'Mission Dharavi': Virus battleground in India's biggest slum

AFP / PUNIT PARANJPEDharavi's narrow alleys, crowded housing and poor sanitation offer the perfect breeding ground for the virus

The 125,000 slum-dwellers living under a lockdown so strict that drones monitor their moves and alert police if they attempt to leave home are at the heart of India's push to contain coronavirus.

But with only a handful of people tested so far in the country's biggest slum, fears are growing that "Mission Dharavi" -- a term coined by officials working there -- may not prevent the virus from raging across the densely packed neighbourhood.

Dharavi is home to an estimated one million people, who eke out a living as factory workers or maids and chauffeurs to the financial capital Mumbai's well-heeled residents. Around an eighth of them live in hotspots where severe containment measures are being enforced.

Its narrow alleys, crowded housing and poor sanitation offer the perfect breeding ground for the virus.

"The biggest challenge is Dharavi itself... 10 to 15 people stay in one room. How is it possible to enforce social distancing?" asked city official Kiran Dighavkar.

He is overseeing an effort involving some 2,500 people, including medical workers, cleaners and volunteers, who are fighting to keep cases -- at nearly 200, with 12 deaths -- from spiralling out of control and overwhelming hospitals.

AFP/File / Indranil MUKHERJEEDharavi's narrow alleys, crowded housing and poor sanitation offer the perfect breeding ground for the virus

The severe lockdown imposed in five virus hotspots in the slum since the first cases were reported in early April is a key part of that undertaking.

"No-one is allowed to go in or out," Dighavkar told AFP, adding that "everything, including grocery shops, is shut".

"Police are using drones to make sure people obey the rules," he said.

A state-run school, a sports complex and a formerly defunct hospital are being used to house patients and as quarantine facilities.

Around 40,000 people have undergone thermal screening over the past week at so-called fever camps.

And Dharavi's 225 public toilets -- a lifeline for its residents -- are disinfected daily, he said.

- 'In a panic' -

Mumbai is even considering handing out hydroxychloroquine -- an anti-malarial drug touted by US President Donald Trump -- "as a preventive measure" to Dharavi residents in quarantine facilities, said Daksha Shah, a senior health official with the city authority.

"Right now the community is in a panic... so we have to be a bit careful," she told AFP, adding that they were awaiting approval from New Delhi.

AFP/File / INDRANIL MUKHERJEEOnly a handful of people have been tested so far in India's biggest slum

Officials have partnered with non-profits to distribute food and medicine in the area, also home to thousands of migrant workers left jobless by a weeks-long nationwide lockdown.

Although the restrictions ordered across India are less severe than those imposed in Dharavi's hotspots, they have had a lethal impact on the poor.

The Roti Bank Foundation's operations manager Jayandrath Tambe told AFP the non-profit organised 4,500 meals daily for Dharavi's confined residents and was feeding 32,000 people across Mumbai with the help of local hotels.

Social worker Imran Idris Khan turned to YouTube to upload videos explaining relief efforts in Dharavi and used WhatsApp to inform residents about where to find food.

"Many families are still sitting at home or people are stuck in factories without any idea about food-packet distribution drives and therefore going hungry," he told AFP.

"This should not be happening."

- 'I feel helpless' -

The capital of Maharashtra state, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in India, Mumbai has recorded over 3,000 infections among its 18-million-strong population.

The central government has reported more than 20,000 cases so far in the nation of 1.3 billion people.

Maharashtra's chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday tweeted that around 70-75 percent of coronavirus cases in the state "have very mild symptoms or are asymptomatic".

AFP / INDRANIL MUKHERJEEMaharashtra's chief minister said around 70-75 percent of coronavirus cases in the state 'have very mild symptoms or are asymptomatic'

Officials in Dharavi tried to ramp up testing by including residents without symptoms, but Mumbai city authority spokesman Vijay Khabale-Patil told AFP New Delhi rejected the move.

Under the central government's guidelines, asymptomatic people are tested only if they are high-risk or have come into direct contact with an infected person.

Just 657 people have been tested in the slum, raising fears that hospitals -- reportedly already at full capacity -- might struggle to cope if there's an unexpected spike in severe cases.

One Dharavi resident receiving treatment for coronavirus said he had no symptoms for three weeks spent almost entirely indoors, before developing a sore throat and fever which refused to subside.

