The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.
TOP OF THE HOUR:
— Some countries and US states move to ease virus lockdowns.
— Nearly 900 Russian military servicemen have tested positive for the new coronavirus.
— Czech Republic begins next phase of relaxing virus restrictions.
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MOSCOW — A total of 874 servicemen in the Russian military have tested positive for the new coronavirus since March, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday. Almost half of them — 379 people — are isolated at home; others are being treated in various medical facilities. Four people are in grave condition, including one on a ventilator.
Russia has so far reported 80,949 confirmed cases of the virus and 747 deaths. The vast majority of the country’s regions have been on lockdown since late March, with only essential businesses — grocery shops, pharmacies, banks — operating and people ordered to stay at home.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin indefinitely postponed the traditional May 9 military parade marking the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II because of the growing outbreak.
Military units have already rehearsed the parade — footage of these rehearsals showed hundreds of servicemen drilling outside Moscow without observing social distancing. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the military had their own isolation and distancing protocols which allowed them more freedom.
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PRAGUE — The Czech Republic has entered another phase of relaxing restrictive measures adopted to contain the coronavirus pandemic, opening stores with a surface of up to 2,500 sq. meters (26,900 sq. feet).
At the same time, the zoo and botanical parks, fitness centers and driving schools are back to business. Public gatherings of up to 10 people are allowed, up from two.
The government rules on social distancing and mandatory face masks remain in place.
In a boost for the economy, the three Czech plants of Skoda Auto that belong to Germany’s carmaker Volkswagen renewed production on Monday. The company employs some 34,000 jobs.
One person died of COVID-19 on Sunday for a total of 221, while 73 patients with the disease needed intensive care in hospitals, the second lowest number from April 1.
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BANGKOK — Thai health authorities have reported the country’s lowest number of new cases of COVID-19 in almost six weeks, as the government considers easing some restrictions imposed to control the spread of the disease.
Nine new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported Monday, the smallest single-day increase since March 14. There are now a total of 2,931 cases, with 2,609 recoveries and 52 deaths.
The Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration says that a proposal will be submitted to the Cabinet on Tuesday for easing restrictions according to suggestions from the National Economic and Social Development Board, the state planning agency.
Measures currently in place include a nationwide 10 p.m.-4 a.m. curfew, the closure of malls, and restaurants being restricted to takeout and delivery service. A ban on incoming international commercial passenger flights was extended Monday through the end of May.
The center says a state of emergency will be extended through May, allowing the government to continue implementing measures outside the normal legal framework to combat COVID-19.
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CANBERRA, Australia — Australian officials are pleased that more than 1 million people have downloaded an app designed to accelerate contact tracing for coronavirus despite some privacy concerns.
Within 12 hours of the Australian-developed COVIDsafe app becoming available late Sunday, 1.13 million of Australia’s 26 million population had downloaded it onto their smart phones.
Chief Health Officer Damian Murphy said Monday he was “really excited” by the app’s early popularity.
Government officials intend to rush legislation through Parliament to outlaw use of collected data for purposes other than tracing people who might have COVID-19. Officials have also promised to release the app’s source code within two weeks so that independent analysts can better understand how to works and its privacy implications.
The government says at least 40% of the Australian population needs to take up the technology based on Singapore’s TraceTogether app for it to be effective.
If users of COVIDsafe are diagnosed with the virus, they can upload the app’s encrypted data logs which identify other users who have been in close proximity for 15 minutes or more in the previous three week.
The government hopes the app will enable Australia to safely reopen the economy by enabling health officials to quickly identify and contain new outbreaks. Australia will resume non-urgent surgeries this week for the first time since March 27 as confidence grows that hospitals won’t be overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases.
Australia has recorded 6,720 cases of the virus, 83 patients have died and 27 remained critically ill in hospitals on ventilators on Monday.
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TOKYO — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that his country is adding 14 more countries, including Russia, Peru and Saudi Arabia, to the entry ban list as the country steps up border control as the coronavirus infections continued to spread in the country.
Japan has already banned entry from more than 70 other countries, banning foreigners with records of visiting those countries in the past two weeks, while invalidating visas for the rest of the world. The additional step on the 14 countries will take effect Wednesday, Abe said.
The entry ban and the visa restrictions, initially set to end on April 30, are extended until the end of May.
Japan is now under a month-long state of emergency through May 6, for now. Officials and experts are now gauging its effect and whether to extend the measure.
Japan has 13,385 confirmed cases, as well as 712 others from a cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo earlier this year, with 364 deaths, according to the health ministry.
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Follow AP news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
