Nightingale hospital
02 Apr 2020
It has taken just one week to build Britain’s first coronavirus field hospital, in London’s Dockland. It will treat up to 4,000 previously fit and healthy people struck down by coronavirus. London patients in need of intensive care but with the best chance of survival will be taken to the Nightingale hospital, which has been constructed inside the ExCel arena. For a time-lapse viewing of the conversion progress, click the ‘More’ button. Please pray for God to fill the building with His peace. May every patient referred there know His comfort, as the divine physician and healer of the sick watches over every bed. Pray for every nurse, doctor, paramedic and auxiliary to have the protection and the stamina that comes from heaven, and ask God to give wisdom and discernment to every doctor as they make life and death decisions.
Coronavirus: scams and false news
02 Apr 2020
We are all at risk from false information. For instance, a photo was circulated of a busy mosque supposedly in lockdown, but it was taken before lockdown. Another image showed trucks said to be carrying bodies of Covid-19 victims - but this was untrue, and the picture had been taken in Italy. We can pray that the waves of fear generated by similar scams are prevented by astute reporting and investigating. More serious than false news is fraudulent information and theft when members of the public are texted and told to share their bank card details in order to receive a supposed Covid-19 relief payment from the government. Similarly-worded emails have been sent from a website named ‘uk-covid-relieve.com.’ The true government’s website has a ‘gov.uk’ URL, not a ‘.com’. The authors of the email are thieves.
Yarl's Wood immigration detainees 'terrified'
02 Apr 2020
Women immigration detainees are being sent to Yarl's Wood detention centre despite a confirmed case of coronavirus there. Some women have underlying health conditions and sanitation is poor - only one hand sanitiser in the building and women are issued with one pair of gloves and one mask each with no instructions. ‘Women for Refugee Women’ supports women in the centre and said the decision to continue bringing in new detainees was ‘negligent’ and accused the Home Office of putting lives at risk. One woman in her 40s, who asked to remain anonymous, said detainees continued to move around the centre with no social distancing in communal areas and women had to share rooms. Detainees with health conditions are ‘terrified’ about becoming infected. Staff are not providing updated information and some women have been told there was ‘no need for concern’ the charity said. The Home Office strongly denied the claims.
Italy: unrest in the south
02 Apr 2020
Lockdown is the only solution to ending the pandemic, and Italy’s government has extended it beyond 3 April with no new deadline. In the south, hunger and hardship threaten to be even bigger problems than the virus, with regions beginning to feel the weight of the economic blow. Many residents are beginning to run out of food and money. An estimated 3.3 million Italians - one-third of whom are located in the south - work off-the-books for cash, making them unsure of when their next pay cheque will come. This concern has caused some southern Italians to plot raids against grocery stores, and authorities are worried the situation could become violent. Pray for the poorest southern regions - Sicily, Campania, Calabria, and Puglia - to know peace not violence as they begin to struggle for food and money. A private Facebook group, urging people to organise large raids on grocery stores and markets, is currently under investigation. One man addressing the government said, ‘You will regret this because we are going to have a revolution’. See
European shortage of fruit and veg
02 Apr 2020
Suppliers say fresh fruit and vegetables in Europe could dwindle as the coronavirus pandemic hampers the global movement of produce and people across borders. Governments are looking at ways to ease shortages, including ‘green lanes’ to allow fresh produce to move across closed EU borders. A ‘shadow army’ of European harvesters could be recruited and travel rules for migrant workers loosened. Workers are being prevented from travelling between Europe and Africa due to grounding of flights. There is also a shortage of lorry drivers. Europe’s supermarkets rely on Kenya as their major supplier of green beans and peas, but the sector’s workers have been sent home on mandatory leave because orders cannot be shipped. Shipments from South Africa are also becoming tougher, with the country beginning a 21-day lockdown. These challenges are beginning to affect the usual plentiful supplies. See also the UK article ‘Feed the nation’.
Nazanin under consideration for clemency
02 Apr 2020
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, currently on temporary release from a five-year jail sentence, is, for the first time, under formal consideration for clemency. A decision will be made by the highest level of Iran’s multi-layered government. There is no guarantee that clemency will be granted, or that she will be allowed to return to the UK. The supreme leader will present a recommendation to the deputy prosecutor. He could either approve clemency or recommend to the supreme leader not to grant it; or it could just sit on his desk for a bit. Now is the time to pray that the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei releases a strongly worded recommendation to the prosecutor general’s office for her immediate release. Pray also that the prosecutor-general will decide that now is the time to allow Nazanin to take the steps towards freedom.
Brazil: Bolsonaro's ‘deny and defy’ policy
02 Apr 2020
President Bolsonaro's coronavirus strategy of ‘putting economy first' is putting thousands of lives at risk. He calculates that the number of deaths will be less costly than the inevitable recession caused by an economic shutdown. Brazil's poorest communities lack refuse collection, have water shortages and open sewers, and are very densely populated. These are perfect conditions for the virus to proliferate. Bolsonaro's televised national address, calling the virus ‘a little flu’, was condemned by business leaders and politicians. Two of his tweets were removed for ‘violating rules’ and defying international guidelines. Bombastic media appearances, dubbed ‘Brazil can't stop’, encouraging citizens to get back to work and downplaying the virus threat, were quickly taken off air. The majority of Brazil's elderly live with family members or someone else who is not their partner.The ‘deny’ strategy is expected to produce a situation worse than Italy in two or three weeks, and a collapsed health system.
India: lockdown improves air quality
02 Apr 2020
Lockdown has reduced vehicle traffic across India, leading to a drop in air pollution in over 90 cities, including Delhi. Welcoming the reduced pollution, environmentalists are now urging the government to treat it as a ‘wake-up call’ and stop its ‘obsession’ with development at the cost of the environment. Shutting down of industries, construction and traffic have contributed in improving the air quality. Rain is also helping, but the curbs on local emissions are playing a significant role in recording air quality in the range of good in 51 cities and satisfactory in 51 cities.