He has now been in hospital for nine days.

"I feel helpless at times and worry about my family and neighbourhood," the 24-year-old told AFP on condition of anonymity as he fears being stigmatised for being sick.

"Looking at so many people losing lives due to infections makes me feel terrible. Will we ever recover from this?"

WHO warns 'long way to go' in coronavirus crisis

AFP / VLADIMIR SIMICEKA worker wearing protective clothes disinfects a street in Bratislava, Slovakia

The global coronavirus crisis will not end any time soon, with many countries still in the early stages of the fight, health experts have warned as researchers revealed the first US deaths from the disease came weeks before the alarm was raised there.

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 180,000 people and infected 2.6 million, and nations are struggling to check its spread with social distancing measures and lockdowns, while trying to repair their virus-ravaged economies.

 

AFP / Yuri KADOBNOVMedical workers get ready for a shift treating coronavirus patients at the Spasokukotsky clinical hospital in Moscow

Some have started to slowly ease restrictions as pressure mounts on governments to find ways to reopen their societies after tens of millions of jobs were wiped out.

But World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday cautioned that the struggle is far from over.

"Make no mistake: we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time," he said.

AFP / Ulises RUIZThe Civil Protection and Fire Department of Zapopan teaches "Pre-hospital management of patients with COVID-19 and Biosafety" to its officers in Mexico

"Most countries are still in the early stages of their epidemics. And some that were affected early in the pandemic are now starting to see a resurgence in cases."

The comments came after the director of the US Centers for Disease Control asked Americans to prepare for a second, possibly more devastating, wave of coronavirus infections.

 

AFP / PRAKASH MATHEMAHindu holy women (sadhvis) sit at the front door of a house as a sadhu looks down from a window during a government-imposed lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal

The United States is the hardest-hit country on the planet, with more than 46,500 coronavirus deaths and nearly 840,000 infections.

Researchers have now revealed that the first COVID-19 fatalities in the country happened weeks earlier than previously thought -- meaning the current US tally is likely far short of reality.

 

AFP / Behrouz MEHRIA face mask-clad shrine worker sweeps the ground before a Shinto ritual during the annual spring festival at the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo

The newly confirmed COVID-19 deaths on February 6 and February 17 were in California's Santa Clara county, where Stanford University researchers found that the true number cases was at least 50 times higher than the confirmed official figure.

But pressure is growing on authorities to ease restrictions to boost the economy, which is reeling from the pandemic.

President Donald Trump, who is keen to restart the US economy, issued rare criticism of a Republican state governor on Wednesday, after Georgia allowed small businesses to reopen.

"It's too soon," the president said.

The explosion of coronavirus cases across the United States has overwhelmed healthcare facilities, from the most developed parts like New York City to the Native American territory of the Navajo Nation in the southwest, where a lack of running water and poor infrastructure has made the situation worse.

AFP / RIJASOLOMalagasy army soldiers distribute masks and samples of a local herbal tea, touted by President Andry Rajoelina as a powerful remedy against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Antananarivo

"Right here in the middle of the most powerful nation, the United States of America, our citizens don't have the luxury of turning on a faucet to wash your hands with soap and water," Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez told AFP.

- Vaccine trials -

The WHO and other health experts have warned that strict containment measures like lockdowns should remain until there is a viable treatment or vaccine for the coronavirus.

AFP / VALERY HACHEAn elderly woman carries her shopping down a street in Nice on the 37th day of a strict lockdown in France

There was a ray of hope on that front in Europe, where Germany announced Wednesday that human trials for a vaccine will start by next week.

It is only the fifth such effort to have been authorised worldwide, and is a significant step in making a vaccine "available as soon as possible", Germany's regulatory body said.

But even at the current, rapid pace of development, an effective prophylactic could be several months away.

AFP / Jonathan NACKSTRANDPeople have lunch at a restaurant in Stockholm during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

In Europe -- where the death toll climbed past 110,000 -- some countries have slightly eased coronavirus measures, but bans on large gatherings have been extended.

Finland said it would maintain a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people until the end of July, while hard-hit Spain said it did not expect to lift its strict lockdown until mid-May.

