from their balconies .
It represented , as Mayor Anna Alba put it , `` the purity of her spirit , and the colour of that uniform she dreamed of wearing for the rest of her life '' .
How abuse has spiked under lockdown France initially reported a sharp drop in calls to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the government said police reports of domestic abuse had gone up nationally by a third , and by even more in Paris .
An SMS service set up for people with hearing impairments now helps abuse victims too and receives 170 text messages a day .
Drop-in areas have been opened in shopping centres and there is a support service for perpetrators `` on the edge '' .
In Spain , services for women facing gender-based violence are designated as essential , so their continued operation is guaranteed by the government .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of alert , its 016 helpline received 18 % more calls than in the same period the previous month .
And , as in France , there are many silent requests for help .
Email contact is up 286 % over the same period and a new psychological support messaging service via WhatsApp received 168 enquiries in its first nine days .
In Spain 's Canary Islands , the Institute for Equality has launched a campaign called Mascarilla-19 ( Mask-19 ) , stressing that escaping abuse is a valid reason to leave your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the few places people can still freely visit .
`` When a woman experiences violence at home or sexual assault , she can go to the nearest pharmacy and request Mask-19 - the mask that will save her life , '' says Kika Fumero , who came up with the idea .
Pharmacy staff take a woman 's name , address and phone number and alert the emergency services .
She can go home , or wait until police and support workers arrive .
• ' I 'm in coronavirus lockdown with my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks stuck at her partner 's home after the state of alert was declared , before she was able to give the code word in a pharmacy while he waited outside .
She has since filed a complaint and returned to her family home .
A 78-year-old killed by her husband in Gran Canaria was the second victim of femicide during Spain 's lockdown .
`` Older women endure mistreatment for 15 years on average before they report it , '' says the government 's gender violence delegate Vicky Rosell .
`` Denounce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This too saves lives , '' she says .
Mask-19 has now been adopted across Spain , as well as in France , Germany , Italy , Norway and Argentina .
Why women may be trapped by lockdown Virginia Gil , who runs the Aspacia foundation in Madrid , fears the number of women reporting domestic abuse under the lockdown is `` just the tip of the iceberg '' .
Women face several barriers , she believes : fear of being discovered by their abuser , anxiety about possible coronavirus infection outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local services are operating .
Ms Gil fears some abusers who would ordinarily be removed from the home are not being taken into custody by police or brought before `` paralysed '' courts .
How some countries are doing more than others In Russia , the dilemma about leaving or staying was particularly hard for Maria , living in a flat 113km ( 70 miles ) west of Moscow .
Maria , not her real name , had never been hit by her husband before .
But on 26 March he flew into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At first , there was verbal abuse .
Then he started breaking things and throwing them at me and the kids , '' she told BBC Russian .
`` He smashed everything up , from the fish tank to the fridge .
My children were scared . ''
She believes the catalyst for her husband 's attack was President Vladimir Putin 's announcement of a `` non-working week '' - and the loss of income that came with it .
When he left to buy beer , she called the police .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him out because it was his flat , '' she said .
It was up to her to find a shelter for herself and her children .
Calls in Denmark for emergency accommodation almost doubled in the week after the government told people to stay at home .
The government has since funded 55 extra rooms in shelters for four months and on Wednesday the lockdown will be eased , allowing some Danish schools to reopen and giving an opportunity for women to seek help .
`` One way or the other , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for everyone , '' says Susanne Lamhauge , head of a new crisis centre run by women 's rights group Danner .
In Belgium , Jean-Louis Simoens describes a three-fold increase in calls to the listening service of the Collective Against Family Violence and Exclusion ( CVFE ) .
`` When I was manning the phones , a woman called and told me she only had 15 minutes to speak while her husband was out buying cigarettes .
`` She was very frightened and we had to talk really quickly .
He had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was so swollen , that she could n't open her eyes any more .
The confinement had made his behaviour worse , so Mr Simoens helped her plan where to go if he went out .
As calls are anonymous , he has no idea if she managed to escape .
Why staying home is not always staying safe The threat of infection from coronavirus is in some cases a very direct obstacle to getting help , according to Marceline Naudi , who heads the Council of Europe 's group of gender violence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means that women victims of violence have decided not to seek medical attention for fear of contagion , but there are also fewer places to turn to .
`` Domestic violence shelters in some areas have already stopped all admissions , because they are unsure how to manage the risk of infection , '' she says .
She also fears that by losing a job or income women will become more financially dependent on an abuser and it will be harder to leave .
In a pandemic that has killed tens of thousands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to an anxious public is that staying home means staying safe and saving lives .
That mantra is of little comfort to women imprisoned with an abuser , weighing up their chances of a successful escape amid so much uncertainty .
For many , it is an impossible choice .
Extra reporting by Nina Nazarova of BBC Russian and illustrations by Olesya Volkova .
Spain : National helpline 016 ; email 016-online @ mscbs.es ; psychological support service via WhatsApp +34 682 916 136/+34 682 508 507 ; ask for Mascarilla-19 in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 30 030 in French or in Dutch on 1712 France , the national helpline is 3919 , and in an emergency send an SMS to 114 or call 17 .
Across Europe support services via Women Against Violence Europe ( WAVE ) Network .
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : How do I protect myself ?
• AVOIDING CONTACT : The rules on self-isolation and exercise • STRESS : How to look after your mental health

