Pubs and bars could be re-open from July, the Environment Secretary, George Eustice has claimed.

Mr Eustice said that he is hopeful the hospitality industry and the pub sector will be able to open "during the month of July, subject to science.

He said the Government is "already working with the hospitality and pub sector to identify what social distancing measures" might be able to put in place to make service possible.

His comments come just a day after Bella Italia, Las Iguanas and Cafe Rouge owners announced plans to contact administrators after two months of coronavirus lockdown.

The Environment Secretary said the Prime Minister has outline a plan to get pubs and restaurants opening "tentatively" during the month of July.

He said: "As the Prime Minister has outlined, we intend that the hospitality sector, including pubs, would be able to tentatively start gradually opening hopefully during the month of July - subject to the epidemiology supporting such a move."

Bella Italia, Las Iguanas and Cafe Rouge are just the latest high street restaurant staples facing difficulties as a result of the crisis.

The owners of restaurants Frankie & Bennys and Chiquito have announced more than 100 branches will close across the UK.

It has earmarked 42 sites which it plans to close, in addition to another 76 Frankie & Bennys sites it identified earlier this year.

It is estimated that thousands will be out of a job by the time Britain begins to see a glance of the "new normal" and hospitality workers have been urged to find jobs at Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's in the meantime.

The Environment Secretary also highlighted the agricultural fruit-picking scheme, as only a third of the usual European fruit-picking workforce will be available to work in the UK as a result of the virus.

Shadow Environment Minister, Daniel Zeichner, said: "The foolish dismantling of the seasonal agricultural workers scheme, now made worse by the Covid crisis, means we're facing an alarming shortfall in the experienced 70,000 people needed to pick our crops."

Mr Eustice said: "We estimate that probably only about a third of the usual East European workforce that would come to work on our farms is either here or in some cases has continued to come.

"That means that this year we will need a British workforce to step up and assist in getting the harvest in this year and we're very encouraged by results so far."

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Pubs and restaurants to 'hopefully' reopen in July, Cabinet minister says - Daily Star

Incoming Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Monday that, in addition to preparing the countrys security for the future, he intends to work towards implementation of all aspects of the Trump administration peace plan for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But Gantz stopped short of specifically endorsing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus stated plan to swiftly, and unilaterally, implement a controversial clause of the plan annexation of parts of the West Bank that the Palestinians want for a future state.

Most other members of the international community, especially Europe and the Arab world, vociferously oppose Netanyahus plan to unilaterally apply sovereignty over the entire Jordan Valley and Israeli settlements across the West Bank.

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And Gantz is also believed to oppose unilateral annexation that could seriously hurt Israels relations with numerous countries, including neighbor Jordan.

Channel 13 news reported Monday that Gantz and ally Gabi Ashkenazi, the new foreign minister, voiced reservations about annexation in their talks last week with visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

At a changing-of-the-guard ceremony, where he formally replaced outgoing defense minister Naftali Bennett, Gantz said that striving for peace has always been an important part of the Zionist spirit.

Alongside this and for its sake, we will maintain our strength, to seize regional opportunities in general, and to advance the US government and US President Trumps peace plan and everything it contains, Gantz told those gathered at the ceremony held in Tel Avivs Kirya military headquarters, where the ministry is located.

Gantz also said he intends to lead a multi-year program to enable the IDF and the defense community to deal with current threats and future challenges.

Passing the baton to Gantz, Bennett urged him not to let up in the campaign against Irans military presence in Syria.

Though Iran has begun a process of withdrawal from Syria, the work needs to be completed. Weve increased the number of attacks against Iranian forces and the Quds Force in Syria, he said.

Bennett, who is now headed for the opposition, after being left out of the new government, added: We cant let up on Iran for a moment. We must increase the diplomatic, economic, military, and technological pressure, and act in other dimensions.

Bennett, who had been defense minister since November last year, also urged securing the remains of two IDF soldiers held by the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.

Serving as defense minister was a great privilege, Bennett said. I have now finished. Benny, continue from here.

Gantzs remarks aligned with those of new Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, who at his own installment ceremony earlier in the day also expressed his support for the Trump plan, without endorsing Netanyahus annexation intentions.

Ashkenazi, a member of Gantzs Blue and White party, called the US administrations plan a historic opportunity to shape Israels borders.

Were facing significant regional opportunities, primarily President [Donald] Trumps peace initiative. I consider this plan a significant milestone, he said at a modest ceremony at a Foreign Ministry conference room in Jerusalem. President Trump presented us with a historic opportunity to shape the future of the State of Israel and its boundaries for decades to come.

Incoming Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, right, with his predecessor, incoming Finance Minister Israel Katz, at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, May 18, 2020. (Foreign Ministry)

According to the coalition agreement signed between Netanyahus Likud party and Gantzs Blue and White slate, the prime minister can bring the annexation plan to a vote in the Knesset or the cabinet as soon as July 1. If he secures Knesset approval, he can move forward with the plan even without Blue and Whites support.

Annexation will be advanced in coordination with the US and international dialogue on the issue, while pursuing the security and strategic interests of the State of Israel, including the need for maintaining regional stability, maintaining peace agreements and striving for future peace agreements, the coalition pact states.

Bennett lost the defense minister post in the coalition deal, and chose to take his Yamina party into the opposition, rather than accept a minor ministry.

Earlier in the day, Gantz tapped former Air Force commander Amir Eshel to take over as director-general of his ministry, succeeding Udi Adam who has served in the position for the past four years.

Eshel, a close confidant of the former IDF chief of staff-turned-politician, will enter the position in the coming days, Gantzs office said in a statement.

Former head of the air force, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Eshel speaks at the Institute for National Security Studies conference in Tel Aviv on January 28, 2019. (INSS)

Adam, who has served in the position since 2016, said he will stay on a bit longer to prepare Eshel.

I am ending my four-year tenure with a feeling of satisfaction from seeing through a number of processes, which contributed and are contributing to the State of Israel and will continue to contribute to the resilience of the IDF, said Adam, who previously served as an IDF general and the director of Israels nuclear facility in Dimona.

Gantz thanked Adam for his service, noting his many accomplishments during his four-year tenure.

I am full of appreciation for the way he managed and manages the ministry and the achievements he has achieved, Gantz said.

During his tenure, Adam oversaw a major expansion of Israels defense exports, reaching a peak of $9 billion last year, according to the ministry.

Adam dramatically improved the preparedness of the Defense Ministry for emergencies. Some of these processes came to bear in the Defense Ministrys response to the coronavirus crisis, the ministry said.

Defense Ministry Director General Udi Adam. (Flash90)

Adam was appointed to the position of director-general under then-defense minister Moshe Yaalon. He stayed on under Yaalons successors: Avigdor Liberman, Benjamin Netanyahu and Naftali Bennett.

Eshel served as the head of the Israeli Air Force from 2012 to 2017, commanding it during the militarys 2012 and 2014 operations against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip, while Gantz was IDF chief of staff.

