Day: March 15, 2020
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
China state media accuses US politicians of spreading ‘political virus’
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BEIJING: Some United States politicians are using coronavirus as a weapon to smear China, the Xinhua official news agency said on Sunday (Mar 15), as a war of words escalated between the two countries over China’s handling of the epidemic. The editorial accused Robert O’Brien, the US national security adviser, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
Singapore Airlines waives rebooking fees for tickets issued on or before Mar 15
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SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) said it will waive rebooking fees for tickets issued on or before Sunday (Mar 15), hours after the country expanded its travel restrictions to include travellers who have visited ASEAN countries, UK, Japan and Switzerland. Customers booked on all SIA flights for travel up to May 31 this year can rebook
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
Malaysia reports 190 new COVID-19 cases, most linked to mosque event
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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported 190 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday (Mar 15), most linked to a religious event at a mosque that was attended by more than 16,000 people from several countries. The new cases bring the total number of infections in the country to 428, making Malaysia the worst-hit Southeast Asian country to
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
Bukit Merah pre-school to close for 2 weeks after teacher contracts COVID-19
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SINGAPORE: A pre-school in Bukit Merah has been ordered to close for two weeks after one of its teachers contracted COVID-19, said the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) on Sunday (Mar 15). MY World Preschool, located at 52 Lengkok Bahru, will be closed from Mar 16 to Mar 27, said the agency, which oversees childcare centres
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
UK defends COVID-19 plan as ‘wartime’ measures loom
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LONDON: Britain on Sunday (Mar 15) said its criticised plan to deal with COVID-19 was designed to “protect life” in a “sustainable” manner as it prepared to unveil “wartime-style” measures to tackle the outbreak. The government has yet to implement the kind of tough measures that continental Europe has adopted, but health minister Matt Hancock
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
Workers’ Party urges Government to ‘take caution’ and ‘exercise judiciousness’ when calling for election
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SINGAPORE: The Government should “take caution” and “exercise judiciousness” in calling for a General Election (GE), the Workers’ Party (WP) said on Sunday (Mar 15), two days after the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report. Acknowledging that the General Election is usually called soon after the release of the EBRC report “in line with
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
Spain reports 2,000 new COVID-19 cases and more than 100 deaths in a day
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MADRID: Spain on Sunday (Mar 15) reported about 2,000 new coronavirus cases and more than 100 deaths over the last 24 hours, the latest spike in Europe’s second-most affected country after Italy. The new figures raise Spain’s number of COVID-19 infections to 7,753 – and its death toll to 288 – after the government imposed a near-total nationwide
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
Universities, polytechnics suspend overseas placements as Singapore widens border restrictions
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SINGAPORE: Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), including local universities and polytechnics, will suspend all overseas placements in light of new border restrictions announced by Singapore on Sunday (Mar 15). The Ministry of Education (MOE), together with the IHLs, have decided to suspend all official overseas placements, including internships and exchange programmes, until the end of July, MOE
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
ActiveSG centres to regulate access to ensure physical distancing amid COVID-19 situation
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SINGAPORE: Access to public sports facilities will be regulated to ensure “adequate physical distancing”, Sport Singapore (SportSG) announced on Sunday (Mar 15). All ActiveSG centres, including stadiums, sport halls, gyms, swimming complexes and studios will implement regulated access starting from Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Where possible, the centres will also have a single point of entry to facilitate temperature
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
Iran’s death toll from COVID-19 reaches 724: Health official
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DUBAI: Iran said on Sunday (Mar 15) that COVID-19 has killed 113 people in the past 24 hours. This raises the country’s death toll to 724, a health ministry official tweeted, adding that the number of infected people had reached 13,938. The new figures were tweeted by Alireza Vahabzadeh, an adviser to Iran’s health minister. Advertisement Advertisement
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
Vatican cancels public participation at pope’s Easter events due to COVID-19
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VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis’ Holy Week and Easter services, which normally draw tens of thousands of people, will be held without the public attending because of the coronavirus outbreak, a step believed to be unprecedented in modern times. It was not clear how the massive events will be scaled down but sources said officials were
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
Spain imposes near total lockdown to fight virus
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MADRID: Spain on Saturday (Mar 14) followed Italy and imposed a near total nationwide lockdown to fight the spread of coronavirus by banning people from leaving home except to go to work, get medical care or buy food. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the restrictions on movement following a huge spike in the number of
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
Beijing to send all international arrivals to quarantine facilities: State media
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BEIJING: Beijing authorities will send all international arrivals in the Chinese capital to quarantine facilities starting on Monday, state media reported, as China steps up measures against imported COVID-19 cases. People arriving from abroad had previously been allowed to undergo the mandatory two-week quarantine at home, but now only those in “special circumstances” will be
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 15, 2020
Indonesia President Widodo to take COVID-19 test as cases top 100
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JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Sunday (Mar 15) he would get tested for coronavirus, while some of his ministers had also undergone precautionary tests after the Southeast Asian country’s transport minister tested positive for the disease. Widodo also suggested people work from home and avoid mass gatherings, as he sought to calm rising