When he left to buy beer, she called the police. "They told me they couldn't throw him out because it was his flat," she said. It was up to her to find a shelter for herself and her children.


bbc--2020-04-06--Spencon: Inside the collapse of an African construction giant

Spencon was once one of the largest construction firms in East Africa .
After years of financial trouble , two highly-paid British bosses were brought in to save it , but 18 months later the bosses had fled and hundreds of Africans had lost their jobs .
An Africa Eye investigation reveals the inside story of how Spencon went bust .
In July 2015 , two British bosses looked out from their new Nairobi offices over an empty patch of land and decided to build a golf green .
Andrew Ross and Steven Haswell hired a consultant from one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were ripped up and replaced by bunkers and the smooth playing green was laid and nourished by a sprinkler system .
`` How cool is this ? ''
wrote Haswell in an email home .
`` We 'll have chipping area , putting green , bunker and driving net . ''
Ross and Haswell were in Nairobi on a rescue mission : to save the struggling Kenyan construction giant Spencon .
They had been appointed as directors of the company by US investment firm Emerging Capital Partners ( ECP ) , which had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of $ 15m in Spencon - including $ 1.5m of British government aid money designed to boost the Kenyan economy and create jobs .
But Ross and Haswell did not succeed in saving Spencon .
According to thousands of leaked company emails , messages , and documents obtained by Africa Eye , the two British bosses appear to have engaged in a pattern of highly questionable business practices as they tried to turn the company around .
They now stand accused of allegedly working with a convicted criminal to defraud banks of millions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sell out business partners to notorious Kenyan gangsters , and of making potentially illegal cash payments .
This is the story of the 18 months Ross and Haswell spent in charge of Spencon before the company went bust , leaving hundreds of Kenyans out of work , some already missing months of pay .
Nancy Ntinu , Spencon 's former head of HR , took Africa Eye on a tour of the now abandoned golf green built by Ross and Haswell .
`` Having a golf course for a company that is insolvent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that just does n't add up , '' she said as she walked on the overgrown putting area .
`` It was a mockery for Kenyan employees to watch this lawn being watered on a daily basis because these two gentlemen wanted to play golf . ''
'We are going to lose this patient' Spencon was once one of the largest construction firms in East Africa - a giant that employed more than 5,000 staff at its peak and boasted major infrastructure projects across seven countries .
It was headquartered in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neighbourhood of Nairobi with successful multi-nationals for neighbours .
But behind the scenes , Spencon was saddled with debt .
In early 2014 , ECP , the US firm which had invested $ 15m , took control of the construction company from its founders .
In November 2014 , ECP hired Ross - an engineer and business director who would assume overall control of Spencon .
In April 2015 he was joined by Haswell - an accountant with experience of restructuring African businesses , who would run the finances .
Haswell was to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ross $ 30,000 .
Their job was to turn around Spencon 's fortunes so that ECP could sell it by the end of 2016 .
They had just 18 months .
With the business already on the brink , it was never going to be easy , but the fate of hundreds of staff across East Africa lay in Ross and Haswell 's hands .
Wycliffe Ochieng , a 38-year-old , assistant mechanic , was one of those staff .
Ochieng had found happiness in his work at the company .
It had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with his wife and young daughter in Nairobi , with running water and electricity , and he began to dream of a better life for his family .
When Spencon finally went bust , in November 2016 , Ochieng found himself without work and in crippling debt .
He was owed months of pay and he owed months of rent .
`` He used to buy us things , like shoes and clothes , '' recalled his wife , Lynet .
`` Some of things he did for us when we lived in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Now the family lives in a small hut on Ochieng 's parents ' property , 230 miles ( 370km ) from Nairobi .
They have no electricity and no running water .
Ochieng shares a bed with Lynet and their young daughter , and works the land to feed them as well as he can .
Some days he barely eats at all .
`` I used to take care of my family like a man should , '' he said , dejectedly , when Africa Eye visited him there last year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my self-esteem . ''
Back in July 2015 , Ochieng was arriving at Spencon for his first day as an assistant mechanic , blissfully unaware that the firm was already in serious trouble .
Shortly after Ochieng started , Andrew Ross promised the staff that no one was going to lose their jobs , he said .
But an email sent in April by Steven Haswell shows he was already worried .
`` I think we are going to lose this patient ! ''
he wrote .
`` We have 4 months of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good . ''
The two bosses cut costs by July , making a round of redundancies and relocating Spencon from its upmarket Nairobi headquarters to a dusty out-of-town maintenance depot owned by the company , where simple pre-fab workshops were converted into offices .
But they also started spending .
A week after the move to the depot , Ross and Haswell paid $ 70,000 for their own company cars - a Range Rover and Volkswagen Touareg .
