Month: March 2020
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
COVID-19: Vietnam to refuse visitors from UK, Schengen countries
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HANOI: Vietnam will deny entry and stop issuing tourist visas to citizens from Europe’s Schengen visa-free area and Britain starting from Sunday (Mar 15), amid concerns over the spreading coronavirus, its foreign ministry said. The restriction will start from midday Mar 15 following a proposal from the country’s prime minister, the ministry said in a
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
Release of EBRC report ‘not correlated’ with when elections will be called: Chan Chun Sing
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SINGAPORE: The release of the The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report is “not correlated” to when the General Election will be called, said Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing on Saturday (Mar 14). Responding to questions about the release of the report and when elections will be called, he said: “Let’s not get
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
South Korea reports more COVID-19 recoveries than new infections for second consecutive day
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SEOUL: South Korea reported more recoveries from the coronavirus than new infections on Saturday (Mar 14) for the second day is a row, as a downward trend in daily cases raised hopes that Asia’s biggest epidemic outside China may be slowing. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) recorded 107 new coronavirus cases
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
Trump declares coronavirus national emergency
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WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on Friday (Mar 13) in what critics say was a long-delayed admission of the gravity of the coronavirus crisis paralyzing the United States and said he was likely to get tested for infection himself. Speaking at a hastily organised press conference in the White House’s Rose Garden, Trump
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
Muslims still feel unsafe a year after Christchurch massacre
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CHRISTCHURCH: Aliya Danzeisen rises before dawn every day to hear the news so she can prepare her school-age daughters for any harassment they may face for being Muslim. “We don’t feel any safer,” the Muslim community leader says, reflecting on the 12 months since the Christchurch mosque attacks, in which a self-declared white supremacist killed 51
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
‘Worst of possible times’ to call for General Election: SDP’s Chee Soon Juan
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SINGAPORE: The General Election should only be held after there are “clear signs that the (COVID-19) situation has abated”, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan said on Saturday (Mar 14). Speaking to reporters a day after the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report was released, Dr Chee took aim at the timing. Advertisement Advertisement “Don’t forget, they (EBRC)
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
New Zealand says all entering country must self-isolate to contain COVID-19
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WELLINGTON: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Saturday (Mar 14) that everyone entering the country from midnight Sunday must self isolate for 14 days in an effort to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. People from small South Pacific island countries, which currently have no reported cases, will be exempted, Ardern said in
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
Italians in China caught between two COVID-19 epidemics
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BEIJING: Sara Platto’s mother in Italy called her “crazy” for staying in Wuhan even as the virus-hit city was quarantined in January. Now she’s offering advice to people back home on how to cope. Platto, who lives with her 12-year-old son at the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, rejected four offers of evacuation from the Italian
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
New COVID-19 infections in China’s Hubei province continue to fall
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BEIJING: Mainland China had 11 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday (Mar 13), the country’s National Health Commission said on Saturday, up from eight cases a day earlier, but the number of new infections in epicentre Hubei fell for a ninth straight day. The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China had reached 3,189
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
Children less sick from COVID-19, but still spread the coronavirus
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PARIS: For reasons unknown, children rarely have severe symptoms when infected by COVID-19 and may even be a bit less likely to get the disease in the first place, experts told AFP. But that doesn’t mean infants, toddlers and teens are not carriers for the new coronavirus, which jumped from animals to humans in central
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
‘Super-spreaders’: COVID-19 myth or reality?
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PARIS: Can a single COVID-19 patient infect dozens of others? A variety of factors can lead to an individual infecting many. The concept of so-called “super-spreaders” – patients who typically infect far more people than the standard transmission rates – emerged in previous outbreaks of diseases such as Sars and Mers. Advertisement Advertisement Amesh Adalja, an expert in
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he tested negative for COVID-19
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BRASILIA: Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro said Friday (Mar 13) he had tested negative for the new coronavirus, after a scare over a trip on which at least one infected member of his staff rubbed shoulders with US President Donald Trump. The far-right Brazilian president posted his test result to his Facebook page, along with a picture
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
New Zealand calls off Christchurch attack commemoration amid coronavirus fears
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CHIRSTCHURCH: New Zealand on Saturday (Mar 14) called off a national remembrance service marking the one-year anniversary of the attack on Christchurch mosques due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. The event, to be held in Christchurch on Sunday, was expected to attract a large crowd, with many travelling from around New Zealand and from overseas.
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 14, 2020
Mauritania confirms first coronavirus case
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NOUAKCHOTT: Mauritania has confirmed its first case of novel coronavirus, the country’s health minister said on Friday (Mar 13), adding to the growing number of cases in West Africa. In a televised statement, Health Minister Mohamed Nedhirou Ould Hamed said the case involved a recently returned foreigner who tested positive on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement “He