After retiring from the military, Eshel continued to advise Gantz, accompanying him to the United States earlier this year, during the unveiling of Trumps plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Taking Defense Ministry, Gantz says will promote all aspects of Trump peace plan - The Times of Israel

Just about every product and machine we come in contact with uses electricity. To keep us safe, almost all of them have built-in safety features, especially those on the factory floor. Technicians, maintenance crews, supervisors and managers must be protected from injury due to moving parts, high temperatures, shocks and other electricity-related hazards.

Designers have a host of methods to address electrical safety issues.

When it comes to industrial electrical safety, the best offense can be a good defense. In other words, if there were a way to keep people away from dangerous electrical equipment, it would lower the chances of anyone getting hurt. One simple way to do this is to keep risky equipment secure in an enclosure. Enclosures prevent injuries, along with inadvertent tampering and vandalism.

Most automated and factory equipment requires electrical enclosures, sometimes called control enclosures. They keep moisture, dust and contaminants away from electrical and automation components. They also keep workers from getting too close to electrical components. Enclosures are best located so they do not impede traffic and arent in crowded areas.

Properly selected enclosures protect automation and electrical components inside and keep workers away from hazards.AutomationDirect

Eventually, someone will need to get inside the enclosure. That could be maintenance technicians making annual checks and upgrades or inspectors looking things over. So, inside the enclosure, engineers should choose components and assemblies with guards, shields and other devices to stop visitors from touching energized components. Components should be laid out so theres enough working room and adequate airflow. Wires should be neatly routed using wire ducts so that wires and workers are protected.

On equipment itself with moving parts, hot surfaces, or other physical hazards, the best approach providing physical barriers or guards to contain those hazards. Of course, any guard can be defeated by removal, so plant managers should also use non-contact or interlock safety switches that make it difficult to bypass. And if the guard is moved, sensors detect it and automatically have the equipment stopped and/or de-energized.

Some guards and panels must be easily movable to accommodate cleaning and replacing parts. In these cases, trapped-key interlock safety switches hold the door closed with a mechanical lock-and-key until the equipment stops and is safe to access.

Another way to physically safeguard electrical and automated equipment adds devices such as light curtains, mats, edges and bumpers. These can all be arranged around potentially dangerous equipment to detect someone approaching and stop equipment operation before the operator gets too close to the hazard.

The electrical design inside enclosures should also be safe in terms of power distribution and control circuitry. It must follow NFPA 70 National Electrical Code (NEC), which is the benchmark for safe electrical design and installation practices to protect people and property from electrical hazards. Provision and sizing of disconnect switches, overcurrent devices, conductors and associated components are all covered by the NEC.

Disconnect switches are primary electrical safety devices that isolate downstream electrical systems from upstream power. They are used in electrical switchgear, panelboards and control panels, as well as for mounting close to power-using machines such as motors. Disconnect switches can be locked open by users to ensure downstream equipment is electrically safe for maintenance or repair.

In power distribution and control panels, overcurrent devices such as circuit breakers fuses, and motor overload devices, protect downstream conductors by automatically opening a circuit when theres an overcurrent or short-circuit. This protects equipment and workers from fault conditions.

Circuit breakers, fuses and overload devices protect downstream conductors if there is an overcurrent or short-circuit. Technicians can use them to safely de-energize equipment.AutomationDirect

Surge protection is another electrical safety provision and has recently received increased attention, especially since the 2017 revision of NEC section 670.6. This added the requirement to have surge protection on industrial machinery safety interlock circuits. Electrical surges can be caused by failing equipment, utility problems, and lightning strikes, and can damage operational equipment and control circuits. Surge protective devices on safety interlock circuits help ensure safety functions operate continually and are protecting workers.

For motor-driven electrical equipment, prudent designers include devices not absolutely required but proving additional protection. For instance, phase-monitoring relays detect electrical problems such as phase loss or phase imbalance, each of which can cause hazardous operating conditions. Similarly, some equipment can be equipped with vibration, temperature, and seal leak sensors. Wiring these sensors to relays or automated switches can stop equipment if a problem is detected.

In addition to safely enclosing electrical devices and installing wiring and devices per NEC, designers can take additional steps to keep workers safe. Some of these steps are mandated by standards such as ISO 13849 Safety of Machinery, while others are simply good engineering practices.

Machinery designers must also follow ISO 13849 and perform a risk assessment to identify hazards and how to safeguard against them.

Cable-pull safety switches are particularly effective safety devices because they can span large areas of equipment and those working in the area can easily actuate them. These switches get wired into safety relay modules or more advanced safety controllers, depending on the required safety level needed. When theres no trouble, these relays and controllers let equipment operate and hold all trapped-key interlocks closed. However, if a safety sensor is triggered, the equipment is de-energized and brought to a safe state as quickly as possible.

Outside of dedicated safety circuits, designers can provide automation features to help operators efficiently and safely run equipment. These include visual and audible indicators so workers can quickly understand the operating state and condition of the equipment. Specialized indicators such as modular stack lights are a good way to provide this type of indication from a much greater distance than small control-panel lights.

Pilot devices such as switches and pushbuttons, or even human-machine interfaces (HMIs), can be combined with control wiring and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to facilitate safe startup, operation and shutdown of equipment. Careful configuration and programming of HMIs and PLCs is essential for good equipment performance and safe and efficient operator interaction with machinery.

Safety relay modules, such as these from AutomationDirect, provide engineers options for interlocking equipment to protect workers.AutomationDirect

Incorporating sufficient safety for industrial machinery and systems is never a one-and-done proposition. Some safety requirements for electrical and controls are mandated by codes and standards such as the NEC and ISO. Other safety measures are based on good engineering practices and careful consideration of how workers may interact with equipment. Designers can keep safety first for electrical and automation systems by following a layered approach that evaluates changing conditions and develops designs based on a portfolio of products to address physical, electrical and automation safety concerns.

Kevin Kakascik is a technical marketing engineer at AutomationDirect.

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Redesigned Testing Machine Set Up to Gather and Use Big Data - Machine Design

Italy will allow travel to and from abroad starting on June 3, the government announced late Friday night.

According to the decree approved by Italy's Cabinet, restrictions will also be lifted on travel within Italy meaning residents will once again be allowed to freely travel from region to region.

Read more:Which European Union countries are open for summer tourism?

Restrictions on movement within regions will end earlier on May 18. The statement stressed, however, that local and state governments can curb travel in certain areas if there is a spike in new infections.

Some regions urged Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to roll back the restrictions sooner, but Conte has pushed for a gradual rollback of restrictions to prevent a second wave.

"We're facing a calculated risk in the knowledge that the contagion curve may rise again," Conte said in a televised address. "We have to accept it otherwise we will never be able to start up again."

In Greece, all beaches in the country were reopened on the weekend (May 16 &17). According to media reports, strict regulations were observed: The distance between parasols had to be four meters and only two sunbeds per parasol were allowed. Beach bars could only to sell packaged food and not to serve alcohol. Is this a preview of summer holidays in Europe despite the coronavirus pandemic?

Since Friday (May 15), people entering North Rhine-Westphalia from other EU countries and Schengen states no longer have to go into a 14-day home quarantine. The other German states are to follow in the next few days. Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are also exempt from the quarantine regulations. This will make travel to neighbouring countries much easier.

