Iran coronavirus death toll rises by nearly one hundred to 611
DUBAI: The death toll from coronavirus infections in Iran rose on Saturday (Mar 14) to 611, as it claimed 97 more lives. Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said that “1,365 fresh cases have been added to the number of confirmed infections in the past 24 hours”, bringing the total to 12,729. Advertisement Advertisement READ: COVID-19 outbreak
French police lockdown central Paris as Yellow Vests defy COVID-19
PARIS: Thousands of French security forces fanned out across central Paris on Saturday (Mar 14) as anti-government “Yellow Vest” protesters defied a ban on mass gatherings aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus. In a televised address to the nation on Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron announced school closures and urged people to avoid close contact
Thailand reports seven new coronavirus cases, bringing total to 82
BANGKOK: Thailand reported seven new coronavirus cases on Saturday (Mar 14), bringing the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 82, health officials said. Among the new COVID-19 cases is a 63-year-old woman who had close contact with a patient infected with the virus, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Health.
Philippine capital to undergo curfew, mall closures as coronavirus deaths rise to eight
MANILA: Mayors of Metro Manila’s 16 cities announced nighttime curfews on Saturday (Mar 14) and urged shopping malls to close for one month, in a bid to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, as the Philippines reported its eighth death. The Philippines’ health department on Saturday confirmed three new fatalities, including a patient in
COVID-19: Vietnam to refuse visitors from UK, Schengen countries
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
Release of EBRC report ‘not correlated’ with when elections will be called: Chan Chun Sing
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
South Korea reports more COVID-19 recoveries than new infections for second consecutive day
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
Trump declares coronavirus national emergency
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
Muslims still feel unsafe a year after Christchurch massacre
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
‘Worst of possible times’ to call for General Election: SDP’s Chee Soon Juan
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)
New Zealand says all entering country must self-isolate to contain COVID-19
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
Italians in China caught between two COVID-19 epidemics
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
New COVID-19 infections in China’s Hubei province continue to fall
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
Children less sick from COVID-19, but still spread the coronavirus
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