"We must be incredibly careful in this phase," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Vietnamese authorities eased social distancing measures as cases in the country plateaued, with experts saying the apparent success was down to aggressive containment measures and contact tracing.

Vietnam's Communist government has reported just 268 coronavirus cases and no deaths, despite its long and porous border with China -- where the virus first emerged late last year.

- 'I feel helpless' -

The pressure on governments everywhere to ease the economic pain is growing by the day, with tens of millions unemployed and several countries at risk of famine.

AFP / Johan ORDONEZVolunteers wait to deliver food to people economically affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, at the Rayuela Bar in Guatemala City

With movement and travel severely restricted, sectors from small business to tourism and aviation have been hammered.

Providing more evidence of the scale of devastation, the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization said Wednesday the pandemic could mean 1.2 billion fewer passengers worldwide, with hundreds of billions of dollars slashed off airline revenues.

The economic suffering is intense for the people of Dharavi, the largest slum in India, who have been unable to leave home to eke out a living as factory workers or maids and chauffeurs to the well-heeled residents of Mumbai.

AFP / Gal ROMAThe 3 Ts of COVID-19: testing, tracking, tracing

Home to an estimated one million people, the massive slum has been under a strict lockdown, with police drones patrolling to make sure no one goes outside.

"I feel helpless at times and worry about my family and neighbourhood," one Dharavi resident, in hospital for COVID-19 treatment, told AFP.

"Looking at so many people losing lives due to infections makes me feel terrible. Will we ever recover from this?"

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Hong Kong political crisis deepens despite protest lull during virus

AFP / Anthony WALLACEActivists have accused Chief Executive Carrie Lam's government of taking advantage of the world being distracted by the coronavirus pandemic

A roundup of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and a row over the powers of Beijing's office in the city have deepened the political crisis engulfing the financial hub even as a coronavirus lockdown prevents large-scale protests.

The mass demonstrations that convulsed the semi-autonomous Chinese city for seven straight months last year have dissipated during the COVID-19 crisis as cautious residents stick to social distancing.

But over the past week, political tensions have soared once more, threatening to upend the calm in a city still ruptured by ideological divides and where many fear China's strengthening grip is eroding their freedoms.

There is a "new, gritty nastiness emerging", risk management consultants Steve Vickers Associates warned in a note this week, and with neither Beijing nor the democracy camp willing to make compromises, future unrest was near inevitable.

On Saturday, police arrested 15 prominent activists on charges linked to last year's demonstrations.

Those detained were not masked protesters who often violently clashed with police, but rather some of the city's best-known moderates -- including former lawmakers, academics and a media tycoon.

Among them was 81-year-old barrister Martin Lee, who in the 1980s helped draft the "Basic Law" -- the city's mini-constitution that grants liberties and a high degree of autonomy unseen on the Chinese mainland.

The police swoop came during a row over whether Beijing was reinterpreting a key part of that document.

- Constitutional row -

The spat began when the Liaison Office -- which represents China's central government -- issued a statement condemning pro-democracy lawmakers for filibustering in the legislature.

The office suggested the politicians had breached their oath of office and could be prosecuted.

That sparked accusations that Beijing had crossed a line.

While China's control over Hong Kong's foreign policy and defence is undisputed, Article 22 of the Basic Law forbids Beijing departments from "interfering" in areas where the city governs itself -- such as its legislature and separate judicial system.

AFP/File / Anthony WALLACEExpectations are now rising that the current lull is temporary and last year's unrest will return

As criticism mounted, the Liaison Office made a landmark announcement: it was not governed by the provision -- even though documents previously submitted to Hong Kong's legislature stated it was.

Instead, it argued it had a "distinctive" role and could exercise a "supervisory power" over the city.

Hong Kong's government deepened the confusion when it issued a statement initially saying the Liaison Office was governed by Article 22, only to retract it hours later and issue two more corrected versions.

The cabinet member whose office provided the advice for the initial statement was moved to a new position in a reshuffle on Wednesday, although city leader Carrie Lam denied it was linked to the furore.

Critics seized on the move as the latest attempt by Beijing to increase control over Hong Kong's politics.

The Progressive Lawyers Group called it "brazen in its intention to tighten Beijing's grip on the city by unconstitutionally expanding the powers of the Liaison Office".