From Saturday (May 16), Germany will again open its borders to neighboring countries France, Austria and Switzerland. There will only be random checks, and no more checks at all for Luxembourg. However, there must still be "good" reasons for crossing the border. And love is accepted as such. For example, German-Swiss couples at Lake Constance (photo) can visit each other again.

The Austrian government has announced that the border with Germany will be opened on June 15th. Tourism in Austria has been effectively suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. On May 29th, hotels and accommodation establishments in Austria will be allowed to reopen. Austrian tourism is heavily dependent on guests from Germany.

Borkum, Juist (photo) and the other East Frisian islands are happy to be able to greet tourists again, even if it's a limited surge of visitors. Since Monday (May 11), overnight stays in holiday apartments and camping sites throughout Lower Saxony are allowed again. Holidaymakers must stay at least one week. However, day tourists and hotel overnight stays are still prohibited.

Thuringians are pioneers. Weimar is the first city in Germany to reopen restaurants and cafs. Since Wednesday (May 6), people have been sitting in the sun with a coffee or beer and enjoying a step back towards normality while keeping their distance. Restaurants and hotels in the other federal states will also resume their limited operations by the end of May.

Holidaymakers might also be able to travel to the Balearic or Greek Islands in summer. "If there are very few new infections there and the medical care works, one could also think about a summer holiday in those places", the Federal Government Commissioner for Tourism, Thomas Barei, told the "Tagesspiegel" newpaper. Long-distance travel, however, was likely to be cancelled this summer.

On May 18th, the coronavirus lockdown for Bavaria's outdoor gastronomy is to end and the beer gardens will reopen. Of course under strict conditions, waiters have to wear masks, for example. On May 25th the indoor gastronomy is to follows, restaurants and cafes, with a limited number of guests. From May 30th onwards, the operation of hotels, and holiday homes in Bavaria will be allowed again.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is the first federal state to reopen to tourists from all over Germany: From May 25th they can again stay in hotels, guest houses and holiday homes. 60 percent of the bed capacity will be released for this purpose. This means that the tourist season can start with the Whitsun holidays in popular holiday regions like the Baltic Sea and the Mecklenburg Lake District.

One of Beijing's most important sights can be visited again after months of closure due to the coronavirus crisis. From Friday (May 1), visitors are allowed back into the palace complex on Tiananmen Square under strict security conditions. Instead of the previously usual 80,000 visitors, a maximum of 5,000 guests are to be admitted daily.

Germany extended on Wednesday (April 29) its worldwide travel warning due to the coronavirus crisis to at least June 14. The Federal Foreign Office said that "severe and drastic restrictions in international air and travel traffic and worldwide entry restrictions, quarantine measures and restrictions on public life in many countries can still be expected."

Gastronomes have set up empty chairs in central locations in Germany, such as here in Dsseldorf, to draw attention to their situation in the coronavirus crisis. "Without direct financial aid, most of our businesses will not survive," says Guido Zllick, President of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association. "Suppliers and partners are also increasingly being drawn deeper into economic crisis."

Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is confident that the border between Austria and Germany will soon be opened again for tourists. Both countries are on the right track in containing the spread of the coronavirus, Kurz told ARD television on Wednesday (April 22). This is the precondition for a revival of tourism. He did not name an exact date for the opening of borders.

"A normal holiday season with crowded beach bars and busy mountain huts will not be possible this summer. That would be unacceptable," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Tuesday (April 21). However, he did not rule out the possibility that borders for tourists could be reopened before the summer and that holiday travel with certain restrictions might be possible.

The Oktoberfest has been cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.Bavaria's premier Markus Sder and Munich's mayor Dieter Reiter announced the decision on Tuesday (April 21)."It pains us, and it is a great pity", said Sder. But in times of the coronavirus, the danger of infection at the folk festival, which attracts about six million visitors annually, would just be too great.

The Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Daniel Gnther, hopes that tourism on the North and Baltic Seas will be revived in the summer. Despite the coronavirus crisis, he "definitely did not write off the summer tourism business," he said on April 19. While they are now proscribed, stays in secondary residences, holiday homes and finally hotels could be made possible again in three steps.

The government resolutions (April 15th) stipulate that people in Germany should continue to refrain from making private trips. The worldwide travel warning is to be upheld. Accommodation offers are only available for necessary and explicitly non-touristic purposes. Restaurants will also remain closed. Tourism is one of the industries that has been hit hardest in the coronavirus crisis.

The entry ban imposed by the USA on foreign nationals from Europe will remain in place for the time being. Italy and Spain are still struggling with the coronavirus crisis and France has just extended measures to contain infections by the virus, US President Donald Trump said on Monday (April 13). The entry ban will remain in force until the countries show signs of improvement, Trump said.

Hotels, cafes and souvenir shops are closed. It is unusually empty outside the Royal Palace in Palma (picture). The Easter season on the Spanish holiday island of Mallorca has been cancelled. The Majorcan hotel association now fears that due to the uncertain situation in the main markets of Germany and Great Britain, some hotels will remain closed even during the peak season.

By Sunday (April, 5) 205,000 travelers had been brought back to Germany, according to the federal government.Airplanes from Peru and Colombia were the most recent to take off.More than 40,000 Germans however are still stranded abroad. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Twitter."We will continue our efforts to find solutions for the travelers who have not yet been able to return."

Thousands of foreigners stranded in New Zealand because of the coronavirus crisis will be able to leave the Pacific state from Friday (April 3). On Thursday, the New Zealand government announced that it would allow the "safe and orderly departure of tens of thousands" of stranded people. Earlier it had stopped return flights by foreign governments.

A light installation on the Matterhorn in Switzerland is giving a sign of solidarity and hope in the fight against the corona virus. Encouraging messages are also being projected on to many other tourist landmarks around the world. "Stay safe", "Stay at home" could be see on Monday evening on the Great Pyramid in Giza near the Egyptian capital Cairo.

The repatriation process for Germans stranded abroad is ongoing. Until now, main destinations such as Egypt or Morocco have been addressed. "It will be more difficult with countries that only have small groups of scattered adventure vacationers," said the crisis manager of the German Foreign Office. Tourists in the Pacific Islands must first be rounded up in New Zealand and then flown out.

After long delays Thailand closed its borders on Thursday (March 26). The authorities had delayed the decision for a long time to safeguard the tourism sector. Now tens of thousands of tourists are stuck in the Southeast Asian tourist country. The German government has so far not organized a repatriation for German tourists, as Thailand is not considered a risk region.

The German foreign ministry announced on Wednesday (March 25) that, together with tour operators, it had brought back more than 150,000 Germans from abroad. Tour operator TUI added that almost 95 percent of the tourists who were stranded because of the coronavirus pandemic are now back in Germany. They were mainly flown out from Egypt, Spain, Portugal and the Cape Verde Islands.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said that the warning against traveling abroad will remain in effect until the end of April. "This includes the Easter holidays," he said on Twitter. "Stay at home! Protect yourself and your fellow human beings," he appealed to the population. Many tour operators have also extended their travel ban until the end of April.

