April 1 coronavirus news

Austrian unemployment numbers soared by two thirds to more than half a million people in March as the country introduced drastic restrictions on public life in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus. 

Austria's Public Employment Service (AMS) announced Wednesday in a statement sent to CNN that over 504,000 people in the country are currently without a job. This marked an 52.5% increase in unemployed people compared to the same month last year.

According to the statement, the increase is particularly noticeable in the catering and accommodation sectors, as well as in construction. It added that the transport and warehousing sectors have also been badly affected.

The Philippines central government has informed local police units to assist and escort all health workers to medical facilities, following reports of attacks, according to state-run media agency Philippines News Agency (PNA).

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said threatening the safety of health workers amid the health crisis is “unacceptable,” at a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

“Despite all the support and love our country has shown our health workers, it is unfortunate that we have received reports that these front-liners have come under attack,” Nograles said.  

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Archie Gamboa has directed police to provide assistance and security to health workers in the wake of attacks in the southern provinces of Cebu and Sultan Kudarat. 

PNA reported that on March 27, a male nurse was reportedly splashed with chlorine while walking in Cebu City.

On the same day, a front-liner in a hospital in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat was attacked by a group of five who splattered bleach all over his face, according to PNA. 

Iran has reported 138 more coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 3,036, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpoor said on state television.

He added that 2,987 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 47,593 throughout Iran.

So far, 15,473 patients have recovered and have been released from hospitals across the country while 3,871 hospitalized patients are in critical condition, he said. 

British American Tobacco (BAT) is in pre-clinical testing for a potential Covid-19 vaccine that utilizes fast-growing tobacco plant technology, said the company in a statement Wednesday.

The vaccine is being developed by BAT biotechnology subsidiary Kentucky BioProcessing, in the United States. 

In 2014, Kentucky BioProcessing helped develop a treatment for Ebola.

Spain has confirmed 102,136 cases of the virus and the biggest daily rise in coronavirus-related deaths, according to the latest data released on Wednesday by its health ministry. 

The country saw 864 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, pushing up the total number of deaths in the country since the outbreak began to 9,053 people.

The total active infections, however, saw a smaller increase than Tuesday -- with 3,470 more cases, making a total of 70,436. It added that 22,647 people have recovered from the virus.

A headline on the international homepage of the CNN mobile app mis-stated the number of deaths in Spain. This has now been corrected.

Andrew Jack, an actor who appeared in recent "Star Wars" films, died from Covid-19 complications on Tuesday morning, according to a statement from his agent.

Jack, who worked primarily as a dialect coach to stars including Chris Hemsworth, died at St. Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, just outside London, his agent Jill McCullough said.

Jack’s wife was unable to be with him, as she is stuck in quarantine in Australia. McCullough added. “She was unable to see or talk to him at the end of his life and there is a chance a funeral may not be held,” she said.

“He was still working full pelt, currently coaching on the new 'Batman,'” the statement reads. “Dialect coaching isn’t just about being good at accents -- you need to make your actors feel safe and confident -- and Andrew’s actors adored him.”

Fifteen days into the confinement period, the French police and gendarmerie -- the military police -- have done 5.8 million checks to see if people have a valid reason for being out and about, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on French TV LCI Wednesday morning. 

This comes a day after a 22-year-old was sentenced to 105 hours of community service in Paris by police for repeated failure to respect the confinement measures, says the Paris Prosecutor's Office.

The man was released from prison last September. He was fined four times on March 24 alone, and again two days later, and each time found with invalid papers during police checks.

French officials say people can only walk and exercise around a one-kilometer radius from their home, for a maximum of one hour. They are also expected to handwrite a government-mandated permission slip.

Read more here.

The north London branch of Swedish homeware giant IKEA is to become a new coronavirus testing facility for British health workers.

"We have also responded to requests from intensive care units and doctors across the country by delivering tens of thousands of our disposable paper tape measures, to help them continue their amazing care for their patients,” the statement continued, adding that IKEA has so far donated food to local hospitals, food banks and shelters "to provide some immediate relief" to those in need.

The announcement comes just days after IKEA launched a new 26 million euros ($28 million) fund to be used across 30 countries, "prioritizing the needs of high-risk groups and those leading relief efforts" in the fight against Covid-19.

Editor's note: Devika Koppikar teaches AP Psychology and English at an international Chinese high school program in Wuxi, about 80 miles west of Shanghai. The opinions expressed here are her own.

My Facebook feed bulged with post-lockdown food fantasies. Friends dreamed of a "salted caramel milkshake" or "a cheeseburger topped with feta, fried egg, and avocado with sweet potato french fries."

But if there's anything I've learned after emerging from my own two-week quarantine in China, it's that we can't simply click our ruby slippers and return to life BC -- before Covid-19.

I'm from Woodbridge, Virginia, and I've lived in China for four years. I was traveling in Australia and New Zealand over the Chinese New Year when I heard that the coronavirus had raged through the city of Wuhan, about 500 miles west of where I live.

I got repeated notices from the US Embassy that "recommended," but did not mandate, that Americans leave China. As my return date neared, many colleagues decided not to go back until the virus madness subsided. "Any place but China is safe," they said.

When I heard that everyone entering China must go through a mandatory, sealed quarantine I had a sense of doom. What if I needed to escape? How would I get food? Another expat who was in the middle of her own lockdown convinced me that it was manageable. "You're in your own home with all amenities and they bring you food and other supplies as needed," she said.

I have now been out of quarantine for almost 40 days -- and life is far from normal. 

Read the full opinion here:

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I'm out of quarantine. But 'normal' isn't normal in China anymore