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Mosques stay open in Pakistan even as death toll rises ISLAMABAD — Mosques were allowed to remain open in Pakistan on Friday, when Muslims gather for weekly prayers, even as the coronavirus pandemic spread and much of the country had shut down. Prime Minister Imran Khan is relying on restricting the size of congregations attending mosques and advice to stay at home from religious groups like the country’s Islamic Ideology Council. However, some provinces have issued their own lockdown orders to prevent Muslims from gathering for Friday prayers. Still, mosques remain open in Pakistan, even as they have been shut down across much of the Middle East and elsewhere. The Middle East has confirmed over 85,000 cases of the virus and over 3,700 deaths, most of them in Iran. Pakistan, with 2,450 confirmed cases and 36 deaths, has been sharply criticized for moving too slow to curb large gatherings, including a gathering of tens of thousands of Muslims from several Islamic countries in March. The gathering of Tableeghi Jamaat missionaries is blamed for several outbreaks of the new virus elsewhere in the world. Share this -







Pandemic will cost global economy up to $4.1 trillion, experts say The pandemic will cost the global economy as much as $4.1 trillion, or nearly 5 percent of all economic activity, according to new estimates from the Asian Development Bank. The head of the International Monetary Fund said the recession sparked by the coronavirus pandemic is “way worse” than the 2008 global recession. At a news briefing in Geneva on Friday, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva described the situation as “a crisis like no other.” Share this -







L.A. county opens COVID-19 drive-up testing site Los Angeles County on Friday opened a new drive-up testing site in the parking lot of a popular mall. Tests are available by appointment only and limited to people with symptoms who are in high risk categories, including those over the age of 65 and people with underlying health problems. The new site, located at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach, is one of 10 mobile testing locations in the county. A drive-up mobile testing site for #COVID19 opened at the South Bay Galleria today. It's one of 10 sites available (by appointment) for LA County's vulnerable residents. Learn more: https://t.co/woPZHhtG5z pic.twitter.com/LWDH97TJnX — Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) April 3, 2020 Share this -







Montana's June 2 primary will be conducted by mail HELENA, Mont. - Montana's June 2 primary will be conducted by mail in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The ballots will be mailed out on May 8. The U.S. Postal Service recommends ballots be mailed back a week before the election. Same-day registration and in-person voting will still be allowed. Counties will set the locations for late registration and ballot submission. County clerks say a new law that allows counties to begin opening mailed ballots on the Thursday before Election Day to prepare them for counting should lead to quicker results on election nights. Share this -







5 million more N95 masks set for release Another 5 million N95 masks — highly sought by medical professionals in their fight against coronavirus — will be released from the national stockpile to the Department of Health & Human Services, the Pentagon said Friday. The announcement was made by chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman. Doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers are clamoring for more N95 masks and other forms of personal protective equipment as they face a constant wave of COVID-19 patients. Share this -







Trump lashes out at reporter when pressed for clarification over federal stockpile Trump on Friday told a reporter she "ought to be ashamed" of herself and chided her for having a "nasty tone" after she asked for clarity about White House adviser Jared Kushner's comments about the federal government's ventilator stockpile. "It's such a basic simple question you try and make it sound so bad," Trump told Weijia Jiang, a White House correspondent for CBS News. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself." ‘Nasty tone: Trump snaps at question about Jared Kushner April 3, 2020 01:47 At Thursday's briefing, Kushner was pressed on why states were bidding on ventilators rather than the federal government sending them. "The notion of the federal stockpile was it's supposed to be our stockpile. It's not supposed to be states' stockpiles that they then use," Kushner said. Trump doubled down at Friday's briefing. "Because we need it for the government, the federal government," Trump said about Kushner's comments. "The federal government needs to it too not just the states." Share this -







Walmart to limit customer access Walmart will limit the number of customers allowed to enter its stores and launch new efforts to keep shoppers moving one way once inside, the company announced on Friday. Starting on Saturday, only five customers per 1,000 square feet can enter a Walmart, which will be about 20 percent of each locale's listed capacity, according to a statement by Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dacona Smith. Walmart to limit the number of customers in stores due to COVID-19. #ARnews https://t.co/nwYvxYP8UK — KARK 4 News (@KARK4News) April 3, 2020 And in many stores next week, markers will be put down to direct shoppers to one-way foot traffic "so to help more customers avoid coming into close contact with others as they shop," according to Smith. For the full story, read here. Share this -





