South America

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 26 (NNN-Xinhua) — Brazilian state governors called on the federal government to adopt minimum income for citizens amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Several states have established quarantine and isolation measures. Many people who have informal jobs are unable to work from home and thus lost all their incomes.

The governors, who held a nationwide meeting on Wednesday, called for a 2005 law establishing minimum income for all citizens to take effect.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar 23 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – At least 11 people were killed and another 17 injured, when a bus collided head on with a truck in southeast Brazil’s Minas Gerais state on Sunday.

According to the Federal Highway Police, the accident took place around dawn, along a highway near the town of Pirapora, after the bus veered into the opposite lane, and crashed into the oncoming truck.

The bus was heading from northeast Bahia state to the city of Paracatu, in Minas Gerais. The truck, meanwhile, was heading towards Bahia from Sao Gotardo, in Minas Gerais.

BOGOTA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- An attempted prison break in Colombia's capital Bogota left 23 inmates dead and 83 others injured, of whom 32 are hospitalized, Justice Minister Margarita Cabello said on Sunday.

"Today is a very painful day for the country. I have to report that last night there was a massive and criminal attempt to escape from the La Modelo penitentiary," said Cabello.

Seven prison guards and officials belonging to the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC) were also injured, two of them critically, said Cabello.

LA PAZ, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) on Saturday called on all political parties to set a new date for the general elections due to the impact of COVID-19.

TSE President Salvador Romero said that the new date of the elections, originally scheduled for May 3, must get the parliament's approval.

TOLEMAIDA AIR BASE, Colombia (AP) — Under a covered pavilion near a steaming runway at Colombia’s Tolemaida Air Base, dozens of American paratroopers lie sweating on a concrete slab. Green and brown camouflage face paint drips from their brows.

The soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division can’t move much — they’re loaded down with rifles and nearly 100 pounds of gear. In less than an hour, it will all drop out of a C-130 aircraft moving 150 mph.

CARACAS, March 21. /TASS/: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Russia was ready to provide humanitarian assistance to Venezuela amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

"Russia informed us about sending special humanitarian assistance, which is expected to arrive to the country next week," the president said during a phone conversation with Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, aired by the country’s state television.

Maduro also said that a team of 130 Cuban doctors has just arrived to the country.

He also called upon citizens to observe the quarantine.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brazil increased by 45 percent in one day, reaching 904 including 11 deaths, the Health Ministry announced.

Sao Paulo state becomes the most infected state in Brazil, with 396 confirmed cases, including two deaths. Rio de Janeiro comes in second with 109 cases and nine deaths, followed by the Federal District, where the capital Brasilia is located, with 87 confirmed cases.

RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The coronavirus outbreak hammered Brazil on Wednesday, crushing local markets, infecting more members of the country’s political elite and prompting loud protests against President Jair Bolsonaro, whose son waded into a diplomatic spat with China.

Bolsonaro’s national security adviser, the mines and energy minister and the head of the Senate all tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, as the death toll rose to four dead with 428 people infected.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon’s role in responding to the coronavirus outbreak in the United States began to rapidly expand Wednesday as officials announced that two Navy hospital ships and two Army field hospitals were preparing to deploy to help overburdened regions.

The latest moves are aimed at taking the pressure off local hospitals so that they can free up rooms and staff to deal with virus patients. Military hospital ships and field units are geared toward treating trauma cases.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ahead of an expected surge in coronavirus cases, President Donald Trump on Tuesday moved to blunt the impact of the pandemic on a U.S. economy fundamentally altered by a push for the nation to stay home.