And the Bar Association published a legal analysis concluding there was "no question" Beijing's offices in the city were bound by the non-interference clause.

- 'No choice' -

Prominent activist Joshua Wong told AFP he believed China's leaders were taking advantage of the world being distracted by the pandemic.

"Beijing in the upcoming future will just strengthen and enhance interference in Hong Kong local affairs," he said.

Others disputed the idea that the Liaison Office crossed a legal rubicon.

AFP/File / NICOLAS ASFOURIPolice fire water cannon outside government headquarters in Hong Kong in September 2019

"Merely commenting and expressing one's view on a matter of public interest would not count as intervention," Simon Young, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, told AFP.

Jasper Tsang, a former president of Hong Kong's legislature and a pro-Beijing heavyweight, said the Liaison Office felt it had "no choice" but to wade into the paralysis in the legislature, which had left a dozen bills languishing for months.

Opponents are filibustering to delay a bill outlawing insults to the Chinese national anthem -- a serious provocation to Beijing.

Tsang said the Liaison Office would likely be more confrontational in future.

"How can you stop it?" he said.

Expectations are now rising that last year's unrest will return, especially with legislative elections due in September, when the pro-democracy camp is hoping to score large gains.

Beijing has also made it clear it wants Hong Kong to have a new national security law -- a proposal that sparked huge protests in 2003.

Now, some dissidents have started calling for a protest on July 1 even if social distancing measures against the virus are still in place.

"Businesses should prepare for further civil unrest, as the threat from the virus recedes and friction rises," said Steve Vickers Associates.

Birds in paradise: Albania's flamingos flourish in virus lockdown

AFP / Gent SHKULLAKUThe coronavirus lockdown has brought a welcome reprieve for Albania's flamingos 

With tourists home, boats docked and factories silenced under a coronavirus lockdown, Albania's pink flamingos and curly pelicans are flourishing in the newfound tranquility of lagoons dotting the country's western coastline.

Beating their pink and black-lined wings, a growing flock of thousands of flamingos have recently been soaring over and splashing in the glistening waters of Narta Lagoon, an important site for migratory birds on the Adriatic coast.

Their numbers have increased by nearly a third up to some 3,000 since January, according to park authorities.

With humans kept home under lockdown, "wildlife have regained all of their absolute rights and are enjoying all the freedoms of nature," Nexhip Hysolakoj, the chief of the protected area, told AFP from the shores of the placid lagoon.

In recent years unchecked urbanisation, a growing tourism footprint and industrial activity have threatened ecosystems in the protected zone surrounded by scrubby hills.

The coronavirus lockdown imposed on March 9, however, has brought a welcome reprieve.

Gone are the churning engines of fishing boats and the dozens of ferries and other vessels that normally depart daily from the nearby port of Vlora.

Car traffic on a busy road only 500 metres away has also been reduced, adding to the quiet and protecting land animals.

And nearby factories who have come under scrutiny for polluting the waters with waste, such as a leather processing plant and an olive oil producer, are dormant.

- 'Time for love' -

Conservationists hope the quiet will encourage the graceful birds to take the next step and mate.

Over the past three weeks, couples have been "moving a little further into the lagoon and are now starting courtship rituals," said Hysolokaj.

The author of Albania's first bird guide, Mirjan Topi, said the conditions are perfect for the flamingos to start reproducing in the Balkan state.

AFP / Gent SHKULLAKUExperts hope Albania's lockdown will help vulnerable birds, including pelicans (pictured), boost their numbers

The birds typically "travel for a few years in the different regions of the Mediterranean until they reach sexual maturity", he said.

Those frolicking in the lagoon today hail from Africa, Italy, Greece, Spain and France, according to a park survey.

"It's time for love," Odise Celoaliaj, an environmental expert, said with excitement as he peered through binoculars to watch a flock of flamingos take flight.

"It is enough to see how the flamingos are enjoying the tranquility, they feed and dance on their own free will."

- Pelican nests -

Just under 100 kilometres (60 miles) to the north, officials in Albania's largest lagoon in Divjaka National Park also hope the calm will be a boon to a growing population of Dalmatian pelicans.

The "near threatened" species are known as curly pelicans for the ruffle of feathers on top of their heads.

Some 85 mating pairs are nesting on a tiny island in the centre of the lagoon, which is separated from the Adriatic by a sandy bar.