The EU Commission is supporting the return to Europe of tens of thousands of long-distance travellers. It intends to cover a large part of the costs, since most of the flight connections have been cancelled. "We are here to help them return," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a video message.

African countries have also ordered numerous measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. South Africa, for example, has banned access to the country for people coming from risk areas. Nigeria is monitoring the temperature of travelers at airports, ports and borders. Cameroon has closed its borders indefinitely.

The Australian government has imposed an indefinite ban on all foreign travel by its citizens. Prime Minister Scott Morrison also called on all Australians who are abroad to return home. A 14-day compulsory quarantine for all people entering the country has already been in place for some time. Here, too, it has become quiet in the cities.

The coronavirus crisis is impacting travelers and the tourism industry with full force. Several tour operators, including TUI, has cancelled trips, and some airlines are shutting down. Germany's federal and state governments decided that overnight stays should only be used for "necessary and explicitly not for touristic purposes". Germans are to "no longer take holiday trips at home and abroad".

The EU has closed its entire external borders for 30 days as from Tuesday (March 17, 2020). "All travel between non-European countries and the European Union will be suspended for 30 days," French President Macron said in a television address on Monday (March 16,2020) evening. The Schengen Area, which includes several non-EU countries, has also closed its external borders.

More and more countries are sealing their borders, and many flights are cancelled. With special flights Lufthansa and its subsidiary Eurowings want to bring up to 6,500 stranded holidaymakers from the Caribbean, the Canary Islands and on Mallorca back to Germany. In Morocco, the German government is assisting German tourists who are stranded there due to their return flights being cancelled.

On Monday morning (March 16, 2020), Germany introduced entry controls at the borders with the five neighboring countries: France, Denmark, Luxembourg, Austria and Switzerland. Border crossings will be reduced to what is strictly necessary. Goods can continue to pass through, including commuters, but not travelers without good reason. The duration of the measures remains open.

Whether Spiekeroog, Sylt or Rgen: Vacation on the northern German islands in the North and Baltic Sea is no longer possible as of March 16, 2020. Those who had already moved into their accommodation have been asked to return home. The health systems of the islands are not equipped to deal with large numbers of infected people. Regulations are to follow for mainland tourism.

Disneyland Paris and Disney World Florida have closed until the end of the month. Disney Cruise Line have also suspended all new departure through the same period. The company said the decision was made "with great caution" to protect guests and employees. The company said the parks in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai, which had already been closed, will also remain shut.

All ski areas in the Austrian provinces of Salzburg and Tyrol are ending the winter season early. Cable car operation will be discontinued as of Sunday (March 15, 2020). Hotels and accommodations will be closed from Monday. The provincial governments said that this should slow down the spread of the virus in the Alpine country. The two provinces account for most leading Austrian ski areas.

Due to the spread of the coronavirus, the USA is imposing a general 30-day travel ban on people from Europe. The entry ban comes into force on Friday (March 13, 2020) at midnight (local time). It does not apply to US citizens residing in Europe who have tested negative for the pathogen.

India has declared all tourist visas invalid for 1 month because of the corona virus. Only travelers who are already in the country are allowed to stay, the Indian Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday (March 11, 2020). The entry ban is to last until April 15 for the time being.

Climbing Mount Everest via the north side has been forbidden by Chinese authorities. The necessary permits for expeditions to the world's highest mountain were withdrawn on Thursday (March 12, 2020).

In order to reduce the spread, the border into neighboring Austria can only be crossed from Italy with a medical certificate. Slovenia has closed its border, and Albania has banned Italian air and ferry traffic. Many airlines have cancelled flights to Italy until at least 3 April. Germany, the UK, and Ireland tightened travel recommendations and called on their citizens to leave.

The Costa Crociere shipping company is cancelling all cruises in the Mediterranean for the time being. The cruises will be suspended until April 3, the Italian company announced on Tuesday (March 10). The measure affects thousands of passengers. Ships still operating in the Mediterranean will only call at Italian ports to let passengers disembark.

The dome and roof terrace of the Reichstag parliament building in Berlin have been closed to visitors since Tuesday (March 10, 2020) until further notice to prevent the possible spread of the coronavirus. The walkable dome and the roof terrace are visited by more than 2 million people every year, according to the Bundestag.

All ski facilities in Italy have been closed since Tuesday (March 10, 2020) due to the corona crisis. Prior to this, hoteliers and cable car operators in the South Tyrol region (photo) had already agreed to close their facilities. South Tyrol is particularly popular with winter sports tourists from Germany and Eastern Europe. The closure is effective until at least April 3.

The Czech Republic (picture) and Poland are carrying out checks at the border with Germany to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. Since Monday (March 9), travelers have faced random temperature checks. The German government has warned against travelling to risk areas. And air passengers from China, Japan, South Korea, Iran and Italy will have to expect controls when entering Germany.

On March 8 the Italian government issued an entry and exit ban for the more than 15 million inhabitants of the northern Italian regions, which include the key business center Milan and the tourist magnet of Venice (photo). Cultural, sporting and religious events are also banned for visitors. Museums, cinemas and theaters remain closed nationwide.

Repeatedly cruise ships have to be quarantined or prevented from docking. After cancellations in Thailand and Malaysia, the Costa Fortuna (photo) with 2,000 passengers, including 64 Italians, has been allowed to enter the port of Singapore. In Oakland, California, 2,000 passengers and 1,100 crew members of the Grand Princess are quarantined because 19 of them have tested positive for COVID-19.

Sights in Asia are particularly affected by travel restrictions for Chinese tourists. Hotspots such as the Senso-ji temple (picture) in Tokyo and the temple complexes of Angkor Wat in Cambodia are reporting a sharp drop in visitors. On March 9, the Ministry of Tourism in Thailand reported a 44% drop for February. Tourism accounts for 11% of the gross domestic product.

Author: Andreas Kirchhoff, Susan Bonney-Cox

The current curbs will stay in place until after Italy's Republic Day holiday on June 2 to prevent mass travel over the holiday weekend.

No quarantine for tourists

The measures are currently limited to residents in Europe's visa-free Schengen area, the government clarified later on Saturday.

Travelers will also not be required to quarantine for 14 days upon entering Italy after June 3.

The announcement was a major move for Italy as it seeks to reopen its tourism industry and salvage some of the summer vacation season.

Italy became the epicenter of the coronavirus in Europe in late February, enacting one of the world's strictest coronavirus lockdowns.

The country has the third-highest death toll in the world after the US and the UK, with over 31,600 fatalities due to the virus, although new COVID-19 cases have been steadily dropping.

Read more:Germany aims to reopen borders - what you need to know

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Italy to allow unrestricted travel starting June 3 - DW (English)

You would expect the sailing community to be more understanding than most others of the difficulties inherent in setting out any sort of comprehensible and feasible plan for the resumption of life in all its forms as the Covid-19 pandemic recedes, for our sport is an activity of many unpredictables. There may have been large pandemics before. But they didnt occur in a significant form in such a complex and acceleratingly busy a world as weve been living in since the turn of the century.

Thus you can certainly make plans and keep making plans, but it would be foolish to expect anything resembling a Fixed Plan, all-encompassing and set in stone.

