COVID-19 update, worldwide

This 6 May 2020 video from the USA says about itself:

David Sirota on Amazon‘s Campaign to Bury Internal Workers’ Movement

Status Coup’s Jordan Chariton speaks with journalist David Sirota about his new report on Amazon lobbying the Trump administration to stop a shareholders vote on protecting workers with PPE amid the coronavirus pandemic.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain, 7 May 2020:

Labour MP sacked from care home for raising PPE concerns

Nadia Whittome revealed on Wednesday night that she had been “asked not to return” to work by charitable trust ExtraCare.

LABOUR MP Nadia Whittome has claimed she was sacked from her temporary role as a carer during the coronavirus pandemic after speaking out about personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages.

The Nottingham East MP, who at 24 is the youngest in Parliament, revealed on Wednesday night that she had been “asked not to return” to work by charitable trust ExtraCare.

She had returned to her former role at Lark Hill retirement village, which is run by the trust, to help relieve strain on the care service.

By Ceren Sagir in Britain, 7 May 2020:

Anti-racists warn against easing lockdown as new data shows disproportionate impact on black men and women

ANTI-RACISM campaigners warned against a premature end to the lockdown today after official figures revealed that black people are over four times more likely to die from coronavirus.

The government’s “stay at home” approach to tackling the pandemic is expected to be modified on Sunday, with a possible easing of lockdown restrictions and a winding-down of its furlough scheme subsidising the pay of laid-off workers.

Anti-racist campaigners are demanding that the lockdown continues, given that the infection rate and daily number of deaths remain high. Britain has now recorded more than 30,000 deaths from coronavirus, the worst toll of any European country.

Italian statistics agency reveals real coronavirus death toll is higher by 12,000. By Will Morrow, 7 May 2020. Even as the coronavirus pandemic’s scale is being covered up, Italian authorities have begun a full re-opening of the economy that will kill tens of thousands.

German auto companies demand even more state money. By Ulrich Rippert, 7 May 2020. Along with hunting for government stimulus packages, the auto companies are ramping up production again despite the dangers to workers’ health and lives.

The back-to-work campaign in Germany and the resurgence of the far right. By Christoph Vandreier, 7 May 2020. With its criminal back-to-work campaign, the German government is accepting the deaths of millions of workers in order to secure the profits of the rich and continue the bonanza in the financial markets.

Garment workers’ protests hit Bangladesh industrial belts. By Wimal Perera, 7 May 2020. Bangladesh garment industry bosses are reopening plants, threatening workers’ lives as COVID-19 spreads, in line with the demands of US and European retailers.

More than sixty COVID-19 cases linked to Australian abattoir outbreak. By Martin Scott, 7 May 2020. Workers were not tested until more than three weeks after the first confirmed case at the Melbourne facility.