The population has been increasing in recent years and has now reached its highest number in the last three decades, according to Ardian Koci, the park's director.

But the area is also threatened by a growing tourist industry, with some 50,000 visitors a month.

AFP / Gent SHKULLAKUUnchecked urbanisation, a growing tourism footprint and industrial activity have threatened flamingo ecosystems in Albania in recent years

Today silence reigns with restaurants and hotels, including dozens of illegally constructed buildings, closed.

The pelicans, plus flamingos, bald eagles and Ibis falcinella are enjoying the peace, gathering on deserted pathways normally teeming with tourists.

Koci hopes health crisis that has caused almost 30 deaths in Albania will be an opportunity to rebalance tourism and the protection of biodiversity in Albania.

"I would be selfish to say that only nature counts," he said.

But "urgent measures are needed to put an end to the abuses that have so badly damaged ecosystems".

CHAIN SMOKING PARISIANS 

France testing whether nicotine could prevent coronavirus

AFP / Fred TANNEAUResearchers in France are planning to carry out further trials to see if nicotine could protect against coronavirus infections

Nicotine could protect people from contracting the coronavirus, according to new research in France, where further trials are planned to test whether the substance could be used to prevent or treat the deadly illness.

The findings come after researchers at a top Paris hospital examined 343 coronavirus patients along with 139 people infected with the illness with milder symptoms.

They found that a low number of them smoked, compared to smoking rates of around 35 percent in France's general population.

"Among these patients, only five percent were smokers," said Zahir Amoura, the study's co-author and a professor of internal medicine.

The research echoed similar findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine last month that suggested that 12.6 percent of 1,000 people infected in China were smokers. That was a much lower figure than the number of regular smokers in China's general population, about 26 precent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The theory is that nicotine could adhere to cell receptors, therefore blocking the virus from entering cells and spreading in the body, according to renown neurobiologist Jean-Pierre Changeux from France's Pasteur Institut who also co-authored the study.

The researchers are awaiting approval from health authorities in France to carry out further clinical trials.

They plan to use nicotine patches on health workers at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris -- where the initial research was conducted -- to see if it protects them against contracting the virus.

They have also applied to use the patches on hospitalised patients to see whether it helps reduce symptoms and also on more serious intensive care patients, Amoura said.

The researchers are looking into whether nicotine could help to prevent "cytokine storms", a rapid overreaction of the immune system that scientists think could play a key role in fatal COVID-19 cases.

But with further research needed, experts are not encouraging people to pick up smoking or use nicotine patches as a protective measure against the virus.

"We must not forget the harmful effects of nicotine," said Jerome Salomon, France's top health official.

"Those who do not smoke should absolutely not use nicotine substitutes", which cause side effects and addiction, he warned.

Tobacco is the number one killer in France, with an estimated 75,000 deaths per year linked to smoking.

France is one of the hardest hit countries by the coronavirus in Europe, with more than 21,000 deaths and over 155,000 reported infections.

AFP wins at World Press Photo 2020
Yasuyoshi Chiba, Nicolas Asfouri, Sean Davey, Oli Scarff 

AFP photographers have once again won prizes at this year's World Press Photo, the world's most prestigious photography competition, including the coveted "Photo of the Year." Here they are in their own words:

Yasuyoshi Chiba
Photo of the Year
People chant slogans as a young man recites a poem, illuminated by mobile phones, before the opposition's direct dialog with people in Khartoum on June 19, 2019. (AFP / Yasuyoshi Chiba)

One of the reasons I like being a photographer is because I can go to new places.

When I applied for my visa to go to Sudan, I was very excited -- not only would it be my first time in the country, but it was at the time in the news, with thousands of protesters holding a peaceful sit-in.

The unrest started after the government tripled the price of bread. The army overthrew the longtime president, but the protesters kept holding a sit-in at the entrance of the army headquarters, demanding civilian rule. Then an unknown military group dispersed them. Doctors linked to the protest movement said at least 128 people died in the violence; while the authorities gave a death toll of at least 87 and denied ordering the dispersal.

I arrived in Khartoum about two weeks later. The protesters had disappeared from the streets, but the security forces were everywhere. The internet had been shut off and people were not able to share information through social networks.