Haswell told Africa Eye the cars projected an image of an organisation of substance rather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the vehicles were deemed appropriate by the board .
But staff were not impressed .
`` It was a lavish expenditure , '' said Spencon 's equipment manager , Mike Hyland , who arranged the purchase .
Dickens Omollo , the head of security at the depot , was taken aback by Ross 's Range Rover .
`` We wondered - this is a lot of money , and we do n't have money , and he is saying he wants to bring this company up ? ''
Ross and Haswell also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The head groundsman they had hired from one of Kenya 's leading golf clubs set about designing the plush practice area - complete with two bunkers containing 120 tons of sand .
The two bosses told Africa Eye the golf course was built at negligible cost using Spencon staff and equipment , and projected a positive image of the company .
Simeon Randinga , a janitor at the firm , felt the course was off limits to ordinary staff .
`` The golf course was out of bounds for the rest of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was theirs alone . ''
Ross and Haswell told Africa Eye the green was open for all the staff to use .
Getting a job at Spencon had meant the world to Randinga .
He was newly married , and had begun to fear his wife would leave him if he could not provide for her .
The regular income from Spencon eased his fears , and after a few months of work his wife moved to Nairobi to join him , and they had a child .
Then in mid 2015 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he said - the company appeared to be selling off perfectly good equipment alongside scrap and redundant machinery .
`` When they were selling those things , I asked , 'These are very good things , why are you selling them ?
Are you sure we still have our jobs ? '
. ''
The man behind the sales was Tony Sanghani , a security consultant hired by Ross and Haswell .
As well as security , the two bosses tasked him with a fire sale of Spencon equipment .
They would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a convicted criminal .
A simple Google search shows that he and his brother were sent to prison in 2002 for inciting their own company security guards to assault two men .
Mike Hyland , the Spencon equipment manager , was convinced Ross and Haswell knew .
`` I 'm 100 % certain they did , '' he said .
`` I told Andrew Ross when I resigned , you know you were dealing with a criminal . ''
According to Hyland , Ross replied : `` We have to do what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denied knowing about Sanghani 's record or replying in that fashion .
Leaked emails show Sanghani had the two boss 's full backing to sell assets .
`` Please all help and support Tony convert the old equipment and spare parts into cash , '' wrote Haswell in an email to staff in October 2015 .
`` Please ensure Tony is given full support , '' wrote Ross in a separate email .
As Randinga and other staff at Spencon grew concerned about their jobs , Sanghani was taking home a huge salary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a car and driver , with the promise of cash bonuses on top of his pay for delivering on the equipment selloff .
`` It seemed to be a clearance sale completely , assets sold at giveaway prices , '' said Kabiito Karamagi , a receiver appointed after Spencon went bust to look into sales made by Sanghani in Uganda .
`` What we found was a gross under valuation . ''
The proceeds from those sales should have gone to paying off the firm 's bank debts in Uganda , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's personal account .
When a member of Spencon staff emailed Haswell querying the arrangement , and asking if it would present the company with legal issues , Haswell replied : `` It 's ok… we can pay to Tony 's bank account . ''
Karamagi , the receiver , questioned how the money had been accounted for .
`` It 's certainly most unusual that these monies are not banked on the company account , but on an individual 's account .
It is most unusual , '' he said .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Spencon went bust , the administrators - international accounting firm PWC - discovered Sanghani had been paid $ 20,000 a month by Ross and Haswell , plus up to 25 % commission .
PWC called the amount `` outrageous '' in the context of Spencon 's financial position .
PWC also discovered a huge black hole in Spencon 's books - at least $ 1.6 million had not been accounted for .
According to Karamagi 's calculations , the amount missing may be even higher .
PWC did find some money had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Ugandan banks , which had agreed to the asset sales in the expectation they would get the sale funds .
Questions also remain around the sale of Spencon assets in Kenya , and PWC has handed over files to Kenyan police .
`` There was an intention to defraud creditors , pure and simple , '' said Karamagi .
`` What you have here is a situation of embezzlement , fraud . ''
Ugandan police told Africa Eye they were working with Interpol to question Ross and Haswell .
Both men @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were unaware of any criminal investigation or any claims bought in administration relating to the sales .
Haswell said the equipment sale cash was deposited into Sanghani 's account to protect it from creditors who had `` dubious '' court orders to seize it , and to allow Spencon to `` disburse the funds as it chose '' , he said .
Both men said all funds received from Mr Sanghani 's sales were accounted for and that the value of the equipment was overstated and banks were kept informed at all times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the company accounts and approved by the board , '' said Ross .
ECP told us it had had `` no knowledge of these alleged actions by Mr Sanghani '' and `` no interest in having Spencon 's money deposited in other people 's accounts . ''
