News Headlines - 12 April 2020

▽Boris Johnson leaves hospital as he continues recovery from coronavirus | The Guardian

Boris Johnson has thanked the NHS for saving his life as he left hospital to recuperate at Chequers, after a week of treatment for Covid-19.
The prime minister praised two nurses in particular for watching over his bedside in intensive care for 48 hours “when things could have gone either way” - Jenny from New Zealand and Luis from Portugal.
Speaking in a video message just hours after leaving St Thomas’ hospital in south London, the prime minister expressed optimism the UK was “making progress in this incredible national battle against coronavirus”.

▽Did Your Stimulus Check Arrive? Check Your Bank Account

If you check your bank account and find your stimulus check deposited, you may be among the first taxpayers to receive a stimulus check. The first stimulus checks were deposited into bank accounts starting last Thursday. Taxpayers shared the good news on social media, with some posting photos of their online bank accounts.
Single taxpayers who earned less than $75,000 and filed a 2018 or 2019 federal income tax return can expect a $1,200 stimulus check. Married couples filing jointly who earned less than $150,000 can expect $2,400 and each dependent child age 16 or younger can receive $500.

▽Men account for over 70% of coronavirus deaths in Japan: top gov't official - The Mainichi

Men account for about 60% of cases of infection with the novel coronavirus in Japan and more than 70% of deaths due to the virus in the country, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during a press conference on April 9.
The top government spokesman, however, said, "It is unknown whether gender plays a role (in infections) as it is said that various factors are linked to patients developing severe conditions, such as their age and whether they have underlying ailments."
The World Health Organization has reported that men account for about two-thirds of deaths attributable to the novel coronavirus in Europe.

▽Signs missed and steps slowed in Trump's COVID-19 pandemic response | WCIV

By the time President Donald Trump first spoke publicly about the coronavirus, it may already have been too late.
Interviewed at Davos, a gathering of global elites in the Swiss Alps, the president on Jan. 22 played down the threat posed by the respiratory virus from China, which had just reached American shores in the form of a solitary patient in Washington state... Life-saving medical equipment was not stockpiled. Travel largely continued unabated. Vital public health data from China was not provided or was deemed untrustworthy. A White House riven by rivalries and turnover was slow to act. Urgent warnings were ignored by a president consumed by his impeachment trial and intent on protecting a robust economy that he viewed as central to his reelection chances.
Twenty current and former administration officials and Republicans close to the White House were interviewed for this account about the critical weeks lost before the president spoke to the nation on Feb. 26. Most spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about private discussions.

▽Ecuador’s Former President Convicted on Corruption Charges - The New York Times

A top court in Ecuador on Tuesday convicted Rafael Correa, the country’s former president, on corruption charges and sentenced him to eight years in prison, a blow to a charismatic yet divisive leader and his hopes to lead the nation again.
Mr. Correa, a socialist, was Ecuador’s president from 2007 to 2017, a time when left-wing leaders were ascendant in Latin America, including Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, Bolivia’s Evo Morales and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. That left-wing wave has since subsided.
The decision comes as Ecuador faces its most pressing public health crisis in recent memory, one of the worst outbreaks of the new coronavirus in Latin America.