One night, my colleagues and I went to a residential area where opposition leaders were supposed to meet with supporters for a briefing.

The place was in a total blackout. As organizers prepared generators, youth collected rocks to barricade the streets leading to the site.

Then all of a sudden people started clapping their hands in the dark. They held up their mobile phones to illuminate a young man in the center.

He was reciting something, as people around him shouted “thawra.” Later a colleague told me that the young man was reciting a famous poem and that the others were shouting “revolution.”

Though I could not understand him at the time, his facial expression and voice impressed me. I could not stop focusing on him to capture the moment. I didn’t name him, as I was a bit nervous about the protesters’ security.

During my stay, I felt like there was always someone watching me. I was also watched over -- people were always inviting me in for tea, coffee, a bottle of water.

We face a lot of uncertain obstacles, especially working in Africa, but, on the other hand, we encounter unexpected generous moments that compensate for all the difficulties.

Sometimes when I work, I feel like I am recording history. I can only hope that each image can be a message for a better future.

I like being a photographer since all of my experiences in different parts of the world come together to create a new perception. And this is what motivates me to keep going.

READ ON https://correspondent.afp.com/afp-wins-world-press-photo-2020

Pompeo says China may have known of virus in November

THE CIA SAID THAT TWO MONTHS AGO

POOL/AFP/File / NICHOLAS KAMMUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States still wanted more information from China including the original sample of the SARS-CoV-2 virus detected in the metropolis of Wuhan

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo charged Thursday that China may have known of the new coronavirus as early as November, renewing accusations that Beijing has not been transparent.

"You'll recall that the first cases of this were known by the Chinese government maybe as early as November, but certainly by mid-December," Pompeo said in an interview.

"They were slow to identify this for anyone in the world, including the World Health Organization," he told conservative radio host Larry O'Connor.

Pompeo said the United States still wanted more information from China including the original sample of the SARS-CoV-2 virus detected in the metropolis of Wuhan.

"This issue of transparency is important not only as a historical matter to understand what happened back in November and December and January, but it's important even today," Pompeo said.

"This is still impacting lots of lives here in the United States and, frankly, around the world."

China at first closely guarded information of the virus and detained whistleblowers. The first official acknowledgement of what became a global pandemic came on December 31 when authorities in Wuhan reported mysterious cases of pneumonia.

Michael Ryan, emergencies director at the World Health Organization, said the UN body first spoke of an event in Wuhan on January 4 via Twitter and provided "detailed information" the following day to all member countries.

President Donald Trump's administration has harshly criticized both China and the WHO, blaming them for not stopping the illness that has killed more than 180,000 people worldwide.

Critics say that Trump is seeking to deflect from his own handling of the coronavirus, which he claimed to have "totally under control" in January but has since killed nearly 50,000 people in the United States -- more than any other country.

Pompeo has previously not ruled out that the virus originated in a virology laboratory in Wuhan and has demanded international access to it.

China has dismissed the theory. Its scientists say that the virus probably was transmitted to humans at a meat market in Wuhan that butchered exotic animals.

More than 8M at U.S. restaurants out of work amid crisis, survey shows

Long-time restaurants, like Nate 'n Al's Delicatessen in Beverly Hills, Calif., have been forced to curtail operations and lay off workers due to the coronavirus crisis. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

April 20 (UPI) -- More than three-quarters of restaurant workers in the United States -- about 8 million -- have been put out of work by the coronavirus crisis, a new survey showed Monday.

According to the National Restaurant Association, food and beverage sales were down an average of 78 percent year-to-year over the first 10 days of April. The industry group said that amounts to about $50 billion in lost sales this month.

The association polled 6,500 restaurant operators for the survey.

It found that nearly 90 percent of U.S. restaurant operators have laid off or furloughed workers since the beginning of March. Those operators cut, on average, 83 percent of their entire staff. More than 40 percent said they laid off 100 percent of the staff. There are about 12 million employees in the U.S. food service industry.

The association found that fast-food restaurants with drive-through service were the only operators that reported less severe sales declines (57 percent) because most were already well-equipped to handle "off-premises traffic."

One national chain, Shake Shack, announced Monday it has returned $10 million in federal funds it received from the Small Business Administration's $350 billion rescue Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The fund, part of the CARES Act passed last month, offered two-year loans of up to $10 million to businesses with fewer than 500 workers.

