Month: April 2020
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
Malaysia sees early signs of effectiveness for COVID-19 measures: Health ministry
News Business Article
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Wednesday (Apr 1) reported 142 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases to 2,908. Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said with two new deaths, the country’s COVID-19 death toll reached 45. Advertisement Advertisement Dr Noor Hisham said there are early signs that efforts taken by the government and the ministry in
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
US COVID-19 deaths pass 4,000: Johns Hopkins
News Business Article
WASHINGTON, DC: The total US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topped 4,000 early Wednesday (Apr 1), more than double the number from three days earlier, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The number of deaths was 4,076 – more than twice the 2,010 recorded late Saturday, Johns Hopkins data showed. Advertisement Advertisement More than
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
Tenants need ‘unprecedented’ rent relief amid COVID-19 outbreak, say retail and F&B groups
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Struggling retailers and food and beverage (F&B) operators are calling for a temporary change in how retail rents are calculated, as an “unprecedented” COVID-19 outbreak takes an increasing toll on their businesses. Currently, most retail leases are structured around a minimum fixed charge called base rent, with a small component based on a tenant’s
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
NUS, NTU among 6 universities that will not raise fees for citizens in 2020 intake due to COVID-19 outbreak
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s six autonomous universities will not raise tuition fees for citizens enrolled in the 2020 intake, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Wednesday (Apr 1). Singapore citizens enrolled in government-subsidised undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the 2020 intake will pay the same fees for their first year of study as the 2019 intake,
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
Indonesia confirms 149 new COVID-19 cases, 21 more deaths
News Business Article
JAKARTA: Indonesia confirmed 149 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday (Apr 1), taking the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 1,677, a health ministry official said. Achmad Yurianto reported 21 new deaths from COVID-19, taking the total to 157. Advertisement Advertisement To date, 103 people have recovered. On Tuesday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo signed the
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
Germany reports 5,453 new coronavirus cases, 149 more deaths
News Business Article
BERLIN: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Germany has risen to 67,366 and 732 people have died of the disease, official statistics from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday (Apr 1). Cases rose by 5,453 compared with the previous day while the death toll climbed by 149, the tally showed.
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
The 79-year-old Indonesian doctor on the frontline of COVID-19
News Business Article
JAKARTA: When Dr Handoko Gunawan took a look at his patient’s lung X-ray, he immediately suspected he was dealing with a COVID-19 case. The X-ray image showed what he described as infiltration shadow with ground-glass opacity in both lungs, and the patient was battling a high fever, dry cough, low blood cell count and low lymphocyte
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
Shoppers shout over walls in China’s Wuhan as COVID-19 lockdown lifts
News Business Article
WUHAN: Lockdowns are slowly being lifted in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, but not fast enough for some residents, eager to get back to shopping for their own fresh groceries after weeks of living on delivered supplies. Neighbourhoods in the city are still shut off by two-metre-tall plastic walls, set
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
Evictions, deposits for events including weddings to be protected under new Bill to stem COVID-19 fallout
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Companies that are unable to pay their rent and individuals who have placed deposits for events including weddings will be protected under a new Bill that will be introduced in Parliament next week to provide temporary relief against their contractual obligations amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Bill covers five categories of
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
Designers dream up new gadgets to fight COVID-19, make life during pandemic easier
News Business Article
LONDON/OAKLAND/BUCHAREST: Driving to work at his factory to the west of London last week, designer Steve Brooks had coronavirus on his mind. What could he make that would let him open a door without touching the handle? “Everyone has to use their little finger or find the bit of the door that nobody’s touched,” said
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
Mother of invention: The new gadgets dreamt up to fight COVID-19
News Business Article
LONDON/OAKLAND/BUCHAREST: Driving to work at his factory to the west of London last week, designer Steve Brooks had coronavirus on his mind. What could he make that would let him open a door without touching the handle? “Everyone has to use their little finger or find the bit of the door that nobody’s touched,” said
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
COVID-19: Condos close facilities to reduce gatherings, but some residents question varying measures
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Condominiums are closing facilities to reduce gatherings of people amid the COVID-19 pandemic, although some residents are questioning the move given that in some locations a number of amenities remain open. Some condominiums have suspended bookings in function rooms and barbeque pits, but have left their pools open with reminders on limiting gatherings to 10 people and maintaining
Written by Gabriel HerveyApril 1, 2020
COVID-19: Home-based learning begins for some students, ‘teething issues’ surface
News Business Article
SINGAPORE: Instead of donning his uniform to go to school on Wednesday (Apr 1) morning, Primary 5 student Danial Rizan completed his four hours of English, Mathematics, Science and Malay classes at home. With Wednesday marking the first day of home-based learning for primary school students, most of them completed their assignments and learnt from home,
Commentary: As the US plays the blame game, China steps up its global leadership
WASHINGTON DC: A pandemic is enveloping the world, endangering the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, and US President Donald Trump is thinking about how to get the upper hand vis-a-vis China. But his obsession with winning this great-power competition – exemplified by his administration’s petty insistence on calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus” or