Month: April 2020
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
Traditional Japanese seal system hampers telework for some
News Business Article
TOKYO: Some Japanese office workers are facing a small, but insurmountable hurdle to staying home under the state of emergency declared in parts of the country over the virus: personal signature stamps. A reliance on paper filing systems in parts of Japan’s business world is forcing employees to go into work to put their unique seal
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
Pandemic spells death sentence for India’s non-virus patients
News Business Article
NEW DELHI: Liver patient Shahjahan’s family feared the worst when a New Delhi public hospital told her to leave because her bed was needed in a coronavirus unit. The 40-year-old mother had been on a ventilator with an acute infection for almost two weeks when she left Lok Nayak hospital on Tuesday night (Apr 7). Advertisement
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
Kim Jong Un’s sister rises in North Korea hierarchy
News Business Article
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful younger sister has been reinstated to a key decision-making body, state media reported on Sunday (Apr 12), marking her rise in the isolated nation. Long one of her brother’s closest advisers, Kim Yo Jong was reappointed an alternate member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee in
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
COVID-19: 2 more dormitories declared as isolation areas
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Two more dormitories have been gazetted as isolation areas to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Acacia Lodge and Cochrane Lodge 1 were declared isolation areas under the Infectious Diseases Act, according to a notice by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in the Government Gazette. Advertisement Advertisement The notice came into effect at midnight on Saturday (Apr 11). The
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
North Korea calls for stricter anti-epidemic measures
News Business Article
SEOUL: North Korea called for more strict and thorough countermeasures to ensure the safety of its citizens from the fast spreading coronavirus pandemic at a political bureau meeting of the ruling party’s central committee, which was presided over by its leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported on Sunday (Apr 12). The Korean Central News
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
COVID-19: Good Friday prayer gets out of hand in locked down Italy
News Business Article
ROME: The mayor of an Italian town famous for its bonfire celebrations on Good Friday was forced to apologise after locals turned up to pray with the priest in defiance of a coronavirus lockdown. The southeastern town of San Marco in Lamis holds an annual ritual that sees huge trunks of hollowed out trees thrown onto
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
Italy’s daily coronavirus death toll and new cases push higher
News Business Article
ROME: Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 619 on Saturday (Apr 11), up from 570 the day before, and the number of new cases climbed to 4,694 from a previous 3,951. The daily death toll was the highest since Apr 6 and the rise in infections was the biggest since Apr 4. Advertisement Advertisement After
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
2 people fined for not complying with COVID-19 safe distancing rules: NEA
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Two people were fined S$300 on Saturday (Apr 11) for not complying with safe distancing rules meant to curb the spread of COVID-19, said the National Environment Agency (NEA). The two cases were among 34 enforcement actions taken by NEA enforcement officers against those who disregarded the measures at markets and cooked food sections of hawker
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
Singapore reports 8th death linked to COVID-19, 191 new cases
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 191 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday (Apr 11), taking the total number of cases to 2,299. Case 1142, a 90-year-old Singaporean man, died from complications due to COVID-19 infection on Saturday morning. Advertisement Advertisement He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on Apr 3 and was admitted to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID)
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
Commentary: Singaporeans more adaptable than they give themselves credit for
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Last Friday (Apr 3), Singaporeans sat glued to their screens with bated breath as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addressed the nation. By then, rumours about school closure and further movement restrictions had already been circulating. While PM Lee painted a realistic and slightly bleak picture about the future, he also expressed hope that
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
Commentary: Farmers hold key to feeding Asia amid COVID-19 restrictions
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: From Pakistan and Malaysia to Australia and New Zealand, an unprecedented freeze on movement of people, goods and services is underway – and understandably so. COVID-19 has an ever-increasing grip on the Asia-Pacific, and regional governments are reacting in the best way they know to stop the spread of the diabolical pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
In grim milestone, United States logs world’s highest COVID-19 death toll
News Business Article
NEW YORK: The United States surpassed Italy on Saturday (Apr 11) as the country with the highest reported coronavirus death toll, recording more than 20,000 deaths since the outbreak began, according to a Reuters tally. The grim milestone was reached as President Donald Trump mulled over when the country, which has registered more than half a
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 12, 2020
Circuit breaker classes: Yoga, tuition and gyms move online as Singapore gets used to operating in virtual worlds
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Armed with a large iPad, a laptop and a large monitor screen, over 40 tuition teachers with Raymond’s Maths & Science Studio press on with their regular lessons amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Although the lessons are held at the same time on the same day as before, all of the teachers now tutor remotely
Commentary: Beware the incoming pandemic of boredom
LONDON: As people around the world find themselves in confinement to control the COVID-19 pandemic, look out for another affliction with an even higher infection rate than any virus. Boredom is now a serious health risk. Is it possible that the more preoccupied we become with the physical danger posed by the virus, the more