Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
China President Xi Jinping pays first visit to COVID-19 epicentre Wuhan: State media
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BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Wuhan on Tuesday (Mar 10) for his first visit to the epicentre of the country’s coronavirus epidemic since the crisis erupted in January. Xi’s unannounced visit comes as unprecedented quarantine measures that have sealed off Wuhan and the rest of central Hubei province since late January appear to have
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
‘It’s like someone’s hit pause on life’: China turns to therapy amid virus lockdown
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BEIJING: Therapists, counselling hotlines and online wellness groups in China are struggling to cope with surging demand for emotional help as the coronavirus outbreak upends normal life. A shortage of mental health providers is exacerbating the problem in the country where unprecedented measures to contain the deadly outbreak have left tens of millions in lockdown
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
Japan readies ‘state of emergency’ COVID-19 measures
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TOKYO: Japan’s government on Tuesday (Mar 10) approved draft “state of emergency” measures that would allow authorities to keep people inside and commandeer buildings for hospitals. If approved by parliament, the draft Bill would give Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the power to declare a state of emergency and impose drastic measures but Tokyo stressed that the
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
China quarantine hotel collapse death toll jumps to 20
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BEIJING: The death toll from the collapse of a hotel used as a coronavirus quarantine facility in eastern China has risen to 20, authorities said on Tuesday (Mar 10), with 10 others still feared trapped in the rubble. Forty-one survivors pulled from the wreckage are injured, the Ministry of Emergency Management said at a press conference
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
COVID-19: Concerns among some Indonesian hospitals over availability of medical equipment
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JAKARTA: As fears of COVID-19 grow in Indonesia, some hospitals said they do not have sufficient medical equipment to deal with the situation should an outbreak occur. Dr Edi Gunawan, the director of a regional public health facility Dr Zubir Mahmud Hospital in Indonesia’s westernmost province Aceh, told CNA that the hospital’s stock of surgical
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
Seattle-area nursing home unable to test 65 workers with COVID-19 symptoms
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SEATTLE: The Seattle-area nursing home at the epicentre of the US coronavirus outbreak said on Monday (Mar 9) it had no kits to test 65 employees showing symptoms of the virus that has killed at least 13 patients at the long-term care centre. The staffers, representing more than a third of the Life Care Center’s 180
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
Canada reports first COVID-19 death as number of infected climbs
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OTTAWA: Canada on Monday (Mar 9) reported its first death from a new coronavirus as the number of people in the nation who have contracted the disease jumped to above 70, officials said. The dead man had been living in a nursing home, the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver, British Columbia’s chief health
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
China reports 19 new confirmed cases of COVID-19
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BEIJING: Mainland China had 19 new cases of coronavirus infections on Monday (Mar 9), the National Health Commission said on Tuesday, down from 40 cases a day earlier. That brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 80,754. Advertisement Advertisement The death toll from the outbreak in China reached 3,136 as
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
Trump feels the heat as coronavirus stalks US
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WASHINGTON: Concern that President Donald Trump himself could be exposed to the coronavirus through contact with two Republican lawmakers loomed Monday (Mar 9) on a day when US stocks plummeted, feeding growing national anxiety. Trump, who flew back to Washington after a weekend golfing at his Florida resort and having dinner with Brazil’s right-wing president, has
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
Israel orders 14-day quarantine for travellers coming into the country
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JERUSALEM: Israel will require anyone arriving from overseas to self-quarantine for 14 days as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday (Mar 9). Israel has already taken some tough measures to prevent a local coronavirus outbreak, forcing visitors from many countries in Asia and Europe into home isolation.
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un oversaw latest missile launch: State media
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SEOUL: Kim Jong Un personally oversaw Monday’s (Mar 9) “firepower strike drill,” North Korea state media reported on Tuesday, including the launch of what appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles for the second time in a week. North Korea launched multiple projectiles into the sea on Monday as part of firing drills, according to South
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
First passengers leave virus-hit cruise ship at California port
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OAKLAND, California: The first passengers were taken ashore from a coronavirus-hit cruise ship after it docked on Monday (Mar 9) at California’s port of Oakland, in what officials called an “unprecedented and difficult” operation involving thousands on board. The Grand Princess arrived shortly after noon (1900 GMT) in the San Francisco Bay after days stranded
Written by Gabriel HerveyMarch 10, 2020
Commentary: Imagine holding the US elections during a COVID-19 outbreak
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SINGAPORE: The World Health Organisation said Singapore’s efforts in tackling cases of COVID-19 are a model for other countries to follow. In the midst of this year’s Presidential campaign, it’s hard to imagine the US having the will or the way to do what Singapore has done. Advertisement Advertisement If the United States were to
Commentary: Japan’s COVID-19 response is hamstrung by bureaucracy
TOKYO: If the Japanese government’s performance in dealing with the COVID-19 threat is any indication, the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games are doomed to fail even before they begin. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is preparing emergency coronavirus legislation, and a majority of schools are now closed as Abe requested for around a month in an effort