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UN warns of ‘biblical’ famine caused by the coronavirus
4:30 p.m.
The United Nations’ World Food Program warned the coronavirus may nearly double the number of people who suffer from hunger, the BBC reported, from 135 million to more than a quarter-billion.
Recession and political isolation fueled by the pandemic are impacting trade routes and infrastructure needed to deliver food to nations that rely on imports to feed their people. This could exacerbate existing food crises and cause new ones. According to a WFP report, African and Middle Eastern countries already struggling to survive through war, broken economies and climate change are most at risk.
“We could be facing multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months,” WFP Executive Director David Beasley told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.
“I do believe that with our expertise and our partnerships, we can bring together the teams and the programs necessary to make certain the COVID-19 pandemic does not become a human and food crisis catastrophe,” Beasley said.
Milwaukeeans share coronavirus after state holds primary election
3:10 p.m.
Six voters and a poll worker in Milwaukee have tested positive for the coronavirus after participating in Wisconsin’s recent primary elections, National Public Radio reported.
“As of today, we have identified seven individuals that contracted, or at least it appears, COVID-19 through election-related activities,” said Milwaukee’s health commissioner Jeanette Kowalik. The city continues to track cases related to the election and expects to have more information by next week.
Around 400,000 Wisconsinites came out to the polls in the state’s April 7 primary election. Thousands stood in long lines without protection. Early data suggests turnout was similar to past presidential primaries. About two-thirds of voters mailed their ballots.
The election was held as scheduled after the Wisconsin Supreme Court overruled Gov. Tony Ever’s order to postpone. Republican lawmakers had previously turned down the Democratic governor’s attempt to convert the entire primary to vote-by-mail, in response to the pandemic.
According to NPR, state health officials have not yet seen an increase of coronavirus cases caused by the election.
Trump says he will ‘suspend immigration’
11:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump announced on Twitter Monday evening that he would suspend all immigration “In light of the attack from an Invisible Enemy” — COVID-19. The coronavirus has been circulating in the United States for months, killing around 40,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 780,000 have tested positive.
The president said the suspension is needed to protect American jobs during the pandemic. Administration officials said the immigration ban would protect the health of Americans while they look to get back to work, The Associated Press reported.
In his daily briefings and on Twitter, the president has pushed to open the American economy. This past week he appeared to encourage protesters of safe-at-home orders to “liberate” states with Democratic governors.
Also Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that opening the American economy too soon could lead to a spike in more COVID-19 cases and that more testing was needed. “Unless we get the virus under control, the real recovery economically is not going to happen,” Fauci told ABC News.
USS Theodore Roosevelt crew will remain in Guam
9:30 a.m.
Sailors from the USS Theodore Roosevelt continued to test positive for COVID-19 after weeks of isolation in Guam. The ongoing spread of the coronavirus through the aircraft carrier’s crew has forced the Navy to delay its plan to reboard the ship, Politico reported.
Sailors who had been isolated for two weeks, some of whom had already tested negative for the virus, have now tested positive. With 94% of the crew tested — 4,582 in all — 678 now have the highly contagious coronavirus. One crew member has died from the virus.
“While further assessment is made regarding test-out procedures, I am directing a halt to all crew out-testing and holding any release from isolation and quarantine,” according to a memo the Navy sent its sailors which was later viewed by Politico.
The Navy had planned to return to the aircraft carrier and continue its deployment if isolation successfully prevented further spread of virus.
The saga of the USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam has led to the firing of the ship’s captain and the resignation of the Acting Secretary of the Navy.