In sailing a race, for instance, the variables of wind strength and direction, sea state, tidal conditions, and configuration of the fleet are changing in an infinite and endless continuum. Rigid plans are a delusion. We may not all be like ace helm Gordon Maguire, who is so aware of the relative wind changes that he can anticipate them in advance by some time, and sense them in real terms something like a fifth of a second ahead of getting the information from the electronics, all of which can add up to quite an advantage in a complex race. But even the most basic sailor knows that everything turns out at least slightly different from expectation, and we go forth in the fond belief that it might even be better than hoped.

Gordon Maguire (yellow jacket) helming Ichi Ban to Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race victory. It is his enhanced ability to anticipate and utilise the continuous change in the sailing environment which has made him Australias most successful offshore racing skipperEqually, in cruising, the overall Cruise Plan can be a burden which is sometimes best abandoned - or at least put into storage - at an early stage. But with a flexibility of approach, your may eventually find alternative and more enjoyable ways of getting to your original cruise objective, and there are few summers with weather so bad that even the most adroit cruise management cannot provide something satisfactory to reflect on at seasons end.

So in contemplating the return to normality plans being put forth by the five different governmental administrations in what the late Gerald FitzGibbon (Eternal Honorary Secretary of the Howth 17 Class) used to describe as the Anglo-Celtic Archipelago, we see differences in approach sometimes so marked that we can only wonder if they are all dealing with the same basic problem.

The Government in London may set out a general plan for England, but it is immediately sniped at for its absence of savvy about how the average household functions, with the point being made that their current Cabinet includes exceptionally few women, even though Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister once said that any woman who could competently run a household can make a fair fist of running a country.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher she reckoned that the competent running of a household was excellent training for running a country.With this broad plan complete with too many specifics and hints at actual dates being run out and then changed next day, the various sailing and boating bodies have been making the best of it for their own areas of interest. Thus we find intriguing snippets such as the fact that family groups may do a spot of boating on their local waterways and canals provided they avoid using locks, where safe social distancing would be very difficult. But you wouldnt get very far on most English canals without transiting a lock. In crowded England, these are highly sociable places, where the habit of lounging ashore and interacting with the boat crews going through is so prevalent that those who do it regularly are known among the boat people as gangoozlers. Theyre a species unknown along the Shannon, our mighty waterway which is mercifully restricted to just seven locks, and has thousands of acres of clear uncrowded water.

The lordly River Shannon provides much better opportunities for social distancing than the typical English canal.For the unfortunate Welsh with their long border with England, yet with a higher proportion of at-risk people in their population, the extension of the Lockdown is insisted. But whether the Welsh can stop the English pouring over the border this weekend is a moot point. Even at the height of the Lockdown, a policeman in Llandudno in North Wales flagged down a be-leathered man on a large shiny motorbike, to be told that he was just out running an urgent errand. The errand was apparently to buy sausages. His point of departure? Nottingham.

In the Lockdown period in England, this has proved to be the ideal machine for nipping down to the shops for a packet of sausagesInevitably, away to the north, the instinctive hostility between the English and the Scots has been regularly re-surfacing. Its only a matter of time if it hasnt been done already - before someone quotes the quintessential English writer PG Wodehouses comment: It is never difficult to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine.

Meanwhile the rather wishy-washy slogan Stay Alert has become national policy. At least theyd the sense to use this version. There are those among us who can remember some other crisis when the official exhortation was Be Alert. This didnt last long, as the local Voluntary Thought Police were soon adding The World Needs More Lerts underneath.

Whatever, already we are in the blame game, and on that count, we should remember the wickedly effective re-working of the pious thoughts of the famous American sports-writer Grantland Rice (1880-1954):

And when the One Great Scorer comes,To write against your name,He marks not that you won or lost,But how you spread the blame

That will be the theme in London and elsewhere for quite some time, and in contemplating the happenings on that larger island next door, some of us might incline to the scary thought that we are seeing the Romans becoming Italians, with the Dark Ages imminent, and with the occasional complete pessimist perhaps even wishing that St Georges Channel were at least twice as wide.

Social distancing, Cheltenham style. Even in imminent pandemic times, no patriotic Irish race enthusiast could be anywhere else.As it is, in retrospect there are two people across the water that we can blame for some of the Covid-19 in Ireland. One is whoever decided that the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival should go ahead, where the hazards were immediately obvious once it was under way. And the other is Jurgen Klopp. For had not Herr Klopp brought Liverpool Football Club to such a peak of excellence, their many Irish supporters would not have been obliged to mix at a crucial time in pandemic development with vast numbers of infective Spanish and Italian fans at the international championship fixtures that his inspired team management had made possible.

Jurgen Klopps huge success in managing Liverpool FC may have contributed to Irelands experience of Covid-19Even with St Georges Channel at only fifty nautical miles wide, and the North Channel even narrower, there still seems to be a really useful saltwater cordon sanitaire between Ireland and chaos, and while there has been the occasional squabble, the level of social cohesion and adherence to the rules of Lockdown in Ireland have been encouragingly high. But such a balancing act can be maintained for only so long, and people are climbing the walls in their hopes of getting back to some form of sailing, or afloat in some way.

Thus this week here in Howth wed a keen sea angler who thought he might get away with a couple of hours of his beloved sport if he launched his little outboard boat from an almost-forgotten ramp hidden away outside the back of the harbour. For although sailing is a complete no-no under total lockdown, as even the smallest sailing boat sticks out like a sore thumb, any little powered boat suddenly appearing past the harbour mouth is assumed by casual observers to be a local lobsterman going legitimately about his business, the launching and so forth having been well hidden from the real lobstersmen within the harbour.

Howth Harbour from the north. A little-known launching ramp to the west of the harbour was utilized by a desperate sea angler to launch his boat in secret, but an engine break-down blew his cover.But God is not mocked, as our Cunning Cod Catcher discovered. His engine wouldnt re-start when his fun was finished. So the Howth Inshore Lifeboat had to bring him in. But as there are so few clearly established laws and rules about how to act in this current exceptional situation, with no statutory body with any muscle to take responsibility and prosecute in some way, the Flexible Fisherman simply stayed absolutely schtum, didnt say a single word to anyone, and it all just petered out when everyone had to go home for their tea.

But after Monday (May 18th) were told that easing is going to begin, and soon those golfers who have been managing to slip under the radar (for weve ten golf courses more or less within five kilometres of here) will now be legitimate provided theyre maintaining Social Distance.

That noted mover and shaker in sailing progress, Peter Ryan the Chairman of the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association, reckons the Social Distance two metre requirement is the stumbling block, and while Mark Mansfield of Cork has been thinking long and seriously about how to resume keelboat racing while complying with pillars of the current policy, Peter Ryan reckons the authorities are going to have to re-think on this one, particularly if valid testing methods can be securely in place.