At the end of 2016 , PWC pressed Tony Sanghani to hand over his accounts but he refused to co-operate .
According to the administrators , the $ 1.6 million is still missing .
Africa Eye contacted Tony Sanghani but he declined to respond .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hopes for saving Spencon were resting partly on a payout the firm was owed by the Kenyan government for work on a sewage treatment plant in Mombasa in 2000 - valued by Spencon at $ 16.5 million .
And there was an added incentive in their contracts : if the payment was approved , Ross would be entitled to a bonus of up to $ 80,000 and Haswell up to $ 64,000 .
The two British bosses were about to enter one of the murkiest chapters in the Spencon saga .
Before paying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see the original certificate to Spencon confirming completion of the works , but there was a problem : Spencon could n't find it .
They had just 10 days before they had to present the certificate in court .
Spencon 's lawyer Rose Osiemo rushed to Mombasa , where she obtained a letter from the County Secretary authorising a new certificate .
But when she visited the Mombasa government department responsible for issuing it , there was a snag .
WhatsApp messages sent six days later reveal the obstacle - someone was demanding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put Tony Sanghani on standby , and messaged Osiemo to let her know .
`` I told him what is happening … He agreed you can ask him to squeeze them if u want ?
?
? ''
But Osiemo said her contact wanted to remain anonymous .
`` Want it to remain between me and them lest they are exposed , '' she wrote back to Haswell .
If the payment was above board , why was it being paid in cash , and why was Osiemo keeping her contact secret ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ flight to Mombasa to meet her contact , setting off a frantic rush to get the cash .
Haswell was in Tanzania .
`` I 'm now in bank getting $ 80k cash for you , '' he messaged Osiemo .
He kept Ross in the loop : `` Trying to withdraw $ 80k cash from SCB Tanzania .
I will fly back with it tonight . ''
Haswell flew back and handed two envelopes stuffed with cash to Osiemo , who made her early morning flight to Mombasa carrying the cash in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` Remember 11 people minimum know that you are travelling with $ 80k , '' Haswell wrote to her .
`` Stay alert and safe . ''
Osiemo paid the contact and obtained a letter confirming the work had been completed , as well as a file of background documentation .
But the scheme failed - the money the government owed Spencon was n't released .
Africa Eye showed evidence of the $ 80,000 payment to Jeremy Carver , a lawyer who helped draft the UK 's anti-bribery laws .
`` The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ documented in the papers that I have seen , '' Carver said .
`` It looks like a bribe , it smells like a bribe and it 's paid by people who work for a company who are plainly trying to keep it secret . ''
According to UK law , if a British citizen is involved in bribery , it does n't matter where in the world that alleged bribe took place .
`` For the British Directors , and indeed anybody involved in the payment , they on the face of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Carver .
Osiemo denied paying any cash bribes to anyone to settle the Mombasa claim .
She said the money was a fee paid to an unnamed consultant contracted by Spencon , who hired four independent engineers to inspect the site and write a report confirming the works were complete .
It was one of those engineers , she said , who gave her documentation .
A document emailed to Haswell the next day lists the $ 80,000 payment under expenses , with no contractors named .
Ross declined to comment on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he had no first-hand knowledge of why the transaction was recorded in this way .
They declined to say who received the $ 80,000 or why the payment had to be made in cash , saying the money went to debt collection agents .
And they strongly denied bribing Government officials , and said the WhatsApp messages and emails had been taken out of context .
Ross said he and Haswell informed the ECP board of the progress of the expenses claim and the parties it dealt with .
ECP said it had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was obtained .
As they attempted to turn Spencon around for sale , Ross and Haswell needed to make a clean break from the company 's past .
But they were hampered by a lawsuit filed against Spencon by the firm 's founding family , the Patels , over the ECP takeover back in 2014 .
Pragnesh Patel , whose father founded Spencon in 1979 , told Africa Eye that Ross and Haswell called him to a meeting at the Kempinski Hotel in Nairobi in December 2015 and offered to give up Spencon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ development land in return for dropping the suit .
Patel said that when he asked what would happen if he refused , the two British bosses dropped a name of a potential purchaser for Spencon 's share of the land-owning company - the Akasha family .
The Akashas are notorious Kenyan gangsters .
In August 2019 , Batktash Akasha was sentenced to 25 years in jail in the US for running a global drugs trafficking operation .
In January , his brother Ibrahim got 23 years for the same offence .
Tony Sanghani @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Akashas well .
According to evidence given during their court case , the Akashas beat him so badly during a gangland drugs turf war in 2014 that Sanghani ended up in a coma .
Pragnesh Patel was afraid , he said .
He left the meeting and went to consider his options , he said , then he asked Ross for a second meeting , at a Nairobi coffee house , and this time he secretly recorded on his phone .
