Coronavirus threatens world with ‘humanitarian disaster’, warns UN

A cemetery built for the victims of the coronavirus in Manaus, Brazil, April 21, 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic risks doubling the number of people at risk of starvation worldwide and causing a worldwide "humanitarian disaster" due to its devastating economic repercussions, the World Food Program (WFP) has warned. , a UN agency.

While the disease has killed more than 174,000 people worldwide since its appearance in China in December, according to a report established Tuesday by AFP, the WFP has raised a cry of alarm about its consequences in terms of food.

"The number of severely hungry people could double due to the Covid-19 pandemic, reaching more than 250 million by the end of 2020," the UN agency warned, citing the risk of 'a "global humanitarian disaster".

Symbol of the economic upheavals caused by the pandemic, the price of a barrel of American oil passed Monday into negative territory, reaching minus 38 dollars, before returning to above zero at the close on Tuesday.

American oil rebound

On Wednesday, however, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in June jumped more than 18% in early trade in Asia.

The general slowdown of the global economies due to the pandemic, with cars in the garage and number of factories stopped, caused an overabundance of oil which forced black gold brokers to pay to get rid of barrels they had committed to buy.

In the United States, which has become the leading oil producer but whose extraction costs are high, this historic collapse threatens the entire sector, and has led President Donald Trump to ask his administration to set up a safeguard plan. .

The International Labor Organization (ILO) warned on Tuesday: "The Covid-19 crisis is having a devastating effect on workers and employers", through "massive losses in production and jobs across all sectors ".

"The world of work is going through the worst international crisis since the Second World War," said Alette van Leur, director of sectoral policies at the ILO. "The economic impact of the pandemic is likely to be severe and lasting."

In Europe, the economic slowdown caused by the virus could ultimately affect the jobs of 60 million workers, between cut wages and layoffs, warned Tuesday the research firm McKinsey.

Devastating effects on employment

The pandemic could "almost double the European unemployment rate in the coming months," said the American consultancy.

And a UN agency based in Chile estimated Tuesday that Latin America will experience this year the worst recession in its history, with an expected fall of 5.3% of the GDP because of the consequences of the pandemic on the economies of the region.

Faced with what he called "the invisible enemy" of the coronavirus, President Donald Trump announced on Monday evening his intention to "temporarily suspend" immigration to the United States to "protect American jobs".

Trump said Tuesday he will sign a 60-day "break" order issuing green cards that offer permanent resident status. This measure will not apply to temporary work visas.

The world's largest economy - the most affected country, which still recorded one of the worst daily reports on Tuesday with more than 2,700 deaths in 24 hours - has 22 million new unemployed registered because of the crisis.

New American aid plan

The US Senate unanimously adopted a new $ 500 billion aid plan on Tuesday, $ 320 billion of which will go to support SMEs hard hit by the crisis. Some 60 billion will go to other impacted sectors, notably agriculture. The House of Representatives must now decide on this text.

At least 4.5 billion people in 110 countries or territories now live confined or forced to limit their movement in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus, or about 58% of the world population.

In Europe, several countries - Germany in the lead, but also Austria, Norway, Denmark - have started to relax containment measures, while retaining measures of "social distancing".

Berlin and ten of the 16 German federal states have decided to impose the wearing of masks on public transport. Bars, restaurants, cultural places, sports grounds remain closed. Schools and high schools will gradually reopen.

"Going too fast would be a mistake," said Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Echoing these concerns, the famous German beer festival in Munich, scheduled this year from September 19 to October 4, was canceled on Tuesday by local authorities. "The risks were simply too high" with more than 6 million visitors expected, a third of whom came from abroad and from Asia in particular.

In Spain, the city of Pamplona announced Tuesday that it was canceling its famous San Fermin celebrations, the release of bulls usually attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists in early July. "There is no other possible option for such massive and international celebrations," the town hall said in a statement.

On the European continent, Italy is the most affected country (24,648 deaths), followed by Spain (21,282), France (20,796) and the United Kingdom (17,337), according to the assessment established by AFP from official sources Tuesday at 19:00 GMT.

Slow deconfinements

Both Italy and France are preparing a slow deconfinement, with great precautions, respectively from May 3 and 11. In Spain, children, hitherto banned from going out, can from Monday accompany an adult to do basic necessities.

In contrast, in the United Kingdom, which on Tuesday registered 828 additional deaths and is still "in danger", the confinement introduced on March 23 was extended by at least three weeks.