“I am seeing people die in less than a week – young patients unresponsive to treatment. You administer oxygen, do all the mechanics – turn them face down, face up – but it doesn’t work. Then there are other patients whose oxygenation level is not so bad – but they die anyway,” Edul says.

A devastating second wave of Covid cases has caught Argentina off-guard, with relaxed restrictions and a low vaccination rate. Cases have risen from a daily total of about 5,000 in early March to a record 35,000 this week, while deaths surged from 112 at the start of March to a record 744 on Tuesday. On Wednesday daily contagions set a new record, just under 40,000 cases, while deaths dropped to 494.

The figures put the country third in daily cases after India and Brazil, and fourth in Covid deaths, after India, Brazil and the US.

Relative to population, Argentina now has the highest number of Covid deaths per day in the world, with 16.46 Covid fatalities per million on Tuesday, far exceeding its giant neighbour Brazil, which saw 11.82 per million.

Source: ‘People die in less than a week’: Covid wave catches Argentina off-guard | Global development | The Guardian

Lee Evans, center, crosses the finish line of the men’s 400-meter final in the 1968 Summer Olympics just ahead of Larry James, right, and Ronald Freeman, rear. (-/AFP via Getty Images)Source: Lee Evans, 400-meter champion in racially charged 1968 Olympics, dies at 74 – The Washington Post

Source: Facebook won’t take down AIPAC ad targeting Rep. Ilhan Omar – The Washington Post

“The state of Iowa is putting parents back in control of their child’s education and taking greater steps to protect the rights of all Iowans to make their own healthcare decisions,” Reynolds said in a statement. “I am proud to be a governor of a state that values personal responsibility and individual liberties. I want to thank the Iowa Legislature for their quick work in bringing this bill to my desk so that it can be signed into law.”Source: Iowa bans mask mandates as issue grows more political | CIDRAP

On May 20, the world marks the fourth annual World Bee Day via a virtual event hosted by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, guided by the theme “Bee engaged—Build Back Better for Bees.” Bees play an important role in pollination, a process that is critical to the survival of ecosystems, biodiversity, food security and sustainability, and they have been under threat at rates 100 to 1,000 times higher than normal because of habitat loss and other human impacts, including the climate crisis. Unsustainable agricultural approaches like monoculture and the damaging effects of pesticides have greatly harmed the world’s bee population. This year’s event aims to achieve global awareness of the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened food insecurity, while advocating for ways in which to regenerate the environment and protect these vital pollinators.

Source: ‘Support your local beekeeper’: Caribbean concerns on World Bee Day · Global Voices

Since April, Tunisia has faced a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. The Ministry of Health described the health situation as “very dangerous” with hospitals being at almost full capacity. To flatten the curve, the authorities—again—announced new containment measures that include a national curfew, school closure, travel restrictions. But few believe it will be enough.

Unlike wealthy countries, there are no relief schemes to support workers and businesses to stay afloat. With unemployment already high and the cost of living skyrocketing, the most vulnerable have barely received ad-hoc small state assistance, and people are left to fend for themselves to survive. Therefore, the prospect of catching the virus is less of a concern than the necessity of carrying on and making a living.

Though Tunisia imposed a stringent lockdown at the onset of the pandemic and for a while kept the spread of the virus low at a high price for the economy, there is now a wide feeling of powerlessness and fatigue. “If I don’t go out and work who is going to give me money?” asked Salah, a Tunisian builder who, like the majority of workers, relies on daily earnings.

Source: Tunisians left to themselves to fight COVID-19 · Global Voices