‘Terrifying’: Syrian Doctors Refute Government Claims, Say Outbreak Is Widespread

The Washington Post: Syria Coronavirus: Doctors Cite Spiking Outbreak Despite Assad Government Assurances
BEIRUT — In an act of defiance, Syria's union of doctors announced last month that 61 physicians had died of the coronavirus in the span of just a few days. The disclosure contradicted the Syrian government, which had said a day earlier it had registered exactly 60 deaths in the entire country since March, and represented an uncharacteristic challenge to a state known for its tight control of information and severe intolerance for alternative views. The tally released by the Syrian Medical Association signaled that the outbreak was already widespread, because reported cases among medical personnel often indicate a far larger number of unreported cases in the general public. One Syrian medical student called the number of doctors who have died “terrifying.” (Dadouch, 9/25)

AP: Choir Practice In Spain Infects 30 Of 41 Members With Virus
At least 30 of 41 members of a gospel choir in northeastern Spain have contracted coronavirus following a rehearsal indoors with little air circulation, local authorities and the chorus say. The River Troupe Gospel, a volunteer gospel group, rehearsed on Sept. 11 ahead of an open-air performance two days later for a local festival in Sallent, a town in the province of Barcelona. It was their first public show since the beginning of the pandemic. (9/24)

AP: The Latest: China Lifts Pandemic Bar On Entry By Foreigners
Chinese officials say foreigners holding certain types of visas and residence permits will be permitted to return to China as the threat of the new coronavirus continues to recede. The decision lifts a months-long blanket suspension covering most foreigners apart from diplomats and those in special circumstances. (9/24)

Reuters: North Korea Regrets Killing S.Korean To Control Coronavirus Amid Public Backlash
North Korea expressed regret on Friday that it shot dead a missing South Korean to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the South’s national security adviser said, amid growing political and public backlash. North Korea’s United Front Department, in charge of cross-border ties, sent a letter to South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s office a day after Seoul officials said North Korean soldiers killed a South Korean before dousing his body in oil and setting it on fire. (Shin and Cha, 9/25)

Reuters: Moscow Mayor Urges More Home-Working As Russia's New COVID Cases Hit Three-Month High
The mayor of Moscow urged businesses on Friday to get more people to work from home as Russia’s daily tally of new coronavirus cases hit its highest since June 23. Officials reported 7,212 new infections, bringing the national case total to 1,136,048. In Moscow, the tally of new cases rose almost 50% overnight to 1,560 from 1,050 the previous day. (9/25)

AP: Quarantine Ordered For 2,500 Students At Elite Swiss School
Swiss authorities ordered 2,500 students at an elite hospitality management school to quarantine themselves due to a coronavirus outbreak allegedly linked to off-campus partying, the latest back-to-school sign of higher education’s place in the pandemic. Authorities in Switzerland’s Vaud canton, or region, said all undergraduates at the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, or the Lausanne Hospitality Management University in English, were told to quarantine at home both on and off campus because the virus already had spread too widely for a more limited order. (Achoui-Lesage and Keaten, 9/24)

AP: Canceled Flights Strand 25 Easter Islanders For 6 Months
For people around the world, the coronavirus has caused distressing separations and delayed homecomings. But the situation for a group of 25 residents from remote Easter Island stands out. For six months now the group has been stranded far across a vast stretch of ocean on Tahiti in French Polynesia. Children remain separated from their parents, husbands from their wives. Mihinoa Terakauhau Pont, a 21-year-old mom who is among those stranded, is due to give birth to her second son any day now, but can’t have her husband by her side because he’s back home. Her grief has left her exhausted. (Perry and Vergara, 9/25)

AP: Virus Disrupting Rio's Carnival For First Time In A Century
A cloud of uncertainty that has hung over Rio de Janeiro throughout the coronavirus pandemic has been lifted, but gloom remains — the annual Carnival parade of flamboyant samba schools won’t be held in February. And while the decision is being characterized as a postponement of the event, no new date has been set. (Sousa, 9/25)

And a little bit of happy news —

The Washington Post: Italian Couple ‘Romeo And Juliet’ Met From Their Balconies During Lockdown. Now They’re Engaged. 
An Italian couple has become known as the “Romeo and Juliet” of the coronavirus lockdown. In true Shakespearean style, their romantic story began on their respective balconies this year while Italians were forced to sequester in their homes because of the pandemic. It was in Verona — the same city where “Romeo and Juliet” took place. But the love story of this pandemic couple does not have the tragic ending of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers. In fact, six months after they met from afar, the covid-19 sweethearts are engaged to be married. (Page, 9/24)