Sociable times. Peter Ryan of ISORA (right) at the launching of a Race Sponsorship with John Rutter and Michael Martyn of Kona. But in the current difficult times, Ryan is looking at ways in which such socialising can be minimized in order to allow offshore racing to take place.Then too, we can expect mask-wearing to be mandatory. This is a pain for those of us who wear spectacles, as many mask designs cause our glasses to mist up, such that while we may be models of infection protection as we move about the place, its not a good look if youre trying to ride a bike, drive a car or simply walk on a pavement in keeping with current social distance requirements, as youll be more concerned with not walking misty-eyed into barely-seen other people or trees or lamp-posts or buses.

So where is our much-vaunted Sense of Freedom in Sailing in all this? Well, its still there when sailing is in its purest minimalist form, which has to be kite-surfing or windsurfing. This is pop-up sailing, requiring virtually no shoreside infrastructure, and you dont need a car, let alone a car and trailer, to get your vehicle into action. Its absolutely fine and about as socially-distanced as you can get provided you remain in control of the situation. But if you get into difficulties and require rescuing, youre immediately into a situation of intimate potential infection, and spoiling the sport for everyone else.

Kitesurfing in Dublin Bay. It may not be sailing as most of us know or expect it, but its the form of sailing which is most compliant with Social Distancing and other Covid19 requirementsMoving on up the size scale, the next least infective sailing sport is surely for someone who has his or her own driving licence and a tow vehicle and a versatile trailer for something solo-sailed like a Laser or the significantly lighter RS Aero, ideally with a beach to launch from, for at all times its the avoidance of sociability-encouraging shoreside infrastructure which is the key.

But if we move into any boat size above that, the anti-infection problems rise exponentially, and were very quickly into areas where intense shoreside socializing is an integral part of the complete sailing/regatta experience. Yet although the cancellation of the Glandore Classics in mid-July was something we could take in our stride, as it was in a sense linked to the already-cancelled RCYC Tricentenary Cork Week, the cancellation of Cruinniu na mBad in Kinvara, scheduled for the 14th to 16th August, was something of a wake-up call (and a shock) when it came at precisely 11.19 on Wednesday morning.

Dr Mick Brogan (left) with his Arctic voyaging shipmate Jarlath Cunnane at the Ilen Reception at the Royal Irish YC a year ago. It was with heavy hearts that Dr Brogan and his Committee decided this week that Cruinniu na mBad 2020 in Kinvara in August had to be cancelled. Photo: W M NixonFor mid-August is all of three months away, and with the current hopeful progress in handling the pandemic, we couldnt help but hope that Kinvara might be a real possibility. But the Kinvara chairman Dr Mick Brogan is a Connacht GP in addition to his many traditional boat regatta and voyaging credentials, he brought his medical knowledge to his Committees acute awareness of just how un-self-consciously and totally sociable the Kinvara gathering is, and they regretfully but decisively pulled down the shutters.

In fact, Kinvara during Crunnui na mBad is sociability on a scale which well matches the apres-ski scene in the Alpine village of Ischgi in the Austrian Tyrol, which was notoriously one of the earliest hotbeds of Covid-19 infection in Europe, and it would be tempting fate and rejecting the science to think that even three months hence, Cruinnui na mBad could safely be staged.

Hotbed of infection the aprs ski scene at Ischgi in Austria

Where social distancing is impossible aboard Mick Brogans traditional ketch Mac Duach at Cruinniu na mBad at Kinvara

But not all sailing events are so closely inter-woven with a massive social gathering ashore, and while its a bit rough on established yacht club hospitality facilities to suggest such a thing, in the extremity of our current situation, with enthusiastic sailors mad keen to get afloat, it should be possible to devise sailing events involving little or no shoreside infrastructure at all.

We discussed some aspects of this four weeks ago in outlining Peter Ryan of ISORAs thinking about the possible staging of the Dublin Bay to Cork Harbour Race as early as 31st July, and its a theme which can usefully be developed if the authorities dont completely put the kibosh on such ideas.

For the heart of it all is ISORAs offshore nature. It could be argued that its HQ is a waypoint midway between Dublin Bay and Anglesey. Thus all its activities can be totally offshored and certified disease-free. Its members boats would only be eligible to race if they can produce an electronically-verified medical certificate showing that all their crews are virus-free as they assemble aboard to race. Thus they will in effect become a healthy family bubble going sailing.

The ISORA fleet getting away for an offshore race which started outside Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Provided each crewmember is certified free of Covid-19, ISORA could provide racing without any direct reliance on shoreside infrastructure or facilities. Photo Afloat.ie/David OBrienAs for all the administration of the racing, it can be done with a fast and seaworthy committee boat (something like John Brennans new Redbay Stormforce 1650 as recently revealed on Afloat.ie would be ideal) complete with virus-free crew. The speed and seaworthiness are important as both the start point and the finish as monitored by this one boat have to be kept as flexible concepts, and while the use of a shore point for the other end of the start and finish lines is preferable to give the people on land some sense of identifying with the race, its not essential, and the South Burford Buoy in Dublin Bay and the Daunt Buoy off Cork Harbour could serve equally well.

Its appreciated that with such a setup, the temptation to simply keep the fleet in the Irish Sea and make up the miles with a course taking in the Isle of Man or other in-place fixed marks would be considerable. But we have to remember were talking 24-carat gold sailing history here with the 160th anniversary commemoration of the totally-pioneering Dublin Bay to Cork Harbour Race of 1860, so a bit of respect for some tradition is very much in order.

Meanwhile, theres nothing more exasperating than people insisting that they have to have a clearcut and transparent plan with definite figures and real dates so that they can confirm the arrangements of their own personal programme.

You would think that were facing into a busy summer with a hectic choice of May Balls, June Regattas, and July Gala Events. But the fact is, folks, were facing into a desert. Thus ingenious sailing ways of getting around this are now top of the agenda, but theyre not going to happen any time soon. And with scant rainfall since February, it may become a desert in more ways then wed like.

With some really imaginative thinking and compliance with restrictions, we may be able to ensure that this is not the memory we carry forward from the Irish sailing season of 2020.While many glassfibre boats may have been kept happily afloat through the winter in their marina berths, most wooden traditional and classic craft have been lifted ashore. Even where they are stored under good covers, the recent prolonged periods of bright sunlight, extreme afternoon heat, and exceptional night-time cold have been very bad indeed for their old timbers. Ideally, they should be afloat as soon as possible. But if that isnt permitted until some time in June, then relief can be provided with regular gentle hosing.

Yet already were being warned of imminent water shortages, and its only mid-May. The use of hosepipes might soon be severely curtailed. Could it be that - to add to all our woes - were going to finally have to accept that, for many years, we have been managing our islands unrivalled availability of perfect freshwater with the same expertise that the Venezuelans have been showing in the handling of their abundant oil reserves?

The restored Gleoiteog type Galway Hooker Lovely Anne sailing into the River Corrib off The Claddagh in Galway. The timbers of traditionally-built wooden boats like this are particularly prone to deterioration when ashore in hot weather and intense sunshine. They need to be regularly dampened at the very least, and ideally, they should be afloat

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Irish Sailors Need Flexible Thinking & Tolerance in Their Emergence From Covid-19 - Afloat

Each episode of #blackAF, Netflixs new comedy from Kenya Barris, gets introduced with rapper Jay Rocks Win.

