Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 21, 2020
France reports 78 more coronavirus deaths, raising total to 450
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PARIS: France on Friday (Mar 20) reported 78 more deaths from the coronavirus over the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll from the outbreak in the country to 450 people. Top French health official Jerome Salomon told reporters that 12,612 people were now confirmed by tests in France to have been infected with
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 21, 2020
South Korea says detected North Korea missile fire ‘inapproriate’ amid COVID-19
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SEOUL: North Korea fired two projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles on Saturday (Mar 21), South Korea’s military said, calling the action “highly inappropriate” given the global coronavirus pandemic. The suspected missiles were fired around 6.45am to 6.50am KST (Friday, 9.45pm to 9.50pm GMT) into the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 21, 2020
China sees zero local coronavirus cases for third day, imported infections rise
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SHANGHAI: China reported zero locally transmitted cases of the coronavirus for a third day running, while the daily log of infections involving travellers arriving from other countries continued to rise. Mainland China had 41 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Friday (Mar 20), the country’s National Health Commission said, all imported from abroad. That brought
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 21, 2020
North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles
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SEOUL: North Korea on Saturday (Mar 21) fired two short-range ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, Yonhap news agency reported, citing South Korea’s military. The launch originated from North Pyongan province, the agency said, citing the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, the nuclear-armed
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 21, 2020
The United Kingdom is closed: PM Boris Johnson shutters pubs and restaurants
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LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson effectively closed down the United Kingdom on Friday (Mar 20), ordering pubs, restaurants, theatres, cinemas and gyms to shut their doors in a bid to slow down the accelerating spread of the coronavirus. As the coronavirus outbreak sweeps across the world, governments, companies and investors are grappling with the biggest
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 21, 2020
Jogging, park walks banned as alarmed Italian regions impose more coronavirus restrictions
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ROME: Italian regions struggling to contain a coronavirus crisis imposed further restrictions on Friday (Mar 20), with one banning walks in parks and another prohibiting jogging and bike rides as the national death toll surpassed that of China. “We already have many hundreds of dead. What more is needed before people understand the tragedy we
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 21, 2020
40 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, including 30 imported infections
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SINGAPORE: Singapore on Friday (Mar 20) confirmed 40 new COVID-19 cases, of which 30 are imported infections. This increase takes the national total to 385 cases. Advertisement Advertisement Of the 30 imported cases, 22 of them are Singapore citizens or permanent residents. Seven others have long-term passes while one case has a short-term visit pass. Many of
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 21, 2020
All events, gatherings with 250 participants or more must be suspended to reduce further COVID-19 spread: MOH
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SINGAPORE: All events and gatherings with 250 or more participants attending at any one time must be suspended to reduce the risk of further local transmission of COVID-19, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Friday (Mar 20). This is an expansion of the previous requirement for ticketed cultural, sports and entertainment events to be
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 21, 2020
Measures for safe distancing rolled out at retail, F&B sectors to prevent COVID-19 spread
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SINGAPORE: Retailers and food and beverage (F&B) outlets should ensure there is enough space in between customers lining up in queues, encourage them to use self-checkouts and limit the number of shoppers within stores. These are some of the new safe distancing measures announced on Friday (Mar 20) to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Advertisement Advertisement Multiple government agencies
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 21, 2020
Commentary: Flattened the curve for now but Hong Kong braces for a second coronavirus wave
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HONG KONG: The first half of March saw Hong Kong people’s attempt in bringing the city’s life back to normal amid the COVID-19 pandemic. There are more people out in the streets, mostly wearing face masks. Many companies and the government have reduced the work-from-home arrangements and are getting people back to the office. Queues
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 21, 2020
Italy coronavirus deaths surge by 627 in a day, lifting total death toll to 4,032
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ROME: The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has leapt by 627 to 4,032, officials said on Friday (Mar 20), an increase of 18.4 per cent – by far the largest daily rise in absolute terms since the contagion emerged a month ago. On Thursday, Italy overtook China as the country to
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 21, 2020
Singapore launches TraceTogether mobile app to boost COVID-19 contact tracing efforts
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SINGAPORE: A new mobile application called TraceTogether was launched on Friday (Mar 20) to support ongoing contact tracing efforts amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Singapore. By downloading the app and consenting to participate in it, TraceTogether allows users to “proactively help” in the contact tracing process, according to a joint press release. Advertisement Advertisement The TraceTogether
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 20, 2020
Brazil calls COVID-19 state of emergency as Bolsonaro approval slips
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BRASILIA/SAO PAULO: Brazil declared a state of emergency on Friday (Mar 20), freeing up funds for the federal government to fight the coronavirus pandemic, as President Jair Bolsonaro’s popularity declined over his handling of the crisis. The Senate approved a measure letting the government waive fiscal targets this year, with senators voting remotely after two
Commentary: COVID-19 outbreak has overworked some but left more with little to do
LONDON: “It’s really quiet,” said the proprietor of Oxford’s best falafel stall when I popped over to buy lunch on Monday. It is even quieter now. Meanwhile, my wife emailed friends to ask if we could help. Both of them are doctors and they have three children and a parent undergoing treatment for cancer. Advertisement