Coronavirus wrap | Angola coronavirus lockdown defied, destruction of clinic in Ivory Coast, and UN warns on violence against women

Keeping you up to date on the latest novel coronavirus (Covid-19) news from around the world.

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Days after the Angolan government declared a state of emergency and imposed restrictions on 26 March because of coronavirus, crowds continue to mass at markets, in front of shops or by water points in Luanda.

Under the restrictions, President Joao Lourenco has banned travel, meetings and public activities as the country reported 10 infections with two deaths.

"The situation demands... sacrifices from all citizens, whose rights and professional and social life will have to be restricted," Lourenco said in a televised speech last week.

But for the poor of the oil-rich country, earning a living is a higher priority.

"How can anyone stay home without anything to eat?" asked Garcia Landu, a motorcycle taxi driver in the bustling Angolan seaside capital of Luanda.

He ventured out to try and earn a living, defying the government-ordered anti-coronavirus restrictions.

"We have responsibilities toward our families. We have to go out and get food," said Landu, sporting a helmet in the national red-and-black colours.

Residents in a working-class district of the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan on Sunday destroyed a coronavirus testing centre that was under construction, police and health ministry officials said.

Videos posted on social media, showed several dozen people dismantling the building, some of them shouting: "We don't want it!"

The incident happened in Yopougon district of the city of five million inhabitants, which is the country's commercial capital.

Locals had demonstrated against the centre because they thought it was too close to their homes and right in the middle of a residential district, one police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

A tiger at New York's Bronx Zoo has tested positive for Covid-19, the institution said on Sunday, and is believed to have contracted the virus from a caretaker who was asymptomatic at the time.

The 4-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia along with her sister Azul, two Amur tigers and three African lions all developed dry coughs and are expected to fully recover, the Wildlife Conservation Society that runs the city's zoos said in a statement.

"We tested the cat out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about Covid-19 will contribute to the world's continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus," the statement sent to AFP said.

According to the US Department of Agriculture website there had "not been reports of pets or other animals" in the United States falling ill with coronavirus prior to news of the tiger Nadia.

UN chief urges governments to protect women during coronavirus lockdown

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is urging governments around the world to include the protection of women in their response to the deadly novel coronavirus pandemic.

"Violence is not confined to the battlefield," said Guterres in a statement and a video released in multiple languages, reminiscent of his call for a ceasefire in conflicts worldwide to face the Covid-19 pandemic.

"For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest. In their own homes," Guterres said.

Soaring numbers of Covid-19 deaths in Ecuador's second city Guayaquil have led to a shortage of coffins, forcing locals to resort to using cardboard boxes, city authorities said on Sunday.

Authorities in the Pacific port city said they had received a donation of 1 000 pressed cardboard caskets from local producers, and delivered them for use in two local cemeteries.

"It's so they can meet demand," said a city hall spokesperson. "There are either no coffins in the city or they are extremely expensive."

Businessman Santiago Olivares, who owns a chain of funeral homes, said his company was unable to keep up with demand.

- AFP

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