You either with me or against me, blares Jay Rock, as a montage of black luminaries fills up the screen.

Im not against Barris per se, but I am certainly against the myopia of his latest project.

Season one of #blackAF begins streaming Friday on Netflix, one of the projects to come out of the $100 million deal Barris inked in 2018. It stars Barris as himself and Rashida Jones as his wife, Joya, in another comedy culled from Barris own life, this time dressed up in Curb Your Enthusiasm drag. (For the sake of clarity, from this point on, when I say Barris, Im referring to the real-life writer and creator of the show. Ill say Kenya to refer to the character in #blackAF.)

The show takes place in the Barris household, where Drea (Iman Benson), one of Kenya and Joyas six children, is filming a documentary about her family with the intention of including it in her application package to New York University film school.

Upon learning of her intentions, Kenya equips Drea with a studio, copious production equipment and a seven-person camera crew. Through eight episodes (Ive seen five), Drea captures her fathers various anxieties, which he claims stem from one place: slavery.

It becomes apparent that Barris has created a show with no real thesis or analysis, other than tangentially tying his own First World problems to structural racism with the worlds most tenuous spool of string. This is not to say that wealthy black people dont experience racism, because they do.

But Barris insists on branding his show about a narcissistic, malcontent father who obsesses about his blackness and the blackness of his family, as a show about blackness, when those two things arent actually the same. #blackAF isnt a show about blackness, its a show about one persons near-pathological need to keep up appearances. Its a conceit that has legs theres an entire genre of television farces built around that very thing, from Veep to Keeping Up Appearances to Jeeves and Wooster to Avenue 5.

#blackAF struggles to get beyond Barris penchant for self-aggrandizement, even though its supposedly filmed through the eyes of his documentarian daughter, which is how it fails where those other comedies succeed. Its a microgenre that requires an intense level of critical self-awareness, and thats the thing #blackAF lacks.

Take, for example, an episode in which Kenya and Joya cant stop wringing their hands about their 13-year-old dancing with her friends to a City Girls song and posting the video to social media. Joya goes on a didactic tangent about a real issue: the adultification of black girls and the problems that come with it. Joya even throws in a reference to Hottentot Venus. But the show is completely blinkered when it comes to the ways that class gives the Barris family a foot up, and thats where its self-aware shtick begins to fall apart.

As a black girl, you dont get looked at the same as these white girls who have purple hair, Kenya tells another daughter when he sees her at a music festival. It completely escapes him that the problems hes constantly obsessing about dont necessarily apply to the Barris children in the same way that they apply to average black girls. Statistically speaking, most black girls are not worried about whether their parents will burn through their trust funds.

Theres another thing that makes this show a poor facsimile of Curb Your Enthusiasm: Theres no Susie Essman equivalent to remind Kenya that hes full of it. Drea comes closest, but she lacks the authority and perspective of adulthood. Kenyas obsessed with black essentialism, but not enough to realize that its not nearly the problem he makes it out to be. So his random, mundane issues get shoehorned into unrelated things, like Juneteenth. Kenya says that hes constantly thinking about the white gaze, but thats just an excuse to avoid any real self-examination, especially since he never delves deeper into any of the issues surrounding race that he brings up.

Rashida Jones plays Joya, a mom of six children who is married to Kenya Barris.

Netflix

Even with all of these issues, Jones acquits herself as well as she can with a vapid goofiness that mostly hinges on her inability to dance well. Barris, as an actor, is flat on screen. Whats especially frustrating is that these topics are stale Baratunde Thurston published How to Be Black in 2012. Ta-Nehisi Coates excoriated President Barack Obama for his condescension and for trafficking in outdated racial essentialism in 2013.

Black people have moved on. Kenya Barris has not.

The fifth episode is about Barris discomfort with seeking and needing the honest approval of white critics. Barris attends a screening of an unnamed film by a black director. He hates it, and he cant understand why anyone would like it or see it as quality cinema. And the fact that his own family likes the film drives him crazy. After a quick trip to New York to visit Tyler Perry, Barris decides to dismiss critics altogether and convenes a video call with Tim Story, Issa Rae, Will Packer, Ava DuVernay and Lena Waithe to parse his feelings about being publicly honest about film and television made by black people.

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We do it all the time with white stuff, he says. Why cant we do it with our own stuff?

Like so much of #blackAF, Barris argument hinges on a straw man. In the case of the fifth episode, where Barris postulates that black artists dont receive an honest critique of their work, he conveniently elides the existence of black critics such as Angelica Jade Bastin, Melanie McFarland, Cate Young, Eric Deggans, Robert Daniels, Candice Frederick, Malcolm Venable, Hannah Giorgis, Doreen St. Felix, Wesley Morris, Jenna Wortham and Joelle Monique.

Before Barris or the character he plays whines about how impossible it is to get an honest assessment of his work from people who look like him, he might want to remember that black critics exist. Whether or not he takes heed of their words is up to him.

Soraya Nadia McDonald is the culture critic for The Undefeated. She writes about pop culture, fashion, the arts, and literature. She's based in Brooklyn.

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#blackAF is painfully devoid of new ideas - The Undefeated

Two weeks into the new fiscal year New Brunswick's planned budget surplus has been transformed into a hefty deficit by the COVID-19 crisis and although Premier Blaine Higgs is not ready yet to reveal how big the financial troubles will be, all signs point to something large perhaps historic.

"We are certainly now in very significant deficit territory and I don't see that changing anytime soon," said Higgs on Thursday during his regular afternoon news conference.

"A surplus and debt payment are now no longer even an option of any kind."

Higgs said both the cabinet and special all-party cabinet committee overseeing the province's response to the pandemic have been briefed on New Brunswick's deteriorating finances and said the public will be updated soon.

Edwin Hunter/CBC News

Still, a growing consensus of private-sector forecasts suggest the impact of the pandemic on New Brunswick's economy will be historically severe, even if mercifully short.

Provinces to slip into 'severe recession'

Earlier this week, the Royal Bank forecast New Brunswick's economy will shrink by 4.5 per cent this year and temporarily shed 43,000 jobs before recovery begins toward the end of summer.

"We now project all provinces will slip into a severe recession," wrote bank economists Robert Hogue and Ramya Muthukumaran in a report looking at the prospects of each province coping with the virus.

"Business closures, massive layoffs and drastically reduced working hours for those still employed generate additional knock-on effects for other sectors leading to further job losses and deepening the economic contraction. The end result will be for 2020 to mark the steepest one-year decline in GDP for all provinces."

It's a gloomy view shared by others.

The Conference Board of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Toronto-Dominion and National banks have each recently projected a severe economic contraction in New Brunswick this year of between 3.2 and 4.1 per cent.

That's significantly worse than the banking crisis and recession of 2008 when New Brunswick's economy declined by a combined 0.6 per cent over two years.

That downturn had been unforseen in the province's 2009 budget and the deficit that year ballooned $170 million higher than expected, mostly due to increased spending to deal with the recession.

$100M in unbudgeted spending

The New Brunswick Department of Finance has said little so far but does hint the 2008 experience will be at the low end what the province's finances are likely to encounter this time.

