5 must-read coronavirus global headline stories from around the world on May 1st, 2020.
1. Billionaire Bill Gates flags vaccine could be available in as little as nine months
The philanthropist has been funding numerous initiatives to fight the virus, Mr Gates flagged a “light at the end of the tunnel”.
“It (a vaccine) could be as little as nine months (away),” he said.
Mr Gates was particularly enthusiastic about an “RNA vaccine”, which gives the body a genetic code to produce the antigen to fight the virus itself.
“You essentially turn your body into its own vaccine manufacturing unit,” he said.
“Because RNA vaccines let your body do most of the work, they don’t require much material, that makes them much faster to manufacture.”
Read more: Vaccine timeline could be half of what we expect, says Gates
2. Angry protestors marched armed on Capitol building in Michigan
Despite nearly 4000 people having died in Michigan from coronavirus, hundreds of citizens are fed up with the stay-at-home orders.
The armed protestors, many of whom carried guns, yelled out “let us in” and “you cannot lock us out”.
It comes as lawmakers flagged the possible extension of the emergency lockdown to try and contain the pandemic, which has infected 40,000 in Michigan alone.
Read more: Armed protestors say enough with lockdown
3. Top US intelligence agency concludes virus probably not man-made
The country’s top spy agency has stated for the first time that coronavirus was not man-made or genitically modified.
But that doesn’t mean they won’t keep an eye on things.
“The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified,” the Office of Director of National Intelligence said in
“The (Intelligence Community) will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.”
Read more: Coronavirus probably not man made, US spy agency admits
4. Mumbai sees an ocean of pink as thousands of flamingos mill in deserted wetlands
India’s largest city, and one of the most polluted in the world up until now, is hosting thousands of flamingos.
About 150,000 birds are estimated to have migrated this year, 25 per cent more than usual.
The flamingos have also been caught congregating in urban areas typically packed with people, making use of the extra space during the city’s lockdown
Read more: Thousands of flamingos descend on Mumbai during city’s lockdown
5. Scott Morrison fires back at Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest
Twiggy caused quite the stir this week, inviting a Chinese official to a press conference without letting anyone know.
While most politicians and minister’s have played down the event, Mr Morrison was clear on what happened.
“The consul was not invited by the Commonwealth to that press conference. Let’s be clear about that,” Mr Morrison said.
“We’ve worked with Andrew to that end, and we thank him for that. But when it comes to foreign affairs advice, I’ll take my foreign affairs advice from foreign affairs officials.”
Burn.
Read more: PM slaps back at Twiggy’s pro-China tactics
Further coronavirus coverage on SoPerth.com.au:
