Coronavirus pandemic worldwide news

This 30 April 2020 video says about itself:

Italian health workers take action on International Workers Memorial Day

Yet another participant in the coronavirus global day of action on International Workers Memorial Day – this action by health workers is from the militant rank and file union Si COBAS in Italy.

Translated from Dutch NOS radio today:

‘Social distancing in online supermarkets distribution centers is impossible’

Migrant workers who work in distribution centres of online supermarkets are at high risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus. This is evident from research by the Investico journalism platform, De Groene Amsterdammer weekly and VPRO radio program Argos.

Conversations with, eg, thirty employees of online distribution centres of Albert Heijn and Jumbo show that they cannot keep enough distance during their work. This is due to the high demand for groceries and the tight layout of the warehouses. Because the migrant workers are housed together, travel to work together and continue working when they are sick, the contagion risks only increase.

Sixty-eight Amazon workers fall ill with COVID-19 at Winsen, Germany warehouse. By Marianne Arens, 1 May 2020. While Amazon has profited massively from the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of its workers throughout the world have become infected with COVID-19.

From the World Socialist Web Site, 1 May 2020:

Protest by Greek hospitality workers demands personal protective equipment

Hospitality and food workers held a strike and protest in the Greek capital, Athens, on Tuesday. They marched to the Greek parliament where they held a rally. They were demanding the conservative New Democracy government provide personal protective equipment (PPE) against the coronavirus pandemic. Their other demands were for improved pay and job security. …

Strike threat by French teachers ahead of return to work

The French teachers’ union Fnec FP-FO issued a strike notice prior to the planned reopening of schools in France on May 11. The notice, which runs until May 30, calls on the Macron government to provide PPE and measures to protect against COVID-19 infection.

While a call to support the strike gathered signatures of over 40,000 teachers, the union is attempting to pressure the government to bring in safeguarding measures …

The CGT union [federation] has similarly issued a strike notice covering 85,000 French workers calling for protective measures to be brought in prior to a return work.

German doctors protest online over PPE

German general practitioner (GP) doctors held an online protest over the lack of PPE in the current COVID-19 epidemic. The doctors posed online in various states of undress, meant to symbolise how exposed they feel.

Their online campaign said, “In order to safely treat you, we and our team need protective equipment.” At the beginning of the month, two organisations representing GPs issued statements calling on the German government to supply adequate PPE. …

…

Minute’s silence for Israeli nurse, COVID-19 victim

Health care staff across Israel held a minute’s silence on Monday to honour Israel’s first health worker to become a victim of COVID-19. Suzy Levi, 65, died on April 26. She had worked as a nurse for more than 40 years. Prior to her death she had been working on a COVID-19 ward at Sheba hospital.

The head of Israel’s National Union of Nurses told Israeli news website Davar, “This illustrates once more that nurses are on the front lines. Suzy and her colleagues are there to answer the call. In the beginning they weren’t protected, they were told they didn’t need masks, yet today people are fined for not wearing masks.” …

She continued, “Medical teams should have shouted out that there was no protection.” …

Zimbabwe nurses’ wildcat strike for PPE at infectious disease hospital

Nurses at Zimbabwe’s Beatrice Road Infectious Diseases Hospital walked out in wildcat action Tuesday demanding risk allowances and PPE.

The Z$100 a day allowance and PPE had not materialised six weeks after the government’s promise. An anonymous worker said they would stay out until their demands were met, including subsidised mealie meal and a promised food hamper. …

Zimbabwe now has 40 coronavirus infections and four fatalities.

Zimbabwe nurses oppose return to normal working hours that would increase their exposure to coronavirus

Zimbabwe nurses are protesting the provincial health director imposing a return to normal working hours at the Marondera Provincial Hospital.

The Zimbabwe Professional Nurses Union (ZPNU) members oppose management ending a flexible working 12-hour day, two days a week, introduced to reduce travel time. With inflation hitting 700 percent, workers could not afford to travel to work.

Returning to normal shift patterns will increase nurses’ exposure to coronavirus because they lack PPE.

Zimbabwe is facing the pandemic combined with a water shortage—with some residents of Bulawayo going a week without water. Residents have appealed to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who now prefers to be called His Excellency, for the shortage to be designated a national disaster.

“The central and state governments, as well as the opposition parties, don’t really care for human lives”. Tamil Nadu auto workers denounce Indian government responses to COVID-19. By Sasi Kumar and Moses Rajkumar, 1 May 2020. Millions of workers, particularly those in the so-called informal sector, have been left without any income to purchase food and other basic items.

Quebec workers denounce government’s rush to “reopen” the economy amid raging COVID-19 pandemic. By Laurent Lafrance, 1 May 2020. “We are being sent out to babysit so that business can make profits on the backs of working people,” a Montreal teacher told the WSWS.

Australian governments rushing to reverse lockdown measures. By Oscar Grenfell, 1 May 2020. Official modelling openly acknowledges that the policies being pursued by governments will result in a “higher number of cases, hospitalisations and deaths.”