Month: April 2020
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 2, 2020
Commentary: Malaysia’s latest stimulus package provides huge relief but is only enough until May
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Malaysians have lived in extreme uncertainty and fear since the country came under a type of lockdown beginning Mar 18, when the Movement Control Order came into effect. These restrictions were slapped to slow the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak. As at Mar 31, Malaysia has seen 2,766 infections and 43 deaths. With
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 2, 2020
Commentary: The heavy lifting needed to get Singapore through the COVID-19 slump
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: The Resilience Budget, coupled with the Unity Budget announced earlier, amounted to a stunning S$55 billion, equivalent to 11 per cent of Singapore’s GDP. The S$48 billion Resilience Budget was unique in two aspects – it came just five weeks after the Feb 18 announcement of the Unity Budget 2020, and secondly, requires a draw
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 2, 2020
Travel bans and COVID-19: What happens when a deadly new virus keeps loved ones apart
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Clément Nedelcu and his wife have not seen their youngest son Daniel for months. The last time they were together was the December holidays, and the whole family had gone to China to visit relatives. Advertisement Advertisement The couple and their older son Leo flew back home to Singapore on Jan 2 for work and school, but
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 2, 2020
Explainer: What now for Indonesia after Jokowi signed regulation on social restrictions to tackle COVID-19?
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JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday (Mar 31) declared the country to be in a state of “public health emergency”, while signing a government regulation that would pave the way for cities and provinces to impose “large-scale social restrictions” to curb the spread of COVID-19. The government regulation provides a legal basis for cities and provinces
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 2, 2020
US Navy evacuating virus-struck aircraft carrier Roosevelt
News Business Article
WASHINGTON: The US Navy is evacuating thousands of sailors from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam after its captain warned a coronavirus outbreak was threatening the lives of the crew. With dozens of COVID-19 cases discovered, a senior official said the navy was rapidly arranging hotel rooms on the Pacific island for
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 2, 2020
France cracks down on movement as COVID-19 toll mounts
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PARIS: France on Wednesday (Apr 1) reported its highest daily number of deaths from COVID-19 since the coronavirus epidemic began, saying 509 more people had died in hospital to bring the toll to 4,032. There are now 24,639 people hospitalised in France with COVID-19, with 6,017 of them in intensive care, health official Jerome Salomon told
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 2, 2020
Cruise ship passengers await Florida deal allowing them to disembark
News Business Article
MIAMI: The US government and Florida were working on a plan on Wednesday (Apr 1) to allow thousands of cruise ship passengers exposed to an onboard coronavirus outbreak to disembark, a day after President Donald Trump urged the governor to drop his opposition to their docking. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said he was not opposed
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 2, 2020
Tommy the robot nurse helps keep Italian doctors safe from coronavirus
News Business Article
VARESE, Italy: He doesn’t wear a mask but he is helping save lives from coronavirus just the same. Meet Tommy, the robot nurse. Tommy is one of six new robots helping flesh-and-blood doctors and nurses care for coronavirus patients at the Circolo Hospital in Varese, a city in the northern Lombardy region that is the
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
Man found dead on Thai train tests positive for COVID-19
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BANGKOK: A man found dead on a passenger train in Thailand has tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Wednesday (Apr 1), as the country’s death toll from the contagion more than triples from a week ago. The 57-year-old, who had just returned from Pakistan and was travelling from Bangkok to the southern province of
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
UK police chided for overzealous response to COVID-19 lockdown
News Business Article
LONDON: From questioning dog-walkers to flying drones to spotting people defying self-isolation guidelines, police measures to control the spread of the coronavirus have upset some Britons living under a nationwide lockdown. Some feel the police actions are heavy-handed and applied inconsistently. Advertisement Advertisement READ: 13-year-old UK boy dies after contracting COVID-19 READ: Loss of taste, smell key
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
Japan expands ban on visitors as COVID-19 cases climb
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TOKYO: Japan will bar visitors from the United States, China and most of Europe, the prime minister said Wednesday (Apr 1) as the country seeks to stem a recent rise in coronavirus cases. The entry ban, which will also apply to Australia, Britain, South Korea and many Southeast Asia countries, will take effect on Friday, Shinzo
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
Unity Pharmacy at NEX shopping mall to temporarily close after employee contracts COVID-19
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: The Unity Pharmacy outlet at NEX shopping mall in Serangoon will be temporarily closed for deep cleaning after a part-time staff member was diagnosed with COVID-19. All employees who were in close contact with the part-time staff member have also been put on a leave of absence, the pharmacy said in a media advisory on
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
Queue markings at markets part of new COVID-19 safe distancing measures: NEA
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: As stricter safe distancing guidelines are rolled out in Singapore, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and town councils are putting in place more of such measures at markets. In a press release on Wednesday (Apr 1), the agency said that queue markings to guide customers to maintain a safe distance will be put at 83 markets
Commentary: UK’s COVID-19 restrictions bring about historical lows in energy demand
BIRMINGHAM: The measures to control the spread of COVID-19 are unparalleled, and this is already having an effect on Britain’s energy system. There have been massive short-term changes in the past: For instance the temporary imposition of a three-day week in the 1970s may have had an even greater overall effect, but this was due