On the recording , Patel can be heard asking Ross if the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` It 's genuine Pragnesh , '' Ross replies .
`` It 's not us playing games , it 's genuine . ''
`` This is very serious , '' said Patel .
`` You know , the Akasha family are the equivalent of Al Capone .
Even if they know that I 'm trying to block a sale , they can actually send a hitman and things like that . ''
It was one of several times Patel voiced his fears about the company potentially being sold to the Akashas .
Not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can Ross be heard contradicting those fears .
Ross told us it was absurd and untrue he threatened Patel with the Akasha family .
When Africa Eye sent him a transcript of the recording , he said at no point did he mention the Akashas .
Haswell said at no time did Spencon consider entering any transaction with the Akashas , and suggested Patel was trying to lead or entrap Ross .
He said he had no knowledge of the Akashas until Patel mentioned them .
By the middle of 2016 , Spencon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days of the company were about to play out at the maintenance depot outside Nairobi that had become its home .
Nancy Ntinu , the head of HR , was working closely with Ross and Haswell , she said , in basic offices in wooden buildings on the depot grounds .
Staff salaries were drying up and workers were getting more and more angry .
Many , including Ntinu , had not been paid properly in months .
`` I was literally crying every day because I could n't believe the kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' she said .
Ntinu told Africa Eye that Ross ran through a list of staff , instructing her who to pay and who not to pay .
`` There was one female colleague who was on maternity leave and he took off her name .
I asked why , and he said , 'Well you snooze you lose ' . ''
One person always got paid , Ntinu claimed - Ross .
`` He will always pay himself , '' she said .
Ross told Africa Eye that the lowest paid staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own pay was delayed on several occasions .
He denied using the phrase , 'You snooze you lose ' .
At the depot , Spencon staff were working on without pay in the hope the company would be saved .
Wycliffe Ochieng , the assistant mechanic , said the missing pay was affecting his marriage .
Ochieng 's wife began to suspect he was spending his salary on another woman .
Eventually she left , forcing him to send his daughter hundreds of miles away to his parents ' home so he could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Randinga , the janitor , began hiding from his landlord because he had no money to pay his rent .
`` We found ourselves going home empty handed at the end of the month , '' he said .
`` The landlord is there waiting for you and you also need food , yet you have nothing . ''
But never contemplated complaining to Andrew Ross .
`` To reach him was like going to heaven , '' he said .
Ross was on a golfing holiday in Turkey when he finally signed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Nairobi depot , bailiffs had begun to seize company property and staff were in revolt .
When Ross returned , he called a meeting in the canteen , a dimly-lit prefab structure set slightly apart from the other buildings on the compound , to give staff the news .
They were furious , and a group of about 15 came to Ntinu to demand answers .
`` You are talking about very angry people , who are hungry , who do n't have anything to feed their families , '' she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all over .
She told Africa Eye she lost seven months of pay - about £39,000 .
After almost four decades in business , Spencon was gone .
Not far behind were Ross and Haswell .
`` We heard one morning that they had boarded an aircraft and gone back to the UK , '' said Ntinu .
`` And that was it . ''
Ross and Haswell told Africa Eye they were proud of their time at Spencon , saying it was managed in a challenging business environment against a backdrop of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always with legal advice .
They said they sympathised with the disappointment and anger of workers , and rejected any allegations of wrongdoing .
They said they had to flee Kenya because they were facing threats , and that they continued to work on Spencon business unpaid for another four months .
Three and a half years on , both men are now employed in senior positions in UK firms .
Many Spencon staff were not so lucky .
None of the workers received their missing pay .
Simeon Randinga , the janitor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to support his family .
He struggled against the urge to take his own life , he said .
`` When you are not working , you are just a useless man , you can not help anyone .
You can not feed your family , you can not pay house rent .
Even bathing is not possible because you can not buy soap . ''
Wycliffe Ochieng , the mechanic , never returned to the Nairobi home that had allowed him to dream - the landlord locked him out and locked all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has left now is his Spencon safety helmet and overalls .
He was once proud to wear them , he said , they had made him feel like a success .
His daughter sometimes asks him to put them on again , to play , but he has lost weight since his Spencon days , and the overalls hang loosely from his thinner frame .
Ochieng occasionally speaks to some of his old Spencon colleagues , from a payphone nearby .
`` Sometimes I get a call - Hey , my friend , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' It 's 80p , $ 1 .
But he does n't have it .
Three months after his pay was cut off , back in 2016 , Ochieng and a group of other Spencon employees went to rip up the golfing green that was laid by Ross and Haswell .
A video camera captured the moment they set off from the depot in protest .
`` As you can see , nobody was happy , '' Ochieng said , as he watched the footage back .
`` Nobody was laughing . ''

