Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BANGKOK (AP) — Beijing will open public parks to visitors over the five-day May 1 holiday but at 30% capacity as coronavirus cases subside in the country where the pandemic began. Large-scale group activities will be put on hold and visitors will have to book tickets online. Beijing has lowered its level of emergency response to the virus, but temperature checks and social distancing remain in force. Key tourist sites such as the ancient Forbidden City, past home to China’s emperors, remain closed to the public.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is speculating that China could have unleashed the coronavirus on the world due to some kind of horrible “mistake." And his intelligence agencies say they are still examining a notion put forward by the president and aides that the pandemic may have resulted from an accident at a Chinese lab. Scientists suggest the virus spread from an animal to a human. The intel agencies did debunk one conspiracy theory, saying they have concluded the new virus was “not manmade or genetically modified." China said speculation such as Trump's is unfounded and “purely fabricated out of nothing.”
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala says a planeload of 89 Guatemalan deportees that arrived Thursday all tested negative for the coronavirus before boarding their flight from Texas. The major change in how the U.S. handles its deportation flights to Guatemala comes after two weeks in which Guatemala refused to accept more flights. Guatemala’s foreign ministry says Thursday’s flight does not signify that flights have officially resumed and it does not know when there will be another one, perhaps suggesting it is a test. Guatemala's government suspended the flights after at least 44 deportees on an April 13 flight from Louisiana tested positive for the virus.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump administration has suspended immigration court hearings for asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico through June 1, bowing to coronavirus concerns. The move also extends a state of limbo for those locked down in Mexican migrant shelters. The “Remain in Mexico” policy has become a key pillar of the administration’s response to an unprecedented surge of asylum-seeking families at the border. The policy has drawn criticism for forcing people to wait in highly dangerous Mexican cities. The Justice Department estimated in late February that there were 25,000 people waiting in Mexico for hearings in U.S. court.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico is taking its first tentative steps in relaxing a nearly two-month lockdown for the coronavirus pandemic, while health officials warn that the U.S. territory is relying on faulty statistics and has not yet seen its peak of cases. Gov. Wanda Vázquez announced Thursday night that starting Monday certain sectors including finance, construction and manufacturing will reopen. Other businesses also allowed to reopen on weekdays include laundromats, moving services and those that repair elevators and air conditioning units. The retail trade, barbershops and beauty salons will be allowed to operate beginning in mid to late March. The lockdown for everyone else is being extended until May 25.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
