Vladimir Putin still working remotely during coronavirus pandemic

MOSCOW — spokesman for Vlimir Putin says Russian president will continue working remotely for at least ar week amid coronavirus pandemic.

Dmitry Peskov said on state television Putin and people who work with him are being tested regularly.

Russia’s coronavirus task force says number of infections in country was 5,389, which is up almost 700 than previous day. re have been 45 deaths recorded.

___

ROME — Rome’s main hospital for treating COVID-19 infections says more patients were discharged than mitted for first time since Italy’s outbreak began.

Spallanzani Hospital’s daily bulletin on coronavirus cases was ar positive sign that Italy’s rigid lockdown measures have apparently slowed contagion. lockdown has been four weeks w.

Health authorities in Lombardy said last week overwhelmed hospitals were starting to feel some relief. rrn region has more than half of Italy’s 15,000 deaths.

Spallanzani h treated first kwn COVID-19 cases in Italy, which was a vacationing Chinese couple who fell sick in late January. y were discharged last month.

___

PARIS — An Airbus plane has traveled from China to France and returned with a cargo of 4 million face masks.

European multinational said in a statement that flight landing in France on Sunday morning was its third such mission between China and France.

Airbus says it is continuing “to purchase and supply millions of face masks from China.”

It ded large majority of masks will be donated to governments of Airbus home countries, which are predominately France, Germany, Spain and U.K.

___

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s military troops and police personnel are performing musical programs to boost mental health of citizens under lockdown during coronavirus pandemic.

programs cater to people living in apartments who can't leave due to curfew. Music bands go to each of apartments and perform on a makeshift st.

Sri Lanka has been under a countrywide curfew since March 20. Police are strictly imposing curfew. re have been 13,716 people arrested for violating curfew and 3,423 vehicles seized.

Curfew will be lifted for eight hours in 19 districts on Monday to allow people to buy food and or essentials. curfew in six or districts which have been identified as high-risk areas will continue indefinitely.

Five people have died due to virus in Sri Lanka and total number of confirmed cases are at 166.

___

JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN — Officials in South Sudan say country has recorded its first case of COVID-19. It makes it 51st of Africa’s 54 countries to have disease.

First Vice President Riek Machar and U.N. mission in South Sudan confirmed positive case of a U.N. worker who arrived in country from Nerlands on Feb. 28.

Officials say patient is a 29-year-old woman who is in quarantine and recovering.

South Sudan has 11 million people but Machar says country currently has four ventilators. South Sudan has alrey imposed a night curfew and closed its borders to combat spre of coronavirus.

___

PRAGUE — More than 300 pilots in Czech Republic have joined forces in a group of volunteers who use ir private planes to distribute medical equipment all across country.

“Pilots to People” project is meant to help state authorities fighting epidemic of coronavirus “to deliver supplies to any place in country as soon as possible.”

service is offered free of charge and pilots pay for gas. re’s a network of some 200 airports in country y can use, making it possible to efficiently serve entire country.

group says ir goal is to transport material to any hospital, clinic or any or place where it’s needed in within two hours.

Dan Stastny, one of founders of project told Associated Press on Sunday. that besides speed, y "can land at any sort of airstrip for ultralight planes which is a great vant.”

volunteers mostly include amateurs, sport and small planes pilots.

___

BANGKOK — A Muslim separatist group in Thailand has anunced it is suspending guerrilla activity to facilitate humanitarian access during COVID-19 crisis.

Barisan Revolusi Nasional says in a statement posted Sunday on its Facebook p that it was acting “in order to create a safer and more suitable environment ... for health care ncies and or organizations tasked with preventing and containing outbreak of Coronavirus.”

It says its suspension will remain in effect as long as group is t attacked by government forces.

group, generally kwn as BRN, has been leing a loose alliance fighting for automy for Thailand’s three sournmost provinces, only ones with Muslim majorities in predominantly Buddhist nation. About 7,000 people have been killed since conflict flared up in 2004.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that warring parties in 11 countries h responded positively to his appeal for a global cease-fire to tackle coronavirus pandemic.

___

ANS, Greece — Greece has put a migrant facility outside Ans on lockdown for 14 days after a 53-year-old Afghan developed coronavirus symptoms Saturday afteron.

Authorities say man has been taken to an Ans hospital and is under “full medical evaluation.” y have t specified seriousness of his condition.

lockdown began Sunday morning. facility is called an “open” one in official parlance, meaning migrants re could leave and enter as y wished.

re are about 2,500 migrants living re, t all of whom are registered, according to Mihalis Hassiotis, a municipal councillor of Oropos, a town rth of Ans where facility is located.

migrants stay in containers in crowded conditions. Hassiotis says facility was designed initially for 500 and expanded over years.

___

MRID — rate of coronavirus outbreak continues to slow in Spain, country with second most infections behind United States.

Spain recorded 6,023 confirmed new infections on Sunday, taking national tally to 130,759. That is down from an increase of 7,026 infections in previous 24-hour period, confirming downward tendency of past week.

Confirmed new deaths also dropped to 674 fatalities, taking national tally to 12,418. That is first time new deaths have fallen below 800 new fatalities in past week.

As its outbreak loses steam, Spain’s government has started to cautiously consider when it can start to reactivate an ecomy that has been shut down and put hundreds of thousands out of work.

“We are starting to see light at end of tunnel,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told nation Saturday.

But to get re, Sánchez anunced that he would ask Parliament to extend state of emergency by two more weeks, taking lockdown on mobility until April 26. He ded that a team of experts is also studying how to plan for a grual loosening of restrictions to reactive country’s dormant ecomy and social life.

___

HAGUE, Nerlands — A Dutch military transport plane carrying a mobile field hospital me up of six intensive care beds is on its way to Caribbean nation of Sint Maarten to help fight coronavirus.

Dutch government says C-17 plane that left a military airbase in Eindhoven early Sunday morning was also carrying equipment to set up a furr six IC beds in semi-automous nation’s hospital, along with protective gear and medicines.

Dutch State Secretary for Health Paul Blokhuis says country is closely cooperating with Sint Maarten and or Caribbean islands that make up part of Kingdom of Nerlands “to rein in spre of corona as much as possible and at same time provide best care possible for corona patients.”

According to figures released April 2 by government of Sint Maarten, 23 people have tested positive and two people have died in outbreak. half-island nation has a population of some 41,000.