Coronavirus

Five people have died from coronavirus in Guam.

Governor Lou Leon Guerro said one case was reported as clinically diagnosed.

But she said out of 33 samples recently tested, zero cases were confirmed positive.

58 people people have recovered from the virus in the US territory.

The Ministry of Finance estimated a 25 percent shortfall in collections against projections for March, with worse likely to come.

"The number that I'm providing now is very rough," said Finance Secretary May Bing Thursday.

"But when we looked at our figures for FY2020, our collection in March is way below budgeted/expected figures and may continue the trend in coming months."

She estimated the March tax shortfall at 25 percent.

"We do anticipate a decrease in collection as activities within the private sector are clearly challenged," Ms Bing added.

A further €30 million (K112 million) has also been allocated from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations budget reserves.

“These funds for the WHO will contribute to global preparedness, prevention and containment of the virus and support the countries with the weakest health systems,” said the EU.

Fifteen partner Pacific islands countries and four European Overseas Countries and Territories will benefit from this support.

The EU action will focus on strengthening partner countries’ health, water and sanitation systems and their research and preparedness capacities to deal with the pandemic, as well as mitigating its socioeconomic impact.

Jeong Eun-kyeong, the director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), says the virus appears to have been "reactivated" rather than the patients being reinfected, Reuters reported.

The number of patients has grown after 51 were announced on Monday and officials say it brings doubt into what it means for a patient to be cleared of the virus and when they should be allowed to return home.

Bloomberg reported a patient is currently deemed fully recovered when two tests conducted with a 24-hour interval show negative results.

The decision was announced after talks involving medical experts, the French High Commission, the government and the customary Senate.

The extension was the second time that a week had been added to the original lockdown declared on 19 March.

From 20 April the emergency measures will be changed, with details of what will be eased to be announced in the course of next week.

The customary Senate had been in favour of extending the restrictions for longer while some leaders in the mainly Kanak Loyalty Islands province asked for the terms of confinement to be relaxed.

Professor Stephen Howes, Director of the Development Policy Centre at The Australian National University, said the second wave has been unfolding from mid-February onwards in the rich countries of the world (as well as Iran).

Some have responded better than others. None are out of the woods, and the suffering in some countries has been staggering, but many now seem to be turning the corner.

The facility had been made possible by the PNG Sports Foundation.

Called the National Response Centralised Facility and run by Dr Gary Nou, it will serve Gul, Central and the National Capital District, but also be on standby for other PNG provinces.

The Post Courier newspaper reported the hospital had 76 beds, and was staffed with 13 doctors, 20 nursing officers and 20 community health workers.

PNG has two confirmed cases of Covid-19 but the country's ability to test for the virus was limited.

The state's confirmed caseload of Covid-19 jumped by 10,000 on Thursday to 159,937, placing it ahead of Spain (153,000 cases) and Italy (143,000).

China, where the virus emerged last year, has reported 82,000 cases.

The US as a whole has recorded 462,000 cases and nearly 16,500 deaths. Globally there are 1.6 million cases and 95,000 deaths.

While New York state leads the world in coronavirus cases, its death toll (7,000) lags behind Spain (15,500) and Italy (18,000), though it is more than double the official figure from China (3,300).

The French High Commissioner Dominique Sorain made the announcement at a briefing with the French Polynesian president Edouard Fritch.

The curfew, which was first declared on 27 March, applies between 8pm and 5am.

Mr Sorain said the restrictions were needed because of the steady but slow progression of the virus which to date has infected 51 people in French Polynesia.

He said an Air Tahiti Nui airliner chartered by the French government was due to return from Paris at the weekend, bringing in 25 tonnes of medical supplies.