A week after the move to the depot, Ross and Haswell paid $70,000 for their own company cars - a Range Rover and Volkswagen Touareg. Haswell told Africa Eye the cars projected an image of an organisation of substance rather than one close to insolvency. Ross said the vehicles were deemed appropriate by the board. But staff were not impressed. "It was a lavish expenditure," said Spencon's equipment manager, Mike Hyland, who arranged the purchase. Dickens Omollo, the head of security at the depot, was taken aback by Ross's Range Rover. "We wondered - this is a lot of money, and we don't have money, and he is saying he wants to bring this company up?"


bbc--2020-04-16--Coronavirus: Trump says peak is passed and US to reopen soon

President Donald Trump says the US has `` passed the peak '' of new coronavirus cases and predicted some states would reopen this month .
Mr Trump told the daily White House briefing that new guidelines would be announced on Thursday after he had spoken to governors .
`` We 'll be the comeback kids , all of us , '' the president said .
`` We want to get our country back . ''
The US has nearly 640,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases and over 30,900 deaths .
Mr Trump 's comments came after New York City reported a rise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lessons from Japan 's second wave of infections The president has been at loggerheads with state governors about the timing of easing restrictions and reopening businesses .
He has now conceded that his powers are limited to issuing guidelines .
What did Trump say about virus deaths ?
`` The data suggests that nationwide , we have passed the peak of new cases , '' Mr Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden on Wednesday .
`` Hopefully that will continue , and we will continue to make great progress . ''
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ force , Deborah Birx , said there had been a decline in confirmed cases across the country in recent days .
Asked why the US accounted for such a significant proportion of the global coronavirus death toll of more than 137,000 , Mr Trump accused other countries of lying about their mortality rate .
`` Does anybody really believe the numbers of some of these countries ? ''
he said , naming China .
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : How do I protect myself ?
• AVOIDING CONTACT : The rules on self-isolation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look after your mental health US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China must show `` full transparency '' on coronavirus , during a call with his Beijing counterpart , Yang Jiechi , the Department of State said .
Mr Pompeo has repeatedly accused Beijing of covering up the scale of the outbreak in the early days , which China denies .
What about claims Covid-19 came from a lab ?
President Trump said the US was looking into unverified reports that the coronavirus may have emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the city .
`` I will tell you more and more we 're hearing the story and we 'll see , '' Mr Trump said when asked about the claims at his daily briefing .
A Fox News report , attributed to several unnamed sources , suggests that the coronavirus was a naturally occurring pathogen that leaked from a Wuhan facility because of lax safety protocols , infecting an intern , who then transmitted it to her boyfriend .
US media have previously reported that the US embassy in Beijing had raised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wuhan in recent years .
On Tuesday , the Washington Post said it had obtained cables dating from 2018 warning that one facility was studying bat coronaviruses and looking at the possibility of human transmission , adding that the laboratory had `` a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians '' .
However Gen Mark Milley , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , said that US intelligence services believed it was more likely that the virus occurred naturally .
`` There 's a lot of rumour and speculation in a wide variety @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keen interest in that and we 've had a lot of intelligence take a hard look at that , '' he said , adding : `` The weight of evidence seems to indicate natural . ''
Scientists attempting to trace the source of the outbreak have said that a range of wild animal species could be the host , in particular bats , which harbour a large number of different coronaviruses .
They have been trying to ascertain if the virus that causes the disease Covid-19 originated at a market in Wuhan in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about an end to the US lockdown ?
The Trump administration has previously pencilled in 1 May as a possible date to reopen the nation , but the president said some states may be able to return to normalcy earlier than that .
When questioned about the dangers of reopening too soon , Mr Trump said : `` There 's also death involved in keeping it closed . ''
He cited mental health issues , saying suicide hotlines were `` exploding '' as the economy froze .
Millions of Americans have lost their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbers are at record levels .
Retail sales dropped by 8.7 % in March , the biggest decline since tracking began in 1992 , according to government data released on Wednesday .
Meanwhile , the governors of Connecticut , Maryland , New York and Pennsylvania each issued orders or guidelines that residents should wear face masks as they venture into society in the coming weeks .
`` We are going to be getting back to normal - it will be a new normal , '' Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said .
On Wednesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large gatherings such as sports events and concerts would probably not be allowed in the city until 2021 .

