Day: March 24, 2020
PCF Sparkletots in Fengshan to close for 2 weeks; some staff members being tested for COVID-19
SINGAPORE: A PAP Community Foundation (PCF) Sparkletots centre will close for two weeks and its pupils and staff will be quarantined as it awaits the COVID-19 test results for a few of its employees. Earlier, one of its teachers had tested positive for COVID-19 and the centre had been closed for a day for thorough cleaning and disinfection. However,
When will I see you again? COVID-19 keeps couples apart
MADRID: Andrea Chabant Sanchez, a Madrid-based publicist, normally travels to Paris once a month to see his girlfriend. In January he booked his flights through to July. Now those precious reunions are on hold, as ever-tightening travel restrictions prevent him, and many other separated couples around the world, from seeing each other. Advertisement Advertisement READ: UK
Airlines beg for rescue as coronavirus hit soars to US$250b
LONDON: Global airlines urged governments on Tuesday (Mar 24) to speed up bailouts to rescue the air transport industry as they doubled their estimate of 2020 revenue losses from the coronavirus crisis to more than US$250 billion. “We clearly need massive action very quickly and urgently,” Alexandre de Juniac, director general of the International Air
Enough COVID-19 test kits for Myanmar, says WHO representative
SINGAPORE: Myanmar – which announced two COVID-19 positive cases on Monday (Mar 23) – currently has enough test kits to detect suspected cases, says a World Health Organization’s (WHO) official. This assurance came from WHO representative to Myanmar Stephan Paul Jost, as news of the two positive cases sparked panic buying in Myanmar. Advertisement Advertisement Up until late-February,
Measures to contain COVID-19 introduced in tiers and ‘based on risk’: Lawrence Wong
SINGAPORE: The measures used to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Singapore are introduced in tiers and based on risk, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Mar 24). When asked why Singapore did not shut schools and “go all the way” into a lockdown like other countries, Mr Wong said it is a
Missing the little things: What life is like under Malaysia’s movement control order
KUALA LUMPUR: For the past few days, I have been bothered by this tiny prickling pain on my fingertips, most possibly from swiping the cracked screen of my handphone. The phone had fallen from the couch and hit the marble floor with a thud last Tuesday (Mar 17), just hours before Malaysia’s movement control order (MCO)
SNOC to ‘regroup’ with affected sports associations following Olympic postponement
SINGAPORE: The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) will “regroup” with affected National Sports Associations (NSAs) following the postponement of the 2020 Olympics, a spokesperson from the organisation said on Tuesday (Mar 24). This follows a joint-statement issued by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo 2020 organising committee on Tuesday that the Games “must be rescheduled to
Young pupils staying with recently returned travellers required to go on leave of absence
SINGAPORE: Pre-school and primary school students will be placed on a 14-day leave of absence if they are staying in the same household as a person who is returning from overseas from Thursday onwards, authorities said on Tuesday (Mar 24). The same applies for students who live with a person who had travelled to the UK,
11 people arrested for various scams, including 3 involving face masks
SINGAPORE: Eleven men were arrested after for their suspected involvement in more than 25 cases of scams, where victims lost over S$281,000, the police said on Tuesday (Mar 24). The men, aged between 26 and 51, were arrested between Mar 9 and Mar 18, the Singapore Police Force said in a news release. Advertisement Advertisement One of the
Spain COVID-19 death toll rises by 514 to 2,696
MADRID: Another 514 people have died in Spain over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 2,696, as the number of infections surged towards 40,000, the government said Tuesday (Mar 24). As the health authorities step up the number of tests, the number of people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 rose by nearly
SIA to implement COVID-19 cost-cutting measures, up to 7 days no-pay leave a month for pilots
SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilots will be required to take some days of no-pay leave a month from April as part of cost-cutting measures the national carrier is putting into place. In an internal email dated Mar 24, seen by CNA, the airline said it had signed agreements with the Singapore Airlines Staff Union, the Air Transport
COVID-19: China to lift travel curbs on Hubei province, including Wuhan
BEIJING: China’s central Hubei province, where the deadly coronavirus first emerged late last year, is to lift travel curbs after two months under lockdown, local officials said on Tuesday (Mar 24). Healthy residents will be allowed to leave the province from midnight Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Travel restrictions for leaving Wuhan will be lifted on Apr
MUIS to close mosques until further notice amid high risk of COVID-19 transmission
SINGAPORE: Mosques will be closed until further notice amid a “heightened risk” of COVID-19 transmission in the community, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) announced on Tuesday (Mar 24). “As the risk to the community remains high, the Fatwa committee has recommended the continued closure of mosques and the suspension of Friday prayers until
Britain in lockdown as WHO warns pandemic ‘accelerating’
LONDON: Britain was under lockdown on Tuesday (Mar 24), its population joining around 1.7 billion people around the globe ordered to stay indoors to curb the “accelerating” spread of the coronavirus. Across Europe, Asia, North America, the Middle East and parts of Africa, governments have told their citizens to remain at home as they grapple with
