Covid-19: US suspends travel from Brazil; Chile’s hospitals ‘close to limit’

The US has further limited travel from coronavirus hotspots by denying entry to travellers coming from Brazil – the country with the second highest number of cases after the US – from 28 May. This comes after Trump already banned travellers coming from China, Europe, the UK and Ireland.

Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera, meanwhile, said his country’s hospitals were struggling, as the number of Covid-19 cases approaches 70,000. “We are very close to the limit because we have had a very large increase in the needs and demands for medical care, and for intensive care unit beds and ventilators,” Pinera said.

Other nations have emerged from lockdown, including Japan, which has lifted its state of emergency. India has restarted domestic flights and Australia has sent children back to school.

Elsewhere, migrant workers in Singapore have spent the Eid holiday in quarantine, while China has reported 11 new coronavirus cases. South Africa has announced it will lift its ban on the sale of alcohol in June; and New Zealand has announced groups of up to 100 could gather from Friday.

As certain countries adapt their approach to lifting lockdown, the world watches to see the impact different measures have on flattening the growth curve of new coronavirus cases or reducing the number of such cases. With medical resources stretched in many parts of the world, lockdown will certainly only be eased with caution, and we’ll continue to learn from each other’s experiences.