"There is an increasing consensus that this crisis will be as bad as the 2008 financial crisis or worse," said finance department spokesperson Vicky Deschenes in a statement to CBC News.

The Higgs government has already authorized unbudgeted spending of more than $100 million to help individuals and businesses survive the pandemic financially. But it's the potential effect on provincial revenues that is likely to pose the larger threat to New Brunswick's budget.

Story continues

Last week, the federal government's independent Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux published an updated "scenario analysis" of the potential effect of the pandemic on Canada's finances.

That modelled a 23 per cent decline in projected revenue from GST and 10 per cent reductions in projected revenue from personal and corporate income taxes flowing from job losses and business closures across the country.

"We stress that this scenario is not a forecast of the most likely outcome. It is an illustrative scenario of one possible outcome," said Giroux's office about the analysis.

Although speculative and not directly applicable to provinces, superimposing similar effects on New Brunswick's projected $3.8 billion in HST and personal and corporate income taxes this year would trigger revenue reductions of $580 million.

That's unlikely since Giroux's analysis is based on a national economic contraction of 5.1 per cent, which is larger than the contraction expected in New Brunswick, but it is illustrative of how much government tax revenue is under threat by the economic upheaval being caused by the virus.

Higgs has said for weeks he will worry about the province's finances after the threat from COVID-19 passess but Thursday did acknowledge restarting the economy and solving the fiscal problem the virus leaves behind will be daunting.

"That's why I'm pleased and excited to be working with the other three leaders because you know this is a situation where fighting the virus is one thing, but managing our path forward collectively so that we all recognize the challenges we're facing is extremely important."

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New Brunswick in 'very significant deficit territory' just two weeks into fiscal year - Yahoo News Canada

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) On Monday afternoon, the Indiana State Department of Health announced more than 300 new positive cases of COVID-19 in that state. The department also said there were seven more deaths related to the coronavirus.

Currently, Indiana stands at 8,236 positive coronavirus cases with 350 deaths.

ISDH has been providing daily updates around 10 a.m.here.

Officials in Indiana are not yet providing information on recoveries. Dr. Kris Box recently said thatinformation will be available as soon as medical codes are created that will offer COVID-19 recovery information, which the state does not currently have.

According tothe Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than 1,863,000 confirmed cases worldwide, with more than 440,000 recoveries and more than 115,000 deaths.

The actions of Hoosiers have made a positive impact on coronavirus in Indiana, Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a Monday virtual press conference.

UPDATE 9:34 p.m.

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, in a news release, strongly urged all who are in public to wear face coverings. He also urged employers to request all front-line employees wear face masks and be tested for the COVID-19 virus. Brainard also requested people shopping for necessary items at essential business such as groceries, hardware stores, pharmacies, restaurants and others wear face coverings when interacting with the public. In addition, he said, businesses should also request that food and product delivery people, private shelf-stockers and mail/package carriers from UPS, FedEx, USPS, Amazon and other businesses wear masks while in those essential businesses.

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ISDH: More than 300 new positive COVID-19 cases - WISHTV.com

Mr Raab, who as First Secretary of State is the first in the line of succession, had already been entrusted with chairing the daily War Cabinet tasked with coordinating the UKs response to the pandemic.

In a statement released on Monday, Downing Street said that Mr Raab had been asked to deputise where necessary, suggesting that a full handover may not have taken place yet.

However, with Mr Johnson remaining conscious, it remains unclear as to whether his most significant powers, such as issues of national security, havebeen transferred to Mr Raab.

Leading the daily Downing Street press conference on Mondayafternoon, Mr Raab said that a team of ministers and Whitehall officials were working full throttle to carry out the instructions of Mr Johnson from his hospital bed at St Thomass, central London.

But when asked whether he had taken over Mr Johnsons security responsibilities, Mr Raab declined to comment.

We are getting on with all of the various strands of work to make sure at home and abroad we can defeat the virus and pull the country through coronavirus and the challenges that undoubtedly we're facing at the moment, headded.

The UKs chain of command stands in contrast to the United States, where it is set out in the constitution.

The powers and responsibilities of the US vice president are also clearly defined, whereas in the UK, the office of deputy prime minister has not been used since Nick Clegg entered into the coalition with David Cameron in 2010.

Even before the Prime Ministers admission to hospital, the confusion had already given rise to reports of infighting among Cabinet ministers, with allies of Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, suggesting that he was next in line.

As the coronavirus outbreak escalated, Downing Street foresaw the potential constitutional dilemma and began drawing up a designated successor plan with Mr Raab nominated as first recipient.

Rishi Sunak was thennamed as Mr Johnson's second "designated successor" amid claims that Mr Gove was overlooked due to question marks over his loyalty.

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Who is the Prime Ministers deputy with Boris Johnson in hospital? - Telegraph.co.uk

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been corrected to remove an incorrect subheading written by an editor. The home of former Service NL minister Sherry Gambin-Walsh was never searched by police and we have retracted that incorrect information. The Telegram apologizes to Ms. Gambin-Walsh for the error.

Sherry Gambin-Walsh has been removed from the cabinet of Premier Dwight Ball.

Late Friday, Gambin-Walsh called Ball to inform him of the general warrant issued to her. The warrant is related to allegations of breaches of cabinet confidence. The RCMP executed the warrant, and their investigation continues.

After the conversation, I took the immediate steps to put in place a new minister, said Ball.

Finance Minister Tom Osborne was sworn in as acting minister of Service NL at 4 p.m. Saturday.

The search warrant says the investigation covers timeframe from June 1, 2018 to March 12, 2020. The RCMP are investigating whether Gambin-Walsh committed a breach of trust, which is contrary to section 122 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

The warrant says officers will be investigating any electronic devices used to communicate, specifically cellphones.

Ball says given the nature of the allegations, he had to remove Gambin-Walsh from cabinet.

Any time you get any minister thats under investigation for a breach of cabinet confidence, theres really no choice. As the premier, as the leader, you take the minister the privileges of being a cabinet minister the responsibilities would be removed, said Ball.

Its up to the investigation to determine the outcome and what that will be.

Ball says the investigation into Gambin-Walshs conduct will not interfere with governments response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The priority for us is still and remains the pandemic and the COVID-19 crisis, that not only Newfoundland and Labrador is facing, but were facing as a country and a global impact, said Ball.

Gambin-Walsh remains the MHA for Placentia-St. Marys and remains in the Liberal caucus. He says he will wait for the outcome of the investigation to take further steps if necessary.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to move through Newfoundland and Labrador, with one death to date.

An unprecedented economic crisis also looms over the province, as Brent crude oil remains below $30 per barrel.

Osbornes full job title is now: minister of Finance; president of Treasury Board; minister responsible for the Human Resource Secretariat; minister responsible for the Public Service Commission; minister responsible for the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation; and minister responsible for the Office of the Chief Information Office; acting minister of Service Newfoundland and Labrador; acting minister responsible for the Public Procurement Agency; and acting minister responsible for Workplace NL.

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UPDATE: Premier removes Newfoundland MHA Sherry Gambin-Walsh from cabinet - The Telegram