Spain holds moment of silence for Covid-19 victim at start of 9 days of mourning

Spain held a moment of silence at noon on Wednesday  to honor those who have died of coronavirus.

Live images broadcast on Spanish television channels showed businesses, markets, streets and the country's parliament at a standstill.

The silent tribute marked the start of 9 days of national mourning, during which flags will fly at half-staff on all government and public buildings.

At least 27,116 people have died of coronavirus in Spain since the pandemic began, according to the country's Health Ministry.

Dominic Cummings, the British official who broke lockdown, "shouldn't resign, says minister

The British Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, defended top government Dominic Cummings on Wednesday, amid a national controversy over Cummings breaking lockdown.

Cummings, a top advisor to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, traveled 270 miles across England in March while his wife was sick with coronavirus symptoms -- at a time when the public was being urged not to leave their homes.

“No, he shouldn’t (resign),” Jenrick said on the BBC’s Breakfast show. “He has given his explanation to the Prime Minister, who listened and concluded that he’d acted reasonably and legally.”

He added that it was time to "move on" to other matter that the nation needed to focus on.

“It’s important that everybody sticks to the rules and acts within the guidelines and Cummings did do that,” he said. “People will disagree with the decisions that he made, many people do, but he did stick to the guidelines, it was within the law.”

When asked if he was one of those people who disagreed with Cummings’ decisions, Jenrick said he was “not going to judge how individuals have made those decisions.”