Countries Wary Of Criticism Surrounding Pandemic Response Silence Critics, Human Rights Advocates Say; Fights Against AIDS, Other Diseases Begin To Suffer

The Associated Press: Coronavirus Crisis Provides Excuses For Curbs On Free Speech
Health concerns were on artist Danai Ussama’s mind when he returned to Thailand last month from a trip to Spain. He noticed that he and his fellow passengers did not go through medical checks after arriving at Bangkok’s airport, and thought it worth noting on his Facebook page. The airport authorities denied it, lodged a complaint with police, and he was arrested at his gallery in Phuket for violating the Computer Crime Act by allegedly posting false information — an offense punishable by up to five years imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 baht ($3,063). (Peck and Khunsong, 4/16)

The Associated Press: Coronavirus Could Erode Global Fight Against Other Diseases
Lavina D’Souza hasn’t been able to collect her government-supplied anti-HIV medication since the abrupt lockdown of India’s 1.3 billion people last month during the coronavirus outbreak. Marooned in a small city away from her home in Mumbai, the medicine she needs to manage her disease has run out. The 43-year-old is afraid that her immune system will crash: “Any disease, the coronavirus or something else, I’ll fall sick faster.” (Ghosal and Milko, 4/16)

The Associated Press: China Tries To Revive Economy But Consumer Engine Sputters
China, where the coronavirus pandemic started in December, is cautiously trying to get back to business, but it’s not easy when many millions of workers are wary of spending much or even going out. Factories and shops nationwide shut down starting in late January. Millions of families were told to stay home under unprecedented controls that have been copied by the United States, Europe and India. (McDonald, 4/16)

Reuters: Why Are Some South Koreans Who Recovered From The Coronavirus Testing Positive Again?
South Korean health officials are investigating several possible explanations for a small but growing number of recovered coronavirus patients who later test positive for the virus again. (Cha, 4/16)

The New York Times: How Bubonic Plague Has Helped Russia Fight The Coronavirus
In a remote alpine meadow in Kyrgyzstan a few years ago, a teenage boy killed and skinned a marmot. Five days later, his parents carried the sweating, delirious boy to a village hospital where he died of bubonic plague. Like a ghost from the medieval past, the plague still makes occasional, unwelcome appearances in remote regions of the former Soviet Union, where it survives today in wild rodents. Over the centuries, with improved public hygiene, the plague declined as a threat. Today, as a bacterial infection, it is treatable with antibiotics, if caught in time. (Kramer, 4/15)