Filings with the Securities Exchange Commission showed that Shake Shack was one of more than 70 larger businesses, those with more than 500 employees, that received money from the fund -- which ran out of money last week.

"We've decided to immediately return the entire $10 million PPP loan we received last week to the SBA so that those restaurants who need it most can get it now," Shake Shack owners Danny Meyer and Randy Garutti wrote in a letter.

The chain laid off more than 1,000 of its 7,600 employees in recent weeks, according to Restaurant Business Online.

Ruth's Chris Steak House, which has 150 U.S. locations and more than 5,000 employees, received $20 million from the fund, The Washington Post reported. Pot Belly, a sandwich shop chain with 400 locations, received another $10 million and Taco Cabana, which has more than 160 stores, received $10 million, according to SEC filings.

Nation's onion farmers struggle with loss of customers due to pandemic

NOT JUST INDIA AND PAKISTAN BUT THE USA TOO

Onions like these at Owyhee Produce in Oregon have been destroyed due to lack of buyers during the coronavirus pandemic. Photo courtesy of Owyhee Produce

ORLANDO, Fla., April 23 (UPI) -- Onion farmers around the United States destroyed crops or struggled to complete harvests in the past two weeks after many regular customers closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Growers in Oregon destroyed millions of pounds of onions, while those in Texas said they were close to harvest time with half their normal buyers, and had to leave crops in the field.

In Georgia, Vidalia onion growers said they still had retail customers, but workers were slowed by isolation restrictions. They continued to harvest, but with much higher costs.

And onion growers everywhere anxiously awaited more details about how to apply for government aid.

"I wake up every day thinking, what do I do?" said Steve Cargil, owner of Cargil Farms Produce, which is about 90 miles west of San Antonio, Texas. "There's always a little anxiety when you approach harvest, but I'm not sure if it's even worth opening up the harvest this year.

"I will have no choice but to leave much of it in the field if something doesn't change soon," Cargil said.

Cargil said he grows onions on 350 acres, with almost half his crop sold to food service buyers, hotels and restaurants which were ordered to close in March

Onion grower Shay Myers in western Oregon said he dug trenches and buried 4 million pounds that were nearing the end of their storage time in the last two weeks.

"This region, the Snake River Valley, is hit hard because we grow primarily for food service, and that market dried up when everything closed," said Myers, the CEO of Owyhee Produce.

"We've tried to find other buyers. We sent some for cattle feed and some to food banks, but there are no other options," Myers said.

He said demand spiked in March as shoppers stocked up to stay home, but retail sales have dropped to 25 percent of normal in recent weeks.

The Greeley, Colo.-based National Onion Association is trying to speed obtaining government money for its members, said Rene Hardwick, the group's director of public and industry relations.

"We're looking for ways to help our onion farmers, and we're hoping we can get some of the money from the stimulus through the USDA soon," Hardwick said. "Food service is about half our market, and that was just gone overnight."

The Trump administration said Friday that $2.7 billion would go to the fruit and vegetable industry to help cover some of the overwhelming losses related to the pandemic. That support is divided, with $2.1 billion allocated for direct payment to growers and $100 million per month for the next six months for produce purchases.

The funds are to come from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act, which President Trump signed into law March 27.

In Georgia, the Vidalia onion region began their harvests during the pandemic. Since most Vidalia onions are sold at stores, growers there still have buyers, said Delbert Bland, the owner of Bland Farms. But other unexpected costs came into play.

"Our biggest challenge is keeping the labor force safe. We have had an additional expense of about $70,000 a week" for masks, food deliveries and other safety measures, said Bland, who grows about on about 3,000 acres in the region.

He said his farm normally provides transportation to grocery stores so workers can shop, but now he also delivers groceries to keep workers from coronavirus exposure.

"We don't want them mixing with the community, or each other, so we have isolated them into groups of 20," Bland said.

The prospect of some government aid to farmers did not satisfy industry leaders.

The United Fresh Produce Association, an agriculture lobbying group based in Washington, D.C., said in a statement Saturday that the CARES Act funding was a good start -- but not enough.

"The funds available to agriculture are simply inadequate to keep our industry strong into the future," said Tom Stenzel, the United Fresh president and CEO.