"There's a lot of rumour and speculation in a wide variety of media... we've taken a keen interest in that and we've had a lot of intelligence take a hard look at that," he said, adding: "The weight of evidence seems to indicate natural."


bbc--2020-04-16--Coronavirus: Trump says 'we'll see' about Wuhan lab claims

President Donald Trump has said `` we 'll see '' about unsubstantiated claims that coronavirus originated in a Chinese laboratory @ @ @ @ @ to multiple unnamed sources , Fox News said the coronavirus was a naturally occurring pathogen @ @ @ @ @ facility because of lax safety protocols , infecting an intern , who then transmitted it @ @ @ @ @ the president 's daily briefing on Wednesday , he was asked by Fox News reporter @ @ @ @ @ confirm the cable network 's exclusive .
`` Well , I do n't want to @ @ @ @ @ but I will tell you more and more we 're hearing the story and we @ @ @ @ @ Trump replied .

President Donald Trump has said "we'll see" about unsubstantiated claims that coronavirus originated in a Chinese laboratory.
In a report attributed to multiple unnamed sources, Fox News said the coronavirus was a naturally occurring pathogen that leaked from a Wuhan facility because of lax safety protocols, infecting an intern, who then transmitted it to her boyfriend.
In the president's daily briefing on Wednesday, he was asked by Fox News reporter John Roberts if he could confirm the cable network's exclusive. "Well, I don't want to say that, John, but I will tell you more and more we're hearing the story and we'll see," Mr Trump replied.


bbc--2020-04-16--Coronavirus: How California kept ahead of the curve

After a resident of California died of coronavirus on 4 March , Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency .
It was the first Covid-19 related death in the US outside of Washington state .
More than 24,424 people have tested positive for coronavirus in California and 821 people have died .
Yet the losses , while tragic , are a fraction of what experts predicted the state 's 40 million people would face .
The virus is spreading fast in southern California and the state 's Central Valley - so it 's not out of trouble yet .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Governor Gavin Newsom in March that up to 25 million Californians could be infected with coronavirus , the situation in California has been surprisingly well controlled .
State officials maintain they think the virus will peak in mid-May .
Others think California could reach its peak this week .
The University of Washington 's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projected in March that more than 6,000 people in California would die of coronavirus .
This week , the institute revised their forecast - projecting that California will reach its peak on 17 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has only tested 212,900 people - and not all of the tests have been processed - so the number of confirmed cases will likely be considerably higher .
But the death rate is much lower than many expected .
So why is California faring so much better than many predicted ?
California was the first place in the United States to issue shelter in place orders .
Gov Newsom ordered California to shelter in place on 19 March - three days before New York .
The statewide order followed similar ones issued on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and cities - including San Francisco .
Residents were urged to stay home and only go to essential businesses , like grocery stores and pharmacies , when necessary .
But can a day or two really make that much difference ?
`` Oh yes , '' said Dr Neha Nanda , the medical director of infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship at Keck Medicine , University of Southern California .
`` Even being one day ahead can have a huge impact , '' she told the BBC .
`` The morbidity we will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be able to avert - it 's huge . ''
Because so little is known about the virus or how it can be treated , it makes prevention `` more important than anything else , '' she said .
`` The most potent tool that you have in tool kit is social distancing . ''
The authorities took it seriously On 9 March , Santa Clara county banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people .
The ban came hours after a woman died in Santa Clara county .
Soon , the limits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on groups of 50 people .
Many were shocked at the time about what limited gatherings would do to sports teams and musical and theatrical events .
But this did n't deter local officials - and San Francisco Mayor London Breed , Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf announced bans on gatherings several days later .
`` Our first priority remains the health , safety and wellbeing of all Oaklanders , as well as those who visit our city , '' Mayor Schaaf said at the time .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Covid-19 within Oakland right now , postponing large gatherings will help prevent the spread of the virus .
We take these measures to prepare and protect our community and ground our decisions in facts , not fear . ''
At the time it was inconceivable that e-sports would replace live sports and concerts would be staged on living room couches and filmed on phones .
`` We 've been proactive , '' Dr Nanda said , and a result `` we have not seen that huge uptick '' .
The population is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York where most people rely on public transportation , California is known for its urban sprawl and its love affair with the car .
New York City is three times as dense as the city of Los Angeles .
And although Los Angeles County has more than 10 million people , many more Angelenos drive cars than New Yorkers .
According to a UCLA study from 2018 , fewer than 3 % of people in Southern California ride public transport frequently .
• The US governor who saw it coming early UCLA epidemiologist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may be helping stop the virus from spreading faster than in cities like New York or Detroit .
`` We certainly do n't have the population density of New York City , '' Dr Brewer said .
`` The less dense the population , the more easy it is to maintain physical distances from each other . ''
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : How do I protect myself ?
• AVOIDING CONTACT : The rules on self-isolation and exercise • STRESS : How to look after your mental health But Dr Brewer said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social distancing policies put in place early that account for most of the state 's success so far .
California could well have had more cases `` had they followed a similar trajectory as New York , New Jersey or some other locations in the United States '' when it came to social distancing , he added .
The state initially got off to a bumpy start when it came to public spaces .
The weekend of 15 March sent many Californians panic shopping for seemingly all the toilet paper , yeast and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the following weekend saw Californians flocking to the state 's beautiful beaches and hiking trails .
Beaches were packed .
Popular trails like Runyon Canyon in LA were more crowded than ever making social distancing impossible .
Eventually , officials closed beaches and hiking trails throughout the state and urged people to walk in their own neighbourhoods .
Sometimes the authorities enforce the rules - though not consistently .
California was ridiculed on Fox News after video emerged of multiple boats involved in the arrest of a lone paddle-boarder in Malibu who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Wet weather in Los Angeles meant snow in the local mountains and two snowboarders were caught sneaking onto the slopes .
Officials across the state say they 'd rather not enforce the rules - but they will crack down on scofflaws .
Some tickets have been issued across the state .
In San Diego , homeless advocates have objected to the ticketing and arrest of homeless people for sleeping in the streets .
And in Los Angeles , Mayor Garcetti encouraged people to `` snitch '' on anyone violating the shelter-in-place order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` You know the old expression about snitches , well in this case snitches get rewards , '' Mayor Garcetti said earlier this month .
`` We want to thank you for turning folks in and making sure we are all safe . ''
Many people criticised the mayor 's snitch policy , and it 's not clear how many people have reported infractions .
But California 's leaders have mostly been applauded for acting early to control the virus .

Because so little is known about the virus or how it can be treated, it makes prevention "more important than anything else," she said. "The most potent tool that you have in tool kit is social distancing."


bbc--2020-04-15--Coronavirus: The unexpected items deemed 'essential'

As entire countries shut down to prevent the spread of Covid-19 , `` essential '' services remain open .
In @ @ @ @ @ gun shops and chocolate stores .
BBC journalists in five countries around the world explain @

As entire countries shut down to prevent the spread of Covid-19, "essential" services remain open.
In some countries, that's gun shops and chocolate stores.
BBC journalists in five countries around the world explain.